Liquified petroleum gas (LPG) anti-leak safety device

by Flor Jackson

Concerned with the proper use of the liquified petroleum gas (LPG) anti-leak safety device, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has asked every household owners who are using this safety gadget if the unit they are using for their LPG tanks are safe to use.

The question was asked by the DTI because it has been observed that LPG anti-leak safety device are flooding the market now which according to DTI, the safeness of said equipment has not been assured that it will not cause fire accidents.

In the liquified petroleum gas or LPG industry, the "anti-leak" safety device refers to the excess flow limiter or otherwise known as excess flow valves. These valves according to DTI automatically closes if there is an excess flow of gas that usually happens if holes develop in the LPG hose and tubings.

Because of this, the DTI declared that the safety device cannot safely protect the holes in other parts of the LPG such as the copper tube hose, thread leak in the connection area and accidental fire caused by stove that was left open.

DTI added that some stove users, open valves at low level because by doing so, detection of small pin holes at the LPG tubings becomes easy, however, this will also cause the eventual stoppage of the supply of gas that flows in the tube from the tank to the stove.

In order to avoid fire accidents resulting from the wrong installation of these LPG anti-leak device, DTI advised household owners who are using this kind of device to consults and seek the services of a technician who is an expert in installing this gadget and likewise certified by the Philippine LPG Association.

Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines and Constitutional Change

The blessing of the Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines to the ongoing nationwide consultation and advocacy campaign on Constitutional Amendments being implemented by the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines is a breakthrough.

While the Senate and Lower House are in a stalemate to amend the Constitution, the momentum is building up in the local level, OFWs, business groups, private organizations, non-government organizations and even among the churches.

With the Catholic bishops backing, the nationwide consultation and information drive could now go full blast with new vigor and elicit widespread discussion, meaningful participation and wider support. As this happen more people will be empowered to make informed decision, inevitably the constitutional shift is coming to a head.

Meanwhile, a people's initiative by Sigaw ng Bayan has so far gathered seven million signatures for the shift. Election officers have verified a minimum of three percent required from 198 districts with only 15 to go.

DOST's Small Entrepreneur Technology Upgrading Program (SET UP)

by Benjie S. de Yro

A university professor in this capital town who is a recipient of the "Ulang project" under Small Entrepreneur Technology Upgrading Program (SET UP) of the Department of Science and Technology has produced the biggest ulang or fresh river prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) compared to the same specie produced by Regions 5, 6, 9 and 12, according Director Urduja Tejada.

"The fish farmer-professor identified as Enrico Santos whose farm is located at Barangay Marana here harvested 12 piece per kilo, breaking the existing record harvest of the Bicol region which registered 20 pieces per harvest," Tejada said.

The project is in collaboration between with DOST and the World Fish Center which provided technical assistance through the latter's Aquaculture Scientist Hermogenes Tambalque.

"We assisted five other regions in the country and this is the first time we were able to harvest such sizes," Tambalque said.

Prior to last week's ceremonial harvest attended by both agencies and other fish farmers in the area, Santos already has a ready market for his produce which he intends to sell at P350 a kilo.

From his 600 square meter pond, he will be able to net an income of P40,000 or a return of investment of 75 percent. He said he will develop another pond for his ulang as a result of such encouraging income which he earned in just four months.

Santos revealed that during the first two months, he spent almost 40 bags of commercial feeds until DOST and World Fish introduced to him the green feeding technology.

As the name suggests, vegetable waste are chopped and blanched as an alternative feeds to the prawns. The technology, Santos admitted, saved him production cost as his commercial feeds dramatically dropped from 40 bags to only 4 bags during the last two months of the operation.

DOST provided Santos with 4,000 pieces of post larvae ulang which he seeded in June.

Tejada expressed hope that with more production at less expense, other fish farmers will likewise venture into ulang culture as alternative to rice and corn production.

Panama wilt attacks Davao farms

By Aurelio A. Pena

"Panama wilt," a plant disease which has been devastating farms in Davao Region during the last few years, has remained as the "biggest threat" to the country's banana industry.

