PMA to hold entrance exam on August 29
By Rachelle M. Nessia
Dumaguete City (3 August) — The Philippine Military Academy (PMA) will conduct its Entrance Examination for PMA Cadetship on August 29, 2010 in 35 examination centers nationwide.
In Dumaguete City, the designated examination center is Silliman University.
Basic requirements for applicants are the following: natural born Filipino citizen of good moral character; single and never been married; 5?4? in height if male and 5?2? if female; 17 to 21 years old (not a day older than 22 years old and not a day younger than 17 years old on April 1, 2011 or born on or after April 1, 1989 and on or before April 1, 1994); at least a high school graduate with a general average of 85% or higher; for 4th year high school students, 3rd year general average of 85% or higher; and physically fit for cadet training.
Application forms are available in all AFP units nationwide.
Interested applicants may also download application forms or apply online on the PMA website (www.pma.ph). For more information, write: Office of Cadet Admission, Philippine Military Academy, Fort del Pilar, Baguio City or call (074) 446-8002 or 0918-587-2384 or 0927-381-0493 or email: oca@pma.ph. (PIA)
PNoy calls on barangay leaders to be in forefront of change
Tacloban City (August 3) — President Benigno Aquino III called on barangay chairmen to live up to the trust given them by their respective barangays and to police their own ranks so that the seed of change sowed by the Aquino Administration will bear fruit.
“As barangay officials, you are at the forefront of our fight. In you I place my hope for the massive dissemination of our message to the greater number of population,” President Aquino told the officers and members of the Association of Barangay Chairmen of the Philippines who were gathered at the SMX Convention Center at Mall of Asia on July 30.
The President said that his guiding principle since during the campaign remains the same: “we can only progress as a nation if the interest of the greater majority is placed above personal interests; if the leadership will remain faithful to their responsibilities as public servants; and if we will continue in our determination to tread the right path.
President Aquino also called on the barangay officials to closely watch the leaders they have elected to office.
President Aquino urged the barangay leaders to take a step towards participation rather than fault-finding. Fault-finding means never ending complaits; Participating entails taking part in finding a solution to a concern.
“Tutukan ang mga pinunong tayo rin naman ang nagluklok sa puwesto. Humakbang mula pakikialam tungo sa pakikilahok. Dahil ang nakikialam, walang hanggan ang reklamo. Ang nakikilahok, nakikibahagi sa solusyon,” the President said.
By helping one another, the concerns facing the constituents will be answered. This will be the road to fast-track the development of the country, the President added. (PIA 
PNRC Negros Occidental prepares for disasters
Bacolod City (2 August) — The Philippine National Red Cross in Negros Occidental held a series of disaster risk reduction activities to strengthen and maintain its preparedness and response capabilities as the nation celebrated the National Disaster Consciousness Month in July.
A meeting with Red Cross Community Based volunteers from the municipalities of Ilog, and Cauayan and the city of Sipalay was also held in Cauayan to review their respective disaster preparedness plan in their barangays.
The PNRC has also strengthened its Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever Prevention Campaign in the affected barangays in the province. (PNRC/PIA/cad)
Feature: Even the deaf listened to SONA of PNoy
Tacloban City (August 3) — Those who watched over television station channels history unfolding as President Benigno Aquino III delivered his first State of the Nation Address, noticed perhaps the inset interpreting the SONA which is history as well.
For the first time, the State of the Nation Address of the President of the Philippines was appreciated and understood by the deaf. Indeed, this is giving the people with disabilities, the right to participate in nation building, access to communication, access to be equal to people without disabilities.
Educators and veteran interpreters from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), MCCID Institute of Technology, Philippine Deaf Resource Center, and the Philippine School for the Deaf together with Deaf leaders of the Philippine Federation for the Deaf (PFD) worked together to make the first inset-interpreting of the SONA possible.
For the Deaf community, this is a dream come true, and the realization not only came through one but through three communication channels. There is no boundary for inclusion or access.
What a realization, that indeed, there is no monopoly of skill and intent to do good. There is no exclusivity of information.
GMA-7 staff and crew provided inset FSL interpreting through live streaming in gmanews.tv with Jojo Esposo and Nicky Templo-Perez as interpreters, Myra Medrana as Deaf representative and Giselle Montero as team leader. This was much appreciated by the Deaf Filipino community abroad.
