Bikol Reporter November 15 - 21, 2015 Issue

outstAnDinGlocAl newspAperFor Five Consecutive YearsSt. peter Baptist CatholicMass Media awards

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reGionAl eXponent for proGress

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Focus on agri-tourism, manufacturingex-NEDAhead urges

vol. XXiii, no. 5 bicol, the philippines november 15-21, 2015 p5.00

rep. reyes and Mayor sArION

reyes favors Daet citihood Bicol now 7thpoorest region

Daet, CNorte -- In-cumbent 1st District rep-resentative and Cama-

rines Norte gubernatorial candidate Catherine Bar-celona reyes said she fully

supports the bid of mayor tito S. Sarion to convert his town into a city.

Reyes said she had passed in Congress a “one province, one city” bill which entitles a province to create one city among its towns.

She explained that un-der the Local Government Code, the conversion of municipalities into cit-ies take into consideration such requirements as land area, population and annual income.

While Daet fulfi lls the (Turn to page 7)

By FrANK PeNONes Jr.

NaGa CItY - Bicol will do well to focus on three growth sectors if the region will have an economic turn-around, a former economic planning head of the country suggested here.

“The Philippine Development Plan has identifi ed agriculture, tourism and manufacturing as the three strong drivers for the region. Bicol can follow these track,” erstwhile National Economic Development Authority top honcho Cielito F. Habito pointed out.

INVESTMENT FORUM JrM, PIAV/Camarines sur

Department of Trade and Industry and Board of Investment offi cials briefed participants and the local media on the Industry Roadmaps and ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Gameplan: Roadmap Localization for Competitiveness.

Habito said there should be a complementation between the service and manufacturing sectors along with more gov-ernment and private sector tie-ups in the agriculture and tour-ism sector to propel growth in the region.

Last year, Bicol had a slow down in its economic perfor-mance, particularly with a very high (33%) underemployment

record which is way above the 20% national mark.Assistant Secretary Rafaelita Aldaba of the Department of

Trade and Industry, however, said she is confi dent Bicol will be able to hurdle this economic snag as she called on for more investments in the three sectors.

(Turn to page 7)

By DANNy O. CALLeJA

LeGaZPI CItY – one piece of good news that lifts Bicolanos’ morale is that not one among the re-gion’s six provinces made it to the latest listing released by the National anti-Pov-erty Commission (NaPC) carrying the country’s top 10 with highest poverty incidence among fami-lies. “although we regret knowing that our country has provinces where great numbers of families live in destitution, we are pleased by the information that not one Bicol province is now considered within the top 10 in the poverty incidence list,” this city’s mayor Noel rosal on Sun-day said.

This city is among the three localities among Al-bay province’s 18 local government units that made it to the latest listing of Bi-col cities and municipali-ties with lower incidence of poverty. The listing, which was recently released by the National Statistical Coordi-

NIPA WEAVING CePPIO

Naga City Councilor and Former Vice Mayor Gabby Bordado tries his hand at tiklad-making in Balongay, Calabanga, Camarines Sur where the making of nipa roof shingles is one sure source of income as aptly captured by this adage: “An tawong maurop asin may pagmakulog, malalaoman asin masasarigan, siring sa atop nin nipa na probado nang limpoy sa tig-init asin pandong sa tig-uran.”

nation Board (NSCB) of the Philippine Statistics Author-ity (PSA) based on the project on the generation of the 2012 Municipal and City Level

Poverty Estimates, says that poverty incidence in 88 of the 114 municipalities and the seven cities of the region

(Turn to page 6)

bikol reporter2 november 15-21, 2015opinion

The photos and accounts of the carnage seemed to have come out straight from a Le Carre’ novel.

Bloodied bodies and dismembered limbs all over in a soccer stadium and cafes – unexpected and unlikely places for such violence.

President Obama is right in describing the recent Parisian mayhem as an “attack on all of humanity.”

Humanity because those rock fans or those dining in restaurants are no different from your teenager kids or your co-employees having a drink to end their day’s work.

Their senseless death therefore reduces the sapientia in the humans in us.

As John Donne puts it: “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.”

France, the navel of such ideals as liberte’, egalite’ and fraternite’, may be thousand miles away but her people should be in our prayers.

Let this recent bloodbath reminds us that evil, which in recent years come in the form of religious fundamentalism, is ever present.

As the country and the region hosts two international gatherings this month, let us not be cowered by these acts.

Beside security preparations, we believe that to fight evil, we need to show the perpetrators we love life and no way shall we allow evil to triumph.

VIsIT Our weBsITe:www.bikolreport.blogspot.com

editorial

The evilsthat men do

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Atty. TONY (APA) ACYATAN

giant Singapore has 5.4 M people only, while oil-rich Brunei has 400 T population.

On economic growth, Singapore – an island state 716 square kilometers in area (just as big as MManila, has a GDP of $268B, though still smaller than Malaysia - $307B, and Thailand - $377B. The demographic study was commissioned by South Korea which aims to tie-up with the ASEAN Ten. SK wants to increase trade volume, accelerate investment flow, invigorate tourism and enrich cultural and people to peple exchange between Korea and the ASEAN member states.

TAXATION: When a taxpayer overpays his taxes, he has three options to recover said excess. First is to apply for cash refund, the second is to get tax credit – and the third is to simply carry over excess payment on to the next tax period. If the taxpayer fails to indicate in his return his choice of option, he is deemed to have chosen the third alternative. In a recent Supreme Court ruling on a case where the taxpayer carried over the excess tax payment, said option becomes irrevocable!

Taxpayers and their consultants

(Atty. APA – chairs Acyatan & Co., CPAs-DFK International – is past chair of ASEAN Federation of CPAs, PICPA past president and Hall-of-Famer, and ACPAPP Lifetime Achievement Awardee).

NIRC AMENDMENT: Both houses of Congress have expressed solid support for the restructuring of our income tax laws – particularly those referring to individuals. For individuals, income taxes are withheld automatically by employers and directly remitted to BIR. Those receiving minimum wages are exempt from income tax. I/T rate for those with taxable net income not over P10,000- is 5%. The rate goes up to 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% - up to taxable income of P500T. Highest I/T rate is 32%.

Phl individual income tax rates are highest in ASEAN. Brunei I/T is 0% and the other ASEAN with about 20% only). Here, individuals may claim personal deductions depending on status (single or married – with additional deduction per child of P50T). For corporations, our income tax of 30% is the highest in ASEAN and in the Far East. Our I/T rate must be reduced to improve inflows of Foreign Direct Investments and to open employment opportunities for our people.

