14 Baguio City barangays oppose Camp John Hay claim over their lands

Camp John Hay in Baguio City  Photo Credit HeraldExpress

BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan and the punong barangays of the fourteen barangays within the 686-hectare Camp Jon Hay (CJH) reservation expressed their vehement opposition to the processing of the patents applied for by the John Hay Management Corporation (JHMC) over portions of the said barangays.

The local chief executive said that the act of JHMC and the State-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is in alleged violation of one of the 19 conditions imposed by the local government for the development of the former American rest and recreation center which is to segregate the area covered by the 14 barangays from the CJH reservation so that it will be the qualified individual occupants who will be processing the titles over their properties.

“We cannot understand why JHMC still continues to work on the applied patenting of various lands within the fourteen barangays when it was already brought to the attention of former JHMC officials that the local government and the concerned barangays are against the said move considering that it will defeat the purpose of the segregation of the barangays from the John Hay reservation,” Domogan stressed.

He underscored that the patenting of the lands in the different barangays as being done by the CDA and JHMC is allegedly geared towards the fact that it will be the two corporations that will eventually sell the patented properties which is not in accordance to the conditions imposed by the local government for the development of the 247-hectare John Hay Special Economic Zone (JHSEZ).

Resolution No. 362, series of 1994 provides for the 19 conditions imposed by the local government purposely to pave the way for the development of the declared 247-hectare special economic zone which was unanimously approved by the first members of the BCDA Board of Directors.

According to him, what JHMC and BCDA should do now is to fastrack the segregation of the barangays so that qualified individual homelot applicants can process the titles of their properties through the Townsite Sales Application, Miscellaneous Sales Application or patent, depending on what is applicable.

He said that he will bring the matter to the attention of the JHMC and BCDA for them to stop the processing of the applied patents over the different barangays and for the State corporations to instead fastrack the long-delayed processing of the segregation of the 14 barangays from the reservation.

He stated that the decision to patent the lands in the different barangays was spearheaded by former BCDA president and chief executive officer Arnel Paciano Casanova and JHMC president Dr. Jamie Eloise Agbayani but he is not aware if the present batch of BCDA and JHMC officials are inclined to pursue the plan as there has been no continuous dialogue between city officials and those in the BCDA and JHMC.

The BCDA and its subsidiary, the JHMC, is the manager and administrator of all former United States military bases and facilities in the country and it is mandated to allocate funds for the modernization of the armed forces through the income derived from the operation of the said installations nationwide. (HeraldExpress)

Legazpi City barangay imposes P1,000 fine for residents not registering their visitors

The inter-barangay visitors registration EO.
Interaksyon photo

A Legazpi City resident is opposing a P1,000 per day penalty proposed by her barangay if residents do not abide by the Office of the Mayor’s Executive Order No. 36-2017, which requires persons staying at another barangay for 24 hours or more to register his or her name, purpose, and duration of stay at the barangay hall.

A local government official has stressed that the municipal EO does not violate residents’ privacy, as well as their liberty of abode and traveling.

EO No. 36-2017, or “An Executive Order Prescribing Guidelines for the Inter-Barangay Travel Registration Mechanism” reasons that the registration of visitors is needed to achieve a crime- and drug-free country, and to protect barangays from drug users and pushers, as well as from criminals and other “unwanted personalities”.

In a phone interview with InterAksyon, tour operator Jessica Imperial said their barangay captain talked to her and her neighbors on Thursday about the EO, mentioning that a nearby motel should comply and proposing that there should be a penalty of P1,000 so that the EO would have “teeth”.

“You cannot make a penalty just like that,” Imperial said. “Sinong hindi aalma doon (Who wouldn’t oppose it)?”

Barangays should have uniform rules, she added. She also disagreed with the thinking that those who weren’t doing anything wrong had no reason to resist the penalty, and pointed out that their barangay hall was relatively far, meaning they would have to take a tricycle every time they had a visitor over for 24 hours or more.

“Why is this a concern for me? Because there would be room for abuse,” Imperial said. “I feel that my rights are being curtailed.”

How would the authorities know that the visitor had been staying in the resident’s home for 24 hours already?

