473-8888

outstanDinGlocal newspaperFor Five Consecutive YearsSt. peter Baptist CatholicMass Media awards

www.bikolreport.blogspot.come-mail: rubenbabar_br@yahoo.com

reGional eXponent for proGress

masbate, Camarines Sur top Bicol's poor list

3rd floor, GerONiMO blDG., bArliN sT., NAGA CiTY • TelefAX: (054) 475-62-62 • CP 0921-3183720 / 0919-2822901 / 0920-5337766

Spokesperson Alex marpuri and election offi cer Maico Julia, Jr. of COmeLeC Cam Sur and Naga City updated local media on matters concerning next year’s elections. The two were the Guests at the Forum@PIA held monday, October 19 at the 2nd Floor Lobby of Firande Square, J. Miranda Avenue, Concepcion Pequena, Naga City. Forum@PIA is a program of PIA-Cam Sur which aims to equip the community with updated information regarding various concerns that would be benefi cial to the greatest interest of the public. (JRM, PIAv/Camarines Sur)

Poll issues at Forum@PIA

Masbate and Camarines Sur registered the highest number of poor households in the Listahanan conducted by the Deparment of So-cial Welfare and Development (DSWD), the agency’s regional offi ce

By DANNy o. CALLEJA

LEGAZPI CITY – Globally recognized as the City of Fun and Adventure, this key Bi-

col urban locality will share to delegates and guests its unique tourism products as it hosts the First New Tourism

Frontier Forum 2015 of the Pacifi c Asia Travel Association (PATA) this November. (Turn to page 6)

Dir. GARCIA

bared.Masbate posted the high-

est percentage in terms of assessed per province with 77,269 or 51.63 % identi-fi ed poor households out of 149,656, followed by Ca-marines Sur with 139,750 or 43.10 % out of 324,220, Sor-sogon with 56,301 or 38.58 % of 145,916 assessed, Cama-rines Norte 38,934 or 37.10 % of 104,925, Catanduanes 17,477 or 31.03% of 104,925 and Albay with 80,455 or

34.22% out of 235,076.The data which will be

validated by the DSWD this month until November in all barangays in Bicol.

“The department was able to assess 1,056,722 and subjected to Proxy Means Test (PMT) 1,006,991 households. Of these, 410, 186 were identifi ed as poor.” announced Regional Direc-tor Arnel Garcia

According to Garcia the list of poor will change after the validation and fi naliza-

(Turn to page 7)

vol. XXiii, no. 3 bicol, the philippines october 25-31, 2015 p5.00

legazpi to host nov. pAtA forumlegazpi to host nov. pAtA forum

bikol reporter2 october 25-31, 2015opinion

Death cannot raise his head up high in the country. After scouring the nook and crannies of the archipelago with his inseparable scythe, he will end up sulking, Rodin like, on top of a tomb newly painted white with calburo.

He cannot imagine how Filipinos, who pour in a lot of tears and thousands of pesos over their dear departed, would suddenly transform cemeteries into a carnival.

Of course, the country had been ruled by the Spaniards via Mexico and there, they have their Dia para los Muertos.

It is a day no different from the fiestas of our town’s patron saints. Skulls painted ala Freida Kahlo are serigraphed on shirts, while cars, in the usual Chicano flair, are decorated with colorful paper buntings reminding us of the pastillas paper cuts of Bulacan.

In a typical Bicol town, family members bring in the ibos, adobadong manok and a bottle of gin to offer to their dead relatives.

Anthropologists surely have an explanation to this inversion of an otherwise “sad” affair.

Perhaps, we do not see a stop in space and time continuum with our relationship with the dead.

They are still here and maybe, this explains our words like “pamati,” “pasabong,” etc.

This certainly makes us a very spiritual people.

If only we can rechannel this spiritual strength as a potent force in our temporal lives as we grapple with politics, the unending traffic, the endless power outages.

Let’s wish them then the silence of the tombs on November 1 and celebrate so death will be no more. Nevermore!

editorial

Death be not proud

lee G. Dullesco iiHead, Advertising Associates

0920-533-7766

02082606

Tel. No. (054) 475-6262

eD G. yuEditor

0939-604-3144

opinionsunlimited

Atty. TONY (APA) ACYATAN

sunlight hours for working. Spring and Autumn are the desirable

seasons in Australia. Summer is sometimes overly hot (40 degrees) and there are records of deaths due to heat stroke. I was told that snowfalls in Australia happen only in the mountain zones. At times there are hailstones falling on Sydney – but not regular snow. Like what I saw in Geneva – there are forest covers in the center of Sydney City. Environment care indeed is paramount in urban planning and implementation.

SENIORS: The elderly are adequately protected in Australia – in terms of medical benefits for retirees (with guaranteed pension). Buildings and other infrastructures have safety provisions for entrance-exist of older people and handicapped. There are many common welfare organizations in Sydney and other cities (not necessarily just for elderlies). With government aid, they now own buildings and members’ facilities for medical and physical services.

