MANILA, Philippines — A total of P16 million worth of cash assistance was recently handed out by the government to three municipalities in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay under its PAMANA or Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (Peaceful and Resilient Communities) program that will be used for improvement of roads.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said the towns of Tungawan, Mabuhay, and Payao are set to use the funds for the rehabilitation and gravelling of their poorly conditioned roads.

PAMANA Mindanao Director Eric dela Torre handed over the check last week to Zamboanga Sibugay Governor Rommel Jalosjos, Tungawan Mayor Randy Climaco, and Mabuhay Mayor Restituto Calonge.

Joining them were PAMANA-Mindanao area manager Vic Borgonia, Sangguniang Barangay Board Member Jose Abalde, and other village officials of Tungawan.

Aside from the turnover rites, groundbreaking ceremonies were also held in Lower Tungawan, Tungawan town.

Jalosjos thanked the government, saying that the fund turnover is the very first intervention that came from a national agency like the OPAPP.

The road rehabilitation project is hoped to provide farmers in remote areas greater access to the market, as well as basic social services, particularly health and education, from government agencies, he said.

PAMANA is the national government’s program and framework for peace and development for conflict-affected areas aimed at reducing poverty, improving governance and empowering communities.

In another development at the Mutiara Burau Bay Beach Resort on Langkawi Island in Malaysia, at least two Filipino scientists participated, starting Tuesday, in an international workshop with other scientists and experts to to tackle challenges facing news media communicators of genetically modified (GM) crops in Muslim countries.

The Malaysian Biotechnology Information Center (MABIC) and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agribiotechnology Applications (ISAAA) organized the event called International Workshop on Agribioetechnology Communication for Muslim Countries: “Addressing the Challenges in Communicating Agribiotechnology in Muslim Countries.”

Other delegates came from Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, India, China, Thailand, and Uganda.

From the Philippines are Dr. Rhodora R. Aldemita, Ph.D., a well-known molecular rice biologist and genetic engineering expert, and Dr. Mariechel Navarro, manager of the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology.

Aldemita is senior program officer and will present a paper titled “Recent Developments on Global Biotechnology Scenario.” She is vice president of the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines (BCP).

Navarro will discuss “The ISAAA/KC Model in Communicating Crop Biotechnology.”

She co-authored a research paper titled “Print Media Reportage of Agricultural Biotechnology in the Philippines: A Decade’s (1999-2009) Analysis of News Coverage and Framing" that won the Best Paper award in May 2011.
MABIC and ISAAA, through the BCP, also invited the Manila Bulletin to the conference.

BCP is a strong advocate of agribioetechnology, but makes it clear it is “for the safe and responsible use of modern technology.” (With a report from Edd K. Usman)