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Sunday, April 10, 2016
Mati CFLC opens
“The fisherfolk will be able to bring their fish harvest in a clean
facility where the fish will kept clean and fresh,” Benjamin F. S. Tabios, Jr.,
assistant director for administrative services of the Bureau of Fisheries and
Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said during the launch and blessing of the facility.
Mayo Barangay Chairman Noel V. Alo, for his part, said they are
committed to “nurture the project” and will make use of the center to come up
with other projects that will benefit the fishing community.
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Balete bay red tide alert lifted
The Bureau
of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Davao region has lifted the red tide
alert covering Balete Bay in Mati City, Davao Oriental.
BFAR Davao
Region Fish Production Chief Raul Millana said water sampling earlier this
month showed that shellfish from the bay turned out negative of parasitic
poisoning.Thus, he said, shellfish from the bay are now safe for consumption.
Millana
said the toxicity caused by an overgrowth in aquatic microorganisms called
“dinoflagellates” has decreased to safe levels. The death of the microorganisms
which triggered the phenomenon known as algal bloom could have resulted from
the drought, he added.
However,
BFAR Davao Region Director Fatma Idris said that if not addressed, the
siltation which caused the overgrowth of microorganisms will continue to
trigger the red tide in Balete Bay.
The
result of the latest water sampling on Balete Bay was released on March 19,
more than three weeks after the release of an earlier test that showed the bay
was still affected by red tide. BFAR Davao Region and the local government of
Mati City conducted a weekly sampling to ensure the safety of the waters.
“We
have sampling stations there and the previous laboratory results showed high
toxicity in Balete Bay,” Millana said.
Balete Bay was listed as safe, along with six other bays in Mindanao such as Dumaguillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur, Tantanang Bay in Zamboanga Sibugay, Murdelagos in Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Occidental, and Hinatuan, Bislig, and Lianga Bays in Surigao del Sur.(lac)
Monday, March 14, 2016
Fingerlings shortage worry Mindanao fish farmers
The shortage of fingerlings, which comes as a result of erratic temperatures brought about by El Niño, has started to worry fisherfolk in Mindanao.
The
Alcantara Group’s Finfish Hatcheries, Inc., which exports as well as supplies
more than 50% of the country’s total requirements for bangus (milkfish) fry,
has been experiencing lower production with their brood stock laying fewer
eggs.
Rene
Bocaya, Finfish national sales manager, said their 12,000 brood stock at the
50-hectare hatchery in Sarangani normally delivers 1.5 million bangus fry per
month. In January this year, however, it was down to only 29 million, of which
13 million went to Mindanao, 10 million to the Visayas and six million to
Luzon. The situation is stressing the hatchery’s business model because the
bangus fry business supports other operations.
“One
product that sustains us is our bread and butter, the bangus fry, so if we can
produce this it can help subsidize the high value species,” he said, adding
that they are hoping that they volume will improve this month with adjustments
in production.
Bocaya
said there is still a “big gap between demand and supply of high-value species”
though he gave no details.
In
Panabo City, Davao del Norte, the Regional Fisheries Training Center (RFTC)
Employees Cooperative is now operating only five out of its 18 fish enclosures
due to the limited fingerling supply.
The
cooperative has a 46-hectare fishpond in Tagum City solely for fingerling
production.
Alberto
C. Lanojan, RFTC manager, said the organization is also putting on hold plans
to expand the Bangus Sugba Kilaw (BSK) Restaurant, which is a good revenue
earner for the cooperative.
The
restaurant, which also sells bottled and processed bangus, needs up to 3.7
metric tons of bangus per month.
“We
are eyeing the expansion of the BSK Restaurant in Tagum, but we are also
considering if we can meet the additional demand given the situation now,”
Lanojan said. BSK Restaurant sources all
of its bangus supply from RFTC’s fish cages located at the Panabo Mariculture
Park.
Andrew
M. Ventura, chief of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
(BFAR)-Regional National Mariculture Center (NMC), said the NMC too has been
facing lower production.
“There
is a very limited supply of bangus and high-value species fry and fingerling
and garungan (juveniles that weigh 30 to 50 grams),” Ventura said.
