‘Fish kill may be due to erratic climate’

BY FELIPE V. CELINO

ROXAS City — What caused the recent fish kill in a river in Brgy. Dulangan, Pilar town?

It may not necessarily be the waste from the Capiz Sugar Central allegedly dumped into the river but natural climatic changes, a Department of Agriculture official said.

The official, who requested for anonymity for being unauthorized to give a statement, said there are many factors that may cause fish kill in an area, and one of them is the changing climate.

However, residents of Brgy. Dulangan continue blaming the sugar central in the nearby President Roxas town for the fish kill that blanketed the river near the village since February 28. 

They flocked to their barangay hall and opened up the problem to the village officials, and asked for their help.

Gov. Victor Tanco, on the other hand, requested Provincial Social Welfare officer Violeta Silva to give assistance to the villagers who have been affected by the fish kill.

Most village residents already fear having no more source of food and livelihood after the fish kill, Merlinda Almorin of Sitio Cantel said.

Folks from the sitios — Gisi, Tinigban, Tubungan, Lahab, Bato-bato, Siha and Cantel — rely on fishing as their source of living.

The molasses allegedly being dumped by the sugar central may have contaminated the river, according to Dulangan Barangay Captain Robinson Benigla, adding that the water smelled of molasses.

But Flora Mae Calmerin, laboratory analyst of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, doubts it.

Calmerin claimed that the water in the area has a low salinity, which may have killed the fishes.

This case, she said, is similar to the fish kill in Brgy. Buntod, Panay.

However, the province’s Aqua Laboratory is not capable of examining and determining the water’s salinity as it is only intended to examine red tide, she said.

Calmerin asked the residents to bring the sample of the river water to the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center in Tigbauan, Iloilo for an examination./PN


 
INTERFAITH RALLY
Not all protesters are anti-RH bill — parent

BY FELIPE V. CELINO

ROXAS City — Are all the 2,000 people who attended the interfaith rally against the controversial Reproductive Health bill on Monday against the proposed law? Well, not all, according to a parent.

Some of them may have been obliged to attend the parade without them really having a clear stand on the issue, the parent who requested for anonymity said.

“My daughter from a Catholic school told me … that their teachers asked them to join the parade without really educating them” about the RH bill, said the parent.

The parent added: It is “so sad … Schools are there to develop critical thinking, not blind obedience.”

About 2,000 persons participated in the interfaith rally against the proposed bill on Monday.

Led by the Catholic Church, most of the participants were students from Catholic schools and other public and private schools, and members of the parishes from the different towns in the province.

They carried placards and streamers with the slogan, “Yes to life, no to RH bill.” The city government also displayed huge anti-RH bill streamers at the public plaza.

Msgr. Vicente Hilata, Roxas City Metropolitan Cathedral vicar general and rector of the Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion, thanked those who attended the activity despite the inclement weather.

“This simply shows that the people in Capiz are pro-life and against RH bill,” said Hilata.

The activity was announced during last Sunday’s Masses in all the churches in the province.

The same activity was recently held in the Eastern Visayan cities of Tacloban and Ormoc, and in Bacolod City.

The gathering ai


 
INTERFAITH RALLY
Not all protesters are anti-RH bill — parent

BY FELIPE V. CELINO

ROXAS City — Are all the 2,000 people who attended the interfaith rally against the controversial Reproductive Health bill on Monday against the proposed law? Well, not all, according to a parent.

Some of them may have been obliged to attend the parade without them really having a clear stand on the issue, the parent who requested for anonymity said.

“My daughter from a Catholic school told me … that their teachers asked them to join the parade without really educating them” about the RH bill, said the parent.

The parent added: It is “so sad … Schools are there to develop critical thinking, not blind obedience.”

About 2,000 persons participated in the interfaith rally against the proposed bill on Monday.

Led by the Catholic Church, most of the participants were students from Catholic schools and other public and private schools, and members of the parishes from the different towns in the province.

They carried placards and streamers with the slogan, “Yes to life, no to RH bill.” The city government also displayed huge anti-RH bill streamers at the public plaza.

Msgr. Vicente Hilata, Roxas City Metropolitan Cathedral vicar general and rector of the Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion, thanked those who attended the activity despite the inclement weather.

“This simply shows that the people in Capiz are pro-life and against RH bill,” said Hilata.

The activity was announced during last Sunday’s Masses in all the churches in the province.

The same activity was recently held in the Eastern Visayan cities of Tacloban and Ormoc, and in Bacolod City.

The gathering aims to inform the people in the Visayas about the contentious issues surrounding the bill./PN


 
2 students bag DOST scholarship

BY JEMIN B. GUILLERMO

ROXAS City — The province has two qualifiers to the scholarship program of the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

According to DOST-Capiz information officer Sharon Portillo, two graduating elementary pupils from Capiz successfully passed the scholarship examinations for incoming first year high school students.

Bea Barolo Artuz of the President Manuel Roxas Memorial School-South and Edmund Rios Vigo Tan of the Capiz Commercial School were among the 91 passers from Western Visayas, Portillo said.

The PSHS national competitive examination was held in November 6 last year, she said. In the province, the examination was held in the Tanque National High School here, she added.

The two students will avail themselves of the government’s scholarship program upon their enrolment in the opening of school year 2011–2012, she said.

PSHS is a specialized public high school system in the Philippines that operates as an attached agency of the DOST.

It offers scholarships to Filipino students who are gifted in the sciences and mathematics.

Admission to the PSHS is by competitive examination only, and only Filipino citizens are eligible to qualify.

Graduates of the PSHS are bound by law to major in the pure and applied sciences, mathematics, or engineering upon entering college.

Under said government scholarship program, the privileges include free tuition fee, free loan of textbooks and monthly stipend.

Uniform, transportation and living allowances are also given to those belonging to the low income groups.

Last year, Kaarlo Sach Tupaz of the President Manuel Roxas Memorial School-South was included in the top 23 passers all over the Philippines, and is now enrolled at th


   
Jamindan sponsors mass wedding

BY ALEX A. LUMAQUE

ROXAS City — Thirty-five couples benefited on the mass wedding sponsored by the municipal government of Jamindan as part of its Civil Registration Month (CRM) celebration.

The newly wed couples were in addition to the 22 pairs of bride and groom in Sigma town who also availed themselves of the municipal government-led wedding.

The mass weddings were administered by mayors Maria T. Andaya and Ethel Jinon of Sigma and Jamindan, respectively.

National Statistics Office-Capiz provincial statistics officer Eriberto Esclamad said aside from the mass weddings, local Civil Registry Offices in the province have also provided a one-day free issuance of certified copies of civil documents.

The month-long celebration with the theme “Quality Civil Registration in Support for National Development Goals” is mandated by Proclamation 682 issued in 1991.

It reminded the citizenry of their duty to register acts and events concerning status of persons and enhance nationwide awareness and appreciation of the legal, administrative and statistical values of civil registry documents. (PIA/PN







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