Thursday, May 16, 2024

Tag: NorMin

DA-SAAD debuts phase 2 in NorMin

Posted on by cmn

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – After getting the go signal in 2022, the Department of Agriculture-Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) officially commenced its phase 2 implementation in Northern Mindanao this year through DA-10 Regional Executive Director Carlene C. Collado

In a planning workshop with SAAD Phase 2-implementing local government units (LGUs) on February 10 in Cagayan de Oro City, SAAD Northern Mindanao Regional Program Management Support Office (SAAD NorMin RPMSO) outlined Social Preparation activities to be conducted as preliminary steps for the implementation of community-based agri-enterprise projects in priority localities in the region.

SAAD is a special program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) designed to curb poverty in economically depressed areas in the country by providing agri-livelihood projects to marginal farmers.

For phase 2, SAAD will be implemented for a six-year period from 2023 to 2028 in 26 municipalities belonging to the 5th and 6th class, having the highest poverty incidence in four provinces of the region.

Specifically, the municipalities of Sagay, Catarman, Mahinog, and Guinsiliban in Camiguin; Libertad, Gitagum, Sugbongcogon, Balingoan, Lagonglong, Kinoguitan, and Binuangan in Misamis Oriental; Don Victoriano Chiongbian, Baliangao, Panaon, Sapang Dalaga, Sinacaban and Concepcion in Misamis Occidental; Tangcal, Sapad, Salvador, Tagoloan, Magsaysay, Matungao, Pantar, Poona Piagapo and Linamon in Lanao del Norte.

Late in 2022, the SAAD NorMin profiled 1 Farmers’ Cooperative, Association (FCA) in the said municipalities, to ascertain the farmer-members’ eligibility as SAAD recipients.

According to Lana May S. Racines, SAAD NorMin focal person, the program is set to conduct Beneficiary Needs Assessment (BNA) in the first quarter of 2023 to determine the suitability of the proposed agri-enterprise to the FCAs’ locality, the capacity of the FCAs and its members to man the SAAD project, as well as market feasibility of the proposed enterprise.

Under the SAAD guidelines, eligible FCAs may propose agri-enterprise projects focused on rice, corn, livestock, or high-value crop production.

SAAD will grant production-to-marketing assistance to the FCAs. Qualified FCA and their proposed enterprise will be officially endorsed by the Local Chief Executive to SAAD NorMin signifying the DA-LGU partnership in SAAD implementation.

In his message, DA-10 OIC-Regional Executive Director, Carlene C. Collado, challenged the LGUs to implement the SAAD Program with a strong intent to develop the local agriculture sector.

He also called on the LGUs to look after the previously granted SAAD and DA projects for the benefit of the farmers. (DA RFO-10)

NTC to look into ‘syndicate’ behind telco modus in Mindanao

Posted on by cmn

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The National Telecommunications Commission in Northern Mindanao (NTC-10) said last February 27, 2023, that it will conduct an investigation on the involvement of individuals or groups claiming to represent telecommunication companies (telcos) in order to infiltrate private premises

NTC-10 Director Teodoro Buenavista Jr. said these individuals may be linked to a wider network or syndicate operating not only in the region but throughout Mindanao.

“We have a relative who experienced this lately; some individuals claiming to be from a telco but when verified, they were not associated with any firm,” he said in an interview here.

Buenavista noted that telecommunications giant PLDT-Smart warned the public recently about the modus operandi.

In a statement, the telco raised concerns about rising incidents of unauthorized modem collection in General Santos City, Cotabato, and Zamboanga areas.

Cathy Yang, First Vice President and Group Head of Corporate Communications at PLDT and Smart, said customers should only transact with authorized PLDT personnel, especially inside their premises, and always check for proper identification in case of doubt.

“PLDT personnel will never collect modems from customers without replacing them first. Our campaign is part of PLDT Group’s strengthening of its asset protection efforts as part of a broader program to elevate the quality of customer experience,” she said.