For those with cable access, the ANC Channel aired interpreters John Baliza and Febe Sevilla with Raquel Estiller-Corpuz as Deaf representative and Joyce Dalawampu as team leader.
The Deaf students who were excused from their classes tuned in to TV5 with Junjun Sevilla and Therese Bustos as interpreters, Jay Sunico as Deaf representative and Techie dela Torre as team leader. (PIA Region
8th ID marks 22 years of selfless, dedicated public service to counter-insurgency
Tacloban City (August 1) — Today, Major General Arthur Tabaquero leads the officers and men of the 8th Infantry (Storm Troopers) Division of the Philippine Army celebrate 21 years of dedicated and committed service to the country and its people, particularly the people of Eastern Visayas and some parts of Central Visayas.
Major General Arthur Tabaquero, commanding officer of the 8th ID, informed that several anniversary activities have been lined up in line with the anniversary theme which underscores the role of the military in Eastern Visayas, as partners and defenders of the people towards peace and development in the area of responsibility.
The officers, men and women of the 8th Infantry Division will be joined by its partners for peace and development in celebrating this important milestone in the history of 8th ID.
There are many reasons for the officers and men to celebrate considering the accomplishments against members of the rebel group New People’s Army achieved a level of success which would be maintained this year until the insurgents are completely wiped out.
So said Lieutenant Colonel Armand Rico, information officer of the 8th Infantry Division, who added that their anti-insurgency campaign last year resulted to substantial gains.
It is a public knowledge because it was reported that the 70 government-initiated engagements against the rebels had resulted to the death of 12 NPA members and the capture of 26 others. These resulted to the surrender of 159 NPA members and the recovery of 145 assorted firearms from the enemy side.
From previous 14 guerilla fronts of the rebel group, there are now only two which exist in Northern Samar. Last year, the military operations have also yielded to the discovery and recovery of 28 camps of the rebel group.
Last year, around 140 villages, mostly in the Samar provinces were declared as “free” from insurgents, thus it could be said that the anti-insurgency campaign was a success, with the help of the civilians themselves.
Aside from military operations, the men and women of the 8ID provides basic services and projects to the people living in remote villages as part of their campaign against insurgency.
The Philippine Army, through its engineering battalions, are engaging in various projects like construction of farm-to-market roads, water system, health centers, school buildings and even electrification under its “Kalayaan sa Barangay Project.”
The 8th Infantry (Storm Troopers) Division, Philippine Army traces its roots from the 8th Infantry Brigade (Separate) of the Philippine Army which was organized pursuant to General Orders Nr 123, GHQ, AFP dated 26 May 1986.
The Brigade was first based in Brgy Santol, San Miguel, Leyte and its AOR covered the whole of Eastern Visayas of Region 8 composed of six (6) provinces, three (3) of which are in Samar Island, two (2) in Leyte and one (1) in Biliran Province.
The 8th Infantry Brigade (Separate), Philippine Army drew its personnel and equipage from the 3rd Infantry (Spearhead) Division, Philippine Army. It was initially composed of two (2) Tactical Brigades, the 1/8 Infantry Brigade and the 2/5 Infantry Brigade with six (6) Battalions (19th, 20th, 34th, 43rd, 52nd and 56th).
With Samar Island as the center of gravity and for better command and control, the 8th Infantry Brigade (Separate) transferred its headquarters from Brgy Santol, San Miguel, Leyte to Camp Lukban, Maulong, Catbalogan, Samar on October 17, 1987.
Brigadier General Tabaquero is the 16th in the lineage of Commanders of the 8th Infantry Division. The first was Brigadier General Isagani delos Santos who was the commander from May 26, 1986 to March 31, 1988.
The other commanders were Brigadier General Federico Ruiz,Jr, Brigadier General Romulo Yap, Brigadier General Ruperto Ambil, Brigadier General Danilo Olay, Brigadier General Romeo Tarrayo, Major General Arturo Carrillo, Major General Rufo De Veyra, Major General Glenn Rabonza, Brigadier General Bonifacio Ramos, Mayor General Jovito Palparan Jr., the comebacking Brigadier General Bonifacio Ramos, Brigadier General Randy Dauz, Major General Rodrigo Maclang, Major General Armando Cunanan, and Brigadier General Allan Ragpala. (PIA
Feature: Even dreams of farmers’ children do come true
by Jose Alsmith Soria
Tacloban City (July 31) — Anabel Montes and Cesar Espinosa are now just an inch away from the realization of their dreams.
