Author Archives: rbvillar

BiG Basketball League, nilahukan ng mga manlalaro ng LB

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Isinulat ni Batoy Tolentino, presidente ng Los Baños Group, Inc.

Isang liga ng basketball ang inilunsad noong Oktubre 18, 2014 sa lumang munisipyo Liwasang Almasan sa bayan ng Los Banos bilang parangal sa yumaong si Bryan Gahol, dating manlalaro ng Philippine Basketball Association at dating konsehal ng Los Baños.  Dinaluhan ng mga kaibigan at mga kaanak ni Gahol ang liga na sinalihan ng mga manlalarong may edad 37 pataas.

Sinimulan ni Arnel Gahol, kapatid ni Bryan at kasakuluyang chairman ng BiG Basketball League, ang gawain upang palawakin ang kampanya sa larangan ng palakasan hindi lamang sa mga kabataan ngunit maging sa mga nagkaka-edad.

Natapos ang liga noong Enero 4 kung saan nakuha ng Brgy. Lalakay ang kampeonato.

MDRRM, nagsagawa ng pagsasanay para sa mga volunteers

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Isinulat ni Martin Imatong at Batoy Tolentino

Naglunsad ng iba’t-ibang pagsasanay ang lokal na pamahalaan ng Los Baños sa pangunguna ng Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (MDRRM) Office para sa mahigit 50 na mga nais maging volunteers o responders.   Isinagawa ang Basic Life Support at First Aid Training noong Setyembre 13, 14 at 20, 2014 sa munisipyo ng Los Baños samantalang ang Water Search and Rescue (WASAR) training naman ay ginanap noong Oktubre 3-5, 2014 sa  City of Springs Resort ng Brgy. Baybayin at sa Laguna Lake sa nasasakupan ng Los Baños. Siyam na katauhan mula sa Special Operations Group ng Philippine Coastguard ng Region IV-A ang nagsagawa ng WASAR training.  Sa mga nagsanay sa WASAR, 12 volunteers ang nabigyan din ng pagsasanay sa Outboard Motor (OBM) Operation o ang paggamit ng motorized speed boat sa panahon ng emergency.

Layunin ng pagsasanay na madagdagan ang kaalaman at kagalingan ng mga volunteers mula sa iba’t-ibang barangay ng Los Baños sa pagresponde sa iba’t-ibang uri ng sitwasyon. Ang mga volunteers ay patuloy na magkakaroon ng iba pang pagsasanay sa ibang kapasidad tulad ng high angle rescue, fire rescue at iba pa.

LB showcases agri produce in the Laguna organic agri congress

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by Nykyle Patricia Buenviaje, Renz Louie Celeridad, and Victorena Diesta

The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, in partnership with the Region IV-A Agricultural Training Institute, held the first Laguna Organic Agriculture Congress at the Cultural Center of Sta. Cruz on October 28-30.

The organic agriculture congress, themed “Sa Organiko Panalo Tayo, Kaya’t Lagunenyo para sa iyo ito,” was open to all offices, departments, organizations, and individuals who were interested in organic agriculture — a “natural” way of growing crops, vegetables, and other agricultural products.

According to Lydia Estrada, the Laguna assistant provincial agriculturist, organic agriculture aims to create a farming system that will grow various chemical-free crops. The promotion of organic agriculture, such as holding the congress, is in line with Republic Act (RA) No. 10068 or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, which mandates the state to “promote, propagate, develop further, and implement the practice of organic agriculture in the Philippines.”

The organic agriculture congress also aimed to help address gender awareness issues, recognizing the need to change the traditional belief that farming is only for men and to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor through technology transfer.

Los Baños GAD Office staff help farmer cooperators sell their produce during the  three-day organic agriculture congress. (Photo courtesy of the GAD Office)

Laguna cities and municipalities took part in the provincial congress on organic agriculture. The local government unit (LGU) of Los Baños was represented by the Gender and Development (GAD) Office, the implementing agency for the organic agriculture component of the gender-sensitive livelihood project between the LGU Los Baños and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD).

