BACOLOD: A total of 33,966 households experiencing water shortage in this city due to the drought caused by El Niño availed of water rationing for the month of April.

A summary report released by the city government on Saturday showed water supply was distributed to households in 18 of 61 villages here.

‘An average of 1,550 households were served daily with up to 36,642 liters of water,’ read the report submitted by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.

A total of 663,500 liters were distributed to Barangays 27, 29, 30, 31, 40, Alijis, Bata, Cabug, Estefania, Felisa, Handumanan, Mandalagan, Mansilingan Singcang-Airport, Sum-ag, Tangub, Taculing and Villamonte.

The highest volume of water was delivered to Barangay Handumanan, equivalent to 27.7 percent of the total water distributed last month, followed by Mansilingan, 14.3 percent; and Villamonte, 12.9 percent.

Meanwhile, private water distributor PrimeWater and its joint venture partner, Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa), released a
copy of the water availability map of the city on Friday.

The map showed that the 12 areas with zero to four hours of water available in a day are Barangays 40, Handumanan, Tangub, Mandalagan, Felisa, Vista Alegre, Villamonte, Taculing, Alijis, Sum-ag, Mansilingan and Banago.

‘Water supply in these areas is greatly affected by the effects of El Niño since there have been a decrease in the supply from the bulk water supplier,’ the report said.

PrimeWater and Baciwa have deployed 24 water tanks each with 2,000-liter capacity to augment water supply in the 12 villages.

On the part of the city government, it has received support for the water distribution program from private groups, including the Amado B. Parreño Agricultural Corp., which allowed it access to water supply at Bocal-Bocal Springs in Barangay Alangilan for free, as well as the Bacolod Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Philippine Red Cross Bacolod-Negros Occidental Chapter and Manila Water.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has barred three Americans from entering the country due to their records as convicted sex offenders.

Two of the alleged pedophiles were intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) while the other one arrived at Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), the BI said in a news release over the weekend.

The three were sent back to their ports of origin at once.

On May 3, Clarence Paul Nique, 56, was intercepted at MCIA after arriving from Taipei, Taiwan via an Eva Air flight.

Nique was in convicted by a Michigan court in 2014 for second-degree criminal sexual conduct. His victim was a seven-year-old, according to records.

Peter John Cruz, 64, was also denied entry at NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City after he arrived via a United Airlines flight from Guam.

He was convicted twice in November 1992 for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

On April 25, David Earl Uland, 81, failed to leave NAIA Terminal 1 in Parañaque City, also after arriving from Taipei
via Eva Air.

He was convicted in 1999 for molesting a minor in the US.

The three are already in the immigration blacklist and perpetually banned from entering the Philippines.

Source: Philippines News Agency

CALAMBA: The city government is implementing incremental salary increases for its contractual employees so they would closely match the pay received by permanent or ‘plantilla’ local government unit workers.

In an interview on Saturday, Vice Mayor Angelito Lazaro Jr. said his office was surprised to learn that many of the city’s contractual or job order (JO) employees are paid about PHP250 per day only.

Incremental wage adjustment elevated the daily pay to PHP350 in 2023 and further to PHP400 by the third quarter this year.

“Our vision is to align JO workers’ remuneration with the minimum wage for private sector counterparts. We recognize Calamba’s role as a burgeoning hub in the Calabarzon Region, experiencing rapid urbanization and industrialization,’ Lazaro said.

The minimum wage in Calabarzon currently stands at PHP520 per day.

Lazaro, also the city council’s presiding officer, explained that an ongoing reorganization in the city government epitomizes inclusivity, ensuring no individual is left behin
d. Appointments are also based on meritocracy.

The overarching aim is to bolster efficiency and efficacy in municipal governance, he added.

“By prioritizing the enhancement of city employees’ welfare and acknowledging the invaluable role of volunteers and collaborative partnerships, the current administration underscores its unwavering commitment to fortify worker conditions and foster synergistic growth for the city,” Lazaro said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

CEBU: A transport official on Saturday alerted the public of fake news circulating on social media that a fare hike will be implemented once the Public Utility Vehicles Modernization Program (PUVMP) is fully enforced.

Eduardo Montealto Jr., Director of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Central Visayas, said the story posted by a news site is ‘misinformation and false.’

He said the PUVMP will not raise the minimum fare from PHP15 to PHP40.

‘Such a claim is without factual and legal basis… Fare rates are fixed and regulated by the LTFRB to protect the public. It will not be changed on the basis of speculation,’ Montealto told the Philippine News Agency.

Any application for increase of fare rates will go through a long and rigid formal evaluation process and subjected to notices and hearings, he explained.

