Honasan advocates FOI in MindaComm Congress

Sen. Gregorio Honasan II, Chairman of the Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, presented the salient features of the Freedom of Information Bill during the Mindanao Communicators Congress and Workshop on November 29, 2012. Participants of the said congress were government information officers from Regions IX, X, XI, XII, CARAGA, and ARMM.

The FOI Bill, according to Honasan, aims to hasten the process by which the public is able to access government information therefore promoting a culture of ‘openness in the government’. Honasan noted the presumption that the people, for so long, feel alienated from the government by holding back information. With FOI, Honasan said, disclosure of government information will not only be a matter of transparency but a matter of duty.

“We must ensure that public access to information serves the public interest. Ang impormasyon, pag aari ng tao,” Hon. Honasan said.

However, Honasan cited instances with which public access may be disallowed as stated in the FOI Bill:     revelation of the information will create a clear and present danger of war, invasion or any external threat to the State; unduly weaken the negotiating position of the government in an ongoing bilateral or multilateral negotiation or seriously jeopardize the diplomatic relations of the Philippines; among others.

“Once information is transparent, there is a risk of abuse; FOI is not pure liberty, it is responsibility,” Honasan reminded the communicators.

MindaCom Network members, with their President Efren Elbanbuena of PIA XI, expressed their support to FOI by passing a resolution to urge the congress and the senate to pass the Bill and to make public information office mandatory to all government units and line agencies.

2012 Mindanao Communicators Congress and Workshop themed Communicating Mindanao’s Opportunities and Best Practices ran on November 28-30.

Jezereel Louise C. Billano

SP Tacurong cited as best Sanggunian in Sultan Kudarat

             The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) of Tacurong was cited as Most Outstanding Council in the Province of Sultan Kudarat for 2012.

In a ceremony held in Isulan on November 21, the Philippine Councilors League (PCL), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Provincial Government of Sultan Kudarat presented a plaque of recognition to the members of the Tacurong Sanggunian headed by City Vice Mayor Charito Collado as its presiding officer.

Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Tacurong members with Vice Mayor Charito L. Collado

           On November 8, members of the 2012 Local Legislative Award Committee conducted an evaluation to SP Tacurong. The whole-day evaluation stopped at the office of Mayor Lina Montilla for a short conference with members of the evaluation team. Speaking with the mayor, the Award Committee lauded SP Tacurong for its excellent legislative performance and for its efficient display of customer service.

The Local Legislative Award was launched in 2006 by the PCL together with the DILG to recognize exemplary performance of Sanggunian of component cities and municipalities in legislating measures that establish meaningful local administration and development.

Local legislative units are evaluated according to effectiveness of local agenda and legislative tracking system, availability of legislative documents, efficiency of performance, and quality of office set-up as well as staff complement.

By winning the award, SP Tacurong will be contending with other cities in SOCSKSARGEN in the regional evaluation.

Vice Mayor Collado was beaming with pride in the latest feat of Tacurong’s Sanggunian. She also cited the excellent performance of the city councilors as huge factor in achieving the said award.

Members of Tacurong Sanggunian include City Councilors Psyche Sucaldito, Jose Remos Segura, Rodrigo Jamorabon, Joseph Lechonsito, Cirilo Flores, Benjamin Fajardo Jr., Virgilio Paredes, Lino Ledda, Joselito Cajandig, Sr., Ariel Ferdinand dela Cruz, ABC President Silvestre Llanto, and SK Federation President Albert Gulmatico. (Jezereel Billano; LGU Tacurong Information)

City remembers 3rd anniversary of Maguindanao massacre

            November 26, 2012--Exactly three years after the Maguindanao Massacre, LGU-Tacurong gathered to offer prayers and light candles in honor of the victims of the ‘most gruesome election-related violence in the country and worst single-attack against members of the media’.

            Everyone agreed that justice has not yet been served to the families of the 58 individuals murdered in Salman Hill in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao. Media practitioners from Tacurong were among the 32 slain journalists. Among the civilian victims were LGU-Tacurong employees namely Eduardo Lechonsito and his wife Cecille, Mercy Palabrica, Wilhelm Palabrica, and driver Daryl delos Reyes who were mistakenly identified as part of the convoy. Employees wore black to remember their former colleagues. 
            Candles surrounded the city hall fountain as employees uttered prayers for the families of the victims. “Justice is of God. We also pray for the families to be better despite the absence of their loved ones. We will continue to advocate for peace and progress in Mindanao,” Mayor Lina O. Montilla said.

