BACOLOD CITY (PIA) – A Grade-5 pupil of the Rizal Elementary School in this city who represented Western Visayas emerged champion in the elementary category of the recently concluded National Road Safety Poster Making Contest. Department of Education Region-6 Resource Mobilization Special Programs and Project’s Division chief and information officer Dr. Eden D. Deriada said Angelene Arangco bested other participants from the 17 regions in the country who participated in the competition. Arangco received her prize of P50,000 cash, a trip for two to Hong Kong, an STI scholarship, and other incentives during the awarding held at the DepEd office in Manila.

VOLUNTEERISM

PALO, Leyte (PIA) – Starting 2013, government agencies must submit an annual volunteering initiatives and activities report to the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency on or before the end of October. This is in line with the current thrust enjoining all government agencies to establish and implement volunteer programs on top of their regular mandate and functions. Civil Service Commission Region-8 Director Marilyn Taldo said that in a directive issued recently, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) ordered the agencies’ volunteer program must provide the opportunity for state employees to express and actualize their personal motivation and desire to help others.

WATER SUPPLY

ILOILO CITY (PNA) – The city government here, through the city social welfare and development office, is now finalizing its plan for water distribution in waterless villages after the City Council declared the city under state of calamity due to acute water shortage Wednesday. City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog announced that starting this Saturday, water tankers hired by the city will deliver water in all the villages, especially those not served by the Metro Iloilo Water District. The delivery will last until end of this month. A total of 50 water deliveries each day direct to the villages will be conducted by trucks carrying some 2,000 liters each delivery.

COMMON BOOKS

CEBU CITY (PNA) – Books will survive despite the proliferation of e-book readers in the Philippine market today, a young bookshop owner in Cebu said. Joseff Lee, 25, said there are some independent bookstores in the United States that have already shut down operations because of the emergence of e-books. “But I don’t see the threat yet in the Philippines, maybe it will happen, but not too soon,” said Lee, of the La Belle Aurore Bookshop on Hernan Cortez St., in Mandaue City. He said one factor that will make paper books co-exist with e-books in the Philippine market is the preference of customers for paper books.

CLEAN VESSELS

CEBU CITY – Recognizing the efforts of the various shipping companies in making their vessels more convenient to the riding public by adhering to the codes of sanitation, the Region-7 office of the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ-7) of the Department of Health (DOH) recently awarded ship owners who were consistent with their mandate on cleanliness. The annual awarding led by BOQ is aimed to acknowledge the efforts of shipping industries in maintaining the cleanliness of their ships, which is an imperative requirement of the office, as well as the DOH and the Maritime Industry Authority. (Phoebe Jen Indino)