DIADI, Nueva Vizcaya, Sept. 8 – The provincial government of Nueva Vizcaya, in partnership with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the local governments of three barangays in Diadi, will carry out reforestation of upland areas and the management and protection of existing forests to boost the watershed potential of this upland town.

Ramon Salvador, project coordinator of the Forest Agro-forestry Management for Enterprise (FAME) said the project, now on its third year of implementation, will be carried out in the villages of Villa Aurora, Bugnay and Namamparan.

“This will benefit 200 to 300 households in each barangay because they can have a share from the fruits of common and indigenous trees that they have planted once these will reach their harvesting stage,” Salvador explained.

The FAME project which started in various schools in the 15 towns of the province involves the planting of fruit – bearing trees such as rambutan and others. Other recipient sectors such as the Bambang Fruits and Vegetables Association (BFVA) also participated in the project within its 100-hectare area.

“We are planning to replicate this project in other areas not only to increase our forest cover but to provide additional source of income among our recipients,” Salvador said.

FAME in this town will cover some 400 hectares, planted with 4,000 seedlings of high value fruit and indigenous trees such as Tuai/Canarem, Narra, Mahogany, Molave, Rattan, Lansones, Hangay and citrus varieties within a community-based plantation managed by the respective barangay councils and the community residents.

Established through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), DBP has poured P9 million as its counterpart while the provincial government shared P4.7 million. The recipient communities provide management, protection and other activities to ensure its sustainability.

The DBP will also shoulder the acquisition of the assorted fruit trees to be planted in the recipient barangays.

The provincial board on Monday has approved P1.3 million as initial fund for the FAME project.

Salvador said the project will also improve the tourism potentials of the Lower Magat Eco-Tourism Project in barangay Namamparan which is expected to be formally opened early next year.

The FAME project is also expected to boost the potentials of this upland town as a watershed since it augments the water requirements of the Magat Hydro Electric Power and Irrigation Project in Ramon town and Alfonso Lista town in Isabela and Ifugao provinces. (PNA)

LAP/cmr/MBA/Ben Moses Ebreo/mba

MOSCOW, Sept. 8 — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Spanish King Juan Carlos I on Tuesday discussed this summer's devastating wildfires and agreed to cooperate in firefighting, the Kremlin said in a statement.

"While discussing the problems of fighting the fires that swept both countries this year, the Russian president and the Spanish King agreed to establish close cooperation…in exchanging experience and firefighting technology," the statement said.

Forest and peat bog fires raged in European Russia in July-August. The fires killed over 50 people, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and 11 million hectares of crops. Several Spanish regions were also affected by wildfires this summer. (PNA/RIA Novosti)

vcs/rsm

MANILA, Sept 8 — Malacanang has announced the appointment by President Benigno S. Aquino III of Atty. Abigail dela Fuente-Valte as deputy presidential spokesperson.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said on Wednesday Undersecretary Valte is the latest addition as spokesperson of the President.

She will help the Presidential Communications Group in giving the Palace positions on different issues, Secretary Lacierda said, adding that Valte took her oath of office before the President on Tuesday.

Valte is a law graduate of Ateneo de Manila University in 2007 and took her pre-law (Bachelor of Arts major in Philosophy) at De La Salle University in 2002.

She graduated elementary at St. Paul College-Manila in 1994 and high school in 1998 at St. Scholastica’s College.

Valte passed the Bar examinations in 2007 and became a junior associate of Escudero, Marasigan, Valiente and E.H. Villareal Law office, specializing in litigation and labor fields.

Born on December 23, 1980, she is married to Gerard Valte with one son, Inaki. (PNA)

scs/rudyma

MANILA, Sept. 8 — To mark the World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) on September 10, church and the civil society leaders have joined forces in urging the government to move fast in purging the market of unregistered and unlabeled silver jewelry cleaners laced with cyanide, a fast-acting poison.

Caloocan Bishop Deogracias S. Iñiguez, Jr. and EcoWaste Coalition’s Secretary Dr. Leah Primitiva Samaco-Paquiz, in a joint press release, exhorted the Aquino administration to act against the rising incidents of suicide cases through the deliberate intake of cyanide-mixed silver cleaners.

“We now know that the intentional ingestion of cyanide-containing silver jewelry cleaners is a major cause of premature death among Filipino adolescents and adults facing life crisis,” said Bishop Iñiguez, who also heads the Public Affairs Committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

“The government has to act decisively to cut the immoral sale of this deadly concoction. Ban cyanide-laced silver cleaners now to reduce suicide rates and save lives,” the leader of the Diocese of Caloocan pointed out.

