Feb. 1,2010
Abiera Leads In The Most Outstanding Maasinhons Awards 2009
By Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.
Maasin City, Southern Leyte-Naturalist Salvador “Boy” Abiera, Sr.,of Arts and Culture category, has led in the awarding ceremony of the Most Outstanding Maasinhons held recently at the city gymnasium during the 9th year Charter Day anniversary celebration of the City of Maasin.
The MOMs award was established by the city government to selected Maasin-born individuals of good track records in their respective fields of endeavor where they have excelled in their services for years.
Abiera, an architect by profession but an in-born artist by vocation, is an erstwhile undefeated third-termer councilor of Maasin when the new city was still a municipality. During his ten years in office, he has had received 8 awards from different organizations in the country. These include 2 Print Media and Gawad Media awards. The awards bestowed on him were consistently as the Most Outstanding Councilor of the Philippines in the Visayas regions category.
Residing in brgy.Tagnipa his house now served as a Museum of Arts. It houses, among others, his wide miscellaneous collections of artifacts starting from the time of Ferdinand Magellan, World War 2,stamps from various countries, coins and bills from 78 countries, his drawings and paintings (done either in oil,pastel,pencil and ink or charcoal),shells of various types, taxidermied fishes,birds,snakes,reptiles,wild cats,fossils,spears and arrows, old clocks.
Each collection has its own description. It provides some historical background of its past existence.
Boy,63, as he’s fondly called by his friends and folks here always wears a smile. Most probably it is one of his secrets in maintaining his youthful looks, making his age more senior than his physical and facial features.
He revealed that one of his numerous visitors who is a foreigner offered him to buy all his entire collections for a whopping P36M in cold cash.However, he declined the tourist’s offer, he said. He confessed he cannot exchange his wide variety of artifact collections with millions. His love and passion for the arts and culture is inequitable with any material benefit being offered.
“I have started making collections of artifacts since I was 21 years old”, he intimated. “For 4 decades I have done these collections on my own efforts without outside help from any government agency or private organization. I cannot just give it up for the sake of money because selling my wide variety of collections is like selling Maasin. Besides, I want my collections to be a legacy for the next generations so that they can have some knowledge about our past”.
Abiera further divulged that his Museum of Arts have attracted numerous students from different learning institutions in the Visayas and Mindanao regions. Two Manila-based giant TV networks’ crews like the ABS-CBN and GMA have also visited his place.
A Canadian tourist who has visited his residence and took some pictures of his Museum of Arts have put the pictures in his website. Thus some of his visitors came from other countries who have the interest to behold his collections.
Due to his good track records in the public service, from time to time he would be consulted by some aspiring neophyte candidates in the city for some campaigning tips scheme during elections.
Other awardees of the Most Outstanding Maasinhons were:1)Dr.Macario Dajao-Medicine/Health;2)Atty. Violeta Ortiz-Bantug-Commssioner-National Labor Relations Commission-Law/Human Rights;3)Nicasio Espina-NGO Representative-Community Development;4)Eduardo Sibi-School Administrator-Community Delopment;5)Engr. Esperanza Samaco-Retired DPWH District Engineer-PublicWorks;6)Crispin Arong,Sr.-School Administrator-Education;7)Valdemar Uy-Businessman-Trade and Commerce;
8)Honorato Paloma-Cacao Mountain Resort-Tourism;9)General Bonifacio Ramos-Retired AFP-Peace and Order;10)Alejandra Roa-Dance Instructor-Art and Culture;11)Teodulfo Olamit,Sr.-Farmer-Agriculture;12)Cardiño Lapac,Jr.-Fisherman-Agriculture;13)Afrodicio Abiera-Active Officer-Cooperatives;14)Dionesio Llido-Active Officer-Cooperatives;
15)Dr.Candelaria Demeterio-School Admiinstrator-Education;16)Felipe Santiago-Abaca Industry-Industry;17)Sr. Grace Gerong,OSF-Values Education Advocate;18)Hon.Conrado Galeon- Councilor Elect-2001-2010;19)Hon.Ma.Essie Espina-Garvez-Councilor Elect-2001-2010; 20)Mr. Celso Ichon-3 terms Brgy.Captain;21)Melodina Orit,CPA-COA-State Auditor-Finance/Budget/Appropriation. (Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.)
Monday, February 1, 2010
Because Of Biofuel Production Filipinos Will Go Hungry?
Feb.1,2010
Because Of Biofuel Production Filipinos Will Go Hungry?
By Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.
Because of biofuel production Filipinos will go hungry? This question is just the reverse of the title of an article I ’ ve read in a Metro Manila tabloid issue during the fourth quarter of 2008. The title itself has projected a worrisome connotation which tends to infer that the mass production of biofuel crops in the country will make a great percentage of Filipino families go hungry. This is just a rush and illogical conclusion of Mr. Clemente Bautista, Jr. of Kalikasan People’s Network for Environment. Of course, with no offense to Mr. Bautista, Sir.
He said: “It’s ironic that millions of Filipino families have literally nothing to eat while millions of hectares are being cordoned off by the government to grow crops. for fuel. ” How true then is the statement of Mr. Bautista when he said that? He also said that the government has an agreement with China for bioethanol production that needs thousands and thousands of hectares to grow crops for biofuel production. Even if it ’ s true that China needs thousands and thousands of hectares for the production of bioethanol crops, our government must also think of the welfare of its people and not just focus its attention to the giving in to the demands of China. This means that our government must control in the giving of hectarages ask by the Chinese investors. There should be a prevailing desire and compassion by our government of having our own farmers and agriculturists provided with ample lands for agricultural production that will feed millions of Filipino families.
