MAGPET, North Cotabato, Philippines (PNA) – The Municipal Health Office (MHO) here has strengthened its campaign against smoking in public places aiming to promote a healthy lifestyle and protection of the environment.

Municipal health personnel distributed anti-smoking stickers and leaflets in thickly populated areas of the locality on efforts to encourage constituents to stop smoking, and prevent smoking-related diseases like lung cancer.

Mayor Efren Piñol said the massive anti-smoking campaign complied with Republic Act 9211, which prohibit smoking in public places, such as schools, hospitals, churches, public markets, and terminals and even within the town hall premises.

Food monitoring

COTABATO CITY – The education and health departments of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Wednesday prodded school administrators about the regional ban on “junk foods” in their campus canteens and eateries in the region. Last Saturday, ARMM’s Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Bart Caudang personally supervised teachers and administrators in the early registration of kindergarten pupils for this coming academic year.

The list-up was conducted nationwide for schools to have ample time in preparing for the pre-schoolers’ enrollment. Caudang said that pupils such as the prospect kindergarten enrollees are the ones susceptible to taking “junk foods” in and out of school premises. (Ali Macabalang)

Sufficient rice

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The provinces of Bukidnon and Lanao del Norte marked the highest rice production during the first quarter this year, the government agriculture office reported Wednesday.

In a statement, the Department of Agriculture–Regional Field Unit-10 (DA-RFU-10) said Bukidnon registered with 96,288 metric tons of rice production while Lanao del Norte also followed with 25,086 metric tons of rice production during the first quarter of this year.

The DA-RFU-10 projected that in the second quarter of this year, the two provinces’ rice production might increase because of the sufficient rainfall and absence of pests in these areas. (Mike Crismundo)

Work program

MAGPET, North Cotabato (PNA) – At least 30 villages here are the latest addition to the national government’s cash-for-work program, which aims to encourage villagers to participate in locally initiated projects in their respective areas.

 Implemented under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the program facilitates the transfer of funds to local government units that oversee and select the qualified beneficiaries. To ensure that all program participants are selected according to set qualifications, Mayor Efren Piñol has ordered the municipal social welfare office to conduct validation and master listing of beneficiaries in all recipient villages.

Tree planting

DAVAO CITY (PNA) – The Environment Management Bureau (EMB) Central Office recently ordered EMB Region 11 (EMB-11) office here to assist the Department of Agriculture (DA) in tree massive planting in the flooded areas of this city and in Davao Region.

 EMB-11 Director Metodio Turbella said that aside from tree planting, EMB-11 is also ordered to look into planting trees, particularly in the easement areas in identified flood- prone areas to help mitigate the impact of heavy rainfall.