DEMOGRAPHICS: Another ASEAN statistics pertains to population. Most populous country is Indonesia with 248 M people. The Philippines is second with 101.6 M, followed by Vietnam - 89.7 M population, Thailand - 68.2 M and Myanmar – 61.5 M. Fifth in population is Malaysia - 29.9 M, followed by Cambodia (7th) - 14.9 M, and tiny Laos (8th) - 6.6M. Economic

“Reducing” Income Taxmust be careful in deciding what to do with their excess tax payment. In actuality, it is more practical to just carry over the excess for the next period. The reason here is because either by design or not – the BIR “makes it hard” for the cash or tax credit to be approved. Refund or tax credit may be allowed only after all filed returns of the requesting party shall have been audited for any tax deficiency. Sori, hindi na lang po!

DOC. STAMPS: When two parties enter into an agreement which is subject to documentary stamp tax – they can stipulate as to who will shoulder said DST. After such payment, any subsequent deficiency DST assessment shall be chargeable against whoever is the paying party. In practice, in case of sale of realty, the documentary stamp tax is payable by the same party who is paying the transfer tax (CGT or CWT). But as said earlier – there can be stipulations to the contrary.

The DST is payable within the first five days of the month following transaction date. In contrast, transfer tax is due within thirty (30) days from document date. Payment after deadline subjects the transaction to (one-time) 25% surcharge (or 50% if there is bad faith) plus interest at 20% p.a. , plus compromise penalty (dependent on the amount of deficiency). It is always wise for parties to stipulate on tax liabilities, so that timely and penalty-free payment can be done.

WISDOM: Christian living is a process of continuing conversion, in words and deeds. Always walk your talk!

www.wsj.com

DOLe Bicol’s war vs child laborin Camarines Norte continues

Daet, Cam. Norte -- “our war on Child Labor in Camarines Norte continues” DoLe Bicol regional di-rector Nathaniel V. Lacambra said over the tri-media yesterday after showing the list of activities conduct-ed by DoLe Bicol which started im-mediately, a day, after the release of the Human rights Watch organiza-tion (HrWo) report on child labor incidence on said province.

“This is to show the public that we have never backed down or lay-low with our commitment to end Child Labor in this mining capital of the re-gion however hard the challenge is,” RD Lacambra added.

It can be recalled that at least five (5) Barangays in three (3) munici-palities in the Province of Camarines Norte had been the subject of the HRWO report having high child labor incidence particularly in small scale mining. Subject child laborers were even interviewed and broadcasted on national TV. With such report, DOLE Bicol immediately dispatched two composite teams, a day after the air-ing of said HRWO report on national

media, for verification purposes and in order to plan and facilitate its con-tinuous intervention.

Moreover, weeks after the HRWO report major interventions, such as the Orientation on RA 9231 and DOLE programs and services particularly on livelihood grant were conducted by DOLE Bicol to the parents, child laborers, Municipal and Barangay officials in LGU Labo and Jose Pan-ganiban. Also, DOLE awarded educa-tional supplies and hygiene kits under its Project Angel Tree to fifty four (54) profiled child laborers in said areas af-ter the orientation last October 20.

Positive feedback from the parents, child laborers and LGU officials were solicited by DOLE Bicol particularly on pledging their commitment to eventually stop child labor in mining.

“So far we saw that the parents un-derstood the law and the dangers of child labor in mining. We are happy that the LGUs concerned gave their commitment and support to the pro-gram,” ARD Trayvilla added.

As of press time, members of the Barangay Council for the Protection

of Children of Brgy. Malaya in Labo and Sta. Milagrosa and San Rafael in Jose Panganiban and in Paracale have been tapped by DOLE Bicol for the continuous monitoring of child labor incidence in small scale mining and proposals for alterna-tive livelihood for the parents of child laborers are being crafted by the DOLE Camariens Norte Pro-vincial Field Office headed by Ms. Jane Rolda.

DOLE Bicol has also tapped its attached agencies, like the TESDA and RTWPB for possible skills and productivity training for the parents of child laborers.

“Similarly we are also looking at the possibility of initiating a Ba-rangay part-time job program for child laborers who are out of school youths (OSY). Hopefully with the help of our central office a guideline on such initiative would come up,” ARD Trayvilla added.

On the other hand, DOLE Bicol has also initiated a parallel interven-tion to child laborers identified in the province of Masbate.

bikol reporter 3november 15-21, 2015

(Turn to page 6)

Prieto Diaz mangrove forests lure tour-By DANNy O. CALLeJA

SorSoGoN CItY – Down northeast of this pro-vincial capital, 20 kilometers away is an off-the-beaten-path coastal town that de-serves to be celebrated as a modest rural locality that was able to successfully es-tablish, maintain and pro-tect an exceptional ecological asset.

The town, Prieto Diaz, named after two Bicolano martyrs—Fr. Gabriel Prieto (1853-1897) and Fr. Severino Diaz (1862-1897) when it got its independence from the nearby municipality of Bacon (now part of this city) in Oc-tober 1903 ,is located along the coast of Pacific Ocean and home to about 20,500 people as of the 2010 government survey.

It owns a 500-hectare shore-line forest canopy greened by various kinds of fully-grown mangrove trees that shadow a 300-hectare of shallow cove of brackish water whose bed is thickly covered with several varieties of sea grass that grace-fully dance through the gentle current while serving as nest-ing, feeding and playground for hundreds of fish species.

Covering nine of the mu-nicipality’s 23 barangays, the sprawling mangrove forest,

More funds soughtfor Bicol projects

reD BrAgAs

By DANNy O. CALLeJA

PILI, Camarines Sur – after wowing evaluators of the implementation in Bi-col of the foreign-supported Philippine rural Develop-ment Project (PrDP), its implementers are seeking for additional financing as they commit to sustain if not surpass the project’s accom-plishments for the next wave of evaluations.

Last August, the 1st World Bank Implementation Support Mission conducted the evalu-ation and gave the project implementation in the region a satisfactory rating based on its favorable disbursement rate.

Shandy Hubilla, PRDP Project Support Office (PSO) South Luzon Cluster director, here on Wednesday said the measure of success in project implementation is not the ob-ligation but the disbursement status and as of the recent evaluation, Bicol was able to obligate 32 percent of its Php17.3-million target with a disbursement rate of 63 per-cent.