The two young people were recipients of the “Programang Agraryo Iskolar” formerly known as the President Diosdado Macapagal Agrarian Scholarship Program or the PDMASP, of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).
Thru the said scholarship program, Anabel and Cesar earned a degree in education at the Naval Institute of Technology, now Naval State University, and were among the more than 11 thousand lucky passers of the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) held on April 18 this year.
Both Anabel and Cesar are children of farmers from Biliran province, with ricefields serving as their playgrounds during their childhood days.
Children of agrarian reform beneficiaries, the two were qualified to avail of the scholarship program extended by the DAR.
Anabel, 22 years old, from Barangay Larrazabal in Naval, dreamt of becoming a teacher. Her father, Antonio Montes, is a recipient of the government’s land transfer program under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
The youngest among three siblings with parents financially hard up, she was able to pursue college education thru the then PDMASP taking up Bachelor in Elementary Education, major in Pilipino.
On the other hand, Cesar, 22 years old, is the son of Santos Espinosa, also a CARP beneficiary from Barangay Burabod in Biliran town.
For Cesar who is also the youngest in a brood of three, to become a policeman was his childhood fantasy. Poverty forced him to shift interest and take up a course in college that was less expensive.
Though he qualified to avail of the scholarship program offered by the DAR, Cesar said that the budget was limited and not sufficient to finance the numerous school requirements, thus, he enrolled and was able to graduate from a degree in Bachelor of Science in Education, major in Math.
The next step for Anabel and Cesar now is to apply for a slot at the Department of Education in order to serve in public schools.
Although Cesar now earns on a commission basis as provincial coordinator of Rasti Review Institute, he still continues to look for a regular job is much better, according to him. He hopes that very soon he will get hired as a teacher in one of the public schools in Biliran.
With this development, Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer (PARO) Elisea Orapa beams with pride saying that the government’s effort was not put in vain.
According to her, in the conceptualization of this scholarship program, DAR believed that there are jewels in the farm that just need to be polished like diamonds in order to shine.
Orapa further said that these scholars could also be of big help in the smooth implementation of the CARP by simply assisting their illiterate co-villagers understand the laws on agrarian reform as well as in the values formation for a successful implementation of the program.
For Anabel, Cesar and their parents, dreams do come true even to those who have less in life. It is just a matter of grabbing opportunities at the perfect time and use the same to make their dreams come true.
By doing so, they are show how thankful they are to the people who provided them the opportunity at the time when they needed it most, to make a difference in the lives of their families. (PIA-8)
PNP 8 recruits more police officers
Tacloban City (July 28) — The Philippine National Police through the PNP Regional Office 8 informed that it is now accepting applications for Police Officer 1 for calendar year 2010.
A government career with the PNP is an opportunity to make a real difference to the people in the community; variety of work and assignments; career satisfaction; and, pride in being part of one of the noblest professional organization.
In order to qualify, interested applicants must possess the minimum qualifications to wit, must possess a Formal Baccalaureate Degree; must be at least one meter and sixty-two centimeters (1.62 m.) in height for male and one meter and fifty-seven centimeters (1.57 m.) for female.
Also included among the minimum qualifications is that the applicant must not be less than twenty-one (21) nor more than thirty (30) years of age; must be eligible in accordance with the standards set by NAPOLCOM; and must have no pending case in any court.
The initial requirements to be submitted include the following: duly filled up personal data sheet (Revised 2005); Xerox copy of Live Birth certificate from NSO; Xerox copy of Transcript of Records and Diploma duly authenticated by school Registrar; Xerox copy of report rating of eligibility duly authenticated by the issuing agency.
Among the initial requirements are the Clearances from barangay, police provincial office, mayor, MTC, RTC, Provincial Prosecutors and NBI; 1 piece 2×2 black and white ID picture indicating applicants’ name; medical certificate from City or Municipal Health Office.
The applicants must duly submit their application folders to Police Regional Office 8 not leater than August 20, 2010 as the screening will start on September 13, 2010.
