July 30 - Aug. 5, 2012 Issue

IT'S GONNA BE MORE FUN

Business sector, DPWH, tourism to enhance local tourism

By Ralph John Mijares

Perhaps one day, tourists will be happier to visit the province of Capiz and its scenic spots.

This will be possible, according to the collaborative plans of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Capiz’s first district, the Capiz Provincial Tourism Office and the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, all of Roxas City.

According to Engr. Julius Abela, Construction Division officer-in-charge and chief construction engineer of DPWH Capiz’s first district, the new tourism plans of these three offices for the province of Capiz seeks to provide better access to seven identified tourism spots through upgraded roads which will see completion around 2013. Foremost, the purpose to give tourists an easier access and mobility, Abela said.

Said identified tourism spots are Balisong Cave and Hinulugan Falls in Pilar; the Basiao Beach, in Brgy. Basiao, Ivisan; the Suhoton Cave in Jamindan; the Capiz Paradise in Sigma; the Kipot Cave in Mambusao; and the Palina Greenbelt Ecopark in Cagay, Roxas City. Abela said that its implementation will help generate and increase employment opportunities in those areas and benefit the locales.

The Roxas City Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry plans to establish a structure that will symbolize the province of the province just like the Merlin Lion of Singapore and Sydney Opera House of Australia.

According to Abela, there are also plans on the enhancement of the Roxas City Airport facilities. The terminal building, runway, and sanitation facilities of the Roxas City airport will be upgraded even as it is being prepared to offer night flights in the future. For these, Abela said that the funds will come from the business sector. At this writing, however, the DPWH official has not identified any amount regarding the same.

Recently a franchising seminar was conducted for potential investors in a mall chain franchise being constructed in the city. An orientation by advertising executive managers was also hosted on July 9 during the Small and Medium Enterprise Development (SMED) Week.

Language commission tackles Capiznon orthography

By Alex Lumaque

ROXAS CITY—A round table discussion was facilitated by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) July 30th at the Provincial Capitol here to jumpstart the establishment of an orthography of the Capiz language.

KWF Commissioner Jose Laderas Santos led the discussion aimed at preserving and promoting Capiznon.

According to Santos, “A dialect is very important in the learning process especially among the pupils to easily understand the subject matter.”

The orthography will be very useful for the schools now that K to 12 education program which kick off this school year requires mother-tongue based instruction for the new program’s lessons from kindergarten to Grade 3 in both public and private schools.

Said roundtable was attended by representatives from the Department of Education (DepEd) and private schools in the city.

Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Officer Alphonsus Tesoro said that the push for Capiznon orthography is aligned with the provincial government’s thrust of preserving Capiceño culture and tradition.

Tesoro added that a series of discussions will follow as a core group for the making of the Capiznon language alphabet.

Capiznon is a member of the Visayan language family and is often confused with Hiligaynon though it has its own peculiarities and vocabulary.
It was also learned from the forum that a number of academicians are in the process of writing a Capiznon dictionary.

DTI fast-tracks issuance of helmet stickers

By Jemin Guillermo

 

Motorcycle drivers, distributors and retailers are flocking to the office of the Department of Trade and Industry to secure an Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) or Philippine Standard (PS) mark for their helmets.

 

This, after the DTI Capiz, in partnership with the Land Transportation Office and Philippine Information Agency, conducted last July 18, an information and education campaign on the implementation of Republic Act 10054 or the Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009.

 

The information campaign was by motorcycle and helmet dealers, distributors and retailers, riders and representatives from the academe, government agencies and other sectors.

 

Capiz DTI Provincial Director Ermelinda Pollentes said that Republic Act 10054 requires the wearing of standard protective motorcycle helmets by all motorcycle drivers and back riders while driving in any type of road and highway.

 

Pollentes stressed that helmets are designed to reduce the chances of serious head, brain, and facial injuries and even deaths from motorcycle crashes but are not designed to prevent injuries to other parts of the body.

 

“We are thankful to our media partners in Capiz for helping us reach the concerned people before the strict enforcement of the Helmet Law,” she said.

 

As of July 24, they have already issued some 1,098 stickers, averaging about 300 stickers being issued per day. Pollentes said that DTI has already waived the payment of P101.25 for the processing fee and sticker.

 

As of July 23, there are already 60 brands of helmets and visors approved by the agency’s Bureau of Product Standards, 59 of which were issued with ICC and one with PS certification.

 

Pollentes said they are also fast-tracking the processing and issuance of the required ICC or PS mark to the helmets that have passed the standards for the stakeholders to avoid penalties for violation of the law.

 

Earlier, LTO Roxas City head Jose Degollado, Jr. said that they have already conducted an orientation with the LTO-deputized officers such as members of the Philippine National Police in all the police stations before the RA 10054 implementation starts on August 1.

