Mission Marines: HUNTING DOWN THE CULPRITS

Hunt down the culprits. This is the mission of the company of Marines detailed with the Presidential Security Group, which was sent off by no less than President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Saturday.

This is in line with the earlier directive of the President for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) "to hunt down and arrest those who treacherously killed and beheaded the soldiers," stressing "there can be no excuses or alibis for these acts of savagery."

It would be recalled that the Moro Islamic Liberation Army fighters mercilessly killed on July 10 in Basilan, fourteen members of the Marines, beheading and mutilating ten of them, while on a mission to rescue kidnapped Italian priest Gian Carlo Bossi.

The President’s action of sacrificing her own personal security by sending a part of the Presidential Security Group to help in the manhunt, only shows that the Philippine Government values the life of the 14 marines and the it will never allow any one to trample on the rule of law and put a threat on the peace and security of the people, by sowing terrorist acts.

As aptly stated in the invocation of PSG Chaplain Col. Pelagio Namocatcat, Jr. when he called on the Almighty God to make the marines lovers of peace but ever prepared to defend it.
The barbaric killing and mutilation of the 14 Marines also led the Association of Generals and Flag Officers (AGFO) to announce its support for any "punitive action" by the military against the group that perpetrated the "cruel and animalistic conduct of decapitating and chopping off private parts, ears, arms and legs of the dead Marines (that) cannot but evoke anger as it is horrifying."

In a statement, the AGFO, headed by retired Brig. Gen. Jaime Echevarria, said justice has to be "meted against the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf for perpetrating such hideous and dreadful crimes."

The government continues its search for lasting peace in Mindanao to ensure that the Filipino people will continue to live in an atmosphere of security and development.

WHEN EDUCATED WORKING WOMEN ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE BATTERED

When women from the far-flung areas become battered wives, we are not surprised. We readily assume that these are not educated, they do not know their rights, and hence, they cannot defend themselves.

So the government targets the women in the rural areas, educating them on their rights and responsibilities, arming them with the necessary skills so that they will not fall prey to battering husbands.

What a shocking surprise it is then to know that educated women, working women, women who are in the government service allow themselves to be battered, physically, emotionally, psychologically!

Read this. Belle (not her real name) is a frontline staff in a government agency in Tacloban City. She is a smart staff, otherwise, she will not be assigned as a front liner. But what was described to the writer last night, is far from the Belle she used to know. Belle is lost, confused, disoriented.
Late yesterday afternoon, two social worker friends, answered to a call for help from a college student whose mother sent her a text message asking the daughter to save her because she has been lacked in her house for days.

Belle, the mother, was living with a partner in one of the housing villages in Tacloban City. Her live-in partner lacked her up and did not allow her to leave their abode as a punishment for giving him only P1,500.00 from her winning of P10,000.00. Belle gave the lot of the winning to her daughter and son, who are both studying and who needed the money for their tuition fees.
When the composite team together with the daughter to the abode of her mother, they practically had to pull her out of her abode. The live-in partner who was leaving the abode when the team arrived, came back to sweetly ask Belle to eat first. He was told by the social workers to just talk to her at the women's desk of the Tacloban City Police Station.

Why did Belle not seek help earlier? She said that her live-in partner threatened to show her delicate video to her office mates and that she was afraid he might harm her children as well.
Belle and her daughter are now in the custody of the Haven. What a shock that she has never heard of RA 9262.

There are many other faceless Belles in the bureaucracy. Several of them, we know. The story of Belle is an eye opener that even educated women, women in the government service, are themselves victims of wife battering.

For another government worker, Thel, it was just a slap. He apologized. He said he'd never do it again. But he did do it again and the next time he hurt her. He was contrite. She was confused. In the years after the first slap, the violence escalated. She was hospitalized twice. But she didn't leave. She loved him. He said he loved her. And he was always so sorry afterwards. It's so difficult but it is very important to understand why she stayed and what she can do to break the cycle of battering.

Most of us have a need to see only the good in people, especially the people we love. When the 'love' signal is mixed with the "violence' signal, it's very difficult to see the violence for what it is. This is especially true if the violence has gone on for long periods of time, or if there is a long period between violent episodes.

Indeed, it is true that for every effect, there is a cause. Battered women often feel, or are made to feel, that they are to blame for their battering. It is very difficult for them to place the responsibility where it belongs, to the batterer. Some people have said that a battered woman is very much like a prisoner of war because she is often dependent on her batterer emotionally and physically.

