With efforts of the Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to build empowered communities, about a
million individuals from 553 barangays received various projects
through the region’s flagship program dubbed ARMM’s Health, Education,
Livelihood, Peace and Governance, and Synergy (ARMM-HELPS).
Since the program’s implementation in 2014, the regional government
has earmarked P6.2 billion for high-impact projects. ARMM Governor Mujiv
Hataman reiterated that the regional government continues to make
greater progress in improving the quality of the peoples’ lives, improve
their living environment, and create more development opportunities in
beneficiary communities.
Official data from ARMM-HELPS showed a total of 1,062 of 1,713
infrastructure projects targeted for construction were completed, 374 of
563 cooperatives were served, and 257 of 530 barangay halls were built.
“Projects for 2018 are on-going and we hope to implement all of these
before the transition to the new Bangsamoro entity,” Anwar Upahm,
ARMM-HELPS program manager said.
ARMM-HELPS is a convergence initiative of the regional government and
is regarded as the centerpiece of the Hataman administration. It was
established to achieve a more coordinated and focused intervention at
the barangay level and eventually to create maximum impact of services
delivered to the community.
Projects include provision of essential medicines, setting up of
birthing facilities, construction of barangay health stations and water
and sanitation projects, construction of community learning centers,
support to standard madrasah development program, and delivery of basic
livelihood and enterprising projects, among others.
Gov. Hataman said he is confident that before the new Bangsamoro
political entity comes in, the ARMM government has already helped
improve the lives of at least a million Bangsamoro people and has
strengthened local governance in the region.
“Ito naman talaga ang goal natin na maramdaman ng mga kababayan natin
na may gobyernong handang tumulong sa kanila,” Gov. Hataman added. The
projects that have not been completed since 2014, will be finished
within this year, said Upahm of ARMM-HELPS.
(Source: Bureau of Public Information-ARMM website)
Three hundred twenty one barangays in Bohol were recently declared
drug-cleared by the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA),
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and other members
of the Regional Oversight Committee (ROC).
Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) chairman Catalino Cuy and Bohol Governor
Edgar Chatto led the awarding of certificates to the chairmen of the
drug-cleared communities yesterday at the Bohol Cultural Center.
Chatto told the Manila Bulletin that the province originally
recommended 556 barangays as drug-cleared, but only 321 as of press time
were approved since the other barangays lacked the required
documentation for final endorsement.
“We will pursue and do some follow-up on the remaining 200 plus
barangays for the next batch of declaration of drug-cleared barangays,”
Chatto said.
Thorough monitoring
Chatto thanked the PDEA, DILG and ROC for painstakingly engaging and monitoring the barangays down to the ‘purok’ level.
The ROC is made up of the Central Visayas heads of the PDEA, DILG,
Philippine National Police (PNP) and Department of Health (DOH).
Chatto added that the challenge now is for the other barangays to be
cleared as well, while those already cleared have to maintain their
status.
DILG-Central Visayas OIC-Regional Director Loisella Lucino said that Bohol’s monitoring is done down to the ‘purok’ level.
She said the reporting includes all ‘puroks’ to identify and report drug users, even if the subject only used drug once.
“Our number of cleared barangays showed how serious we are in our
anti-drug programs involving our puroks and even at the
households,” Lucino said.
Multi-sectoral support
“Bohol is now the best-performing province in terms of barangay drug
clearing and, by percentage, has now the least drug affectation,” Chatto
declared.
Chatto cited the multi sector involvement in the province’s anti-drug program.
He lauded the Center for Drug Education and Counselling program
headed by Dr. Cesar Lopez and the Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation
Program-Without Walls (CBRP-WoW) that involves the church/religious
sector.
Galing Pook Award candidate
In a related development, the national Galing Pook Award evaluators
over the weekend assessed Bohol’s “Kontra Druga Para sa Pamilya” program
through the Countryside oDevelopment Program – Purok Power Movement
(CDP-PPM).
