Tacurong City takes part in Provincial-wide Clean-up Drive

             (May 8, 2012) Together with the municipalities all over Sultan Kudarat, Tacurong City conducted the Provincial-wide Clean-up Drive last May 7, 2012. More than 100 SPES grantees from the Local Government Unit of Tacurong, Southern Mindanao Institute of Technology (SMIT), and Notre Dame of Tacurong College (NDTC) participated in the said project.

            Assigned areas for the clean-up drive were the public market and the city streets of Tacurong. Participants swept, trimmed the grasses, and accumulated garbage from 9:00 to 10:30 in the morning. This clean-up drive was in coordination with the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), who collected the wastes for proper disposal after the cleaning.

            One of the SPES grantees from LGU-Tacurong, Reny Leen Matta, said, “As a SPES beneficiary and as a Tacurongnon, I realized that I have a great obligation and responsibility in terms of making our city clean and beautiful. Even though it can only be considered as a little help, I know that it already means a lot.”

            The Provincial-wide Clean-up Drive is not a part of the regular programs of SPES. This was incorporated during the employment period of the grantees to raise environmental awareness and protection among youth, as well as to help the City Government in their advocacy to make the environment clean and green. (Ariesha Faith Martinez Dimaano)

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Mayor Montilla awarded scholarship to Singapore executive programme

(May 3, 2012) Mayor Lina O. Montilla was awarded a scholarship to attend the 2^nd run of the Temasek Foundation Water Leadership Programme on April 23-May 4 at the National University of Singapore.
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The two-week Executive Programme was structured by the Temasek Foundation, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore and Public Utilities Board, Singapore’s national water agency.

These organizing institutions selected distinguished teams of academics and policymakers from all over Asia who would benefit from the programme, who are committed in devising innovative thinking to address a critical health sustainability issue that is currently hampering Asia’s progress: “the growing water and sanitation needs of 3.7 billion people.”

Having passed a couple of assessments and interviews, Mayor Montilla, together with the other members of the Philippine Team obtained full tuition expenses and hotel accommodation from the programme. Lunch, tea breaks and transportation were also provided for them.

The Philippine Team was composed of the following personalities:

1.       HON. LINA O. MONTILLA, City Mayor of Tacurong City

2.      Engr. Arn B. Gellangarin, GM, GSC Water District

3.      Engr. Andresito J. Degilla, GM, Polomolok Water District

4.      Prof. Faustino Jerome Babate from General Santos City

5.      Prof. Ma. Adela A. Fiesta from Cotabato City

6.      Mr. Ferdinand Ferrer, Division Mngr., GSC Water District

Other countries also eligible for the scholarship were Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, and China.

The programme was designed for water leaders coming from Asia where increasing water and sanitation demands are currently becoming a challenge. To abet these leaders, the programme exposed them to the best practices in water utilities governance, practical guidance on managing water utilities effectively, and potential strategies to deal with existing and future challenges in their respective countries and localities.

For a convenient and effective learning, the programme was conducted in a state-of-the-art classroom setting with the use of a combination of lectures, case studies and panel discussions among practitioners. The teams also had the opportunity to go on site visits, which immersed them in the real scenario on how Singapore has dealt with challenges on its water resource management. 

Mayor Montilla, along with the other members of the Philippine team, is expected to come home with advanced and improved knowledge on water resource management that would benefit not just the local government of Tacurong but the entire country as a whole. (Jessa Billano)

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SPES grantees participate in Labor Day celebration

            (May 2, 2012) SPES grantees from the local government unit of Tacurong together with other delegations take part in the celebration of Labor Cum SPES Day on May 1, 2012.

            The SPES Day began with a parade of the SPES delegates from different places and schools of the province including Lambayong, President Quirino, Isulan, Bagumbayan, Provincial Capitol, Southern Mindanao Institute of Techonology (SMIT), Notre Dame of Tacurong College (NDTC) among many others. SPES grantees from Notre Dame Diocesan Schools, Quezon Colleges of Southern Philippines, Kings College also joined the whole-day event. SPES grantees of Kimsan Plaza and Tacurong Fit Mart were also present. This was followed by a mass in the NDTC Gymnasium, also the venue for this year’s SPES Day.

In line with PESO’s objective to encourage greening activities for SPES beneficiaries, a tree planting activity was conducted along the national highway of Barangay Griño, Tacurong City. SPES representatives from all over the province were sent in the location to plant 100 seedlings of fire trees.

A blood-letting activity in cooperation with the Philippine National Red Cross, Tacurong City Chapter was also part of the celebration of SPES Cum Day. A number of SPES beneficiaries from the different provinces donated blood for the organization.

LGU Tacurong earned awards in the two highlighted competitions of the event, the yelling competition and the popdance competition, where they both placed third. SPES delegates from President Quirino, Isulan, and SK Capitol brought home awards from the said competitions as well.

Other activities such as “Larong Pinoy,” dance showdowns, and intermission numbers from the delegates were also participated by the SPES grantees, making the whole day activity complete.

DOLE Assistant Regional Director for Region XII, Yahya A. Senti, delivered the Labor Day message and said that he hopes the SPES scholars would become good leaders of the community and the country in the future. Senti also hyped the event by doing a song number and reaching out to the SPES grantees himself.

SPES Day was made possible through Department of Labor and Employment together with the Public Employment Service Offices in the Province of Sultan Kudarat. (Ariesha Faith Martinez Dimaano)

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