New rice varities drought, flood resilient ByBong Pedalino The National Food Authority (NFA), in close coordination with the De- partment of Science and Technology (DOST), is working on a new breed of hybrid rice seeds that can survive with less fertilizer, less water, and resilient even when flooded. These crops, in short, can withstand extreme weather conditions. December 1-15, 2015 Media Center, 2nd Flr., Capitol Bldg. Vol. III, No. 11 And this is happening in a pilot har- vest in Bulacan, said NFA Administrator Renan Dalisay in a chance interview with local media. Local businessmen to invest Dalisay was in the city as part of his field inspection visits in rice markets, his DPWH earmarks style of management in which he directly talked with rice retailers to get a first-hand over P200M for HS in VCO production feel of the demand and supply situation. classrooms By Erna Sy Gorne He said that once the new generation of resilient rice varieties will be widely dis- By Rebecca Cadavos At least six local businessmen are seriously considering to invest in Virgin Coco Oil (VCO) production, a business venture seen to be sprout- tributed to farmers, a “40% cut on the cost of production” can be had, leading to a For the year 2015, the na- ing in six areas in the province. competitive rice production of the country tional government through “VCO manufactoring plants es- Provincial Director Michael Nunez, in the year 2017. the Department of Public timates are now being undertaken he noted that Congressman Damian The NFA is also coordinating with re- Works and Highways (DPWH) by a consultant Dieter Zumpee of Mercado coordinated with German search institutions like the International has earmarked Php213.15 the SCE Services based in Germany,” consultants to assist the local inves- Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Phil- Million for the construction DTI Trade Specialist II Sandra Alco- tors in producing globally competi- rice for further development and for mass ber disclosed. tive VCOs. distribution of the upgraded varieties once of 202 classrooms for public The technical services of foreign Alcober said that the German they would be available, Dalisay said. secondary schools through- based consultants are very critical consultant will be staying in the “If we can produce these types of out Southern , DP- in the production of a globally com- province in the next 16 days to at- seeds, we will no longer import,” he WH- District added. petitive VCO product even from the (to page 2) Engineer Ma. Margarita c. Ju- construction of manufacturing plant nia informed. designs down to its production to Radio groups have one In a press release, Junia ensure international market, it was stated that the DPWH sets a learned. voice during disasters (to page 2) Earlier, in an interview with DTI By Erna Sy Gorne The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council Cong. Robredo is guest visitor for Cong. DGM birthday party (PDRRMC) successfully brought all the ham radio operators in the province to an agreement to work as one group in times of disasters. PDRRMO Officer Danilo Atien- Provincial Police Office (SLPPO), za said in times of disasters con- Philippine Red Cross-Southern ventional communications such as Leyte Chapter, and different local telephones in long lines, cellphones, government units handling ham ra- radio broadcasts, among others will dio communications, they were re- be bugged down due to broken lines quested to give up their respective and long power brown-out such that identities in times of disasters and the ham radio networks will be the to work as one group, as well, he only available communications that added. will stand. Hence, the Association of South- With the presence of several ern Leyte Radio Communicators ham radio networks in the locality Group (ASLRCG) was formed with such as MAGMA, ARCOM, Bu.of its newly elected officers name- Fire Protection (BFP), PNP-SoLeyte (to page 2) Pre-Spanish pottery found in ByBong Pedalino A rare piece of pot- tery was discovered in the historic island-town of Limasawa while the National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA) was having a cultural mapping of the area. In a text message, November 16, Nedgar Garvez, Provincial Tourism Officer, said the pottery artifact was inscribed with “baybayin” writings, a form ANCIENT POT: Found in Limasawa island, this pot is believed 1,200 years old, according to experts who examined it, said Nedgar Garvez, of alphabet said to be the provincial tourism officer. The inscription, in baybayin, read "Masaua". (to page 2) Vol. III, No.11 Local businessmen... CITY NEWS (from page 1) tend to the technical needs in the construction of 2 years old below benefit bub program six VCO manufactoring plants in different areas, namely Maasin City, Bontoc, Sogod and , on supplemental feeding all in Southern Leyte. She added that the six local businessmen, By Rebecca Cadavos though she opted not to reveal the identities of taken from the local social welfare office At least 694 children in Maasin City, these local investors for now, except for the Pin- here once every two weeks, Social Welfare 2 years and below benefit the supple- tuyan Cooperative in Pintuyan, are all coming Assistant Arot said. mental feeding from the Department of from the provincce and are willing to establish The BNS had already started getting Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) VCO plants. their food items-recipes from the CSWDO under the Bottoms-up Budgeting (BuB) PD Nunez said the demand for VCO product last week yet. program of the national government. is growing particularly those coming from abroad City Social Welfare Office focal Person He reported that the DSWD through the such as Europe, Japan, China, Germany and USA. Rolly Arot informed that the