CATARMAN, Northern Samar– Fourteen out of 24 towns of the province of Northern Samar are included in the list of implementation areas for the Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Program (PMNP) of the Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

This was learned from Felicita Borata, DOH Region 8 Nutrition Program Manager in a press conference held at PIA Provincial Office as part of the program launch on August 3.
The 14 PMNP-recipient towns are Biri, Capul, Gamay, Laoang, Las Navas, Lavezares, Lope de Vega, Mapanas, Palapag, Pambujan, Rosario, San Roque, Silvino Lobos, and Victoria.
Borata sought the support of the media, other sectors particularly the LGUs concerned, for the success of the program.

The Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Program is a specific nutrition intervention to reduce stunting, respond to other nutrition issues and improve behavior and practices in selective and identified local government units which will run for four years with four implementation phases.

Lavezares Mayor Edito Saludaga expressed his gratitude for being one of the LGU recipients of the program. He disclosed that based on statistics 15% of their children 5 years old and below are stunted and malnourished, and that accounts for 1 out of 7 children in his town.
“I know that this will succeed because it is a joint project of the two best departments of the government, the DSWD and DOH, so I am very positive and enthusiastic that this program will really help solve the problem of malnutrition in our municipality,” said Saludaga.

“On my part, whatever the strategy that will be imposed by this program, we will follow. I support this project 110 percent,” he said.

The design and intervention of PMNP are enclosed in three components: strengthened delivery of nutrition and primary health services; community-based nutrition service, delivery and multisectoral nutrition convergence; and institutional strengthening, monitoring and evaluation.

The PMNP implementation structure flows from collaboration at the national level through the Inter-Agency Task Force for Zero Hunger (IATF-ZH) which is the Project Steering Committee. Under it is the management with PMNP National Technical Working Group from DOH, DSWD, NNC, DA, DILG, FNRI and OCS, while implementation will be spearheaded by the DOH and DSWD.

(MMP/ADiaz/PIA Northern Samar)

Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman on Thursday, August 3, signed with Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) President/CEO Lynette V. Ortiz a memorandum of agreement on the use of a Government Purchase Card (GPC) that simplifies, in a faster, cost-efficient way, the purchase of goods and services by government agencies.

The GPC — a charge/credit card to be issued and facilitated by Landbank to authorized government personnel, and programmed with pre-assigned credit limits and merchant restrictions — is part of DBM’s pursuit of the government’s Digital Transformation program for the entire bureaucracy.

It can be used to pay for government agencies’ immediate miscellaneous expenses without going through the time-consuming paperwork and requisition process.

Secretary Pangandaman hailed the MOA signing as an important collaboration with Land Bank — a milestone for cost savings and another step towards the achievement of bureaucratic efficiency and ease of doing business.

“In December last year, we were gathered here for the agreement signing of the online release of the Notice of Cash Allocation (NCA). As I have stated then, the online release of NCAs through the DBM’s Action Document Releasing System will save the government approximately P2.8 million per month, or P33 million annually… And now… with the agreement signing of another game-changing digital initiative, the use of a Government Purchase Card or GPC, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the Land Bank of the Philippines for partnering with us and making sure that this initiative will be implemented at the soonest possible time,” said Secretary Pangandaman.

“It will significantly reduce administrative costs by lessening cash and check handling and paperwork; simplifying reconciliation processes; shortening the requisition process; and promoting employee convenience. The GPC will also enhance control by having a pre-defined credit limit feature, expense capture and monitoring, and a secure payment process, the Budget Secretary added.

LBP CEO Ortiz reaffirmed the government financial institution’s adherence to the responsibilities of good governance.

“Land Bank is certainly one with the DBM in the shared commitment of enhanced operational efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the disbursement of public funds. Through the GPC, we aim to further streamline the purchase of goods and services, thereby the delivery of meaningful and responsive public service,” Ortiz said.