Slot machines (no card games) are allowed by the government to be installed

(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).

PEOPLE: Sydney has about 9 million of the close to 30 million population of Australia. Could be because of the strict rules – residents are well-disciplined – on the road and in public places. The traffic is “Keep Left” and this is observed even as pedestrians walk. Like in Singapore, chewing gums are generally barred. Fines for irresponsible disposal of garbage are ultra-high so people are trained to follow sanitation rules. Constructions of buildings and structures are strictly controlled and monitored.

Australian Spring is from September to November – followed by Summer (December to February), Autumn or Fall (March to May) and Winter (June to August). This is almost reverse of the weather in the Northern Hemisphere (America and Europe). Roads in Sydney are clean but I did not see sweepers doing their jobs. It could be that sanitation is a preventive and cooperative spirit of the residents. Traffic is CCTV-monitored and the heavy fines are meted out based on the pictured car plates of violators.

DAILY TIME: Spring officially started September 1st. On the first Sunday of October, the daily time was adjusted (advanced) by one hour – so the difference between Philippine and Australian times is elongated to three (3) hours – instead of just two (2) hours. This time adjustment is similar to the “daylight saving time” in the United States of America – only that their seasons do not coincide. The time adjustment is geared to avail of the

More about Sydney (NSW)

when we meet friends in the cemetery.Even if I have to be repetitious in

reminding to pray for the dead, I suggest that we pray fhe following short prayer of St. Getrude. It is said that everytime we pray it, it can save one thousand souls. The dead cannot pray for themselves but they can pray for us. Let’s not also forget to hear mass on All Saints Day. The saints are also praying for us. Prayer for Souls: “Eternal Father, I offer thee the most Precious Blood

of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.”

*****Since the national and local election is

only seven months away, it is just natural to talk and think about it. The candidates are just like applicants for a job. Once elected, they become public servants. They are similar to a person applying to be a family servant or household helper.

We should ask why does he or she want to be President of the Republic in the case of the presidential candidates. What is his or her education attainment. What is his or her skills? What are his or her experiences that will show he or she is capable, has the executive ability for the position, have the concern and compassion for the poor, his or her track record, etc.

It’s “All Saints Day” on November 1 and “All Souls Day” on November 2. But majority of us almost all of us Filipinos visit our departed members of the family on All Saints Day. The dead are not visited on All Souls Day and the cemeteries are deserted. There are already priests who are uncouraging us go to the cemetery on November 2 to avoid heavy traffic and congestion in the cemeteries and to visit our departed members of the family on their feast day. I do this one day ahead as I still have to visit my dead in laws in Iriga City, my father and relatives in Sagnay, then my husband and brother here in Sto. Nino Memorial Park in Naga City. My daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren also go to Sto. Nino Memorial Park on November 1. I visit my departed relative in Manila at another time.

Remembering our departed family members is one good trait of the Filipinos. It’s usually a time for bonding with other members of the family especially those who live far away like a family reunion that strengthens family ties and even friendship

Let’s Pray for Souls, Sec. Mar Roxas & Sen. Grace Poe should publish their past and present track record

NeNiTA fueNTebellA-PeÑONes

frommy

window

in the welfare clubs’ buildings and offices. The main facilities consist of restaurants and clinics, as well as sports and gaming areas. Many retirees lose their pensions and allowance to the slot machines. Some even end up heavily indebted (credits are readily available) due to addictive gambling. The government has become aware of this but so far no remedial measures have been implemented.

COST OF LIVING: Like in the major US cities, cost of living in Australia is more on the high end. House rentals have become higher (in Sydney). With the influx of Chinese and Korean immigrants, costs of land have gone up. Government does not allow them to buy second-owned houses so they are “coerced” to buy newly opened realty subdivisions and to construct new homes (adding on to Australian economic growth). Crowds in Sydney are now predominantly Oriental.

Meat, fruits and vegetables, as well as staples are priced just a bit above equivalent Phl peso prices. Locals have the luxury of buying Australian farm produce at low prices. Imported articles (mostly from China and India) are also modestly priced – more so if one earns Australian dollars. Fuel gas is priced at equivalent Philippine levels, making Australian highway driving affordable. Filipino tourists will find shopping in Australia costly, considering the FX rate (P33.00 currently).

WISDOM: If we have God in our hearts, we have a bigger “Somebody” to call on in our times of crises!

A public office gained through popular elections is the most sought after government post.That is easy to understand. For people anointed by Lady Luck to such a post, it means prestige, influence , money, a lot of it and power.

In this country, however, elective posts are reserved for wealthy political clans, the well-entrenched who have been in power for decades.The outsiders with no blood ties to the clan rarely get a share of the power pie.

