by  Elsie E. Reyes

The Girl Scout of the Philippines (GSP) Laguna Council celebrated its 64^th anniversary in Camp Mariang Makiling in Los Baños, Laguna on September 8, 2013. The Pistahan sa Kampo is an annual gathering of girl scouts, from twinklers to senior scouts as well as their troop leaders, in the province of Laguna.

The participants took part in dance contests that featured traditional Filipino folk dances. With their respective coordinators, the girl scouts also set up booths and food stalls for the celebration.

Los Baños Mayor Caesar Perez, GSP Council Board President and San Pedro Mayor Lourdes Cataquiz, and GSP Southern Luzon Regional Executive Director Rebecca Basañes graced the event.

Mayor Perez emphasized in his talk that girl scouts play an important role in the observance of the town’s waste segregation and no-plastic ordinance. “Alam niyo, ang dami niyong batang ito. Kung kayo lahat ay tutulong  sa inyo inyong bayan na bawal kang magkalat, magkakameron ng ayos sa basura, magiging  malinis ang inyong barangay, bayan at ang ating lalawigan,” Perez told the scouts.

GSP Southern Luzon Regional Executive Director Rebecca Basañes expressed her delight because Laguna recorded the highest GSP membership among the 96 GSP councils in the country. Basañes further said that “Ang gusto ko, sa isip at sa gawa, ang lahat ng girl scouts ay nangunguna din”. Director Basañes also introduced to the scouts Ms. Aileen Reyes as the new Council Executive of Los Baños.

One of the highlights of Pista sa Kampo was the folk dance competitions for different girl scouts levels namely Tiklos for twinklers, Salakot for star scouts, Sakuting for junior scouts, Binuyogan for senior scouts, and Sapatya for troop leaders.

Among the winners were Calamba West District for the twinklers category, Calamba East District for the star scouts level, Rizal district  for the junior scouts category, and Sta. Cruz District for senior scouts category. For the troop leaders evel, Calamba West emerged as the victor.

This year’s Pistahan sa Kampo was organized by the GSP Council Board of Laguna, National Equipment Service, District Committees, District Field Advisers, and the Council Staff.

by Isabel L. Bondad

[NEWS FEATURE] On August 7, the Sampaloc Lake Fish Farmer Marketing Cooperative (SLFFMC) conducted a cleaning operation in Sampaloc Lake, one of the seven lakes in San Pablo City. The activity is part of the cooperative’s advocacy of keeping the lake clean and safe especially those residing near the lake.

Since 2011, the SLFFMC organized cleaning operations every month for San Pablo’s seven lakes. The cooperative coordinates with local fisher folks and their families for the regular cleaning of the lakes. Wives of the fishermen sweep the surroundings around the lake while the fishermen use nets with long sticks to get the garbage floating on the surface of the lakes. They make their rounds in their boats clearing the lake of garbage.

While the regular removal of garbage from the lakes are vital in the rehabilitation of lakes, SLFFMC aims for more sustainable means of achieving their goal of having clean and safe San Pablo lakes. The cooperative advocates good fishing practices among their members as well as regulate the number and size of fish pens in the seven lakes.

SLFFMC is an organization of fisher folks residing near the Sampaloc Lake. Victorino Anyayahan currently heads SLFFMC. Established in 2011, the organization remains active in keeping the lakes clean and in facilitating the lake rehabilitation. The cooperative aims for a sustainable source of livelihood, which can be achieved by rehabilitating the lakes.

San Pablo’s seven lakes are major sources of livelihood for many residents. Sampaloc Lake, the largest lake is in the city proper. Yambo and Pandin Lakes can be found in Barangay San Lorenzo. Mohicap, Calibato, Palakpakin, and Bunot Lake is located in Barangay Sta. Catalina, Barangay Santo Angel, Barangay San Buenaventura and Barangay Concepcion respectively.