A batterer is often verbally as well as physically abusive. He may tell his victim that she is worthless and that he is the only one who will ever love her. At the same time, he tells her that she doesn't deserve his love. The batterer might also try to isolate his victim from the friendship of others, from participating in social activities or from holding a job. He wants total control. And one way he gets it is by beating down his victim's sense of self.
Many women feel that they would not be able to make it on their own if they left the batterer, or if the batterer were jailed. A woman may worry that, without a mate, she won't be able to support herself or her children. These are very real concerns and must be addressed by any intervention.

A battered woman needs to talk to people who can help. Friends and relatives can be supportive and helpful, sometimes providing emotional stamina, which the victim does not have, for herself.
It is about time, the plight of the women in government service be looked into. It is time the women in government create women's advocacy groups to help the battered woman leave her battering relationship and turn her life and the lives of her children around.

THIS IS TO HAVE SUCCEEDED

Lately, I have been reading old notes and this note writen in an old sheet of pink paper struck my attention -- it was among the remnants of my high school things, imagine!

Reading it, I guess, it reflects my thoughts and my sentiments exactly. Here it goes...

"To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch ... to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!"

FINDING A MORE MEANINGFUL LIFE BY HELPING PEOPLE MAKE THEIR LIFE MORE MEANINGFUL

There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else.

Happiness, freedom and peace of mind are what we get when we love someone even without expecting reciprocation, without expecting to be loved in return.

These are the same feelings we get when we help other people make their life more meaningful by our little acts of love.

Who would ever believe that merely giving $50.00 every six months, will already make a difference in a life of a poor little child in the remote villages of the Philippines, and that $100 or $200. per six months could send a high school graduate to pursue his or her college education and have the opportunity to improve the life of his family?

This is what several Tanauananons who are now residing in the United States have been doing the past years. It is hoped that they will continue what they have been doing-- making their lives more meaningful by making the life of other people more meaningful.

Some of those they sent to school thru their meager contributions have already graduated as teachers, computer engineers, nurses. There are still many children who are hopefully waiting for Good Samaritans to give them a break and the chance to make their lives more meaningful.

This is therefore a call not only to the Tanauananons in the United States and other parts of the world, but to all whose generous hearts are waiting for a chance to pour out the generosity of their good heart and to make the lives of young Tanauananons more meaningful.

It is about time, you achieve happiness, freedom and peace of mind. Find the subject of your generosity. More than 80 young poor students who really wanted to continue their studies have been beneficiaries of these acts of love thru this blogger.

Act fast...Feel free to contact this blogger... your generosity will be properly acknowledged and receipted..

FREE AT LAST, FR. BOSSINI HARBORS NO ANGER AT HIS CAPTORS

"I am not angry with them(kidnappers). I pray for them. I hope one day they can go home to their families,” Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi who was released by his captors in the evening of July 19, tearfully pronounced when presented to media this morning in Zamboanga City .

Looking lean and weary, in his black suit, Fr. Bossi said that he felt very sentimental about his release last night as it was the birthday of his father, a proof that despite the terrible situation he was in, he remained sane and at his best wits. Asked where he was brought by his captors, he said that it was always clear to him that it was Lanao; it has always been from Payao to Lanao.

DILG Secretary Ricardo Puno, in a press briefing at Camp Batalla , made in clear that no ramsom money was involved though there was demand for ransom from the kidnappers in the beginning.

He said that 2000 AFP and PNP were involved in the operation which lead to the successful recovery of Fr. Bossi, who was “dropped” by his captors at the Karumatan National Highway, Lanao del Norte where he was picked up and recovered by government troopers and brought to Zamboanga.

Although Secretary Puno refused to go into details about the negotiation and recovery operations, he explained that after the kidnappers were warned that "should anything happen to Fr. Bossi, it will be a different kind of operation for them", the kidnappers became more interested in releasing Fr. Bossi.

"Maybe it was because of the intense pressure from the AFP", Secretary Puno said. The recovery of Father Bossi was made possible with the constricting movements of the AFP lead by Western Mindanao Command Chief Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo and intermediary of the PNP thru P/Chief Supt. Jaime Caringal and City Police Chief Manuel Barcena.