            According to a Philippine Star report, policemen had recently arrested the alleged operator of the backhoe used in digging the common graves for the 58 victims in Midsayap, North Cotabato.

 Jezereel Louise C. Billano

SP approves 2013 City Budget

            During their regular session on November 7, 2013, the Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Tacurong approved Ordinance No. 11 Series of 2012 or An Ordinance Appropriating an Amount of 343, 531, 335 pesos for the Annual Budget of the City of Tacurong for Calendar Year 2013.  The ordinance was approved through the motion of Councilor Cirilo Y. Flores, seconded by all council members.

Of the approved amount, P150,137,227.00 will go to Personal Services that comprise employees’ salaries and wages, other benefits and allowances. This also includes the General Fund Adjustment and lump sum appropriation for the City’s 3^rd class classification. Meanwhile, P83,949,684.00 was allotted for Maintenance and Other Operating Expense (MOOE) and P347,500.00 for property plant, and equipment. The amount of P22, 950,000.00 has been earmarked for other development projects and other needed services under the Locally Funded Projects.

Aside from a reserve fund amounting to P16,133,067.00 for Local Risk Reduction Management Program, the city government allotted 40 million pesos for 20 barangays taken from 20% Development Fund and Locally Funded. The said amount is evenly distributed with 2 million pesos for each barangay. This has been appropriated for infrastructure and development projects such as construction/concreting of roads, drainage canals, and box culverts. The 2-Million City Aid to Barangays is one of LGU-Tacurong’s innovations since 2002.

The City’s 2013 budget increased by at least 23 million pesos compared to this year’s budget of 320, 037,355 pesos.

Jezereel Louise C. Billano/Imelda Pamplona

342 Tacurongnons enroll in free tech-voc trainings of LGU

               (November 22, 2012) Three hundred forty-two individuals, all desiring to acquire skills to improve their employability, enrolled in short-term technical-vocational (tech-voc) courses conducted by the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Tacurong in partnership with Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

                Each participant enrolled in any of the following eight Practical Skills & Development Trainings: Dressmaking, Massage Therapy NC II, Hair Science & Beauty Culture, Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) NC II, Electrical Installation & Maintenance NC II, Hollow Blocks-Making & Tiles-Setting, Souvenir Items -Making, and Packaging & Labeling cum Good Manufacturing Practices.

                Electrical Installation & Maintenance recorded the highest number of enrollees at 66 followed by Hair Science & Beauty Culture with 62. SMAW has 54 enrollees while Massage Therapy has 53.

                Community Training and Employment Coordinator Josephine Ubaldo said that they had set limited quotas for each course but there was an influx of walk-in enrollees during the launching program on November 20, 2012 at the Tacurong Pilot elementary School Gym.

                “We did not expect the huge turnout of trainees because we were supposed to accept a maximum of 30 enrollees per course”, Ubaldo said. “We stretched our quotas but not to the extent that we would be sacrificing the quality of the training”.

                During the launching program, Mayor Montilla was happy to note the increase in the number of enrollees compared to the last skills training the LGU conducted last summer in which the number of trainees did not reach the 150 mark.

                “Based on the big number of enrollees this time, we can really see the significance of the skills training program for the unemployed adults and the out of school youth” Mayor Montilla said. “We also decided to add more courses so that our constituents can have a wide array of choices. “Last summer, we only offered four courses; we doubled the number this time”, the ebullient mayor added.

The mayor also shared to the participants the story of Aileen Apostol, one of the beneficiaries of the massage therapy training last year, who is already earning as much as P1, 000.00 a day. Edna is now employed by LGU-financed Massage Clinic and also doing home massage services.

“Aileen is now enjoying the comfort of life because of the skill she got from our Massage Therapy Training. I want more Aileens to come out from your batch”, Mayor Montilla said.

City Councilors Rodrigo Jamorabon, Psyche Sucaldito and Benjamin Fajardo also delivered their messages of support to the skills training program of the city. Jamorabon, in his message to the enrollees, said that “the city government is not spending money in you but investing in your future instead. We know that once you are employed or start your own business out of the skills you will get from the trainings, you will bring comfortable life to your families”.