“Ano, kakatukin ka nila sa bahay mo, ‘Hoy, may bisita ka, 24 hours na ‘yung bisita mo!’ Sasabihin mo, ‘Ay hindi, wala akong bisita.’ So what are they going to do? Are they going to enter your house and force you? ‘Ito ‘yung bisita mo, andito sa kwarto mo, ayan, tinatago mo sa cabinet, o!’” she asked.

(“Are they going to knock on your door, saying, ‘Hey, you have a visitor, and your visitor has been there for 24 hours already!’ And you say, ‘No, I don’t have a visitor.’ So what are they gonna do? Are they gonna enter your house and force you? ‘Here’s your visitor, in your room, there, hiding in your cabinet!'”)

“I may sound exaggerating, but, hey, these things can be cause for abuse. Kasi paano kung may komisyon ‘yung humuhuli (What if the enforcer has a commission to earn)? Iisipin nila, ‘May P1,000 ako kada isang huli’ (They’ll think, ‘I have P1,000 per apprehension’),” she added.

“I’m already 40 years old and this is the first time I’ve heard of this,” Imperial said, noting that she had lived in different cities in Metro Manila, as well, and had never experienced anything similar to it. She added that she had asked people who lived through Marcos-era Martial Law if they were asked to register their visitors as well, and was told that they were not.

She stressed that one’s right to privacy, right to travel, and liberty of abode are all guaranteed by Article III of the 1987 Constitution.

Nevertheless, Imperial said, she was not angry with the barangay captain, as he has no choice but to follow the EO. But, she said, they might need a crash course on lawmaking, as they shouldn’t be imposing penalties just because they wanted to.

As for Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal, she believed he had good intentions, but it was possible that his legal advisers had not studied the repercussions of the EO properly.

The inter-barangay visitors registration E.O.

In a Facebook post, Imperial suggested other ways to make their community safe: “One is the bayanihan system where we look out for each other. If there are suspicious-looking people in your community, then call 911 or a hotline number to inform the barangay.”

Also, she said that the barangay can assign roving tanods 24/7 for the residents’ security… “In subdivisions, guards ask for the ID of each visitor and also ask them what house they are going to visit. In exclusive subdivisions in Manila, guards even check first with the homeowner if they will allow the visitors to enter. Can we do this instead?”

Meanwhile, National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers secretary-general Atty. Edre Olalia called the EO “another ill-advised Big Brother scheme under the guise of order but without peace.”

“It is in open violation not only of the fundamental right to privacy but also freedom to travel and liberty of abode. Indeed it is open to question of constitutionality. The problem really is that national and local government officials and public officers take their cue and are emboldened by the draconian gimmicks and fascist fantasies of the national leadership,” he said. “(President Rodrigo) Duterte has sent the signal that brazen and orchestrated violations of individual rights is the new normal and you can let it slide in the name of the fight against criminality and drugs.”

In seeking the side of the LGU, InterAksyon was referred by a staff member of the Office of the Mayor to an Atty. Belgica from its legal office.

In reply to InterAksyon’s text, Belgica said that the LGU’s stand was in a Facebook post he/she wrote. Asked for his/her Facebook account, Belgica didn’t reply, nor did he/she answer InterAksyon’s calls.

The Facebook post is presumably that of Mayette Belgica-Cledera, which reads:

“The Mayor’s Executive Order merely requires barangays to keep a record of all non-residents who will stay in their barangay for more than 24 hours… nothing more. This is not violative of one’s liberty of abode and travel since it does not prohibit traveling from one barangay to another. Neither is it a violation of one’s privacy. All you have to give is your name. This is but akin to writing your name in the logbook before you enter government offices, or private subdivisions, or hotels, or motels, etcetera. This is not at all indicative of martial law, as some people already imply. So I hope we will not make a big issue out of this…but really, if you find the EO unconstitutional, then we welcome challenge before the proper forum. We will abide if there will be a court pronouncement to that effect. Until then, we will highly appreciate it if people will not overreact. Thank you.”

Atty. Bart Rayco of NUPL-Albay added that the Legazpi City Mayor “overreached jumping in his executive order under the pretext of maintaining peace and order and preventing criminality.”