According to police sources, the Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas-Valenzuela (CAMANAVA) area has the most number of suicide cases, 68 in 2008, with victims reportedly drinking silver cleaners, hanging or shooting themselves.

For her part, Dr. Paquiz affirmed the adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” as she requested the authorities to ban market access for illegal silver cleaning products.

“Prohibiting the manufacture, distribution and sale of silver cleaners that are not duly registered, properly labelled and certified free of cyanide is essential to preventing both accidental and non-accidental poisoning cases beforehand,” she said.

According to the UP National Poison Management and Control Center (UPNPMCC), the non-accidental ingestion of silver cleaners has dramatically risen from seven percent in 2005 to 86 percent in 2009.

Data from the UPNPMCC also show that in 2009 alone, 11 Filipinos (three in the adult age group and eight in the pediatric age group) died out of 235 cases of silver cleaner poisoning handled by or referred to the Center. From January to June 2010, nine have already died (four adults and five children).

The US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry says that exposure to high levels of cyanide harms the brain and heart, and may cause coma and death. Exposure to lower levels may result in breathing difficulties, heart pains, vomiting, blood changes, headaches, and enlargement of the thyroid gland.

A project of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), the WSPD promotes global commitment and action to prevent suicides.

Governments, according to the WHO, need to develop policy frameworks for national suicide prevention strategies.

At the local level, policy statements and research outcomes need to be translated into prevention programs and activities in communities.

“The Philippine government can show its solidarity with the IASP and the WHO by launching a strong policy and action plan to combat poisoning from cyanide-containing silver jewelry cleaners and through other effective prevention activities,” Bishop Iñiguez and Dr. Paquiz said.

Banning cyanide-laden cleaners, they further said, will promote the Filipino’s people right to health as well as advance the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), a global strategy to protect human and ecological health from the damaging effects of toxic substances, including chemicals in products and wastes. (PNA)

LDV/PR/mec

MANILA, Sept. 8 — The National Police Commission (Napolcom) celebrated its 44th anniversary on Wednesday with the theme, “Effective Local Governance for Improved Police Service: Tripartite Partnership Among Napolcom, LGUs and PNP."

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary and Napolcom Chairman Jesse M. Robredo was joined by Vice Chairman and Executive Officer Eduardo U. Escueta and Commissioners Luisito T. Palmera, Alejandro S. Urro, Constancia P. de Guzman and PNP Chief Jesus A. Verzosa in giving awards and commendation to Napolcom model employees and community partners who serve as members of the Napolcom Technical Committee on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

The Napolcom conferred plaques of recognition on Police Chief Supt. Lina C. Sarmiento of the PNP-Police Protection and Security Group; Atty. Flora C. Atilano of the Commission on Human Rights; Atty. Ma. Victoria Gleoresty SP. Guerra of the Supreme Court; and Administrator Ismael J. Herradura of the Parole and Probation Administration for their continued cooperation and support in the successful implementation of the government’s crime prevention and criminal justice programs.

Arsenio Organo of Pugad Lawin Philippines Inc., a non-governmental organization, was also given a plaque of recognition for his invaluable contributions as member of the Technical Working Committee of the National Crime Prevention Week.

“The Commission recognizes our community partners in grateful acknowledgment of their unselfish dedication and invaluable contributions to the crime prevention programs of the Napolcom and for their outstanding service to the community,” Escueta said.

Also cited were the Napolcom model employees for their selfless dedication and exemplary accomplishments as public servants. Loyalty awards were also given to employees who have rendered 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of dedicated public service.

“We take pride in giving awards to our rank-and-file and supervisors who are in the frontline services of the Commission in bringing the Napolcom closer to its clientele,” Escueta said. (PNA) scs/CLTC

MEXICO CITY, Sept. 8 — Mexican President Felipe Calderon visited the flood-hit southern province of Tabasco on Tuesday and promised to do more to help the region.

The good news is that although in July and August the region saw double the record of rainfall for this time of year, the capital of the province Villahermosa stood firm, Calderon told a public meeting in a small town called Centro.

He said that work had been carried out to reduce the disaster from the catastrophic situations.

In October and November last year, each municipality of the province was flooded and about 250,000 people suffered. It was the third consecutive year of severe flood in this region. In 2007, the flood left 1.2 million people homeless, the worst since 1955.

