BAYUGAN CITY, Philippines – This newly created city and the far-flung river town of San Luis in Agusan del Sur are recipients of the national government’s P24 million peace and development assistance. The funding assistance intended for rehabilitation of farm-to-market roads came from the national government through the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan or PAMANA program of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP). The PAMANA is a flagship program of the national government, and is different from other development projects by other national line agencies. (Mike Crismundo)

Fish Supply

DAVAO CITY – The baseline habitat assessment mapping of the Integrated Coastal Resource Management Project (ICRMP) shows that Davao Oriental is rich in coastal resources specifically target fish species that are caught for their commercial value. This was the finding of the ICRMP team based on the Fish Visual Census (FVC) they conducted in 2008-2010. In the 19 villages where Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) were established, several fish species such as talakitok, lipti, lapu-lapu, danggit, silay, katambak, molmol, matambaka, pakol, labayan, labahita, baga-baga, and timbungan still abound. The establishment of the MPA is one major activity of ICRMP that can definitely increase fish population in the province. (Mick Basa)

Pomelo Industry

M’LANG, North Cotabato (PIA) – Pomelo growers learned that there is money in the fruit’s peelings in a recent training initiated by the Region-12 office of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST-12) where they were taught how to turn the peelings into healthy capsules and tea. At least 39 pomelo growers in this town also expressed gratitude that they were armed with the knowledge to produce bottled pomelo juice, and candies, among others. They are members of the Pomelo Growers Association here, a group slated to receive funding from the local government unit to pursue an integrated pomelo fruit processing venture.

Livelihood Plan

MALAYBALAY, Bukidnon (PIA) – A five-day reflexology training was conducted at the Bukidnon Sugar Company, Inc. (BUSCO) Community Welfare Center in Butong, Quezon, Bukidnon, recently. Conducted by the Guillar School of Reflexology based in Lumbo, Valencia City, Bukidnon, one of the objectives of this training is to provide the trainees with reflexology skills that once mastered, will be a source of additional income and livelihood. The training has two components – lectures and practicum. The participants were also given Certificates of Completion at the end of the training.

Loan Cards

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) – The Pag-IBIG Fund branch here will be giving out free Land Bank of the Philippine (LBP) Cash Cards to its first 35,000 members who are applying for multi-purpose loan (MPL) and calamity loan. Once the first batch of 35,000 cash cards is exhausted, a minimal fee of P100 will be charged to MPL and calamity loan applicants. Earlier, the Pag-IBIG announced that proceeds of the MPL and calamity loan will be directly credited to the LBP cash cards effective February 15, 2012. Once credited, the loan amount can then be withdrawn at any LBP automated teller machines.