The converging
entities include LGU of Zummaraga through the leadership of Mayor
Edwin Neil Figueroa, Research Dept. of Dr. Felisa Gomba and College of
Fisheries and Marine Sciences (COFMAS) of Dr. Abdurahman Latip under
Pres. Simon Babalcon, Jr. of the Samar State University (SSU), DTI of
Dr. Asisclo T. Beleña and DOLE of Mrs. Fe Estrella.
The Zumarraga Sisi
Producers Association (ZUSI), its project proponent chaired by Mrs.
Gavina Doblon will have three (3) components: rock oyster culture,
improved sisi processing and market development.
It is said to directly
benefit about one hundred eighty six (186) surveyed sisi gatherers and
thirty (30) sisi traders not to mention the numerous other
opportunities that will be generated to the Zumarraganhons.
The rock oyster
culture component output is the installation of about twenty (20)
hanging raft oyster culture modules in strategically located barangays
in each of the four (4) clusters of Zumarraga.
To ensure a steady and
year round supply of sisi as a raw material once the Zumarraga
Production Center will be operational this year, an improved
technology introduced by Prof. Renato Diocton, Prof. Raul Cilmar and
Prof. Danilo Mabonga assisted by the LGUs counterpart MAO Alex Bitbit
and Mrs. Joy Cebu, AT is expected to produce 63 sacks of rock oyster
per module which not only productive but also environmentally
friendly.
The second component
is the standardization of sisi processing. As introduced by Mrs. Nora
Doncillo, Fish Processing instructor all sisi processors shall comply
with the food regulatory requirements of Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).
The third component is
the improvement of the packaging of sisi to increase its marketability
and competitiveness once the product will be promoted in trade fairs,
supermarkets and institutional buyers.
To ensure the
viability of the project, DTI prepared a Project Proposal and Business
Plan submission to DOLE which was facilitated by the PESO Manager and
DSWDO of Zumarraga, Mrs. Evelyn S. Hernando and approved for funding
by DOLE Samar under the PRESEED in the amount of P633,440.
The project started
late last year with the simultaneous conduct of the Rock Oyster
Culture and Processing Training from October 8-10, 2008 in Zumarraga
and the follow-up training on Skills Upgrading on Rock Oyster Stock
Density Enhancement in Brgy. Arteche, Zumarraga on January 26-27 and
Fermented Rock Oyster Processing Upgrading Training on January 27,
2009 in Zumarraga with a total of twenty five (25) and fifty eight
(58) respectively.
On the other hand,
product development activities to upgrade the quality of sisi include
the product testing of sample products in the laboratories of Iloilo
facilitated by SSU Mercedes Campus and the development of improve
packaging design by the Product Research and Development Center (PRDCP-DOST)
Head Office for the appropriate packaging of sisi.
Also initiated by SSU for Zumarraga was the P557,000 fund
support from NEDA-KR2 (National Economic Development Authority-Kennedy
Round 2) for the project "Enhancement and Standardization of
Fermentation Process of Rock Oyster (Sacosstrea cucullata) 'Sisi' for
Marginal Fishers in Samar".
Moreover, as
preparatory activities for the product’s exposure in local, regional
and national trade fairs and other marketing activities of DTI, a
marketing plan was prepared and presented to the ZUSI officers and
members. (with report from DTI)
Around 3,000
households in Basey has no sanitary toilets
By RICKY J. BAUTISTA
February 12, 2009
BASEY, Samar – Would
you believe that around 3,000 households of this second class
municipality considered as “partially urban” in the Southwestern part
of Samar has no sanitary toilets?
Better believe it as
it was obviously observed during the latest survey conducted by the
local government unit of Basey arriving to a record that many
households in the 20 barangays in the municipality are denied access
to sanitary toilets. In a normal ratio, an ordinary household is
composed of six family members or children.
Basey population is at
43,809 and that is nine years ago, or taken during the May 2000
survey.
In fact, during his
State of the Municipality Address (SOMA), Mayor Wilfredo Olfato
Estorninos reported that in 2008 they had distributed some 1,413
toilet bowls, and another 1,387 toilet bowls now stocked at the
municipal compound were to be distributed soon to the barangays-recipients.
The general idea that
such a problem exists, especially in a very poor and upland barangays,
this was a clear indication that this does not involve just a few
children, but hundreds of families take us notice. When crosschecked
at the village chieftains, it became apparent that that most families
have not had toilets for the longest time. Thus, the question: Where
these families do their ‘wasting stuff’?