 

Degollado hopes that with the strict enforcement of the law, deaths caused by vehicular accidents involving motorcycle drivers and back riders wearing no standard protective helmets will be prevented.

 

He also warns that motorists driving without wearing the standard protective motorcycle helmet or failing to require back riders to wear the standard protective motorcycle helmet will be penalized - P1,500 for the first offense; P3,000, second; P5,000, third and P10,000 plus confiscation of driver’s license, for the succeeding offenses.

 

 

 

DSWD to release P277M to feed day-care kids

By May Rago-Castillo

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will release a total of P277 million for the implementation of Supplementary Feeding Program which will benefit a total of 185,198 children in 5,557 day care centers across Western Visayas.

The biggest chunk will go to Negros Occidental with P101 million; followed by Iloilo with P71.8 million; Antique, P30.6 million; Capiz, P21.9 million; Aklan, P20.3 million; Iloilo City, P14.8 million; Bacolod City, P6.9 million; Guimaras, P6.3 million; and Roxas City, P3.6 million. Releasing of funds will be done by municipal or city government, who are tasked to implement the program.

The Supplementary Feeding Program is the provision of food to currently enrolled day care center children, to serve as addition to their regular meals. As recommended by Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), hot meals will be provided and served during break time to 3-year-old and 4-year-old children who are enlisted in day care centers.

Aimed at improving the knowledge, attitude and practices of day care children and their parents and caregivers through intensified nutrition and health education, the program already benefited some 171,089 children enrolled in 5,448 day care centers in 2011.

According to Rebecca Geamala, Social Welfare Officer V of DSWD, the supplementary feeding program also aims to develop responsible parents. “Parents of preschoolers should finish the nine sessions under the Parent Effectiveness Service (PES).”

This program has been implemented in response to the 2006 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) conducted by the National Statistics Office which showed that 11 percent of Filipino families had income that cannot buy the food needed by family members for nutritional health and well-being.

Army considers giving 3ID lots to IPs

By Jemin Guillermo

The Philippine Army (PA) is willing to give portions of the military reservation area in Jamindan, Capiz for peace and development.

In a press statement, 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) Commanding Gen. Jose Mabanta, Jr. said that the Division is more than willing to release portions of the nation’s third largest military camp for the indigenous peoples in the area.

“For the sake of peace, we are willing to vacate portions of the military reservation area, subject, however, to the requirements of the law,” Mabanta said.

It is important that there must be a talk with the National Commission on the Indigenous People (NCIP) to reach a collective effort to facilitate and resolve the concerns for the IPs in Jamindan and Tapaz towns in Capiz, Mabanta added.

The Army’s commitment came after National Democratic Front (NDF)-Panay Spokesperson Edmund Vencer challenged the Philippine Army to take the first step of returning the Tumandok land and implementing land reform to achieve “real peace.”

“While everything is being planned out and finalized, the camp will continue to protect the people against those who attempt to take the peace we treasure today in Panay, with the 3ID as its occupant as mandated under Presidential Proclamation 67,” the general said, adding that the camp will continue fighting “for what those ahead of us, our forefathers, have fought for, so that we can continue to win the peace here in Panay.”

In a recent meeting of members of the Capiz Provincial Peace and Order Council, Gov. Victor Tanco welcomed the plan of the PA’s 3ID to distribute portions of the said land within military reservation area to the IPs living in the area.

According to Tanco, this is a welcome development that could also prove the government’s commitment and sincerity to attain peace for the development and progress in the countryside.

“To provide the Council about its current status, a representative from the NCIP will be invited during the next PPOC meeting,” Tanco said.

Dumalag woman kills 3; self

By Edalyn Acta

DUMALAG CAPIZ—Four dead bodies were found inside the house owned by Ramona Fuerte Gafate in barangay Poblacion Ilaya, Dumalag, Capiz, around 3:00 p.m. of July 31st.

The bodies were identified as Wilma Fetalino Catalan, 37, married and her two daughters Suwie and Catherine Jurie Faith, all of Brgy. Sto. Angel, Dumalag; and 86-year-old widow Ramona Fuerte Gafate.

P/Insp. Niño Leonard F. Amar, Dumalag police chief identified the suspect as Wilma Catalan, Gafate’s caretaker and distant relative.

According to Dumalag police’s spot report, Wilma had been taking care of Gafate in the latter’s house together with her children for almost a year.

Amar ruled out foul play. Based on their Scene of the Crime Operative (SOCO) investigation, they found the lifeless bodies of Wilma tightly clasping a knife in her right hand.

Amar said that Catalan killed her daughters and her ward, Gafete, as stated on his suicide letter.

At about 3:40 p.m. of July 31st, 60-year-old Martin Frac, Gafete’s nephew, went to the police station to report that there were dead bodies inside the house of his aunt, Ramona Gafete on St. Martin Street in Brgy. Poblacion Ilaya.

The police recovered a bolo, an axe and a knife from the residence.