More
than 1,500 hectares of brackish water ponds in the Davao Region have been
developed to support the mariculture parks and zones with an estimated fry
requirement of about 240 million.
Ventura
said only about 50% or 1,380 marine fish cage livelihood projects in the region
have been stocked with bangus garungan during the first two months of the year.
The
five mariculture parks and eight mariculture zones in the region contribute
about 60% to local food security and the fish cages cover 47% of the total
employment in the mariculture industry with 1,210 fisherfolk as caretakers,
based on BFAR data.
Ventura
said the government aims to address the situation through the Comprehensive
National Fisheries Industry Development Plan (CNFIDP) Assessment, which was
launched in February this year.
“For
this year the CNFIDP targets an increase in the production of milkfish (4%),
tilapia (6%), shrimp (10%), seaweed (25%), shellfish (10%) and mud crab
(5.4%),” he said.
The
BFAR-NMC met last month with private bangus and high-value species operators
and producers to discuss the fry shortage.
Ventura
said they are still aiming to improve overall supply beginning this year
through coordinated investments in propagation facilities, institutionalizing
good aquaculture practices for key commodities, optimizing the operation of
mariculture parks, and ensuring climate and disaster resilience of the
aquaculture sector, among others.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Family gets support from BFAR XI, thrives on seaweed business
The family of Vilma Albarico, a fisherfolk from Punta Biao in
Davao del Sur, received seaweed propaguls from the Bureau of Fisheries and
Aquatic Resources (BFAR) XI in 2004 allowing them to expand our
seaweed farm.
Albarico the only livelihood she and her family knew was related
to the bounties of the sea. Having been raised by a family who did not only
lived near the sea but who also relied on fishing for their livelihood, she has
learned to embrace the waters and passed this on to her children.
"While
my family fished these waters, we started seaweed farming a long time ago as an
alternate livelihood to add to the family income," Albarico said in an interview.
At that time, she had little capital which she used to buy seaweed propagules
to start with seaweed farming.
Albarico and the other seaweed farmers in the area, consider the sea is a blessing because it allows them to engage in fishing and seaweed farming for free, for as long as they took care of the waters by keeping it clean and debris-free.
Seaweed farming for these folks means making use of a thick twine rope that can withstand the wear and tear of the water and changing weather conditions, which is then tied in the middle of the sea using a makeshift stand that can float at a depth of 15 fathoms. The seaweed propagules are then cut into a standard length depending on their target harvest period and then secured on the rope.
"Very
early in the morning the whole family (including her four children) is a work
day for us because once the seaweeds are set on the rope then we also need to
check on them after planting," she said.
Albarico
said seaweed propagules cut in the regular size of at least three inches could
be harvested within 20-25 days. If there is an order we have to meet at a set
date then we just cut the seaweeds longer and they will be ready for harvest in
two weeks, she added.
"One
line of rope could yield two to three sacks of seaweeds with up to 60 kilos per
sack," she said. The seaweeds, which is commonly known in the market as
"guso" sells at P7 per kilo.
She said seaweeds can thrive once planted but they are wary of thieves in the community who steal the seaweeds especially when prices in the market are high. They also have to contend with seaweed diseases such as "ice ice" which is a condition caused by changes in the water's salinity and temperature. This disease produces a moist substances that induces whitening of the seaweeds and attracts bacteria in the water. When taken for granted, she said, this will lead to the detachment of the seaweed from the rope which means losses for the farmers.
"When
our seaweed farms are attacked by the ice ice disease then this is when we need
the support of government especially in terms of the seaweed propagules,"
she said.
Albarico is a member of the Punta Biao Fisherfolk Association consisting of 45 groups with at least five members per group. While most of them are into seaweed farming, she said there is a plan under the Department of Trade and Industry's Bottom Up Budgeting to invest P700,000 for a seaweed processing plant in the area.
"Demand for guso is always high in the market not only for food but also for industries that process the seaweeds into candies and even chips," she said. Nothing goes to waste, she added, since she dries the damaged guso which she sells at P50 per kilo.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Duterte files CoC for Davao City Mayor
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has just filed his Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) for mayor, far from the expectation that he will run for president now that his daughter Sara Carpio has given her blessing.
Duterte's CoC was handed over to the Commission on Elections (Comelc) at 2:40 p.m. by his Chief Executive Assistant Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go and City Administrator Melchor Quitain.