DOST Provincial Director Szalina Mercado, who will also serve as trainer in the Packaging & Labeling Course, said that “Tacurong is very lucky to have a development-oriented mayor who is truthfully looking after the welfare of her constituents”.

TESDA Provincial Director Reynaldo Bernal also commended the efforts of the LGU in “aggressively pushing for the conduct of various skills training program in Tacurong”. He gave his commitment to assist the graduates through facilitating the granting of National Certificates or NC.

“We laud the LGU’s initiative of bringing these tech-voc courses especially for those who do not have access to established training centers”, Bernal said. (Allan Freno)

iBus inventor inspires fellow Tacurongnons

November 20, 2012-“I am proud that I have come from Tacurong. This is where I was able to establish my strongest foundations.”

In 2011, Tacurongnon Elma Arboleras with her co-inventor Rodel de Guzman won the gold medal in the 11^th British Invention Show with her iBus invention. iBus or the Intelligent BUS Utility System can organize buses based on machine readable tags. It is a bus monitoring and management system that can make the buses load and unload passengers at designated areas only. “When you see a problem, you should see it as the best opportunity to improve,” Ms. Elma said in her inspirational during the LGU’s flag raising ceremony on November 19, 2012.

                Ms. Elma confessed that she had long been invited by the city officials to come home. “I regret not being able to come earlier but I believe that everything has its own time. I believe that this is the best time that God appointed,” she said.

                The crowd of employees cheered on as Ms. Elma pointed out Tacurong’s world class asset: “We may not have a majestic volcano like Mayon in Albay, or the wings of the Philippine Eagle in Davao, but we have something that we can take anywhere we go. That is, our strong-willed spirit as a people.” For Ms. Elma, Tacurong’s best asset is its people. “We have to continue to showcase ourselves [and] bring glory to our hometown and to God,” she added. Ms. Elma believes that Tacurong is made for greatness, just like the Tacurongnons.

Mayor Montilla hands the Plaque of Recognition to Ms. Arboleras.

 Ms. Elma congratulated the city government for the vast development evident in the city. She especially remarked the city’s excellent performance in the past years through the leadership of Mayor Lina O. Montilla. The improvement is not only reflected by rising and increasing infrastructure but also in the numerous awards reaped by the city for exhibiting quality service and governance.

L-R: Vice Mayor Chit Collado, Mayor Lina O. Montilla, Ms. Elma Arboleras, and Ms.  Edna Arboleras

                The city government awarded Ms. Elma with a Plaque of Recognition for her achievements. The city government thanks Ms. Elma for informing and encouraging Tacurongnons to be engaged in various opportunities like Project Pagsulong—a million peso challenge inviting young Filipinos to come up with innovative business ideas towards poverty alleviation.

 “What is great about her is that she never forgets to look back and inspire the people in her hometown. We are pleased to know that Tacurong has yielded yet another humble and empowered individual to the world,” said Mayor Lina O. Montilla.

Jezereel Louise C. Billano

LGU's new entrants undergo orientation

             Newly hired permanent and casual employees of the City Government of Tacurong undergone an orientation-workshop on November 13-15, 2012 at the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) Hall. Eighteen new entrants from different departments participated in the orientation which was conducted by the City’s Human Resource Management (CHRM) training staff.

              During the opening ceremony, Mayor Lina O. Montilla addressed the group: “We hope that the positive values you develop in the LGU will be evident anywhere you go. I expect that each of you will be an asset of the city government. Do your job. Do your best.”

The participants were briefed of the LGU’s policies and programs geared towards providing clients and employees with a more service-oriented system and environment. Among other topics discussed were Excellence in Public Service; public servants’ Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards set by R.A. 6713; Grievance Machinery; Career Development Plan; Merit Selection Plan; R.A. 7877 Anti-Sexual Harassment; and Program on Awards and Incentives for Service Excellence. Speakers from the City’s Pool of Trainers also imparted information on monetary and non-monetary benefits and mandatory salary deductions. During the final day of orientation, the participants learned about the LGU’s performance evaluation system (PES). They were tasked to accomplish sample PES forms according to their job descriptions.  

              Participants were all praises to the speakers and training staff that made the acticity very light yet informative. “We have learned that public service is really a serious matter to the city government. We are now well aware of our responsibilities and rights; so we feel empowered,” one of the participants said. The new entrants vowed to become excellent public servants in and even out of the office. 


Jezereel Louise C. Billano