The Philippine Government should not be one-sided in looking for the potential benefits that biofuel crops production will offer, like the reduction of pollution particularly in big metropolis and in the provinces. Let the goal of achieving a great percentage of bioethanol blend be realized with the application of standard policy in the mixture of gasoline and diesel fuel without making the millions of Filipino families go hungry. Concerned environmentalists should likewise assist government panelists in the negotiating table with the foreign investors who are interested to establish businesses here in the production of biofuel crops. Their support and presentation of their ideas and rationalities helpful to the ecology and the millions of Filipinos, would serve as a balancing springboard in the government’s final decisions.
To limit the Chinese land needs and other foreign investors for their biofuel crops production which should be much lesser than what is urgently needed by Filipino farmers in planting agricultural crops for the consumption of the entire 90M Filipinos. Since a huge percentage of our vast tract of land is practically agricultural, only an infinitesimal fraction of Filipinos will go hungry if ever, as feared by Mr, Bautista. However, if our jobless people particularly in the rural areas will be encouraged and persuaded to plant food crops like corn,. rice, fruits, vegetables and rootcrops on vacant lots, going hungry is an impossibility.
In fact in various rural areas in the country there are plenty of idle lands that are good for agricultural production. The only defect or difference is that many of our barangay folks prefer to work in the cities for quick bucks rather than plant saleable crops. Elected Barangay Captains should lead in educating the barrio folks the importance of planting food crops on vacant lots for family consumption and for sale in the markets. Nevertheless, we heard reports that there are people in different rural areas of the country where stealing of planted crops in their neighborhood have been occurring. These people who have this kind of bad habit could be helped if elected leader in various municipalities and barangays have the political will to advice/educate their respective constituents to be industrious and avoid stealing.
If the millions of jobless Filipinos would learn the value of work, labor, and refrain from stealing, but be industrious and resourceful in earning a decent and true Christian living, then not a single Filipino family will go hungry. This could be achieve if all our people would be properly educated on the aspect of how every man should live his life without stepping the toes or taking advantage on the weaknesses of their respective neighbors. Our elected leaders themselves above all must set as good models.
However, 1993 Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry Dr. Hartmut Michel, during his recent visit in Manila, admonished the Philippine Government not to invest in biofuel crop production ‘because it is counterproductive” to the boosting of the economy. “When you invest into biofuel development” , he said, “ you add fertilizer and then harvest the plants. There’s no real energy in biofuel…biofuel plants can only store less than one percent of the sun ’ s energy ” . He also pointed out that “producing biofuel would sometimes entail cleaning of the forest, a process that destroys biodiversity and emits more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which you can ’t save in the next several hundred years ” .. “ Burning will also destroy many nature compounds in forests, which could be remedy for new kind of cancer” . Instead Dr. Michel exhorted the Philippine Government and that of other countries whose climate condition is similar to the Philippines to tap wind power and hydro power that are environment-friendly to generate electricity. (Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.)
Because Of Biofuel Production Filipinos Will Go Hungry?
By Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.
Because of biofuel production Filipinos will go hungry? This question is just the reverse of the title of an article I ’ ve read in a Metro Manila tabloid issue during the fourth quarter of 2008. The title itself has projected a worrisome connotation which tends to infer that the mass production of biofuel crops in the country will make a great percentage of Filipino families go hungry. This is just a rush and illogical conclusion of Mr. Clemente Bautista, Jr. of Kalikasan People’s Network for Environment. Of course, with no offense to Mr. Bautista, Sir.
He said: “It’s ironic that millions of Filipino families have literally nothing to eat while millions of hectares are being cordoned off by the government to grow crops. for fuel. ” How true then is the statement of Mr. Bautista when he said that? He also said that the government has an agreement with China for bioethanol production that needs thousands and thousands of hectares to grow crops for biofuel production. Even if it ’ s true that China needs thousands and thousands of hectares for the production of bioethanol crops, our government must also think of the welfare of its people and not just focus its attention to the giving in to the demands of China. This means that our government must control in the giving of hectarages ask by the Chinese investors. There should be a prevailing desire and compassion by our government of having our own farmers and agriculturists provided with ample lands for agricultural production that will feed millions of Filipino families.
The Philippine Government should not be one-sided in looking for the potential benefits that biofuel crops production will offer, like the reduction of pollution particularly in big metropolis and in the provinces. Let the goal of achieving a great percentage of bioethanol blend be realized with the application of standard policy in the mixture of gasoline and diesel fuel without making the millions of Filipino families go hungry. Concerned environmentalists should likewise assist government panelists in the negotiating table with the foreign investors who are interested to establish businesses here in the production of biofuel crops. Their support and presentation of their ideas and rationalities helpful to the ecology and the millions of Filipinos, would serve as a balancing springboard in the government’s final decisions.
To limit the Chinese land needs and other foreign investors for their biofuel crops production which should be much lesser than what is urgently needed by Filipino farmers in planting agricultural crops for the consumption of the entire 90M Filipinos. Since a huge percentage of our vast tract of land is practically agricultural, only an infinitesimal fraction of Filipinos will go hungry if ever, as feared by Mr, Bautista. However, if our jobless people particularly in the rural areas will be encouraged and persuaded to plant food crops like corn,. rice, fruits, vegetables and rootcrops on vacant lots, going hungry is an impossibility.
In fact in various rural areas in the country there are plenty of idle lands that are good for agricultural production. The only defect or difference is that many of our barangay folks prefer to work in the cities for quick bucks rather than plant saleable crops. Elected Barangay Captains should lead in educating the barrio folks the importance of planting food crops on vacant lots for family consumption and for sale in the markets. Nevertheless, we heard reports that there are people in different rural areas of the country where stealing of planted crops in their neighborhood have been occurring. These people who have this kind of bad habit could be helped if elected leader in various municipalities and barangays have the political will to advice/educate their respective constituents to be industrious and avoid stealing.