This problem on
sanitary toilets were earlier identified as one of the “20 priority
issues and concerns” during a workshop attended by the mayor himself,
his fellow elective officials, all the department heads, members of
the nine Barangay Integrated Development Zones.
Mayor Estorninos
informed that upon learning this problem, he immediately created the
Clean and Sanitation Task Force composed of the Municipal Health
Office, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Municipal
Tourism Office, among others and discussed on how to address this
problem. Thus, the project on toilet bowls was born.
Under his Health and
Environmental Sanitation Program, the mayor said he made some
improvements on the aspects of waste and sewerage system. He also
implemented the “Save Basey River Project” which includes the cleaning
of Basey Rivers from illegal houses and especially the toilets that
are considered as “public nuisance.”
Also in line with this
program, Mayor Estorninos initiated another developmental program that
aims not only to secure a clean and healthy environment for the
Baseynons but also to make the municipality a tourist-friendly LGU.
This is the demolition
of illegal structures including those already converted into
residential houses, along the town's seawall and in Camponao, Brgy.
Baybay up to the New Road Bridge, Brgy. Palaypay, to minimize
environmental hazards caused by the occupants of the said structures.
Some 200 units of lots
at the Brgy. Buscada have been reserved to those affected informal
settlers or illegal squatters under the Core Shelter program funded by
the DSWD. Also, some of them will be recommended to become recipients
of the Gawad Kalinga Program in collaboration with the Local
Government of Basey.
In this town,
beauty, historic sites, panoramic views, mystical caves and impressive
mat-weaving industry and the friendly and hospitable Basaynons are the
usual impressions of visitors coming from this place. This town is
also the current holder of the world’s longest banig record in the
Guiness Book of Records.
DOH: No mother should
die giving life
By ALICE E. NICART (PIA Eastern
Samar)
January 21, 2009
BORONGAN CITY –
Doctor Marian Isiderio, M.D. and Chief of the Technical Department of
the Provincial Health Office (PHO) here stressed that “no mother
should die while giving birth to her baby”. This, in her apparent
disgust over the reported incidence of maternal deaths in the province
despite government interventions.
Recent Maternal Death
Review (MDR) revealed that in 2008 ten mothers died from birth
delivery (maternal mortality or MMR) “which should have not happened
at all” the lady doctor said.
Dr. Isiderio points
back to mothers or perhaps their husbands’ annoying behaviors and
practices.
“Some couples tend to
stick to old and traditional birth deliveries – the “hilot” practice,
adding that they do not have money to pay for the professional care
givers”, she reported.
“Hilots (partira in
Waray dialect) should no longer be allowed to deliver, unless they are
supervised by a midwife”, the lady doctor emphasized during the
conference on Tuesday of the Child and Mothers Protection Council. “It
is true partiras are our partners in the barangays but they can only
serve as our advocates for maternal and child care, and better yet,
conduct the pregnant mother to the rural health unit”, she added.
Further, she reported
that 75% of maternal deaths was post partum (when mothers die a few
hours after the baby had been delivered) and 66% of this post partum
deaths is attributed to the humble partira- assisted deliveries.
“Indeed, the first 12
to 24 hours after delivery is the most critical hours of a mother,
which should not be taken for granted”, she explained. Thus, the need
for a professional health care giver”, she added.
However, MMR in the
province is rather low as compared to national figure, but it is still
high, thus the need for the policy-makers in the provincial government
to look into the issue.
One of 10 Filipino
nurses cleared by NY Court is from Region 8
By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
January
18, 2009
TACLOBAN CITY – “I
am glad that it is finally over,” Mrs. Will Avila of Tanauan,
Leyte, said upon hearing that 10 Filipino nurses were acquitted by
a New York court.
“I immediately offered
a thanksgiving mass,” Mrs. Avila added.
Mrs. Avila’s beautiful
and intelligent daughter, Harriet, is one of the ten Filipino nurses
who were cleared by a
New York
court of criminal charges after they were accused of endangering
patients by resigning en masse from a Long Island nursing home to
protest working conditions.
It was not easy for
Harriet and the other Filipino nurses after they resigned, Mrs. Avila
said. While some of them were able to find employment elsewhere, a
number of them had the difficulty of getting other nursing jobs
because of a possible criminal trial.
The family supported
Harriet’s decision to resign from her work in 2006 because “we believe
that the cause my daughter was fighting for was right.”
Harriet has not yet
contacted her family since the court ruling, Mrs. Avila said, saying
that perhaps she still have so many things to attend to.