In a similar incident, city resident Karen Laisa shared that some individuals claiming to represent another telco were asking her parents for a copy of the land title and map of their residence for a supposed installation of a satellite tower.

“The process was easy because they said it was in a rush due to a target deadline,” she said.

She also said her parents were told to pay PHP7,500 as a “notarial fee” after a contract signing.

Upon verification with NTC-10, the telco in question denied such operations existed and that no such project is taking place as of the moment. (Nef Luczon/PNA)

Teenage pregnancy declines in PH, Normin tops in cases

Posted on by cmn

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Teenage pregnancy cases in the country had gone down from 8.6 percent in 2017 to 5.4 percent in 2022, yet despite the decrease in cases, Northern Mindanao records the highest percentage of adolescents who have been pregnant at 10.9 percent

“Forty-four per 1,000 female adolescents aged 15–19 have given birth in 2020, which means approximately 30 adolescents give birth in the region daily,” Commission on Population (POPCOM)-10 Assistant Regional Director Richmond Charles Gajudo said.

According to data from 2020, the three provinces with the highest rates of teen pregnancy are Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, and Cagayan de Oro City. Each of these three provinces is responsible for 43% of all births to teenagers. The youngest age at which a teen was known to be pregnant was 11 years old in Cagayan de Oro City. In Valencia City, the young mother was 12 years old.

Being pregnant at such a young age is bad for young people, both in terms of their health and their finances. It was also said that having a child at such a young age is bad for a teenager’s health because their bodies aren’t ready to carry a child and can sometimes lead to the death of newborns and infants.

Since the childbearing years of a female are between the ages of 15 and 49, there is a tendency to have repeat pregnancies, which may lead to having more children and the possibility of having multiple partners, which is a health risk.

According to the commission, based on studies involving the very young adolescence of 10–14 years old, female teens who get pregnant have older male partners. Due to this, Republic Acts 11596 and 11648 were created to protect the said age group from child marriage and increase the age of sexual consent from 12 to 16 years old.

With the number of teenage pregnancies going up, POPCOM-10 and the local government units (LGUs) have stepped up their efforts to stop them. The commission helps the LGUs plan and get ready for programs that will be used, like setting up a teen center to deal with the problems mentioned above.

“We have a new program being implemented for teen moms and their children called a “social program for adolescent moms and their children.” It is like 4Ps, where they will receive a monthly stipend to support them finish their studies and livelihood programs for them to be able to support the needs of their child,” says POPCOM-10 Technical Section Head Jeremias Cabasan.

POPCOM urges everyone to work together to better address the teenage pregnancy case in the region. Teenage pregnancies are caused by many things, including the teens themselves, their families, the community, and even how policies are put into place. This means that the solution can’t just be found in POPCOM, the Department of Health, or the Department of Education. Instead, there needs to be a collaboration between different agencies and sectors. (JAKA/PIA-10)

DTI-10 turns over POS equipment to OTOP hubs

Posted on by cmn

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Eight One Town, One Product Philippines (OTOP) hubs in northern Mindanao were granted a point-of-sale (POS) terminal worth P25,000 each by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 10 on February 22

OTOP Hub is a one-stop shop that offers a general outlet for quality OTOP products. Strategically located hubs also act as “pasalubong centers,” showcasing the locally rooted products that carry the culture and tradition of a particular place. Its establishment is one of the most impactful interventions under the OTOP program of the DTI.

Through the provincial offices, DTI-10 has worked to keep the hubs in good shape and make sure that its operations run smoothly by constantly keeping an eye on them. The turnover of POS will help the OTOP hubs improve their operations and make it easier for them to keep track of sales, keep books, and manage their inventory.

KaHero, the company that made the POS, also gave a briefing and orientation on how to use the system to the people who worked at the OTOP hubs.

