NCIP-9 chief to IP studes: Make up yourself, love your tribe

By Claro A. Lanipa

DIPOLOG CITY – “Make up yourself and love your tribe because that is where you belong,” Regional Director Timuey Woy Lim Wong of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)-9, has challenged today the IP (indigenous peoples) college students attending the journalistic writing workshop held at Mibang Hotel this city.

Director Wong said this project, which is jointly implemented by Philippine Information Agency (PIA)-9, NCIP-9 and the US Embassy in Manila, seeks “to help you enhance your knowledge, talent and skills in writing.”

“In the market of job placement and employment today, competition is very high, so you have to compete with your peers.  If you don’t have the capability, talent and skills you will hardly find a job,” Wong said.

This is a very rare opportunity for you, because not all of the grantees under the Educational Assistance Program (EAP) of our office were called to participate in activity such as this,” Wong added.

On the other hand, Director Wong appealed to the IP students to preserve their culture. “I saw there is a continuous erosion of your culture. Many of you are no longer speaking your dialect or you do not know anymore how to speak your own dialect. So, make up yourself and preserve your tribe,” Wong challenged them.

“You cannot claim as Subanen if you do not know how to speak Subano. You need to, so that you will feel your belongingness to your tribe. Please learn how to love your tribe,” Wong concluded.

PIA, NCIP hold 4th leg of journalistic writing workshop for IP studes in Zambo. Norte

By Claro A. Lanipa

DIPOLOG CITY – The Philippine Information Agency(PIA)-IX in partnership with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)-IX and the US Embassy in Manila has conducted starting today (June 24) a two-day journalistic writing workshop for Indigenous Peoples (IP) college students at Mibang Hotel here.

A total of 27 IP grantees under the Educational Assistance Program (EAP) of the NCIP from the three congressional districts of Zamboanga del Norte were invited to attend the said workshop.

In his welcome remarks during the opening program, Atty. Eulogio Lagudas Jr., legal officer, NCIP-Zamboanga del Norte told the participants that all writings must be based on a legal foundation in order to evade civil or criminal liabilities.

The lawyer was also elated to see Ms. Yoly De Guzman, public affairs officer, US Embassy in Manila for gracing the occasion, saying “this is the first time that a representative from the embassy set foot in Dipolog City.”

Meanwhile, Yoly De Guzman said “I am so impressed with your NCIP coordinators. They were able to gather all of you here, and, at least for the two days, you will be able to learn something out of this activity.

She also commended PIA-IX  that among the 17 regions in the country,” it’s only region 9 that is implementing this project (for the second year) and we are happy to support this initiative for the IPs.”

“This is very unique, because the participants are really IPs representing the different tribes in the province,” De Guzman said.

NCIP-IX EAP Focal Person Abdurasid Buddick also told the grantees “you are the luckiest among your peers because you are chosen to be here.”

“This is once in a lifetime opportunity, grab it,” Buddick encouraged the scholars.

He also urged the grantees to study hard to avoid getting failing grades in order to maintain their scholarships.

Empowering IPs via NCIP scholarship program

By Franklin P. Gumapon

ZAMBOANGA CITY - Intelligent people are no babblers. When they speak, they are wise and sensible. And now here’s a guy who is one of them: Mohammad Shafiq Lahaman Kiram, 28, a Sama-Banguingui, a tribe that belongs to the Indigenous Peoples (IP) in Western Mindanao.

When the Philippine Information Agency (PIA)-9 was conducting a journalistic writing workshop for IP college students and out-of-school youth in Zamboanga City last June 10-11, there was this participant who silently sat at the back but paid attention to the lecture. Never did he raise any question during the lecture as most participants usually do to show off their abilities. He is quiet but with deep-seated intelligence.

Shafiq, as he is fondly called, is a resident of Putik, Zamboanga City. He took up and finished Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSE) major in English at the Western Mindanao State University (WMSU), Zamboanga City as a scholar under the Educational Assistance Program (EAP) of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). And he had proved to the NCIP that he deserved the scholarship as he graduated from his BSE degree Cum Laude!

