Empower Women, Build Disaster-Resilient Communities

Legarda and Mayor Lorna Silverio of San Rafael, Bulacan,.

Senator Loren Legarda urged government to ensure that women and girls are provided avenues to participate in order to build disaster-resilient communities.

“Women and girls account for 52% of the world’s population. Over 100 million of which are affected by disasters annually,” Legarda noted.

“As they bear the impact of disasters, it is important that we pay attention to their experience and knowledge,” she added.

Legarda, the United Nations Regional Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation for Asia-Pacific, also said that even disaster rescue efforts discriminate against women.

“In the 2006 tsunami that killed scores in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, male survivors outnumbered its female counterparts in a 3 to 1 and 4 to 1 ratio,” she noted.

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Legarda, who chairs the Senate Committee on Climate Change, also said that in times of disaster and economic stress, women are the primary caregivers, bearing the burden of caring for the sick and carrying out much of the household workload after a disaster. Women have distinct nutritional needs that make coping with disasters tougher and harsher.

“Despite these, women have been silently and effectively at the frontline of disaster prevention and climate change adaptation efforts,” Legarda said.

“In the Municipality of San Francisco in Camotes Island, Cebu, which is one of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction’s 29 model communities worldwide that are exemplars in disaster risk reduction and management, 90% of officers in charge of environmental protection and disaster prevention programs in each and every purok are women, since most of the male residents are focused on making a living for their families. The Purok System focuses on mobilizing local resources in creating local and practical solutions based on the vulnerability and unique needs of every community. The program includes the “no trash segregation – no collection” policy,” she added.

“Let us recognize and empower women, who are agents of solutions, indispensable holders of valuable knowledge and skills, and able leaders from the grassroots level to the global stage,” Legarda concluded.

The world celebrated the International Day for Disaster Reduction in October 13, with the theme "Women and Girls: the [in]Visible Force of Resilience.

DA upgrades breed of animals in Central Luzon

By Rebecca Grace S. David

The Department of Agriculture’s Regional Livestock Division maintains multiplier farms and livestock production centers to improve the reproductive potential of local breed of small and large animals.

The DA maintains a multiplier farm in Central Luzon, where 41 purebred sheep have produced 22 offsprings, of which eight have been given to farmers.

Over the past seven months, the breeders in their livestock production centers consisted of 60 head of goat, 47 sheep, 43 swine, 246 chicken and 84 ducks.

Some 2,305 offsprings of their chicken and 192 head of goats and sheep have been distributed to farmer-beneficiaries.

Artificial insemination has also been done on 2,462 cattle, 4,351 carabaos, 1,300 swine and 64 goats. From these inseminated animals were produced upgraded breed of 1,118 cattle, 1,507 carabaos, 9,236 swine and 79 goats.

DA Regional Director Andrew Villacorta said to rid and control animal diseases, animal vaccination, deworming, and treatment were administered on dogs, swine, sheep, goats, carabaos, and cattle. This

is aside from the laboratory testing of 1,107 sick animals to determine their illness.

The DA also conducted meat processing seminars where the participants included 640 wives, out-of-school youth, persons with disabilities and members of cooperatives. (CLJD/RGSD-PIA3)

Food expo to highlight Meat Safety Consciousness Week in CL

By Rebecca Grace S. David

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Oct 10 (PIA) -- A three-day food expo will highlight the observance of the 20th Meat Safety Consciousness Week in Central Luzon.

"Forty exhibitors, who are members of the Pampanga Meat Processors as well as small and medium-scale food producers, will sell their products at discounted price during the fair," said Clarita Sangcal,

regional technical director of the National Meat Inspection Service.

Sangcal also said, "A motorcade will likewise be held within the City of San Fernando in Pampanga to create awareness of the need to consume only safe meat."

Slaughterhouse operators will attend a seminar on "The Animal Welfare Act" on October 16 where they will be taught proper slaughter, distribution, sale, and storage of meat.

October 15-19 has been declared annually as Meat Safety Consciousness Week which is enclosed in the celebration of Consumer Month every October.

This year’s theme is “Karneng Ligtas at Sapat, Kabalikat ang Lahat" which it aims to gather the livestock industry together and emphasize the role of everyone to ensure the safety of meat for consumption.

(CLJD/JGB-PIA 3)

Central Luzon is now red tide free

By Joelyn G. Baluyut

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Oct 10 (PIA) -- The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has declared the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, and Zambales free from paralytic shellfish poison or most known as red tide.

According to the report submitted, the coastal waters of Bulacan and Bataan (towns of Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Balanga, Orani, Abucay and Samal) in Manila Bay; Masinloc Bay in Zambales continue to be free from toxic red tides.