Calderon said that the core of the situation was climate change. He has made a public commitment to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions by 50 million tons per year by the end of his presidency. (PNA/XINHUA)

vcs/ssc

By Robert Koehler

SEOUL, Sept. 8 — It's raining heavily outside the Seongbuk Multicultural Village in an upscale northern district of Seoul, the forests and hills surrounding the neighborhood hidden in a thick mist.

Inside, however, a small group of Japanese housewives is snug and dry in a classroom, where an instructor teaches the art of Korean papercraft. One of them, Ayumi Onihana, has been coming here since the center opened in July of last year.

"I'm interested in learning Korean culture," she says, "so I come here to learn Korean papercraft."

One of the most spectacular demographic transformations affecting Korea as it enters a new decade is the rise of so-called multicultural families, or damunhwa gajeong.

According to the Ministry of Justice, there were an estimated 1.5 million foreigners residing in Korea in 2010, including 290,000 multicultural families and 167,000 foreign-born women who have obtained Korean citizenship. As of the end of 2009, over 100,000 children were being raised in multicultural households.

For a nation that has long prided itself on its ethnic homogeneity, however, the change has not been an entirely easy one. So-called "marriage immigrants" face a number of significant challenges as they adjust to new life in Korea: these challenges have an impact on their children, too.

In Seoul, the city's various Multicultural Village Centers do what they can to provide support for these families through a range of educational and cultural programs.

Across town from the tony Seongbuk-dong area, in the gritty, working class neighborhood of Daerim-dong in southern Seoul, a small group of Vietnamese wives gathers in the lounge of the Yeongdeungpo Multicultural Village Center, awaiting the start of a Korean language class.

The Yeongdeungpo office is one of the largest of Seoul's Multicultural Village Centers, and a map on the back wall reveals why: about 38,000 foreigners from 58 nations reside in the district of Yeongdeungpo-gu. Ethnic Koreans from China (joseonjok) are an especially strong presence in the district, accounting for about 90 percent of the area's foreign population.

Lee In-jae, the center manager, shows off the facility: there's a spacious classroom for, among other things, learning Korean and studying for the driver's test, a computer lab and a nursery for the children. In the lounge, there's a library of books in a multitude of languages, including translations of Korean literature in Chinese, Vietnamese and Mongolian.

Due to the large number of foreigners living in the district, the center never takes a day off, with staff rotating for the weekend shift, Lee says.

Some of Yeongdeungpo's foreign population is transient, but others have put down more permanent roots.

"We have about 2,700 foreign wives in the district, mostly from China and Vietnam," explains Lee, adding that the problems they face are considerable.

"They face a language barrier, a cultural barrier and economic difficulties Their language is different, and their cultures are different, so they are cut off from dialogue. Then, in two to three years, they have children. They are usually raised by their mothers, but since the mothers speak poor Korean, the children have problems with Korean, too, so they experience problems adjusting to school."

Both the wives and husbands can feel disappointment and hurt, too. Lee notes that many of the wives who come to Korea go to families with economic problems.

"Many of the wives come to Korea for a better life, so when they get here, it can cause disappointment. The men, too, can feel hurt, as Korea is still a Confucian society, so there's still a stigma attached to marrying a foreign woman."

Yeongdeungpo Multicultural Village Center tries to assist foreign wives by providing Korean classes and cultural programs to help them absorb Korean culture. Twice a year, the center also takes multicultural couples to nearby resorts on a two-day program where they can listen to instructors and, more importantly, talk with one another.

"Sometimes, couples go in separate, but they come out holding hands," Lee boasts with a smile.

At Seongbuk Multicultural Village Center, hidden in a more upscale neighborhood where much of Seoul's diplomatic community resides, manager Choi Ok cautions that not all immigrant wives have the same experience.

"Different women from different countries in different families have different experiences," she says.

For instance, she says, Japanese wives, many of whom are in Seongbuk-dong, come from a comparatively more advanced nation and often miss "the little things" about home, while women from Vietnam and the Philippines take time adjusting to Korea's relatively advanced infrastructure.

Families in the district tend to be well-off, and husband and wife often meet on business trips or foreign travel, not through so-called "marriage brokers," as is often the case elsewhere.

Still, there are common problems faced by women even here.

Ayumi, who came to Korea in April last year to marry a man she met on an earlier trip to Korea, says, "I can't speak Korean well, so I find it difficult to speak with Koreans."

She also lives with her mother-in-law, an experience she notes can be a tad trying.

"Our culture and way of thinking are different, so it can be quite difficult. Koreans always do things together, like eating and chores. Japanese, however, like doing things alone. Holidays can be difficult, too," she explains.