His feat has banished the label uncaring individuals portray the IP people as being slow, laidback and naïve. In his essay submitted to the NCIP, Shafiq wrote: “The early years of my college life was not easy. I already anticipated that I would meet different people with varied personalities, different upbringings, and dissimilar cultural context. With these things in mind, much adjustment was done. Hence, I had to deal with people sensitively… I only wear a simple get-up, just right for my humble personality.”

Need for quality education

Shafiq confided that the most defining experience in his life during his college days was his practice teaching. “I was awakened by the reality that our schoolchildren are in dire need of quality education and even quality teachers,” he said. He realized that not only the IP communities are deficient in quality education but in many public schools as well. “Hence, this experience did not only provide me with a leeway to propel and improve my pedagogical competence, but it also taught me life – nothing more, nothing less,” he declared.

EAP scholars

For this school year, NCIP-9 has extended scholarships to more than 300 IP college students throughout the region. Except for a few merit scholars who are receiving P25 thousand financial assistance each per semester, the rest are allotted P10 thousand each per semester. They are also encouraged to study in state colleges and universities, which offer lower matriculation fees.

Parting words to IP scholars

Shafiq empathically appealed to IP scholars by saying: “In the grand scheme of things, education is the key in achieving our dreams. Dreams do come true. Trust me, it did happen to me. I believe others can do it, too, only if they have the tenacity in all that they do. I am a Filipino, a true-blooded Sama-Banguingui, a dreamer then, and now, a teacher fulfilling his dreams.”

Information caravans for poor towns in ZamPen in July

By Jocelyn P. Alvarez

ZAMBOANGA CITY - People in the community are our region’s utmost resource. A healthy, educated and energized population raises the region’s chance for sustainable development and prosperity!

To deliver basic services of the national government directly to the poorest of the poor, the Mindanao Communicators’ Network  (MCN) supported by Regional Development Council’s (RDC) Regional Communication and  Advocacy Plan – Technical Working Group (RCAP-TWG)  will conduct an information caravan on July 21 and 23 in Talusan Zamboanga Sibugay and La Libertad, Zamboanga del Norte, respectively.

The Information Caravan not only intends to deliver immediate assistance but also seeks to inspire the poor living in the community to uplift their living condition by helping themselves first and then equip them with skills and livelihood training which they could apply in their day-to-day life.

Information Caravan is designed to give hope and to address poverty, enabling the poor to help them transform their lives through government interventions.

Convergence of agencies

Various national government agencies are expected to converge for the infocar not only to deliver basic services but also to fulfill the commitment of the Aquino Administration to fight poverty, empower the poor and the marginalized segments of the society. This means the participating agencies bring along with them programs and projects readily available for the poor that will serve as “life vest” to those currently drowning in extreme poverty.

The “Infocar” team will bring services like skills and livelihood trainings, equipment, livelihood assistance, and other activities and projects that are design to have a direct, immediate and substantial impact in empowering the poor, after all, fighting poverty means investing in people’s capacity to participate meaningfully in the economy, access gainful livelihood and improve the quality of their lives.

Response to the need of the poor

The Primary concern of the Information caravan is to respond or address the concerns of the poor community. This activity is both a feed-in and a feed-forward mechanism. The activity, initially, involves the conduct of a community needs analysis. Then based on the needs analysis, concerned agencies are mobilized by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) for a caravan to the said community where information exchange and delivery of services are undertaken.

In the world of the poor, people don't enjoy food security, don't own many assets, are stunted and wasted, don't live long, can't read or write, don't have access to easy credit, are unable to save much, aren't empowered, can't ensure themselves well against crop failure or household calamity, live in unhealthy surroundings, suffer from “inadequacies.” Through the conduct of Infocar, these concerns are processed and addressed, it not immediately, at least with a specified time frame.

Government agencies like the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Agriculture (DA), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Dept. of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Dept. of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Food Authority (NFA), Dept. of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and other national government agencies including LGUs come together as one in the infocar to address the concerns of the poor, to address the challenges of poverty to effect changes or improvement in the community.