Go's shirt carried Duterte's message to his supporters which read: “Sinabi ko na, ayaw ko. Ang titigas ng ulo niyo”.
A political strategist of Duterte earlier admitted the last-ditch efforts are being done by Duterte’s family, friends and supporters to convince him to run for president even after his latest public announcement that he has no ambition to become president.
“Yes, I am confirming that following the latest public announcement of Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte that his options were retirement or staying on as Mayor, there were frantic efforts by people close to the family to save the Presidential dream,” former Governor Emmanuel Piñol wrote in his Facebook account Tuesday.
Piñol said he does not want to raise false hopes “but I would consider myself extremely insensitive if I do not share with the millions of Filipinos the latest updates on the Duterte Presidency.”
“And the efforts appear to be paying off,” he said, with his daughter Sara posting positive lines in her social media account that seemed to endorse Duterte’s presidency.
He said that as of yesterday, it appeared that things were going smoothly and that the family could settle the question on who would take over the leadership of the city. While Duterte is pushing Sara to run for mayor, there is always a possibility that Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte would take over considering Sara’s continued refusal to be lured back to politics.
“Everything seems to be falling into proper places and even Duterte's bitter political enemies in the City, the Nograleses, appear to be helpful in resolving the problem,” he said.
Congressman Karlo Nograles, son of former speaker Prospero Nograles filed his CoC for Congress Monday, putting to rest rumors that he would challenge the Duterte’s hold at City Hall.
“The only issue that is going to be addressed now would be the question raised by Mayor Duterte himself when we were almost at the verge of convincing him to backtrack from his earlier pronouncements rejecting the Presidency and announcement that he was heeding the people's call,” he said.
He said Duterte was worried about the people’s reaction if “after saying twice (thrice including Monday's press conference) that I would not run for President, I suddenly face the people and say Ok, I'm running?,"
“I assured Mayor Duterte that the only people who would not like to see you backtrack from your earlier pronouncements would be the people who don't like you to become President," Piñol said.”I told him that there would be a greater number of Filipinos who would prefer that he changes his mind and declares that he was yielding to the call of the people,” he added.
“Yes, I am confirming that following the latest public announcement of Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte that his options were retirement or staying on as Mayor, there were frantic efforts by people close to the family to save the Presidential dream,” former Governor Emmanuel Piñol wrote in his Facebook account Tuesday.
Piñol said he does not want to raise false hopes “but I would consider myself extremely insensitive if I do not share with the millions of Filipinos the latest updates on the Duterte Presidency.”
“And the efforts appear to be paying off,” he said, with his daughter Sara posting positive lines in her social media account that seemed to endorse Duterte’s presidency.
He said that as of yesterday, it appeared that things were going smoothly and that the family could settle the question on who would take over the leadership of the city. While Duterte is pushing Sara to run for mayor, there is always a possibility that Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte would take over considering Sara’s continued refusal to be lured back to politics.
“Everything seems to be falling into proper places and even Duterte's bitter political enemies in the City, the Nograleses, appear to be helpful in resolving the problem,” he said.
Congressman Karlo Nograles, son of former speaker Prospero Nograles filed his CoC for Congress Monday, putting to rest rumors that he would challenge the Duterte’s hold at City Hall.
“The only issue that is going to be addressed now would be the question raised by Mayor Duterte himself when we were almost at the verge of convincing him to backtrack from his earlier pronouncements rejecting the Presidency and announcement that he was heeding the people's call,” he said.
He said Duterte was worried about the people’s reaction if “after saying twice (thrice including Monday's press conference) that I would not run for President, I suddenly face the people and say Ok, I'm running?,"
“I assured Mayor Duterte that the only people who would not like to see you backtrack from your earlier pronouncements would be the people who don't like you to become President," Piñol said.”I told him that there would be a greater number of Filipinos who would prefer that he changes his mind and declares that he was yielding to the call of the people,” he added.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Davao's Badjao fisherfolk proving Bucana is not just a warzone
Fishing is almost effortless
for Carleo D. Arquillano, Purok Leader of St. John in Bucana and his
fellow fishrfolk who, with the help of non-government organization Mindanao
Land (MinLand) and the Bureau of Fish and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), erected early this month a 14-feet deep
fish coral known locally as “bungsod”, a few meters away from the
shoreline. Made of bamboo, net and nylon, the bungsod traps the fish that
dare to venture near the municipal waters.