“I am sure that many
people are congratulating her and her companions,” Mrs. Avila added.
Harriet left her
family in Tanauan, Leyte when she, together with other Filipino nurses
were recruited in order to ease the shortage of nurses in the United
States. Harriet was optimistic that with the greener pasture in the
United States, she would be of help to her family which belongs to the
middle income group. Harriet's father is an employee of the local
government unit while her mother works at the City Health Office in
Tacloban.
However, after several
months, in April of 2006, she together with her companions, resigned
en mass from their jobs at a Smithtown facility run by Sentosa Health
Care because they were made to perform tasks they deemed demeaning and
below their job descriptions. There were also disputes about
scheduling and pay.
In the decision issued
on Tuesday, the court’s second appellate division also stopped the
prosecutor of Suffolk district county, where the original suit was
filed, from pursuing criminal charges against the 10 nurses and their
lawyer.
Acquitted, together
with Harriet, were her co-nurses, Elmer Jacinto who is a licensed
doctor and who topped the medical board examinations in 2004 but
studies nursing to be able to work in the US; Juliet Anilao, Mark de
la Cruz, Claudine Gamiao, Jennifer Lampe, Rizza Maulion, James Millena,
Ma. Theresa Ramos and Ranier Sichon, and their lawyer Felix Vinluan
who was accused of conspiring with the petitioners.
The New York court
granted the nurses’ petition to stop the
Suffolk
county from prosecuting them, saying that their resignation did not
endanger their patients as they did it after their shifts ended.
The court also noted
that the prosecution’s insistence that the nurses’ resignation
affected the welfare of their patients, which included children, were
“speculative” and that they had the “constitutional right to be free
from involuntary service.”
Stopping the nurses
from resigning their jobs was a violation of the Thirteenth Amendment,
which outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude, the court said.
John Riley of
newsday.com described the case as “One of the most appalling cases“
which “unfolded a couple of years ago when some Filipino nurses
recruited by Sentosa, a nursing home outfit run by some generous
political donors, were not treated as they had been promised in the
US.”
He added, “the legal
theory was factually unsupported – no patient had actually been
endangered. It was a Yoo-like concoction pretty much unprecedented in
New York – people, even powerless foreign nurses, have the right to
leave their jobs. Real District Attorneys protect them, instead of
turning into marionettes and trying to teach them a lesson on behalf
of political benefactors.”
DILG enhance quality
of justice in the barangay level
By RICKY J. BAUTISTA
November
18, 2008
BASEY, Samar – Mano
Pepe, 54, a three-termed chairman in one of the village here admitted,
that most of the time, he is hesitant from mediating disputes arising
from his barangay due to his lack of proper knowledge in handling
sensitive cases, and his being unacquainted on the legal aspects and
technical terms related to barangay disputes.
And like the majority
of the barangay chairmen in the remote areas, he feels so uneasy
whenever he conduct an amicable settlement in their barangay because
he is apprehensive that he might ended into a wrong judgment.
Receptive with this
situation, the local office of the Department of Interior and Local
Government (DILG) has, again, conducted a skills training “to equip
the barangay leaders an inexpensive and a more expeditious way of
settling disputes in the barangay level through mediation and or
arbitration.”
In Basey, Mayor
Wilfredo S. Estorninos issued a memorandum dated October 17 to all
51-barangay chairmen in his locality, including Mano Pepe, to attend
this kind of skills training. He said, at least 500 participants
composed of Punong Barangay, Brgy. Secretaries and Lupon Members
attend the activity on Saturday, November 15.
The DILG in
partnership with the Liga ng mga Barangay of Basey are closely
supervised the activity.
Basey MLGOO Jaime
“Mick” Dacurawat informed that Section 121 of the Republic Act No.
7160 otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991 mandates all
the city and municipal mayors to oversee the efficient and effective
implementation and administration of the Katarungang Pambarangay (KP)
Law.
“In fact, DILG
Memorandum Circular No. 2007-129 directed its compliance and
encouraged the adoption of measures such as but not limited to the
conduct of training for the KP and its value as an empowering tool for
the resolution of community and family disputes at the barangay
level,” Dacurawat said.
A primer of the
Katarungang Pambarangay Law defined the system as one of the few
issuances during the Martial Law Era that merited public approval. The
main objective of the law is to help relieve the courts of the docket
congestion; enhance the quality of justice dispensed by the courts;
promote the speedy disposition of justice; and implement the
constitutional mandate to preserve and develop Filipino culture and to
strengthen the family as a basic social institution.
