CATARMAN, Northern Samar– Barangay officials in Northern Samar are gathered for their reorientation seminar-workshop on the seal of good local governance barangay (SGLGB) level.
Piloted in 2021, the SGLGB is a recognition-based program that is similar to the seal of good local governance (SGLG) which aims to monitor and give awards to progress, leadership, and improvements in the barangay level, including the public service they provide to their constituents.
Assessment includes governance in public safety, peace and order, financial administration and sustainability, disaster preparedness, social protection and sensitivity, business-friendliness and competitiveness, and environmental management.
In his message, DILG Regional Director Arnel Agabe emphasized the important role of the barangays in local government despite being the smallest political unit.
“Though the smallest political unit, it is the most critical since it is the primary planning and implement unit of the government. Likewise, barangays are the venue for amicable settlements and development fora,” Agabe said.
He added that it is in the barangay where the progress of the provinces depends since they are in the grassroots.
Meanwhile, provincial director Geraldine Maquelabit in her message, said that assessment is necessary and important to determine and ensure the quality of services provided by the local officials and the government to the public and to guarantee that the barangay is doing its mandate. (EUGENE M. ENANO/ROEL T. AMAZONA)
TACLOBAN CITY-Transportation and commerce are expected to improve for the residents and farmers in Barangay Imelda, Naval, Biliran following the completion of its P24-million farm-market road project.
“The completion of this new road means a cheaper fare and a safer and faster transport of farm-produced products to the market center,” said Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)- Biliran District Engineering Office chief Ferdinand Briones.
The road opening and concreting of a 1.2-kilometer two-lane road with the construction of drainage will also give “faster access for tourists to visit Imelda Falls and residents will also enjoy a convenient travel,” he added.
The project was implemented under its 2021 Department of Agriculture funding which started on June 27, 2021 and was completed on November 08, 2022.
Meanwhile, another road concreting project was also implemented by DPWH-Biliran at Barangay Imelda.
The P23-million construction of the access road leading to Imelda Falls involves the road concreting of a 0.97-kilometer road, including drainage and slope protection.
According to Briones, the project is now ongoing with 72% accomplishment as of November 30, 2022.
From its start date on February 21, 2022, the P23 million project has a target completion date on January 27 of this year. (RONALD O. REYES)
TACLOBAN CITY– Anti-criminality efforts of the Philippine National Police here in the region are gaining ground as it reported of a 269 decrease in crime incidents in the year 2022 as compared to that of the year 2021.
“These accomplishments are noteworthy that we did our best in serving the public while maintaining the peace and order in our community. With these, I commend all those in the field units who exerted their best efforts in performing their duties and responsibilities,” said B/Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, the police regional director, said in a statement.
“The region achieved 80.80 % in the crime solution efficiency and 97.27 % in the crime clearance efficiency,” he added.
On the campaign against criminality, 827 personalities listed as Top 10 most wanted persons were arrested while 4,534 other wanted persons from the provincial, city, and municipal levels were also apprehended, having a total of 5,361 arrested most/wanted persons for the entire year.
Police units in the region nabbed 650 individuals during the conduct of anti-illegal drugs operations with a total of 4,868.04 grams of confiscated shabu and marijuana, having an estimated total value of P22,802,752.88.
A total of 148 personalities also voluntarily surrendered to police authorities during the conduct of ‘Oplan Tokhang’.
In the campaign against illegal fishing, the police regional command recorded an arrest of 2,479 personalities involved in illegal fishing with confiscated items, including assorted fish and fishing paraphernalia amounting to more than P136,189.
Marbil reported that of the arrested, 114 cases were referred to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources; 111 were filed in court, and 779 personalities were fined.
On illegal logging, 490 individuals were apprehended with P6.36 million worth of confiscated lumber/forest products.
Of the 490 arrested, 102 cases were referred to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and 146 were filed in court.
While on illegal gambling, 3,663 personalities were arrested with a total of P754, 337 bet money confiscated.
The police regional command also recorded an arrest of 214 personalities for illegal possession of firearms recovering 246 assorted firearms and another 2,694 firearms surrendered in the process.
In the campaign against insurgency, a total of 155 members of the communist terrorist group voluntarily surrendered to the authorities, while 47 were arrested and two were captured.
A total of 12 suspected rebels died during police operations with assorted firearms and explosives surrendered, recovered, and confiscated.
“Indeed, the men and women of Police Regional Office 8 worked together in achieving such accomplishment,” Marbil said. (RONALD O. REYES)
ORMOC CITY-An entire family composed of four persons died after the motorcycle that they were on board was hit by a light truck in Caibiran, Biliran on Sunday night.
