LUCENA CITY, Philippines — The province will have a blood center soon. Quezon Governor David C. Suarez plans to house the blood center in the annex building of the Quezon Medical Center which will be finished soon.

The blood center will equipped with modern equipment for blood examination and evaluation. Suarez aims to make the province the blood storage and buying center in the region.

The Quezon Provincial Council for Blood Services is waiting for approval from the Department of Health (DoH) for accreditation for the blood center. Based on records in 2010, almost 13, 531 units of blood collected by the council. (Danny Estacio)

I.S.O.-certified plant 

ITOGON, Philippines— SN Aboitiz Power (SNAP)-Benguet’s 100 megawatt (MW) Binga hydroelectric power plant has received certification from an international body for its quality management system.

SNAP-Benguet President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel V. Rubio said the international certification body for management systems DQS-UL Group handed the award to the company recently certifying that the plant has implemented and maintains a quality management system.

The plant will be fully operational within the next three years. ISO 9001 is the internationally recognized standard for the quality management of businesses. (Dexter A. See)

Health stations 

BONTOC, Philippines — The Department of Health (DoH) has poured some P48 million into the upgrading of Barangay Health Stations (BHS) and hospitals in the province to effectively and efficiently improve the delivery of basic health care services.

Provincial Health Team Leader Claudio Pancho said the upgrading of health facilities is in line with of the government’s programs to bring quality health services to the countryside.

Programmed for upgrading for this year are four BHS in the municipality of Sadanga, two each in Natonin and Bontoc; three each in Paracelis, Barlig, Sabangan, and Sagada; five each in Besao and Tadian, and six in Bauko. 

Garbage trucks

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The city government has earmarked more than P19.5 million to import six new garbage trucks to help improve the collection of garbage in Baguios 128 barangays.

Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said the garbage trucks will be delivered by the South Korean supplier within the next three to four months.

The new trucks will augment the city’s 12 garbage trucks in order to effectively implement the two-truck system in collecting the city’s solid waste.

One truck will collect the segregated biodegradable waste while another truck will collect non-biodegradable waste. (Dexter A. See)

Chess clinics

LINGAYEN, Philippines — Around 700 youths in the province participated in the chess clinic sponsored by the provincial government as part of the sports program of Gov. Amado Espino Jr.

The clinics were held last September 17 and 18 at the Pangasinan Training and Development Center here.

Provincial Administrator Rafael Baraan, commended the participants for showing great interest in chess which is one of the sports activities sup-ported by Espino administration.

Baraan said that through sports, the youth are able to spend their free time usefully with an objective to become future chess champions not only locally but international, as well. (Liezle Basa Inigo )