Want proof? Look around you.Thus the scramble for elective posts

in every province is intense, violent and bloody. Even people with little money and organization to speak of and therefore have slim chances join the fray. Filipinos, by nature , thrive on the impossible. They do not easily give in to defeatism.

The most coveted is the presidency.

Every Juan or Pedro dreams of one day landing at the doorsteps of Malacanang. Because the Constitution provides for the barest minimum qualifications for a public office, not a few whose resume shows knowledge of reading and writing only aspire for the presidency.

In last week’s filing of COC, one starry-eyed presidential hopeful said that if elected, he would by his lonesome self take back Philippine territories taken over by China by force..Other bets have strange government programs.

The second most coveted post is a seat in the Congress.Even those with little or no knowledge of law-movie stars, athletes, high school drop outs- want to be lawmakers.

In areas where the struggle for political supremacy is frequently marred with bloodshed, violence is a regular feature of elections. If you can look into the face of death without flinching, you are fit for a public office in troubled areas.

Foreigners can not understand why

Is our country a thriving democracy?

salvador d. flor

A Question

ofprivilege

(Turn to page 4)

(Turn to page 6)

www.wsj.com

bikol reporter 3october 25-31, 2015

bikol reporter4 october 25-31, 2015

Haralangkaw na Istorya

dis*Karte*Kusyon*Kurso

frANk PeÑones jr.

nganing patunayan na dai man nagagadan tulos an maghigda digdi. Napatunayan niya ini mantang saro-sarong nagagadan si saiyang mga kontemporaryo – na an mga kabaong enot niya ngonang hinihigdaan. Kan magadan siya, sabi kan mga tawo, ta naubusan na siya nin mga erencia, garo daa nasa 200 anyos na siya.

Si mama, nakaabot lang sa taon na titulo kan nobela ni George Orwell: 84.

Sa Domingo, dadarahan ko siya kan mga habo niya – si gibo kong kimchi na habo niya an parong, si sashimi na boot niyang piniprito, si paa nin kabakab na masiramon iprito.

Papalupadon ko an sakong mga istorya asin imahinasyon sa pinakahalangkaw na maabot kaini nganing maabot siya, sain man siya ngonyan.

Dai ko na garo kaipuhan pang sabihon na siring sa mga nawaran nin magurang – ako napupungaw.

Sa Pistang Kalag, dai na ko sisigatuhon ni mama na asikasuhon si pantyong ni papa, ni lolo asin lola. Kaiba na siya sa aasikasuhon ko an lubungan.

Sa paghali niya kan Enero ngonyan na taon, nagin ilo naman ko. Mas mati ko ini ta siya lang an nagimatan kong magurang. Amay na nawara an sakong ama, 33 anyos pa lang, huli sa TB na nakua niya kan nakaaging Giyera Mundial. Sarong semana pa lang akong namundag, kaya ngani nagin Jr. ako. Frank Penones Jr.o FPJ.

Nagdakula ako sa harong kan sakong paraomang lolo asin tindera sa istasyon nin tren na lola, na kan mahiling sa dyaryo si Nora kan dekada ’70, sinabihan akong “nagbabakal yan sakong sinapot.”

Maogmang pagkaaki idto kun sain an sakong kinaban iyo an oma, an mga “tabon,” na dakupan mi nin talusog, mirapina, karpa asin pagi. Ogmahon akong magparabaraybasay sa kadlagan, makipaglapagan sa mga usa na dai ako

inaabot asin dakupon an mga gamgam na maluyahon magralayog.

Sinda an mga nagin tabon ko kan sakong mga sinusurat. Kun solo-solo kang nagdadakula na mayong kakawat – mahiwas an saimong imahinasyon. Kaya mong enotan an usa na mayo na sa kadlagan, hipaan an tikling sa oma.

Sa baryo Salvacion sa Iriga kun sain ako nagdakula, igwang sarong gurang duman na inaapod ming “anunuwal.”

Naghigda siya sa kabaong

halo-halo

WorlD teACHers’ DAYDepEd (Region 5) Regional Director Ramon Fiel G. Abcede addressed thousands of teachers in Camarines Sur at the

Jesse M. Robredo coliseum during the “World Teachers’ Day” observance.

ALex BuSTAmANTe

running pAstorPastor Ferdie Cabiling has ran the distance from Saranggani for his advocacy run which will end in Aparri, Cagayan, to raise funds for his scholars nationwide. -Alex Bustamante and running escort-Alden Meneses

pAmA-An

An libod mi,Sarong ektaryang kadagaan,sarong ektaryang kaharongan.

Kaharongan sa irarom,Kararongan sa ibabaw.Mga harong na mayong ilaw.

Mga harong na kolor puti.Tigsararo an may sadiri,Dae mamata aldaw man o banggi.

