CEBU, Philippines (PNA) — The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said Friday it recently distributed 80 hectares of agricultural land to 29 farmers in barangay Gaway-Gaway, San Remigio town in northern Cebu.

DAR Secretary Virgilio delos Reyes urged the new farmer-beneficiaries to make the most out of the land that was previously owned by the Martinez Agricultural Corporation (MAC) by working harder towards doubling their produce.

DAR-Cebu officials encouraged them to organize themselves into a cohesive organization that is worthy of DAR assistance through the provision of support services.

EARLY ENROLLMENT SET IN W.V. SATURDAY

ILOILO CITY, Philippines (PNA) — The public schools here in Western Visayas are now ready to cater to incoming preschoolers, Grade I and first high school students who will troop for their early enrollment Saturday.

Department of Education (DepEd) regional science supervisor Toribio Berano said their regional director Dr. Mildred Garay has ensured that all school superintendents are already furnished with the DepEd Order No. 2, series of 2011 declaring Jan. 29 as the Early Registration Day for school year 2011-2012. He said DepEd has set the early registration day to boost enrollment for the next school year.

D.O.H. 7 TO HIRE OVER 600 NURSES

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Department of Health (DoH) Central Visayas Field Office is set to hire over 600 unemployed professional nurses in line with the departments Registered Nurses for Health Enhancement And Local Service program, which is expected to address the shortage of skilled and experienced nurses in 1,221 rural and unserved or underserved communities in the country.

Lourdes Tudlasan, DoH7 in charge on human resources and development, said Central Visayas will be hiring a total of 669 nurses to be deployed in the four provinces of the region. (Phoebe Jen Indino)

ARMY ADDRESSES TROOPS’ TRAUMA

ILOILO CITY, Philippines – The Philippine Army in Western Visayas has assured that it is properly addressing psychological problems of war-shocked soldiers.

Army regional spokesman, 1Lt. Mark Andrew Posadas said the Army has programs that deal with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He made the statement after a retired soldier held his own family hostage in Leganes, Iloilo recently.

Posadas disclosed that the 3rd Infantry Division has been outsourcing civilian psychologists for the past several years to conduct psychological screenings on soldiers as a preventive measure. However, he said the army lacks its own psychologists who can continually monitor soldiers while providing counseling and therapy. (Tara Yap)

T.E.S.D.A. CERTIFIES 315 NEW GRADUATES

SAN JOSE, Antique, Philippines — The Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) has certified 315 new graduates of various courses for the school year 2010-2011.

Marilyn Aguilar, OIC Provincial Director TESDA Antique, said they include students from accredited schools who took the assessment with TESDA accredited assessors.

The graduates who passed the assessment, Aguilar said, were given National Certificates which they can use in seeking employment here or abroad. (Mars W. Mosqueda Jr.)