At least 52 soldiers, 21 of them from the Army's 4th Infantry (Diamond) Division (ID) were awarded certificates of ownership to their new homes at Camp Osito Bahian in Malaybalay City, while a new commander took over the 403rd Brigade of the 4th ID. Major Gen. Chan, 4th ID commander, said the awarding of certificates is the Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP's) response to the housing problem faced by most of the soldiers. "This will greatly boost their morale and motivate them to work harder and accomplish their assigned tasks with excellence," he added. The AFP housing program under the "Kalinga sa Kawal Housing Project" grants each beneficiary with a 150-square meter lot and a house to be paid under a 50-50 sharing scheme between beneficiary and donors. The program was formulated and realized through partnerships between the Department of National Defense (DND), AFP, Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation, Inc (GKCDFI), Office of Senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Office of former Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. in June 16, 2005. (Elena Aben) Local officials seek intervention KORONADAL CITY - Local government heads from South Cotabato and Davao del Sur are set to petition South Cotabato Gov. Arthur Pingoy to heed the call of President Aquino for a "meeting of the minds" of the public and private sector stakeholders in resolving the issues involving the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project (TCGP). Kiblawan Mayor Marivic Diamante insists that there should be a "meeting of the minds" as suggested by President Aquino. "The issue affects the lives of many, the majority, especially those municipalities that are receiving very minimal Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) such as Kiblawan," said Diamante. "It is good that Governor Pingoy will review the Environment Code," the mayor said. "Kiblawan is a poor municipality, 90 percent of our people are poor. We need this project," Diamante pointed out. The local chief executives of the municipalities of Kiblawan, Davao del Sur, Tampakan, South Cotabato, and Columbio, Sultan Kudarat are preparing a petition addressed to Pingoy. The province of South Cotabato has recently passed an Environment Code that bans open-pit mining, a method that is said to be the only possible method to sustainably develop the TCGP. W.M. students found low in Math, Science PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur - Public high school students in Western Mindanao have been found academically weak in the major subject areas of Mathematics and Science.
This was disclosed by the results of the 2010 Regional Secondary Achievement Test (RSAT) conducted recently by the Region 9 office here of the Department of Education (DepEd 9) in the schools divisions of Zamboanga del Sur, Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga City, Dapitan City, Zamboanga Sibugay, Pagadian City, and Isabela City (Basilan).
Dr. Walter O. Albos, DepEd 9 director, said the RSAT covered seven subject areas, namely, English, Filipino, Mathematics, Science, Values Education (VE), Araling Panlipunan, and Music, Arts, Physical Education and Health (MAPEH). Albos said the test was administered separately by regional and division education supervisors to 3,876 senior and 3,890 sophomore students in 84 secondary schools throughout the Muslim-Christian region. (Tony Pe. Rimando)