Sa libod, minsan man,Mga musikero nag-turugtugan,Ta daw ta an kaayon, hiribian?

An libbod mi,Gatos an tao kun kapistahan,Maburak asin mailaw na kabanggihan.

An libod na ini,Bako mi palan.Pribado asin nakukudalan.

Sa libod kita minaduman,Kun espesyal an mawot marumduman.An libod na lingaw magabihan,Libod kan bilog na banwaan.

--- Ken E. Romero, 19 years old, from Calabanga, Camarines Sur and a student taking BSEd English at CBSUA - Calabanga.

Libod

during elections, Filipinos set aside blood ties and fight each other unto death. Brothers oppose brothers, fathers oppose sons, wives oppose husbands. When the elections are over, enemies become friends, estranged couples become lovers again.

The Philippine political canvass is a myriad picture of people throwing their hats into the political ring with equally myriad reasons. The most common and compelling ones are greed for power and wealth. Prestige is secondary.

Power brings connections, influence and big money and the adulation of people.

There was this town mayor years ago who told supporters that he would run for a Congress seat. When he learned the pork barrel would be scrapped, he made a turn-around and said he was not interested.

The regular elections have given the country a positive image as a thriving democracy with every qualified citizen enjoying the right to participate in the process either as a plain voter or a candidate for elective post.

Critics of this system, however, said that the right to participate in elections is woefully limited to very few families entrenched in power for decades. The majority are barred by the lack of resources or plain absence of a winning chance.

Which is not further from the truth.Nobody in his right mind, fully equipped with education and

a good name will seek elective post with only a few pesos in his pocket. That is courting disaster.

The Comelec bared its teeth not long ago when it unseated a provincial governor for election overspending.The poll body has set a limit of a few pesos expense for every voter. This is a crazy law. You can not expect a congressional candidate to spend only that much.

Of course, it is intended to equalize the chances of both the rich and the poor bet. Good.

But do you think everybody will follow it? Filipinos are notorious for circumventing the law.They are making fun of it.

You and I do not tire praising to high heavens our brand of democracy as very much alive during elections. Is it really?

a question of privileGe . . .

By KEN E. RoMERo

bikol reporter 5october 25-31, 2015

Team Albay in Aurora humanitarian mission

By NANCy Ibo MEDIAvILLo

LEGAZPI CITY – A 100-man Team Albay hu-manitarian mission left Wednesday for Casiguran, Aurora which suffered much from the wrath of Ty-phoon "Lando".

Dr. Cedric Daep and Re-gional Director Raffy Ale-jandro of the Office of Civil Defense-Bicol led the send-off activity as Albay Gover-nor Joey Sarte Salceda was in Pampanga for the meeting of the various Regional De-velopments Councils all over the country.

Daep said the mission's convoy is composed of more that 10 vehicles and was ex-pected to reach its target des-tination in 16 hours.

The group was scheduled to rest at the Aurora State University before proceed-ing to the Casiguran town proper. The Team Albay hu-manitarian mission will last for ten days and will return to Albay on Oct. 31, before the All Saints' Day. The group is bringing along with them water filtration machine, wa-ter lory, medical supplies and equipment, trucks and other vehicles.

It is divided into three sub-groups: the water and sanita-tion, medical and logistics. The water and sanitation unit is composed of 58 members and headed by engineer Dante Baclao of the Provincial En-gineering Office (PEO).

Of the 58, 14 are from the PEO, 14 from the Provincial Health Office (PHO), 6 from the General Services Office, 2 from the Bureau of Fire Protection and 22 from the Armed Forces of the Philip-pines -- 8 from the Philippine Army, 8 from the Philippine Air Force and 6 from the Philippine Navy.

The medical team is com-posed of 14 volunteers from the PHO and 10 from the Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital. The logis-tics sub-group will be headed by the APSEMO, supported by 4 from the Provincial So-cial Welfare and Develop-ment Office, 2 from the OCD, 4 from Barangay Oro Site and 4 from media.

Daep said the Team Albay has chosen Casiguran, Aurora because it needs more the ser-vices of a humanitarian mis-sion as a result of the devasta-tion caused by Lando.

It was also requested by the Province of Aurora, he said.

The APSEMO chief un-derscored the importance of the Team Albay mission.

First, he said, it is in accor-dance with the provision of RA 10121 or the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Law. "We are compliant with the provision under the new law that the local government unit may assist another LGUs hit by calamities for as long as they place their area under a state of calamity," Daep said.

Second, he added, the Team Albay is implementing the inter- complimentary ef-fort strategies.

He mentioned the third as the desire of the team to help other LGUs that have a dif-ferent experience from Albay, saying that this will strengthen the capability of the province, particularly in the aspect of DRRM strategies.