According to Teodoro Reymina, an environmentalist and a known advocate of rehabilitation of the lakes, the bodies of water were once known for its clear and unsoiled waters. Because of excessive exploitation and human involvement, the water quality in San Pablo lakes has deteriorated. Illegal fish pens were built and garbage and other impurities were disposed in the lakes contributing to the worsening condition of the lakes.  Such condition was made worse with the excessive use of fish pellets  that led to the fish kills reported in the area. Fecal wastes from backyard piggeries of some residents also account for the impurities.

According to the water quality report of the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), increased concentration of ammonia and inorganic phosphates were observed in San Pablo lakes. Such levels of substances exceeded the allowed and acceptable amount.

Furthermore, fecal impurities have been found on all the lakes. The Sampaloc Lake is reported to be the dirtiest of the seven lakes while Pandin Lake is said to be the cleanest but should still be guarded due to the amount of phosphate deposits found. Also, removing the excess impurities on the water of the Sampaloc Lake cannot be done on a short of period of time. This will take a long process since too many impurities such as ammonia and fecal matters were found on its waters during according to the water quality testing result.

LLDA also said that continuous efforts and community participation should be exerted in order for the lake to be free from excess impurities. Due to the overcrowding of fishpens in Bunot Lake, it was highly recommended that fishing activities be stopped to let the lake recover.

Given the situation of the lakes, several rehabilitation projects for the seven lakes were implemented by different non-government organizations from 1999 to 2008 however, very few of these efforts were sustained.

SLFFMC President Anyayahan said that the rehabilitation of the lakes is their responsibility as residents. He further explained that it would be to their disadvantage if the lakes are not rehabilitated as the lakes are their major source of income.

Local government efforts for the rehabilitation of the seven lakes include the Lake Watch, a program preventing further increase in the lakes’ condition. Commercial establishments around the lakes are also decreased in order to lessen the wastes on the lakes. Around 39 establishments were already removed while about 250 illegal settlers were relocated.

As a source of livelihood, fishing and handicraft making from the water hyacinth are some of the benefits the residents acquire from the lakes. The lakes are also abundant sources of freshwater tilapia and carp.

Aside from these, tourism has also been a source of income for the residents near the lakes. Boating services on the lakes was offered to tourists. Bikes can also be rented for visitors in the Sampaloc Lake. Floating cages were made available for tourists and other visitors to rent on Bunot Lake.  The green water rafting tour was organized in Pandin Lake by wives of fishermen in order to acquire additional income and to help their husbands earn money for their family.

Rafts can be rented on Pandin Lake. Wives of the fishermen serve as the sailors and this gives them extra income for their families.

As of July 2013, according to Reymina, there are already visible improvements on the lakes. The environmentalist said that the improvements since 2011, changes can be observed even on the air that we breathe around the lakes. The situation recently is now “better.”

According to Monina Eruno, a resident near the Sampaloc Lake, the project beneficial not only to those who live near the lake but also to other people visiting the lake. Hindi man nila malinis kaagad ang lawa, darating yung oras na babalik din ang lawa sa dati tulad ng kalinisan nun noong bata pa ako. (The lake may not be clean immediately but time will come that the lake will be back to the once clean and unpolluted lake when I was younger.)”

Although the project is already on its second year, according to Anyayahan, this is just the start of the rehabilitation. The members of the SLFFMC, with the residents, local government unit, as well as other members of the community will continue to work together for the rehabilitation of the San Pablo lakes.

by Eva Joyce S. Valenzuela

[NEWSFEATURE] “A stepping stone for young journalists,” said Mrs. Evelyn Navia, school paper adviser-in-charge in Cluster 2 and English head teacher in Los Baños National High School, as she discussed the 2013 Division Training-Workshop on Campus Journalism on August 28, Wednesday.

The Laguna Association of Secondary Schools Paper Adviser, Incorporated (LASSPAI) and Department of Education (DepEd) organized the training-workshops in preparation for the Division Secondary Schools Press Conference on October 17-19.

LASSPAI officers, members, and advisers gathered for a preliminary meeting on July 24 in Nicolas Galvez Memorial National High School. Details were finalized by Mrs. Erma Valenzuela as Education Program Supervisor (EPS I) in English, together with Mr. Jonathan H. Marquez, Mrs. Evelyn Navia, Mr. Mark Anthony Idang, and Mrs. Theodora Salamat in the DepEd Division Office last July 31, 2013.