Choi explains that the center provides a place for women with similar experiences to meet and unwind. "We try to provide them a space to make friends with other women. And we give them a place to recharge: many of the women spend all day with their families, and that can be tiring." (PNA/Yonhap)

vcs/ebp

VIGAN CITY, Sept. 8 — The week-long celebration here of the UNESCO World Heritage Cities Solidarity Day and cultural festival reels off Wednesday until September 12.

Mayor Eva Marie Singson Medina, who leads the celebration, said September 8 was the day in 1993 when the Organization of World Heritage Cities was formed by the United Nations Educational and Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Fez, Morocco.

The group is an umbrella organization of all heritage towns and cities. Vigan is a member of the organization being one of the Philippines' UNESCO world heritage sites.

The mayor said the week-long festivities aim to continuously strengthen Vigan's history and culture "in keeping with the long-term goal of preserving our centuries –old heritage structures".

Vigan’s well-preserved Spanish trading town environ has survived the test of time, including bombings during World War II which leveled the major Philippine cities of Baguio, Cebu and Manila.

Highlighting the activities of this year’s week-long solidarity festival here include a mass at the historic St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral, the renewal of the pledge of heritage conservation, opening of the trade fair and painting exhibition," historia oral" and "fotografias y recuerdos".

There will also be "zarsuela ilocana", folk dance competition, vocal solo vocal duet, vocal chorus competitions, poem competition, "dallot" contest "Repazzo de Vigan" and Solidarity parade, dancesports, "sabayan pagbigkas" contest, "kinnanataran" contest and cultural shows.

Spicing up the celebration is a seminar on hair rebonding, fantasy make–up and fil-hair competition.

Most of the cultural events and contests will be held in the historic Plaza Burgos and the Vigan Culture and Trade Center (VCTC)

Officials said the "Repazzo de Vigan" is a parade participated in by all 39 barangays, specially students and members of non-governmental organizations, where the participants will dramatize the Biguenos’ way of life from Spanish time up to World War II while they walk through designated parade route, accompanied by music.

Meanwhile, the "Historia Oral" is a wonderful opportunity for listeners to learn about Vigan’s history, culture and day-to-day life straight from the mouths of the old, ordinary Vigan folks.

Members of the senior citizens’ federation are tapped to share their experience, knowledge and love of their city through story-telling.

Grade-school student listeners from Vigan join the historical-literary contest that is held in connection with the "Historia Oral".

Visitors are also encouraged to watch out for the Fotografias de Recuerdos where rare photographs and paintings are exhibited at Vigan’s Culture and Trade Center. (PNA)

LDV/lvm/FGL/rma

NEW YORK, Sept. 8 — With the US-ASEAN summit scheduled here on September 24, the diplomatic and consular representations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the United States are working overtime in preparation for this high-profiled event.

ASEAN missions have to organize a host of things such as logistics, protocol, security arrangements, transportation and hotel accommodation before the leaders of the 10 ASEAN states descend on the Big Apple accompanied by large delegations.

Although the leaders will be arriving in New York, primarily to attend the United Nations General Assembly, their meeting with United States President Barack Obama will be the "icing on the cake."

Each year, during the General Assembly session, when delegations from almost every corner of the world arrive in New York, the city's countenance is transformed into one large fortress, with the ubiquitous presence of blue-uniformed policemen posted at strategic points to protect their guests and control the sometimes unmanageable traffic.

"With the General Assembly so close to us, we are, naturally, very busy," admitted Datuk Hamidon Ali, Malaysia's permanent representative to the United Nations, during a reception hosted on September 2 to celebrate Merdeka Day.

Other ASEAN diplomats also echoed Hamidon's view. Indonesia's acting consul general in New York, Bambang Antarikso, who attended the Malaysian reception, told Bernama that it was a "very busy time for all of us".

Indonesians in the United States would like to see Obama pay a state visit to Indonesia; he has already twice postponed his scheduled visit this year because of domestic pressures.

Obama is reportedly planning to visit Indonesia in November this year but many Indonesians in this country are not raising their hopes, particularly because there will be a crucial mid-term election in November.

After the near drought in contacts between the United States and ASEAN during the tenure of President George W. Bush, foreign policy experts now discern a shift, implicit in the efforts being made by the Obama administration to reach out to the ASEAN region where China is building up its presence and influence, an unsavory prospect for Washington.

Obama's first collective meeting with the ASEAN leaders in Singapore last year will be used to further build up bilateral relations in New York.