On the registration of visitors, he said, “signing and logging in when one visits government offices is an off-beam comparison. It is certainly not similar to a visit to a relative or friend based on a very plain reason: the first is official business while the second is private.” (Interaksyon)

'Bistek' dares QC barangays to do more

Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista   Photo Credit: Manila Standard

QUEZON City Mayor Herbert Bautista is challenging the city’s 142 barangays not just to be content in meeting certain standards, but aim to exceed their targets or goals for the greater benefit of the people, as he expressed his intention to increase the incentives to the winners of the barangay Seal of Good Housekeeping awards.

Bautista said he is “ecstatic” to see the eagerness of many barangay officials in improving the services and programs they offer to their communities.

“Let us make the top prize P1 million per category. But wait, I think that is still quite small. Let us make it P2 million, while the next will get P1.5 million, to be followed by the third at P1 million, to motivate all barangay officials to do more,” he said at the 22nd Barangay Day celebration.

The event sees awards handed out to the winners of the Barangay Seal of Good Housekeeping, an initiative of the Department of the Interior and Local Government that recognizes the contributions and efforts of the barangays in Quezon City in achieving good governance.

“In the earlier years, we were just celebrating Barangay Day. Then we decided to give due recognition. We handed out awards under the Seal of Good Housekeeping of the DILG to elevate local governance at the barangay level,” Bautista said.

He called on the barangays to help the city government collect taxes and fees as they monitor commercial activities in their areas.

“If you see somebody building a house without any permit, go tell City Hall because they need to secure a building permit. You are our eyes and ears on the ground, so please tell us what’s happening in our communities,” he said.

“I implore the barangays, let’s do our part, let’s do our share in achieving good governance for our city. It is a major challenge for us. We are still and will always be the premier city of the Philippines. We won’t achieve this if we are divided.” (Manila Standard) 

4 Cebu barangays pilot-test innovative high school learning program

The Board of Trustees of Barangay Impact Visayas (BIV) Management and Support Services Corporation during the recent launching of BIV’s KA•T•ON Junior High School tutorial program which will cover four Cebu City barangays, namely: Guadalupe, Apas, Cogon Ramos and Luz; and Barangay Centro in Mandaue City. The program hopes to address the increasing dropout rates in public high schools. Photo Credits: Rosalie Abatayao / Cebu Daily News

What are the chances of a Filipino child dropping out of a public high school?

According to the Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS), 57 percent.  Of that number, 44% drop out of school due to a “lack of interest” caused by an unconducive learning environment, the students’ poverty mindset, an addiction to online gaming, and gaps in the fundamentals of learning.

Congested classrooms and the students’ unaddressed difficulties in hurdling complex subject matters, coupled with the stigma of poverty and the temptation of online gaming demotivate the students, the PIDS study added.

To keep junior high school students motivated to stay in school and reduce dropout risks, the Barangay Impact Visayas Management and Support Services Corporation partnered with four Cebu City barangays namely: Guadalupe, Apas, Cogon Ramos, and Luz to conduct a tutorial program called KA•T•ON (Kaon + Tuon).

The program will also be implemented in Barangay Centro, Mandaue City.

It all began back in December 2015, when Barangay Impact Visayas (BIV) collaborated with Barangay Luz to launch KA•T•ON tutorial sessions in the village.

BIV Chairman and CEO Monica Alipe-Enriquez, said that they wanted to immediately address the alarming dropout rate in public high schools, prompting them to go directly to the barangay level.

“The barangay was our best entry to touch based with our targeted beneficiaries with the fact that they knew their constituents that could qualify in the program,” said Alipe-Enriquez.

By January 2016, BIV launched the first cycle of KA•T•ON in Barrio Luz, in coordination with its barangay officials who provided them a list of 40 students and a place for them to conduct their tutorials and other activities.

Since the program kicked off, there has been significant improvements in the academic performance among the tutees.

Ronnel Lambayong was a Grade 8 student when he joined the program as one of the pioneer tutees of the Barangay Luz.

According to Ronnel, before he joined the program, he felt left behind in his subjects especially Mathematics.

But just a year after, he consistently participated in the Kat-on sessions. Ronnel has reinvented himself as a Math wizard, even representing his school in a Math Challenge competition.

“Pagkahibaw sa among mga tutor sa Kat-on nga apil ko sa contest, ila jud ko gitabangan para makapangandam ko. Ila ko gihatagan og mga formula para inig solve sa mga math problems,” Ronnel said. (When my tutors found out that I was joining the competition, they helped me to prepare. They gave me formulas to solve the Math problems.)