PRDP is a foreign-funded program being implemented

representing a vibrant marine environment itself, serves as habitat of mollusks and birds, nursery of fish and crustaceans, and source of income for hun-dreds of families comprising the municipality’s dominant fisher folk community.

The few thousand residents draw not only food from the seaside forest but also mate-rials for shell craft that earn them some cash.

Bigger income comes from eco-tourism as year round, high school and college stu-dents, scientists, environmen-talists, government officials and nature travelers flock to the site by the hundreds to re-search or savor on the relaxing ambiance of the place.

Imelda Baltazar, the Pro-vincial Environment and Nat-ural Resources Officer (PEN-RO) based here, said Prieto Diaz owns the credit of having served as a sound base in de-veloping and promoting viable livelihood by combining agri-cultural and fishery production innovations while maintaining the integrity of marine sanctu-aries and mangrove forests.

Furthermore, its local gov-ernment leads ecological and social transformation through its mangrove reforestation ini-tiatives and compliance with

the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act while link-ing with various agencies and entities in its resolve to abate the negative impact of climate change to its populace, she said.

Although the municipal-ity is classified as fifth in in-come class, making it one of the poorest among Sorsogon province’s 15 local govern-ment units, Baltazar said it is able to maintain a well-man-aged economy that sustains the productivity of natural

endowments and the life sup-port system needed to build a health society.

“Well-conserved natural resources provide communi-ties with a sustainable source of livelihood and income and, thus, improve their economic welfare -- thus, healthy envi-ronment and good economy ensure the quality of life,” she stressed.

Prieto Diaz’s mangrove for-est and natural sea grass garden is Bicol’s pride, beams town mayor Benito Doma when asked by the Philippines News Agency on Tuesday here how he feels about his municipali-ty’s achievements in ecological protection and conservation.

In 1999, he said, his town, for its mangrove forest that feature a wood and canopy walk and wide expanse of sea-grass on a sprawling seabed whose water offers an exciting row-boating experience, was a recipient of the Best Commu-nity-Based Coastal Resources Management Program Award given by the United Nations Agency for International De-velopment (USAID).

By then, Doma said, the hundreds of thousands aspar-

agus-thin, foot-long mangrove propagules planted back in 1994 have grown to six-inch-thick trunks 15 feet high, with branches extending up to 10 feet.

“We have 29 native man-grove varieties healthily thriv-ing on the reforestation site. It was established and being maintained through SeaMan-cor (Seagrass, Mangrove, Coral), a local people’s orga-nization contracted by the De-partment of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) into a 25-year reforestation and stewardship program,” the mayor said.

While the laughter of chil-dren bathing in the clean river mouth of the mangrove area on school day’s end was a pleas-ing sign of an environmentally healthy town before the estab-lishment of the coastal forest took place, the municipality was not always as blessed.

Doma said that in 1970s up to the 80s, townsfolk were cutting down mangroves for a few pesos a day from firewood traders.

Beaches were dug up with hundreds of sandpits — fur-

(Turn to page 7)

by Department of Agriculture (DA) as a platform for a mod-ern and climate smart agricul-ture in the region and other parts of the country.

Its national implementa-tion carries a Php27.535-bil-lion total fund, consisting of Php20.553 billion loan from the World Bank, Php3.579 bil-lion as national government counterpart, Php3.118 billion equity of the local government units and Php287-million grant from the Global Envi-ronment Facility.

It involves 80 provincial local government units and agri-fishery stakeholders na-tionwide in an attempt to re-alize the goals of improved food security and increased incomes, climate resiliency and enhanced environmental policies and governance.

In six years—2013-2019, the project aims to raise an-nual real farm incomes of household beneficiaries by five percent, increase the val-ue of annual marketed output by seven percent and ensure that 20 percent more farmers and fishers benefit from DA services.

According to DA Regional Executive Director Abelardo Bragas, the lion's share of the PRDP funding for this year worth Php638.4 million has been awarded to Bicol as the region’s share in the Php11.02-billion Intensified Building up of Infrastructure and Logistics for Development funds to fi-nance a total of 195 sub-proj-ects proposed by local govern-ment units (LGUs).

Bragas has expressed op-timism that the PRDP will

bikol reporter4 november 15-21, 2015

Turob

dis*Karte*Kusyon*Kurso

frANk PeÑones jr.

saiyang mga naginibohan – orog na sa pakikipaglaban.

Sa saiyang doctoral dissertation man manongod sa mga tattoo kan mga tribu sa Mt. Province, sinabi kan sakong kaamigang si Dr. Analyn Salvador, na an tattoo arsibo (archive] kan buhay-buhay kan mga Kalinga asin mga iba pang tribu na igwa nin tradisyon nin tattoo.

Marhay sigurong taan paghiling kan mga scholar sa rehiyon an tradisyon kan tattoo sa Bikol, kun igwa pa man na mga records kaini, para sa kun ano man na makukua igding adal manongod sa kultura asin buhay kan satong mga apoon. Magin siguro kun ano an paghiling ta sa ideya kan magayon.

Ngonyan, masasabi ko na kun ta’no ta si mga enot na nagsurat manongod kan mga Bikol sa pag-abot kan kolonyalismo pigladawan kitang “pintados,” siring sa mga Bisaya. Sa pagsaligsig ko sa diksyonaryo ni Lisboa nin mga tataramon na mapahiling kan luma tang ekspresyon nin estetika, nahiling ko an turob asin lipong. An duwa, parehong termino manongod sa tattoo. An enot, manongod sa tawo na may tattoo hali sa habay pababa sa mga tabay; mantang an lipong, palibot sa bilog na hawak an tattoo.

An hawak, bilang medyum o espasyo nin pagtala o record kan buhay o inagihan kan may hawak, parte kan kultura kan mga enot na mga tawong habitante kan mga daga sa may dagat Pasipiko. Kaya an mga

Maori sa New Zealand, sa Polynesia, an mga Hapon, asin mga Bisaya orog na midbid sa lumang istilo nin pagimprentang ini. Sabi ngani kan istoryador na si Dr. Danilo M. Gerona, an lalaking tamong nin tattoo inaapod kadtong oragon ta ini an record kan

halo-halo

Art Education’s Benefitto self-DevelopmentBy JAFFA AreLA OLIVA

Students who study art are 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievements and 3 times more likely to be awarded for school attendance. any-one can learn how to draw, paint, sing, dance, etc. but only few believe it. While a child is still developing, it makes art easier to be taught at the same time applied by young learners.

