Increasing awareness leads to HIV detections

DAVAO CITY May 3 (PIA)- increasing awareness has led to more Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV) cases as more people are going for HIV tests.

“Nitaas siya kay daghan na nagpatest.” (it has risen because many have taken tests) says Kenneth Sadia, Information Education Communication support staff of the Reproductive Health and Wellness Center of the Davao City Health Office (CHO) said.

From January to March of this year, the City Health Office recorded 45 new cases or about 17% of the 262 cases monitored since 1993.

Based on RHWC data, there had been 7,191 visits to the RHWC in 2011; this is far cry from the 4,937 visits recorded in 2008.  For 2012, the RHWC is averaging about 500 visits per month. Among those visitors would include those who volunteered to have free HIV tests.

Sadia said that they are currently conducting IEC outreach among the city’s barangays. Currently they have already reached about 52 barangays in Davao City.  Aside from information dissemination, some barangays have also requested HIV tests.

Also the RHWC conducts monthly outreach programs to freelance prostitutes playing along the city’s streets, where they are taken to the RHWC for information awareness sessions and also tests for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Some commercial sex workers also volunteered for HIV screenings. “HIV screenings cannot be forced upon them” says Sadia.

Dr. Jordana Ramiterre of the RHWC said that a gargantuan effort should be exerted to convince these CSWs to have regular HIV AIDS screenings.

She said that the IEC campaign is more of preventive education for the general population and for the high-risk groups. “Everybody should be careful.” Ramiterre said.

“For example if you engage in having multiple sex partners then you should use a condom.” She added.

Rising HIV cases can also be traced to increasing high-risk sexual behaviour of the populace. Among these include the lack or non-use of condoms during sexual intercourse and also increasing number of young Filipinos engaging in pre-marital sex.

Among the high risk group include those engaging in Male having sex with Males (MSM) based on RHWC data about 245 cases of the 262 accumulated cases were brought about by MSM.

“MSM is more prone to having multiple sexual partners and also many would not use condoms during sexual intercourse” Sadia said. (PIA/RG Alama)

City of Tagum employees observe Labor Day through Bayanihan

By: City Information Office- Tagum

CITY OF TAGUM, DAVAO DEL NORTE - At least 700 armchairs were sand-papered during the whole day Bayanihan conducted by the Employees of the City Government of Tagum on May 1 as a way of observing the 2012 Labor Day celebration.

City Human Resource Management Officer Mrs. Edna J. Quilario stressed in an interview that before going on a one-day holiday break, employees opted to bond with each other in a whole day event through volunteering works in support of Mayor Rey T. Uy’s Care for School Chairs Program.

She said it will be worth their time to volunteer since many children in different schools in Davao Region will benefit out from their worthy cause.

The Care for School Chairs Program is a brainchild project of Mayor Uy which fabricates school chairs from confiscated logs and are distributed to different schools in the Provinces of Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley, Davao del Sur and in the City of Davao.

In fact, as part of the city’s heightened “social responsibility” to Tagum’s neighboring cities and municipalities, Mayor Uy observed Labor Day through distributing new chairs in two schools in the Municipality of Carmen in the Province of Davao del Norte. La Paz Elementary School received 190 armchairs and 30 kiddie chairs while La Paz National High School was given 70 armchairs.

As of May 1, 2012 and after its eight month since its kick-off last August 2011, a total of 38, 730 pieces of school furniture consisting of armchairs, desks and tables were already delivered in different schools in Davao Region.  (Louie Lapat of CIO Tagum)

Sta. Cruz flashflood brings P500,000-worth of damage to houses, infra

By Carina L. Cayon

DAVAO CITY, May 2 (PIA) – The flashflood that occurred in a barangay of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur on April 27 (Friday) has brought damage to houses and infrastructures that amounted to P500,000.

Some 15 houses in Barangay Zone 4 were totally destroyed, while six including two boarding houses were partially damaged, affecting 27 families with 136 individuals including 42 boarders who working at private companies situated in said barangay.

The flashflood that happened along Pilan River in said barangay due to incessant heavy rainfall on Friday evening also impaired a hanging bridge connecting Barangays Zone 3 and Zone 4.

Adelaida Badilla, secretariat head of Sta. Cruz Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), reported that the total damage cost to houses and personal belongings of the affected families reached to P300,000.

The cost of damage to the hanging bridge was estimated at P200,000, said Badilla who is also the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer of said town.

She said most of the affected families are being housed at the evacuation center at Agripina Elementary School, while the rest are staying with relatives.

In her MDRRMO report as of yesterday (April 29), Badilla said local government unit of Sta. Cruz has extended food assistance such as hot meals through its community kitchen and five sacks of rice.

The Philippine Red Cross has donated two packs of used clothing, kitchen wares and noodles.

