ROXAS CITY, Capiz (PIA) — Over 330 Capiz farmers graduated in early November from a nearly five-month school-on-the-air class on organic vegetable production. Office of Capiz provincial agriculturist information officer Teodoro Buenvenida said this will help increase farmers' productivity and preserve the environment. Of the total graduates, 49 were from Cuartero, 32 each from Panay and Sigma, 28 from Jamindan, 27 from President Roxas, 25 from Dumarao, 22 from Maayon, 20 each from Dao and Mambusao, 18 each from Ivisan and Tapaz, 16 from Sapian, 13 from Roxas City, 11 from Panitan and six from Pilar.

ANTIQUE QUAKE

ANTIQUE — A strong 4.9 magnitude pre-dawn earthquake rocked Visayas areas yesterday at 1:53 a.m., with epicentre located at six kilometers northeast of Valderrama, Antique province with a depth of 11 kilometers, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said. Intensity 5 was felt in Valderrama, Antique; intensity 4 in Sibalom and San Jose de Buenavista, Antique; and intensity 3 in Calinog, Iloilo. The earthquake was tectonic in origin and Phivolcs said aftershock is likely to be felt. No property damage was reported as of press time. (Freddie G. Lazaro)

DEVJOURN TRAINING

ILOILO CITY, Iloilo (PIA) — The Canadian Urban Institute (CUI-Phils) conducted a Development Journalism Writeshop Nov. 20 – 21, at the Iloilo Grand Hotel for information officers here. The two-day workshop was part of CUI-Philippines’ initiative, along with the Philippine Information Agency-6, in preparing local government units (LGUs) and partner national government agencies (NGAs) to sustain the Move Up Bioregion newsletter. Information officers and representatives of LGUs, and the Tigum-Aganan Watershed Management Board (TAWMB) and Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC), as well as partner national government agencies (NGAs) attended the writeshop.

D.S.W.D.-7 DIALOGUE

CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) — The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas’ (DSWD 7’s) consultation dialogue on its National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) program is now ongoing until today, Nov. 28 at the Cityscape Hotel, Mandaue City with city and town executives, social welfare officers and planning development coordinators attending. DSWD-7 regional director Ma. Evelyn Macapobre said participants will hear updates on the NHTS-PR database adopted as mechanism in identifying poor households as beneficiaries of social protection programs and services like the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, Rice Subsidy for small scale farmers and fisher folks and Social Pension for Senior Citizens.

BANTAY BAYANIHAN

DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental (PIA) — A round-table discussion (RTD) on the Bantay Bayanihan project was held yesterday, Nov. 27 at Bethel Guesthouse, this city, to solicit feedback on how the project will affect communities. The project was launched recently to serve as oversight body in monitoring the implementation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP’s) Internal Peace and Security Plan-Bayanihan and provide a dialogue space where peace and security issues can be openly discussed.