The eight OTOP hubs that received assistance were OTOP Malaybalay and OTOP Valencia in Bukidnon; OTOP Iligan and OTOP Tubod in Lanao del Norte; and OTOP Ginama, OTOP Kuyamis, OTOP Claveria, and Lunâ by Oro Creatives in Misamis Oriental. (DTI-10/PIA-10)

N. Mindanao DRRMC OKs P3.3-B rehab plan for calamity-hit LGUs

Posted on by cmn

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Government agencies comprising the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Northern Mindanao (RDRRMC-10) on Thursday approved the PHP3.3-billion Regional Rehabilitation Plan (RRP) in support of its local government units (LGUs) affected by flooding and landslide in December last year

In an interview, RDRRMC-10 chair Antonio Sugarol said the passage of the budget was part of the mandate of President Ferdinand R. Marcos to identify the priority projects that every LGU need.

“This will be forwarded to the NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council), so they can review with the proceedings and particulars as to projects that will be appropriated,” Sugarol, also the concurrent Office of the Civil Defense–10 directors, said.

The December 2022 shear line weather disturbance mostly affected LGUs in the Misamis Oriental and Misamis Occidental provinces.

The amount of the fund was introduced to the RDRRMC-10 in its special meeting on a post-disaster needs assessment by Mylah Faye Aurora Cariño, director of the National Economic Development Authority-10.

The total fund amount will cover infrastructure and social services-related programs and projects, including agriculture development.

For 2023, about PHP900 million will be initially rolled out to benefit the affected LGUs, while PHP1.3 billion will be sued by 2024.

The rest of the funding will be utilized from 2025 onwards.

“Since the LGUs were given devolved function (from the national government), they can shoulder 74 programs and projects (for the RRP),” Cariño said. (Nef Luczon/PNA)

NorMin logs 8.4% inflation in Jan., ranks 9th in PH

Posted on by cmn

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Northern Mindanao’s inflation rate rose to 8.4% last month, placing the region in the ninth spot nationwide, the regional office of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Feb. 17, 2023

During a media forum here, PSA 10 (Northern Mindanao) Officer-in-Charge Janith Aves said January’s inflation was higher than December 2022’s 7.8 percent and January 2022’s 4.5 percent with food and non-alcoholic beverages mainly accounting for the increase.

“The rise of onion prices was recorded in this period (January 2023) and is one of the major contributors (to the inflation), which was part of the vegetables, tubers, plantains group,” she said.

Under the food and non-alcoholic commodity group, the region’s inflation rate jumped to 12.1 percent, from 7.8 percent in December 2022 and 4.5 percent in January 2022.

Aves said in the region, the provinces of Camiguin and Misamis Oriental registered the highest inflation rate per province with 8.9 percent.

“Camiguin may be the highest for January but it experienced a decrease from its 9.5 percent inflation in December 2022,” she said. Camiguin’s inflation rate in January 2022, however, was 5.3 percent, according to PSA-10 data.

This city has the lowest inflation rate with 8 percent, compared to 8.2 percent in December 2022 and 4.2 percent in January 2022.

Among the 13 main commodity groups where PSA is getting the overall inflation, the financial services sector had zero percent inflation in the region for both January 2023 and December 2022.

Compared to January 2022, the financial services were the highest among the commodity groups with a 45.2 percent inflation rate. (Nef Luczon/PNA)

DOST boosts local food processor’s production

Posted on by cmn

MANOLO FORTICH, Bukidnon – Nestled in Upper Calanawan, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, a thriving food processing facility is providing local farmers with a stable source of income

V&C Agrifarm is considered a business pioneer in the food processing industry with innovative solutions that cater to bulk supplies of processed products through a “B2B” or business-to-business approach.

V&C Agrifarm supplies a pickled mix of ground vegetables and spices soaked in a vinegar-salt solution to NutriAsia Inc. (NAI).

