MANILA, Philippines — Six fishermen were rescued by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) last Sunday morning after a fishing vessel capsized and sank off Lubang Island in Occidental Mindoro.

The Coast Guard Action Center in Manila said they had received information that a fishing boat was missing after it was hammered by giant waves along the vicinity off Lubang Island last Saturday evening.

The vessel was carrying six crew members identified as Gregorio Aboy, Jimmy Candelaria, Bejamin Austria, Francisco Polingon, Marlon Bultron and Kim Suk Hab. The PCG Station in Calapan immediately dispatched rescue personnel who successfully located and rescued the missing crew members who were later turned over to their respective families. (John Carlo M. Cahinhinan)

P12.9-B Isabela project pushed
SN Aboitiz has committed to pursue a P12.9-billion, 100 megawatt (MW) hydroelectric facility in Isabela in conjunction with the National Convergence Initiative (NCI) for the largely agricultural province. Agriculture Undersecretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat also said a note verbale from the Korean International Cooperation Agency (Koica) indicated that Seoul is pushing for the implementation of the East Asia Climate Change Project at a cost of P473 million.

She said the project will be revalidated and finalized in April this year. (Marvyn N. Benaning)

Pampanga tackles waste problem
SAN FERNANDO CITY, Pampanga – Gov. Lilia G. Pineda urged Pampanga lawmakers Monday to take initiatives for legislative measure in Congress to amend the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

The governor also asked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau to act immediately and to create team to minimize the waste problem in the province.

The officials of Pampanga Environment and Natural Resources recently admitted that some of the firms in Pampanga, despite having DENR Environment Certificate of Compliance, violate laws because they do not properly dispose their solid and liquid wastes. (Franco G. Regala)

Land distribution pushed in Kalinga
TABUK, Kalinga – The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Provincial Office here is working hard to distribute 951 hectares of landholdings to Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) beneficiaries in the province in order to achieve its land distribution targets before the expiration of the agrarian reform law by 2014.

OIC Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer Edano Canao said their office has to achieve this target within the extension period of CARP in order to attain the government’s goal of distributing remaining CARPable lands to landless farmer beneficiaries for the benefit of improved agricultural production in the province. (Dexter See)

T.E.S.D.A. Center receives award
BAGUIO CITY – The Technical Education and Skill Development Authority (TESDA) Regional Training Center (RTC) along Loakan Road was given the Bronze Award by the Asia Pacific Accreditation and Certification Commission (APACC).

This was affirmed by TESDA-CAR RTC Administrator John Adawey who said the center was only the second TESDA RTC in the country to bag such an award.

He said the award will be a big boost to the enhancement of technical-vocational education in the region. (Dexter See)