If the millions of jobless Filipinos would learn the value of work, labor, and refrain from stealing, but be industrious and resourceful in earning a decent and true Christian living, then not a single Filipino family will go hungry. This could be achieve if all our people would be properly educated on the aspect of how every man should live his life without stepping the toes or taking advantage on the weaknesses of their respective neighbors. Our elected leaders themselves above all must set as good models.
However, 1993 Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry Dr. Hartmut Michel, during his recent visit in Manila, admonished the Philippine Government not to invest in biofuel crop production ‘because it is counterproductive” to the boosting of the economy. “When you invest into biofuel development” , he said, “ you add fertilizer and then harvest the plants. There’s no real energy in biofuel…biofuel plants can only store less than one percent of the sun ’ s energy ” . He also pointed out that “producing biofuel would sometimes entail cleaning of the forest, a process that destroys biodiversity and emits more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which you can ’t save in the next several hundred years ” .. “ Burning will also destroy many nature compounds in forests, which could be remedy for new kind of cancer” . Instead Dr. Michel exhorted the Philippine Government and that of other countries whose climate condition is similar to the Philippines to tap wind power and hydro power that are environment-friendly to generate electricity. (Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.)
Feb.1,2010
Wheat Flour Substitutes
By Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.
Maasin City, Southern Leyte, Philippines-Now that the price of wheat flour is always rising and the taste of bread is getting lesser and its sizes diminishing, it’s time to look for a substitute or alternative flour. However, it’s not wise to completely abandon the use of wheat flour in making breads and cakes. To lessen the expenses of buying sacks of wheat flour, which we import from the USA, Canada or China, our local manufacturers or flour millers should turn to rootcrops like camote, gabi, ubi and palao.
I have read an article that camote can be made into flour.Camote, considered by some people as the poor man’s staple, is nutritious as it contains some vitamins and minerals. If camote can be made into flour, it is also
possible that other rootcrops like gabi, ubi, palao and other edible rootcrops under the gabi family can be made into flour.
We should exclude cassava (kamoting kahoy or balanghoy in Visayan term) as alternative flour since this rootcrop is not recommended for eating by the doctors to those who have goiter. With the ubiquitous
availability of flour substitutes/alternatives in the near future nationwide from the four aforementioned rootcrops, the ratio of mixture for both bread and cake should be 50 percent wheat flour, 25% camote and 25% gabi or ubi or palao.
By these 2 or 3 combinations of flour substitutes, bakery owners throughout the country can save some money for buying wheat flour without minimizing the palatability or deliciousness of a bread, sopas, cake and other bakery products. Bread and cake eaters can also get a double nutritional value from such kind of mixture which can be sold in cheap price to the customers. Squash puree can also be added as the third party ingredients if bakery owners so desire to boost the reputation of their respective bakeries.
Our agriculture experts and scientists must start now doing a research on some edible Philippine rootcrops and legumes if it can be converted into flour. If a series of experimentations would prove that these organic plants are viably versatile for flour conversion, a milling machine must also invented design to suit the plants texture in the milling process. The kind of milling machine to be invented should be unique that will retain its high percentage of the flour’s vitamins and minerals. What’s the benefit of eating plant flour if it’s already devoid of its vitamins and minerals contents due to the application of various stages of refinement process?
When some applied measures necessary for the attainment of our objective have already been realized, our millers, producers and businessmen who are engaged in the mass production and selling of rootcrops’ flour must not be tempted to export it to other countries, like what I’ve read about the camote flour. They must first serve the almost 90 million Filipinos who are in need of nutritious flour to help lessen our malnutrition problem afflicting millions of young and old. It should be made available in every municipality and city in all regions of the country where there are bakery establishments. Our farmers should also be encouraged and persuaded to plant more and more rootcrops and legumes, aside from rice, fruits and vegetables in their vacant lots and farms. This is in order to sustain the needed materials in the mass production of local flour that could be mixed with 50% wheat flour. The achievement of a self-sufficiency status in local flour production from rootcrops and legumes would eventually lessen our expenses in buying imported wheat flour, which is already very expensive nowadays. It would be good and better to experiment if, like grapes, wheat can also be grown here in the Philippines.
It would be better still if bakery owners would shift to using brown sugar to sweeten their breads and cakes since it contains vitamins and minerals, compared to refined sugar that only gives us sweet and nothing else. What’s wrong if your bread or cake now looks brown because of brown sugar? Although white color can easily attract the eyes of the beholder, in its superficial sense of beauty, but when it comes to food nutrition, color white would mean nothing important if it does not contain vitamins and minerals needed for the body.
On the other hand, attracting more consumers/customers to buy bread and other bakery products in a certain bakery would always depends on how the master baker has balanced the various ingredients he puts in each of his cooked product that would become palatable when eaten. It would also mean that each bakery or the master baker himself has to maintain the ingredients formulated in each kind of bake for sale. Taking out 2 or 3 of the formulated ingredients of a certain type of bread would unwittingly mean driving away some of patronizers, which is detrimental to ones business. (Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.)
Wheat Flour Substitutes
By Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.
Maasin City, Southern Leyte, Philippines-Now that the price of wheat flour is always rising and the taste of bread is getting lesser and its sizes diminishing, it’s time to look for a substitute or alternative flour. However, it’s not wise to completely abandon the use of wheat flour in making breads and cakes. To lessen the expenses of buying sacks of wheat flour, which we import from the USA, Canada or China, our local manufacturers or flour millers should turn to rootcrops like camote, gabi, ubi and palao.
I have read an article that camote can be made into flour.Camote, considered by some people as the poor man’s staple, is nutritious as it contains some vitamins and minerals. If camote can be made into flour, it is also
possible that other rootcrops like gabi, ubi, palao and other edible rootcrops under the gabi family can be made into flour.