V&C Agrifarm’s innovations earned them the Husay Award: Innovation Trailblazer from Nutri-Asia Inc. in 2022 as they continued to provide a positive impact for the Philippines’ leading producer and distributor of sauces and condiments in the Philippines, NutriAsia Inc. (NAI).

This gave its owners, Virgil, and Cleofe Abejuela, more energy. They are both retired chemical engineers who started the business in 2018 after seeing a rise in demand for pickled products on the market and wanting to supply more of them.

Recently, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Undersecretary for Regional Operations Sancho A. Mabborang visited the facility as the agency provided equipment and technical consulting services to V&C Agrifarm.

Through the DOST’s Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP), the agency provided the processors with automatic vegetable washers, dryers, and grinders for bell pepper, garlic, chili, and onion.

V&C no longer has to wash and dry tons of bell peppers by hand because they have machines that do it for them. This makes them more efficient and productive.

Cleofe Abejuela, co-owner of V&C Agrifarm, said, “The washer and the dryer, the equipment, it really helped us from “mano-mano” (manual washing) to semi-mechanized process. We were given FDA [LTO] last year.”

The processors were given technical advice on food safety, which helped the company get a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) License to Operate (LTO).

The processors were also given technical advice on standardizing pickled vegetables by applying food safety standards from the time they got the raw materials to the time they delivered them.

“There is a collaboration between us, DOST, and USTP. USTP provides training for our staff on food safety. I had the chance to join the forum of SETUP; there were already plenty of beneficiaries; we had a meeting in Malaybalay; I was one of the speakers; it was a common sentiment among those who availed [the program] that it changes your outlook towards the government,” said Virgil Abejuela, co-owner of V&C Agrifarm.

One of the flagship programs of the DOST, the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program, or SETUP, is a nationwide strategy that encourages and assists micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in adopting the utilization of technological innovations.

This is meant to improve operational efficiency, increase productivity, and make businesses more competitive, with a big focus on finding solutions based on local conditions and production problems.

DOST Undersecretary Mabborang said, “DOST is cross-cutting, multi-dimensional, sometimes in agriculture, sometimes in engineering, sometimes we are into the laboratories, as long as there is an area that has science and technology.”

Mabborang also encourages other government agencies to also help MSMEs achieve business growth and success, saying, “Para makatulong din sila, ayaw naman namin na kami lang ang bida (so that they may also help, as we also don’t want all the credit).”

Now with automation, V&C Agrifarm’s production increased from the usual monthly average of 381 bags to 826 bags, which means an average increase of 445 (20 kg per bag) bags monthly or 117%.

MSME owners may inquire about and avail themselves of SETUP from a regional DOST office near them. In northern Mindanao, one may call 0917 857 9117 or visit the DOST-10 website at https://region10.dost.gov.ph/. (SAYU | PIA-10)

2 wanted men nakorner

Posted on by Diego M. Hidalgo

Duha ka wanted nga lalaki ang nasikop sa hiniusang pwersa sa kapolisan sa managlahing lugar ug higayon

Base sa report nga nahipos sa Bukidnon Police Provincial Office (PPO), ang duha giila nga si Jeffrey Hamoner y Labadan alyas “Jojo” ug Rudy Arobe Saballa alyas “Egor”.

Si Hamoner, 28, ulitawo, mag-uuma, isa ka CTG member, ug residente sa P-5, Migcuya, Dangcagan, Bukidnon.

Siya nasikop kaniadtong Peb. 8, 2023 sa 72nd Infantry Battalion (IB), Philippine Army (PA), P-7, Poblacion, Dangcagan, Bukidnon.

Gisikop siya pinasubay sa warrant of arrest sa kasong multiple frustrated murder nga nakadukit sa kaso criminal numero 28850-16 pinetsahan Hulyo 20, 2017.

Sa laing bahin, si Saballa, 53, minyo, former CTG member, giila usab nga top 10 most wanted person sa Bukidnon, ug residente sa Brgy. Malamba, Marilog District, Davao City.

