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.