We should exclude cassava (kamoting kahoy or balanghoy in Visayan term) as alternative flour since this rootcrop is not recommended for eating by the doctors to those who have goiter. With the ubiquitous
availability of flour substitutes/alternatives in the near future nationwide from the four aforementioned rootcrops, the ratio of mixture for both bread and cake should be 50 percent wheat flour, 25% camote and 25% gabi or ubi or palao.
By these 2 or 3 combinations of flour substitutes, bakery owners throughout the country can save some money for buying wheat flour without minimizing the palatability or deliciousness of a bread, sopas, cake and other bakery products. Bread and cake eaters can also get a double nutritional value from such kind of mixture which can be sold in cheap price to the customers. Squash puree can also be added as the third party ingredients if bakery owners so desire to boost the reputation of their respective bakeries.
Our agriculture experts and scientists must start now doing a research on some edible Philippine rootcrops and legumes if it can be converted into flour. If a series of experimentations would prove that these organic plants are viably versatile for flour conversion, a milling machine must also invented design to suit the plants texture in the milling process. The kind of milling machine to be invented should be unique that will retain its high percentage of the flour’s vitamins and minerals. What’s the benefit of eating plant flour if it’s already devoid of its vitamins and minerals contents due to the application of various stages of refinement process?
When some applied measures necessary for the attainment of our objective have already been realized, our millers, producers and businessmen who are engaged in the mass production and selling of rootcrops’ flour must not be tempted to export it to other countries, like what I’ve read about the camote flour. They must first serve the almost 90 million Filipinos who are in need of nutritious flour to help lessen our malnutrition problem afflicting millions of young and old. It should be made available in every municipality and city in all regions of the country where there are bakery establishments. Our farmers should also be encouraged and persuaded to plant more and more rootcrops and legumes, aside from rice, fruits and vegetables in their vacant lots and farms. This is in order to sustain the needed materials in the mass production of local flour that could be mixed with 50% wheat flour. The achievement of a self-sufficiency status in local flour production from rootcrops and legumes would eventually lessen our expenses in buying imported wheat flour, which is already very expensive nowadays. It would be good and better to experiment if, like grapes, wheat can also be grown here in the Philippines.
It would be better still if bakery owners would shift to using brown sugar to sweeten their breads and cakes since it contains vitamins and minerals, compared to refined sugar that only gives us sweet and nothing else. What’s wrong if your bread or cake now looks brown because of brown sugar? Although white color can easily attract the eyes of the beholder, in its superficial sense of beauty, but when it comes to food nutrition, color white would mean nothing important if it does not contain vitamins and minerals needed for the body.
On the other hand, attracting more consumers/customers to buy bread and other bakery products in a certain bakery would always depends on how the master baker has balanced the various ingredients he puts in each of his cooked product that would become palatable when eaten. It would also mean that each bakery or the master baker himself has to maintain the ingredients formulated in each kind of bake for sale. Taking out 2 or 3 of the formulated ingredients of a certain type of bread would unwittingly mean driving away some of patronizers, which is detrimental to ones business. (Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.)
IPHO Head Proposes To Turn Hospitals Into Economic Enterprise
Feb. 1,2010
IPHO Head Proposes To Turn Hospitals Into Economic Enterprise
By Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.
Maasin City, Southern Leyte-Dr. Jose Lito Trumata head of the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) here has proposed to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) to turn all the 6 hospitals into an economic enterprise.
The province of Southern Leyte has 1 provincial hospital located in Maasin; 3 District Hospitals in the municipalities of Sogod, Pintuyan and Anahawan; and 2 community hospitals located at Padre Burgos and Liloan in Panaon Island.
Dr. Trumata during the recent Provincial Development Council meeting held at Ruperto Kangleon Function House in brgy.Mambajao this city, explained to the attendees that economic enterprise means there will be an increase rates in hospital services to the admitted patients who are confine for several days due to sickness.
However, he clarified that the hospital under the new scheme would not abandon its social responsibility to the indigent patients, despite that all admitted patients would be billed.
The provincial hospital head further explained that although the categorized A,B,C patients were being billed, indigents cases can talk to the assigned medical social worker or to the DSWD. They can present their status for evaluation if they can be classified as class C or D to avail of the indigency program with very low payment or full free of their financial obligations.
SP Jason Calva, Chair Committee on Finance and Appropriation, claimed that the income of this new adopted system would make the hospitals to operate autonomously. With the additional trust fund, he said, the hospitals can have more elbow room for its operation.
Provincial Administrator Crispin Arong, Jr. also said that two unrelated issues have cropped up in this new scheme in running the 6 hospitals of the province.
He pointed out that there exists an imbalance of payment of hospital’s room rates to those confined patients who are PhilHealth members in comparison to their hospitalization benefits.
Arong said that the purpose of room rates increases is to get the level of payment received by those who were PhilHealth members to benefit the hospital as well. According to him the benefits received by the hospitals thru the confinement of PhilHealth members would in turn be used to provide better services to the public.
The Provincial Administrator further claimed that the hospitals’ balancing of room rates to PhilHealth’s hospitalization benefits would encourage many people to enroll at PhilHealth to also avail of the benefits provided to its members.
The IPHO Head, on the other hand, also revealed that the provincial hospital has earned an income of P40M from January up to October of the current year.Nevertheless, P10M of the P40M, he said, is a non-monetary income. This means that the P10M were considered “subsidized income” from some admitted patients. But because of their financial situation and cannot afford to pay their bills, they were asking help from the medical social worker, who after evaluating their status were classified as indigents. They either pay much lower or very least than the amount summed up on their hospital bills.