Secretary Puno also made it clear that the recovery of Fr. Bossi was not a "friendly separation," hot pursuit operation is still being conducted against the kidnappers

PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES SING OUT THEIR WOES IN SEVERAL TACLOBAN CITY BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENTS

In line with the nation-wide observance of the Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week, several visually impaired persons with singing talents will sing out their woes as they tour several Tacloban business establishments on July 19 and July 20, 2007.

Accompanied by the DSWD Field Office 8 and with the support of the members of the Regional Council for the Welfare of Disable Persons, the visually impaired persons with singing talents will tour a number of business establishments in the City to campaign for the cause of the persons with disabilities.

The team is set to do a round of the business district composed of Bo’s Coffee Shop, Leyte Park Hotel, Lion’s Clubhouse and Cue Balls to belt out the woes of persons with disabilities for the public to have a feel and awareness of their current state.

This activity is but a part of the Region’s activities as its contribution to the nation’s observance of the prevention and rehabilitation week which has as this year’s theme “Kung may Access, May Success,” a call for everyone to give persons with disabilities a chance to be part of the developmental efforts by extending to them equal opportunities in all aspects of human endeavor.

Miss Vina P. Aquino, Public Information of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Region informed that inter-agency lectures were conducted at the Bethany Hospital Social Hall, on July 18, 2007.

Among the topics were on the General Aspects of the Rehabilitation of the Disabled which was discussed by orthopedic surgeon Raymund Balverde who is the president of the Eastern Visayas Rehabilitation Medicine Organization.

Department of Labor and Employment Regional Office 8 Director Forter Pugoon thoroughly discussed the Emplyees Compensation Program particularly that of the employment of the people with disability.

The Department of Health representative discussed the early detection of disability through pre-natal care and newborn screening while in the afternoon of the same day, a lay forum was conducted with Doctor Joey Andrade as the resource speaker. (PIA 8)

WHEN YOUNG FILIPINO WOMEN MAKES THEMSELVES EASY PREYS OF ILLEGAL RECRUITMENT

Something has to be done about many of young Filipino women who makes themselves easy preys of illegal recruiters.

Waiting for their flight from Kuala Lumpur to Manila were two young Filipino ladies, one was only seventeen years old, and the other one was in her twenties.

The two Filipinas were supposed to go to Qatar via Kuala Lumpur , to work as domestic helpers, they said. However, their tickets were fake, so they were not allowed to leave.

The two alleged that they arrived in Kuala Lumpur on July 9 but since they were not allowed to leave, a Malaysian taxi driver was good enough to bring them to a Chinatown boarding house where Filipinas are staying. There they stayed until their “aunt” sent them e-tickets.

One trembles thinking what would have happened to these Filipinas if no Good Samaritan was around?

On further questioning, it appeared that the Filipino girls from South Cotabato didn’t have working papers for Qatar . Their passports were tourist passports.

Their “aunt” used to be a domestic helper in Qatar . Her former employer needed domestic helpers and the two girls were recruited to go. Asked what their aunt’s name was, the girls couldn’t or wouldn’t give the name.

The girls were supposed to receive $300.00 salary if they were able to reach Qatar . Asked whether they underwent any training before they left, they said no because they have been to Qatar as domestic helpers in the past.

So they have been illegal workers in Qatar in the past. This would have been their second time to work there if they didn’t have a problem with their tickets.

To think that many times, it is the relatives, the very ones who are supposed to protect these Filipinas, are the ones who push and endanger these young girls.

How many more young Filipino girls have similar experiences? How many Filipino young ladies put themselves in danger just for the sake of being able to find job in other countries. Surely, something must be done about this. Hopefully, there is an agency of the government that can do something about these situations.

The need for more advocacies and information dissemination about illegal recruitment and its hazards, can never be more emphasized.

THE VERSATILE FILIPINO FRUIT CALLED CALAMANSI

Many Filipinos call it calamansi, others call it calamondin, others call it suter. This is citrofortunella microcarpa, a round greenish to yellow in color, 2 cm to 4.5 cm fruit which is normally found in the kitchen of Filipino homes since it does wonders of wonders as a sour flavoring to a variety of dishes from the sautéed rice noodles called bihon to pancit palabok; from the arroz caldo to beefsteak Filipino style.

