STA. BARBARA, Pangasinan — About 500,000 tilapia fingerlings and certified seeds were distributed yesterday to farmers beneficiaries. Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. led in the project implemented with the Department of Agriculture (DA) and ABONO Party-list. The distribution is part of the Phase 2 project of the province, the DA, National Seed Quality Control Services and ABONO Partylist  dubbed,” Accelerated Certified Seed Production and Distribution.” The distribution to farmer-beneficiaries was conducted at the Provincial Agriculture Office in Tebag, Sta. Barbara town, acting Provincial Agriculturist Dalisay Moya said. (Liezle Basa Iñigo)

5 QUEZON TOWNS GIVEN PROJECTS

LUCENA CITY, Quezon — Five towns in this province, earlier branded by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as conflict-affected areas, will soon to implement various projects to promote peace. Projects in accordance with the “Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan” (PAMANA) program under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) will be implemented in the towns of Buenavista, Catanauan, Mulanay, San Francisco and San Narciso with a budget of  7 million. These projects include road improvement and bridge rehabilitation in order to bring development and easy economic activity to remote areas of the five towns. (Danny Estacio)

INMATES GRADUATE

SAN FERNANDO CITY, Pampanga — At least 11 inmates of the Pampanga Provincial Jail (PPJ) were given high school and elementary diplomas recently through the government’s Alternative Learning System (ALS) program. Dubbed “Alternatibong Edukasyon sa Likod ng Rehas na Bakal,” the project for inmates to acquire basic education was implemented here by the Department of Education (DepEd) with support from the provincial government led by Governor Lilia G. Pineda. Two of the 11 inmates passed the ALS Accreditation and Equivalency Test (A&E) for elementary level while the nine passed the ALS A&E for the secondary level. (Franco G. Regala)

ANTIPOLO TRIKE FARE HIKE OPPOSED

ANTIPOLO CITY, Rizal — Tricycle commuters including the persons with disability (PWD) are opposing the proposal to increase the tricycle fare in this city by P1.50. In the recent public hearing here, commuters have voiced out their opposition to the passage of proposed Ordinance No. 2012-469 which seeks to increase the tricycle fare from the existing P8 to P9.50 for a short ride and additional P1.50 for every kilometer. Eljoy Lagan, a blind leader of the PWD who commutes alone everyday in a tricycle said the proposal to increase the fare is useless since most tricycle drivers are presently charging P20 for a short ride even if the passenger is traveling alone. (Nel B. Andrade)

HOSPITAL LAUDED

ANGELES CITY, Pampanga — Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan lauded the efforts of the hospital administrators and personnel at the Rafael Lazatin Memorial Medical Center (RLMMC) for their staunch commitment for proper healthcare services to the public in the past year. This, after Dr. Antonio Dizon, hospital director of the RLMMC, reported that the hospital admitted 26,840 patients; seen 72,600 patients in the Out-Patient Department; conducted 1,870 ambulance rescue operations; administered 2,640 surgeries; completed 275,000 laboratory examinations and 29,700 x-ray procedures; and provided for 1,760 dental procedures and services from July 2011 to April of this year. (Franco G. Regala)