The brain is composed of 2 parts: the left and the right hemisphere. The left is mostly concerned with the logical thinking and analytical pro-cesses of a person while the right is used for emotional perception, intuition and cre-ativity. So that the brain can efficiently work, both hemi-spheres should work together.

Children naturally love art. Unfortunately, after some point in school, education is now more focused on the things that can only generate your left side of the brain. This

usually includes math, reading and science. It seems that arts is commonly ignored or as if it less important when to excel, your right side should be de-veloped as much as it is with your left.

Art not only improves one's intellectual capability but also to one's behavior. It is said that people with problems tend to feel well when exposed to dif-ferent kind of arts like paint-ings, music, theater and such. It develops skills that can help in the overall personality of a person.

The youth today refuses to believe that they can still learn to be as good as others that causes them to stop from even trying. But through a little help from organizations that promote Art Education, one can realize how much fun learning new things can be. The world has no exact mean-ing for the word art because it itself can only be defined by you yourself.

Never forget that there's Art in Smart.

Catanduanes to hold18-day Christmas show

Chinese Ambassador visit Catanduanes

VIraC, Catanduanes —this year’s Christmas Cheers, a nightly show in this capital town during the Christmas season, will start on Dec. 13.

The Catanduanes State University’s Hablon Dawani will herald the opening of the 18-day night show.

A brief program will mark the start of the event. This will be followed by prayer to be led by Bishop Manolo delos Santos.

Just before the ceremo-nial lighting of the Christmas Tree at Virac Plaza, people can look up at the night sky and enjoy the fireworks.

The tentative schedule of nightly performers: Dec. 13 – Hablondawani; Dec. 14 - CSU Laboratory Schools; Dec. 15 – Taytay Elementary School; Dec. 16 – Juan M.

LeGaZPI CItY – De-scribing Chinese people as “friendly brothers and sisters”, Catanduanes Gov-ernor araceli Wong has expressed gratitude for the recent visit of People’s re-public of China ambassa-dor to the Philippines Zhao Jian Hua and providing Php1.5 million in donations for some socio-economic projects in the province.

China’s envoy arrived in the island along with a clique of Chinese businessmen and fellow diplomats last Oct. 24 on invitation of the governor’s husband, Wong Cheung Sha, who is the current president of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Com-merce and Industry Inc. (FFC-CCI).

FFCCCI vice president Lu Gene Ang, Jose Go, the Chamber’s president emeritus and Bank of China chief ex-ecutive officer Deng Jun and several officers and members of the Chinese Enterprise As-sociation of the Philippines were among the members of the ambassador’s entourage, the governor said in a state-ment reaching here Wednes-day.

She said Zhao donated to the provincial government an amount of Php1 million for projects intended to benefit

NAGA AS ART CENTER CePPIO

First Lady Farah Bongat hailed the role of local culturatis in promoting the city as a center of culture and arts during the opening ceremonies of the VIA Bikol: Arts and Culture Summit at the city hall grounds as part of the Bicol Business Month celebration.

Alberto Elementary School; dec. 17 – Virac Pilot elemen-tary School; Dec. 18 – Cat-anduanes Colleges; Dec. 19 – Parish Night (Raffle Bo-nanza);

Dec. 20 – Catanduanes National High School; Dec. 21 – Palta, Buyo, Calatagan, Antipolo and Igang; Dec. 22 – Virac Central Elemen-tary School; Dec. 23 – Star Learner’s School; Dec. 26 – HablonDawani Alumni/Neo-Catechumenal Community; Dec. 27 – FICELCO/Zazz Academy; Dec. 28 – Con-gressional Night; Dec. 29 – Governor’s Night; and Dec. 30 - Virac LGU.

Applications for booths may now be submitted to Bob Surtida at the Municipal Treasurer’s Office. Submit applications not later than Nov. 30. -PIA

FREE BIRTH REGISTRATION CePPIO

The Naga City Council for the Welfare and Protection of Children headed by Councilor Elmer Baldemoro and City Civil Registrar Alex Cayetano conducted a FREE BIRTH REGISTRATION at the Naga City People’s Hall, part of the 23rd celebration of National Children’s Month.

impoverished communities while another donation worth Php500,000 was given by Deng for the same intention.

The Catanduanes visit, ac-cording to the governor, was part of Zhao’s goodwill tour nationwide signaling the ea-gerness of the Chinese gov-ernment “to reach out to its neighbors and engage in high-level bilateral talks to amica-bly resolve territorial issues confronting them.”

Gov. Wong said the visit was timed with her render-ing of her yearly “Ulat sa Lalawigan (Report to the Province)” where the Chinese ambassador was given an op-portunity to have an audience with the province’s elderly whom he paid homage to while having their First Senior Citizens Convention.

During the occasion, she said, Zhao led the distribution of 20 units of wheelchairs to those who are already dis-abled elderly and hundreds of food packs.

Wong said that it is in Octo-ber that the country celebrates the Elderly Filipino Week or Linggo ng Nakatatandang Filipino to emphasize the im-portant role that older persons play in nation building, as well as raise and address is-sues concerning the sector.

Elderly Filipino Week was mandated through Proclama-tion No. 470 and is held on the first week of October but in Catanduanes.

She said the occasion is celebrated in any week of the month convenient for the el-derly in the conduct of advo-cacy activities to promote their rights and welfare, especially those are disadvantaged.

In this year’s celebration,

Wong said, the provincial government led an advocacy activity for the strict imple-mentation of Republic Act (RA) 9994, or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, which provides more benefits and privileges to older per-sons.

They are entitled to a 20-percent discount on the pur-chase of certain goods and services, special five-percent discount on prime commodi-ties and basic necessities, and a five-percent utility discount on electric and water con-sumption.

By implementing the provi-sions of the law, the province is promoting and upholding their rights and it also encour-ages the public to report to au-thorities cases of elderly abuse to ensure their well-being and protection, Wong said.

According to the regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Develop-ment for Bicol here, to ensure the well-being of older per-sons, the agency implements the Social Pension for Indi-gent Senior Citizens which is the provision of Php500 monthly cash grants to indi-gent senior citizens, as stated in RA 9994.

The department considers indigent senior citizens who are frail, sickly or with dis-ability; without pension from any government source or insurance companies; and no permanent source of income

or regular support from his/her relatives as its priority for inclusion in the program.