“And shellfish from the mentioned areas can now be gathered, harvested, and sold in markets for human consumption,” said BFAR.

Meanwhile, shellfishes collected at Dumanquillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur; Murcielagos Bay in Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Occidental; and coastal waters of Milagros in Masbate are still positive for paralytic shellfish poison that is beyond the regulatory limit.

BFAR noted that all types of shellfish and Acetes ap or alamang from the said areas are not safe for human consumption.

“Fish, squids, shrimps, and crabs are safe for human consumption provided that they are fresh and washed thoroughly and internal organs such as gills and intestines are removed before cooking,” BFAR added. 

COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO SAVE IPO WATERSHED

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Central Luzon forms a strategic alliance with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and the Local Government Units (LGUs) of Norzagaray and San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan to address timber poaching, squatting, kaingin-making and forest fire inside the 6,600-hectare Ipo Watershed. Established under Presidential Proclamation 391 of 1968, the Ipo watershed supplies domestic water to more than 11 million people of Metro Manila. The Ipo dam has a storage capacity of 7.5 million cubic meters of fresh water and lies about 7.5 kilometers downstream of Angat dam.

NYC to youth, students: Plagiarism is wrong!

In light of the recent incidents of alleged plagiarism, the National Youth Commissioncalls on the youth to avoid plagiarism and to respect Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).

“Even if a public official says that it is alright that he copied from a source and failed to attribute, still, we would like to remind young people, especially students, that plagiarism is wrong.” Undersecretary Leon Flores III, Chairman of the National Youth Commission says.

Plagiarism is derived from the Latin word “plagiaries” or kidnappers, referring to someone who steals other’s work. According to Oxford Dictionary, plagiarism is the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own.

In the Philippines, the government ensures to protect and promote intellectual property rights through several policies.  These policies were both in the 1973 Constitution which provides that “the exclusive right to inventions, writings and artistic creations shall be secured to inventors, authors, and artists for a limited period” and in the 1987 Constitution which explicitly mandates that the State shall protect intellectual property.

“With seamless flow of information now provided especially by the internet, it is important that proper attribution be made. We should resist the temptation to copy-paste without attribution because that is still tantamount to stealing. Call it by any other name, but stealing someone’s idea through plagiarism is still stealing. Proper attribution is the difficult right, plagiarism is the easy wrong."  Chairman Flores adds.

 “Sometimes, even if we do not have a law against something that is blatantly wrong, it still does not make it right. In this case, we do have copyright regulations that are clearly outlined in the Intellectual Property Rights Law. But nonetheless, the lack of definition of plagiarism only means that the efforts of our legislative institutions have been found inadequate in pushing for these mechanisms to prevent stealing of ideas and information.”

The National Youth Commission, created in 1995 pursuant to Republic Act 8044 otherwise known as the "Youth in Nation-Building Act", is the voice and advocate of the youth. It operates under the Office of the President of the Philippines as the policy-making, coordinating body of all youth-related institutions, programs, projects, and activities of the government.

DA plans for rice self-sufficiency

The Department of Agriculture and its partner agencies are getting ready for next year’s stretch of the Food Staples Sufficiency Program (FSSP) through rice R&D review and planning workshop being held at Philippine Carabao Center in Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, Sept 4-6.

Supporting FSSP, the government’s banner program to attain sufficiency in rice and other major crops, 16 regional executive directors will present their region’s rice industry profile and databases.

Meanwhile, partner agencies will impart rice science and technology updates.

Glen Ilar, Dr. Karen Eloisa Barroga, Dr. Flordeliza Bordey, Susan Brena, and Thelma Padolina of Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) will update the group on varieties, crop management, machines, and knowledge products and services.

PhilRice experts will also present the national rice industry profile and popularization of Mestiso 19 (NSIC Rc202H) and Mestiso 20 (NSIC Rc204H).

The regions’ rice research and development agenda and priorities in 2013 will also be tackled to ensure the implementation of the programs key interventions, which include improved production-support, enhanced incentives and enabling mechanism, and managed food consumption.

Participating agencies include National Irrigation Association, Bureau of Plant Industry, Bureau of Soil and Water Management, Bureau of Agricultural Research, Agricultural Training Institute, Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, and International Rice Research Institute.

DA-PhilRice is a government-owned and –controlled corporation that aims at developing high-yielding and cost-reducing technologies so farmers can produce enough rice for all Filipinos.

For more information, please visit or contact DA-PhilRice at Maligaya, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija with telephone number (044) 456-0285 loc 512 or any PhilRice station near you. You may also visit www.philrice.gov.ph or text your questions to 0920-911-1398.