P.D.E.A. CHIEF

CEBU CITY, Cebu  – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas  (PDEA-7) is now under Julius Navales who replaced Jigger Montallana who was transferred to PDEA’s main Manila office and is now the agency’s deputy personnel division chief.  Navales used to be PDEA-Western Visayas chief. Meanwhile, Chief Insp. Alexis Relado was named new chief of Cebu City Police Office (CCPO)’s City Investigation and Detective Management Branch (CIDMB), replacing Chief Insp. Bonifacio Garciano who retired last Nov. 30. (Mars Mosqueda)

NO MINING 

ILOILO CITY, Iloilo (PNA) – Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. said there is no large scale mining exploration in the province as far as he knows. The governor said this as he assured the Ilonggos that what has been experienced in several areas in Mindanao where large volume of logs were seen floating on the rivers during the onslaught of typhoon Pablo will not be experienced here. He said a San Dionisio town mining exploration application was turned down due to strong public opposition.

HELPING SEAFARERS

CEBU CITY, Cebu (PNA) – Seafarers finding themselves in difficult situations now have access to free assistance even while at sea 24 hours daily, 365 days a year. United Kingdom-based charitable institution International Seafarers Assistance Network (ISAN) has partnered with Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), to allow Filipino seafarers to use Smart Link for free, to receive help and advice by calling the SeafarerHelp service. Smart Link, the country’s first and only prepaid satellite telecommunication service, is deployed in over 7,500 maritime vessels throughout the world, serving some 400,000 Filipino seafarers. Operated by ISAN from its London headquarters, SeafarerHelp is a hotline offering completely free and confidential counseling and assistance for seafarers wherever they are in the world in 27 languages, including Filipino, Hindi and Russian.

ORGANIC FARMING

TACLOBAN CITY Leyte (PIA) – Over 280 East Visayas farmers who graduated from t he University-on-the-Air (UOA) classes on Organic Farming, are now the Department of Agriculture (DA)’s partners in effecting a viable organic production system. Said farmers from Leyte, Samar, and Eastern Samar completed the season-long course and received their diplomas from DA-8 and the Leyte Provincial Agriculture Office. It was observed that there were more women farmers who participated in said course, with 189 out of 282 total graduates. The graduates spent nearly five months to finish the course by listening to the radio for 30 minutes, Monday to Saturday, keeping abreast with the topics discussed by experts on organic agriculture from national, regional and provincial offices, Francis Rosaroso, chief of DA 8’s Information Division, said.

TRANSFORMATIVE MEDIATION

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL (PIA) – Barangay leaders from Negros Occidental’s towns and cities in the first, second and third districts completed a three-day Transformative Mediation training at Mambukal Resort, Murcia organized by the Governor’s Office in collaboration with Mediation Network, Inc., the Provincial Legal Office and the Liga ng mga Barangay. The training was aimed at developing barangay officials’ skills in mediation and managing daily issues presented by their constituents. Another such training session is now undergoing for participants from the province’s fourth, fifth and sixth districts in the same venue.