From 2011-2014, the DSWD prioritized senior citi-zens aged 77 years old and above, however, for 2015, age coverage of the program covers senior citizens aged 65 years old and above.

In 2014, a total of 403,284 social pension beneficiaries nationwide were paid with a budget amounting to Php2.9 billion and in 2015, some 692,256 beneficiaries were paid with a budget amounting to Php3.4 billion.

During the celebration, Wong said, the provincial government allocated Php7 million for projects and activi-ties of the senior citizens or-ganization that would benefit their members.

In his visit, Zhao also ex-pressed fascination of beau-tifully-woven abaca fiber fabrics seen during the “Ulat sa Lalawigan” gathering and citing its market potential, the ambassador hinted that China could make a huge market for the island’s products, particu-larly abaca fiber and its fin-ished products, the governor said.

“I told the Chinese ambas-sador that the province already pursues a five-year program towards the setting up of a local abaca processing center through funds provided by the World Bank,” she said.

(Turn to page 7)

Mayor wONg


City library renamed raul roco-Naga Public Library

Bongat at 2nd international mayors’ forum

MUNTINLUPA VISITORS CePPIO

Mayor John Bongat welcomes delegates from the City of Muntinlupa who visited Naga learn from the city’s Business One Stop Shop (BOSS).

ALL EARS CePPIO

The Arts and Culture Summit continues with a Book Talk done at the Raul Roco - Naga Public Library. Students from all over the city listen intently to different local authors as they recite their stories and their poetry.The audience was also treated to "Pinokyo", the classic novel translated to Bikol by Fr. Wilmer Tria.

In a bid to further uplift the operations and services of raul S. roco Library, the Sangguniang Panlungsod enacted last october 20, this year, City ordinance 2015-064, otherwise known as an ordinance highlighting the public nature of the raul S. roco Library and man-dating the formulation and implementation of a long-term library development program.

Specifically, the measure seeks to boost the learning fa-cility’s capability “to provide library and information service

to the needs of the community; to build within the library an information center about Bicol and the City of Naga – their histories, resources, people, customs and traditions, etc.; to establish linkages with other libraries to facilitate reference needs of its patrons.”

Thru the ordinance, the facility has been renamed the Raul S. Roco-Naga City Pub-lic Library or Raul Roco-Naga Public Library (RNPL) for short.

The measure, which was authored by City Councilor Gregorio R. Abonal and co-

sponsored by city councilors Elmer S. Baldemoro, Mila S.D. Raquid-Arroyo and Ray-An Cydrick G. Rentoy, also constituted the RNPL Stan-dardization Committee which is tasked to evaluate the status of RNPL every year. It shall undertake its first evaluation no later than May 2016.

The committee shall be composed of:

1.) Chair of the Sangguni-ang Panlungsod Committee on Education, Chairman

2.) RNPL Librarian, Secre-tary

3.) Representative of the Department of Education Di-

the United Nations In-stitute for training and re-search (UNItar) and the city government of Quito, the capital city of ecuador, have invited Naga City may-or John G. Bongat to speak at the 2nd mayoral Forum on Human mobility, migra-tion and Development.

In his official letter to May-or Bongat, Mayor Mauricio Rodas of Metropolitan Dis-trict of Quito, said that they are inviting the city mayor “to share your vision and experi-ence on the role of the local government units in address-ing migration-related issues and the importance of human mobility for the development of the cities.”

The forum, which was set for November 12-13, this year, is seen as an important facility for the local govern-ments to underscore their con-cerns, opinions, expressions and declarations with a view to having a decisive impact in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals as pertains to migration and building on relevant inter-governmental processes.

The event is also expected to boost the collaborative ef-forts by the local governments on matters that were deliber-ated upon during the holding of Global Forum on Migration and Development in Istanbul,

Turkey last October 2015 and the recently concluded World Summit on Sustainable Hous-ing and Sustainable Urban Development – HABITAT III in Quito in October, this year.

The mayoral forum was organized by the local gov-ernment of Quito, in col-laboration with UNITAR, the Joint Migration for Develop-ment Initiative (JMDI) and the World Bank, with support from Swiss Agency for De-velopment and Cooperation (SDC).

The forum was organized to resolve certain migration-related issues after taking into account that nowadays human mobility is a global phenom-enon, giving that 1 in 7 peo-ple in the world is a migrant. However, its impact is essen-tially local.

Mayor Rodas empha-sized in his letter that it is the cities that are in the forefront in generating pro-cesses that encompass inte-gration, inclusion and social cohesion, legal protection, education, economic devel-opment, health and urban and rural planning and that they are recognized as key players in migration gover-nance emphasizing the need to amplify the voice and role of cities in global dis-cussions that define global migration policies. -jbn

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bikol reporter6 november 15-21, 2015

NAMe OF DeCeAseD DATe OF INTerMeNT

eDwIN B. PrINCesA sr. OCTOBer 4, 2015LOLAINe Z. PADILLO OCTOBer 4, 2015eMMANueL D. AyCArDO OCTOBer 6, 2015gABrIeL B. ALONZO OCTOBer 10, 2015VIrgINIA L. gIANAN OCTOBer 15, 2015ruFINA C. Dy OCTOBer 20, 2015NIeVes N. FrANCIsCO OCTOBer 17, 2015AMADA O. JANuArIO OCTOBer 18, 2015CrIsTNA B. sAMBO OCTOBer 20, 2015PAZ g. MINOr OCTOBer 23, 2015eMMA F. CATOLICO OCTOBer 24, 2015

FOr OCTOBer

24K PAwNsHOPgeneral Luna st., Naga City

AUCTION SALE on DeCeMBer 4, 2015 of all unredeemed articles pledged from MAy - JuNe 2015 at 9:00 a.m.BIKOL rePOrTerPublished: November 15, 2015

R. GUINHAWA PAwNsHOPgeneral Luna st., Naga City

AUCTION SALE on DeCeMBer 4, 2015 of all unredeemed articles pledged from MAy - JuNe 2015 at 9:00 a.m.BIKOL rePOrTerPublished: November 15, 2015

declined between 2009 and 2012.