“ The Galling Pook Award has recognized our noteworthy
accomplishment, that’s why they came over to inspect and validate our
CDP-PPM, the CEDEC and the CBRP-WoW, said CEDEC head Dr. Cesar Lopez. (Minerva BC Newman)
(Source: Manila Bulletin). Photo credit loboc river bohol: www.panglao-bohol.com
Newly elected barangay officials in this city have
started their training/orientation on governance under the Department of
the Interior and Local Government.
The close to 2,000 trainees include Sangguniang Kabataan chairpersons from 180 barangays.
They will be trained by batch. In a three-day training/orientation, they will be taught on the following, among others:
* barangay legislation
* functions of the Peace and Order Council and the Anti-Drug Abuse Council
* procurement
* Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees
* planning
* budgeting
The
first batch including 140 trainees were trained from Wednesday to
Friday last week, according to DILG-Iloilo City director Ferdinand
Panes.
Panes said they hope to cover all 15 batches of trainees by October.
“We could not just give them advice piecemeal,” the DILG official said of the importance of the training.
The
DILG-Iloilo City coordinated with the Liga ng mga Barangay and the
Iloilo City government in coming up with the training design based on a
module from the DILG regional office.
Meanwhile Panes warned barangay officials about unauthorized organizations offering trainings on legislation.
There
was one that coordinated with the DILG central office but did not wait
for the guidelines before conducting the training, Panes said without
naming the organization.
Panes warned about faulty information
that may be discussed during such trainings. “Only accredited
institutions are allowed to conduct trainings,” he stressed. (With PNA)
Source: Panay News. Photo credit: DILG-Iloilo City
As part of the continuing campaign aimed at
reducing demand for illegal drugs, the Philippine Drug Enforcement
Agency (PDEA) is pushing for the creation of a uniform anti-drug
advocacy program for Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) nationwide.
According to PDEA Director General Aaron N. Aquino, the uniformed
anti-drug advocacy programs for SK will be implemented in coordination
with the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and Department of Interior and
Local Government (DILG).
During the SK Summit in Bren Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando,
Pampanga last Aug. 2, Aquino urged the 8,000 SK officials who attended
the event to organize less basketball tournaments and beauty pageants
and focus more on organizing anti-drug advocacy programs.
“SKs has a 5 percent annual budget from the barangay funds that can
be used for the implementation of anti-drug advocacy programs in their
community,” Aquino said.
Aquino also cited the capability of the youth in utilizing technology
as a way to effectively disseminate information against the drug
menace.
“SK officials can use the different social media platforms in
disseminating correct information to the youth. They can discourage
young people from using illegal drugs and educate them on the harmful
impact of this industry to an individual and to the society as a whole,”
he said, adding that youth leaders are also role models in their
respective barangays, municipalities and cities.
“We dream to have a country that is free of drug menace. We want to
put an end to the killings and the criminality brought about by the
illegal drug industry. We dream of a nation with proud and rich culture
untainted by anomalies, corruption, greed and crime. We encourage you to
share this dream and start putting it into reality,” Aquino said.
“The youth is the voice of this nation. So, we appeal to them to
maximize such power and help the government change the future of this
country. They have the capacity to communicate among their peers, reach
out to them and understand them in many ways we cannot as adults, as
parents,” the PDEA chief added. (CD)
Source: PTV News. Photo credit: PDEA
Newly-elected barangay youth leaders
in this city gathered during the 1st Bacolod City Youth Leaders
Convention on Sunday for an orientation on the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK)
Reform Act or Republic Act 10742.
SK Federation Bacolod president
Ayesha Joy Villaflor said the convention aims to provide knowledge and
understanding among the new youth leaders about the law.
“Since this is a new law, it is hard for us since we cannot fully understand what it is all about,” she said.
Fifty-six out of the 61 SK chairpersons attended.
Villaflor said the SK leaders also learned how to draft resolutions.
She
added that since the barangay youth sector has been granted fiscal
economy under the SK Reform Act, they are waiting for the guidelines
from the Commission on Audit on how they could utilize the SK budget.
The
SK fund has been separated from that of the Barangay Council and they
are now free to use and appropriate their funds allied with youth
advocacy, Villaflor said.
The SK Reform Act mandates both the
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the National
Youth Commission (NYC) to jointly design and implement the mandatory and
continuing training programs for SK officials.
