(Thursday, 6th day of November 2014)
ILIGAN CITY, PHILIPPINES - It is hoped that the Farm Business School (FBS) will improve in Iligan after participants will complete their training on November 19.
Earlier, 30 participants in the FBS at the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) took their benchmarking at the Municipal Organic Integrated Farm in Kauswagan town, Lanao del Norte.
Grace Halibas, FBS facilitator in Iligan said the benchmarking is aimed to search for farm or garden with good standards for study purposes which will be duplicated in Iligan.
Dr. Angelito Quirog, Center Director of ATI-Regional Training Center 10, a said they first visited Kauswagan because their method in agriculture was effective as they received honors from the national government.
It may be recalled that the From ARMS to FARMS project of the local government of Kauswagan, 15th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army and ATI as this improved the livelihood of residents.
Quirog also said the project helped the commanders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that now assist the government.
The FBS in Iligan had 30 participants who are members of 4-H Club of Barangays del Carmen and Kabacsanan, 5 farmers from Kauswagan and professors of the College of Business Administration and Accountancy (CBAA) of MSU-IIT in Iligan City.
Their study will end on November 19 but they will conduct Tree Growing or the planting of tree seedlings on November 6. (By Armien Alloro and English translation by Virgilio C. Garcia/CIO)
Seniors can use gov’t-issued IDs to avail discounts
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) maintained that government issued identification (ID) may be used in place of Senior Citizen ID (SC ID) issued by the Office for Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) to avail of discounts and privileges under the Republic Act (RA) No.9994, or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.
This is in accordance to provisions of Rule III, Article 5.5 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA 9994, saying Philippine passport or other valid documents that reflect the owners’ nationality, age or birthdate, proving that the holder is a Filipino senior citizen, may be presented as proof to avail of the benefits and privileges.
Rule IV, Article 6 of the IRR states that the OSCA-issued SC ID shall be used as proof of a person’s eligibility, without reference to the provision of Rule III, Article 5.
The interagency committee, National Coordinating and Monitoring Board (NCMB), chaired by DSWD, justifies this provision as a way to avoid abuse of the benefits under RA 9994 and to enable the record of senior citizens who are able to avail of the privileges.
The NCMB, which has the responsibility of monitoring the promulgation of RA 9994, further clarified the provision as an agreement by the stakeholders’ whole creating the IRR in 2010, that the general rule for availment of the privileges will require the use of the SC ID.
In failure to present the SC ID, other government-issued IDs may be used, which should be honored by business establishments.(Elvira G. Redublado/DTI)
DILG 10 to conduct provincial confab for poverty reduction
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), region 10, will spearhead a series of local poverty reduction action Team (LPRAT) orientations this November.
The issuance of DBM-DILG-DSWD-NAPC Joint Memorandum Circular #5 on the Policy Guidelines and Procedures in the Implementation of the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting Process (formerly called Bottom-Up Budgeting) for the preparation of the FY 2016 Budget and Succeeding Years, warrants the need to orient LPRAT members on the new policies and guidelines.
According to Atty. Rene K. Burdeos, regional director, DILG 10 finds significance in ensuring proper compliance to policy guidelines and procedures under JMC 5 to result in an efficient and successful implementation of the GPB projects in all provinces in the region.
He said the orientation workshops will tackle the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting Process which will include its rationale and guidelines, the tools for the Local Poverty Reduction Action Plan (LPRAP) and the Menu of Programs for GPBP including technical requirements for projects by participating agencies.
These orientations will be conductedon November 6-7, 2014 for the province of Bukidnon, November 12-13 for Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro City, November 18-19 for Misamis Occidental, November 20-21 for Lanao del Norte and Iligan City, and November 25 for the province of Camiguin.
GPBP is a grand design of the administration in attaining the Philippine Development Plan’s goal of inclusive growth and poverty reduction, and promoting good governance at the local level. It makes the planning and budgeting processes of both local and national governments more participatory through the genuine involvement of grassroots civil society organizations and basic sector representatives. (Julla Columba Celerina M. Pagaduan/DILG)
Source: PIA