President Aquino assures vehicle owners that motor vehicle user’s charge are strictly used for maintenance of national and provincial roads

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan) President Benigno S. Aquino III assured vehicle owners on Thursday that funds from the motor vehicle user's charge (MUVC) are strictly used for the maintenance of national and provincial roads to better serve the road users.

In his message following the inauguration of the Lingayen-Binmaley by-pass road in Barangay Quibaol here, the Chief Executive assured vehicle owners that the MUCV that they are paying as registration fee to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) will be strictly used to serve its purpose under Republic Act 8794.

The law imposes an MVUC on owners of all types of motor vehicles, whether for hire or for private use, including government motor vehicles, depending on its classification and/or vehicle model.

Under the law, the MVUC funds are allotted for the maintenance of national and provincial roads to ensure satisfactory service to road users, economic road transport operations and the preservation of road assets. The MVUC funds will help stimulate economic activities in the countryside.

"Timing na timing po, konkreto talaga ang kalsada. Pero iyong kaninang sinabi ni Public Works and Highway Secretary (Rogelio) Singson na galing po sa road user’s tax. So, ang idea po nun, may tax na binabayad para manigurado tayong maayos ang mga kalsada natin sa buong kapuluan," he said.

The President noted that the P20 million budget allocated for the Lingayen-Binmaley by-pass road was taken from the Special Road Support Fund also known as the MVUC.

"Kaya naman, hindi po tayo nagdalawang-isip na maglaan ng dalawampung milyong piso para ayusin ang mahigit isa’t kalahating kilometrong bahagi ng Lingayen-Binmaley Road. Bahagi po ito ng ating malawakang estratehiyang kumpunihin at paunlarin ang national roads ng ating bansa," the President said.

He said that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has constructed several roads and bridges in Pangasinan and other provinces all over the country to boost tourism.

"Narito po tayo ngayon para pasinayaan ang isang proyektong bunga ng ating pagkakapit-bisig at pagbabayanihan sa tuwid na daan ---ang isinaayos na Lingayen-Binmaley Road, na pihadong maghahatid ng mas maraming oportunidad para sa kalakhang Pangasinan," he said.

‘"Ang daang ito ang nagbibigay ng alternatibong ruta para sa mga turistang dumagdagsa para bisitahin ang inyong kilalang Hundred Islands, gayundin ang mga dinadayong beach resorts sa Bolinao," he said.

The Lingayen-Binmaley by-pass road and other road projects will also accelerate the commercial industry in the province.

"Ang mga produktong inyong iniluluwas sa ibang bayan, gaya ng inyong napakasarap na bangus at bagoong, at ang mga binabagsak na produkto sa inyong mga pamilihan, ito rin ang daang binabagtas," he said.

According to the President, the government remains committed to intensify investments in the people through social services, education, health, among others.

MSU continues to help capacitate Muslim communities

By Apipa P. Bagumbaran

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, May 2 (PIA) -- Mindanao State University (MSU) continues to serve as an effective instrument in capacitating Muslim communities to catch up with more developed communities in the country.

This was emphasized by MSU President Macapado Muslim during the groundbreaking rites of the College of Information Technology building in MSU main campus recently.

Muslim said one noticeable trend in the university today is the increasing number of top performing Muslim students and graduates.

He cited as an example a Muslim graduate of Bachelor of Science in Biology, who led the 1,837 graduates of MSU Marawi last April 4, 2013.

“Aiman Cairoden is the first Muslim summa cum laude graduate in the 51-year history of MSU,” he proudly cited.

Muslim also noted the commendable performance of MSU graduates in board and bar examinations saying that a good number of these achievers were Muslims.

“In the last five years, from 2008 to 2012, the MSU system has produced a total of132 topnotchers and top 10 placers, 69 of whom are from MSU Marawi, 28 from MSU Iligan, 24 from MSU General Santos, four from MSU Tawi-Tawi, three from MSU Naawan, and two from MSU Maguindanao,” he said.

He further noted that this positive trend show that Muslim students are now catching up with their Christian brothers and sisters.

The MSU President also pointed-out that the university has been playing a very significant pre-emptive peace building function.

“MSU campuses are essentially education and peace building camps competing with the camps of the Abu Sayyaf, MNLF, MILF and CPP-NPA in attracting our young Muslim brothers and sisters,” he added.