A cycle of KA•T•ON tutorial is equivalent to a grading period in the calendar of the Department of Education.

For teachers in public schools attending to an average of 70-80 students per classroom, it is nearly impossible to keep track of the students’ development as well as their difficulties.

Motivating students

The KA•T•ON tutorials provide students their badly-needed focus.

Mel Yan of (BIV) explains that the program’s learning materials and the objectives accomplished in their tutorial activities are patterned after the curriculum designed by DepEd.

For parents like Charlene Ambray, a mother of two who was in constant fear that her children might be the next school dropouts, KA•T•ON is an avenue that provides her children with a focused learning experience and a way to keep them from online gaming without the burden of expenses.

Louise Mendoza, a third year Bachelor of Secondary Education student majoring in Math and Physics, who spent time in Barangay Luz tutoring the kids in the village, shares her most valuable memories.

“When they say that ’Ate Louise, nakapasar ko sa akong English test nya sa una kay di ko kapasar ato’ (Ate Louise, I passed my English test which I couldn’t pass before), or that they have higher scores in their Math quiz because we reviewed their lessons, it’s more than just fulfilling,” said Mendoza.

Aside from Louise, there are 7 more volunteer tutors of KA•T•ON in Barangay Luz, for a 1 tutor to 5 tutees ratio.

All tutors of KA•T•ON undergo training and are certified before each cycle begins.

The tutors include subject matter experts, an International English Language Testing System (IELTS)-certified instructor for English and a licensed engineer for Math.

Alipe-Enriquez encouraged young professionals, college students and even retirees to volunteer as tutors for the children.

The application mechanics are available in the KA•T•ON social media page.

KA•T•ON is a play of two Cebuano words, “Kaon” (To Eat) and “Tuon” (To Study) as the program also provides entrepreneurship exposure to the tutees through SioHiongPao (Siomai-Ngohiong-Siopao) kiosks in strategic locations around the barangay.

Part of the proceeds of the food business are used to help sustain the grassroots learning program. (Cebu Daily News)

Two houses to unify barangay election bill

Photo credit: Richard V. Viñas / Manila Bulletin

Malacañang is optimistic that two chambers of Congress would harmonize their versions of the bill on the barangay poll postponement.

“The Palace welcomes the approval of Senate Bill No 1584, or the Act Postponing the October 2017 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Elections, on its third and final reading,” Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said.

“We hope for the immediate enactment of the law and call on our citizens to support the measure as the Senate and the House of Representatives go for a bicameral conference to start working and harmonizing their versions of the bill,” he said.

The Senate recently passed the bill postponing the barangay and SK polls from October this year to May 2018 after receiving a certification of the bill as urgent from President Duterte. The senators, however, removed the provision that would let the President to appoint officers-in-charge in barangays. The incumbent barangay officials, instead, will keep their positions until the next polls are held.

The House earlier approved the bill postponing the barangay polls to May 2018. The bill also allows barangay officials to remain in a holdover position.

The President had earlier pushed for the postponement of the October 2017 barangay and SK polls to prevent the influence of drug money in the polls. Duterte, however, refused to accept the power to appoint the officers-in-charge in barangays to dispel speculation he was holding too much power.

“The President’s stance remains clear and consistent: He wants the barangay and SK elections to be postponed,” Abella said. (Manila Bulletin)

Romblon barangays infested by 'cocolisap'

The PCA has already ordered leaf pruning to prevent the cocolisap from spreading. Photo Credit: Philstar 

Coconut scale insect, or cocolisap, has reached Romblon, the Philippine Coconut Authority office in the province confirmed Monday.

 

Romblon News Network, citing agriculturist Protacio Rubia of PCA-Romblon, reports that cocolisap has affected 1,000 to 1,500 trees in Barangay Pangulo in Calatrava and Barangay Carmen in San Agustin.

The coconut scale insect eats a coconut tree's leaves fruits and flowers, leaving only the trunk. The tree can no longer be saved at that point.

 

Rubia said there may be other trees that have also been infested.

 

Around 85 percent of farmers in Romblon depend on coconut farming, the PCA said, adding coconuts are the province's primary product. Coconut farmers like Arnold Marin are worried that the infestation could affect their income from copra, Romblon News Network reported.

