Siquijor Red Cross instills volunteerism
SIQUIJOR, May 9 (PIA)--- The campaign for disaster preparedness is getting more and more crucial by the day as both natural and man-made calamities are occurring and recurring at a most unexpected time and place.
In this light, the Red Cross-Siquijor recently held its Chapter Board of Directors Election and Orientation at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) Session Hall, Provincial Capitol attended by more than 20 candidates for Board of Directors (BODs) and incumbents composed of DepEd personnel, local officials, government employees and those from the private sector whose aim was to familiarize the present and prospective candidates for BODs their future tasks and functions and the importance of volunteerism as stand-in support during emergencies and/or urgent situations.
The newly-elect members of the Board of Directors are: Chairman – Arturo Pacatang, Vice-chairman – Marcelino C. Oro, Secretary –Bennie Jun G. Bantawig, Treas. – Karen May Janggas-Atad, Asst. Treas. – Panfilo U. Bagotchay, P.R.O. – Dr. Rosita T. Bidad, Auditor – Engr. Rito B. Abapo, and Project Coordinators – Pepita A. Vios and Marylin M. dela Peña.
Among these nine members, the following were also chosen as members of Chairmanship of the Different Services: Blood Program – Mr. Bantawig, Disaster Management Service – Engr. Abapo, Safety Services – Mr. Bagotchay, Social Services – Mrs. Dela Peña, Community Health Nursing Service – Mrs. Vios, and Red Cross Youth – Ms. Janggas-Atad.
Following the election was an orientation activity where Leonilo Lagasca II, the Dissemination Officer from International Humanitarian Law Office (IHL) encouraged everybody present during the orientation to help promote Red Cross to Siquijor communities.
Lagasca was emphatic in his talk about the proper use of the emblem or logo, be it the Red Cross (1864) or Red Crescent (1929) or the Red Crystal (2005), which is sometimes misused by some identities and business entities.
A campaign through motorcade around the province on the proper use of Red Cross logo will also be held today (May 9, 2011). This will be the first step towards making Siquijor an Emblem Misuse-Free (EMF) province like General Santos City, Masbate, Sultan Kudarat, Quezon Cityand other places around the world, the Red Cross said.
The Philippine Red Cross (formerly Philippine National Red Crossbut was later changed by virtue of Republic Act 10072) entitles punishment to those who misuse any of the 3 emblems such as penalty for Php 50,000 and/or imprisonment.
Lagasca stressed further that using police mobile cars or ambulances bearing the Red Cross logo is strictly prohibited and that abuse on the use of the logo is punishable by law.
Lagasca also said that the Siquijor Chapter is classified as Class-D and that its budgetary requirement to maintain its present classification is below P5M but not less than P2M annually though it is a great challenge to the BODs on how to achieve such budget every year.
Lagasca said that PRC, being an independent organization, which does not receive budget from the LGUs, should work on its own to continue its mandate of serving and helping victims of armed conflicts and natural calamities.
It was also learned that Siquijor Chapter is very poor in terms of blood donations so that its blood bank presently contains only one bag each of blood types “O” and “AB”. This situation could not supply blood for needy patients/victims, thus the need for a more extensive campaign for blood donors.
PRC-Siquijor Chapter Administrator Rowena Maputi meanwhile said that anyone could be a blood donor provided that he or she is between 18 to 60 years old, physically healthy and weighs 50 kilograms or more. She, however, said that blood donations are oftentimes delayed because the process is done outside the province and expenses are indispensable. (Rizalie A. Calibo/PIA-Siquijor/Richard Aresgado)
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Feature: Badjao mother and daughter take pride in going to school
CEBU CITY, May 8 (PIA) --- Amina Isnani, 11 years old of Badjao descendants notices considerable changes in her family’s attitude towards education as she and her mother take pride in going to school everyday.
This happened a year ago when the government through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-7) in the region enrolled Amina’s family as one of the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in Cebu City.
Amina’s parents and grandparents settled at Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City, a coastal barangay where most of the Badjaos from Mindanao set up their homes hoping to start a new life, new work.
Amina can never relate with the history book saying Badjao’s are proud people rich in culture because she was born amidst poverty and society considered them different.
She came to accept some facts as reality such as not celebrating birthdays; most of the mothers and fathers in her neighborhood are un-school and the children are neither encouraged to go school and begging is what they call work.
However, all these started to change two years ago.
“Giingnan mi nga na-apil kuno mi ug programa sa gobyerno mao nga kinahanglan na kuno mi musulod ug klase kada adlaw aron mi mahatagan ug hinabang,” (We were told that we are part of a government program and that the children are mandated to go to school everyday so we can be given cash assistance.) Amina said.
“Ug si mama mangutana na kung unsa akong kinahanglanon sa eskwelahan,” (Surprisingly, my mother starts asking me what I need in school.) Amina added.
The program Amina refers to is the DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the national government that gives assistance to the country’s poorest of the poor through a conditional cash grant intended to education, health and nutrition.
Each household is to receive P500/month to assist the beneficiaries on their needs for health and nutrition while P300/month per child is given to the children within the household aged 14 years old below but a maximum of three children only per household.
For Amina’s family they receive the maximum of P1,400/month that goes a long way not only for food and education for her and her siblings but it also became an inspiration for her illiterate mother to go back to school.
Is Amina ashamed of her 43 year old mother going back to school?
“Wala gyud ko maulaw nga si mama mo-eskwela ug balik. Wala may naka eskwela sa mga kaila ni mama diri sa amoa, mao nga ganahan mi magso-on makat-on siya aron makalakaw na siya sa siyudad nga siya nalang ug dili mahadlok ug mauwaw mu duol og mga tawo,” (I was never embarrassed. Nobody in our community went to school in my mother’s time that is why my siblings and I want her to learn so she will no longer be afraid to go to the city on her own and she will no longer be ashamed to face and talk to people.) Amina answered.
With this situation in her family, Amina now takes time to assist her mother doing her homework while the rest of her siblings give her the encouragement and most of all, her siblings who dropped out of school are now looking forward to going back to school this June.
Discovering education in Amina’s family has started a new and brighter cycle of life in the Badjao Community in Mambaling, considered as the poorest barangay in Cebu City (PIA-7/MBCN with reports from DSWD-7/Aileen P. Lariba, IO)