Furthermore, Trumata informed that although his proposal was already approved in principle by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan,it still needs the Provincial Board’s legislation to make the hospitals’ operation legal.(Quirico M.Gorpido,Jr.)
IPHO Head Proposes To Turn Hospitals Into Economic Enterprise
By Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.
Maasin City, Southern Leyte-Dr. Jose Lito Trumata head of the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) here has proposed to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) to turn all the 6 hospitals into an economic enterprise.
The province of Southern Leyte has 1 provincial hospital located in Maasin; 3 District Hospitals in the municipalities of Sogod, Pintuyan and Anahawan; and 2 community hospitals located at Padre Burgos and Liloan in Panaon Island.
Dr. Trumata during the recent Provincial Development Council meeting held at Ruperto Kangleon Function House in brgy.Mambajao this city, explained to the attendees that economic enterprise means there will be an increase rates in hospital services to the admitted patients who are confine for several days due to sickness.
However, he clarified that the hospital under the new scheme would not abandon its social responsibility to the indigent patients, despite that all admitted patients would be billed.
The provincial hospital head further explained that although the categorized A,B,C patients were being billed, indigents cases can talk to the assigned medical social worker or to the DSWD. They can present their status for evaluation if they can be classified as class C or D to avail of the indigency program with very low payment or full free of their financial obligations.
SP Jason Calva, Chair Committee on Finance and Appropriation, claimed that the income of this new adopted system would make the hospitals to operate autonomously. With the additional trust fund, he said, the hospitals can have more elbow room for its operation.
Provincial Administrator Crispin Arong, Jr. also said that two unrelated issues have cropped up in this new scheme in running the 6 hospitals of the province.
He pointed out that there exists an imbalance of payment of hospital’s room rates to those confined patients who are PhilHealth members in comparison to their hospitalization benefits.
Arong said that the purpose of room rates increases is to get the level of payment received by those who were PhilHealth members to benefit the hospital as well. According to him the benefits received by the hospitals thru the confinement of PhilHealth members would in turn be used to provide better services to the public.
The Provincial Administrator further claimed that the hospitals’ balancing of room rates to PhilHealth’s hospitalization benefits would encourage many people to enroll at PhilHealth to also avail of the benefits provided to its members.
The IPHO Head, on the other hand, also revealed that the provincial hospital has earned an income of P40M from January up to October of the current year.Nevertheless, P10M of the P40M, he said, is a non-monetary income. This means that the P10M were considered “subsidized income” from some admitted patients. But because of their financial situation and cannot afford to pay their bills, they were asking help from the medical social worker, who after evaluating their status were classified as indigents. They either pay much lower or very least than the amount summed up on their hospital bills.
Furthermore, Trumata informed that although his proposal was already approved in principle by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan,it still needs the Provincial Board’s legislation to make the hospitals’ operation legal.(Quirico M.Gorpido,Jr.)
Ziplines,Cable Cars To Be Constructed Near The Newly-Finished Agas-Agas Bridge
Feb.1,2010
Ziplines, Cable Cars To Be Constructed Near The Newly-Finished Agas-Agas Bridge
By Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.
Maasin City, Southern Leyte-The construction of the P1.024B Agas-Agas Bridge in brgy.Kahupian,Sogod town, of this province and the promotion of ecotourism by the provincial government has triggered Tourism Officer Nedgar Garvez to tap pioneering zipline builders from Camp Zabros,Mt. Apo Natural Park in Davao Del Sur to construct ziplines and cable cars at the new longest and tallest bridge in the country(to the exclusion of San Juanico Bridge that connects the huge islands of Leyte and Samar)measuring 350 linear meters in length and 75 meters in height
The bridge, whose name was derived at nearby mountain crack where landslides and waterfalls were frequent during rainy days(Agas-Agas), was the ultimate solution to the bad condition of the road below the mountain that became impassable by bus passengers whenever there were rains.
The demonstration of several extreme sports enthusiasts on ziplining and rappelling thru cable wires during the recent bridge opening to public traffic led by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, was the main urging force to pursue the idea into realization.
During the recent Provincial Development Council meeting held at Ruperto Kangleon Function House in brgy.Mambajao, this city, the Sacdalan Brothers from Camp Zabros, Mt.Apo, Davao del Sur composed of Romy and Edwin were the main guests.
Edwin Sacdalan said that the province has the advantage because it has the longest and the tallest bridge where zipline construction and bungee jumping activities are suitable for local and foreign tourists who loved the extreme sports.
Sacdalan said that although Mt.Apo Natural Park which is 4,000 feet above sea level is a tourist destination among local and foreign tourists, majority of them still look for some other activities that will prick their spirit of adventurism.
“That’s where the idea of constructing ziplines and cable wires came to my mind in 2005”, he said. “And we start constructing it in Mt. Apo Natural Park”.
He said they have also constructed ziplines in Camp Leo Oracion in South Cotabato and in Danao in Bohol.
He claimed that since the new extreme sports has started in 2005 and has become well-known in 2007 there were zero casualties.
He said the new sports have no age limit-children, teenagers and adults-as long as they have the courageous hearts and the enthusiasm to ride up on heights.
Edwin claimed that the construction of ziplines need millions of pesos, but investment can easily be recovered.
He cited Danao in Bohol which is 45 kilometers away from Tagbilaran City where ziplines were constructed. He implied that with a regular influx of tourists the investment was recovered in just 2 seasons, revealing that it has an income from P500,000 to P1M a month.
The zipline builder said that for bungee jumping, tower construction is no longer necessary in Agas-Agas, since its 75 meters height concrete pier would serve as the jumping point for the extreme sports enthusiasts.
He said that 4 to 5 activities can be conducted at the bridge that traversed between 2 sides of the mountains.