According to him, the Mindanao conflict would have been more precarious today without the presence of MSU campuses in many of the conflict-affected areas in Mindanao. (APB/PIA-10)

Comelec enforces lawful propaganda for 2013 Elections

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, May 2 (PIA) -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) here urges public servants running for candidacy to follow Lawful Propaganda for the upcoming May 13 Elections through the Ang Rehiyon Karon program aired over DXIM Radyo ng Bayan on April 26 to achieve safe and smooth elections.

“At least, lipay ta karon kay medyo nabut-an but-an dyutay ang mga kandidato (At least, we are happy now that candidates are good enough)," Rainero D. Niese, Comelec acting elections officer of Opol town in Misamis Oriental, said.

He said there’s a significant improvement of the candidates’ way of making themselves known to public.

He explained the Lawful Election Propaganda which is found in Resolution No. 9615 or Rules and Regulations Implementing Republic Act (RA) No. 9006 saying that the Lawful Election Propaganda covers printed materials like pamphlets, leaflets, cards, decals, stickers or other written or printed materials which size should not exceed 8 ½ inches by 14 inches. The Posters that are made of cloth, paper, cardboard or any other material is also lawful, whether framed or posted, with an area not exceeding 2 feet by 3 feet.

Mobile units, vehicles, motorcades of all types, whether engine, manpower or animal driven, with or without sound system, with or without lights, Paid ads in print and broadcast media subject to the requirements set forth in RA No. 9006. In headquarters or residences of candidates, lawful election paraphernalia may be displayed, except banners and streamers referred to in letter.

The “Public Places” emphasized by the Comelec are Electronic announcement boards, such as LED display boards along highways and streets, LCD TV displays on walls of public buildings and similar devices owned by the local government, GOCCs or any agency/instrumentality of the Government.

The common poster areas do not refer to a post, tree and wall of a building or an existing structure in active use. It does not also refers to a structure, the location and number of which are determined, and is temporarily set up by candidates/political parties for purpose of displaying campaign posters. Each party and independent candidate, with prior consent from Comelec, is the only ones who may put up a common poster area in every barangay.

Common poster area allowed only in selected public places, i.e., plazas, markets, barangay centers and the like, with heaviest pedestrian and/or vehicular traffic in the city or municipality, The Election Officer shall post a list of the common poster areas in each city or municipality, stating the exact locations.

The public officer who doesn’t follow the simple instructions of election propaganda will be stopped, confiscated, removed, destroyed, or torn down by the representatives of the Commission, at the expense of the candidate or party.

“Hopefully this will be the beginning of nindot jud nga eleksyon nga mu-follow jud ta sa ginagmay nga balaod (Hopefully this will be the beginning of a good election that we follow rules)”, Niese added. He also reiterated that there’s no excuse if someone doesn’t know these rules by Comelec because information related to/or from elections are downloadable from their site at comelec.gov.ph.

“If a public officer works on improving people’s lives, one must follow simple instructions, which the Comelec hopes for this election,” Niese stated. (Francis Jane M. Lumacang/RTP/PIA10)

PNoy, optimistic the peace and order in Misamis Occidental improves

By Rutchie C. Aguhob

OZAMIZ CITY, Misamis Occidental, May 2 (PIA) – President Benigno S. Aquino III is optimistic his allies in the local government units (LGU’s) of Misamis Occidental will finally resolve the peace and order problem of the province.

The President expressed his optimism in a speech he delivered before community leaders in the Second District led by incumbent Congressman Leo Loreto S. Ocampos, held at the Misamis University Gym in the city, over the weekend.

So far, Misamis Occidental has been listed by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), as the No. 14 among the provinces/cities considered as areas of concern, relative to the May 13, 2013 elections.

Thus, the President gave a verbal order to Secretary Mar Roxas of DILG, who was with him during the occasion, to look into the needs of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the province.

“We have actually allocated P9.2 billion for the needs of the PNP ‘para labanan ang krimen’ (to fight crimes),” he said.

“Bigyan sila lahat na kailangan at gamit kagaya ng radyo, armas, sasakyan, maging moral ng mga tao’ (give them all the needed equipment, like radio, firearms, mobility and uplift the morale of the personnel),” he told the DILG Secretary.

Last month, the PNP has conducted the groundbreaking of its new three-storey building to house the Ozamiz City Police Station (OCPS), inside the City Hall Compound, which is estimated to cost some P5.0 million provided by the PNP Trust Fund.

P/Supt. Jonas T. Amparo, Chief of the OCPS, said the project only shows the dedication of the PNP which provided the needed funds and the members of the OCPS in the maintenance of the peace and order in the city. (RCA/PIA10-Misamis Occidental)

Comelec reactivates voter’s registration of more than 5,000 BEI’s

By Rutchie C. Aguhob

OZAMIZ CITY, Misamis Occidental, May 1 (PIA) -- A total of 5,272 voters’ registration of members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) has been reactivated by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), relative to the upcoming mid-term elections.

