Pagadian City sends contingents to Manila, Tacloban for Papal visit

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PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Jan. 15 (PNA) -– The local diocese here has sent a 71-man contingent to Manila in time for the much-awaited five-day visit of Pope Francis in Manila.

The 71-man contingent of the local diocese comprises of 11 priests, four nuns, 20 members of the laity and 36 youth delegates.

Fr. Rene Herrera, the parish priest of Barangay San Jose, this city, said Wednesday they will attend the mass to be celebrated by Pope Francis at the Manila Cathedral.

Herrera said the contingent, which will be headed by Bishop Emmanuel Cabajar, will likewise attend the mass at Quirino Grandstand also to be celebrated by Pope Francis.

Herrera said the youth delegation will attend the activities at the University of Sto. Tomas, one of the places Pope Francis will visit during his five-day tour in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, he said another contingent of 20 persons will travel to Tacloban City, where the Pope is scheduled to hold a mass and visit the typhoon victims on Sunday, Jan. 18.

He said the 20-man contingent that will go to Tacloban City for the Papal visit is headed by Fr. Zacharias Alinto, the parish priest of San Pedro, this city.

He said the two contingents left for Manila and Tacloban City on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Pope Francis is arriving Thursday, Jan. 15, for a five-day visit to the Philippines. (PNA)
FFC/TPGJR/HDC/EDS

GenSan allots Php2.9-M for greening project

 

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GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan. 15 (PNA) -- The city government has allocated around Php2.9 million for the rehabilitation and “greening” of some 284 hectares of land in parts of the area.

City Councilor Ramon Milleza said they are studying a proposed agreement with a tribal non-government organization for the implementation of the project in seven barangays in the city.

He said the move is in line with a request from City Mayor Ronnel Rivera for the issuance of an authority to facilitate the finalization of the deal with the Indigenous People’s Alliance Movement (IPAM) of Gensan, Inc.

Under the agreement, Milleza said the local government will provide the necessary funding for the project, which will be implemented by IPAM.

“The project will be implemented under the National Greening Program (NGP) of the city government,” he said.

It will be a part of the city’s contributions to the NGP, which aims to plant 1.5 billion tree seedlings production in 1.5 million hectares of lands in the entire country by the end of 2016, he said.

The official said the initiative mainly aims to develop the city’s forestlands; mangrove areas and protected areas; ancestral domain; civil and military reservations; and, other urban areas that are covered by the greening plan of the local government.

It will later expand to inactive and abandoned mine sites, riverbanks, streambanks and other suitable public lands, he said.

He said the project will specifically cover identified areas in Barangays Olympog, San Jose, Bawing, Mabuhay, Upper Labay, Sinawal and Conel.

Milleza said the initiative is expected to benefit the constituents of the city and boost the city government’s environmental conservation and protection programs.

He added that it will also complement with other priority programs of the local government like poverty reduction and food security.(PNA)
FFC/AVE

All set for Regatta 2015 in Pagadian City

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PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Jan. 13 (PNA) -– All is set for the holding Wednesday of the Regatta 2015, which is part of the Pasalamat Festival 2015, in this city.

The highlights of the festival is the feast day of Señor Sto. Niño, the patron saint of this city, on January 18.

Initially, the Pasalamat Festival 2015 Steering Committee announced that more than 60 vintas with beautiful sail are expected to participate in the Regatta.

Some of the participants are from the nearby provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Norte.

City Councilor Cesar Dacal Jr., steering committee chairman, said they decided to move the holding of the Regatta to an earlier date for security reasons.

The Regatta was earlier scheduled to be held from January 17-18.

Dacal said they changed the schedule of the Regatta to an earlier date to enable policemen to focus security efforts to a particular activity.

Dacal said January 17 is reserved for the fluvial parade at 6:30 a.m. around Yllana Bay. It will be followed by the procession of Sto. Niño from the wharf to the Cathedral.

January 18 is the culmination of the festival, which is the feast day of Sto. Niño, the patron saint of this city.

Senior Supt. Sofronio Ecaldre, provincial police director, said they augmented the policemen tasked to provide security during the festival here.

The augmentation force came from the police offices of this province’ 26 municipalities. (PNA)
FPV//TPGJR/HIROHITO D. CADION/SSC

Dipolog City Council approves 2015 budget

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur (Jan. 12, 2015) - The city council of Dipolog City has recently approved the passage of P978.5 million city’s 2015 budget, Vice Mayor Horacio Velasco sid Monday

Dipolog City Mayor Evelyn T. Uy recommended to the City Council the passage of the said amount for 2015 annual budget to fast track the implementation of various development projects in the city.

Velasco also said that aside from the city annual budget, the City council also approved an ordinance establishing the Corazon C. Aquino Hospital governing its operations as well as the fees for the use of its services and facilities.

The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) held a consultation earlier to iron out certain issues and concerns regarding the hospital operations with the officers and members of the Dipolog Medical Society, Zamboanga del Norte Medical Center chief of hospital, Philhealth representative, City Health Officer, city councilors and barangays chairmen from the city’s 21 barangays in attendance.

According to Zamboanga del Norte Medical Center chief Dr. Romelo Vergara, it would be better to upgrade the said hospital from level 1 to be level 2 accreditation of the Department of Health (DOH) to be able to avail of more hospital benefits. 

Level 1 accreditation is done by the DOH-9 regional office in Zamboanga City while the level 2 accreditation will be done by the DOH-Central Office in Manila.

It was also agreed that the chief of hospital who oversees its operation will be under the control of the board of directors, Vice Mayor Velasco said.

Velasco said the new hospital would offer different services that including hospital charges and rates.

He added that all inputs generated will be submitted during the consultation to the plenary of the city council for further study and deliberation.

The Corazon C. Aquino Hospital is scheduled to have its soft-opening this month.