children-bene- BuB allocated P800,000 for the supplemen- Nunez forecasted that VCO production will ficiaries were identified by the City Health tal feeding of children 2 years old and under roll on by the first quarter of next year. Units 1, 2 and 3 in Maasin City through their while the city government of Maasin appro- Nutrition Scholars. priated P200,000 for the purchase of rice The feeding will cater the kids for 120 as their counterpart. Radio groups... (from page 1) feeding days, while the BNS together The supplemental feeding program that with the parents’ beneficiaries prepared will be provided weekdays to the recipients, ly, Chairman- Dr Jerome Paler, MAGMA; Vice 10 menus good for two weeks where the aims to sustain nutritional status among Chairman- Ramonito Abadiano; ARCOM, Sec- goods such as vegetables, chicken, fish, children starting at a young age and pro- retary- Venancio Samalca, and the Net Control pork meat, among other food items will be viding regular meals for 120 feeding days. Officers will be represented by each of the ham operators groups. National Telecommunications (NTC) Provin- City harvests 44 medals at PNG cial Officer Engr Rose Seno, who gave the brief- By Rebecca Cadavos ing on the basic principles of radio communic- A total of 44 medals distributed to 10, golds, 10 silvers and 24 bronze medals were received tions, also informed the different groups of the by Maasin City sports delegation from the finals of the Philippine National Games- Qual- official mandate that all the ham radio operators ifying Leg held in Antique province, November 10-14, 2015. in any locality should group together in one fre- The overall medals reaped by the city athletes showed the support of the city government for quency in times of disasters. sports excellence which is one of the thrusts of City Mayor Maloney Samaco’s administration. It was agreed that during “peacetime ” , the Maasin City athletes shone and gained their awards in the sports such as swimming, taekwando, ham operators may work independently pursu- chess, boxing, among the few. Among other games competed by the city government include muay ing their respective visions and missions, Atienza added. thai, archery, billiards, pencak silat, badminton and athletics. Meanwhile, PDRRM Officer Atienza further The medalists of the PNG-Visayas Qualifying Leg will represent Maasin City to the PNG-National informed the group that the local government of Games to be held next year, it was learned. Southern Leyte through the initiatives of Gov- The Philippine National Games initiated by the Philippine Sports Commission is envisioned to ernor Roger Mercado that the second wave of effectively address the need for a truly comprehensive grassroots sports development program, gen- budget in the amount of P4 Million pesos for the erating sports activities in the countryside and harnessing the full potential of our people to athletic completion of the five repeaters and procurement excellence. of 40 hand held radios more is already approved. All Local Government Units (LGUs) constituting the Physical Fitness and Sports Development Councils consisting officials of barangay, city, municipal and provincial sector are directed to extend full support and active participation in the Philippine National Games, it was learned further. Pre-Spanish pottery... On the other hand, Maasin City Sports Council is now preparing the athletes who were medalists (from page 1) and will qualify to the Batang Pinoy 2015 Championship Games on November 25, 2015 to be held in Cebu. The Visayas Qualifying Leg for Batang Pinoy was held last August, this year in Romblon. oldest in the country. Baybayin is an ancient Filipino writing sys- tem in pre-Spanish times. According to Wiki- DPWH earmarks... (from page 1) pedia, the system originated from the Javanese script and part of the Brahmic family of Bur- weekly coordination meeting with the Department of Education (DepEd) to ensure timely mese, abigoda, Tamil, and Malayalam. construction of the said school buildings in the province. In a related development, Limasawa Mayor “The regular meeting scheduled with DepEd officials aims to step up monitoring of Melchor Petracorta confirmed the find, saying someone was digging in barangay San Agus- school building projects, in preparation for the full implementation of Senior High School tin, the upper portion of the island, and found a program next school year,” Junia quoted. skeletal remain with the pot nearby. The regular meeting is in compliance to DepEd Memorandum Circular No. 125 direct- In a radio interview over dydm this morning, ing all education officials to meet weekly with DPWH engineers in order to address issues Petracorta said the excavated pottery was only and concerns which may arise in the project implementation, it was learned. the second of its kind, with its baybayin writings, the first one housed at the NCCA museum. DE Junia said that as of last week, 26 projects, representing the first batch have been The NCCA is still continuing its work on cul- bid out and nine projects under third batch were also bid out. tural mapping during which the item was dis- The SLDEO is also done with the bidding of five buildings for vocational and technical covered, with high hopes other ancient artifacts schools while on the pipeline is the bidding for the sixth batch. Pre-detailed engineering may still be dug, Petracorta said. is also on-going for the 7th and 8th batches, the source further said. The discovery was proof that long before the arrival of Magellan and his fleet in the year The 2015 budget is more than double than last year’s Php100.55 Million allocation for 1521, a flourishing civilization was already ex- the construction of learning rooms throughout the province, Junia further noted. isting in the island, Petracorta also said.