The voters registration of these BEI’s, who are public school teachers, were reactivated, after they were inadvertently deleted from the voters’ list, for failure to vote in two consecutive elections.

Some of the BEIs were deactivated when the data base was corrupted, when in fact they actually voted in the May 10, 2010 national and local elections.

Based on preliminary verification, the Comelec said they have erroneously voted in the polling place of the clustered precinct where they were assigned for election duty and not in the precinct where they were registered.

Meanwhile, pursuant to Comelec Resolution No. 9668 promulgated last April 17, their registration records, containing the demograpics and biometrics data, have been restored and their voters registration status in the Voter’s Registration Machines database have been put back as “Active Voters.”

This means that their names will now be included in the generation and printing of computerized list of voters, as certified by the members of the Election Registration BoaRD (ERB), in order not to disenfranchise them in the forthcoming elections, Atty. Stalin A. Baguio, Provincial Election Supervisor (PES) of Misamis Occidental, said.

On the other hand, Comelec Resolution No. 9640 promulgated last Feb. 15, provides that members of the BEI who are registered voters in precincts other than where they are assigned on election day may avail of the local absentee voting or vote in precincts where they are registered, on the day of election.

This is on condition that they do so, when voting in their respective places of assignment is light, and their absence shall not be more than 20 minutes.

For this purpose, they shall schedule their voting, so that only one member of the BEI shall leave at any one time, Resolution 9640 also provides. (RCAguhob/PIA-Misamis Occidental)

DA reactivates calamity action center

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, May 1 (PIA) -- Four functional teams are currently manning the newly reactivated the Department of Agriculture Central Action Center (DACAC) for disaster preparedness and response.

It is operating 24/7 and running in all provinces within the region, with Misamis Oriental and Camiguin operating jointly.

Audy Maagad of the Department of Agriculture region 10 reported during the recent technical working group meeting of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDRRMC), here in the city, that their agency’s action calamity core team is now doing briefing to the different local government units (LGUs) on profiling, data base, and mapping of highly vulnerable areas.

They also provide them damage assessment report format/matrix to facilitate easier and faster consolidation of reports.

Maagad noted that accurate and detailed reporting from the LGUs will greatly help in the immediate release of the post disaster report. He said they are expected to release it as early as 10 a.m. following a catastrophe. ( Marie-Zil G. Malinao/JCV/PIA)

CdeO-MisOr cluster posts high in foreign tourist arrivals in 2012

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, April 30 (PIA) -- The Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental cluster was the most favored by foreign tourists among the other clusters in Northern Mindanao during the year 2012, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) said.

Data gathered by NEDA from the Department of Tourism (DOT) in the region show that 74 percent of the 61,113 foreign tourists or 45,244 went to the Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental last year.

This was followed in by Camiguin with 9,389 foreign tourists and Ozamiz-Tangub-Oroquieta-Misamis Occidental cluster with 3,083 foreign tourists.

According to NEDA-10, the same destination preference could also be observed among domestic travellers.

The same DOT data further show that the top five foreign markets of the region were from Indonesia, Japan, Spain, China and Malaysia that registered the highest increase of around 145, 129, 113, 73 and 67 percent respectively.

Based on the record, around 257 tourists were from Indonesia; 6,767 from Japan; 603 from Spain; 4,485 from China; and 671 from Malaysia.

The overall tourist arrivals in the region however went down by 11 percent, from 1,664,481 in 2011 to 1,482,801 in 2012.

Domestic arrivals decreased by seven percent from 1,421,688 to 1,536,590 visitors while foreign arrivals also decreased by more than half, from 127,891 to 61,113 visitors.

The biggest decrease from the ‘Others and Unspecified Balikbayans’ segment at 80 percent pulled down the overall performance of the foreign arrival for the year, the NEDA-10 said. (Marie-Zil G. Malinao/APB/PIA-10)

16 Bukidnon towns to benefit from Salintubig program

By Ruby Leonora R. Balistoy

MALAYBALAY CITY, Bukidnon, May 1 (PIA)-- Sixteen Bukidnon towns will benefit from the “Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig sa Lahat (Salintubig)” program implemented by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Ronelo P. Alvarez, Provincial Director, DILG, said ‘Salintubig’ is designed to provide sufficient potable water to household especially in poorest barangays with high level of waterborne diseases, resettlement areas, and remote villages with no access to safe drinking water.