The Information Caravan is an annual project of the Mindanao Communicators Network (MCN)-Region 9 Chapter spearheaded by PIA9. In 2014, infocar was conducted in the town of Sominot, Zamboanga Del Sur.

Infocar activity also includes the conduct of free medical, dental services and circumcision in close partnership with the medical/dental team of the Philippine Army and the Municipal Health Office in the area. Supplemental feeding is also conducted for pre-school children.

DTI turns over 30 weighing scales to Titay town

By Alma L. Tingcang

TITAY, Zamboanga Sibugay – Thirty (30) new weighing scales were recently turnedover by the Department of Trade and Industry to TitayBagsakan Center, this province under the Shared Service Facility (SSF) program.

Dir. Sitti Amina M. Jain, DTI-9 Regional Director turned over properly calibrated weighing scales to Mayor Maria Esperanza Corazon D. Rillera in a brief ceremony inside the Bagsakan Center.

“I am so glad to be turning over 30 units of weighing scales which will address the concerns of rubber traders and producers on the manipulation of weighing scales. We thought that giving you properly calibrated weighing scales would hopefully address the problem between traders and farmers,” the lady chief explained.

She said producers accuse traders of manipulation, while farmers, on the other hand, use battery solution as coagulant, worse, put foreign matters to  their products to make it heavier.

For this project, the local government unit of Titay will be the cooperator for the thirty (30) weighing scale units amounting toPhp 326,640.00.

Mayor Rilleraexpressed her gratefulness to DTI for the weighing scales which will benefit all constituents. The good mayor further stressed their commitment to maintain and secure the units of weighing scales.

“In behalf of Titay LGU, we are very thankful to DTI for providing us 30 weighing scales that will benefit everybody in our Bagsakan Center. We are indeed blessed for having this project. We can now be assured of the accuracy of our weighing scales as these are properly calibrated,” the lady chief executive said.

“Zamboanga Sibugay is the number one rubber producing province in the country, yet we also produce dirty rubber. I am challenging our farmers to make sure that you produce good quality rubber. Let us cleanse our industry in the province,”Board Member and Committee on Agriculture chair Joel Ebol said.

Meanwhile, Yokohama, the only car tire manufacturer in the country, ironically, only source out about 10%-20% of their natural rubber requirement from the Philippines.

Dir. Jain said Yokohama officials personally told DTI officials, including her, that they will not buy rubber from Zamboanga Sibugay because of its poor quality.

“We already talked with Yokohama officials and they told us that they will not buy rubber from Zamboanga Sibugay because it is dirty. It pains me because I’m from Region 9. They don’t have problems with rubber from Basilan, nor from other rubber producers in Mindanao. It is only Zamboanga Sibugay that is always singled-out,” Jain said.

However, all is not lost as Dir. Jain bared that Yokohama will be increasing its local sourcing to 32% next year.

“Yokohama Philippines will be the biggest tire manufacturer in the world by 2017, even bigger than its mother plant based in Yokohama, Japan. They are planning to increase their local sourcing to 32% in 2016 provided that producers improve the quality of their produce,” Jain stressed.  

DAR-ARCP II inks MOA with Zambo Norte LGUs

By Alfonso T. Ruda

DIPOLOG CITY - The Department of Agrarian Reform in Zamboanga del Norte, through the Agrarian Reform Communities Project 2-Performance-Based Grant System (ARCP-2-PBGS) recently signed a Tripartite Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Finance-Municipal Development Fund Office(DOF-MDFO) and some municipalities of Zamboanga del Norte for the implementation of various infrastructure projects.

These projects will be funded by the $70-million loan acquired by the Philippine government from the Asian Development Bank and $30-million from the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).

Recipient municipalities are Siayan, Sirawai, Siocon, Tampilisan, and Gutalac.