Lastly, Daep said, the collaboration and coordi-nation of Team Albay with other government agencies aims to further strengthen the teamwork in the prov-ince at any time, whether during emergency, calamity or ordinary times.

pnpA CADets CAmpAign JRM, PIAv/Cam Sur

Naga City Police office (NCPo) oIC PSSupt Narciso D. Domingo accompanied Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) Cadets from bicol Region in paying a courtesy call on Mayor John G. bongat last october 22. The cadets are encouraging Bicol youth, to take the PNPA Admission Test on Sunday, October 25, 2015 at the Naga College Foundation.

voters eDuCAtionDaet mayor Tito S. Sarion joined youth leaders belonging to the Filipino Liberal Youth which is educating voters’ Education for the youth. With other

League of Municipalities of the Philippines officials, he later joined Sen. Ralph Rector at the New World Hotel.

bikol reporter6 october 25-31, 2015

NAME oF DECEASED DATE oF INTERMENT

CoNCEPCIoN D. oDAvAR SEPTEMbER 5,2015ChRISTINE RoSE T. bILASoN SEPTEMbER 7,2015MERLINDA G. REquILLAS SEPTEMbER 12,2015JuLIo b. SAN ANDRES SEPTEMbER 15,2015JoSEFINA M. SALvADoR SEPTEMbER 21,2015ELEANoR TIMoTEA b. EPRES SEPTEMbER 27,2015EvA PhoEbE L. GAPIT SEPTEMbER 30,2015

FoR SEPTEMbER

HeAling priest in ozFr. Joseph Ayala Faller pose with JLoW Prayer Communities Leaders at the start of his Australian Healing mission.

fAlling in for fr. fAllerFilipino, malaysian and Indian Catholics join the “healing priest” after he celebrated mass at the Rockdale, NSW.

“healing Priest” visitsPinoys “Down under”

Globally popular Filipino “Healing Priest” from Kamay ni Hesus Church in Lucban, Quezon visited last week our Catholic “kababayans” in Australia.

Rev. Fr. Joseph Ayala Faller conducted Healing Masses in six parishes (three dioceses) in New South Wales, Australia. The in-vitations were properly cleared with the local parish priests and their respective bishops and arch-bishop. The trip of Fr. Faller was also authorized by Lucena bishop Most Rev, Emilio Z. Marquez.

The Healing masses were conducted under the auspices of the Jesus, Light of the World (JLOW) Prayer Communi-ties headed by Filipino couple

Nestor and Helen Aldana and assistants – Erwin and Rachel Santiago. JLOW‘s major-ity members are Filipinos, with those from other countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Ire-land and Croatia.

The 8-day Australian Mis-sion of the Healing Priest fea-tured masses in St. Aidan’s Par-ish in Rooty Hill, St. Joseph’s Parish in Rockdale, Mary Im-maculate Church in Quakers Hill, St. Nikola Tavelic (Croa-tian) Parish in St. John’s Park, Mary Queen of the Family Church in Blacktown, and Our Lady of Victories in Shortland – al in New South Wales. Fr. Faller also concelebrated the regular mass at the St. Michael

Parish Church with amiablr Polish priest Fr. Yanus.

Newspaper columnist and Lay Minister (Atty) Tony Acy-atan acted as Acolyte and Heal-ing Prayer assistant in all the masses. The other coordinator were Gerard Marcello (Ma-laysian), Helen Aldana, Hydie Sapitula and Jaime Lara, Rose Polic (Croatian), Gerry Galam and Charles Hyson, and Wayne Caruana.

The mass attendees – num-bering 600 to 1,200 – felt so blessed and relieved of their earthly problems including physical frailties. They were one in asking the Healing Priest for a return engagement in the near future.

I have noted that both Sen. Grace Poe and Mar Roxas keep talking about their platforms but not about their past record of accomplishments. Roxas had been a Congressman, Senator, Rehabilitation Czar of Yolanda victims, Sec of the Department of Transportation and Communication, Sec. of the Department of Interior and Local Government. He talks about what the Aquino administration has accomplished under the Daang Matuwid as if it is his own accomplishments. He should specify what are his personal accomplishments.

Same with Sen. Grace Poe, she should inform the people of her educational attainment, past and present record of accomplishments. She worked in the United States, was appointed Chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board and as a Senator. She keeps talking about her platforms but does not explain specific on what will she do to accomplish those grand goals.

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago is already well known. She already ran for President before. She is intelligent but has cancer according to her.

Vice President Jejomar Binay’s accomplishments as nine years Mayor of Makati City is well known. He was even named as one of the Best Top Ten City Mayor of the World. His past and present record accomplishment were also published and are in the internet. Same with his accomplishments as Vice President. Because of his early announcement of his desire to run for President, unverified accusations had been hurled against him in a one year and continuing Senate investigation of his political detractors. But in a democracy like ours, a person is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of justice.

The people should be well informed in order to make an informed decision.

from my winDow . . .

