Author: ltadmin

MANILA: A total of 19 children of Pangasinan Police Provincial Office (PPPO) personnel joined the first day of class at the police office’s Tanglaw Lahi Day Care Center on Friday.

The center, intended for kids aged 6 years and below, aims to provide a safe space for kids while their parents perform their duties and instill on them the values of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“We wanted to impart to them the values of the police at a very early age so they will grow up to be responsible citizens,” PPPO Director Col. Jeff Fanged, who noted the importance of good foundation for children, said in an interview.

Fanged said the center would also boost the good relationship between the Pangasinan Police and the community as the plan is to accommodate later on the kids of families residing near the camp.

“The facility itself was a product of community-police partnership since it was funded through fundraising activities of the police and contributions of individuals,” he said.

Fanged said four police pers
onnel with a background in teaching were trained by the Department of Education (DepEd) on how to handle the learners. They will take turns supervising the kids from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays.

Staff Sgt. Mark Meneses, who has a four-year-old child, said they are grateful for the establishment of the center.

“For us uniformed personnel who have limited time to look after our children, we don’t have to hire babysitters since we can just bring them here. Instead of my child just playing at home, here she gets to interact with other children while also learning,” he said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: A total of PHP3.5 million worth of livelihood assistance in the form of materials, jigs, and equipment was released to 139 parents of profiled child laborers in the siomai capital village of Tisa here, a labor official said Friday.

Lilia Estillore, director of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 7 (Central Visayas), said the beneficiaries could now operate their livelihood projects after they received aid amounting to as much as PHP29,000 each.

The family beneficiaries could start their own businesses by selling various frozen food products, such as siomai, street food, puto, rice retailing, and buy-and-sell of ukay-ukay.

The local government of Tisa, being the DOLE-7’s accredited co-partner, will monitor the development and sustainability of the businesses of their constituents.

‘This initiative is in line with the DOLE’s advocacy of addressing the incidence of child labor in the country and the region in particular,’ Estillore said.

By providing parents or guardians of child laborers
with livelihood assistance, every child is assured of protection against child labor.

‘Through this program, we are hopeful that we can help provide and promote sustainable livelihood as a tool to combat child labor,’ she added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October, the Hamas-run health ministry said Thursday as the Israeli army fired at a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid in western Gaza, killing at least 104 people.

The ministry said 81 Palestinians were killed and 132 wounded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total casualties to 30,035 dead and 70,475 injured since the conflict erupted on Oct. 7, 2023.

Shortly after the ministry announced the update, medical sources in Gaza told Xinhua that at least 104 people died and more than 760 were hurt on Thursday when Israelis opened fire at a gathering of Palestinians on a coastal road west of Gaza City.

They were expecting aid trucks to arrive when they were attacked, the report said.

The wounded, many of them in critical condition, were taken to Al-Shifa Hospital, which is struggling with a shortage of medical supplies and equipment, the sources said.

Meanwhile, an Israeli mili
tary spokesman said the troops fired “in self-defense” after Gazans attacked and looted aid trucks that entered the Gaza Strip early in the morning. He said dozens of Gazans were injured in the chaos, some by being crushed or trampled.

He said some of the Gazans approached the soldiers in “a threatening manner,” forcing them to respond with live fire.

Israel launched its assault on Hamas in response to a cross-border raid by the militant group on Oct. 7, 2023, in which about 1,400 Israelis were killed and more than 200 taken captive.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Department of Agriculture (DA) quickly committed to sending irrigation equipment to farmers in Bulalacao town in Oriental Mindoro province after municipal authorities reached out to the national government amid the ongoing dry spell brought about by El Niño.

This came after the municipal board placed the southernmost town of Bulalacao under a state of calamity due to ‘severe and prolonged drought.’

DA Undersecretaries Jerome Oliveros and Arnel de Mesa have just visited the town to assess the impact of the dry spell, the Bulalacao Information Office (BIO) disclosed in an exchange of emails with the Philippine News Agency on Friday.