Under the MOA signed by Siayan Mayor Flora Villarosa and DAR-Zamboanga del Norte Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer Mohammad DassanAdju,Siayangets P86,363,588.18 for its seven projects to include the rehabilitation and concreting of farm to market roads (FMR) namely: Polayo-Denuyan– 1 km; Paranglumba -1.5-km; SitioBolanao-Litolet – 3km ;Moyo-SitioPase -353 km ; 19 Gonayen-Sayaw– 19 km;Munoz-Litolet FMR – 2.703 km; and the construction of 3.7 FMR from Poblacion to Moyo.

Gutalacalso gets P20,021,584.09 forsix sub-projects. These are construction of four Elementary School buildings in Barangays Map, Upper Gutalac, Buenavistaand Bagong-Silang, and2 day care centers in Upper Gutalac and BagongSilang.

Meanwhile, P28,151,987 million has been earmarked for Tampilisanfor the upgrading/rehabilitation of Poblacion-New DapitanFMR and concreting of Poblacion-ZNAC FMR.

The town of Sirawai, on the other hand has a total project cost of P17,551,521.48-million for the construction of Panabutan and Catuyan Elementary School buildings and construction of Sipakit FMR.

Siocon has an allocation of P69,522,055.09million for the canalization of 50-hectare Lituban Communal Irrigation System   and concreting of JNR Pangian-Greenridge FMR.

Adju said the project aims to assist the government to promote sustainable development and help achieve a more rapid reduction of poverty in the province.

“This is also in line with DAR’s thrust to continually deliver intensive support services to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and other farmers in the agrarian reform communities (ARCs).

ZSPPO implements PGS

By Gideon C. Corgue

PAGADIAN CITY – The Zamboanga del Sur Police Provincial Office (ZSPPO) recently adopted the Performance Governance System (PGS) as a strategy to achieve its vision of becoming a highly capable, effective and credible police service by 2030.

In his message during the oath-taking of the officers and members of the ZSPPO Provincial Advisory Council held here recently, Superintendent James Turbela, deputy provincial director for administration said the PGS, otherwise known as the “PNP Transformation Roadmap 2030,” envisions that “the PNP will become a highly capable, effective and credible police service in partnership with a responsive community for the attainment of a safer place to live, work, and do business.”

With the new program, Turbela said, the ZSPPO is mandated to pass the four stages, namely:  initiation, compliance, proficiency, and institutionalization stage.

“The ZSPPO has passed the first stage—the initiation stage - and is now coping to pass the other three stages,” Turbela announced.

The initiation stage is the formation of technical working group and provincial advisory council, formulation of strategy map and governance scorecards.

“The command is now on its second stage, the compliance stage,” Turbela disclosed adding, ”what we are doing now is accomplishing the compliance stage which is the organization and formalization of PAC.”

Meanwhile, Inspector Joel Galeriana, chief of Dashboard Management and Alignment Police Commission Office said the PGS is a participatory process wherein every individual or objectives must be accomplished. “It is a program of governance that every member of the Philippine National Police (PNP) must get involved,” he added.

Galeriana said the PGS is a new program to them since they are not used to it.

“Before a PNP member used to work for his own benefit but with the PGS, we work as an institution to achieve our goals and objectives,” Galeriana added.

Turbela expressed optimism that the command will successfully complete the four stages with the help of PAC members and other stakeholders adding that a validation team from PNP central office is slated to visit the command on July to validate the performance of ZSPPO.  

Amended BBL ensures Zambo City’s exclusion – Usec. Lorena

By Dominic I. Sanchez

ZAMBOANGA CITY – The amendment done by Congress to the “opt-in anytime” provision of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), now known as the Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region will ensure the city’s exclusion to the Bangsamoro.

Thus, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Undersecretary Jose Lorena declared, “this forecloses the possibility of Zamboanga City to be included.”

Recently, Congress made certain amendments to the draft BBL, which maintains that contiguous Bangsamoro areas should only cover land, and not sea. Zamboanga City Congressman Celso Lobregat has been pushing for this and other amendments with regards to the opt-in anytime provision.