Mrs. Valenzuela explained that the  Division Training on Campus Journalism would give the potential writers the opportunity to discover and to strengthen their journalistic skills. In addition, this training was also designed to help the school paper advisers to decide and to place the writer appropriate to his category.

The division training was divided into two types, namely team category and individual category. Under the team category are collaborative which requires each school to submit a mock paper at the end of the training; and radio broadcasting and scriptwriting which is composed of seven members: a scriptwriter, anchor, infomercials, news presenters, and a technical director). In the Individual category, it covers, news writing, sports writing, feature writing, editorial writing, copy reading, editorial cartooning, and photojournalism.

The division training was conducted by cluster to allow small group discussions providing close interaction between lecturers and the participants. It also offers achievable objectives of the training since in each cluster, students will be observed, taught, and assessed properly.

On August 10 and 17, clusters 1 and 2 conducted the training-workshop in Jacobo Z. Gonzales Memorial National High School (Jacobo MNHS) and Los Baños Community National High School (LBCNHS). The training aimed to expose the student-journalists and school paper advisers (SPA) with the new trends and practices and guidelines in campus journalism; assess the training needs of the participants as supported by their outputs; and provide our student-writers the opportunity to hone their journalistic skills.

About 800 students represented cluster 1, composed of the public and private secondary schools in San Pedro, Binan, and Cabuyao. On the other hand, 401 students represented cluster 2, which covered public and private secondary schools in Los Baños, Bay, Calauan, Victoria, and Pila.

Mr. Jonathan H. Marquez of Pulo National High School was head of the organizing committee for cluster 1 training-workshop where each school was assigned a room to work in.

In cluster 2, the participants were grouped based on their respective categories allowing students from different schools to train together. According to Mrs. Navia of the Los Baños National High School and cluster 2 organizing committee head, this type of grouping will increase the fighting spirit of everyone where they can feel the training already as a competition which in return will motivate them to listen and participate in the lectures and workshop.

The training resource persons selected have who worked with the National level speakers or judges and were also the facilitators of the Division of Laguna.  The resource persons were requested to submit a Structural Learning Episodes (SLE) which consists of the flow of the speaker’s lecture, PowerPoint presentations, and exercises. The lecture discussions followed the 4As: Activity, Analysis, Abstraction, and Application. Each lecture was allotted two hours, one and a half hours for the discussion and the remaining 30 minutes for the workshop.

During the Radio Scriptwriting and Broadcasting lecture, students were able to identify the characters they fit in. It was like a skills orientation as well as voice training. During the session on photojournalism, the participants were strictly prohibited to use DSLR. Digital camera with minimum of 12 megapixels and maximum of 16 megapixels was be used.

Speakers for the individual category included Ms. Sherryl Ann M. Dadal of Sampaguita NHS in San Pedro for newswriting, Joselie G. Quemada of San Juan NHS in Kalayaan for editorial writing, Mr. Jonathan H. Marquez of Pulo NHS in Cabuyao for editorial cartooning. In feature writing, Marza Palentino of Philippine High School for the Arts in Los Baños trained the student while Mr. Paolo Manuel C. Fule of Plaridel NHS in Nagcarlan served as the resource person for sports writing. Lastly, the trainer for copy reading and headline writing was Mrs. Evelyn P. Navia of Los Baños NHS.

From the outputs of the participants who joined the individual category, top three best outputs were chosen. In cluster 1, 12 best outputs were chosen in each class, English and Filipino. These best outputs are selected based on the National Guidelines.  A total of 48 best outputs were recognized in cluster 1. On the other hand, there were 42 best outputs. From the winners, facilitators have observed that most of them are already experienced writers who attend the regional level and even the national level.

Mrs. Valenzuela explained that the large turnout of participants became the challenge for the training-workshop. The organizers created additional classes and invited other speakers to accommodate the journalists and to have quality training to address such concern. Despite such limitation, the participants found the training beneficial not only in honing their journalism skills but also for gaining new friends from other schools.