Deeply honored by PATA’s choice of the place as venue of this grand gathering of interna-tional travel industry stakehold-ers, Mayor Noel Rosal on Thurs-day said it would serve as another milestone in the city’s quest for prominence in tourism. “Indeed, Legazpi is an exciting destination not only for its being home to the majestic Mt. Mayon but also for its irresistible tourism products, ranging from natural wonders to world-class facilities,” he said.

Tourists, according to him, visit the city nowadays not only for the breathtaking view of Mt. Mayon, one of the world’s most active volcanoes made famous by its magically-configured per-fect cone form, but also for its sparkling metropolis loaded with heavy tourism-related activi-ties and exciting places to relax, play and enjoy a healthful living. The city is also recognized as a “convention capital”, owing to its attractiveness as venue of big formal gatherings such as inter-national conventions, conferenc-es, meetings and reunions.

A statement reaching here from its headquarters in Bangkok, PATA said the forum will explore various topics including Climate Change Mitigation and the Role of Tourism, Marine Tourism and the Implications for Water-Reli-ant Operations, Global Adven-ture Travel Trends, ASEAN for Adventure: Where Boundaries are Endless, Crisis Management and Risk Reduction for New Destinations, and the Power of Ecotourism: Best Practices and Models for Implementation. Fur-thermore, its last session, which will be on Interactive Marketing, a “Treasure Hunt” will allow del-egates to explore how to make a destination discovered in the dy-namic world of digital, mobile and new travel behavior, using tools and insights gained from the previous day’s Technical Tour and Treasure Hunt.

“Delegates attending the PATA New Tourism Frontiers Forum 2015 will land in the City of Fun and Adventure – Legazpi City in the province of Albay in the Philippines – known for its perfectly cone-shaped Mayon Volcano, once a nominee for the New 7 Wonders of Nature,” the statement said. It also acknowl-edged the city’s successful host-ing last year of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) ASEAN International Conference on Tourism and Cli-mate Change.

The PATA Frontier Forum will be held at the Oriental Hotel here on Nov. 25-27. The same state-ment also announced that Phil-ippine Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. will address its opening. It said Jimenez, who is responsible for the country’s highly successful tourism campaign, “It’s More Fun in the Philippines”, will speak on the “Successful Destination Mar-keting Campaign – Trend in this

leGazpi to host nov. pata forum . . .digital economy”. “This forum is timely and relevant as we step up our marketing efforts for our destination-based campaign and as we launch Visit the Philippines Again (VPA) 2016 –which is go-ing to be the most massive retail-focused effort the Philippines has ever made. Destination marketing is a daunting task as it involves selling an experience, both tangi-ble and intangible,” Jimenez said, as quoted by the statement.

The Philippines prides itself of having a unique biodiversity, rich natural resources, and wide variety of product offerings for tourists. “But most of all, we have the Filipino people—the country’s most important asset—to thank for, who serve as the PDOT’s partners in building our brand and fulfilling the promise of a more fun Philippines,” Jime-nez added.

PATA chief executive officer (CEO) Mario Hardy said in the statement that the association is extremely delighted to have Jimenez open the event, as his ex-perience and expertise on how to market a destination is something all industry stakeholders should learn from, especially when trying to market a new emerging destina-tion. “In addition, we also have a very broad and dynamic range of speakers who confirmed for the event, and delegates can be as-sured of coming away with prac-tical skills and knowledge to take back and apply to their organiza-tions, especially through the Tech-nical Tour and Tourism Marketing Treasure Hunt,” Hardy said.

Among the confirmed speak-ers for the event are Chloe Har-vey, international coordinator, Green Fins/Reef World Founda-tion; Maeve Nightingale, man-ager, Capacity Development,

Mangroves for the Future, Inter-national Union for Conservation of Nature-Asia Regional Office, Ecosystems and Livelihoods Group; and Andy Cornish, Global Shark Programme Leader, WWF International.

Others are Sylvain Gianni, general manager of Asiaventure Services; Willem Niemeijer, founder and chief executive of-fice (CEO), Khiri Travel Co., Ltd.; Struan Robertson, CEO, SpiceRoads Cycle Tours; Lucas Nunag, owner, Amarela Resort and Chairman of Bohol Provin-cial Tourism Council; and Masa-to Takamatsu, managing director and chief research officer, Japan Tourism Marketing Co.

PATA is composed of 87 gov-ernment, state and city tourism bodies; around 31 international airlines, airports and cruise lines; 612 educational institutions and hundreds of travel industry com-panies in the Asia Pacific and beyond. With the theme “Ecot-ourism—Transcending Climate Change”, the First New Tourism Frontier Forum 2015 would bring together here hundreds of tourism professionals to share insights and experiences on marketing in-dustry growth in new and emerg-ing destinations. Thousands of travel professionals, representing PATA’s 43 active chapters world-wide will participate in a wide range in this forthcoming event to discuss emerging issues related to adventure travel and responsible tourism, a PATA statement said. According to DOT Regional Director Maria Ong-Ravanilla based here, PATA is a non-profit association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region.

bikol reporter 7october 25-31, 2015

tion phase where the com-munity is given a chance to transparently review the ac-curacy of the initial list.