He further said that ziplining and rappelling that were booming nationwide have become attraction at Mt. Apo.Adding that it’s also an income-generating project that the provincial government of Southern Leyte can have its share of investment and revenues.
Moreover, SP Agustin Escaño, Jr., Chair Committee on Agriculture and Tourism, enjoined the Sacdalan brothers Romy and Edwin to submit the development plan and the estimated cost of constructing ziplines and cable cars.
Garvez, who accompanied the Sacdalan brothers to Agas-Agas Bridge to see it for themselves to conduct a feasibility study on the project, said he still has to ask permission from the Dept. of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The aforesaid meeting was presided over by Governor Damian G. Mercado and attended by some municipal mayors and SP members, heads of line agencies, some representatives from LGUs and 3 personalities from the press.(Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.)
Ziplines, Cable Cars To Be Constructed Near The Newly-Finished Agas-Agas Bridge
By Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.
Maasin City, Southern Leyte-The construction of the P1.024B Agas-Agas Bridge in brgy.Kahupian,Sogod town, of this province and the promotion of ecotourism by the provincial government has triggered Tourism Officer Nedgar Garvez to tap pioneering zipline builders from Camp Zabros,Mt. Apo Natural Park in Davao Del Sur to construct ziplines and cable cars at the new longest and tallest bridge in the country(to the exclusion of San Juanico Bridge that connects the huge islands of Leyte and Samar)measuring 350 linear meters in length and 75 meters in height
The bridge, whose name was derived at nearby mountain crack where landslides and waterfalls were frequent during rainy days(Agas-Agas), was the ultimate solution to the bad condition of the road below the mountain that became impassable by bus passengers whenever there were rains.
The demonstration of several extreme sports enthusiasts on ziplining and rappelling thru cable wires during the recent bridge opening to public traffic led by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, was the main urging force to pursue the idea into realization.
During the recent Provincial Development Council meeting held at Ruperto Kangleon Function House in brgy.Mambajao, this city, the Sacdalan Brothers from Camp Zabros, Mt.Apo, Davao del Sur composed of Romy and Edwin were the main guests.
Edwin Sacdalan said that the province has the advantage because it has the longest and the tallest bridge where zipline construction and bungee jumping activities are suitable for local and foreign tourists who loved the extreme sports.
Sacdalan said that although Mt.Apo Natural Park which is 4,000 feet above sea level is a tourist destination among local and foreign tourists, majority of them still look for some other activities that will prick their spirit of adventurism.
“That’s where the idea of constructing ziplines and cable wires came to my mind in 2005”, he said. “And we start constructing it in Mt. Apo Natural Park”.
He said they have also constructed ziplines in Camp Leo Oracion in South Cotabato and in Danao in Bohol.
He claimed that since the new extreme sports has started in 2005 and has become well-known in 2007 there were zero casualties.
He said the new sports have no age limit-children, teenagers and adults-as long as they have the courageous hearts and the enthusiasm to ride up on heights.
Edwin claimed that the construction of ziplines need millions of pesos, but investment can easily be recovered.
He cited Danao in Bohol which is 45 kilometers away from Tagbilaran City where ziplines were constructed. He implied that with a regular influx of tourists the investment was recovered in just 2 seasons, revealing that it has an income from P500,000 to P1M a month.
The zipline builder said that for bungee jumping, tower construction is no longer necessary in Agas-Agas, since its 75 meters height concrete pier would serve as the jumping point for the extreme sports enthusiasts.
He said that 4 to 5 activities can be conducted at the bridge that traversed between 2 sides of the mountains.
He further said that ziplining and rappelling that were booming nationwide have become attraction at Mt. Apo.Adding that it’s also an income-generating project that the provincial government of Southern Leyte can have its share of investment and revenues.
Moreover, SP Agustin Escaño, Jr., Chair Committee on Agriculture and Tourism, enjoined the Sacdalan brothers Romy and Edwin to submit the development plan and the estimated cost of constructing ziplines and cable cars.
Garvez, who accompanied the Sacdalan brothers to Agas-Agas Bridge to see it for themselves to conduct a feasibility study on the project, said he still has to ask permission from the Dept. of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The aforesaid meeting was presided over by Governor Damian G. Mercado and attended by some municipal mayors and SP members, heads of line agencies, some representatives from LGUs and 3 personalities from the press.(Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.)
Snatcher Stabs Barangay Tanod
Feb.1,2010
Snatcher Stabs Barangay Tanod
By Quirico M.. Gorpido,Jr.
Maasin City, Southern Leyte-A Barangay Tanod who pursued a running snatcher after victimizing a college student in brgy. Zone 3, Sogod town, during the recent Tuesday evening at about 6:00p.m. was stabbed by the latter when the former passed by the suspect’s position who was hiding nearby.
The victim was identified as Lauberto Ranario Lasaga, 32 years old, married and a resident of brgy Zone 3.He was on duty when the stabbing happened.
In an interview with LSDE Alma Monteciano-Lasaga, 30 years old, wife of the victim, disclosed that the suspect after hitting her husband on the abdomen had ran away.
She said her pursuing husband had not notice that the suspect hid somewhere in the area where residential houses were crowding. “It was not easy to see the next corner under dark if somebody was hiding”, she said.
Her husband after he was stabbed, she said, did not shout for help but had walked alone until she saw him and brought him to the Sogod District Hospital.
However, the doctor on duty told her to proceed to the provincial hospital here because at that time, according the doctor, the anesthesiologist was in Cebu City.
A service ambulance had brought them to the provincial hospital where the victim was examined in the Emergency Room by physician surgeon Dr, Reynaldo Tan who operated on the victim’s abdomen.
She said she was informed by the surgeon that both her husband’s large and small intestines were wounded.
