P2-M for Talaandig’s coffee processing center in Valencia City
The City Government of Valencia, Bukidnon has allotted P2 million for the construction of a coffee processing center for the Talaandig indigenous peoples (IPs).
Valencia Mayor Azucena Huervas said the money is a counterpart funding with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to boost the income of the Talaandig IPs belonging to the Mangayahay Tribal Association.
Under the agreement, the DOST will provide coffee processing equipment, including a pulper, dehydrator and coffee bean grinder machines to the IP organization.
Huervas said the DOST will also provide technical training to the tribe.
Married, single mothers can now join Mutya ng Dabaw
Married women and single mothers will be allowed to join the prestigious Mutya ng Dabaw, the annual beauty pageant in Davao City, an official said.
Jennifer Ricardo Romero, City Information Office operations chief, said they earlier scrapped the age and height requirements for contestants.
“We try to be more inclusive. We started it last year, where we took out the age limit and height requirements,” Romero told reporters.
Some 85 contestants showed up during the Mutya ng Dabaw screening at the Waterfront Insular Hotel last week.
BFAR issues red tide warning for shellfish, alamang in Surigao provinces
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) issued a warning Wednesday, February 14, that all kinds of shellfish and alamang (Acetes sp) caught in Lianga Bay in Surigao del Sur and the coastal waters of San Benito in Surigao del Norte are unfit for human consumption.
The BFAR issued Shellfish Bulletin No. 3 that said laboratory tests conducted in the waters off San Benito and Lianga Bay are still positive of Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP) or toxic red tide.
“The PSP or toxic red tide in shellfish (and alamang) collected from those areas are beyond the regulatory limits,” the bulletin said.
The BFAR said, however, that fish, shrimps and crabs caught in these areas are safe for consumption provided they are caught fresh and washed thoroughly.
Remote Agusan Norte village bids goodbye to ‘lamparas’
After years of relying on “lamparas” (gas lamps) for light, a remote village have been energized, thanks to the joint efforts of the Agusan del Norte Electric Cooperative (ANECO) and the National Electrification Administration (NEA).
At least 30 houses owned by Higaonon indigenous peoples in Sitio Salaming, Barangay Bokbokon in Las Nieves town were provided with lights during a switch-on ceremony attended by Agusan del Norte officials last Monday.
Las Nieves town information officer Michael Mandahinog said five other sub-villages in Bokbokon would be lighted this year.
Mandahinog identified these as Panabol, Baligihan, Bakidkid, Binaway and Makabay.
He said the lighting project would benefit 200 more Higaonon households.