Calamansi is the secret ingredient to many mouthwatering Filipino delicacies. This writer remembers that the juice of the calamansi leaves are extracted and added to the leche plan to give it an exotic taste. How would the famous Leyte kinilaw taste without the secret ingredient called calamansi? What would dieters do without the calamansi to make the grapelike seeweeds called lato? And what is more refreshing than a glass of calamansi juice or iced tea laced with calamansi on a weather unusually unbearable because of global warming?

The versatile calamansi is even use for personal hygiene as a deodorant and a whitening agent. Others use it as detergents, removing the grease from the hands, and as a cleansing scrub to pans and dirty or stained clothes. This writer even remembers that calamansi leaves are crumbled and are used by people to recover from dizzy spells.

But how many calamansi growers have thought that calamansi can be processed into commercial food products such as ready-to-drink juice, juice concentrate, jelly, and jam, and marmalade to name a few?

Indeed, there are many calamansi-based products which are potential sources of sustainable livelihood.

The Department of Science and Technology Industrial Technology Development Institute has developed business concepts involving calamansi processing technologies particularly on Calamansi Concentrate, Calamansi Juice Drink, and Calamansi Jelly.

If your interest has been aroused and now you want to graduate from being just a user or planter of calamansi, just contact DOST or browse at the DOST website at www.dost.gov.ph.

Promoting proper nutrition and healthy lifestyles among adolescents

We can not just sit down in our own comfort zones, knowing and realizing that much is wanting in the Filipino adolescents' nutrition and lifestyles. It is the responsibility of the home, the school, the government and all the stakeholders (including us) to make a collective effort and do something lest we wake up one day to see that the country is being ran by unhealthy leaders.
For one, the adolescents must be provided with a supportive family environment where nutritious meals are available with special attention to nutritious breakfast. The parents must be the role models of good nutrition and where physical activities among family members are encouraged.

There is a need for nutrition-friendly schools where the school canteens provide a variety of options of nutritious but affordable meals and snacks. The schools can help a lot in promoting safe and nutritious foods among vendors in the vicinity of the school. The schools should integrate good nutrition in the secondary school curriculum and conduct nutrition assessment among the young students. Weighing scales and height charts should be available for students to determine their weight and height regularly. The nutritional status of adolescents is determined using the body mass index which is computed by dividing the body weight in kilograms by the square of the height in meters.

The school administrators and teachers, when making the school schedules, must ensure that students have enough time for snacks in the morning and afternoon. They may also conduct for a, discussions, seminars on nutrition and healthy lifestyles to increase awareness and to clarify misconceptions about nutrition. This is also a good opportunity for adolescents to express their ideas and opinions.

The community and local government support for adolescent nutrition and healthy lifestyle is also very important. To start with, the local government must make this issue on the adolescent a priority concern. Perhaps it would be good to provide iron supplements especially among female adolescents. Community assemblies on proper nutrition and healthy lifestyles must be conducted. Sports activities must be promoted.

The local lawmaking bodies could enforce an ordinance banning children from purchasing cigarettes and alcoholic beverages or perhaps one that would regulate the sale of junk foods.
Engaging adolescents in community nutrition programs such as Operation Timbang, nutrition education, food production programs are good ways of making them good-nutrition oriented.
The media and civil society can also help by promoting a healthy body image of adolescents as not being too thin but that of having normal weight. They can also make a big difference in the lives of the adolescents by providing correct information especially about fad diets which adolescents are likely to experiment with.

We can think of all the good things that every stakeholder must do to help the adolescents, but in the end, the decision whether to listen and do something to improve their lifestyles and nutrition, lies in the adolescents themselves.

Human Security Act, Filipinos’ Armor Against Terrorism

The Human Security Act or the Anti-Terrorism Law which will be implemented starting July 15, is the armor that would shield the Filipinos against terrorism.

There is no reason to be afraid of the Human Security Act as it has been enacted by Congress for the protection of human rights, not for human rights violation. The only ones who should be afraid of the implementation are those who are planning something illegal.
The public has nothing to fear about the law especially if they are not engaged in terrorism. No less than Anti-Terrorism Task Force spokesman Ricardo Blancaflor said that the law is needed in order to address the threat of terrorism which is a reality in the Philippines.
Blancaflor cited that one of the suspects in the Valentines Day bombing in Makati City had been previously arrested only to be released on bail after being charged with a mere illegal possession of explosives.

