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It was in 2009 when the municipal, city and provincial BNS federations of the seven (7) provinces and 14 cities of Central Luzon were organized into a regional federated group, named Central Luzon Association of BNSs, Incorporated or CLABI. Ms. Filipina A. Delos Reyes, president of the local association of BNSs-Bayanihang Bulakenyo in Bulacan Province, was the first elected president and the longest-running CLABI president from 2009 to 2019.
It was in December 2013 when CLABI was registered with the Security Exchange Commission, with the assistance of Ms. Evelyn A. Gamurot, CNPC of Tarlac City and president of the Association of Central Luzon District and City Nutrition Program Coordinators.
The regular meetings of the CLABI officers twice or thrice a year made them more closer, active and visible members of their community. Whenever NNC-Region III reached out to them during, program implementation reviews, trainings and gatherings like BNS Congress, held every two years by NNC-Central Office, their involvement and support to various projects and activities in the community, municipality and provinces grew stronger and motivated. More so, the hardship brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic situations in their communities did not hinder them to share their knowledge, their open hands and all-out support even during enhanced community quarantine.
When a new set of officers was elected on 4 December 2019 at the Saint Ferdinand Hall, Ephatha Development Center-SACOP in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga, the association expressed their desire to hold the induction of its board of officers outside the regional center and their hope that one of the governors in Central Luzon will officiate the oathtaking ceremony.
The big event came on 14 August 2020, the first ever online oath taking ceremony was made possible via Zoom teleconference which was simulcast via Facebook livestream. This special activity coincided with the celebration of Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa and Breastfeeding Month which made the day quite memorable for the 21 members of the CLABI Board and Presidents of their respective provinces and cities. A wish come true, an induction with a governor.
The Virtual Oath Taking Ceremony was officiated by Bulacan Governor Daniel R. Fernando, Chairperson of the Central Luzon Regional Development Council-Subcommittee on Social Development. Governor Fernando spared his precious time with the CLABI Board, not only encouraging them, but also honouring them for painstakingly doing their jobs bounded by the strong ties between the national government and the local government, particularly at the barangay level, the strong ties among the families, health and nutrition workers and the local leaders working as a team to deliver nutrition services amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Governor Fernando also answered some queries of the BNS soon after delivering his inspirational message.
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GUAGUA, Pampanga, Oct. 22 (PIA) -- Municipal government of Guagua vowed to continuously support the town’s agriculture sector despite the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
In an interview, Mayor Dante Torres said the local government continues to implement various programs that will not only help farmers and fisher folks, but will ensure food security and sufficiency among Guaguaeños.
Among these, he said, is the Manukan sa Bakuran project wherein beneficiaries will be given 12 chicks that they will cultivate for possible reproduction.
“Under the program, the beneficiaries will raise the chicks until they lay eggs. Once they hatched their eggs, each beneficiary will then pay back five chicks to the municipal government. We will collect these chicks and will give those to other beneficiaries. In addition, we will also provide a cage and feeds. This way, we can ensure the sustainability of our program,” Torres said.
Aside from that, the mayor said they also provided monggo to augment the income of farmers during the dry season.
“One of our problems here is the lack of irrigation. That is why in order to help our farmers, we decided to put up our own communal irrigation. I am also planning to talk with the director of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to ask for a solar irrigation where our people can get water,” he said.
Read more: Guagua beefs up support to farmers amid COVID-19 pandemic
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TRADING CENTER. 3rd District Board Member and Provincial Committee Chair on Agriculture Atty. Anañias ‘Jun’ Canlas discusses
the establishment of the provincial trading center for Pampanga farmers and traders along with officials of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) and representatives from different farm cooperatives in the province. (Photo courtesy of Pampanga Provincial
Information Office)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Sep. 2 (PIA) -- The provincial government is set to open a trading center that will give farmers and fisherfolks a space to market their products.
The said trade post, which will be the first in the province, will be built in a two-hectare land of the former San Fernando Transport Terminal and Salilungan One-Stop Shop with the help of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and other government agencies.
Governor Dennis Pineda said this aims to boost the agriculture sector in the province, which was affected by the ongoing pandemic.
“The ongoing quarantine restricted the mobility of farmers, causing a delay in agricultural production and price drop. Thus, there is a need for us to aid farmers and fisherfolks in marketing their products,” Pineda said.
Read more: Pampanga to open provincial trading center for agri products
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Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up." – Oliver Wendell Holmes
As the entire Central Luzon was placed under enhanced community quarantine due to COVID-19 pandemic, NNC-Region III anticipated the wide range of outcomes to the nutritional status of the vulnerable groups such as infants, preschool children, pregnant and lactating women, older persons and persons with disabilities due to disruption in routine health, decreased accessibility to food and limited or lack of income, among others.
On 29 May 2020, the National Nutrition Council (NNC) Central Luzon gathered the members of the Central Luzon Association of Nutrition Action Officers (CLANAO) and Nutrition Program Coordinators for Health in a virtual meeting in order to generate reports about the current nutrition and health situation from the gound (local) levels.