Had the amendment not been made, the city could anytime be made a part of the Bangsamoro through a plebiscite since it is contiguous to the nearby island provinces of Basilan, which is also part of the Bangsamoro.

Many Zamboangueños have been concerned over the original provision, given that they have constantly expressed not to be part of the Bangsamoro now or anytime in the future.

According to Usec. Lorena, only three provinces are now contiguous areas after the amended provision which includes Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.

Meanwhile, he said that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is still very optimistic on the passage of the bill. However, in the event that the bill will not be passed anytime soon, “the MILF will not be going back to ‘one’”. “The MILF and the Bangsamoro Development Authority has already engaged the European Union, Norway and other countries for trade,” he said, which is an indication of their commitment to promote peace and development in the region.

“The South is a gateway to the ASEAN,” Usec. Lorena said, “that is why we must ensure that there is peace and stability in the region.”

He had emphasized that presently, Mindanao has already attained a level of peace, and the primary purpose of the BBL is to ensure a “long lasting peace” in the region.

“We hope that what will come out is a good law, a genuine autonomy,” he said. 

Bantay Bayanihan undergoes orientation on community policing in Basilan

By Rene V. Carbayas

ISABELA CITY, Basilan – The Basilan Bantay Bayanihan, a multi-stakeholder group that monitors the implementation of the Internal Peace and Security Program (IPSP) Bayanihan of the Armed Forces of the Philippines underwent an orientation on community policing, recently.

Around thirty participants coming from the different civil society groups, non-government organizations, some government line agencies, the military, police and other security sectors, including women, youth, and religious sectors were gathered for the baseline study on community policing  held at the Querexeta Formation Center, this city.

The Security Reform Initiative (SRI) who serves as the national secretariat for Bantay Bayanihan spearheaded the study with the support of the British Council, and funded by the United Kingdom Government’s Golden Thread Community Policing Program.

Maribel A. Dano of SRI said that the project was conceptualized to increase the public’s knowledge on community policing and come up with a community policing strategy. It added that the project uses a “bibingka approach” emphasizing that a top-down approach should not be imposed to communities but rather the communities should be on board at the start of developing the community policing strategy.

She explained that community policing is a method of policing based on the joint effort of the community and the police in working together, identifying and understanding problems, coming up with solutions to alleviate the problems, and implementing the solution.

“Community policing is not only about crime, it is about the quality of life of the community because there are issues (like poverty, access to education, poor health service) that surrounds community policing. It rests on a shared understanding of the community and the culture, concerns, and priorities of the community,” Dano said, stressing that it requires the active participation of the community from the initial stages as well as in implementing the plan of action.

Through dialogue and workshops, the participants shared their collective understanding of community policing. Each agency and organization also shared the programs and activities implemented to address issues related to peace and order.

The orientation-workshop was the first of the three waves that the project will unfurl, said Dano, which is awareness, consultation and feedback.

The SRI has tapped Nagdilaab Foundation Inc. as its local partner for the conduct of the community policing project in Basilan. SRI is also conducting the same to the provinces of North Cotabato, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, and Sulu. 

Young PIA interns reap major awards in USAID peace journ contest

By Dave G. Malcampo

ZAMBOANGA CITY – About a month ago, young students from local universities here started their on-the-job training as communications practitioners in the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) here. The 20-day exposure was part of a program by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Engage project in partnership with the local government. It aimed to train selected students in peace journalism.

Three students were assigned at the PIA. At the start of their training, it was evident that they had very little exposure in media activities, yet showed dedication to learn.

Shiela May Aquino, an incoming development communications major at the Zamboanga City State Polytechnic College (ZCSPC) was observably very timid when she was first given an assignment. Rylle Daryll Estrella, a mass communications major from the Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) joined in soon after Shiela. Rylle seems to be an introvert – he seldom spoke out, and only talked when talked to. Jericho Molde, also a development communications student from ZCSPC, only arrived five days before the end of the summer journalism program.