Meanwhile, Mano Pepe,
when interviewed back by this writer, expressed his happiness and
willingness in attending the said training. He has, in fact, informed
his team of Lupon Members in his barangay to prioritize their
attendance.
“Maupay ine nga
okasyon, kay damo it amon mahibabaroan parte hin pagtuhay hit mga
nasasakupan ha barangay, ha sunod nga magkamay-ada man,” Mano Pepe
said in his local dialect.
PITAHC herbal plant in
Eastern Visayas, a medical tourism destination
By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
November
14, 2008
TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte
– The Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health
Care Herbal Plant in Tacloban City, Leyte, is a very good medical
tourism destination.
Imagine walking
through 22 hectares of lagundi, sambong, tsaang dagat and other herbal
plants and learning about their medicinal values. Better still, help
harvest the good leaves to be used in the manufacturing of herbal
tablets or herbal teas, or herbal soaps.
One could walk through
the different processes before herbal tablets are made, from the
washing of the good leaves to air drying to baking and making the
granules, up to the packaging and packing them into boxes.
Then one could go to
the Plant’s tea house and see how various herbal teas are bagged, and
then sit comfortably while sipping a delicious and soothing concoction
of ampalaya, niyog-niyogan or ulasimang bato.
Don’t forget to wash
the hands with herbal soap which are also manufactured by PITAHC, the
Akapulko Soap, Bayabas Soap, Calamansi Soap, Carrot Soap, Cucumber
Soap, Kamias Soap, Labanos Soap and Papaya Soap.
Away from the
maddening crowd, so they say, the Herbal Plant, with a little add-on
here and there, can truly be a medical hideaway.
The PITAHC Herbal
Plant in Eastern Visayas is located in a 36 hectares rolling hills at
Barangay Bagacay in Tacloban City. Called the Tacloban Herbal
Pharmaceutical Processing and Manufacturing Plant, it is one of the
four herbal plants operated by the Philippine Institute of Traditional
and Alternative Health Care. The other plants are in Cagayan Valley,
Davao and Cotabato.
Now able to produce
180,000 tablets per day, the Plant intends to manufacture lagundi,
sambong, tsaang gubat, yerba Buena, akapulko, ampalaya, ulasimang bato
tablets and garlic capsules.
The plant facilities
consist of buildings, machineries and equipment for drying and
processing of raw materials, dosage manufacturing, quality control,
animal production and Bioassay for animal pharmacological and
toxicological studies. The plant has a twenty-two (22) hectare land
area, eleven (11) hectares of which is planted to the first batch of
the five (5) priority plants to supply the plant with raw materials.
The personnel are all
local recruits who have been given special training in their
respective technical jobs.
The Tacloban Herbal
Pharmaceutical Processing and Manufacturing Plant is truly a major
milestone in the Philippine government efforts toward self-reliance
and basic pharmaceutical production from indigenous materials, a good
medical tourism destination.
Traditional herbal
medicines are being manufactured commercially in Tacloban
By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
November
12, 2008
TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte
– These days when Western medicines have become too expensive and
scarce, it is good to note that Filipinos can rely on herbal medicines
which are available in abundance, locally.
Available in
commercial quantities and at much cheaper price, in Tacloban City,
Leyte, are herbal medicines that are used as traditional and
alternative medicines in the Philippines.
This was learned from
Ms. Evelina Juaban, the Manager of the Herbal Processing Plant in
Tacloban City, of the Philippine Institute of Traditional and
Alternative Health Care of the Department of Health.
Ms. Juaban who was
guest of the Philippine Information Agency recently, at the cable
television program called Panindugan, said that there are many plants,
about 400 of them in the Philippines which have medicinal or
therapeutic values.
However, the
Department of Health through its Traditional Health Program has
endorsed 10 medicinal plants which have been thoroughly tested and
have been clinically proven to have medicinal value in the relief and
treatment of various ailments.
Today, the Tacloban
Herbal Plant of PTAHC has come up with the Lagundi tablets made from
natural Lagundi (Vitex negundo) which is known in English as the
“5-leaved chaste tree”. Its main use is for the relief of coughs and
asthma. The tablets are available in 300 mg.
There is the 250 mg.
Sambong tablet made from sambong leaves (Blumea balsamifera) - known
in English as Blumea camphora, a diuretic that helps in the excretion
of urinary stones and can also be used as an edema.
