Customs seize coco cargo at Ormoc port

BUREAU of Customs agents confiscated about 40,000 partially de-husked coconuts at the Ormoc port in the morning of Oct. 5, Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Regional Director Edilberto Nieva reported. Valued at P400,000, the coconuts were loaded on two 10-wheeler trucks.

The cargo was seized after the drivers failed to present a transport permit. The drivers are identified as Julimar Geroquia, 27 of Dumaguete and Alejandro Geslaga, 50 of Mandaue. They were placed in custody at the PCA regional office as they await for the trucks’ owner Rowen Remedio of Carigara town.

The coconuts came from Julita town and were to be transported to Cebu. Nieva said Remedio’s offense pertains to EO 664 establishing emergency measures to control the spread of brontispa (coconut leaf beatle) disease. A transport permit is required to monitor coconuts or seedlings that may be carriers of brontispa. Partially de-husked nuts are capable of germinating during long travels.

Aside from monitoring brontispa, Nieva said they are also preventing smuggling of coconuts after receiving reports these are being shipped to China. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala ordered that the movement of coconuts outside the country be monitored.

(Issue of Oct. 3-9, 2011)

Ormoc farmer is Nat'l Presidential awardee

BARANGAY Captain Alfredo Roble of Valencia, here in Ormoc is one of the awardees of the Agriculture Department’s Gawad Saka 2011 as an Outstanding Hybrid Rice Farmer. He is set to join other awardees in Manila where he will receive a Presidential citation and trophy as well as P100,000 reward.

Prior to that, Roble became a regional awardee and received P30,000. The city government rewarded him P5,000 also. There were three of them finalists for the national search, one from Ifugao province and another from Davao. Eventually, it was Roble who was chosen.

Roble is one of the earliest beneficiaries of Mayor Eric C. Codilla’s Rice Production Enhancement Program in 2004. The program gave inputs (fertilizers, medicines, etc.) to farmers on the condition they will plant hybrid rice seeds and harvest at least 140 cavans of palay (unhusked rice) per hectare.

Yield under the inbred variety is only 90 cavans per hectare. Production is even more increased if the farmer applies the rationing method which allows new tillers to grow from stubbles of the main crop. Farmers who cannot 140 cavans per harvest will have to pay for the inputs. To farmers who want to switch to hybrid rice, Roble advices them apply urea only after 30-40 days from planting. By Jun Colo

(Issue of Oct. 3-9, 2011)

Professional wedding planning comes to Ormoc

WEDDING Coordination has a history as old as time. It can be traced back to the first person who the bride turned to for help – Mother, Aunt, Sister or Florist, Designer, etc.

Angel receives her Certificate of Completion from Rita Neri.

Wedding Coordination the practice of providing professional assistance in conceptualizing, planning and implementing a wedding. The Wedding Coordinator should has the skill and training to charge for service rendered as compared to someone who is doing it on amateur or hobby basis and can provide manpower services in an orderly and organized manner for successful completion of event.

With PAWP President JP Montilla.

 

Angel Aberilla-Dela Torre of Angel’s Events Unlimited is Professional Events Planner and Coordinator before she come in the Events  Planning Business  she was first trained by Philippine Association of Wedding Planners for her to be fully equipped in such profession and recently she participated Rita Neri’s  Seminar Workshop on Professional Wedding Coordination.
 

Rita Neri Event Planners (RNEP) was conceptualized and founded by Rita M. Neri, a nationally renowned professional coordinator for weddings mostly Celebrity Weddings (Charline & Aga, Judy Ann & Ryan Agoncillo, Claudine Baretto & Raymart Santiago etc.) social and corporate events. Rita has over 20 years experience in Special Events Management. As a planner/coordinator, Rita continues to be sought after not only locally but also internationally.
 

“Your Greatest Asset in this profession is YOURSELF. The more professionally disciplined and organized you are, the more successful you will become.”

(Issude of Oct. 3-9, 2011)

The value of ‘Utang na Loob’

I SEE no utang na loob (debt of gratitude) when it comes to parents’ responsibility in rearing up their children by providing love, care and support for it is their continuing obligation for wishing to have a child of their own. While it is a distinctive Filipino cultural value, it is not however obligatory to all.
 

I would, however subscribe to the concept of moral values and integrity but not with the concept of utang na loob. I was once an innocent child. I know nothing about the world and what’s going on around. It is not my choice to live for my existence was out of my state of mind. It is a result of my parents’ family planning.

If a child receives support, sent to school to be educated and guided by their parents, I see no reason for them to say their child has a debt of gratitude for it is part of the parents’ responsibilities and marital obligation to give love, support, and education to their children. The obligation does not end as it continues at any time. I remember one of my friends who was scolded by her mother who said: “Wala kay utang na loob! Gepa-eskwela ka man, gebuhi ka nako!” And so it was pay back time in short.

Why would her mother say that? Was it the choice of the child to exist in this world? Was it necessary for a parent to tell the child about it? I don’t think so. It is and will always be the parents’ responsibility to educate their children, give them life and a better future. There is no reason to say a child has “utang na loob” for it does not exist. It is a wrong concept and should not be considered as a cultural value.

(Issue of Oct. 3-9, 2011)

Staying cool in a traffic jam

WHETHER we're talking about that rush hour traffic or road mishaps or a road construction project that has one lane of traffic closed, traffic jams are perhaps the most frustrating situations we can find ourselves in. If you are like most people, you want to get to where you're going without having to wait.

 

Traffic jams can and will leave you hopelessly stuck with nowhere to go until dozens of cars in front of you begin moving again as they were before you found yourself in this mess to begin with. With that established, it is virtually certain that if you can manage to keep your cool in the midst of a traffic jam, you will be able to remain calm in just about any situation. 

How to keep your cool in a traffic jam is all about learning how to manage your frustrations and anger over being stuck in the traffic jam to ensure the safety of all in your vehicle and of other road users. Everyone has seen horrific incidents of drivers clearly frustrated by being stuck in a traffic jam doing stupid and/or risky things and putting themselves and others at risk. This is something to be avoided at all cost, so it is better to consider ways to keep your cool in advance the next time you are stuck in a traffic jam. 

The first step in learning how to keep your cool in a traffic jam is to practice simple anger management techniques. Open the car window and take deep, cleansing breaths one after another. This may not apply of course in a smog-filled city center but can help in other locales. This helps to alleviate anger, stress and consequently frustration. 

Put the radio on and find a station playing some soothing, perhaps classical, music. Even better, keep a CD of the same in the car and pop it in the CD player when stuck in a traffic jam. Certain types of music are capable of having a very calming effect on all of us, although the types of music which have this effect will vary from individual to individual. 

Try not to dwell upon the consequences of being stuck in the traffic jam. Even if it is going to make you late for the most important meeting of your life, know that there is quite simply nothing that you can do about it and that the issue can and will be dealt with at a later time. Dreading the consequences of being stuck in the traffic jam is a certain way to build up frustration and perhaps cause it to boil over. 

Try thinking about something totally unrelated to the traffic jam. Perhaps there is something in your life which you have been trying to find time to work out. Take the time to do so while stuck in the traffic jam and therefore essentially utilize time which would otherwise be wasted. It could even be in this instance that being stuck in the traffic jam turns out to be a blessing in disguise as a different problem is resolved in this way. 

Whatever tips you engage regarding keeping your cool in a traffic jam, remember also to keep due attention upon what is happening within the traffic jam. Take every safe opportunity to move through it but do not take unnecessary risks and in the fullness of time, you will arrive safely at your destination.

(Issue of Oct. 3-9, 2011)