From the PhP 4.6 million project “Enhancing Gender-Sensitive Sustainable Agriculture and Aquatic Science and Technology (S&T)-based Livelihood Enterprises in Los Baños”, PhP 2.2 million was allotted for organic agriculture projects.

The implementation of the organic agriculture component started in March and covered five barangays, namely:  Bagong Silang, Timugan, Maahas, Tuntungin-Putho, and Lalakay. According to Karen Lagat-Mercado, head of the Los Baños GAD Office, their unit started the project implementation by conducting seminars about organic agriculture in the five  barangays in partnership with PCAARRD. These seminars were followed by trainings for the farmer cooperators.

According to Mercado, the organic agriculture project not only provided additional source of income for the cooperators, it also helped the women – especially the housewives – develop greater confidence, build their self-esteem, and become more independent. With their own earnings, the women now depend less on their husbands’ income.

Through the congress, Los Baños was able to showcase organic produce from the farmer-cooperator and present the LGU Los Baños-PCAARRD collaboration to representatives of various cities and municipalities in Laguna.

For more updates on the LGU Los Baños-PCAARRD project, visit the Gender Sensitive Organic Vegetable Prod’n for Low-income Communities of LB Facebook CommunityPage.

KASAMA nagsanay sa vermiculture

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ni Ma. Emily P. Alforja, KASAMA President

Nag-organisa ng pagsasanay sa vermiculture ang local na pamahalaan ng Los Baños na isinagawa ng Gender and Development Office at ng Department of Agriculture para sa mga miyembro ng Kapisanan ng mga Samahan ng Malinta (KASAMA) noong October 18 sa Brgy. Malinta.

Sa pamamagitan ng pagsasanay sa vermiculture, natutunan ng mga kalahok na napakadaling mag-alaga ng bulate gayundin ang paggawa ng vermicast o organikong pataba. Maliit lamang ang kailangang puhunan at hindi nangangailangan ng mahabang oras o panahon para sa pag-aalaga.

Ang pagsasanay ay bahagi ng proyektong vermiculture kung saan tinuturuan ang mga kalahok sa tamang pag-aalaga ng mga bulateng African night crawlers at pag-ani ng vermicast na nagsisilbing organikong pataba.

Natutunan ng mga miyembro ng KASAMA ang pagpapabulok ng tira-tirang pagkain, iba’t-ibang klaseng gulay, tuyong dahon, suha ng saging, at dumi ng baka o kalabaw bilang bahagi ng proseso ng paggawa ng vermicompost.

Ang vermicompost ay ginagamit bilang organikong pataba para sa mga pananim ng mga miyembro ng KASAMA at maaari ding mapagkuhanan ng karagdagang kita.

UPD team tops in the nat’l genetics quiz contest

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by Dianne Carmie Basilio and Jean Andrea Galang

The University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) bested 13 universities and colleges during the 5th National Intercollegiate Genetics Quiz Contest (NIGQC) of the UPLB Genetics Society held on November 8 at the Umali Auditorium of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in Los Baños, Laguna.

The UPD team took home PhP 15,000 cash prize, a plaque, certificates of participation, and medals. Runners up DLSU and ADMU received certificates of participation, medals, and cash prizes worth PhP 7,500 and PhP 5,000 respectively. (Photo courtesy of the UPLB Genetics Society)

The UPD team was composed of Ardea Licuanan, Clinton Tang, and Tiffany Cheng Uy; all fourth year BS Biology students. Dr. Ian Kendrich Fontanilla, an assistant professor and UP scientist at UPD’s Institute of Biology was the winning team’s coach. Uy of the UPD team said that the time the team spent studying together helped the members bond and prepare for the competition.