The process will ‘further involve the thorough evaluation and appreciation of relevant data coming from other government agencies such as National Economic Development Au
thority and Department of Energy,’ he explained.

The national government did not extend the April 30 deadline for individual jeepneys to consolidate into cooperatives and corporations.

However, the LTFRB is still catering to partial applications filed within the deadline and allows applications for consolidations even after the April 30 closing date for submission of documentary requirements.

LTFRB-7 has consolidated 8,500 units in Central Visayas, so far.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: San Sebastian College rallied past stubborn Jose Rizal University, 23-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-19, in a no-bearing match of the NCAA Season 99 women’s volleyball at Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan on Saturday.

Katherine Santos finished with 22 points, while four others scored in double figures as the Lady Stags notched back-to-back wins for a 2-6 card.

Both teams are already out of contention.

Christina Marasigan contributed 16 attacks and two aces, while Kristine Joy Dionisio and Juna May Gonzales scored 13 points each for San Sebastian.

‘Gusto ko lang manalo para magkaroon ng confidence ang mga bata. Natuwa ako, from 11-17 [in the third set], nahabol namin. Kaya pala nila (I just want to win so the players will gain confidence. I’m happy that from 11-17, we were able to catch up. They can do it after all),” San Sebastian coach Roger Gorayeb said after the one hour and 50-minute match.

‘Ganyan nangyayari sa previous games. Mananalo na kami, bigla magco-collapse (That’s what happened in our previous
games. We were about to win, then we suddenly collapse),” he added.

Gorayeb also praised Gonzales, one of the eight rookies this season.

‘Sa NCAA, eight lahat greenhorns ko. Si Gonzales napakalaki ng potential (In the NCAA, I have eight greenhorns. Gonzales has great potentials),” he said.

Von Dimaculangan produced 17 excellent sets while Chloi Florenci Lazarte made 12 excellent digs and 10 receptions.

Meanwhile, Karyla Rafaela Jasareno had 14 attacks and four aces for JRU, which absorbed its seventh loss in eight outings.

Khreiszantha Gayle Batara scored 12 points, including three blocks, while Shanine Pretta added 10 points, nine on attacks.

San Sebastian’s last match will be against Letran on Wednesday while JRU will end its season against Arellano.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Friday highlighted the benefits of providing free licensure review for agriculture students in boosting the landscape of Philippine agriculture.

“This is very crucial under the (President Ferdinand) Marcos Jr. administration because as you know, food security is a centerpiece initiative of this administration,” CHED Chairperson J. Prospero De Vera III said in a press conference.

De Vera made the remark after the signing of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and 15 select state universities and colleges (SUCs) for the conduct of free online licensure examination review for agriculturists.

He said the ‘Review and Strategy Program to Empower Students for Licensure Examination for Agriculturists’ intends not only to encourage more enrollees to join the agricultural sector but also to help them pass the licensure examination.

De Vera added that this would also produce the next generation of farmers, with
the current average age of farmers getting older.

“We have to make sure all of them become agriculturists. Because even if the enrollment goes up, and the passing rate goes down, then we cannot produce (agriculturists),” he said.

The country’s average passing rate for the Licensure Examination for Agriculturists (LEA) is only 35.56 percent from 2019 to 2023.

De Vera said the initiative would also provide a “cost-effective” opportunity for students, considering their typical high expenses and proximity challenges for licensure reviews.

“We are committed to this very significant activity, parang maliit lang pero napakalalim (It seems small, but it’s far-reaching). We are committed to this because it’s a matter of national survival,” UP System President Angelo Jimenez said in a separate speech.

Under the MOA, the UPLB, being a top-performing university in LEA, shall conduct the review of other SUCs via online setup.

The review shall cover examination topics, such as soil science, agricultural economics, an
imal science, crop protection, crop science, and agricultural extension.

About 500 students are expected to benefit from the 340-hour review program from June 1 to Oct. 20.

Among the select SUCs are Basilan State College, Batanes State College, Capiz State University – Tapaz Campus, Isabela State University – Palanan Campus, Kalinga State University, Mindanao State University – Sulu Campus, North Eastern Mindanao State University – San Miguel Campus, Northwest Samar State University – San Jorge Campus, Quirino State University, Romblon State University – Cajidiocan Campus, Southern Luzon State University – Tayabas Campus, Sulu State College Tawi-Tawi Regional Agricultural College, University of Eastern Philippines – Catubig Campus, and the University of Rizal System – Tanay Campus.

These SUCs were chosen based on their performance in LEA, geographical location, and availability of computer laboratories with strong Internet connectivity.

Moving forward, the UP also expressed its willingness to help SUCs co
nduct reviews for students for the fisheries and forestry licensure examinations.

Source: Philippines News Agency