Also known to agri-researchers as "frusarium", this plant disease turns leaves of banana plants from green to yellow, then to brown and black, killing the whole plant.

Rene Dalayon, president of the Mindanao Banana Growers and Exporters Association (MBGEA) said "if nothing is done to fight this plant disease, the entire Philippine banana industry will be wiped out in five to ten years."

"Many banana plantations have already been abandoned by our farmers and growers. There's no way we can control this disease. All we do is just to quarantine the affected areas to keep the disease from spreading to other plantations," Dalayon said.

The MBGEA president, who also heads the banana industry cluster as its chairman, urged all regional directors of government agencies like the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)"to see for themselves what's really happening to the banana industry" here in the Davao Region.

"It's much better if all the regional directors can see with their own eyes the extensive damage done by this plant disease in the region," Dalayon said during a meeting with consultants of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at DTI regional office here.

Dalayon, along with members of the banana industry cluster, submitted a proposal for its own research project to find ways to fight and control Panama wilt in the banana plantations run by small growers and farmers in the Davao region.

The research proposal was submitted as part of the second phase of the Davao Industry Cluster Capacity Enhancement Project or DICCEP-2, a joint project of JICA and DTI supported by government agencies, academe, local government agencies and private sector.

A complete research proposal was presented formally to JICA and DTI by Dr. Geronima Estimada, a plant scientist from the agro-research school Southern Philippines Agri-Business, Marine and Aquatic School of Technology (SPAMAST) in Davao del Sur.

Planting and growing falcatta trees still generates a lot of income

By Aurelio A. Pena

Planting and growing falcatta trees still generates a lot of income for many tree farmers in the Davao Region.

This was made clear by the forest division chief Alfredo Zarasate of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to consultants of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) during a recent workshop of the National Industry Cluster Capacity Enhancement Project (NICCEP), a joint project of JICA and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Zarasate, who also sits as chairman of the wood industry cluster, said the demand for falcatta has remained strong among factories in Mindanao that uses this soft wood specie in the manufacture of plywood and paper.

"There's still a big demand for falcatta and tree farmers are still planting and expanding their tree plantations to meet this demand from wood manufacturing plants in Mindanao," Zarasate told JICA consultants.

The wood cluster chairman cited manufacturing firms like Alcantara and Sons which is still buying big volumes of falcatta from tree farmers for its plywood production.

Zarasate also cited the banana industry which is urging tree farmers to grow more falcatta for its huge demand for banana poles in the banana plantations.

According to Zarasate, the region is running out of supply of naturally-grown wood trees which might not last in the years ahead. This tight supply is moving DENR to encourage more tree plantations in the Davao region with private firms investing in tree plantations.

"We like to see more tree plantations run by the private sector to meet the increasing demand for more wood by various industries," Zarasate said.

In the National Greening Program of the government, the DENR is determined to see more planting programs for indigenous species like molave, lawaan, narra and acacia, Zarasate said.

"These are the natural species we like to propagate in this national tree program as part of our efforts on reforestation" he said.

Tree farmers, on the other hand, have began losing interest in the planting of Gmelina trees due to its low market demand in the wood industry, but in the near future this demand is still expected to recover depending on the market conditions in the Davao Region, Zarasate said.

Police Senior Inspector Marcelito Garcia Shot Dead

A former police chief in coastal Palanan town and now head of the police rescue team died at about 10:45 a.m.Monday after he was attacked by armed men in a pre-christening celebration in Barangay San Lorenzo, Iguig, Cagayan on October 3.

Police Senior Supt. Franklin Moises Mabanag, Isabela police director, said the fatality, Police Senior Inspector Marcelito Garcia, Search and Rescue Team leader of the 2nd Maneuver Platoon of the Isabela Provincial Public Safety Company died while being treated at the St. Paul Hospital in this city.

Mabanag said Garcia had an early celebration with friends for a supposed christening of his child on October 3 but an unidentified armed gunman shot him and hurriedly left with a motorcycle.

Violator of Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002

By Alfredo L. Vargas Jr.

