ILOILO CITY, Iloilo (PNA) — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will start effecting "Oplan Undas" today until November 4 in Western Visayas seaports. PCG Commander Athelo Ybanez said with "Oplan Undas," the PCG will put up assistance centers in all 32 seaports in Region 6 in anticipation of the influx of tourists and passengers traveling for All Saints' Day. Each assistance center will be manned by at least six PCG personnel and force multipliers ensuring safety and assistance to travelers. There will also be medical teams from volunteer groups and K9 dogs to conduct inspection.
STIPEND HIKE
CEBU CITY, Cebu (PNA) — Social workers assigned in Regional Trial Court family courts are asking the Cebu City Government to double their monthly stipend, that is, from P2,500 to P5,000. Social workers Evelyn Cortes, Monica Mendoza, Josefina Mayol, Melanie Pude and Ninonito Pelenio said they need a bigger allowance to cover expenses incurred in traveling to conduct investigation and home visitations to children in conflict with the law and group counseling sessions and establishing linkages with non-government organizations working with juvenile delinquents. The city has yet to evaluate the matter.
ORGANIC AGRICULTURE
KALIBO, Aklan(PIA) — Kalibo’s senior citizens underwent a three-day training on organic agriculture with the help of the Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI) in Banga, Aklan. The training, supported by the Kalibo local government was held to teach the town’s elderly in planting vegetables the easiest way, even in their own backyards. Besides learning to grow vegetables the organic way, the training also served as an opportunity for the elderly to be oriented on alternative medicine, pythotherapy, health and wellness perspective on organic food, and detection and management of diseases.
PROGRAM TURNOVER
SAN JOSE, Antique (PIA) — The Millennium Development Goals-Joint Program on Youth Employment and Migration (MDG-JP YEM) program turnover is set today and tomorrow at the EBJ Gymnasium, Binirayan Hills, San Jose. The MDG-JP YEM has been supporting Antique province since 2010 and is now on its final stage of implementation. Said program has provided financial and technical support to government agencies servicing youth and migration, namely, Students Entrepreneurship Training under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Scholarship on Technical Vocational courses with Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) and Career Pathways and Technology Livelihood Education (CP-TLE) and Education Subsidy under the Department of Education.
BILIRAN LAUDED
NAVAL, BiliraN (PIA) — “Biliran province is a top performer in terms of health program implementation in Region 8 based on its health scorecards,” said Department of Health- 8 regional director Dr. Jaime Bernadas, ,during the declaring of the province as “Rabies-Free Zone on October 11.” Biliran and Southern Leyte were top performers in 2011 in the region in terms of health programs implementation. Bernadas said Biliran province has also been declared filaria-free province in 2010 and a rabies-free zone this year and has no reported cases of malaria and schistosomiasis to date.