Siya nasikop kaniadtong Peb. 11, 2023 sa P-2A, Malagos, Baguio District, Davao City.

Gisikop siya pinasubay sa warrant of arrest sa duha ka ihap sa kasong frustrated murder nga nakadukit sa kaso criminal numero 34597-19 ug 34598-19 pinetsahan Hunyo 15, 2020.

Si Hamoner anaa ubos sa kustodiya sa 72nd IB, PA samtang si Saballa gidala sa 1003rd Brigade, 10th Infantry Division (ID), Philippine Army alang sa hustong disposasyon. (Diego M. Hidalgo)

Local health systems maturity level orientation and road map sa Bukidnon, gipahigayon

Posted on by Omar Rashid Z. Abdullah

Nipahigayon ang mga personahe sa Department of Health Northern Mindanao inubanan sa DOH Bukidnon ang 3-day orientation on Road Map to Universal Health Care (UHC) Integration alang sa probinsya sa Bukidnon, kaniadtong Pebrero 8-10, sa Loiza’s Pavillion, Casisang, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon

Nahitabo sulod sa orientation ang session sa tanang Development Management Officers (DMOs) diin gihisgutan ang UHC og ang strategic planning on the characteristics sa Local Health Systems Maturity Level.

Gisundan dayon sa pagpasabot sa UHC LHS ML characteristics ngadto sa mga membro sa UHC Bukidnon Technical Working Goup sa Kagamhanang Probinsyal sa Bukidnon.

Gihisgutang usab ang mahimong sunod nga mga lakang nga pagahimoun aron matuman og makab-ot ang kina tibuk-ang tinguha niini nga masiguro ang patas nga pag-access sa de-kalidad og barato nga health care og proteksyon batok sa risgong pinansyal sa tanang katawhan sa Bukidnon.

Ang UHC nagpasabot sa himsog nga pagkinabuhi, nangunang pag-atiman sa matag pamilya, og matag-an ang galastohon sa panglawas. (Omar Rashid Z. Abdullah)

MinDA, UN office partner for Mindanao dev’t

Posted on by cmn

DAVAO CITY – The Mindanao Development Authority and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) signed a partnership Wednesday to provide various developments in the island region

MinDA Secretary Maria Belen Acosta and Oscar Marenco, the UNOPS country manager, agreed to cooperate on technical assistance in infrastructure master planning and project priority identification, as well as consideration of possible mechanisms for the development of infrastructure projects.

Likewise, both parties also agreed to provide technical assistance and advisory services for infrastructure projects and to support project implementation through project management, supervision, monitoring, and evaluation.

“We share the vision of MinDA that there will only be sustainable development in Mindanao if there’s peace and stability. The vision that MinDA has is the vision that UNOPs and the UN system would like really to support,” Marenco said in a press briefing.

One of the major plans for the partnership, he said, is the setup of a project preparation facility (PPF), a rolling fund for local government units (LGUs), state universities and colleges, and other Mindanao partners.

“What we are creating is a financial vehicle; we are investing PPF to the Philippines level. The pledges of support in terms of finances are coming next starting with small financing to several partners,” Marenco said, adding that there is no exact amount determined yet for its allocation.

Following the signing, the UNOPs and MinDA team will formulate the guidelines for availing the facility seen to take place by next year.

Marenco said they are targeting two areas for the initiative – the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and other areas in Mindanao.

“We have a situation in BARMM that is very specific. Sixty-five percent of the whole support of the UN system is focused on BARMM but this is a transitional stage, and they need additional support not only from the national level but development partners as well,” he said.

For MinDA’s part, Acosta said they will look into the needs of the LGUs in terms of the project and match it to the provider.

“That is the task of MinDA to harmonize, integrate, and that no one is left behind. With the partnership with UNOPS, it will become more efficient since MinDA, as a government agency has limitations,” she said. (Che Palicte/PNA)