The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) Gender Center is holding a series of activities during the month-long celebration of its fifth anniversary with the theme “Makabagong Pakikibaka ng Kababaihan Tungo sa Tuwid na Daan.”

With the cooperation of the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod and the Department of Human Kinetics (DHK), the kick-off activity on practical self-defense training was held on July 5 at the Copeland Gymnasium. On July 9, Disaster Risk and Basic Survival Technique Training will be held at the Baker Hall.

On July 24, the film “In Nomine Matris” will be shown at the D. L. Umali Auditorium, in partnership with the Sigma Alpha Nu Sorority, while a public forum will be held on July 29 at the A. G, Samonte Hall with Carolina “Bobbie” Malay-Ocampo as guest speaker.

There is also a poster-making contest open to all UPLB students, alumni, faculty and staff.

The UPLB Gender Center holds campus-wide seminars, receives complaints of sexual harassment, coordinates special counseling and referral programs, and orients new students on gender sensitivity and anti-sexual harassment. (Arielina P. Arevalo)

An estimated 1,000 job-seekers went to the Los Baños Municipal Court on June 28 for the job fair organized by the Public Employment Service Office (PESO), in cooperation with overseas jobs website WorkAbroad.ph and the Rotary Club of Los Baños Makiling.

A total of 22 overseas agencies and 50 local companies screened applicants for jobs for vacancies. These companies are looking for production operators, engineers, managers, and clerks.

Aside from the job fair, there were also seminars on enterprise development and financial coaching.

Gliceria Trinidad, LB PESO manager, said that the activity benefits both the local government and the private companies: the opening of jobs to high school students, college undergraduates, and other unemployed adults gives the people economic opportunities, while the companies are able to meet their need for human resources.

Job applicants and representatives of the participating companies agree with Trinidad’s view.

Ronel Jumaquio, an applicant for the post of production operator, appreciates the wide variety of posted job openings.

“Makakapamili ka kung ano ang gusto mo – di lang kung anong job ang gusto mo kundi anong career ang gusto mong pasukin,” he said. (You may choose what you like – not just the job but the career path as well.)

Junji Talatayon, hiring personnel of BSFil Technologies, said that people who applied during last Friday’s job fair have high chances of getting hired because they give premium to Laguna-based applicants since vacancies are in their Laguna site.

“Mas maganda [ang ganitong job fair] kasi ang mga applicants, taga-Laguna rin talaga,” she said. (This job fair is good because our applicants are from Laguna.)

Meanwhile, Lanie Caranguian, representative of the overseas job placement agency Metro Global, points to time and resources saved by applicants in visiting activities like this job fair.

“May mga [aplikante] kasi na di kayang pumunta sa Manila. [Dito] nabibigyan din [sila] ng chance na lumapit at makipag-usap sa amin kasi kami ang first step ng recruitment,” she said. (There are applicants who cannot go to Manila. In job fairs like this, applicants have the opportunity to apply and talk to us because this is the first step toward recruitment.)

Despite the high applicant turnout last Friday, Trinidad estimated placement rate of around 35 per cent. PESO’s first quarter job fair placement rate was at 45-50%.

The job fair is a quarterly project of the Los Baños PESO.

In response to the problem posed by the knifefish infestation in Laguna Lake, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and several government units in Laguna conducted a food-processing training at the Bantay Lawa Quarters in Barangay San Antonio, Bay, Laguna last June 25, 2013.

Twenty-six participants from Los Banos and Bay learned fish processing with skills training given by resource persons from the BFAR central office.

According to Adelita Moldez, officer-in-charge of the Los Baños Municipal Agriculturist Office (MAO), the training aimed to help wives of fishermen make a livelihood out of knifefish, which fish cage operators and fishermen consider as “pests.” They were taught to turn the fish into sausages and other processed food items.

Knifefish, said to be found only in Laguna Lake, feed on fish grown in cages in the lake.  BFAR said that it used to be cultured in controlled spaces but typhoon Ondoy destroyed the nets. Since then, knifefish became a problem.

Last year, almost 2.5 tons of knifefish were taken out of the lake every week.

Francisco Rivera, president of the Municipal Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (MFARMC), said that the food-processing project requires that fishermen catch more knifefish from the lake so their wives have raw materials to process.

Meanwhile, Adan Diamante, aquaculturist at BFAR Tanay Rizal, said that through this training, knifefish would be less of a problem to fishermen around Laguna Lake, and help families have an additional source of income.

As of now, products made from knifefish are not yet popular and, therefore, difficult to sell. However, BFAR hopes to increase sales through proper education and promotion in the market.  (Vergel Joseph Arcegono)