ILOILO CITY, Iloilo, Philippines (PNA) — The Land Transportation Office (LTO) Regional Office 6 has released a total of 5,746 Pasada cards intended to help public utility drivers and operators avail of government-subsidized fuel.

A Pasada card is equivalent to P1,050 which could be used to avail of subsidized fuel in gas stations through the region. Of said total Cards, 3,151 are distributed in Iloilo; 1,308 in Bacolod City; 480 in Roxas City; 137 in Kalibo; 311 in Antique; 44 in San Carlos City; 7 in Cadiz City; 64 in Himamaylan; 73 in Barotac Viejo; 95 in Calinog; 27 in Pontevedra; 29 in Guimaras; and 20 in Dumalag.

Rice stock

ILOILO CITY, Iloilo (PNA) — Iloilo and Guimaras provinces have a rice buffer stock lasting 39 days, National Food Authority (NFA) Iloilo Asst. Manager Miguel Aguirre said, adding that the NFA currently has 735,705 bags of rice stored that could last for 39 days based on computed daily consumption of Iloilo and Guimaras residents which comes to some 18,720 bags.

He said an indication of the high supply of rice is that the price being paid by commercial traders for palay here has gone down to P12-P14 per kilogram.

Free treatment

BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occ. (PIA) — Bacoleños with tuberculosis can now avail of free treatment. The city, along with the Philippine Tuberculosis Society, Inc. and Riverside Medical Center has drawn up a memorandum of agreement (MoA) agreeing to work together in establishing and sustaining the enhanced local Tuberculosis Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (TB DOTS) Referral Network for TB, which is a sub-grantee of the Linking Initiatives and Networking to Control Tuberculosis Project, a United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded project.

Treatment for TB can be costly and help, as proposed in said MoA, is very much welcomed by the poor in this city.

Skills training

ROXAS CITY, Capiz (PIA) — Some 56 trainees composed of PNP personnel and out-of-school youths (OSYs) dependents of policemen attended a skills training session at Camp Teodorico Apil, Brgy. Lanot here.

The training includes electricity, refrigeration and air conditioning courses, covering 15 sessions equivalent to 120 hours. The activity is in line with the Mobile Technology School (MTS) project conceptualized by the Capiz State University (CapSU) in collaboration with the Capiz provincial government, Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) and Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE).

TESDA anniversary

NAVAL, Biliran (PIA) — As an accredited Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) school in the province of Biliran, Cabucgayan National School of Arts and Trades (CNSAT) is marking the agency’s 17th anniversary from August 22 to August 25 this year.

The four-day celebration started with a program attended by students and trainees, TESDA-CNSAT family, and partner agencies. Other activities during the opening day included an orientation on programs and courses offered; launching of TESDA-CNSAT official website, and skills Olympics.