Legazpi City, which is noted for the tremendous im-provements of its tourism in-dustry since about 10 years ago, is mentioned in the NSCB list as the only city in Bicol to be among the top 10 mu-nicipalities and cities with the largest reduction in poverty in-cidence. These improvements lifted Bicol from the rank of 4th to 7th among the country’s poorest regions with Masbate earlier ranked as among the 10 poorest provinces graduating from the circle in 2012 owing to the reduction of political violence and tourism industry advancement.

According to the latest list-ing made by the NAPC, the Top 10 provinces in the Phil-ippines that have the high-

bicol now 7th poorest . . .est poverty incidence among families from 2006 to 2012 are, Lanao del Sur, followed by Eastern Samar, Apayao, Maguindanao, Zamboanga del Sur, Sarangani, North Cotabato, Negros Oriental, Northern Samar and Western Samar.

The listing, which was released for the recent obser-vance of the National Week for Overcoming Extreme Poverty, said Lanao del Sur, which is a province located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), remains to be number one among the provinces with the most number of poor families with 67.3-percent poverty in-cidence.

The 2010 Census and Housing Population conduct-ed by PSA also shows that

there was a drastic drop of population in the same prov-ince with 933,260 number of people, which is -6.98 percent from 1,138,544 in 2007.

Eastern Samar, which is a province located in the East-ern Visayas region and whose main economic activities are agriculture and fishery, NAPC said, is now the second poor-est province in the Philippines with 55.4 percent poverty in-cidence.

Apayao, which is part of the Cordillera Administra-tive Region (CAR) and the least densely populated prov-ince with an area of 4413.35 square kilometers and a popu-lation of only 112,636 as of 2010, comes third among the poorest provinces of the Philippines with 54.7-percent poverty incidence.

Maguindanao, another part of the ARMM which became the most talked-about prov-ince owing to the politically-motivated massacre of 57 people including dozens of local journalists in November, comes 4th with 54.5 percent of the total number of families living in poverty.

The same province once more hugged the international limelight following last Jan. 25’s bloody encounter in Ma-masapano town that left dead from the hands of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Free-dom Fighters 44 members of the police Special Action Force on a mission to neutral-ize Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist Zulkifli Abdhir aka Marwan.

Zamboanga del Norte in the Zamboanga Penisula re-gion, which was the country’s number one poorest province back in 2006 with its 64.6-percent poverty incidence rate, according to the NAPC listing, is now in the 5th spot by improving to only 48 per-cent the number of its families living in economic difficul-ties.

Sarangani and North Co-tabato provinces, which are part of the South Cotabato-Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani-Gen. Santos City (SOCCSKSARGEN) region, registered 46- and 44.8-per-cent poverty incidences to be ranked 6th and 7th, respec-tively.

Negros Oriental or “East-ern Negros” is located in the southeastern half of the Ne-gros Island Region and de-spite the fact that it has been an electricity supplier to its neighboring provinces and has a good agricultural land, it still has a poverty incidence rate of 43.9 percent to be ranked 8th.

Northern Samar, which

is one of the three provinces comprising the Island of Sa-mar whose tourism indus-try has great potential but remains unknown to most tourists is number nine poor-est with its 43.5-percent pov-erty incidence rate—a figure which according the NAPC might be lessened once its tourist attractions become fully utilized.

Western Samar which comes 10th, NAPC said, is another new entry in the list of the poorest provinces in the country with 43.5-percent in-cidence of poverty, same with Northern Samar and one of the most affected areas by the super typhoon “Yolanda” on Nov. 8 2013 which damaged the livelihood of the locals.

The NAPC explained that to be considered non-poor, a family with five members must earn at least Php8,778 a month while an individual also needs to earn at least Php10,534 for six months so he or she would not be con-sidered poor. Also according to the commission, poverty incidence in 2014 increased

to 25.8 percent—meaning, 20 percent or one out of five Fili-pino families– which is 1.2 percent higher compared to the 2013 first semester pover-ty statistics. The higher count of poor people, it explained, is because food prices and the result of Yolanda.

There are many factors that cause poverty like employ-ment issues and high popu-lation growth, but the main factor affecting the country’s economy and the livelihood of Filipinos is the governance issues such as corruption and security issues which are prevalent in Mindanao and other poor areas.

The NAPC said entrepre-neurs will not be interested in investing money in a place where there is violence, which results in low employment op-portunity and a bad economy. Poverty incidence, NAPC added, is the proportion of poor individuals/families to the population; those whose income fall below the poverty threshold or those who cannot afford to provide for their ba-sic needs.

transform the rural areas into dynamic and competent growth points for agricultural development as the national government pursues inclu-sive growth that should be felt down to the remotest and smallest rural barangay.

But, Hubilla said, the Na-tional Project Coordination Office’s (NPCO) is requesting additional financing worth 0 million as a guaranteed ad-ditional budget available af-ter January 2016 to realize PRDP’s firm commitments to LGUs’ requests for infrastruc-ture projects.

He emphasized that the South Luzon Cluster has to achieve about Php500 million disbursements by June 2016 from the requested additional financing, adding that PRDP is hoping that the request will be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority board before June 2016.

Elena De los Santos, DA regional technical director and deputy project director, said the request for additional fund was discussed during the 2nd Coordination Meeting held on October 28-29, 2015 in Que-

more funDs souGht . . .zon City.

Also discussed, she said, were the action plans of the region which include hiring additional staff to enterprise development, monitoring and evaluation, and reviewing and validating sub-project propos-als.

The region also commits to designate provincial coor-dinators from the infrastruc-ture development group to be responsible in generating reports on sub-projects sta-tus and the Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO) for Bicol will fast track the conduct of training on pro-ponent group profiling and mapping.

The RPCO is also deter-mined to make its financial processes more effective and efficient through clear-cut work and financial plan as well as procurement plan, De los Santos said.

Also highlighted during the coordination meeting were the findings and recommen-dations generated from the 1st WB Implementation Sup-port Mission held on August 25-28, 2015 in Puerto Princ-esa City in Palawan for each

component, catch-up plans to address the findings, and the third quarter accomplishments of the cluster and the RPCOs.

During the meeting, Hubil-la said, he instructed the RP-COs to put the memorandum of agreement (MOA) with provincial local government unit partners on top of its order of priorities.

Currently, three provinces of Bicol-- Albay, Camarines Sur, and Camarines Norte -- have signed MOAs with PRDP while the revised MOA with Catanduanes was already endorsed to PSO for Agricul-ture Secretary Proceso Alca-la’s signature.

The region is working on two MOAs with municipal LGUs namely Placer and Es-peranza, Masbate.