The Validation is an activ-ity that provides opportunity for the review of the prelimi-nary list of poor households generated after the initial Proxy Means Test (PMT) and further identifies wrong en-tries for verification purposes.

“This is also the time for those households who were not enumerated due to the

absence of households dur-ing the regular enumeration, refusals, and no qualified re-spondents for them to be as-sessed. “said Garcia.

The Listahanan formerly known as National House-hold Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) is an information man-agement system that aims to establish a database of poor households that will become beneficiaries of social protec-tion programs. -crbarrameda

masbate, camarines sur . . .

the city. Legazpi City Mayor Noel

E. Rosal, who on Friday led the ceremonial switching of the lights, said the project will serve as lights signage from the bridge, which is visible from a distance of ten kilometers.

“It will give more attrac-tion to all the viewers and other visitors to the beauty of the boulevard, especially during night time. It is also very important to fisher-men from other neighboring provinces and municipalities because if they see the lights while catching fish at night time, then they can easily see that they are already ap-proaching Legazpi City,” he added.

The city chief execu-tive said his administration will install similar lights at the other bridges along the coastline of Legazpi City to encourage the different tour-ist personalities to always visit the place and prove to them that the boulevard has a perfect ambiance, well lighted at night, clean and free from air pollution.

The city’s southern boule-vard is considered as one of the longest boulevards out-side Metro Manila, stretch-

liGhts make briDGe . . .ing five kilometers from the Embarcadero de Legazpi commercial complex to the coastal areas of the villages of Dapdap, Puro and Lamba.

It is a four-lane con-crete road with an expan-sive shoulder of two paved lanes at both sides and now serves as the favorite venue for biking, walking, jogging, running and other forms of physical activities.

Rosal said his administra-tion, through the Department of Public works and High-ways Bicol regional office, also has an on-going con-struction of another 2.7-ki-lometers road to serve as the northern boulevard from the coastal areas of barangays San Roque, Baybay, Sabang and Pigcale. It is designed to protect the lives and proper-ties of the residents from the impact of storm surges dur-ing typhoons.

Part of the construction of the project is the putting up of a 380-meter-long rein-forced concrete deck girder bridge that will connect the road going to the regional offices in Barangay Rawis and in the first district of Al-bay and some municipalities of Camarines Sur province, Rosal pointed out.

DSWD’s Listahanan to validatethe initial list of poor in Bicol

The Department of So-cial Welfare and Develop-met Field Office 5 through the Listahanan will vali-date the initial list of poor this end of October until November in all barangays in the region.

“The department was able to assess 1,056,722 and sub-jected to Proxy Means Test (PMT) 1,006,991 house-holds. Of these, 410, 186 were identified as poor.” an-nounced Regional Director Arnel Garcia

For the initial list, Mas-bate posted the highest per-centage in terms of assessed per province with 77,269 or 51.63 % identified poor households out of 149,656, followed by Camarines Sur having 139,750 or 43.10 % out of 324,220, Sorsogon with 56,301 or 38.58 % of 145,916 assessed, Cama-rines Norte 38,934 or 37.10 % of 104,925, Catanduanes 17,477 or 31.03% of 104,925 and Albay with 80,455 or 34.22% out of 235,076.

According to Garcia the list of poor will change after the validation and finaliza-tion phase where the com-munity is given a chance to transparently review the ac-curacy of the initial list.

The Validation is an activ-ity that provides opportunity for the review of the prelimi-nary list of poor households generated after the initial Proxy Means Test (PMT) and further identifies wrong entries for verification pur-poses.

“This is also the time for those households who were not enumerated due to the absence of households dur-ing the regular enumeration, refusals, and no qualified re-spondents for them to be as-sessed. “said Garcia

The initial list of poor will be posted in conspicuous places in the barangays for 5 days. Thereafter queries, ap-peals and complaints will be entertained by the Listahan-an Area Supervisors and will forward to the Local Verifi-cation Committee (LVC) for

Justice and Welfare Coun-cil (RJJWC) believe that the mass media play an active role in the promotion of child rights and delinquency pre-vention by relaying consis-tent messages through a bal-ance approach.

