LIPA CITY, Batangas (PIA) — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) recently opened to the public l a consular office touted to be the first in Calabarzon inside a shopping mall. DFA’s Lipa consular office located at Robinson’s Mall Lingkod Pinoy Center will process and release passports Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will release passports on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. DFA-Lipa officer-in-charge Glenn Corpin said the consular office is an important flagship public service program of Robinson’s Mall speeding up the linkage between various government agencies and the public.

TESDA COMPETITORS

QUEZON CITY, Metro Manila (PIA) — The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is preparing the country’s 16 delegates competing in the 9th ASEAN Skills Competition in Indonesia, Nov. 11-20. The Philippine team represents the best skilled workers in the country, who emerged winners in regional, provincial and district skills competitions. They will vie in skills challenge such as information network administrator, electronics, web design, hairdressing, caring, fashion technology, mechatronics, refrigeration and air-conditioning, industrial automation, and beauty therapy.

FOSTER CARE

MANILA (PIA) — The Department of Social Welfare and Development in the National Capital Region (DSWD-NCR) and Mandaluyong City have signed an accord to implement a Barangay Foster Care project with the parties agreeing to be partners in ensuring optimum growth and development of children in need of special protection. Each foster parent will be given a minimum of R800 or a maximum of R1,500 per month during the stay of a child in their home while the foster child will be given a monthly subsidy of R1,500 per month for milk, food, clothing, vitamins and school supplies, if in school, while under the care of the foster parents.

D.I.L.G. AWARDEES

TARLAC CITY, Tarlac (PIA) — The Tarlac provincial government and its two towns are among this year’s recipients of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)’s Gawad Pamana ng Lahi in Central Luzon. DILG Secretary Manuel Roxas II will confer the recognition to the provincial government of Tarlac and municipal governments of Anao and Gerona during the Regional Utilization Conference with “Gawad Pagkilala sa Natatanging Pamamahala” to be held at Holiday Inn Hotel in Clark Freeport very soon, DILG-Tarlac Chief Dennis Villaseñor said.

D.E.P.E.D. SEMINAR

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union (PIA) — The Elementary Education Division (EED) of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Region 1 will hold a seminar for education program specialists on Reading Enhancement and Augmentation Drive November 14 - 16 at the Regional Education Learning Center in this city to support the “Every Child a Reader Program (Ecarp),” which aims to make every child a reader and a writer at his or her grade level. Education Program Supervisor Dinah Bonao of EED-DepEd 1 said the activity aims to provide participants better and more appropriate approaches and strategies to identify each child’s weaknesses in reading and to give corresponding remedial measures.