Members of the 39th Infantry Battalion and 10th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, together with the officials of the municipal and barangay LGUs have brought about the rescue and transfer of victims to the evacuation centers. (PIA-11/Carina L. Cayon)

Toastmasters Int’l holds national confab in Island City of Samal

ISLAND GARDEN CITY OF SAMAL, May 2 (PIA):  Bannering the theme,  “Sama , Sama sa Samal”, Toastmasters International District 75 (Philippines) gathered  370 Toastmasters  from 155 Toastmasters clubs in the Philippines during its 31st District Convention held in the Island Garden City of Samal in the province of Davao del Norte.

        District Convention Chairperson Elisa Tay described this year’s district convention (Discon) of  the Philippine Toastmasters as “Fun Convention”   bringing participants to outdoor activities at The Venue Party Boat and  at the Precious Garden Resort other than dishing them out with speech workshops and contests.

        “Beyond welcoming you to the Island across Davao City, we enjoin everybody to reach across tables,  rooms and cliques to meet somebody new; share  successful Toastmasters campaign be it membership or educational activities,”  she said in welcoming fellow Toastmasters and guests.

        Toastmasters District 75 Governor Victor Navales asked participants to “take time to reconnect with friends, make acquaintances, celebrate success and share knowledge and ideas.”

        Held from April 27 to April 29, this year’s Discon of the Philippine Toastmasters opened with former Samal City mayor Rogelio Antalan as the Keynote Speaker who spoke about practicing leadership as Toastmasters.

This year’s  Philippine Toastmasters Discon carried plenary sessions on Supermarketing Toastmasters by TM Past International President Johnny Uy;  EQ (Emotional Quotient) on Toastmasters Leadership by author Dr. Rodolfo “Dups” delos Reyes;  and a workshop on Humor conducted by TM Past District Gov. of District 49 (Hawaii) Greg H. Ching.

It was packed with speech contests particularly Impromptu Speech, Humorous Speech and International (prepared) Speech Contest.

Navales noted that this years Toastmasters Discon had “exciting” speech contests worthy "to be remembered for a long time."

Its other highlight activity  was the Toastmasters International recognition of Police Deputy Director General Nicanor A Bartome as this year’s Communication and Leadership Awardee.

Meanwhile, the Toastmasters were welcomed by Davao del Norte Provincial Gov. Rodolfo P. del Rosario who was one of the major sponsors of the Governor’s Night held at The Venue Party Boat.

The Toastmasters’ event also got the support  and warm welcome from the Second District House Representative Antonio Lagdameo. (PIA-11/ Jeanevive Duron-Abangan)

Comval revives old age kite flying tradition

COMPOSTELA, Compostela Valley (April 30) –  Kite flying is not alien to the people of this province or Davao region. This old age Filipino tradition was merely hibernating.

And when the provincial government through the provincial tourism office, the office of the congressman of the first district, and the municipal government of Compostela picked the event as one of the major activities of the Summer Mania sports clinic of First District Rep. Maricar Zamora-Apsay. Town residents, families, and children embraced it wholeheartedly as this advocates family-based and group team activities.

Rep. Apsay described the event, as well as the Compostela-New Bataan biking competition and the six-day Zumba dance exercise introduced by the provincial tourism office, “a much welcome activity” that would infuse more excitement to her regular annual summer sports program in the first district.

The additional events, lumped as Summer High 2012 by the provincial and municipal tourism offices on April 23-28 in the interior highland town, complement the provincial summer beach sports festival along the Mabini-Pantukan coastlines in May.

Like the beach sports festival, Summer High 2012 aims to promote Compostela Valley as a sports and adventure destination in Davao region. The beach sports festival won the national champion award in the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines-Department of Tourism 2010 search for tourism best practice in the sports and wellness category.

Jesse Bolo, the mayor of the province’s most bustling town, welcomed the kite flying competition as “an opportunity to revive the core Filipino family value of togetherness”.

“The event reminds me of my childhood and how today’s children are hooked on to computers that they have forgotten the value of physical activities that build both body and mind,” Mayor Bolo said at the event at the CNHS Oval on the date of the competition. He had brought his grandson to join the kite flying activity.

Cong. Apsay and Mayor Bolo shared the expenses in the holding of the new events.

Mr. Eledios Bejasa, Sr. won the biggest flying kite competition and flew away with the P3,000 prize. The P2,000 prize for the smallest flying kite went to Alxis Capitan. Rocille JUmalon topped the more than 40 kites for the best in flat type that carried a prize of P2,000 while the best gurion kite prize of P1,000 went to Jhyanna Dominique Yee.  The most colourful kite with a cash prize of P500 went to the entry of Aires Tia.

Re presentatives from the Kite Association of the Philippines headed by its president for Mindanao Binko Reyes conducted the kite clinic where he introduced basic Filipino kite making craft that uses native materials. The association is an affiliate of the ASEAN Kite Council which is planning to hold a first major kite event in Davao City in the future.