"We previously arrested him but the charge against him was merely illegal possession. So he was able to go out (on bail). When he went out, he returned to Mindanao and went back to Manila and bombed the bus (in Makati City)," he said. The attack was perpetrated jointly by the radical Rajah Solaiman Movement and the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group. It was reportedly funded by Southeast Asian regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah.
Under the new law, however, a mere possession could be classified as a terrorist act. “Now, he cannot do that (jump bail) because if you are arrested even for illegal possession (of explosives), you cannot be allowed to post bail,” Blancaflor said.

The law provides that any person who commits an act punishable under any of the provisions of the Revised Penal Code to wit: piracy in general and mutiny in the high seas or in the Philippine waters; rebellion or insurrection; coup d’etat; murder, kidnapping and serious illegal detention; crimes involving destruction; or those under the laws on arson; toxic substances and hazardous and nuclear waste control; atomic energy; anti-hijacking; anti-piracy and anti-highway robbery; illegal and unlawful possession, manufacture, dealing in, acquisition or disposition of firearms, ammunitions or explosives, thereby sowing and creating a condition of widespread and extraordinary fear or panic among the populace, in order to coerce the government to give in to unlawful demand, shall be guilty of the crime of terrorism and shall suffer the penalty of forty years imprisonment, without the benefit of parole as provided for under the Indeterminate Sentence Law.

The Human Security Act is the missing link in the government’s fight against terrorists who continue to sow havoc in the country.

Region 8's First Mariculture Park Congress 2007 beckons

The clarion call has been sounded for the First Mariculture Park Congress 2007 which is expected to be held on October 17-20, 2007 at the Tacloban City Convention Center, Philippines.

With the theme "Mariculture Parks: New Frontier to Economic Development", the Mariculture Congress in Eastern Visayas, is expected to draw about 1,000 participants composed of investors/private sector, government agencies, research institutions, foreign lecturers and investors.

Spearheaded by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in cooperation with various government agencies and private sector groups, the First Mariculture Park Congress 2007 hopes to serve as a venue for investors from the private sectors, research experts and government agencies to discuss modern technologies and current issues to promote a modernized, profitable and sustainable mariculture industry.

The Mariculture Park Congress will also tackle technical and social aspects and issues of mariculture park or mariculture zone establishment.

Various activities which are being planned in order maximize the learnings of the participants, include technical sessions on Mariculture technologies like bangus cages, grouper grow-out in cages, mussel and oyster culture, mudcrab culture, high-value species, pearl culture, abalone culture, tridacna culture and hatchery, sea urchin culture and sea cucumber culture.
Other technical sessions are on Post-Harvest and Processing, HACCP, Marketing, Hatchery, Pollution and Credit and Micro-Financing.

Mariculture Industry Exhibits will also be staged by feed dealers, cage fabricators, product exhibits, net suppliers, fingerling suppliers and hatchery operators.
Field Trips and Tours will also be conducted to the Mariculture Parks in San Juanico Strait, to the Mariculture Zone at Quinapondan, Samar, to Mariculture Projects such as seeweeds farms, aquasilviculture, pearl culture, hatcheries, oyster culture, sea urchin culture and fish sanctuaries at Lawaan, Samar and Leyte, Leyte, and visit to MacArthur Park and other historical sites in Leyte .

Indeed, the attendance to the Mariculture Congress is worth the travel, with a very minimal registration fee of P3,000.00 for the kit, lunch and 2 snacks for two days. The local participants will only pay P1,500.00 while for the small fisherfolk, attendance to the Congress is free.
It is but fitting that Eastern Visayas be the venue of the first Mariculture Park Congress considering that Leyte and Samar host a total of 12 Mariculture Parks which have already been in operation for the past few years, out of the total of 19 Mariculture Parks in storm-sheltered and environmental laws-compliant coastal areas nationwide, which the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in partnership with the respective local government units has already set up.
The MP concept is similar to an industrial estate where an area in the sea is subdivided into different plots for the farming of fish and other aquatic life using only approved and environmentally sound culture systems. Important facilities that entail a large capital outlay such as storm-resistant mooring systems and other support structures are set up by the government to encourage investors.

The fish cage operators, in turn, would lease an area from their local government where they will hook up their cages and proceed to fish farming. The operators are also required to train local residents for employment as caretakers, this way the local fish industry is boost up and additional incomes and jobs are generated.