On June 8, three young communications students were recognized for being some of the best youth journalists in the city. Rylle was awarded for having the best peace journalism story, and Shiela as one of the most productive interns. Jericho, who barely had any formal training in photography won the first and third prizes for the best photo category.

The three competed with students coming from WMSU, ZCSPC and the Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU).

During the OJT, they were given assignments to cover events such as the information caravans for the internally-displaced persons, following up leads on news articles, interviewing government officials, and others. Though having little exposure in the beginning, the three learned to take advantage of every opportunity to learn.

“It was a fun experience, but the most I got from the training was the learnings and how to deal with people from different backgrounds,” said Shiela.

Rylle, whose winning piece discussed the local tricycle issue said that he did not expect to win, but was very proud after having won the over-all contest. “I really did not expect it, but I just did my job and submitted my work,” he said.

Their stories were published in local newspapers and in online news sites.

Jericho, on the other hand said that he enjoyed the training so much that he plans to come back next year. “I hope I could come back and have more training. I have learned so much, but I still have more to learn,” he said.

Coastal clean-up capsCoral Triangle Day celebration in Malangas town

By Alma L. Tingcang

Background

The town of Malangas, a coastal municipality in Zamboanga Sibugay province was originally called “Kulaka”, a Subanen term for paddling. About two kilometers from this place was a small waterfall, which was called “Malangas” meaning “noisy” or “noisy brook” and that was how the place got its name.

In the early part of the year 1900, Christians from Zamboanga City, the Chavacanos began to migrate to this fertile and promising land in the Sibuguey Valley, nestled by the rich fishing ground of DumanguillasBay.The vast coal deposits attracted other people from Luzon, Visayas and other parts of Mindanao.

Malangas is located on the north-west portion of Zamboanga Sibugay. It is bounded on the north by the municipality of Diplahan, on the northwest by Imelda, on the northeast by Buug, on the south-west by Alicia, and on the south by the beautiful Dumanquillas Bay.

On July 23, 1951, by virtue of Republic Act 654, Malangas was created into a municipality from a mere barrio of Margosatubig, comprising 25 barangays.

Coral Triangle Day

“AngKinabuhisaKadagatan, KinabuhisaKatawhan.” (Life of the Ocean, Life of the People)

Thus said Mayor Alfredo A. Atilano of Malangas, Zamboanga Sibugay on the celebration of the Coral Triangle Day on June 9, 2015. He was awed by the overwhelming cooperation of the different sectors in the community and thanked them for their participation in the coastal clean-up activity.

“It is our goal to bring to light the importance of oceans in people’s lives and the need to protect them and to highlight the preservation of work being done by coral triangle partners in the region to protect it. We also aim to provide  aregional platform to promote national/local marine conservation work in each coral triangle country,” the good mayor said.

Community support

People from all walks of life came to support the clean-up drive including the local government unit (LGU) officials and employees, Western Mindanao State University, Malangas National High School, Malangas Elementary School, Malangas Institute, Department of Education, Philippine National Police, Philippine Coastguard, DSWD KALAHI-CIDSS and other concerned individuals.

Mayor Atilano recalled that during the previous year, they conducted mangrove planting in barangay Dansulao. “This year, weopted to do coastal clean-up and gather all the garbage that we have collected and weigh them. This is one of the strategies to help clean the ocean.”

All garbage collected were weighed to measure the amount of trash gathered from the coastal areas within one hour. Students were eager to do the work and contribute to the preservation and protection of the environment.

Asimilar activity was done simultaneously in Zamboanga Peninsula covering 6 municipalities namely :Lapuyan, Margosatubig, Vincenzo Sagun, and Kumalarang in Zamboanga del Sur, Buug and Malangas in ZambongaSibugay.

“If the ocean is clean, then we will have abundant supply of fishes and other marine resources while if it is dirty and polluted, the fishes will die,” Atilano quoted. The clean-up lasted for an hour, starting at 7:25 am and ending at 8:25 a.m.

Coral Triangle Initiative

Coral Triangle Day activities include beach clean-ups, sustainable seafood dinners and exhibitions, bazaars and beach parties, among others, all carrying the message of ocean conservation under the overall banner of “shared waters, shared solutions.”