Securing the second place (1st runner up) was the De La Salle University Manila (DLSU) and in third place was Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), last year’s champion.

Patricia Albert, committee head of NIGQC 2014, said that the UPLB Genetics Society is planning to hold the national genetics quiz contest yearly with the increasing number of participating schools and universities.

LB opens a Friday organic market

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by Johanna Marie Drece, Joie April Lanuzga, and Yunika Ysa Lasic

On October 24, the Los Baños launched its Friday organic market at the Los Baños Municipal Hall Activity Area. The organic market manageed by the Gender and Development (GAD) Office opens at 9am and closes at 3pm.

The establishment of the organic market was part of the project entitled “Enhancing Gender-Sensitive Sustainable Agriculture and Aquatic Science and Technology (S&T)-based Livelihood Enterprises in Los Baños” between the Los Baños LGU and Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD). The project aimed to empower the local farmers of all genders to take on organic farming as a livelihood option, as well as to enhance community entrepreneurship and marketing.

The Friday organic market provided farmer-cooperators an integrated and accessible venue to sell their organic produce. Karen Mercado explained that the Friday Organic Market has helped the farmers gain additional income from selling their products.

The organic produce from the farmer cooperators are also sold at Herb Republic along Lopez Avenue every second and fourth Friday and Saturday of the month.

Since its launch in October, the Los Baños Friday organic market has gained patrons from the municipal employees. Joyce Del Valle of the Los Banos Budget Office said that purchasing organic produce assure her the vegetable her family would be consuming is healthy and free from harmful chemicals. “Kesa pumunta sa palengke at bumili ng mga di-pesticide na gulay, dito ka nalang,” she added.

Adelaida Castillo, an 85-year-old farmer from Brgy. Maahas, explained that aside from being chemical-free, the produce sold at the Friday organic market is relatively cheaper since the products are directly delivered to the market and no middleman is involved. Farmer cooperators also take home higher earnings. Shifting to organic farming also reduced the cost of farm inputs on pesticides and fertilizers. “Sadyang malaki ang ipinagbago dahil hindi na kami bumibili ng pang abono. Sariling compost na namin ang ginagamit namin,” Castillo shared.

Nestor Pamulaklakin, a farmer from Brgy. Maahas said, “Maganda ang kita ko ngayon. Lamang kaysa noong dati na hindi ako gumagamit ng mga organic. Saka dati, kailangan ko pang bumili ng pesticide. Ang ginagamit kong spray ngayon ay sili at kung anu-anong herb. Hindi na ako gumagamit ng mga pesticide na binibili.” Mang Nestor also said that vegetables grown with the aid of chemical pesticides are hazardous to the health of the consumers so they have stopped using them.

Communities involved in Friday oranic market include Barangays Tuntungin-Putho, Lalakay, Timugan, Maahas, and Bagong Silang. The GAD Office staff regularly visits farm sites to get updates and to hold farmer consultations. The farm visits also ensure that farmers are provided the resources and technical assistance needed and that the crops are grown organically.

The farmer cooperators were provided with technological knowledge through a series of trainings before they were granted the resources for setting up an organic farm. The farmer cooperators underwent trainings on vermicomposting, organic methods and pest control, organic vegetable crop production, as well as postharvest, packaging, and marketing skills. Farm materials, seeds, and planting materials were provided as part of the LGU Los Baños-PCAARRD livelihood project.

Karen Mercado (rightmost) and Ellen Ramos of the GAD Office in a posterity shot at the organic produce booth manned by farmer cooperators and GAD Office staff during the first Friday Organic Market at the Municipal Hall. (Photo courtesy of KLMercado)

The organic produce from the farmer cooperators are also sold at Herb Republic along Lopez Avenue every second and fourth Friday and Saturday of the month.

For more updates on the LGU Los Baños-PCAARRD project, visit the Gender Sensitive Organic Vegetable Prod’n for Low-income Communities of LB Facebook Communtiy Page.