The Mariculture Parks are managed by the concerned local government units with technical and financial assistance provided by the BFAR.

Ode to Environment

When Elizabeth Barret Browning mused many years ago…"The Face of all the World is Changed, I Think," it is as if she was referring to global warming, et al. If the dire threats to the country's staggering natural bounties are anything to go by, the poetry of land, sea and mountain may have already given way to the prosaic.

How aptly another poet Robert Frost wrote "The birds' song will never be the same again." For somewhere in the archipelago, the environment takes a constant beating. We are all too familiar with the litany of ecological devastation: a paltry 800,000 hectares of virgin forest today, compared to over 10 million hectares of sheer abundance and biodiversity before World War II; our coral reefs, once billed as the richest on earth, now down to five percent in pristine state; our topsoil, the very source of food security, severely eroded in over half of our provinces; over half of 450 rivers now declared dead or dying; our urban air quality ranked among the most polluted in the world.

Ours is still an ecology-dependent economy. Forty million people are directly tied to agriculture, to irrigation and watersheds for rice and corn production. Thirty million rely on fisheries and coastal resources for sustenance and livelihood. The environment is the only social security system of our country's vast numbers of poor, but it is the first casualty in the unconcern for the God-given natural resources.

It should not take cursory references to this and that celebration on the Environment to remind us of how much damage we have wrought on our fragile ecosystems - and the pressing need for action on various fronts.

With this year's theme, "Beat the Heat! Let Us Work Towards a Safer Climate," the observance of June as Environment Month is commemorated annually pursuant to Proclamation No. 237 issued by former President Corazon C. Aquino.

As we regularly feel the force of nature like rising sea temperature, floods, drought, depletion of flora and fauna, all triggered by global climate change, we resort to unified action which is the best way to effectively deal with natural disasters.

These program advocacies include land management, forest development, biodiversity, marine and coastal resources management, responsible mining, solid waste management, watershed and river rehabilitation, air quality management and partnerships and social mobilization concerns.

The poetry of the earth, John Keats mused, is never dead. Keats' poetry of land, air and water that Providence has bestowed on this land - that alone will guarantee our country's future and sustainability.

Let each and every Filipino unite and work like passionate environmentalists in their respective communities. Armed with novel and noble initiatives, let every Filipino's initiative to save the environment, serve to inspire and educate.

Empowering Filipino adolescents to make nutritionally-correct decisions

It is the responsibility of the adult Filipinos to enable the Filipino adolescents to attain their full potentials in adulthood by empowering them to make nutritionally-correct decisions in their lives.

There are many things and many different ways of enabling and empowering the youth who are supposed to be the future leaders of the land. The nutrition month pledge says it all.

Talk regularly about the importance of proper nutrition and healthy lifestyle to inspire every adolescent to think and take the right way of nutrition and help move the country to peace and progress. Parents must do these things to their children. Keeping the communication lines open, talking to the adolescents as if they are already adults will help them acquire self confidence and develop the spirit of being responsible and answerable to their own selves.

Adult Filipinos must Ensure and maintain their being models of appropriate behavior for health and nutrition of the children. The children imitate what they see from their elders. The best way of teaching the adolescents healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition, is through example. Adults must show the adolescents the way to healthy living and proper nutrition. One, as it is, can not credibly teach what he or she does not practice.

Adults must Encourage families, schools and communities to engage in productive activities aligned with the promotion of good nutrition. They must Network with health, nutrition and allied workers to be abreast of the developments in nutrition and health.

Finally, adults must Stimulate and steer into action children and adolescents for them to share in their own way, in the task of nation-building for a better and brighter future.

This may be done by sowing in their young hearts and minds that whatever they will become in the future will depend on the lifestyle and nutrition-habits they develop while they are still young. Healthy lifestyle, after all, is the way to a healthy and productive future.

THE LONGINGS OF THE SOUL

Beyond the hassles and bustles of days
Beyond the merry child-like ways
There is an emptiness, no one can fool
Caused by the longings of my soul.

Where one had treaded and ran
Where eyes once met and then began
The mind doth know and the heart is full
With none but the longings of my soul.

Amid the tears and smiles
Amid goodbyes and wait a whiles
Here in the heart there lies a hole
Which bear the longings of my soul.

And yet as sure as the sun rises

Together with the moon and the stars

With Hope, the heart is full

Because God knows you alone

Can fill the longings of my soul.