“Masaya po,” Kristine Faith B. Manayam  of Nicolas N. Galvez Memorial National High School said regarding the workshops she attended. The journalists-in-training said that their passion for writing increased after the training-workshop they attended. “Wag susuko!” was Kristine and her schoolmate Robert Borihaga’s  realization after the training.

by Krizza Lei T. Amoyan

[NEWSFEATURE] “You can only change the leadership during elections,” says Los Baños COMELEC officer Randy Banzuela as he encourages the voters to actively participate in the upcoming Barangay and SK elections.

Despite calls to postpone the 2013 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has held the voters’ registration almost a month ago. Few weeks before the election day, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) is now gearing up for the planning and preparation for the smooth implementation of the elections in Los Baños this coming October 28.

Gearing up: Preparations for October 2013 elections

The voters’ registration was held last July 22-31 simultaneously in different barangays in the country. Voters for the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) include the youth whose age ranges from 15-17, while those for the barangay election are composed of voters aged 18 and above.

For this year’s SK and barangay elections, the municipality of Los Baños has 30, 032 registered SK voters and 56, 856 regular [barangay] voters, this was as recorded by Commission on Elections (COMELEC)-Los Baños as of August 2013.

After the voters’ registration, the list of voters are then encoded for a better organization of the election files. With a thorough checking of the voters profile and after removing some of the deceased and transfer voters from the list, the voters tally is then submitted to the COMELEC main office.

After the submission of the voters tally, the COMELEC then assigned and prepared the polling precincts. According to Elections Officer Banzuela, there are 436 originally established precincts in Los Baños but as these precincts were clustered, only 182 cluster precincts remained, with each polling precinct  accommodating a maximum of four hundred voters.

“These are only the initial preparations, so for now, our priority is the organization of the list of voters and the polling precincts, and the preparation of those who will sit as board of election tellers,” says Banzuela.

The filling of candidacy will run from October 15 -17 and the campaign period will run from October 18 to 27.

With the preparation for the upcoming election is the strict implementation of the election laws as provided for in Article XXII of the Election Code of the Philippines.

• Common poster area. COMELEC requires every barangay to designate a common poster area within the community where they will post their campaign materials. This is to prevent the candidates from posting everywhere (e.g. Walls, private establishments, lamp posts), as well as for easy cleaning after the election. Posting outside the designated common poster areas will be illegal.
• Gun ban. COMELEC strictly implements the gun ban as early as September 2013 to prevent election related killings and to maintain the peace and order. The gun ban prohibits the carrying of firearms outside the residence or place of business. Any person who, although  possessing a permit to carry firearms, carries any firearms outside his residence or place of business during the election period, unless authorized in writing by the Commission will be charged.
• Alcohol ban. Selling, buying, or taking intoxicating liquor a day before and on election day is strictly prohibited. This is implemented to prevent election related crimes and violence, and to ensure a peaceful election.
• Distribution of campaign paraphernalia on election day. The election code prohibits the solicitation of votes or undertaking of any propaganda, on the day of election, for or against any candidate within the polling precinct. Electoral campaigns are strictly prohibited on the day of election because this may affect the decision of the voters.

Any person who will be found guilty of any election offense will be charged with the violation of election laws and may be punished by paying a fine or imprisonment.

The Team: Agencies and offices involved in the preparation

“During the election period, almost all government agencies are deputized by the COMELEC,” said COMELEC officer Banzuela.

Most especially, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is deputized for the peace and order. They are the ones who are assigned to monitor violations regarding the gun ban and alcohol ban, as well as to watch out for election related crimes.

The board of election tellers, composed of the teachers from the Department of Education (DepEd), are the ones who are expected to facilitate in the voting process and to monitor the honest outcome of votes.

The local government unit (LGU) is also involved in providing budget for the election. According to Banzuela, there is a portion which will be shouldered by the LGU regarding the funds for the cash payments of the board of election tellers and other expenses.