In the biking competition on April 28, bikers from Tagum City and Bislig City grabbed the major prizes of P5,000 for first, P4,000 for second, and P3,000 for third  in the professional category of the team bike racing competition from Compostela to Bamboo Resort in Andap, New Bataan.

The amateur special prize of P1,000 went to homegrown racers JUmalon brothers. The prize of P3,000 in the fastest racer category went to Jr. LUbanan-Tour D’Jack Team while the most colourful team prize of P3,000 went to Team B Prof. Tour D’Jack Team. (jpa/pgo-tourism/ids)

Davao looks into sports tourism

DAVAO CITY May 2 (PIA)-  To attract visitors and added revenues, Davao City is looking into sports tourism.

“From what we are spending in the summer festival, we will be raking in revenues from sports tourism.” says Neilwin Bravo, one of the organizers of the Davao’s Summerfest said.

Bravo who is in-charge of the sports component of the annual summer festival of Davao City said that the second staging of the summer fest is a more comprehensive vehicle for sports tourism.

First held in 2011, The Davao Summerfest is a festival with numerous activities which delves on sports, arts and culture. The 2012 Summerfest opened last April 27 at the Peoples Park.

According to Bravo the sporting events  would try to meet different aims among these include; identifying talented athletes, capability building for coaches and sports officials, propagating sports business and sports investments and promoting Davao as a sports destination.

Among the events include training camps, summer games and tournaments, sports conferences   (SWEAT or Sports Wellness, Exercise, Acclimatization and Training) and a sports expo for sports-related businessman and investors.

Bravo said that despite the lack of modern sports facilities like stadiums and sports complex, there are other sports disciplines which don’t need expensive facilities, among these extreme sports like mountain-biking and wakeboarding are among the games to be held during the festival.

He also said that the modern sports facilities of neighboring cities such as Panabo and Digos  would also benefit the City. Events held in those cities would eventually trickle down to Davao City being the gateway of the region.

Orly Escarilla of the Davao Summerfest said that the summer marketing campaign of the Department of Tourism-XI dubbed as One Summer Fun, which covers all summer festivals in the region, could benefit Davao City as nearly all visitors and participants in those activities would pass through Davao City.

He said in 2010 based City Tourism figures there were about 60,000 visitors in Davao in May of that year (based on hotel occupancy) and in 2011 of the same month, there were about 64,000 visitors recorded.

Escarilla said that part of the increase would be attributed to those attending the summer fest activities. He hopes that the 2012 Summer Fest would bring in more visitors to the City.  (PIA/RG Alama)

Davao Region first to receive fishery patrol boats

DAVAO CITY May 2 (PIA)- Among the regions in Mindanao,  the Davao Region is the first to receive their share of patrol boats given by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to municipal governments units.

BFAR Regional Director Fatma Idris gladly notes that Region 11 is one of the five regions nationwide, and the only one in Mindanao given such facility to strengthen community-based coastal  resources  management.

Region XI gets six of such patrol boats which cost P1.2 million each.  These are given to the municipalities of Tarragona and Lupon in Davao Oriental;  Maco and Pantukan, Compostela Valley; Tagum City, Davao del Norte; and in Digos City, Davao del Sur.

Each patrol boat not only  has a boat cradle through which it can be  tugged inland and be kept in a safe-house.  It is also equipped with global positioning system (GPS),  telescope, compass , life jackets,  enabling Bantay-Dagat volunteers to go after  illegal marine resource poachers.

“Talagang mahuhuli sila ng mga Bantay-Daga. (They can surely be caught by the Bantay-Dagat.),” Idris said also hinting the high speed capacity  of the units.

The Davao Region may not be the only Mindanao region which is concerned with coastal environment protection but, Idris said, its LGUs are quick in complying the requirements of the Department of Agriculture which has given BFAR the funding for “Improving the Inherent Capacity in Fishery and Coastal Resources Management” project.  Thus, it grabs the patrol boats way ahead of the other regions.

Among the requirements are  the coastal resource management certification from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR),  presence of  active Fisheries and  Aquatic Resource Management Council (FARMC) and  the passage of  a local Fisheries Code.

BFAR  is distributing such boats so LGUs  can ably raise the level of vigilance along the coastlines.

“This is in line with the thrust of our national director Atty. Asis Perez  who prioritizes coastal protection and conservation,” she added. “Less investment is needed if we take care of our coastal environment,” she added.

LGUs may have found it less taxing to get  such patrol units from the national government because they are not required to put in a counterpart fund, except for fuel expenses in operating them.    They are also required to shoulder the maintenance.

BFAR counts in the active involvement of LGUs and coastal communities as its partners in protecting and nurturing the coastal environment upon which majority of the Filipino are dependent of their livelihood.

“Hinihiling lang namin ang kanilang pagpapahalaga kung ano man ang binibigay ng gobyerno.  (We are just asking them to value what the government is giving them.)  (PIA-11/ Jeanevive D. Abangan)