WELCOME INTO YOUR HOMES THE POPULATION CENSUS ENUMERATORS

Starting August 1, when someone knocks on your door, with a bag on his or her shoulders and papers on his or her hand, you don’t shut the door right away, she or he is not a sales or a promo person!

Wait a while as he or she identifies herself as an enumerator for the 2007 Census of Population. Make sure she or he presents his or her identification card. Welcome him or her into your home. This enumerator is including you and your household members, including overseas workers, in the complete count of all residents, both Filipinos and foreigners who have stayed or are expected to stay for at least a year in the Philippines .

The census enumerators will gather population data through house-to-house visits and personal interview of the household head or any responsible member of the household.

Special areas such as exclusive subdivisions and condominiums shall be enumerated using a self-administered questionnaire to be filled out by the respondent. To make sure that every body is counted, institutional populations such as those living in hospitals, sanitaria, penitentiaries, military camps, convents, seminaries and others, shall also be covered.

Do not worry that the information you will give to the enumerators will be used for other purposes. Section 4 of Commonwealth Act No. 591 guarantees that any information obtained during enumeration shall be held in strict confidentiality and that it must not be communicated to any person except bona fide employees of the National Statistics Office.

Mind you! There is a penalty for refusing to give information or for providing false information to census enumerators. Section 3 of Commonwealth Act No. 591 provides penalty, upon conviction, a fine of not more than P600 or imprisonment for not more than 3 months, or both, to any person who unjustifiably refuses to furnish the information called for in the census questionnaire, or to any person who knowingly gives data or information which shall be proven to be materially untrue.

The 2007 Census of Population shall be undertaken to provide current data on population counts, which shall be the basis for the Internal Revenue Allotment and the creation of new local government units or conversion of some of the existing local government units to higher level, pursuant to the provisions of the 1991 Local Government Code.

The statistics derived from the Census of Population will be used in the formulation of policies, preparation of plans and programs concerning population; restricting and apportionment of congressional seats, allocation of resources and revenues and creation of political and administrative units.

In business and industry, the statistics will be helpful in determining sites for establishing business, determining consumer demands for various goods and services and for determining supply of labor for the production of goods and services.

The statistics derived from the Census of Population will also be useful for research and academic institutions particularly in the conduct of researches on population and other disciplines, study and design of small area statistics and study of population growth and distribution as basis in preparing projections.

The enumeration will start on August 1, 2007 and will last for about 25 days only. So, welcome the enumerators into your homes and be counted.

STRENGTHENING TECH-VOC PROGRAM TO PROVIDE RELEVANT SKILLS DEMANDED BY INDUSTRY

The Department of Education is more resolute than ever to continue pushing for the strengthening of the Department’s Vocational Education Program.

With the belief that there is a need to provide relevant foundation skills for higher learning, employment or entrepreneurship among the youth, the Department of Education has initially targeted some 140 high schools where the strengthened tech-voc education program is currently being implemented. The number is expected to increase to about 261 tech-voc schools nationwide by school year 2009 to 2010.

Among the criteria used to determine which of the 261 technical-vocational schools in the Philippines will pilot the tech-voc curriculum include the existence of community linkages, leadership and advocacy level of the school administrator or principal, existence of a school improvement plan, local government support, quality of manpower and existing facilities. The relevance to the existing industry in the locality of the tech-voc high schools will also guide the department in establishing or strengthening specific skills and programs.

Tech-voc high schools are special schools and are treated differently due to unique needs of its students, academic requirements and curricular offerings, eared or dovetailed to a ladderized education program.

The decision to really put great stress on the technical-vocational program was heightened by the result of this year’s National Career Assessment Exam (NCAE), no less than Secretary Jesli Lapus confirmed.

Secretary Lapus said that part of the plan is to equip Filipino high school students with technical-vocational skills that can empower them to find meaningful employment, whether or not they pursue college education.

Based on the NCAE last January 17, out of the 1.3 million fourth year high school students who took the test, more than half of them have inclinations in courses that require Technical-Vocational (Tech-Voc) aptitude.Right after learning the results of the NCAE, the Department of Education (DepEd) has initiated the profiling of technical-vocational (tech-voc) high schools nationwide in order to assess their capability to implement the Technical-Vocational Education Curriculum for this school year.