Dead on the spot were Jimmy Agosto, his wife Solidad and children Jameson and Jonalyn, report from the regional headquarters of the Philippine National Police said.
The family was on their way home in sitio Tan-ag of Barangay Maurang of the said town when they were hit head-on by the light truck (Fuso canter) driven by Benigno Garcia, a resident of Brgy. Cabibihan of the same town at about 6:20 pm along sitio Taloto which is within the village of Maurang, the police said.
The suspect tried to overtake another motorcycle driven by Anatalia Veruen which resulted for it to hit instead the motorcycle where the victims were on board.
The victims were brought to the Biliran Provincial Hospital but were declared as dead on arrival by their attending physician.
The driver, who was said to be under the influence of intoxicated liquor, is now detained at the Caibiran municipal station.
Charges for reckless imprudence resulting to multiple homicide is being readied against the suspect who was not injured during the said accident. (ROBERT DEJON)
WE should be clear about this. The best teacher we can have, the ultimate one, the one that teaches us everything and in the proper way is Christ. When we have to carry out the task of teaching, we should see to it that we always teach with Christ, in Christ and for Christ.
We are reminded of this truth of our faith in that gospel episode where Christ entered a synagogue on a Sabbath and taught. The people were amazed at his teaching because, as they claimed, “he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.” (cfr. Mk 1,21-28)
Later on, their amazement even grew some more when with his words, he drove out an unclean spirit from a possessed man. “What is this?” they exclaimed. “A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”
We should be wary of our tendency to teach simply on our own authority, or on the basis of some ideology or philosophy, etc. This tendency arises when we think that what we are teaching are simply mundane matters like our sciences, technologies and ideologies. We tend to think that Christ, that God, has nothing to do with it.
This is when we have to remind ourselves that everything that we use as subject of our teaching comes from God and is meant to lead us to God. There is nothing that is a subject for teaching that does not come from God.
Christ, and the Church now, may not be directly involved in the technicalities, but there is no doubt that it is God who created everything, including the technicalities, imbuing it with their proper laws. What we do is simply to discover these laws with their technicalities, sometimes coming out with certain inventions and innovations.
But we should not forget that in using these laws and technicalities to achieve a certain good for man, we ought to thank God for them and to glorify him through them. Failing in that regard constitutes failure in teaching.
Thus, a good teacher is one who manages to relate the things he teaches, no matter how technical and mundane, to God and to others. He should inspire the students to love God and others more through the things he teaches. The things he teaches should bring students closer to God.
Failure in this crucial point would expose the things taught and learned to the dynamics of merely worldly values that are very vulnerable to being used and exploited by evil spirits or to being used as means for self-indulgence, the antithesis of love.
This is actually what is taking place these days. We have quite progressed in terms of knowledge. Our sciences and technologies are practically bursting with new developments and possibilities. We are having an overload. But without charity inspiring them, they can easily be misused and abused. Let’s remember what St. Paul said once: “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Cor 8,1)
A good and ideal teacher, let’s reiterate it, always manages to relate the things taught to God and to inspire his students to love God and others through these things. The lessons he teaches are not merely technical things, or intellectual or theoretical affairs. He manages to link them to the abiding providential action of God.
In other words, while he is most rigorous in the technical and intellectual aspects of the lessons taught, his teaching is such that piety is not impaired or forgotten, but is rather, in fact, fostered!
The Robinson’s Malls nationwide, will use solar energy to operate its Malls nationwide it was revealed by its outfit Robinson Land Corporation (RLC).
Records show that RLC is the largest solar powered mall operator in the Philippines today, as it installs more roof top solar panels in their Robinson malls in Luzon and Mindanao – now totalling 24 malls.
Aside from rooftop solar panels, Robinsons malls spread all over the country, RLC has installed rainwater collection systems in 29 malls and is using greywater for landscaping and irrigation in 15 malls. Likewise, the corporation has invested on renewable energy sourcing that has allowed them to avoid as much a 19,804.94 metric tons of carbon emission in its malls.
The corporation management was quoted saying “power distributor Meralco recently enrolled 10 Robinsons malls to the to the interruptible load program through which RLC committed to de-load a total of 31MW when needed. This has potentials to spare some 124,000 households and small businesses from the inconvenience of unplanned power interruptions.”
MY COMMENT:
The RLC should be commended for their program to use renewable solar energy, installing rainwater collection system and for helping hundreds of Filipino households avail and small businesses are able to do business by de-loading at least 31 MW of energy for their use. On top of these, is RLC’s contribution in mitigating the negative effects of climate change by reducing carbon footprint in the country. Hope that other Mall owners replicate RLC’s climate change initiative.
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