Pres. Duterte, gov’t officials break ground for Pampanga hospital in Clark
A provincial hospital that aims to provide affordable and accessible health services will rise at the Clark Freeport as President Rodrigo Duterte and other key government officials broke ground recently for the construction of the medical facility.
“Let me congratulate the provincial government of Pampanga and other partner agencies who helped us achieve this significant feat. I am honored to be with you as I commemorate my last labor day as president. I urge you to remain steadfast in pushing your initiatives to advance the government’s holistic approach towards social development,” Duterte said while he expressed elation over the development of the Pampanga Provincial Hospital in Clark.
The president also cited the suitability of this Freeport as a prime location for the project.
“The strategic location of this hospital will make our services and assistance programs more accessible to neighboring communities,” he added.
According to Pampanga Governor Dennis Pineda, the medical facility will be established in a 9,259 sq. meter lot area at the Changi Gateway in Clark Global City (CGC). The provincial government poured in P200 million and an additional P 500 million approved loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines for the development of the three-storey health facility and parking and service road.
The national government through the Department of Health (DOH) also allotted P50 million for the construction of a two-storey support service building that will complement the hospital.
Other key government officials who witnessed the groundbreaking rites are former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Senator Lawrence “Bong” Go, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III, Pampanga Vice Governor Lilia Pineda, Congressman Carmelo Lazatin II, and Metro Clark local executives including Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin, Jr., and Mabalacat City Mayor Crisostomo Garbo.
Best-in-class
Nestlé Philippines, through the Nestlé Wellness Academy, recently recognized Claremont School of Valenzuela as its Best in Class awardee, topping the program’s inter-school competition among private schools across the country for School Year 2021-2022.
The Best in Class award is given to a private school that is able to qualify and perform at the highest level in two categories: the Wellness Educator of the Year category for teachers who did not only utilize the modules but also applied creativity and skills to drive awareness and appreciation on the importance of health and nutrition; and the Wellness Movers of the Year category for the school that showcased how their students practice the 7 Healthy Habits in order to ‘move them to wellness’ via a fun, energetic and creative dance routine.
As this year’s winner, Claremont School of Valenzuela received a P150,000 cash prize, which they turned over to the school foundation to support scholarships and community outreach programs. In addition, the school received training in Urban Gardening, one of the three advocacy programs that Nestlé Wellness Academy offered to help the school develop.
Other advocacy programs offered were Solid Waste Management and Nutritious & Tasty Cooking.
Last May 6, school representatives from the winning school officially received their prizes and urban gardening kit at the Lipa Integrated Coffee Center, where they also learned more about the proper techniques and innovations that they can apply in starting and managing their own urban garden in school. Exclusive webinar training sessions and learning modules were also made available to help equip Claremont School of Valenzuela with the right tools and knowledge.
CDC, ARTA ink deal for Unified Logistics Pass
The Clark Development Corporation (CDC) and the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) recently inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and a Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) for the pilot implementation of the Unified Logistics Pass (ULP) that will simplify requirements and procedures for transporting goods inside this Freeport.
CDC President and CEO Manuel R. Gaerlan and ARTA Deputy Director General for Operations Usec. Ernesto V. Perez signed the agreement during a simple ceremony held at the CDC corporate office.
According to ARTA, the application of ULP will streamline requirements for a unified Quick Response (QR) Code that will eliminate the varying and separate pass-through stickers being required by economic zones, ports, and local government units (LGUs). The use of ULP will also facilitate easier movement of products and ease port-entry restrictions.
The implementation of ULP supports Republic Act 11032 or also known as the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery of 2018 which was signed into law under the Duterte administration. This law aims to streamline the current systems and procedures of government services. It also mandates all government offices and agencies to adopt simplified processes that will reduce red tape and expedite government transactions.
Other officials who witnessed the signing are CDC Assistant Vice President for Business Enhancement Group Atty. Noelle Mina Meneses, CDC Manager for Public Safety Division BGen. Antonio Rosario, CDC-PSD Assistant Manager Robin Cenzon, CDC Property Officer IV Joseph Robert Franco, CDC Corporate Planning Division (CPD) Assistant Manager Elizabeth Magat, and CDC CPD Officer III Yolanda Pinlac.