“Our first harvest
yielded around 50 kilos of herring (tamban), slipmouth fish and bigeye
trevally,” Arquillano said. For the past two days’ harvest, they were
able to raise P3,000 which will go to the coffers of the DAPSA Fisherfolk
Association. The wives of their members sell the fish to the nearby areas and
if there is a surplus, it is sold to the traders who bring it to the market.
Bgy. Bucana has gained
notoriety in the city because of its reputation as a lair of illegal drug
peddlers. However, Arquillano said they are trying to change this by
organizing volunteers to monitor and dissuade drug users and dealers in the
area.
The effort seems to be
paying off, he said, but they are still faced with the problem of poverty which
they hope to remedy through the establishment of various livelihood programs in
the barangays such as fishing.
The area is considered
one of the success stories of MinLand which identified the Badjaos in the area
for their community governance and disaster resiliency project. Of the almost
2,837 purok population with 900 households, there is an estimated 70 Badjao households.
“A study by the city
show that the number one hazard faced by the city is flooding and the Davao
River facing Bucana is one of the coastal communities usually affected by
flooding,” Miraflor Austria, MinLand Urban-Project Team Leader said. Out of the
seven watersheds in the city, the Davao River has been identified as the most
critical.
Austria said the
Badjaos immediately asked for a banga so they can fish but MinLand encouraged
them to shift to other methods of fishing and to adopt new fishing technologies
since “they have been used to the pana-pana method which may no longer be
feasible now given climate change and the reduced marine resources.”
“We always experience
flooding here not only when there are typhoons but even during monsoons,” said
Francesso Bantayan, a trisikad driver who has lived in the area for most of his
life.
While the seasonal
reverses of the wind can be scary and inconvenient for the community, he said
they have become accustomed to this way of life. He said he would grab any
offer of relocation but said it has to be where they can continue with their
livelihood.
The community tried to
plant mangroves along the shoreline to protect them from monsoons and typhoons
but almost all the trees they planted were wiped out by strong winds and the
waves which came with sand due to the siltation in the area.
“MidLand formed a
group of Badjaos and gave them an incentive to plant the mangroves which we
provided,” said Milagros Nakahara, Environmental Management Specialist of the City
Environment and Natural Resources Office.
Nakahara said
they planted one hectare with mangroves in November 2014 but only survived for
a year. Only one mangrove has been left standing and this too is in danger
because the informal settlers have erected structures near the
tree.
Jose Longno of the
City Fishery Office said rehabilitation of the mangroves is out of the question
because the area is not really feasible for planting mangroves. He suggested
the planting of Malibago trees which have been existing in the area for years
since it seems to be the most resilient tree given the nature of the
location.
“We also need to
declare the area as a fish landing area so that we can protect it from future
claimants and from informal settlers,” Punong Barangay Rolando Trajera said.
There is also a need to delineate the area and to limit the number of bungsod
considering that other people would want to take advantage of the fish catch.
BFAR XI Regional Director Fatma idris said the increasing fish
population in the area shows that the yearly declaration of the Closed Season
for Pelagic Fishes in the Davao Gulf from June to August is very effective.
Davao City ordinance No. 093-08, also known as the Fisheries Code of Davao
City, already prohibits the “Catching or selling of Juvenile Fishery Species or
Gravid Spawners” even without the Closed Season. Open fishing season in the
region has been declared for the months of September to May.
The Closed Season in
the Davao Gulf has been implemented only for the past twoyears but has
reportedly increased the fish catch in the region by 26% from September to
December in 2014 compared to the same period last year. BFAR data shows that the fish catch of the
municipal fisherfolk versus the commercial fishers has increased from 25-75
percent prior to the implementation of the Closed Fishing Season to 34-66
percent after the Closed Season.
BFAR National Director Asis
Perez said an increase in the country’s fish catch can be expected with the
implementation of Republic Act 10654 or the Amended Fisheries Code of the
Philippines which became effective on October 10, 2015. Mr. Perez said the
implementation of the Amended Fisheries Code will also strengthen the country's
fight against Illegal, Unreported and Uncontrolled Fishing (IUUF).