Page 2 December 1-15, 2015 Vol. III, No.11

ALAY LAKAD 2015 in Maasin City, Nov. 19, 2015 participated by students, DepEd, PNP and the BFP-Maasin City personnel, among other local and nation- al govt. employees. One of the highlights during day activity is the raffle tickets draw. (above photos and below)

CHILDREN show their skills in dancing during the children’s month celebration at the city gym.

HBD: Cong. Mercado acknowledges well-wishes (below). At right, heads of national agencies offer birthday cakes, while NFA ADMINISTRATOR RENAN DALISAY (in white shirt) talks to a rice above, one of the retailer in Maasin City market during his visit/inspection 111215 with Re- dedicatory numbers. gional NFA head Celedonio Mendoza, Sr. ( in red shirt) and provincial staff. (above and below photos)

December 1-15, 2015 Page 3 Vol. III, No.11 na ang IRA sa mga local government unit tibuok nasod. Kini maoy iyang gibuhian nga pamahayag atubangan sa mga piniling opisyal sa atong lalawigan,. Dugang niyang asoy nga kini maoy plano sa kasamtangang goberno nga padak-an ang IRA nga ihatag aron makalihok ang LGU sa ilang mga proyekto sa matag dapit kay ang kaulohan nga goberno wala nasayod sa panginahanglan sa matag dapit. Apan kining tanan PROBENSYA SA SO. LEYTE, GEIMBITAR nga mga hunahuna og ideya dili makaangkon og katumanan kon lain SA NATIONAL SPORTS FORUM nga pangulo ang molingkod sa sunod tuig sa Malacañang. Hinungdan nga iyang gihangyo ang mga naminaw nga mga bisita nga suportahan ang kandidatura ni LP presidentiable Mar Roxas nga maoy misumpay Cebu City - Ang lalawigan sa So. Leyte dili na ma-iwit sa mga sa programa nga "matuwid na daan". dagkong kalihukan, ilabina sa mga nasudnong aktibedadis nga gipa- Sa iyang dugang pamahayag nga ang Goberno mohatag og higayon o ipahigayun sa national government. Mga panghitabo nga mga building alang sa police station, fire station apil ang mga kahiman- nahimong tipik og kabahin sa mga nagdumala nga gisubay ang maay- an niini. ong pamaagi, aron makit-an sa kaulohan nga goberno. Og kini napa- Sigurohon lamang sa mga mohangyo nga LGU, nga adunay matud-an sa dihang gidapit si Gobernador Roger G. Mercado, sa mga yuta nga kaugalingon nga barogan sa building aron madali ang pag- opisyales sa Phil. Sports Commission sa tulo ka adlaw nga Sports Fo- proseso sa mga papeles. Gikalipay sa mga LGU opisyal ang mao nga rum. Ang maong tanyag nga panagtapok gihimo didto sa Dakbayan pamahayag ni Sec. Sarmiento. sa Sugbo. Mga Gobernador, Mayor, Dep-Ed opisyal, sports coordi- nator, og mga LGU Rep. sa tibuok nasod nisalmot niini from Apari to Jolo. Mga Sports Commissioner Luis R. Gomez, nga suod silang ami- TEXTBLAST NEWS go si Gob. Roger G. Mercado, og nasundan niya ang pang-goberno sa naulahi, ilabina sa natad sa paognat sa kusog, crime prevention, Youth Forum health care, education for the youth, og environment protection. Nail- han sa kaulohan ang taga Southern Leyte. LGU-San Francisco holds Climate Change Children and Youth Forum, No- vember 19 at the municipal covered court in coordination with LGU-Southern WATER PIPE MIABOT NA Leyte and Coral Cay Conservation. The LGU joins in celebrating the Nation- al Environmental Awareness Month, National Clean Air Month, and Nation- PEO - Bisan pa og nakatapos na ang rulo ka tuig sa iyang al Climate Change Consciousness Week November 19-25, 2015. This year’s termino isip Gobernador, hangtod niining mga gotlo-a walay kukaluya theme is dubbed, “Empowering the Youth for a Green ASEAN Community. si Gobernador Roger G. Mercado, sa paghatag og maayong mehu- (rgc) ras aron mapamatud-an pinaagi sa iyang paggahin og dakong salapi para ipamalit og mga tubo sa tubig alang sa mga baryohanon nga Alay-Lakad grads nangindahay og maayong tubig nga mainom Sa milabayng adlaw ning abot sa buhatan sa PEO probensyal Alay-Lakad Foundation has produced almost 30 college graduates with three engineering office ang tubo sa tubig (plastic standard quality) nga remaining, studying at Maasin City College, CSWDO Youth Focal Person Ariel nagkantidad ug P1,500,000.00. Sumala sa asoy ni Engr. Nelson Tan Kirong said. For the three scholars a total of P 81,265.00 were financially as- ang tubo gipalit sa probensya aron hatagan og kasulbaran ang prob- sisted. The amount were proceeds from the contributions of the Alay-Lakad lema sa kakulangon og tubo para sa "water system" project sa Gober- yearly activity, P 125.00 from department heads and P 50.00 each from the nador. Nasayran nga mga lugar sa Pacific Area ug rank and file employees. (rgc) nakasugat og problema sa tubig. Adunay maayong tinubdan sa deka- lidad nga tubig, apan walay tubo nga magamit ang mga katawhan. Sa pagkakaron mga lugar sa Pacific area susama sa Brgy. Mercedes, Cacao inter-cropping , Brgy. Sugbok og brgy. Plaridel sa , maoy gidu-aw sa mga taga PEO aron susihon ang gidaghanun sa mga tubo nga The Provincial Agriculture Services Office (PAgSO) spearheads the inter-crop- ilang gikinahanglan. ping of cacao plants to 90 hectares under coconut plantations in nine munic- ipalities including one city, namely, Maasin City, , , Bontoc, Hinundayan, Liloan, San Francisco, Pintuyan, and with KADAGATAN SA BONTOC UG TOMAS OPPUS, 20 farms engaged per town. Technicians urged the farmers to start planting within this month while there are still rains coming. (esg) BIKTIMA SA DYNAMITE FISHING

