GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines (PIA) – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has called on its regional and provincial offices to strengthen network building strategies in view of implementing sustainable livelihood programs of the government.

Vergil Cabugayan, of the DSWD central office, emphasized that Public-Private Partnership (PPP) must be enhanced through networking efforts of program planners and implementers of livelihood programs. “A public-private partnership exists when public sector agencies join with private sector entities to attain a commonly shared goal that also achieves objectives of the individual partners,” Cabugayan said.

Salt Fertilizer

ISABELA CITY, Basilan (PIA) – “With the rainy season here and Basilan being out of the so-called typhoon belt, we advise our coconut farmers to fertilize their coco trees with salt,” said Onie J. Hayawan, coconut development officer, Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).

“PCA studies indicated that plain salt, as fertilizer, increases the volume of harvest of nuts and the thickness of the coconut meat,” Hayawan said. “As a result, copra production increases by 20 to 25 percent in the first year of salt fertilization, and up to 50 to 100 percent by the second year,” she added.

Job Opportunity

MALAYBALAY CITY (PIA) – The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has released the amount of P1.6 million for the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) in Bukidnon.

DoLE Provincial Director Raul L. Valmores said the breakdown of funds released for the period of July to December, 2011, are Malaybalay City local government unit (LGU) with 200 grantees – P406,544, Mindanao Arts and Technological Institute with 75 grantees – P152,454, Impasug-ong LGU with 23 grantees – P39,744.00, and Bukidnon 1st Congressional District with 200 grantees – P406,544.

Additional Fund

DAVAO CITY — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has asked the World Bank (WB) to provide an additional P6 billion funding into the extension and expansion of the second phase of the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP), according to DA Secretary Proceso Alcala.

Alcala told a press forum here Monday that a WB team is currently conducting a review of the MRDP implementation. “The review mission is critical as it will render an evaluation that has influence on our request for project extension and additional financing, particularly for the rural infrastructure component,” he said. (Ali Macabalang)

OFW Assistance

DAVAO CITY (PNA) – The loan program of the Region-11 office of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA-11) has already granted a total of P2.6 million to qualified borrowers since June, 2011.

OWWA Regional Director Zenobia Caro said the loan program, started in June last year in partnership with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), has since been availed by parents or legal spouses whose family member is an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), whether an active or a former member of OWWA.

Caro said as of January, OWWA-Davao has already issued 155 certificates of training to the applicants.