Both the Lagundi and
Sambong tablets are sold wholesale at a price of P150 per box of 100
tablets. This means that each tablet costs only P1.50 whole or P2.00
each at retail price.
Another is the Tsaang
Gubat 250mg tablet. Known with the scientific name Ehretia microphylla
Lam., this herbal medicine is effective in treating intestinal
motility and also used as a mouth wash since the leaves of this shrub
has high fluoride content.
The fourth is Akapulco
(Cassia alata) which is also known as “bayabas-bayabasan” and
“ringworm bush” in English. This herbal medicine is used to treat
ringworms and skin fungal infections.
The Ampalaya (Momordica
charantia), known as “bitter gourd” or “bitter melon” in English, is
most known as a treatment of diabetes (diabetes mellitus) for the
non-insulin dependent patients. Ms. Juaban said it is the leaves of
the Ampalaya which is used.
Bawang (Allium sativum),
popularly known as garlic, mainly reduces cholesterol in the blood and
hence, helps control blood pressure. Ms. Juaban cautioned the public,
however, that the potent substance in bawang is only soluble in oil,
thus, for those who are using bawang to reduce their cholesterol, they
should sauté the bawang in healthy vegetable oil. Eating the bawang
raw will only give one a heart burn.
Bayabas (Psidium
guajava) or “guava” in English, is primarily used as an antiseptic, to
disinfect wounds. Also, it can be used as a mouth wash to treat tooth
decay and gum infection.
Niyog-Niyogan (Quisqualis
indica L.) is a vine known as “Chinese honey suckle”. It is effective
in the elimination of intestinal worms, particularly the Ascaris and
Trichina. Only the dried matured seeds are medicinal. One should crack
and ingest the dried seeds two hours after eating (5 to 7 seeds for
children & 8 to 10 seeds for adults). If one dose does not eliminate
the worms, wait a week before repeating the dose.
Ulasimang Bato (Peperomia
pellucida) is also known as “pansit-pansitan.” It is effective in
fighting arthritis and gout. The leaves can be eaten fresh (about a
cupful) as salad or like tea. For the decoction, boil a cup of clean
chopped leaves in 2 cups of water. Boil for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain,
let cool and drink a cup after meals (3 times per day). Decoctions
must be made just for one day use only.
Yerba Buena (Clinopodium
douglasii) is commonly known as Peppermint, this vine is used as an
analgesic to relive body aches and pain. It can be taken internally as
a decoction or externally by pounding the leaves and applied directly
on the afflicted area.
There are other herbs
and herbal remedies like banaba, virgin coconut oil, mangosteen,
gumamela, luyang dilaw, silymarin, countless of them.
Long, before the
introduction of modern medicines and Western curative methods, herbal
medicines had been widely used in the
Philippines.
The curative effects
of the herbs were tested by traditional healers on their patient on
try-and-error basis. The knowledge and skills on the curative
application of any give herbal medicine has been handed down from
generation to generation.
Apart from prescribing
herbs medicines, the traditional healers were known to give
psychological comfort and moral support to their patients. In the old
days, they were well respected and enjoy high social status.
Through generations of
selective process, the herbs that were known to be effective were kept
alive. The ineffective ones were soon forgotten.
Just a word of
caution, though. There is no substitute for the services of a licensed
medical practitioner. Consult with a doctor knowledgeable with herbal
medicine or Philippine medicinal plants before taking or mixing herbs
with prescription and non-prescription drugs. Test show that some
herbal medicines have adverse reaction when mixed with other drugs.
No Idle Land, No Idle
Hand
By PURIFICACION S. DALOOS
October
24, 2008
TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte
– Consistent with the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources’ thrust of poverty reduction and hunger mitigation under
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration, some 302 qualified
land claimants from Daram, Samar recently received Free Patent titles
covering an area of 694 hectares on the occasion of the town’s 59th
Founding Anniversary.
Daram Mayor Lucila L.
Astorga said that her municipality’s strategy in undertaking President
Arroyo’s thrust is thru their “No Idle Land, No Idle Hand” policy
where the distribution of the Free Patents is a big help. She thanked
the DENR and the Register of Deeds as well as the Department of
Agrarian Reform (DAR) for distributing the land titles and
establishing an Agrarian Reform Community in their town.