The Coral Triangle is a geographical term so named as it refers to a roughly triangular area of the tropical marine waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste that contain at least 500 species of reef-building corals in each eco-region.

It is also called the "Amazon of the seas" and covers 5.7 million square kilometers of ocean waters. Its biological resources sustain the lives of over 120 million people. 

The Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security  was launched in 2007 as a multilateral partnership of the governments of the 6 countries.

It recognizes the need to safeguard the coastal and marine resources of the seas that surround these countries, which together constitute a uniquely diverse and economically important region.

The ultimate objectives of this plan are to ensure food security and sustainable livelihoods for all residents of the Coral Triangle, and to protect the region’s unique ecosystems and the marine species that inhabit them in perpetuity. 

IP youth in Sibugay found active in social media

By Franklin P. Gumapon

IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay - Like most youth in the country, the young belonging to the Indigenous Peoples (IP) in Zamboanga Sibugay are also active in social media.

This was what Regional Director Noemi B. Edaga of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA)-9 discovered when she talked on social media during a journalistic writing workshop held here for IP college students on June 17-18.

Director Edaga started her lecture on social media by asking the participants about their time spent for facebook, twitter, skype and other social media accounts.

It was also discovered that all the participants have been using the internet to do their research for their lessons in schools.

Meanwhile, Edaga reminded the students to be responsible enough in using the social media. “You are free to post any thing [in your social media account] but not everything is beneficial,” she said.

The PIA-9 chief also encouraged the participants to visit the PIA website, facebook and other social media platforms to get the recent news about the region as well as the government programs, policies and pronouncements.

Social media is one of the topics in the two-day journalistic writing workshop jointly sponsored by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)-9, PIA-9 and the US Embassy in Manila for the IP college students in Zamboanga Peninsula with the theme, “IP youth for climate change adaptation and peace promotion.” 

Sibugay IP students undergo 2-day writing workshop

By Alma L. Tingcang

IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay - Some 22 IP college students from this province, who are also grantees of the Educational Assistance Program (EAP) of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) gathered at Ricomar Hotel here on June 17-18 for a Journalistic Writing Workshop.

“Unload everything, your problems in school, at home, frustrations, disappointments, all of them. Concentrate on this training because not everyone is given this opportunity. Other EAP grantees have not been given this experience so you should be grateful and learn much from this training,” said  Ms. Marita L. Minao, NCIP Interim Provincial Officer for Zamboanga Sibugay. 

NCIP Regional Director Timuey Woy Lim P. Wong shared an inspiring story of his life to the participants when he was still a working student. He endured all hardships and did not consider it a hindrance in acquiring valuable education.

“This training is an opportunity to develop your personality and train you to write, to increase your knowledge. In the future, this will be very useful when you apply for a job and whatever you endeavor in life,” Dir. Wong said.

PIA-9 Asst. Regional Director Franklin P. Gumapon lectured on the essential points in Basic Newswriting, the attributes of news including the news structure.

Participants were in deep thought after the lecture when they were asked to write a news story about the activity applying the attributes that they have learned in Basic newswriting as discussed by ARD Gumapon. The stories were later critiqued to conform with the basic standards.

The newly-elected officers during the IP journalistic workshop in Zamboanga Sibugay were : President – Sheila M. Onog; VP – Diana Rose T. Otal; Sec- Vernadette O. Dionson; Treasurer – Elesa A. Tabac; Auditor – Loriebell C. Ticulan; PIO – Clennkei C. Penalosa; Business Managers – Syloyd Van S. Tulawa and Shorla May P. Dela Cruz.

Meanwhile Regional Director Noemi Edaga told the participants, “if you will write in jejemon and taglish, I am sure you will reach nowhere. I encourage you to polish your English.”

A film on the Bangsamoro Basic Law and Climate Change was also shown to the participants.

The activity was sponsored by PIA and NCIP with the support of the US Embassy.