The RJJWC hopes that ev-

ery awareness raising activity conducted, we are able to strengthen the commitment of each duty bearer to per-form their respective func-tion s in ensuring that the rights of the children are being protected at all times. -eejerusalem

bicol markeD Juvenile . . .

sm CitY nAgA 3-DAY sAleCustomers enjoyed up to 70% in discounts on selected items during the 3-day Sale at SM City Naga last october 16,17,18,2015. Advantage Cards, Prestige Cards and bDo Reward Cards holders also got additional 10% off on prices

10:00 Am-12:00NN from participating anchor like The Sm Store during the first day of the sale. Lucky shoppers were also treated to various surprises during the mall’s hourly raffle draw.

resolution.The Local Verification

Committee (LVC) whose members include the Local Chief Executive, Municipal/City Social Welfare and De-velopment Officer, Munici-pal/City Planning and Devel-opment Officer and two other representatives identified by the LCE.

The grievances/com-plaints that may be filed are the following;

• An individual claims that a certain household should not be included on the list of poor households (INC 01)

• An individual claims that they are poor and must be included in the list of poor (EX 01)

• An individual claims that they have not been vis-ited by an enumerator for an interview (EX 02)

• An individual complains that interviewer incorrectly entered data in the FAF (ER 01)

• An individual claims that the list is incomplete and not represents the actual poor households in the community (ER 02)

Household assessment will be conducted imme-diately after consolidating all complaints and appeals to update the record of the households and will re-run to the Proxy Means Test.

After the validation, the official and final list of poor families is shared with data users to serve as their basis in selecting beneficiaries of

social protection programs.Meanwhile, as one of the

main stakeholders in the Lis-tahanan implementation, all Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officers (MSWDO’s) in the 6 prov-inces were gathered for the orientation on all compo-nents of the validation and fi-nalization phase on October 13-16 and 20, 2015.

The result of the second round of assessment was presented to them before the conduct of the validation in their respective munici-

palities. The orientation also served as venue for the feed-back generation on the con-cluded assessment in their areas and planning for the upcoming validation.

The Listahanan formerly known as National House-hold Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) is an information man-agement system that aims to establish a database of poor households that will become beneficiaries of social pro-tection programs. -crbar-rameda

lights make bridge anew tourism come-onlights make bridge anew tourism come-on

BIKOL REPORTERREgIOnaL ExPOnEnT fOR PROgREss

outstanDinG local newspaperfor five consecutive years by the st. peter

baptist catholic mass media awards

outstanDinG local newspaperfor five consecutive years by the st. peter

baptist catholic mass media awards

8 october 25-31, 2015 legAzpi BoulevArD

By emmANueL P. SOLIS

LEGAZPI CITY — Night visitors who want to experience the soft touch of the sea breeze will be more delighted with the presence of newly installed lights at the rail of the 250-meter long city’s southern boule-vard bridge at the front of the Albay Gulf in Baran-gay Dapdap here.

Patterned after that in Xiamen City of China, the city’s tourism bridge is dura-ble, rust-free and considered as the lighting land mark of

Dti's pre-CHristmAs fAir JRM, PIAv

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Cam Sur conducted a 2-day Pre-Christmas Diskwento Fair on October 20-21, 2015 at the DTI-Cam Sur grounds, Panganiban Drive, Naga City. Around 30 exhibitors participated in the fair that gave shoppers a 50%-70% discount on various food and non-food products. The Diskwento Fair is part of the activity of DTI in celebration of Consumer Welfare Month this october.

bicol marked Juvenile JusticeWelfare and Consciousness WeekThe Department of So-

cial Welfare and Devel-opment (DSWD) Bicol through the Juvenile Jus-tice and Welfare Council (JJWC) celebrated the 4th Juvenile Justice and Wel-fare Consciousness Week on October 18-24.

For this year it adopted the theme: “Bata ay Gabayan, Batas sa Juvenile Justice Big-yan Daan!” which focused on the continued efforts of gov-ernment agencies, non-gov-

ernment agencies, and non-government agencies and other partners and stakehold-ers to protect the rights of the children in conflict with the law (CICL) and the children at risk (CAR) in ensuring a bright future for them.

Proclamation Number 459 signed by his Excellency Be-nigno C. Aquino III declared 4th week of October of every year as the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Consciousness Week.

This is in conjunction with the annual celebration of the National Children’s Month. The state recognizes the need to mainstream awareness and consciousness of the Fili-pino people to emphasize the rights of every Filipino youth including the children at risk and children in conflict with the law (CICL).

DSWD Asst. Director Arwin Razo shared that this year’s celebration aimed to raise the awareness of the Bicolanos on the current is-sues, status and condition of the CICLs and CAR with the help of the stakeholders and media partners.

A fun walk cum Zumba and a short program opened the week-long celebration. This was led by Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal and other members of the Re-gional Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council such as; DILG, DOH, PNP, BJMP, LGU Bulan, COMPRE chil-dren, DepEd, CHR , media partners and DSWD. This was followed by a press con-ference at La Roca Veranda Suites and Restaurant.

The Regional Juvenile

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REgIOnaL ExPOnEnT fOR PROgREss