Meeting at Barangay Hall
Earlier, prior to the incident, the victim accompanied by his wife and son went to the barangay hall to attend a meeting. Before the meeting could start his wife proceeded to the public market to buy some fish. After buying fish, she said, she went to the nearby store to buy cooking oil to fry the fishes. While her husband went to the store to buy a toy for his 7-year-old son Louie John, grade 2 pupil who requested it from his father.
She was then urged by her husband to go ahead and cook food so that their 6-year-old pre-schooler daughter Leanne who has had a fever could eat.
At the same time, her husband had followed her to their house with his son, she said, and had to go back t o the barangay hall for the scheduled meeting among the Barangay Tanods (barrio guards).
Nevertheless, before the victim could reach their residence, his wife said, unidentified female college student of the Southern Leyte State University (SLSU) shouted for help after her wallet was snatched by an unidentified man.
Responding to the victim’s call the Barangay Tanod-victim pursued the fleeing snatcher who entered by the narrow alleys where he hid somewhere.
As her husband narrated to her the incident, she said, he happened to pass by a nook where the suspect was hiding and he was stabbed on his stomach with a knife and ranaway in haste. She said her husband told her he was not familiar with the snatcher’s facial feature and bearing. He (the victim) believed, she said, that the snatcher is not from their place.
Sleeping Victim
During the interview the victim was sleeping. A medicinal oxygen’s hose was inserted to his nose to support his breathing. A plastic bottle of dextrose was hanging over him. A needle at the end of the dextrose’s hose penetrated into a visible vein, where 4 kinds of injectable vials were injected by a few minutes of interval as per the doctor’s instruction. “But for injectable antibiotic”, a male nurse who injected the victim said, “it would be from 2 to 3 hours interval for a newly-operated patient, depending upon the patient’s condition and the doctor’s instruction”.
The interviewee further said that she could not make sure how many days do they have to stay at the hospital, since the injuries inflicted on her husband were internal. The victim’s wife was also hopeful that the snatcher-suspect will have a remorse of his conscience so that he will voluntarily surrender to the police to give justice to her husband.(Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)
Snatcher Stabs Barangay Tanod
By Quirico M.. Gorpido,Jr.
Maasin City, Southern Leyte-A Barangay Tanod who pursued a running snatcher after victimizing a college student in brgy. Zone 3, Sogod town, during the recent Tuesday evening at about 6:00p.m. was stabbed by the latter when the former passed by the suspect’s position who was hiding nearby.
The victim was identified as Lauberto Ranario Lasaga, 32 years old, married and a resident of brgy Zone 3.He was on duty when the stabbing happened.
In an interview with LSDE Alma Monteciano-Lasaga, 30 years old, wife of the victim, disclosed that the suspect after hitting her husband on the abdomen had ran away.
She said her pursuing husband had not notice that the suspect hid somewhere in the area where residential houses were crowding. “It was not easy to see the next corner under dark if somebody was hiding”, she said.
Her husband after he was stabbed, she said, did not shout for help but had walked alone until she saw him and brought him to the Sogod District Hospital.
However, the doctor on duty told her to proceed to the provincial hospital here because at that time, according the doctor, the anesthesiologist was in Cebu City.
A service ambulance had brought them to the provincial hospital where the victim was examined in the Emergency Room by physician surgeon Dr, Reynaldo Tan who operated on the victim’s abdomen.
She said she was informed by the surgeon that both her husband’s large and small intestines were wounded.
Meeting at Barangay Hall
Earlier, prior to the incident, the victim accompanied by his wife and son went to the barangay hall to attend a meeting. Before the meeting could start his wife proceeded to the public market to buy some fish. After buying fish, she said, she went to the nearby store to buy cooking oil to fry the fishes. While her husband went to the store to buy a toy for his 7-year-old son Louie John, grade 2 pupil who requested it from his father.
She was then urged by her husband to go ahead and cook food so that their 6-year-old pre-schooler daughter Leanne who has had a fever could eat.
At the same time, her husband had followed her to their house with his son, she said, and had to go back t o the barangay hall for the scheduled meeting among the Barangay Tanods (barrio guards).
Nevertheless, before the victim could reach their residence, his wife said, unidentified female college student of the Southern Leyte State University (SLSU) shouted for help after her wallet was snatched by an unidentified man.
Responding to the victim’s call the Barangay Tanod-victim pursued the fleeing snatcher who entered by the narrow alleys where he hid somewhere.
As her husband narrated to her the incident, she said, he happened to pass by a nook where the suspect was hiding and he was stabbed on his stomach with a knife and ranaway in haste. She said her husband told her he was not familiar with the snatcher’s facial feature and bearing. He (the victim) believed, she said, that the snatcher is not from their place.
Sleeping Victim
During the interview the victim was sleeping. A medicinal oxygen’s hose was inserted to his nose to support his breathing. A plastic bottle of dextrose was hanging over him. A needle at the end of the dextrose’s hose penetrated into a visible vein, where 4 kinds of injectable vials were injected by a few minutes of interval as per the doctor’s instruction. “But for injectable antibiotic”, a male nurse who injected the victim said, “it would be from 2 to 3 hours interval for a newly-operated patient, depending upon the patient’s condition and the doctor’s instruction”.
The interviewee further said that she could not make sure how many days do they have to stay at the hospital, since the injuries inflicted on her husband were internal. The victim’s wife was also hopeful that the snatcher-suspect will have a remorse of his conscience so that he will voluntarily surrender to the police to give justice to her husband.(Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)
Motorcab Driver Falls From Coconut Tree
Feb.1,2010
Motorcab Driver Falls From Coconut Tree
By Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.
Maasin City, Southern Leyte-A motorcab driver who climbed a coconut tree on his lot one Monday morning has fallen when both sides of the notch (hakhak in Cebuano) gave way to his feet’s hold.