A White House statement issued reminded that the president and the ASEAN leaders pledged in Singapore to "deepen cooperation in a number of areas of common concern, including trade and investment, regional security, disaster management, food and energy security, and climate change".

Despite the general bonhomie between the US President and the ASEAN leaders in Singapore, the question of Myanmar could cause some irritability.

There is widespread concern in the United States that Myanmar's elections on November 7 would be a farce lacking any genuine democratic character.

Indeed, one of the reasons behind the choice of New York as a summit venue, sidelining Washington DC, was not to upstage the Myanmar regime by inviting it to the US capital.

In Singapore, Obama had urged Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein to release all political prisoners, including Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

The US is, however, also willing to help Myanmar come out of its isolation but the reciprocal gestures from that country's generals have, so far, not been "very encouraging", as one US diplomat told Bernama on the condition of anonymity.

The US will use the New York summit, according to American experts, to underscore the US commitment in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has been sending couched warnings to the US business community that unless it can announce tangible deals at the forthcoming summit, the high-profiled event could be construed as an exercise in futility by the participating countries.

Business will also be a key theme on the summit agenda. Indeed, business simply cannot be divorced from international diplomacy these days.

The success of any summit meeting between the United States and a foreign government is measured by the "tangibles" that emerge from such encounters. Merely signing lofty statements of intent are dismissed in public perception as a waste of time and resources.

The US Chamber of Commerce, whose expertise comes into play at such events, has been helping the Obama administration plan the summit; it has asked its Asia Task Force to identify business opportunities between the US and ASEAN member countries that could fructify into full-fledged deals ripe for signature at the summit.

Although, like most Western Europeans, the US continues to be fixated on China and India, there is a growing school of thought within the administration and the business community that calls for greater attention to the ASEAN region, rated the fifth-largest export market by the US business community.

Although US-ASEAN two-way trade exceeded US$ 175 billion (RM545 billion) in 2008, the widespread belief is that there is still tremendous business potential to be tapped.

According to the US-ASEAN Business Council in Washington DC – the USABC participated in the recent ASEAN Economic Ministers' meeting in Vietnam – efforts are under way to look for opportunities that could crystalize into ripe deals at the summit. (PNA/Bernama)

vcs/rsm

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 — The Potomac River in Washington, D.C., the United States, is showing multiple benefits from restoration efforts, according to a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Reduced nutrients and improved water clarity have increased the abundance and diversity of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the Potomac, the study shows.

Since 1990, the area covered by SAV in the lower Potomac has doubled, the area covered by native SAV has increased 10 fold, the diversity of plant species has increased, and the proportion of exotic species to native species has declined as nutrients have declined, according to the study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and England's National Oceanography Center (NOC) in Southhampton, Britain.

SAV are critical to the ecosystem in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. They provide oxygen, food, and shelter so that invertebrates, fish, crabs and waterfowl can survive. High nutrient levels stimulate algal blooms in the water, decrease water clarity, and block light needed for SAV growth.

The authors analyzed measurements of aquatic plant species abundance, nutrient effluent from the wastewater treatment plant, and water quality from 1990 to 2007. The surveys included a 50- mile reach of the tidal Potomac downstream from Washington.

They found that: native SAV cover increased 10 fold from 288 to 3081 acres; the overall area covered by SAV in the Potomac more than doubled since 1990, increasing from 4207 to 8441 acres; the diversity of SAV has increased. In 1990 the exotic hydrilla was 10 times more abundant than any other species. In 2007 the abundance of the seven most frequently occurring species are more evenly matched; In 1990, more than 80 percent of the total SAV was hydrilla; in 2007 hydrilla declined to 20 percent; results suggest declining fitness of exotic species relative to native species during restoration.

"Improvements to plant communities living at the bottom of the river have occurred nearly in lock step with decreases in nutrients and sediment in the water and incremental reductions in nitrogen effluent entering the river from the wastewater treatment plant for the Washington D.C. area," said USGS scientist Nancy Rybicki.

"Upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant have benefited SAV habitats 50-miles downstream. These findings underscore the benefits of nutrient reduction efforts on a major tributary to the Chesapeake Bay," said Rybicki, who has been conducting research on the Potomac since 1979.

"Our results suggest that widespread recovery of submerged vegetation abundance and diversity can be achievable if restoration efforts are enhanced across the bay," said researcher Henry Ruhl of the NOC. "There are many other estuaries globally where nutrients have been identified as contributing to SAV habitat decline, so restoration is an issue for many governments." (PNA/Xinhua)

ALM/ebp