ARTA Project Development Officer V Luminada Rotol and ARTA Project Development IV Rudyard Dominick Hipe were also in attendance.
In-person community engagement backed
The volunteers and participants of the first comeback in-person community engagement of I am M.A.D. at Tampayan Elementary School.
I am M.A.D. (Making A Difference) revived its award-winning flagship program called “MAD Camp” with its first comeback face-to-face community engagement held recently at Tampayan Elementary School in Magdiwang, Sibuyan Island, Romblon.
Awarded as one of the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations in 2016 for Culture and the Arts, Peace and Human Development, I am M.A.D. regularly conducts a MAD Camp in key areas nationwide. The community outreach program gathers volunteers together to facilitate values formation activities and engage school children ages 10-12 with games, team-building, storytelling, and workshops. These activities are designed to promote positive Filipino traits, inspiring them to see themselves as dreamers and future leaders with a heart for service.
This year’s 71st edition of MAD Camp in Romblon brought together 30 passionate volunteers from across the country, including six new recruits from Sibuyan Island. It was participated in by 53 school children who each received a “Bag of Dreams” gift set filled with school supplies and its very own activity booklet titled 10 M.A.D. (Munting Aksyon na Dapat) Gawin ng Batang Pilipino.
Spreading smiles
Smile Train ambassadors and Miss Universe Queens, Pia Wurtzbach (2015), Iris Mittenaere (2016) and Demi-Leigh Tebow (2017) pose with Smile Train beneficiaries during their special meet and greet event .
Before hosting the grand coronation night of the Miss Universe Philippines 2022 pageant, Miss Universe queens Pia Wurtzbach, Iris Mittenaere, and Demi-Leigh Tebow met Smile Train beneficiaries under the care of its partner, Noordhoff Craniofacial Foundation of the Philippines, Inc. (NCFPI). The queens reunited for this special gathering to bring awareness about clefts, continuing their important work as advocates of Smile Train.
Smile Train, the world’s largest cleft-focused organization, welcomed them to the Philippines and organized the visit with the support of The Miss Universe Philippines organization.
In the Philippines, Smile Train has continued to provide comprehensive cleft care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the beginning of the pandemic, March 2020, until April 2021, Smile Train has supported 5,490 cleft surgeries in the Philippines.
Bayad, UBX interoperability
Bayad, the country’s authority in bills payment and Meralco’s full service fintech subsidiary has forged partnership with UBX, the leading open finance platform in the Philippines.
Under the agreement, i2i, the banking-as-a-service venture of UBX, will leverage the network of billers of Bayad, allowing i2i banking agents to process payments for Meralco and Home Credit among others.
Apart from this, Bayad and UBX continuously recalibrate its interoperability as they are keen to scale up their ecosystem of billers from basic utilities such as electricity and water, cable & internet, to government contributions and loan payments, school tuition fees, online shopping, insurance, and many others.
This vision of providing a one-stop-shop solution will deliver a more open and accessible financial services to individuals and thousands of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMES) in the country.
With this, sari-sari store owners, carinderia operators, and stall owners in public markets, can rely on Home Credit loans to keep their businesses going, conveniently settle their Meralco bills, and access other bills payment services that respond to the ever-changing needs of Filipinos amid the fast-paced environment brought about by the new normal.
Uplifting lives through bangus farming
Therma Luzon, Inc. (TLI), together with Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (AFI), has partnered with BFAR-National Brackishwater Fisheries Technology Center (NBFTC) and Fisheries Iringan Samahan sa Hanapbuhay (FISH) Primary Service Cooperative to provide members of the Fishermen Organization of Grande Island (FOGI) in their host community in Pagbilao, Quezon with a more sustainable and assured livelihood.
With the Bangus Grande Enterprise project,TLI has provided three 5×5 fish cages and 4,370 fingerlings to help these fishermen kickstart their new livelihood. The first batch of fingerlings were released on March 23, 2022, and will be ready for harvest by the end of May.
BFAR-NBFTC and FISH, meanwhile, are providing technical assistance to the fishermen, including a series of trainings on marketing and post-harvest value-added production.