What we’re lacking: Election problems and issues

The ten-day registration period has been a national issue and many complaints from the voters have been reported, but Banzuela justifies that the ten-day period is just enough for the voters’ registration. He added that the COMELEC-Los Baños does not receive complaints from the voters regarding this issue, the “candidates” are the ones who are complaining.

Another issue is that there are these “candidates” who are starting they’re campaigns as early as now [before the campaign period]. “Hindi naman namin mapagsabihan dahil hindi pa namin sila sakop, they have not yet filed their certificate of candidacy, until such time na hindi sila nakakapagfile ng candidacy wala kaming magagawa”, explains Bazuela.

Also, one of the common issues during the election period is vote buying and vote selling. According to Banzuela, he has heard of many cases regarding this issue but no one is proven guilty. “Ang nagiging problema kasi ay yung mga witness, dahil sa haba ng proseso tinatamad na sila,” he said.

Information dissemination has also been one of the problems during the elections. Voter’s information regarding those who are running has been a problem because they do not know the candidates.

Banzuela doubts that the information presented in the campaign materials are sufficient for the voters to know the platform or programs that a certain candidate plans to implement. “Ang nangyayari ngayon, yung pagkatao ang pinagbabasehan, kung mabait ba siya, o pala-bigay ba yan, without even knowing or analyzing if he will be capable of the position he is running for,” explained Banzuela.

by Eunese Irish A. Garcia

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Los Baños is all set with the preparations for the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) and Barangay Elections 2013 on October 28.

According to Elections Officer Randy Banzuela, COMELEC has already created the project of precincts that will handle the election period. With 56, 856 registered voters in Los Baños, COMELEC is also reviewing the voters’ list to determine the active and inactive voters and the ones who are really registered in the barangays.

“Kasi may mga nagrereklamo na nawawala ‘yung pangalan nila sa listahan sa mga designated precincts sa barangay nila, kaya ngayon pa lang inaayos na namin dito,” Banzuela added.

With the 56,856 registered voters to date; 54,984 of which voted during the the last elections; COMELEC expects an increase of voters’ turnout given the 3,099 newly registered voters.

Manual voting will be used during the elections since the P-COS (Precinct-Count Optical Scanners) machines will be kept again for the next national elections. The elections officer also explained that since there are only a small number of voters during SK and Barangay elections, it is more appropriate to use the manual voting.

“We are hoping for more improvements during the elections so that we may serve our residents better,” Banzuela explained. He also encouraged residents to volunteer and help out during the elections. “May pinadadala rin naman ang PPCRV at NAMFREL during those times, but their primary concern is the total number of votes,” he added.

Aling Imelda Banyares, 43, a fruit vendor from Brgy. Timugan, said that she and her daughter, who registered last month, are going to vote. “Kahit ganito lang sa ngayon ang buhay namin, gusto naming bumoto para may magbago at may ikaunlad sa lugar namin,” she said.

Age is not a matter of concern in exercising the right to vote as with the case of Mang Roger Maningas, 75, a canteen concessionaire in Brgy. Timugan. Mang Roger shared that all of members of his family are going to vote because they want their voices heard. “Sa awa naman ng Diyos, laging payapa ang lugar namin, kasi magaling naman ang mga nabobotong kapitan [ng barangay],” the old man replied.

Some residents however, will not be able to cast their votes this October. Aling Merlinda Limco, 43, a housewife will not be able to vote because she was reached by the cut-off last registration. “Kung pinaabot sana ako, makakaboto sana ako, gusto ko rin naming bumoto. Eh siyempre, sa ganoong paraan ko lang masasabi yung gusto kong sabihin,” she said.

Diane Pombo, 18, was also reached by the cut-off and was not also able to register. Pombo will however, volunteer during the elections. “Okay lang kahit di ako naabutan basta gusto ko makatulong ako sa eleksyon sa October. Sayang kasi pagkakataon para mapakita ko na residente talaga ako ng Los Baños,” Diane said. She also encouraged others to volunteer for their rcommunity. “Minsan lang naman ‘to, di ba?”