Mayor Astorga said
that through the help of the three government agencies, attaining the
vision of Daram which is, “A progressive agroforestry-based
municipality where God-loving people live in a secured environment
will be made easy. “The interventions of agencies like the DAR and
DENR will boost the progress of our town under our banner program
‘FAITH’ – Fisheries and agriculture development, Access to basic
social services, Infrastructure development, Total commitment to peace
and order and Human resources”, Mayor Astorga said.
Samar ROD Chief
Fernandina Reyes reminded the land title recipients of their
responsibility after receiving the Free Patents, to keep their title
safely for it is very expensive to reconstitute a land title. The
recipients are also responsible for the payment of real property taxes
which could help in the development projects of the municipality.
DENR Land Management
Service, Regional Technical Director Ramon Unay told the recipients to
cultivate their lots subject of the title to attain a progressive
life. It is advantageous to have a land title because untitled lots
are considered as dead capital and cannot be used in business and the
land must be productive.
DENR Regional
Executive Director Alfredo S. Pascual disclosed that the DENR under
the leadership of Secretary Lito Atienza is working hard on the
government’s mandate of reducing poverty especially in rural barangays.
Our strategy is fielding Deputy Public Land Inspectors to gather land
applications right in the barangays. That is making the DENR services
closer to the people in the barangays. RED Pascual added that, “there
are still about 326 lots in Daram which are potential for land
titling. PENR Officer George Guillermo who has jurisdiction of Samar
will work with other concerned government agencies for convergence of
services. This is what we will be doing in the entire region”
P130 M Isuzu-Plan
Automotive Training Center in Region 8 soon to be inaugurated
By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
October
20, 2008
TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte
– The P130 Million Isuzu-Plan Automotive Training Center in Region 8
is now on its finishing touches and will be inaugurated in November,
Director Juan M. Sabulao Jr., of TESDA Region 8 informed during the
Harampang Ha PIA held recently.
This is another good
opportunity to learn a skill, find a good job and uplift the Filipino
family from poverty, Director Sabulao told the media practitioners.
The Automotive
Mechanic Training Center and Scholarship Project in Tacloban City to
be undertaken jointly by Isuzu Motors, Plan International and TESDA
was launched on January 31 at Shangrila Hotel.
The Training Center
was supposed to be put up in Cebu, Director Sabulao intimated, but
because of some problems on the lot, Isuzo found TESDA 8 to be the
ideal location, instead.
The Training Center is
composed of a two-storey Workshop, a 160-bed Domitory, a Multi-Purpose
Center, a canteen, and a recreational facility.
Isuzu through the Plan
Philippines poured in $3 million to establish the Training Center
where every year, for the next five years, 80 scholarships will be
given for a two year auto-mechanic course, completion of which will
earn the scholar a National Certification IV.
The scholars, male and
female, will be chosen from the communities across the country with
the assistance of Plan International which operates in the most
depressed areas like Samar, Southern Leyte, Camotes Island in Cebu,
Masbate and Mindoro Occidental.
The scholars will be
chosen from the poorest and most marginalized communities and will be
asked to commit themselves to finishing the training course and taking
jobs in the automobile industry.
The first batch of
scholars/trainees is composed of 30 male and female youth from the
Plan-provinces of Samar, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Southern Leyte,
Masbate, Romblon and Camotes Island, Director Sabulao informed.
After six months,
another batch of 40 people will start their training, Director Sabulao
added, emphasizing that the Plan Philippines is the one recruiting the
trainees.
Isuzu Motors will
cover living and educational fees, the construction of a dormitory,
guidance for curriculum development and training facilities and
equipment. Isuzu pledged to extend more support beyond 2012.
Aside from the
financial assistance, Isuzu will provide expertise developed through
its automobile manufacturing business, including assessment of
technical competence of the proposed curriculum, improving the course
design and periodic assessment and evaluation of competence and
appropriateness of delivery of the course programs.
TESDA Region 8 under
the able leadership of Director Juan M. Sabulao, Jr., will be the main
resource organization for the technical training and will be supplying
the instructors and lectures.
The project will
follow TESDA's National Certification system as the legally mandated
and recognized accreditation and certification in the Philippines
which is composed of a set of requirements that the student must
accomplish before he could be considered a certified mechanic.
TESDA will also
provide the non-technical aspects of training like values formation,
basic literacy and personality development.
Plan International
and TESDA will conduct a customer satisfaction survey one year after
the hiring of the project trainees, the result of which will be used
in formulating annual operational plans and new policies for the
improvement of the training center.
UN MDG
Conference for Youth Leaders of Leyte and Samar
By DON
ELISEO LUCERO-PRISNO III
September 20, 2008