The victim was identified as Danilo Rojas Ramos, 57 years old, a resident of brgy Isagani (Pugaling).
In an interview LSDE with his wife, Leticia Garde-Ramos, 54 year old, a Barangay Councilor in her place, she disclosed that her husband has decided to harvest matured coconut fruits together with 2 other hired coconut climbers (manakaay’g lubi in the Cebuano language).
The victim’s wife said that about an hour later her husband had fallen after harvesting some coco fruits from 10 coconut trees.
As narrated by the victim to his wife, she said that when he started to climb down, the notch (hakhak in Cebuano) on his right side broke up as he positioned his right foot for a hold. When he placed his left foot upon the left side notch, it also broke up and he tightly hugged the coco’s trunk to prevent him from an abrupt fall.
However, my husband could no longer sustain the degree of strength he employed to prevent himself from falling below, she said. Still he tried to hold on the trunk, but gradually slid because he could no longer counter his body weight with his weakening strength, she said.
Inevitably he turned around the trunk’s curvature for re-positioning to balance his body weight as long as he could, she said, to avoid a sudden fall.
Neverthelss, the efforts he applied to try to save himself from a fall, she said, could not equalize with the force of gravity that overwhelmingly pulled him down.
The victim finally fell from a coco tree from an estimated height of about 12 feet of 20 feet high. His body suddenly turned into a swollen figure as he hit the ground, she said,. She said she called the emergency ambulance of the Fire Protection Bureau which responded immedaitely.He was rushed to the provincial hospital for treatment.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Elpidio Sibud, who was the victim’s attending physician, conducted the victim’s physical examination. He was x-rayed from the head, spinal column and both his arms and the legs.
Luckily ex-ray results have shown that his spinal column and both legs were intact. Except for his left arm which sustained bone fractures. His wife said her husband used his left arm to protect his head as he fell below with a thud.
Sibud explained to the patient and his wife that the swelling of his whole body was the outcome of the fall’s impact. The physician had administered injectable antibiotics and pain reliever, according to the victim’s wife.
She said she filed a leave of absence to attend to her husband’s needs at the hospital.
She said it took exactly 14 days from the start of the victim’s confinement before he was operated on his fractured left arm. Since it was only at this period that the body swell has subsided after the daily administration of injectable vials and pain reliever.
Leticia said she did not know how many months the stainless steel would be taken out because the doctor did not yet tell them when.
Asked further why her husband has to drive motorcab for a living when they have some coconut plantations, she explained the income from copra sales is not enough for the family of 5 members.
The wife disclosed that the victim has had driven motorcab that was plying passengers from the Maasin complex up to brgy. Ibarra or brgy. Ichon, Macrohon or vice versa for more than 20 years now as their means of livelihood.(Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)
Motorcab Driver Falls From Coconut Tree
By Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.
Maasin City, Southern Leyte-A motorcab driver who climbed a coconut tree on his lot one Monday morning has fallen when both sides of the notch (hakhak in Cebuano) gave way to his feet’s hold.
The victim was identified as Danilo Rojas Ramos, 57 years old, a resident of brgy Isagani (Pugaling).
In an interview LSDE with his wife, Leticia Garde-Ramos, 54 year old, a Barangay Councilor in her place, she disclosed that her husband has decided to harvest matured coconut fruits together with 2 other hired coconut climbers (manakaay’g lubi in the Cebuano language).
The victim’s wife said that about an hour later her husband had fallen after harvesting some coco fruits from 10 coconut trees.
As narrated by the victim to his wife, she said that when he started to climb down, the notch (hakhak in Cebuano) on his right side broke up as he positioned his right foot for a hold. When he placed his left foot upon the left side notch, it also broke up and he tightly hugged the coco’s trunk to prevent him from an abrupt fall.
However, my husband could no longer sustain the degree of strength he employed to prevent himself from falling below, she said. Still he tried to hold on the trunk, but gradually slid because he could no longer counter his body weight with his weakening strength, she said.
Inevitably he turned around the trunk’s curvature for re-positioning to balance his body weight as long as he could, she said, to avoid a sudden fall.
Neverthelss, the efforts he applied to try to save himself from a fall, she said, could not equalize with the force of gravity that overwhelmingly pulled him down.
The victim finally fell from a coco tree from an estimated height of about 12 feet of 20 feet high. His body suddenly turned into a swollen figure as he hit the ground, she said,. She said she called the emergency ambulance of the Fire Protection Bureau which responded immedaitely.He was rushed to the provincial hospital for treatment.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Elpidio Sibud, who was the victim’s attending physician, conducted the victim’s physical examination. He was x-rayed from the head, spinal column and both his arms and the legs.
Luckily ex-ray results have shown that his spinal column and both legs were intact. Except for his left arm which sustained bone fractures. His wife said her husband used his left arm to protect his head as he fell below with a thud.
Sibud explained to the patient and his wife that the swelling of his whole body was the outcome of the fall’s impact. The physician had administered injectable antibiotics and pain reliever, according to the victim’s wife.
She said she filed a leave of absence to attend to her husband’s needs at the hospital.
She said it took exactly 14 days from the start of the victim’s confinement before he was operated on his fractured left arm. Since it was only at this period that the body swell has subsided after the daily administration of injectable vials and pain reliever.
Leticia said she did not know how many months the stainless steel would be taken out because the doctor did not yet tell them when.
Asked further why her husband has to drive motorcab for a living when they have some coconut plantations, she explained the income from copra sales is not enough for the family of 5 members.
The wife disclosed that the victim has had driven motorcab that was plying passengers from the Maasin complex up to brgy. Ibarra or brgy. Ichon, Macrohon or vice versa for more than 20 years now as their means of livelihood.(Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)
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