“It is imperative that the government immediately find ways to deal with these harsh conditions because despite the bounty of springs and abundant water sources in Bukidnon, still we are facing problems on gaining access to clean and safe water supply,” Alvarez said.

Based on the report of DSWD’s National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), Bukidnon is one of the provinces in Regions 2, 5, 9, 10, and 13 identified having waterless communities.

In a water forum held here recently, Fe Criscilla Banluta of DILG’s Water Supply and Sanitation Unit (WSSU) said 32 LGUs in region 10 were identified as ‘Salintubig’ recipients, of which, 16 were from Bukidnon namely Pangantucan, Kalilangan, San Fernando, Cabanglasan, Quezon, Kibawe, and Don Carlos.

Other recipient towns are Manolo Fortich, Impasugong, Malitbog, Baungon, Maramag, Lantapan, Kitaotao, and the cities of Valencia and Malaybalay.

“Access to clean drinking water is a fundamental right, but it is not a fact in some parts of our country because there are still homes deprived of access to clean potable water,” Banluta said.

However, while water is every person’s right, the facilities and services that make water accessible entail essential cost. Cost for water system maintenance and honorarium for the plumber or the person looking after the water facility, she added.

Paying the water tariff allows government to promote, protect and fulfill the right to water without discriminating against any sector of society.

The DILG has allocated a total of P93.3 million for the 32 LGUs that will qualify for the program.

But since this is implemented under the ‘bottom-up budgeting or participatory budgeting’, LGUs are required a 10 percent counterpart based on the amount to be released and submit documents such as approved simplified feasibility study, project executive summary, seal of good housekeeping certification, SB resolution, among others, prior to the fund release.

The DILG reiterated that the LGUs, as grantees, will undergo validation to determine their capability in ensuring the sustainability of the project.

She explained that there is a need for the water users associations like the Barangay Water and Sanitation Association (BWSA), the municipal water and sanitation (WATSAN) councils, water service providers, LGUs, and waterless communities to participate in this program in order to achieve the goal of reducing by 50% the world’s population without access to safe and potable water as specified in the Millennium Development Goal (MDG).

The Salintubig program is in line with President Benigno S. Aquino III’s commitment in his 10-point agenda, which is to provide safe drinking water to all Filipinos particularly for the poor and waterless communities.

The national agencies tasked for the program were the National Anti-Poverty Commission, Department of Social Welfare and Development, DILG, NEDA, Department of Budget and Management, Local Waterworks Utilities Administration and the Department of Health.

They are responsible in identifying priority areas for the project to provide clean and affordable drinking water through the “Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig sa Lahat” program. (RubyLRB/PIA10, Bukidnon)

Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards 2013 now open

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, May 1 (PIA) -- The Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards on its 7th year is once again looking for the best agriculture stories and photos in tri-media across the country.

David Isaac Buenaventura, project director of the competition said they are looking for the best agricultural stories and photos in print, radio, and television, with special attention on their impact on current agricultural issues and best farming practices on environmental safety and crop sustainability.

Further, it is a nationwide competition that aims to heighten tri-media practitioners’ participation by actively searching a bigger number of nominees from more agricultural provinces while at the same time sustaining and strengthening ties with previously covered provinces, he added.

In terms of judging, the judges revised some mechanics in terms of the processes in the competition and divided the categories in to minor and major awards, Buenaventura explained.

Major awards are given to Agriculture Photo of the Year, Tobacco Photo of the Year, and Agriculture Story of the Year.

Minor awards are best Agricultural TV program and best Agricultural Radio program, best Agriculture News Story and best Agricultural Feature Story for national and regional level.

Prices for major awards are P50,000 cash prize, iPad-Mini, Philippine Art Awards (PAA) artist trophy and all expense paid Asian trip meanwhile minor award will garner P20,000 cash prize, iPad-Mini, PAA artist trophy and Asian trip.

This competition is open to all professional Filipino journalists at least 18 years old.

Entries submitted should only be published, aired or broadcast locally between September 1, 2012 and August 31, 2013. Additionally, it should be written in English, Filipino or any Philippine regional dialects.

Submission of entries will start on April 30, 2013 and ends on August 31, 2013 at 12:00 noon.

Participants may download and submit entry forms at www.thebrightleafawards.com or to the official Bright Leaf secretariat c/o Cozoz Inc., 1102 P. Ocampo corner Conchu Streets, Malate, Manila with telephone numbers (02) 5228782 and (02) 5252525. (By Mark Anthony Dedoyco/JMOR/PIA)