Aetas receive gifts from provincial exec

 At least 968 members of the Aeta communities here have benefited to the gift giving activity spearheaded by the Provincial Chief Executive Wednesday. 

Barely three days before Christmas, Governor Lilia “Nanay Baby” Pineda personally visited the villages of Macawat, Nabuklod and San Roman in this town to distribute gifts and groceries to the indigenous people.

“Mahal natin yung ating mga kababayan dito, kasama na ng ating mga kapatid na katutubo kung kayat sa ganitong panahon ay kabilang sila sa  ating mga nililingap at pinag uukulan ng pansin maging ng  panahon,” Pineda said.

The governor also pointed out that she is aware with the condition of the Aeta communities and she stressed, she wants to make their Christmas  meaningful by showing deep concern with them and by  providing foods for ‘noche Buena.’ 

“Gusto kupu ay masaya kayo sa pasko. Nagbigay po kami ng regalo at groceries sa inyo para mayroon kayong pagsalu saluhan sa araw mismo ng pasko,” Pineda added. 

Barangay Nabuklod village chief Roger Apang, meanwhile, disclosed that 200 families in their place received gifts and groceries together with 398 families in Mawacat and 370 in San Roman. 

In a related development, Pineda lamented that the proposed agro-eco tourism park in this town will be pursued by the provincial government early next year to provide employment opportunities  to the aetas.

The governor also claimed that appropriate funds will be allocated to ensure the success of the proposed project.

Municipal gov’t. launches ‘Linaw Mata, Talas Talino’

LUBAO – The municipal government of this town has recently launched a project dubbed as ‘Linaw Mata, Talas Talino’ benefiting elementary pupils in all public schools here. 

According to Mayor Mylene Pineda-Cayabyab, the project has been beneficial to at least 1,349 pupils with visual deficiency. 

“Si Doctora Vivian ay nakapag screen pa  ng may  909 na estudyante sa elementary karamihan sa mga ito ay napag alamang may problema sa paningin hindi nga lang nila pinapansin dahil akala nila ay normal lang na malabo ang mundo. Sa kabuuan ay umabot sa 625 ang nabigyan natin ng libreng salamin,” Pineda-Cayabyab said. 

The mayor pointed out that pupils could not focus with their study if they are having problem with their vision. “Nagkakaroon ng stigma ang bata, akala nila bobo sila dahil hindi sila nakakasunod sa mga lessons nila sa school dahil malabo ang kanilang mga mata, pero kung tutulungan natin sila ay gaganda ang kanilang performance at gaganda ang kanilang kumpiyansa sa sarili nila,” she added. 

Dra. Vivian Sarabia, member of the Board of Optometry, who conducted the screening, stressed that,  school officials particularly the teachers should be equipped with  basic knowledge regarding visual deficiency for them to identify this early pupils suspected to be visually impaired.

Sarabia claimed that Lubao is only a pilot test for this project as this could be duplicate in other towns in the province and even nationwide with the help of former President and now Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. 

As this developed, Pineda-Cayabyab vowed  to continuously support the said  project in order  to increase the number of the beneficiaries annually. 

“Pipilitin po natin na magawa ito taon taon, mabigyan ng salamin ang ating mga estudyanteng nangangailangan, gagawin natin ang lahat ng ating makakaya upang magtuloy tuloy ang proyekto,” she said.

Capitol job order personnel jubilant over unexpected gifts

At least 436 job order personnel of the Pampanga provincial capitol today expressed their thanks and gratitude to Governor Lilia G. Pineda as she made true her promise of giving them cash gifts of more than P1.3-million.

Each job order personnel received P3,000.00 plus two whole chickens as Christmas gifts, a much welcome personal gesture from the provincial governor.

Just the day before, the Governor announced that job order personnel of the provincial Capitol employees will also be receiving their Christmas gifts.

The governor’s announcement, met with loud cheers, shouts of joy and thunderous hand clapping, was made during her first Christmas party with regular, casual and job order personnel of the provincial capitol held at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center last Monday. She also gave P150,000 for the party’s additional raffle prizes.

Earlier, the Governor made possible the distribution of P40,000.00 productivity enhancement cash incentives to each regular and casual employees of the provincial capitol. These employees were also given two whole chickens as additional gifts.

“Ibinigay ko lamang ang inyong karapatan,” the Governor explained referring to the additional bonus received by employees last December 15.

She stressed, however, that “pero may mga kasama tayong job order na nalulungkot dahil hindi sila kabilang sa incentives na ipinamigay.”

To this, she committed that “personal kong pagsisikapang mabigyan ang mga job order ng bonus bagamat hindi kapareho ng natanggap ng mga regular at casual na empleyado.”

“Hindi na ako mamimimili ngayong Pasko para matiyak ito,” the Governor, with a touch of humor, assured the job order personnel who were visibly jubilant and touched by her concern for their plight.

The employees rendered a Kapampangan song thanking the Governor for making their Christmas happy and colorful even as they wished her good health, happiness and continuous blessings from the Lord Almighty.

Concerned department heads and officials of the province paid tribute and offered flowers to the Governor as their way of showing their appreciation of her outstanding accomplishments.

Department heads led by Provincial Administrator Atty. Andres Pangilinan, Jr. ;Human Resource Management Officer Luis Rivera; Environment and Natural Resources Officer Art Punzalan; Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Augusto Baluyut; Employment Service Office Luningning Vergara; Librarian Bessie D.Makabali; Cooperative and Entrepreneurial Development Office Bert Gatus; Arts, Culture and Tourism Officer Rey Arciga; Action Center for OFW Concerns Head Eliza Gomez; and Information Officer Joel Mapiles were among those present in the said event.

More so, Vice-Governor Joseller Guiao, Board Members Mons Laus, Trina Dizon, Nestor Tolentino, Ric Yabut and Tars Halili joined the merrymaking which according to long-time employees of the Capitol was a first in the history of the province.

To add more fun to the party, the Governor contributed P150,000.00 cash for the raffle in addition to the sacks of rice, television set, washing machines, gas stove, rice cooker and other  appliances given away to the lucky employees.

Governor Pineda brings home landslide victims

Arayat – Pampanga Governor Lilia “Nanay Baby” Pineda gave her early Christmas gifts for the 64 families who were last year’s landslide victims during typhoon Ondoy in Barangay San Juan Bano, Arayat as she led the turnover of the bunkhouses on December 15, 2010. 

The construction of the bunkhouses was made possible through the joint efforts of all the officials in the province. Pineda said that the construction of the bunkhouses was funded by the provincial government while Third District Representative Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, Jr. purchased the lot for the victims.

Congressman Dong Gonzales wasn’t able to grace the event because of his prior commitments but he sent his Chief of Staff to relay his message to the people, assuring the victims of his continuing support until they fully recover from the tragedy.

On the other hand, it can be recalled that the governor led the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the bunkhouses last September 26, and after more than two months of construction they are now ready for occupancy.

More than Php5.7 million of provincial government funds were used in building the said bunkhouses while the office of Gonzales spent Php1.5 million for the lot.