Hubilla stressed the need to fast track the hiring of ad-ditional staff as this directly impacts the accomplishment of target outputs.

He also informed the RP-COs that the WB may conduct random inspection to infra-structure and enterprise de-velopment hence, sub-project preparations and urgent solu-tions to quality and workman-ship issues must be imple-mented.


All unredeemed items/articles pawned at AsPe IguALDAD PAwNsHOP, Cor. Igualdad ext. & J. Hernandez Ave., Igualdad, Naga City, pawned from JuNe 1-30, 2015 whose terms have expired will be sold to public auction sale on DeC. 1, 2015 from 9:00 A.M.-12:00 NOON.

redemption/renewals of all pledges covered by the above-mentioned date will be honored until NOVeMBer 28, 2015 only. THe MANAgeMeNTBIKOL rePOrTerPublished: NOVeMBer 8 and 15, 2015

NOTICE TO THE PUBLICAUCTION SALE/SUBASTA

All unredeemed items/articles pawned at AsPe eXPLOrer PAwNsHOP, ground Floor, Bichara Complex, Abella st., Igual-dad, Naga City, pawned from JuNe 1-30, 2015 whose terms have expired will be sold to public auction sale on DeC. 1, 2015 from 9:00 A.M.-12:00 NOON.



All unredeemed items/articles pawned at rOweNA AsPe PAwNsHOP, P. Burgos st., corner J. Hernandez Avenue, Naga City, pawned from JuNe 1-30, 2015 whose terms have expired will be sold to public auction sale on DeC. 1, 2015 from 9:00 A.M.-12:00 NOON.



All unredeemed items/articles pawned at r. M. AsPe PAwNsHOP, Cor. Panganiban & elias Angeles street, Naga City, pawned from JuNe 1-30, 2015 whose terms have expired will be sold to public auction sale on DeC. 1, 2015 from 9:00 A.M.-12:00 NOON.



All unredeemed items/articles pawned at AsPe CrOwN-JeweL PAwNsHOP & JeweLry sTOre, Bichara Mall corner J. Hernandez & gen. Luna sts., Naga City, pawned from JuNe 1-30, 2015 whose terms have expired will be sold to public auction sale on DeC. 1, 2015 from 9:00 A.M.-12:00 NOON.



JAM-PACKED Students from various schools lean in close and intently listen to Gabby Bordado as he discusses his book: Tilling Fields. The students listen with interest and curiosity as Bordado eases them into the intricacies of his mind, presented in his book.

not undergo proper tests and inspections of the Department,” she stressed.

Blanco also urged consumers to report stores selling Christmas lights without ICC stickers to DTI Regional Office at Tel. No. 4805721 or to the nearest DTI Provincial Office. -PIA

Dti: buy icc . . .

For his part, Volker Steigerwald of the German International Cooperation also called on Bicolanos to be more “future-oriented,” as he advocated for green economy.

He described green econ-omy as factoring the envi-ronment and the effects of climate change in its regional development plans.

Habito, Aldaba and Steigerwald were joined by DTI regional director Joy

Blanco in a press briefing during the Industry Road-maps and the AEC Game Plan: Regional Localization for Competitiveness forum held at the Villa Caceres Ho-tel here last week.

The conference was in-tended to show the opportu-nities and challenges for the country in the ASEAN Eco-nomic Community (AEC) and instill the importance of industry roadmaps in the con-text of regional integration.

focus on AGri-tourism . . .

population and annual in-come requirements, it falls short in its land area.

In previous interviews, Mayor Sarion said he has explored the possibility of re-claiming certain areas of the Bicol National Park which he said belonged to Daet during the American period.

Reyes said once the bill is approved into a law, the land area requirement will no longer matter as what will be given weight is the provision of the law itself.

reyes . . .

naces to burn the wood into charcoal and dark fumes from the dirty operations sickened the residents.

Devastation of the man-groves wiped out the natu-ral food supply and the town sank into poverty and hunger, Doma said, until then mayor Joseph Yap sought help from the DENR which promptly studied the locale.

The woodcutters were warned and made to stop de-nuding and instead pushed them into replanting—a re-formed way that made them reaping its fruits in only three years, said Doma, who ex-plained that “when Nature used to withhold her bounty

prieto DiAz mAnGrove . . .because of the forest destruc-tion, she now gives the conser-vationist townsfolk rich food-- crabs, clams, fish, lobster and sea urchin.”

Baltazar said Prieto Diaz’s story is about the right mix of political will, scientific know-how, and people’s support.

The local officials cam-paigned for an end to forest ruin while the DENR saw the potential of replanting, making use of the 19-kilometer-long reef buffering the coast from hefty waves and the 300 hect-ares of underwater seagrass to hold the mangrove saplings upright, she said.

Since then, according to Baltazar, conservation has

become a habit of townsfolk as fishermen passing through the replanting zone on ban-cas dutifully scoop uprooted propagules from the water and stick them properly into the seabed, knowing that refores-tation is for their own good.

Today, Doma said, schools as far as Ilocos and Davao are retelling Prieto Diaz’s story while science high school students and college biology majors have been coming for week-long field trips to study mangrove flora and fauna.

Government and non-gov-ernment workers as well come to observe as residents turned their homes into hostels to ac-commodate the visitors, he added.

Catanduanes is the coun-try’s leading producer of abaca with its 35,000-hectare plantations cultivated by 15,454 farmers who produce an average of 19,000 metric tons of fiber yearly, represent-ing 33.2 percent of the total national production.

This makes abaca its back-bone industry,which since time immemorial has made the island a prized contributor to country’s fiber export earn-ings.

In 2012 alone, the coun-

chinese AmbAssADor visit . . .try posted an amount of US$ 120 million in abaca export earnings or an over Php5 billion at the back of increased demand for aba-ca pulp and cordage in the Philippines’ major markets, according to records of the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA).

Wong said that after the “Ulat”, she ushered the Chi-nese delegation to the mu-nicipality of San Andres for the distribution of 500 packs

of school supplies to pupils and students of three public elementary and high schools in the locality.

She also learned from the delegation that the ambassa-dor’s series of social expo-sures in the country is aimed at a new round of bilateral high-level exchanges that could play a significant role in advancing the Chinese-Philippine strategic and co-operative relations, accord-ing to the governor.

“Chinese influence in the province is multifaceted and embedded in its culture and traditions through the centu-ries. For instance, a number of Catanduanons of Chinese descents, from traders to ref-ugees are buried in the local Chinese cemetery,” she said.