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
SPMC:striving to give the masa quality healthcare
“Marginalized people deserve the best too, especially in health care because they do not have a choice but the government hospitals.”
Dr. Leopoldo J. Vega, Chief of Hospital of the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) lived by this mantra ever since he took over the reign of the hospital. After six years, the SPMC stands at par with even the best hospitals in the city in terms of facilities and services.
SPMC has come a long way from a 25-bed capacity hospital along San Pedro St. where it was known as the Davao Public Hospital, to a 1,200-bed capacity hospital which was transferred to J.P. Laurel and through Republic Act 1859, renamed Davao Regional Medical and Training Center. Republic Act 09792, which was enacted in November 19, 2009, however changed the hospital’s name to the Southern Philippines Medical Center.
The SPMC has recently undertaken an estimated P75 million modernization and expansion project and is now equipped with modern facilities. With the limited funds available, the renovation was done gradually in a period of six years. Today, the SPMC is equipped with facilities that can rival even the best private hospitals in the city and the world, with much-improved operating rooms, diagnostic machines and a separate heart center capable of conducting heart surgeries.
While the hospital has a 1,200 authorized inpatient bed capacity, it regularly caters to an additional 900 people on an outpatient basis and up to 750 patients at the emergency room on a daily basis. Around 75% of SPMC’s patients are from Davao City while the rest are from the rest of the region.
“Up to 80% of our patients here are marginalized and indigent patients who have no other access to healthcare,” he said. With the government’s universal healthcare program, SPMC is now able to provide healthcare even to these indigent patients while sustaining its operations.
Vega said the common belief that SPMC offers free healthcare is not really true since majority of those who cannot pay are given financing through PhilHealth. He said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is trying to enroll as many indigents to the government’s healthcare program because “free is no longer tenable.”
“We also enroll our patients to PhilHealth if they come to us without the capacity to pay but they have to be qualified first,” he said. The social workers assigned at the hospital will have to verify the qualification of the indigent patient and the SPMC pays for the P2,400 premium for one year. Surprisingly, SPMC is actually earning from PhilHealth with 80% of its financial income coming from the government health fund.
SPMC’s Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) for the last five years has remained at a rate of P55 thousand per year but the hospital’s electricity expenses alone is pegged at P48 thousand annually. The hospital has not received a share from the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for its capital outlay for the last five years and has only received an infrastructure and capital outlay of P120 million this year.
“We thus have to make sure that we are operating sustainably,” he said. The Davao City government is providing a P20 million annual assistance through the Lingap Para sa Mahirap Program of Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte. The 1,200 bed capacity of SPMC requires 3,500 regular plantilla employees but even if it is servicing twice this number, it only has 745 plantilla employees augmented by 1,500 contractual employees.
“There is a big gap in the number of regular plantilla personnel but we manage thanks to the city’s assistance especially in the hiring of contractual workers,” he said.
Mr. Vega is also very proud of the hospital’s computerized hospital information system which allows doctors to see a patient’s x-ray and other laboratory results in any desktop. The hospital’s portable electronic capability allows the medical records of its patients to be fully digitalized such that the hospital can easily check a patient’s hospital records from 10-15 years ago.
While SPMC also caters to patients who are financially capable and get the same facilities and services enjoyed by the indigent ones, Vega said it is the latter which matters most to them since these are the patients who have no other alternative when it comes to health care. “I am more fulfilled in providing care for these people,” he added/
The Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) was officially awarded by the TUV-SUD-PSB with an ISO 9001:2008 certification making it at par with even the best hospitals in the world.
The TUV-SUD-PSB is an internationally accredited certification body known for its expertise in auditing and certifying a wide range of internationally recognized management systems related to health, safety and environment among others.
“The ISO has been planned two years ago and we have attained it three months ago. We are now given a status of an institution that provides standard of care that is at par with the best hospitals in the world,” Vega said. However, the hospital management is now more concerned in maintaining such accreditation.
The ISO 9001 Quality Management System is the most popular quality improvement standard worldwide. It is in fact the only standard in the 9000 family of standards of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that can be used for the purpose of conformity assessment.
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