As one of the highlights of the National Children’s Month
Celebration, the City Government of Naga delivered the State of Our
Children Report (SOCR) and Awarding of the 2018 Search for Most
Child-Friendly Barangay Awards, Nov. 27 at the Avenue Convention Plaza,
here.
This is consistent with Ordinance No. 2014-072 sponsored by City
Councilor and Naga City Council for the Welfare and Protection of
Children (NCCWPC) Co-Chairman Elmer S. Baldemoro, which strengthens the
Barangay Councils for the Protection of Children (BCPC) in the 27
Barangays of the City of Naga by providing incentives through the
institutionalization of the Most-Child Friendly Barangay Awards. The
search was conducted from October 22 - 30, 2018.
Topping the award is Barangay Abella with a rating of 96.40%,
followed by Brgy. Sabang, 2nd Place with a rating of 96%; Brgy. Carolina
- 3rd Place with a rating of 94.10%; Brgy. Dinaga- 4th Place with a
rating of 92.50% and Brgy. Bagumbayan Norte on 5th Place with a rating
of 90.50%.
Recipient of the top awards received P1M, P700K, P500K, P300K, and P200K worth of projects and trophies, respectively.
Meanwhile, the 6th to 10th Place went to Brgys. Del Rosario, Calauag,
Panicuason, Concepcion Grande and Igualdad, respectively, each received
P100K worth of projects and trophy.
For Baldemoro, the Award is one way of giving recognition to the
accomplishments of every barangay on the programs of the children.
“This is one way of expressing gratitude by the City Government of
Naga, because Naga cannot be the Most Child-Friendly City without the
support and cooperation of the barangays. The barangays have a big part
on it,” Baldemoro said.
The implementation of the Search for the Most Child-Friendly Barangay
Awards was spearheaded by the City Government of Naga thru the Naga
City Council for the Welfare and Protection of Children (NCCWPC) headed
by Mayor John Bongat as Chairman and Councilor Baldemoro as
Co-Chairman. (Jam Madrid)
Source of news and photo: Philippine Information Agency
In Photo: Naga City Officials (top row) headed by Mayor John G. Bongat (4th from
right) and Vice Mayor Nelson Legacion (5th from right) pose with the
barangay officials of Barangay Abella, this year's top winner of the
2018 Search for the Most Child-Friendly Barangays Awards during the
awarding ceremony held Nov. 27 at the Avenue Convention Plaza, Naga
City.
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The city government has deputized 390 barangay officials from Baguio’s 128 barangays to help enforce the plastic-free ordinance.
City
Information Office chief Aileen Refuerzo said Friday Mayor Mauricio
Domogan issued Administrative Order (AO) No. 171 series of 2018,
deputizing three representatives from each of the 128 barangays -- the
barangay captain, barangay kagawad assigned on health and sanitation and
ecological and environment committee, and his kagawad alternate -- to
implement Ordinance No. 35-17, or the Plastic and Styrofoam-Free Baguio
City Ordinance.
“The AO named the group as the ‘Plastic
Carry/Shopping Bags and Styrofoam-Free Baguio Task Force or Task Force
Anti-Plastic’,” Refuerzo said.
They will join members of the task
force, led by the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO),
and the General Services Office (GSO), City Treasury Office, the Baguio
City Police Office (BCPO), the business permit and licensing, public
order and safety division, and public information divisions of the City
Mayor’s Office.
Under the ordinance, “the task force will be in
charge of issuing notices of violation, citation tickets indicating
corresponding penalty or reprimand and confiscating and seizing the
prohibited materials to be turned over to the Public Order and Services
Division (POSD) of the City Mayor’s Office, along with the violators."
The
deputized agents will also lead in the
information-education-communication campaign of the ordinance and the
orientation and training for the barangay officials.
The
newly-deputized members of the task force will submit to the GSO a
weekly report with copies of the notices of violation and/or citation
tickers for proper monitoring.
Last September, Domogan deputized 43
operatives from the city government offices as force multipliers in
addition to the original members who will implement the Plastic and
Styrofoam-Free Baguio City Ordinance.