It was also disclosed that during their inspection visit, the two DA officials met with about 50 farmer leaders to get a better sense of the severity of the situation on the ground.

At the same time, Mayor Ernilo Villas and Municipal Agriculture Officer Rommel de Guzman successfully appealed to the DA officials for logistical support for the town’s agricultural secto
r.

Oliveros has pledged to send Solar-Powered Water System Irrigation equipment to Barangays Cambunang, Maujao, and Nasucob, with a reported combined value of PHP19 million, according to the BIO.

Additionally, the DA will also send approximately PHP40 million worth of cold storage equipment to Bulalacao to preserve its harvest of onions, among other crops.

In Bulalacao, there are about 500 hectares of land planted with onions by 575 farmers, 539 hectares planted with rice by 545 farmers, and 20.2 hectares planted with other products by 28 farmers, according to the BIO.

‘Farmers dig water sources for supply but the drought has already been affecting the quality and quantity of their products like palay and onions,’ it stated.

Meanwhile, national agencies and government financial institutions (GFI) have also responded to help cushion El Niño’s impact on the town’s agricultural sector.

Oliveros and de Guzman said each registered farmer could secure loans amounting to PHP25,000 under the DA-Agricultural Cre
dit Policy Council’s Programang Sure Aid Loan.

Farmers insured with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. can also claim up to PHP20,000 in indemnity if their crops are devastated by the drought.

Moreover, the DA will distribute seedlings, fertilizer, and even livestock to affected farmers under its Quick Response After Recovery Program, the BIO further said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Land Transportation Office (LTO) impounded 1,653 motor vehicles in February as part of its nationwide crackdown against delinquency.

In a statement Friday, LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said the impounded vehicles are only a fraction of the total 7,252 delinquent motor vehicles — left unregistered for an extended period — that were apprehended in February.

‘Patuloy ang ating agresibong operasyon kaya muli ay nanawagan tayo sa mga delinquent motor vehicles na huwag na hintayin mahuli pa kayo dahil mas malaki ang babayaran ninyo at baka ma-impound pa ang mga sasakyan niyo (Our aggressive operation continues and that’s why we are again calling on delinquent vehicle owners to not wait to be apprehended because you’ll only face bigger fines and possible impounding),’ Mendoza said.

Renewal of registration is one of the ways to determine the roadworthiness of vehicles on the road to help ensure the safety of all road users, he added.

In addition, LTO regional offices caught 243 “co
lorum” or unregistered public utility vehicles (PUV) for illegally picking up passengers.

Of the figure, 123 were impounded.

‘Let this serve as a stern warning to the delinquent motor vehicle owners that we will continue with this operation because this involves road safety and your obligation that comes with motor vehicle ownership,’ he said.

In January, the LTO said 272,233 delinquent motor vehicles have registered following the aggressive implementation of its ‘no registration, no travel’ policy.

Last year, the LTO launched its crackdown against delinquent vehicles, estimated at 24 million.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Antique provincial government has allocated PHP14.79 million for its athletes to the Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association (WVRAA) meet that will be held in Negros Occidental on May 2 to 7.

Department of Education School Division of Antique chief of school governance and operations, Dr. Evelyn Remo, said in an interview Friday that the provincial government allocated an initial budget of PHP13,099,000.

Remo said they requested an additional PHP1.7 million during the recent provincial board meeting presided by Governor Rhodora Cadiao to cover the transportation expenses.

Around 400 athletes from elementary and secondary levels and 200 officials and members of the working committee will represent Antique at the WVRAA, she added.

In last year’s meet in Aklan, the province bagged 20 gold, 34 silver and 102 bronze medals.

The gold medals were from archery, kyurugi, taekwondo, pencak silat, billiards and basketball 3×3.

Gold medalists for individual sports received PHP5,000 each while silv
er and bronze medalists got PHP4,000 and PHP3,000 each, respectively.

For the group events, a gold was worth PHP15,000; silver, PHP10,000; and bronze, PHP8,000.

‘I hope that the support being given by the provincial government could serve as motivation for our athletes to excel in sports,’ Remo said.

Source: Philippines News Agency