 

The PCA has already ordered leaf pruning to prevent the cocolisap from spreading. (Philstar) 

Women in Dinagat seashore barangays gets livelihood support from mining firm

Women workers of Cagdianao Mining Corp., gifted with a “green thumb”, plant and nurture trees as part of the company’s mine-rehabilitation efforts. (Photo credits: Business Mirror)

For 60-year-old Leopold B. Ortiz, President of the Boa Fisherfolk Association (BFA) based in Cagdianao, Dinagat Islands, the onset of the “ber” months is bad news.  During the ber months, he said, the Amihan sets in.

“Beginning September, we can no longer go out to fish in open waters,” Ortiz said.

Like most Dinagat Islands settlers, fishing is a way of life for Ortiz.  But fishing, he said, is a risky business.

He added they could only fish from April to August, when they are able to catch fish ranging from 3 kilos to 15 kilos.  After that, fishing activities stop, and they have to rely on the crops they plant for food.

“One time, I almost got myself killed because the wind was strong and the tide was big,” he told the BusinessMirror in his native Visayan tongue.

Fortunately, he said, they are now getting the much-needed support from the Cagdianao Mining Corp. (CMC), which operates a nickel mine on Dinagat Islands.  CMC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC), the country’s largest producer of nickel.

Being part of the mining company’s host community, the 69 BFA members provided financial and technical assistance to start their own “Tilapia Culture Project”.

In July 2015 the CMC started the construction of a 986-square-meter fish pond and provided a capitalization of P165,000.  In less than a month, the project and the culture of tilapia began.

Members of the group were tasked to do site clearing and clean-up in the project location in Purok 3, Barangay Boa, while the CMC took care of the construction, which costs around P877,000.

Through the CMC, the members of the BFA now manage and operate a small tilapia-raising project with the help of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR).

Today, members of the group no longer have to risk their lives fishing in open waters during the so-called ber  months, which extends up until March of the following year to put food on the table.

“It’s a big help.  Because of our earnings from raising tilapia, we are able to make ends meet,” he said.

Like BFA, a group of women in Barangay Valencia called Valencia Cagdianao Sewer’s Association continue to get support from the CMC.  Organized in November 2013, the group now runs their own business.

The group has 26 members.  With the help of the CMC, the members of the group were provided training by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) and, through the years, honed their skills in dress-making, curtain-making, T-shirt printing, labeling, and packaging.  They are also now into tailoring sportswear uniforms.

The company provided them livelihood building, facilitated the training and seminars, provided training materials plus 17 units of sewing machines, including four high-speed sewing machines.

Abdulia A. Valiente, 51, president of the Valencia Cagdianao Sewers Association, said their members’ earnings daily from sewing has more than doubled—from an average of P150 a day to P350 a day—because the company orders from the group the T-shirt, sportswear uniform and even school-uniform requirement students of elementary and high school studying in CMC-adopted schools.

The company has six adopted schools, namely, Valencia Integrated School, Boa Elementary School, Maytubig Elementary School, Bayanihan Elementary School, Cabiton-an Elementary School and Legaspi Elementary School.

The group is also accepting uniform-repair jobs for employees of the mining company.

Jamaica P. Nena, CMC’s community organizer for barangays Boa and Legaspi, said around 40 percent of the company’s annual fund for its Social Development Management Program (SDMP) is spent for the livelihood projects in host communities.

“Through our projects and partnership with the communities, we are able to provide them livelihood support, making them more productive,” she added.

She said the tilapia grown by the BFAR are bought by the company, which they cook and offer in the canteen or for company employees’ meetings or any event, including mine visits.

“The Valencia Sewer’s Association makes the school uniform of students going to our adopted schools,” Nena added.

CMC has 300 mine workers in the production section alone, working in three shifts.  Most of the company’s workers are residents of Cagdianao and other towns in Dinagat Islands.

The company also hires women workers, providing jobs to an often discriminated sector of society.  Some women work as safety officers, enforcing safety rules in the mine, or as environmental workers assigned in the tree-nursery, planting and nurturing trees during rehabilitation of mined-out areas.

The company’s nickel-mining operation is expected to continue in the next 20 years, extracting and exporting nickel ores to China. (BusinessMirror)