Patnubay

A Monthly Newsletter of the Campaign for the Future of Filipino Children in the Philippines

Series No2. July 2008



July 10 PVO Commemorates 8th Year of Payatas Garbage Slide

Less than a hundred victims of the Payatas garbage slide attended a one hour simple mass at the Monument of the July 10 Payatas Victims in Purok 5, Lupang Pangako, Payatas B, Quezon City.

The mass officiated by Father Aldrin Suan of the Lupang Pangako Parish started at exactly 7 in the morning with offerings of flowers and candles from the victims, the city government and from non-government organizations.

During the mass, Delia Badion, President of July 10 Payatas Victims Organization (J10PVO) heading a small group of victims now residing at Kasiglahan Village in Rodriquez, Rizal called for the unification of the victims in their quest for justice which they had been demanding for eight years now..

"Our hearings were delayed. and our fight for justice is not yet over," as revealed by Ms. Badion. "We hope that all defendants from the government side would give their testimonies soon so that we could also air our side and finish this case. It has already been eight years and some of these people are no longer connected in their respected offices in the government," Ms Badion added.

Ms. Badion was referring to the previous Quezon City Mayor Ismael Mathay, Binay who was the head of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA); now Mayor of Makati and Emelita Pecson, the previous Payatas Barangay Captain.

Feliciano Belmonte, Quezon City Mayor did not attend the mass nor the present Barangay Captain in Payatas, Rosario Dadulo.

Every year since 2004, the year when the monument was erected and blessed, the Mayor of Quezon City yearly graced the Payatas slide commemoration for the victims. It was odd for some victims to know that the mayor did not show in the occasion.

When Ms. Badion was asked why the mayor did not even attend the mass. She said that the city government is planning to have a big affair on the 10th anniversary of the victims.


Sangkap Day Care Center Held Medical Check-up

Medical check up was conducted to 54 pupils of Sangkap Day Care Center last July 19 to know the health status of the beneficiaries for the school year 2008 -2009.

Results of the medical check-up revealed that 91 percent of the pupils had cough and colds , 86 percent of which had fever and 9 percent of which had been suffering from asthma; 27 percent had upper respiratory tract infection; 13 percent had diarrhea; 12 percent had intestinal parasitism; and 5 percent had primary complex.

Majority of the pupils had poor appetite resulting to their undernourishment and poor growth.

The pupils accompanied by their parents were examined by Dr. Merry Mia of the Council for Health and Development.

According to Dr. Mia, the environmental effects brought by the garbage and the poor condition of the community contributed to the continuous respiratory problems of the pupils. In the process, Dr. Mia advised the parents to give lots of fluids to their children.

She said that undernourishment could not be arrested by irregular intake of vitamins but by continuous provision of nutritious food.

The medical check up was witnessed by Mr. Toshihide Fujiwara, Secretary General of the Campaign for the Future of Filipino Children-Japan (CFFC) and Ms. Yuka Tsuka, an employee of the biggest credit company in Japan..


Number of Filipino Families Experiencing Involuntary Hunger Increasing

A recent survey by the Social Weather Station (SWS) showed that 14.5 million Filipinos experienced involuntary hunger or hunger due to lack of food between April and June this year.

The number accounts for 16.3 percent of families nationwide or approximately 2.9 million households. It must be noted that it is higher than the 10-year average hunger rate of 12.1 percent. Severe hunger also increased from 3.2 percent to 4.2 percent (760, 000 families or 3.8 million people)

Metro Manila has the highest hunger incidence, hitting a record high of 22 percent. This is equivalent to 530,000 families or 2.65 million people.

A survey by IBON Foundation in April this year showed that 75.3 percent of families could not buy enough food.

Undeniably, poverty has affected the health conditions of the Filipino people.

Based on the 2004 data of the Department of Health (DoH), most of the ten highest causes of morbidity remain to be communicable but preventable diseases such as dengue, diarrhea, bronchitis and tuberculosis.


Quezon City is the Country's Most Populated City

Quezon City, with 2.7 million residents, is the Philippines' most populated city as showed in the final results the National Statistics Office's latest Census of Population.

The POPCEN 2007 showed that Quezon City is home to three percent of the country's total population of 88.57 million. The cities of Manila and Caloocan, also in the National Capital Region, ranked second and third, respectively. Manila has a population of 1.7 million or 1.9 percent, while Kalookan has a population 1.4 million or 1.6 percent.

The table below shows the Philippines' ten most populated cities.

Rank

City

Population/

% Pop. dist. in 2007

Land/ area (km2)

(2007 census)

1

Quezon City

2,679,450

3.0

161.2

2

Manila

1,660,714

1.9

38.6

3

Kalookan

1,378,856

1.6

53.3

4

Davao City

1,363,337

1.5

2443.6

5

Cebu City

798,809

0.9

291.2

6

Zamboanga City

774,407

0.9

1483.4

7

Pasig

617,301

0.7

31.0

8

Taguig

613,343

0.7

48.9

9

Valenzuela

568,928

0.6

45.8

10

Cagayan de Oro

553,966

0.6

488.1

Source: National Statistical Coordination Board


Curriculum on Peace Education in Public Schools


Peace education will soon be included in the curriculum of public elementary and secondary schools all over the country.

In a ceremony at the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, OPAPP Secretary Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., Department of Education Secretary Jesli Lapuz and Commisssion on Higher Education, Commissioner Nena Ricafort signed last July 24 the implementing guidelines of Executive Order 570 "institutionalizing peace education in basic education and teacher education."

According to Esperon, the primary objective of EO 570 is to eradicate the biases, prejudices and discrimination usually encountered not only by Muslims but all tribes and other cultural groups.

CHED has committed to introduce and institutionalize peace education among teachers through pre-service and in-service trainings. Institutional materials will be developed, produced, and disseminated as additional tools while the adaptation to wider peace modules will also be strengthened through series of workshops.

Source: Philstar Peace education in public school curriculum soon


DepEd Suspended Classes in 21 Schools on SONA Day


The Department of Education suspended the classes of 21 public elementary and high schools in Quezon City on July 28 to give way to State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the House of Representatives in Batasan.

A report quoted the Education department as saying that the schools affected by the suspension were those lying along Commonwealth Avenue and in the Fairview area.

The report added that classes were ordered suspended at the following public elementary schools:

• Bagong Silang Elementary School
• Batasan Elementary School
• Commonwealth Elementary School
• Dona Juana Elementary School
• Holy Spirit Elementary School
• Holy Spirit Annex
• Lagro Elementary School
• Lupang Pangako Elementary School
• Manuel L. Quezon Elementary School
• North Fairview Elementary High School
• Payatas Elementary School A
• Payatas Elementary School B
• Payatas Elementary School C, and
• San Diego Elementary School

At the same time, classes were suspended on the following public high schools:.

• Batasan High School
• Bagong Silangan High School
• Cecilia Muñoz-Palma High School
• Commonwealth High School
• Judge Feliciano Belmonte High School
• Lagro High School, and
• North Fairview High School

The suspension of classes was announced by Metro Manila police chief Director Geary Barias after meeting with the local government of Quezon City on Thursday, July 24.

Source: GMA News TV, DepEd suspends classes in 21 schools on SONA day