DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental, Philippines (PIA) -- Dumaguete City will host the seventh run of the Philippine Bird Festival, the country's top avian conservation and eco-tourism event, from September 23 to 24, 2011.

Foreign exhibitors from bird watching societies in Asian countries such as Taipei, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and Singapore will showcase the birds from their countries while local participants from non-government organizations (NGOs) working for wildlife conservation will present their avian conservation efforts.

Free consultation

ESCALANTE, Negros Occ. (PIA) — Free clinic consultation for employees of Escalante City was recently held, in coordination with the Escalante City Government Employees Cooperative, Inc., at the City Government Center.

Doctors from Bacolod City’s Doctor’s Hospital were on hand to give some 150 city workers medical tests. Free glucose testing (FBS and RBS), cholesterol screening, foot screening, chemical testing for urine, ECG (Echocardiogram) were among the services given. A mobile pharmacy was also made available for the members who would like to avail of medicines.

Trash-clogged canals cause floods

DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental (PIA) — Dumaguete City Environment and Natural Resources Officer Rogelio Clamonte is asking residents here to stop throwing trash, especially plastic, in canals as these clog the city's drainage systems, increasing the risk of floods.

Clamonte blamed Dumaguete’s plastic-clogged drainage systems for the floods that hit the city in February, 2009 - one of the worst disasters in the city's history for the last 50 years as houses were washed away and many parts of Dumaguete City went under water. Some 200 kilos or 0.2 tons of waste, all plastic, were fished out of the city's wastewater treatement facility after the floods.

PDEA 8 grade school lectures

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte (PIA) — Eight lectures held by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Region 8 were attended by 450 Grade Six pupils at the Rizal Central School in Tacloban City.

The pupils were given power-point presentations showing the ill-effects of drug abuse depicting the damage that drugs do on the body, particularly the nervous system and the brain.

The PDEA is prioritizing the protection of children against drugs. Said lectures were given so that even at a young age, the pupils may form a stand against the use and abuse of these substances.

Malnutrition addressed

ILOILO CITY, Iloilo (PIA) — Malnutrition among school children may be addressed by the Gulayan sa Paaralan project, which can help sustain supplementary feeding.

Director Larry Nacionales of the Department of Agriculture (DA), Region 6 said the effort is in line with the Agri-Pinoy program linking the DA with the Department of Education to set up 519 Gulayan sa Paarlan projects in Region 6 elementary and secondary schools.

The DA gave planting materials and encouraged schools to get into organic garden technology.