PILAR, Bataan — The Philippine Army’s “7th CMO Gwapo” Bat¬talion here has launched a civic action program in a bid to foster peace in areas here formerly considered the stronghold of communist rebels. “This is a dif¬ferent war we’re waging,” said Lt. Col. Benito Doniego Jr., battalion commander, as he supervised his men he described as “fully armed with medical equipment, a box full of assorted medicines, and scissors.” The battalion con¬ducted a medical mission at the Lighthouse Bible Baptist Church in Barangay Sta. Rosa, here and thanked Pastor Norberto “Jun” Sombiluna in gathering local resi¬dents. (Mar T. Supnad)

2nd Cavite I.S.O. Tranche Begins

TRECE MARTIRES CITY, Cavite — The second ISO (International Organization for Standardization) tranche for four other offices of Cavite Provincial Capitol here began this mid-week, officials an-nounced over the weekend. Gov. Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla Jr. and his administration received during the May 7 flag ceremony the ISO-1900:2008 Attesta¬tion Letter from Anglo Japanese American (AJA) Registrars, the commissioned certifying body, which declared Cavite as the first ISO-certified province in the country, as well as Asia. With the tag, Cavite becomes an ISO model among the country’s 80 provinces. (Anthony Giron)

O.F.W. Assistance

OLONGAPO CITY — Another batch of returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) received P10,000 each as livelihood assis¬tance from the National Reinte¬gration Center (NRCO) for OFWs. The Olongapo City Public Employ¬ment Service Office (PESO), the Overseas Workers and Welfare Administration (OWWA) Region III Office, and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) turned over the cash grants to the five OFW returnees, namely: Ronald Alan Dayao, Erlinda Sio-son, Caridad Guiang, Venus An¬daya and George Movilla. NRCO promotes the delivery of respon-sive, productive and sustainable reintegration services to OFW re¬turnees that will enable them to maximize the gains of overseas employment mitigate the social costs of migration and cushion the impact of forced repatriation due to unexpected events. (Jonas Reyes)

S.M. San Pablo Kite Exhibit

SAN PABLO CITY, Laguna — SM City here is currently holding a 13-day kite exhibit-workshop, SM City Information Officer Nina Rada said over the weekend. Rada said kites were used ap-proximately 2,800 years ago in China, where materials ideal for kite building were readily avail-able; silk fabric for sail mate¬rial; fine, high-tensile-strength silk for flying line; and resilient bamboo for a strong, lightweight framework. Kites have been used for scientific purposes, such as Benjamin Franklin’s famous ex¬periment proving that lightning is electricity. (Ferdinand F. Castro)

Penology Exam

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has set the deadline for applica¬tions for the Penology Officer Exam on June 28 for the exami¬nation proper slated on August 12. The exam is conducted to establish register of eligibilities from which certification and ap¬pointment to second level ranks in the Bureau of Jail Manage¬ment Penology (BJMP) and other functionally related agencies shall be made, provided said eligibles meet the qualifications and other of the said positions. Application forms may be downloaded from the CSC homepage: http://www.csc.gov.ph/FORMS/CSForm100¬Revised2012.pdf. (Liezle Basa Iñigo)