ILOILO CITY (PIA) – Parents will not regret the support they give to the government’s K to 12 program since their children will reap the quality of educa¬tion needed for competitive jobs later. For Education Program Specialist Dr. Rex Casiple of the Commission on Higher Educa¬tion, having his own children immersed in the K to 12 now is preparing them for professional growth with enhanced curricu¬lum and extended years. “That is why, even we at CHED have committed to endorse K to 12 because we expect college stu¬dents getting to tertiary institu¬tions prepared to become real professionals,” Casiple said. He cited that many of the nurses who opted to work abroad had to study further to enhance qualifications as professional nurses, while many in the engi¬neering and similar fields ended up as technicians or technical aides only by global standards.

G.S.I.S.  Scholarship

BORONGAN CITY, Eastern Samar (PIA) – Government Ser¬vice Insurance System (GSIS) President and General Manager Robert G. Vergara is inviting low-income government workers to nominate their children to the Enhanced College Scholarship Program until June 30. About 200 slots are now available for School Year 2012-2013 as part of the 75th anniversary celebra¬tion of GSIS. The GSIS Board of Trustees recently revised the scholarship program to en¬sure that low-income members would be given the opportunity to send their children to colleges and universities that provide quality education.

Agri Loans

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte (PIA) – The Office of the Pro¬vincial Agriculturist (OPAg) in this province has prepared the second tranche of recipients to avail themselves of the no-col¬lateral, no-interest loan assis¬tance to farmers and fishermen to finance their agri-business projects. Provincial Agriculturist Marina Gador, who is also the provincial coordinator of Agri¬kutura: Kaagapay ng Bayang Pinoy (AKBay) program, said four out of the 16 towns had submitted the list for the second batch of recipients. These are the towns of Anahawan, Macro¬hon, Pintuyan, and San Ricardo, Gador disclosed to Philippine Information Agency (PIA) over the phone yesterday.

Power Rate

ILOILO CITY (PNA) – The city government here has expressed opposition to the 32-centavo recovery cost on capital of the Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC) recently approved by the Energy Regu¬latory Commission (ERC). The ERC has approved .3242 centa¬vos/kilowatt-hour (kWh) to be implemented in five years to al¬low the PEDC to recover around P692.3 million which it did not collect for the period March 26 to August 2011. Jeffrey Celiz, the political liaison officer of Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog quot¬ed the chief executive as saying that the “ERC failed to observe prudence and propriety in giving out decisions.”

Transparency

ILOILO CITY (PNA) – The cur¬rent stable and transparent form of governance is a boost to foreign investors and must be maintained for a better economy. This is according to Social Security System (SSS) president and chief executive Emilio S. De Quiros, Jr. during the “Kapihan sa SSS” program here. De Quiros, Jr. said that "the prevailing atmosphere of transparency is a critical compo¬nent and environment to attract more investors in the country.”