Brgy. San Antonio, Tomas Oppus, So. Leyte - Gumikan sa ka- New City Jail dahot sa mga tawo aron mokita og kwarta, dili nila igsapayan nga sila naka guba na diay sa natoralisa natong kinaiyahang bahandi nga Maasin City jail will transfer to its new location along the boundaries of baran- gibilin kanato sa Ginoo. Illegal quarrying, illegal fishing, illegal mining, gays Libhu and Bactul. The P 4 Million new city jail building will be funded by illegal logging, illegal drugs, illegal smuggling, og daghan pa nga mga the BJMP to a 3,000 square meter lot donated by the city government, City Jail buhat illegal, maoy mihinayhinay pagguba sa kalibutan. Binahatan sa Warden Joyce Abar disclosed. She also reported that 84% cases of inmates are tawo nga dili maondang gumikan naghingapin nga kagustuhan para drugs-related. (esg) madato, apan wala handoma og hunahunaa ang kaugma-on sa mga linghod nga mga kabataan, nga maoy mopuli niining mga lagas na nga henerasyon. Balik tan-aw sa mga panghitabo sa atong dapit, gibutyag sa mga scuba divers gikan sa Pagadian City, nga membro sa "Lifetime Scuba Divers" nga sa ilang paglangoy-langoy sa kadagatan sakop sa lungsod sa Bontoc, hangtod sa Brgy. San Antonio, Tomas Oppus, biktima sa cynanide fishing. Ang mao nga matang sa panagat mopa- tay sa dagko ug pino nga mga isda, og mapolbos ang mga corals nga maigo niining matanga sa panagat. Og kini maoy nagdasig ni Gobernador Roger Mercado nga magpatanom og mga "fast growing corals" sa kadagatan sakop sa Tomas Oppus, aron mobalik ang natoralisa nga talan-awon ilalom sa kadagatan.

IRA MODAKO SA TUIG 2018

PNP Camp Ruperto Kangleon, Brgy. Asuncion, Maasin City - Gibutyag ni DILG Secretary Senen Sarmiento sa iyang pagduaw sa kampo sa kapolisan sa miaging mga adlaw nga sa tuig 2018, modoble

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