For more information, interest persons may call up Tacloban City Police Office via telephone number 321-2021 or 325-8808. (PIA
BIR Eastern Visayas ranks 3rd in 2009 revenue collections, 5th for 2010
Tacloban City (July 28) — BIR Eastern Visayas under the leadership of Regional Director Alert Alocilja, has all the reasons to celebrate the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s 106th Anniversary on August 1.
Of the 19 revenue districts across the country, BIR Eastern Visayas ranked 3rd in terms of revenue collections compared to 2009. Moreover, BIR East Visayas ranks 5th in overall collections against 2010 goal.
Director Alocilja attributed this remarkable accomplishment which indeed calls for a meaningful celebration, to the good people of Region 8 who pay their taxes correctly and on time. He also cited the six Revenue District Officers of BIR Eastern Visayas who are responsible for the Region’s top ranking for the first semester of the current Tax Year.
To honor the top taxpayers and Revenue District Officers responsible in making BIR Eastern Visayas a top ranking BIR Region, Director Alocilja led in presenting citations to the Top Taxpayers, individual, corporate and government agencies, and the six Revenue District Officers, in an awarding ceremony which was held at the activity area of Robison’s Mall Tacloban after the 8:30 morning motorcade on July 27.
Director Alocilja said that because all the officials of BIR all over the country are expected to attend the Bureau’s Anniversary on August 1, the BIR Regional Office decided to schedule anniversary activities starting July 26 with the conduct of the Regional Tax Quiz.
Aside from the motorcade and Awarding Ceremonies, June 27 also marked the opening of the BIR Eastern Visayas Tax Exhibits at the Robinsons Place Lobby. The exhibit will run until July 30, 2010.
On August 4 and 5, 2010, the athletic prowess of the staff of BIR Eastern Visayas will be put to test in a Mini-Sports fest within the Regional Office Grounds, Director Alocilja said. (PIA
Capiz cops donate blood
by A. Lumaque
Roxas City (27 July) — About 43 policemen in the province have donated their blood during the mass blood letting activity sponsored by the Capiz Police Provincial Office (CPPO) last July 26 at Camp Teodorico C. Apil in Barangay Loctugan here.
“This is our contribution to the community especially that there is an increase of dengue cases in the province,” said Capiz Police director Senior Supt. Josepheus Angan over dyVR RMN ? Roxas City’s “Targetanay sa Udto” program.
The province’s top cop was the first to donate his blood among the policemen after the CPPO’s flag raising rites. It was the second blood letting activity since Angan assumed as the provincial director of Capiz PNP in July 2008.
Angan replaced outgoing Capiz Police director Senior Supt. Roberto Villanueva.
The CPPO initiative was in time with the observance of Blood Donor’s Month every July pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No.1021 dated June 9, 1997 and the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the National Blood Service Act of 1994.
The month-long observance aims to raise awareness of the need for quality and safe blood, thank and honor blood donors and encourage regular blood donation.
Donating blood is a healthy practice to keep healthy blood cells in the body produced by bone marrow. It also contributes in the steady supply of safe blood for use wherever and whenever it is needed to save lives. (PIA)
PNP brass visits Bacolod, calls city “very progressive and peaceful”
Bacolod City (26 July) — Philippine National Police Region 6 Director, P/CSupt. Samuel Pagdilao, Jr. recently visited Bacolod City in a briefing with the Bacolod and Negros Occidental Police as their new regional director.
In a courtesy call with Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Pagdilao was impressed by Bacolod City saying it is “very progressive and lot more peaceful than Iloilo”.
Pagdilao, at the same time, suggested to Leonardia that a CCTV system, similar to those set up by big establishments in Manila, could very well fit in Bacolod City to discourage criminal elements who would disturb the peace and order in the city, while noting that the community has a vital role to play in the fight against robbery and similar incidents.
The mayor welcomed the suggestion saying that the city government has long been considering the idea of setting up CCTV in key areas of the city.
Pagdilao also assured the city officials that Bacolod policemen presently assigned in Iloilo City will be recalled to Bacolod upon the end of their tour of duty.
The PNP regional director was formerly the Northern Police District director prior to his present post. Pagdilao, who is also a lawyer, was born in Ilocos Norte but was raised in General Santos City. (CMO/PIA/EAD)