These include
capability building on leadership, program and project development and
sustainability, financial management, and accountability and
transparency.
Assistant Secretary Jonathan Malaya had earlier said
the DILG had developed modules for the new set of SK officials aimed at
equipping the youth leaders with the necessary skills to perform their
functions well.
Malaya also said that during their incumbency, SK
officials must attend the continuing training programs to be undertaken
by the NYC in coordination with the DILG.
The DILG official
pointed out that another innovation of the SK Reform Act is that SK
officials will have a chance in truly participating in local governance
with the creation of a Local Youth Development Council composed of
representatives of youth and youth-serving organizations at the
provincial, city, and municipal levels. (Nanette Guadalquiver)
Source: Philippine News Agency. Photo Credit: Bacolod City PIO)
THE Office of the Building Official (OBO) in Bacolod City served a
notice of violation to village chieftain Bob Asan of Barangay 3 for the
construction of the barangay hall without a building permit and
certificate of occupancy.
Engineer Isidro Sun Jr., head of OBO,
said yesterday they served the notice of violation on July 27 and the
barangay officials were given three days to report at OBO at the Bacolod
Government Center.
Barangay 3 officials violated Sections 301 and 309 of the National Building Code (PD 1096).
Section
301 stated that no person, firm or corporation, including any agency or
instrumentality of the government, shall construct alter, repair,
convert, use, occupy, move, demolish and add any building/structure or
any portion thereof or cause the same to be done without obtaining a
building permit thereof from the OBO assigned in the place where the
subject building is located or to be done.
Section 309 also
stated that no building or structure shall be used or occupied and no
change in the existing use or occupancy classification of a building or
structure or portion thereof shall be made until the Building Official
has issued a certificate of occupancy therefore as provided in this
Code.
A certificate of occupancy shall be issued by the Building
Official within 30 days if final inspection and submittal of a
certificate of completion referred to in the proceeding section, it is
found that the building or structure complies with the provision of this
Code.
Asan said they are willing to comply with their violations and he will communicate with OBO.
He
said the barangay hall was constructed in 1998 and he did not know that
the building has no building permit and occupancy permit.
On
July 30, Jose Max Ortiz, legal counsel of Ma. Gizela Palomares-Ablaña,
also sent a letter to Mayor Evelio Leonardia requesting for the removal
of the two-storey barangay hall and the day-care center which are all
constructed or standing on road lots owned by Capitol Subdivision Inc.
situated in Barangay 3.
Ortiz said the said structure which was
illegally constructed have caused great disturbance to their client for
years despite her regular complaint to the barangay of the noise
pollution as well as the inconvenience of having full access to her lot.
He said this matter has also been brought to the attention of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
He
added they are hopeful that the City Government will heed to their
request that the said structures be removed or demolished within 30 days
from receipt of the letter. (Merlinda Pedrosa)
Source: SunStar Bacolod. Photo credit: Panay News.
The Provincial Environment
and Natural Resources Sub-Office in this province has recently conducted
an orientation to the newly-elected barangay officials of the
municipality of Quezon.
The orientation, which is a part of the agency's information,
education and communication program, was conducted by PENRO- Isabela
sub-office Head Enrique Pasion, (at the rostrum in photo) where he discussed various environment
laws being implemented by the environment department.
Among them were Presidential Decree 705 or the Revised Forest Reform
Code of the Philippines of 1975, Chain Saw Act and the Ecological Solid
Waste Management Act.
Pasion reminded barangay officials to be careful in signing Certifications or documents on Land Titling to avoid problems.
He said barangay officials are partners of the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and barangay leaders have
important responsibilities in ensuring that environmental laws are
implemented being in the frontline and knew the real situation in their
respective areas.
The DENR official urged barangay leaders to report to the DENR or
other law enforcement agencies if there are violators of environmental
laws like illegal logging, illegal transporting of forest products, kaingin and several other violations.
“Our agency is sincere in protecting the remaining natural resources
in our area of jurisdiction and violators must stop their illegal
activities,” Pasion said during the orientation. (Merlito G. Edale)
Source: Philippine Information Agency
