Firm pays back town ruined by ‘06 oil spill

ILOILO CITY – Guimaras fishermen will benefit from some P2.4 million in grants that the US government was giving to those who had lost their livelihood as a result of an oil spill in 2006.

Citi Foundation and Petron Foundation will finance the second phase of a mariculture livelihood program for people in Nueva Valencia in Guimaras. The town was the worst hit among the island’s five municipalities when oil spilled from the sunken MT Solar I southeast of the island on Aug. 11, 2006.

The cargo ship, chartered by Petron Corp., sank while transporting bunker fuel oil from Bataan to Zamboanga, losing more than 2.1 million liters.

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Posted in Compensation, Economy, Rehabilitation | No Comments »

DOT 6 identifies eco-tourism projects for Iloilo, Guimaras

Iloilo (1 March) — The Department of Tourism (DOT) has accepted for validation four eco-tourism project proposals in Iloilo and Guimaras under its Grants for Entrepreneurial and Eco-Tourism (GREET) Program for 2009.

Tourism Regional Director Edwin Trompeta said the proposals from Iloilo include that of Expansion and Development of Adventure Tour Services and Packages for Iloilo/Guimaras and the Bulabog Puti-an National Park Tour and Cave Guiding, Catering, Accommodation and Transport Services, in Dingle, Iloilo.

The former, which is proposed by the Panay Adventure Tours and Transport Service, is envisioned to promote local destinations around Iloilo and Guimaras for eco-tourism, through adventure tour packages, like trekking, mountain biking, caving, diving, kayaking, and horseback riding, including interfacing with tribal groups.

The latter, according to DOT, will focus on the promotion of the National Park Tourists Services such as Tour and cave guiding, as the town of Dingle has numerous, unexplored caves. Read the rest of this entry »

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Call for Proposals: Dialogue on Governance: Strategic Projects Facility (SPF 2)

Call for Proposals: Dialogue on Governance: Strategic Projects Facility (SPF 2)

Reference: DCI-ASIE/126814/L/ACT/P

Dialogue on Governance: Strategic Projects Facility (SPF 2)

Call for Proposals

Reference: DCI-ASIE/126814/L/ACT/PH

The European Commission is seeking proposals for projects in the Philippines which might receive grant assistance from the EC-funded “Dialogue on Governance: Strategic Projects Facility” (SPF 2).

The overall objective of the SPF2 is to contribute to improving governance as underlying condition for reaching the MDGs. The project purpose is to catalyze actions of stakeholders to improve the quality of local governance.

Objective of this call for proposals

The SPF2 will support projects that showcase innovative models for partnerships that will build on complementary capacities of different stakeholders in local governance, in order to increase efficiency and effectiveness, and reinforce accountability of local government units, for them to provide public goods that respond to the needs of all sections of the community, including the poor. Applications can come from LGUs, NGOs, and other stakeholders in local governance. Read the rest of this entry »

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Oil spill keeps punishing mangroves

Mangroves in Guimaras continue to suffer from the effects of one of the worst oil spills in the country, three years after the disaster.

Scientists have discovered more abnormalities in mangroves that were contaminated by the oil spill, which pointed to the continued effects of the disaster.

Dr. Resurreccion Sadaba, program manager of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas (UPV) Oil Spill Response Program, said recent samplings on mangroves showed “albinism” among trees.

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Posted in Environment, Rehabilitation | 1 Comment »

2 int’l funding agencies pick Guimaras for new projects

The province of Guimaras was chosen as pilot area by two international funding agencies for their new projects this year.

Gov. Felipe Hilan Nava said the province is a recipient of a grant under the Australia-Philippines Assistance Strategy 2007-Southern Philippines Road Maintenance Program, and the Local Economic Development (LED) program of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

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Guimaras props up tourism in 1st sem

THE province of Guimaras will be very busy with various tourism events this first two quarters of 2009.

Guimaras Gov. Felipe Hilan Nava said preparations will focus on their participation in the annual Dinagyang Festival of Iloilo, the famous “Pagtaltal” during the celebration of the Holy Week and the province’s “Manggahan Festival.”

After hibernating for several years, Nava said the province will again be sending a tribe, Tribu Himal-us, to participate in the Dinagyang slated every fourth week of January.

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Wind to energize Guimaras

INDEPENDENT power producer TransAsia is bent on pursuing a wind-power energy project that can generate around 15 to 20 megawatts for Guimaras, said Gov. Felipe Hilan Nava.

The project, if realized, will supply the island-province with more than enough power, he added.

Guimaras may even sell its excess power supply to Iloilo, Nava said.

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Posted in Economy, Governance, Rehabilitation | 1 Comment »

Social scientists: Women bore much of the brunt of oil spill

WOMEN bore much of the brunt of the oil spill that ravaged Guimaras Island as some disaster response and rehabilitation programs failed to consider their specific needs, a research of social scientists showed.

In their paper “Gender Perspectives in Disaster Responses and Interventions to MT Solar I Oil Spill,” University of the Philippines in the Visayas (UPV)-based social scientists said that while there were efforts towards gender equality, some of the programs were inappropriate in addressing specific needs especially of women during the disaster.

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Guimaras folk need psych support

SOCIAL scientists have recommended continued psychosocial monitoring and support for Guimaras residents affected by the massive oil spill two years ago after a study showed that most of them were still traumatized by the calamity.

The study conducted by former University of the Philippines in the Visayas chancellor Ida Siason, showed a “significant level of psycho-social distress” among 42 percent to 73 percent of around 250 survey respondents from seven highly and moderately affected barangay (villages).

The villages are mostly in Nueva Valencia town, the hardest hit of the province’s five municipalities.

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Oil spill damage continues in Guimaras

THE oil sludge may not be visible anymore but the damage to the marine resources of Guimaras Island has persisted two years after a massive oil spill ravaged the island, according to scientists.

Scientific studies showed abnormalities in breeding and growth of mangroves, sea grass, marine animals and sea cucumbers, and scientists attributed these mainly to the contamination of the marine environment by bunker fuel from the sunken MT Solar I.

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