Refuerzo also noted that
“only the sale, distribution and use of plastic carry or shopping bags
and Styrofoam (are) prohibited and as such, stores cannot provide
clients with plastic bags.”
Under the ordinance, customers can
provide their own carry or shopping bags, so long as these are not made
of plastic and that Styrofoam cannot be used as containers for cooked or
raw food.
Plastic containers can be used as alternative for these
types of food but must be carried in bags that are not made of plastic.
The only exception for the prohibition is the use of plastic bags for
primary packaging of wet goods and items.
Ordinance No. 35-17
prohibits business establishments from providing customers any plastic
bag or polystyrene foam container for goods or items purchased or
serving food or drink, take out or dine-in to customers in polystyrene
containers or in plastic bags and will cover all business activities and
establishments in the city, including city government schools and
offices.
Violators face reprimand or immediate closure for
establishments or a PHP1,000 fine for first offense; PHP3,000 and eight
hours of community service for second offense; PHP5,000 for third
offense; and suspension of business permit for six months for fourth
offense.
Source of news: Philippine News Agency
Source of photo, eco bags: Herald Express
THE Sangguniang Kabataan Federation in Iloilo province is awaiting
the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) guidelines on
SK financial transactions.
Iloilo SK Federation President and Board Member Ma. Angelica Bianca
Requinto said the lack of guidelines affects the implementation of
programs and activities by the youth sector body.
Requinto said that the SK still follows the old procedure wherein the
village chief must sign every financial document pertaining to the
disbursement of SK money, which is sourced from the general fund of the
barangay.
SK Federation presidents passed during the 12th National Youth
Parliament a resolution asking concerned agencies to hasten the issuance
of the guidelines.
Requinto said they seek financial independence so that they can implement projects without relying to much on elder leaders.
During the SK National Summit, the DILG already assured that the
guidelines would be released before the year ends, Requinto said.
COMMENDABLE
Requinto said she continues to push for policies that will benefit SK officials.
Requinto’s youth bill entitled “An Act institutionalizing the
Benefits and Privileges of Sangguniang Kabataan Officials in Addition to
the Provisions of Republic Act No. 10742, otherwise Known as the SK
Reform Law” was among the top 10 recognized bills during the 12th
National Youth Parliament.
The bill seeks to exempt an SK official from taking National Service
Training Program-Civic Welfare Training Service (NSTP-CWTS); become
Civil Service-eligible after his or her term; be included in the
PhilHealth coverage by the national government; and be granted
honoraria.
It intends to strengthen the existing SK Reform Law, Requinto added.
SK CONGRESS
The concerns on financial transactions and SK officials’ benefits,
among others, will be tackled in the SK Provincial Congress starting
today, Dec 1 until Dec 3, 2018.
Plenary sessions and youth forums will be conducted to address the
matters on health, global mobility, active citizenship, economic
empowerment, and education. (Gail T. Momblan.)
Source of news: The Daily Guardian.
Source of photo: Politiko Visayas
Authorities said 810 barangays in Cebu Province are affected by illegal drugs this year.
That
is more than 75 percent of the province’s 1,066 barangays, according to
the data of the Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Office (CPADAO) and the
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
The drug affectation rate this year, though, is lower compared to the 90 percent affection recorded in 2016.
Of
the 810 barangays, 14 are seriously affected by the drug problem, 403
are moderately affected and 393 are slightly affected, said CPADAO
executive director Ivy Meca.
She said 11 barangays are not
infested with illegal drugs. The regional oversight committee, led by
PDEA, also gave drug-cleared statuses to 245 barangays.
Meca presented her report during the year-end assessment of Capitol’s departments.
She said not a single drug-cleared barangay has been stripped of its status.
She
said they’ve been monitoring these barangays and the CPADAO points out
any mistake that these barangays need to correct to keep their status.
Source of news: SunStar Cebu
Photo Credit, Cebu Provincial Capitol Bldg.: cebu.gov.ph
(Editor's Note: This is a follow-up story on an earlier COA probe which came out in the leading dailies.)