“Following the successful partnerships with the Bureau of Treasury (Btr) and Department of Finance (DOF), we are confident that DBM will also benefit from the use of GPC to eliminate procurement lead time, facilitate quicker payments, and lowered administrative costs for purchases. Just to share with you, from January to June 2023 alone, the Land Bank GPC has facilitated for the BTr and the DOF 998 combined transactions with a value of P5.1 million for various purchases and payments,” Ortiz added.

Among the GPC’s features are a 30-day revolving credit with full settlement on due date; access to point-of-sale and e-commerce transactions; global acceptance; email alerts for all GPC transactions regardless of amount; and electronic statements of account.
Its benefits for government agencies include reduced administrative costs; enhanced control of expenses and cash liquidity management. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY – At least 158 former rebels in Northern Samar have completed the reintegration program inside a residential facility built by the provincial government.
Since its opening in 2019, the facility has been helping former rebels rebuild their lives shattered by years of armed rebellion, said Northern Samar provincial information officer John Allen Berbon.

“Former rebels, which we call now peacebuilders undergo social healing, reconciliation, and spiritual enhancement sessions at the Balay Darangpan (shelter) for five to six months to prepare them for reintegration back to the mainstream community,” said Berbon on a phone interview Thursday.

Of the number assisted, 131 of them entered the facility in 2022 while others enrolled this year.

The Balay Darangpan halfway house is inside the provincial social welfare and development office compound in Catarman, Northern Samar.

Before admission, the peacebuilders attended an orientation on the center’s rules and regulations and were introduced to the peace-related policies and programs of the provincial government and its partner agencies under the provincial task force to end the local communist armed conflict (PTF-ELCAC) and the provincial task force balik loob (PTF-BL), which adopts the whole of nation approach to peace and development.

“The continuous operation of Balay Darangpan stands as a testament to the support of the provincial Government, the PTF-BL, PTF-ELCAC chaired by Governor Edwin Ongchuan, in cooperation with other stakeholders, in ending local insurgency in the province,” Berbon added.

Northern Samar is the most insurgency-affected province in Eastern Visayas, where two active NPA guerilla fronts operate.

The military said although front committees 1 and 15 are still active, they do not control any village in Northern Samar.

Front Committee 2, which used to operate on the boundary of Samar and Northern Samar, has been dismantled this year after the capture and surrender of some of its combatants and the recovery of several firearms.

The NPA front committee 3, which operates near the boundaries of Northern Samar and Eastern Samar provinces, has also been weakened after the series of operations by government forces.

The Philippine Army targets to wipe out insurgency in Northern Samar before the year ends. (PNA)

TACLOBAN CITY-For the whole month of August, the City Veterinary Office (CVO) has scheduled barangay visitations to offer its free veterinary services, such as anti-rabies vaccination and dog registration.

In an interview with CVO Head Dr. Eunice Alcantara, it was learned that around 18 city barangays have been scheduled for free veterinary services for the whole month of August.
The 18 barangays come from San Jose, Upper and Lower Nula-Tula, Bagacay, Cabalawan, Diit, San Roque, Tigbao, Basper, G.E. Palanog, Palanog, Anibong, Sagkahan, and Salvacion.
Alcantara confirmed that the schedules were coordinated with the chairmen of each barangay to ensure the widest dissemination to their constituents.

The CVO team already visited Barangays 83 Paraiso, 3 Upper Nula-Tula, and 74 Lower Nulatula from August 1–7, and has already registered and vaccinated 217 dogs.
Meanwhile, as part of its decisive anti-rabies campaign, the CVo reported that its dog impounding activities yielded 227 stray dogs during their daytime and nighttime operations in the past month.

During the past month, a total of 48 dogs were surrendered by pet owners, while 252 unredeemed dogs were euthanized by the office during the same period.

Alcantara assured that the operations conducted by their office were well coordinated with concerned barangay officials, and no mishandling happened in said operations.

“Gin-co-coordinate namon an amon mga dog impounding activities ha mga opisyal han Barangay san-o kami magpatuman han pandakop. Labot la nga ginsisiguro namon nga sakto ngan organisado an aktibidad, upod pa gihapon namon an mga opisyalis han Barangay,” clarified the official.
(H.J.ROCA/CIO)