The governor also af-firmed that her husband is of the same descent as she acknowledged the Chinese people as “friendly brothers and sisters” of Catanduanes. - PNA

vision Office, Member4.) Practicing Librarian of a

public school, member5.) Practicing Librarian of a

private school, memberThe committee, the ordi-

nance said, shall “adapt the Standards for Public Libraries for its evaluation instrument or any such veritable instrument as may be available. It shall submit its first Evaluation Re-port to the City Mayor and the Sangguniang Panlungsod no later than June 30, 2016, and every June 30 thereafter. The 2016 and later reports shall contain Analysis, Evaluation, and Recommendation. 2017 thenceforth the reports shall add the section Action Taken on Previous Recommenda-tions.

Aside from the standard-ization committee, a policy-making body has been also organized with the following functions to undertake:

1.) To formulate and regu-larly update the RNPL Devel-opment Plan

2.) To formulate all library

city librAry renAmeD . . .policies, rules and procedures

3.) To determine the an-nual budgetary needs for the operation and maintenance of RNPL

4.) To find ways and means in increasing the book and non-book collection and in improv-ing the facilities and services

5.) To serve as advisory body to the Sangguniang Pan-lungsod on public library mat-ters

To be officially known as the Raul Roco-Naga Public Library Board, the body was created in accordance with the Implementing Rules and

Regulation of Republic Act 7743, the Act that provides for the establishment of Congres-sional, City and Municipal Li-braries and Barangay Reading Centers throughout the Philip-pines.

It shall be composed of the City Mayor as chairman; Chairman of the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Ed-ucation, vice-chairman; City Treasurer, member; City Bud-get Officer, member; Sang-guniang Kabataan Federation President, or in the absence of one, the Naga City People’s Council (NCPC) Representa-tive, member; Librarian, sec-retary.

The ordinance’s Section 7 provides that: “the Local Ex-penditure Program shall pro-vide for the maintenance and continued improvement of the RNPL, according to the regu-larly updated long-term devel-opment plan.”

DTI: Buy ICC-marked Christmas lightsoutstAnDinGlocAl newspAperFor Five Consecutive YearsSt. peter Baptist CatholicMass Media awards

www.bikolreport.blogspot.come-mail: [email protected]

reGionAl eXponent for proGress

pAGe 8 bicol, the philippines november 15-21, 2015 p5.00

(Turn to page 7)

You are Invited!

All members of

UNC HIGH SCHOOLCLASS ‘68

Annual Homecomingand

Christmas PartyDec. 5, 2015 -south Hills resto & grills

Magsaysay Ave., Naga City

activities start at 1:00 pmKindly contact 0927-422-0433 for any concern.

Come Home, A Friend is Waiting 4U!

4PS CAMPAIGN Secretary Dinky Soliman of the Department Social Welfare and Development led the launching of the 4Ps Tuloy ang Pagbabago Campaign in Naga City where she was joined by Mayor John Bongat and 4Ps benefi ciaries who gave their respective testimonials on how the program uplifted their lives and

VP BINAY IN BICOL ALeX BusTAMANTe

In his recent Bicol trip Vice President Jejomar Binay was welcomed by his brothers from the Scout Royale Brotherhood (SRB) and Alpha Phi Omega coming from different chapters here in Naga City and Cam. Sur at the Nikko’s Bar and Restaurant here. He was joined by – Ex SAF (Special Action Force) General Getulio Napenas (ex-commanding General of SAF-Mamasapano, and former Labor leader –Atty. Allan Montano– a native of South Cotabato; and alumni members of Alpha Phi Omega (APO) Naga City, Cam. Sur and Bicol APO chapters.

LeGaZPI CItY – the Department of trade and Industry (DtI) Bicol again reminds consumers to buy Christmas lights with Im-port Commodity Clear-ance (ICC) mark to ensure safer festivities this coming Christmas season.

“Only those sets of Christ-mas lights with ICC stickers have passed DTI’s manda-tory safety tests, thus these

quality of living. The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is the national government's human development program that invests in health and education of children 0-18 years old from eligible poor households. It's now on its 7th year of implementation, and now covers the 41,519 barangays of the Philippines.

CePPIO PHOTO

Comelec, PNP & AFP step up poll security preparationsLeGaZPI CItY -

masbate province re-mains on top of the list of election hot spot areas in the region, a recent as-sessment made by a joint government agency pre-paring for the 2016 polls showed.

Romeo Fortes, COMELEC regional direc-tor said out of the total 701 barangays considered as election areas of immediate concern, Masbate has a to-tal of 224, followed by Sor-sogon with 176, Camarines Sur with 153, Camarines

Norte, 84; Albay, 37; and Catanduanes, with 22.

Fortes said the Regional Joint Security Control Cen-ter, which is composed of the COMELEC, the Phil-ippine Naitonal Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, has already re-

corded an election-related violent incident in Mas-bate where a candidate was killed after fi ling his certifi -cate of candidacy.

He said authorities have already focused their secu-rity operations on the prov-ince where presence of pri-

vate armed groups had also been reported.

The Comelec offi cial clarifi ed, however, that it is only in Masbate that this kind of situation exists as other provinces in the re-gion have remained peace-ful. -PNA

products are safe and reliable to use,” DTI Bicol Regional Di-rector Jocelyn Blanco said.

Blanco alerts the public to be vigilant and extra cautious in choosing and buying Christmas lights products to adorn their homes so as not to put the lives of their loved ones in danger.

DTI regulates the sale of Christmas lights in the local market to protect consumers from the hazards posed by sub-standard products such as elec-tric shock and overheating that often lead to fi re, property dam-ages and even loss of lives.

Blanco explained that under the DTI-Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) Product Cer-tifi cation Scheme that is based on the Department Administra-tive Order (DAO) 05:2008, all importers of Christmas lights shall secure an ICC certifi cate, prior to the sale and distribution of their products in the local market.

Only those whose products have complied with the require-ments based on the Philippine National Standard on Christ-mas lights (PNS 189:2000) are appropriately issued with the ICC Certifi cate and are allowed to affi x the ICC stickers on their products or product packages.

“The ICC mark is in sticker form and comes with a unique serial number. Those sets of Christmas lights with pre-print-ed ICC mark on its package are defi nitely uncertifi ed and did

Documents

Bikol Reporter November 15 - 21, 2015 Issue