The Department of the Interior and Local Government has cleared the
Manila City Government of the 27 “nonexistent” barangays in the city
that allegedly received real property tax shares amounting to P108.733
million after they were flagged by the Commission on Audit.
The investigation released by the DILG-Manila Field Office under Atty.
Rolynne Javier revealed that the barangays identified and questioned by
COA were actually existing with temporary barangay names and codes.
The DILG also said the fund of the so called “Barangay 10” which
received P365,000 in tax shares remains intact and has been deposited to
the City’s Trust Fund Account.
Interior department officials said, the City of Manila, which has 896
barangays recognized by their numerical numbers, were not yet officially
classified as such by the DILG.
Barangay numbers in Manila go from 1 to 905, including the dissolved barangays with sub-A markings.
Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada was relieved by the DILG report.
Saying he was pleased by the investigation, he added his administration
will not resort to any anomaly to pocket public funds.
Estrada said he will fulfill his promise to rid the city of its
financial liabilities and claimed that under his watch he will continue
to make the city debt-free.
Source of news: The Manila Standard
Photo credit, the Manila City Hall: Rappler
An estimated 2,349 Barangay Service Point Officers (BSPOs) are
holding a congress today at the Iloilo Sports Complex in Magsaysay
Village, La Paz, Iloilo City.
The congress’ theme is “BSPO, Malipayon nga Nagaserbisyo Boluntaryo.”
The 2,349 BSPOs are serving 1,721 barangays of the province.
According
to Provincial Population Office (PPO) head Ramon Yee, the congress is a
venue for BSPOs to exchange views, share best practices and strengthen
ties.
BSPOs help implement various programs of the provincial government,
and particularly the PPO. They gather demographic data every month such
as the population of the barangays, number of births and deaths, number
of overseas workers, etc.
BSPOs also help the PPO record the number of out-of-school youths, cases of teen pregnancies and deliveries.
According
to Yee, these data are valuable. Local governments can use them to plan
and implement programs and projects to address local concerns such as
poverty.
BSPOs do these as volunteers not receiving monthly compensation, said
Yee, thus it is only fitting that their volunteerism is recognized.
BSPOs
only receive honoraria from the barangays where they serve. Each
December, the provincial government releases cash allowance to them.
This year (next month) each of them are set to receive P4,000 each.
In today’s congress, they would be given materials to aid in their work such as notebooks, pens and staplers.
Source of news: Panay News
Barangay councils should make sure that their helpdesks
for abused women are functional, a social welfare official said.
“Abuses
against women continue. Barangay councils should be the first
responders,” said May Rago, information officer of the Department of
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Western Visayas.
DSWD is leading an 18-day campaign to end violence against women (VAW) from Nov. 25 to Dec. 15.
Villages (barangays) in Western Visayas should ensure that their
desks for victims of Violence Against Women (VAW) are functional, a
social welfare official said here Friday.
"We have to acknowledge
that the occurrence of abuses against women continues to happen and the
barangay should be the first responder to victims,” May Rago,
Information Officer of the Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD) 6 (Western Visayas), said in the light of the 18-day campaign to
end VAW in the country from Nov. 25 until December 15.
According
to Rago, the presence of VAW desks in villages is essential because it
provides opportunity for women victims to report the abuses.
“It
should be reported to prevent it because if it will not be reported,
your partner would think that it is normal and more likely, he will
repeat the violence,” she said.
Rago also encouraged women to seek
help from their local social welfare and development office and members
of the Philippine National Police.
She stressed that every abuse
against women is alarming and should not be tolerated because it is
against the right of the person.
The DSWD has established a
Regional Center for Women to provide protective and rehabilitative
services among women survivors of abuse and violence and help them
resolve their problems and restore their normal social functioning.
Located at New Lucena, Iloilo, the center caters to 21 women, nine of whom are survivors of VAW.
They
are provided with social, home life, educational, psychological,
health, entrepreneurial, recreational, developmental and spiritual
services.
Source of News: Philippine News Agency
Photo credit: YouTube