Barely nine months after an acquittal for charges of violations of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, a suspected drug pusher was arrested again by PDEA operatives while in the act of selling methamphetamine hydrochloride (Shabu) in an urban village here.

Arrested was Joven Barcelon, a resident of Barangay Binanuahan, this city, in a buy bust operation jointly conducted by PDEA and the city police.

PDEA Bicol director Archie A Grande said that prior to the entrapment, a series of test buy fielding different poseur buyers were done, which resulted to confirmation of the suspect's involvement in illegal drug sale in the barangay and other contiguous villages.

A PDEA team led by Agent Jonathan Ivan Revilla and another team from the city police led by Senior Inspector Steve Dela Rosa baited Barcelon with a female operative acting as poseur buyer and arrested the suspect while in the act of receiving the marked P500 peso bill as payment for a plastic sachet containing suspected shabu.

Barcelon was charged in 2009 for similar offense but was acquitted by the court in January this year.

Former Governor Runs Provincial Board Member

Former Compostela Valley Governor Jose Caballero filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) as independent candidate for provincial board member of district 2 late Friday afternoon.

His COC was filed by his lawyer Roland Tusay.

Caballero said he is running for the post in next year's election since he is a lawyer.

"I can do a lot to serve and infuse ideas for good provincial leadership, for good governance and for public service. I can humble myself for the sake of public service. It is not the position that is important but public service," he said.

Caballero was the first elected governor of Compostela Valley after its creation in 1998 from mother province of Davao del Norte. He held the governor's post for three terms ending in 2007.

The former governor has his daughter Kris Caballero, a first-termer board member in the same district, running for reelection under the Liberal Party led by current second-termer Governor Arturo Uy.

Uy is unopposed in next year's polls for his last term and has as runningmate for vice governor ex-Congressman Manuel "Way Kurat" Zamora, who is opposed by independent candidate Franco Tito, erstwhile famed ex-barangay captain of Mt. Diwalwal.

On the other hand, controversial former police superintendent Cesar Mancao II is running for board member in the province's first district. He ran for congressman in the same district in 2010 polls but lost to first-termer Congresswoman Maricar Zamora, who this time around has no opponent in her reelection bid in the 2013 polls.

Mancao was questioned by Sen. Panfilo Lacson as a government witness in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case. The Department of Justice tried to transfer Mancao's custody from the department's Witness Protection Program (WPP) to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Earlier, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said that because of the Supreme Court's affirmation of a Court of Appeals ruling that Mancao was an unreliable witness and the Manila Regional Trial Court's decision to deny Mancao's motion to be discharged as co-accused and to turn witness, there was no basis anymore to have him covered by the WPP. Discharging Mancao as a state witness would make him one of the accused, a legal scenario that is yet being challenged by Mancao's lawyers.

DSWD Fights Malnutrition and Poverty

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Davao gave this city over P5 million for its continued drive against malnutrition and poverty.

City Councilor De Carlo Uy said the DSWD gave a total of P5,499,710.40 to fund its various nutrition programs for the city's 23 barangays.

Uy, chairperson of the city council budget committee, said the fund is intended for programs on nutrition, especially among pre-schoolers in the city's 84 day care centers.

Mayor Rey Uy said the fund is a boost to the city's drive at eradicating malnutrition and hunger as well as helping increase the learning abilities of pre-schoolers by providing them nutritious food during feeding programs.

Seal of Good Housekeeping in Iloilo

Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor, Sr. and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Regional Dir. Evelyn Trompeta unveiled on Monday the Seal of Good Housekeeping at the lobby of the capitol that it won in 2011.

Speaking during the unveiling ceremonies, Dir. Trompeta congratulated Gov. Defensor and other local officials and employees of the Iloilo provincial government for exercising transparency and accountability that earned its award.

"All the procurement processes must be in compliance with the law," Trompeta explained adding that to ensure compliance with the full disclosure policy the DILG requires posting of 14 documents in conspicuous places or on the website of the LGU to show how much is the budget of the province and where it goes.

Along with the marker, the DILG is giving the province P7 million as its financial reward.

Defensor said the award money will be used to finance road improvements.