The meeting was presided by Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator Ms. Ana Maria B. Rosaldo, with the presence of Ms. Margarita S. Natividad, Nutritionist-Dietitian of DOH CLCHD, who provided information about the gaps and commodities available at the DOH Central Luzon CHD. The NNC-Region III Secretariat was also present to document the proceedings.
Discussion during the meeting focused on the 1) Gaps and needs of supplies; 2) Regional Nutrition Cluster initiatives and response; 3) Good practices; and 4) Accomplishment of the CLANAO members.
The meeting was very productive and participative as attendees reported the challenges faced by individuals and communities in their respective LGUs, such as lost of livelihood, hunger due to lack of food or insufficient money to buy food. Notable was that most of the households with undernourished under-five children, pregnant and lactating women, persons with disabilities and older persons were prioritized by the LGUs in the provision of relief goods and commodities during the quarantine period.
Many of the LGUs became innovative and very creative in the provision of family food packs. The usual rice, noodles and canned goods food packs were enhanced with the inclusion of nutri-bun, fresh vegetables and fruits, eggs, fresh fish, chicken among others. Still many others were engaged in the establishment of Nutri-Wheel (mobile markets) and Community Kitchen to make basic food commodities like rice, eggs, vegetables, pork, chicken and fish available and those produced by local farmers more accessible to the families.
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The National Nutrition Council-Region III commended the Municipality of Talavera, Nueva Ecija and Mabalacat City of Pampanga Province for having their local ordinances initially uploaded in the portal of Compendium of Local Ordinances and Issuances on Nutrition launched during the 6th National Conference of Nutrition Action Officers on 1 October 2020.
The Compendium of Local Ordinances and Issuances on Nutrition (https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1Pa_tFLvLfPqz9g-tVGGo5mzTmj6wlHu_) serves as a knowledge-sharing platform for local government units to learn from initiatives of local government units who have successfully harnessed the strength of policy instruments in scaling up nutrition. The project aims to widely disseminate actual examples of effective local policies on nutrition through the form of an electronic online compilation and a printed publication, that can be publiclty accessed and used as reference by local governments aspiring to improve their implementation of nutrition programs. The compendium is a project of the National Nutrition Council in partnership with the Nutrition Officers Association of the Philippines (NAOPA), with support from Nutrition International and UNICEF Philippines. (Source: www.nnc.gov.ph)
During the launch, 208 local ordinances and 45 executive orders were initially uploaded in the portal, which came from submission from provincial, city and municipal governments across the 17 regions of the country. The uploaded local ordinances and issuances in the portal have been selected based on four criteria, namely: Responsiveness, Coverage and Reach, Impact and Replicability. The selection was done by the NNC Regional Offices and the National Project Team composed of members from the NNC Central Office, NAOPA and the NTEAM TAN Providers.
Talavera Municipal Ordinance No. 15-2019 is an Ordinance Creating a Food Bank in the Municipality of Talavera providing Guidance for the Donation, Operation, Storage and Distribution of Healthy and Nutritious Cooked Meals to Less Fortunate Members of the Community in the Municipality of Talavera. The ordinance was classified under the food security thematic cluster wherein the MunicipaL Nutrition Committee members generate resources and engage private establishment and individuals to take part in the nutrition programs.
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Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Olongapo City Federation President Rodman Barroga discussed their plans to make Olongapo residents,
especially those in the upland communities, to be self-sufficient. This is part of his interview in today’s Network Briefing News with
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar. (Marie Joy S. Carbungco)
OLONGAPO CITY, Zambales, Oct. 15 (PIA) -- Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Olongapo City Federation vowed to continuously push for food security and environment protection programs despite the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
In today’s Network Briefing News with Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar, SK Federation President Rodman Barroga said that the federation came up with long term plans that will aid families in terms of food security.
“With the support of our city government, we came up with a program that can help households and areas, especially in the uplands. This started in August, in time for the Youth Week. Since mass gathering is not allowed, we thought of distributing seeds to upland communities instead,” Barroga said.
The SK official said that the primary aim of this project is to bring food directly to the table of families by promoting urban gardening.
“Especially during this pandemic, we see a shortage of food sources so we thought it is necessary that we help our people plant trees and crops for them to be self-sufficient and self-sustaining,” he said.
Aside from the city government, Barroga also thanked sponsors from other sectors who continuously provide seeds for the sustainability of the program.
“So far, we have seen great response from the people we are trying to help. In fact, some families were already able to harvest from what we planted,” he said.
With this, Barroga called on the youth to be sources of hope during the pandemic by engaging in activities like this.
“To the Gapo youth, let us continue to believe in our ability. Let us continue to believe that our SK officials are capable of doing greater things if we just support them and unite as one,” the SK president said. (CLJD/MJSC-PIA 3)
