Despite the crisis brought about by Covid-19, the celebration of the 29th National Family Week in the city promises to make the 2,475 Sanggawadan schoolchildren in the city happy.

This, after the LGU Naga’s Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) prepares to distribute tomorrow, September 24, this year, school supplies like art materials, pencils, and pad papers that the children can use during online classes.

Annabel Vargas, CSWDO head, said that aside from the supplies, each kid, whose families are members of the city government’s Sanggawadan Program, will also be given 10 kilos of rice. Each of them will receive again 30 kilos more before the end of September, this year.

Before their admission to the Sanggawadan program, the children worked as watch-your-car boys, newsboys, peddlers of homemade meryendas and kakanin, store attendants and helpers at ukay-ukay (hand-me-down) stores, to help augment their families’ income, which also deprived them of precious time to spend for studies and stay in school.

The program provides indigent families with rice subsidies in exchange for sending their students to school to complete at least their elementary and secondary education. The amount saved for rice may be expended for their children’s transportation and daily allowance.

Included in the list of Sanggawadan children are sons and daughters of solo parents.

The program is an extension of the AusAID State and Urban Working Children Program (SUWCP) that the city government continues to implement even after the said international agency terminated the program 12 years ago.

Among the 25 cities in the country where SUWCP had been implemented, only the city of Naga decided to sustain its implementation despite the cessation of financial and material assistance originally extended by the AusAid.

NAGA CITY — At least 7 teams were organized to complement the manpower requirement of the newly created Naga City Covid-19 Vaccination Operation Center (NCVOC) which is mandated to see to it the successful execution of the vaccination roll-out in this city.

The establishment of the Center was considered since the Philippines is now under Phase III of the National Action Plan Against Coronavirus disease 2019 that seeks to mitigate the health risks related to Covid-19 while gradually transitioning to full socioeconomic recovery.

One of the key components of Phase III is a national vaccination program intended to make the majority of the Filipino people less susceptible to Covid-19.

Mayor Nelson Legacion earlier issued Executive Order 2021-01 that created the preparatory committee in Naga City for the national and local vaccination programs tasked with the formulation of the Naga City Vaccination Plan including the identification of vaccines, vaccination sites, cold storage, public health workers, among others.

The 7 teams are:

1. Planning, Campaign Management and Technical Team which is composed of the City Health Office personnel with Dr. Vito Borja II as team leader.
2. Cold chain and Logistics Team of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office with Ernesto Elcamel as team leader.
3. Coordination Team of the Public Safety Office with Renne Gumba as team leader.
4. Vaccine safety, Surveillance and Response Team composed of the Naga City Hospital personnel headed by Dr. Joseph Sanchez as team leader.
5. Communication, Advocacy, and Partnership Team of the City Events, Protocol, and Public Information Office headed by Allen Reondanga as team leader.
6. Vaccination Site Management Team of the City Engineer’s Office and the Solid Management Office with Engr. Alexander Caning and Engr. Joel Martin as team leader and co-team leader, respectively.
7. Finance Team is to be headed by City Budget Officer Francisco Mendoza as team leader.

Executive Order 2021-004 also created the NCVOC Executive Committee to facilitate coordination among the teams, and identify and address implementation issues or bottlenecks in advance. It shall be chaired by the city mayor and co-chaired by the city director of the Department of Interior and Local Government. It shall have the following members:

1. A DOH representative
2. Chief of Police, PNP
3. Superintendent, DepEd-Naga
4. President, Liga ng mga Barangay
5. Chairperson, SP Committee on Health
6. City Administrator
7. All NCVOC Team Leaders and Co-Team Leader
8. City Planning and Development Coordinator
9. Information and Technology Officer
10. Representative, NCPC

296 inoculated at BMC

At least 296 of the medical healthcare workers of the LGU were already inoculated with AstraZeneca vaccines yesterday, March 22.

The vaccination, which was conducted at the Bicol Medical Center and administered by the health personnel of the regional hospital, was held few days before the city government will engage on mass immunization of 3,600 PWDs with ages range from 30 to 59 years old.

Paul John Barrosa, head of Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO), said the target age group was recorded to have the highest number of persons who died due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid 19) last year.

The vaccinated frontliners at the BMC are doctors, nurses, midwives, ambulance drivers and other frontline employees of the City Health Office, Naga City Hospital, and Our Lady of Lourdes Infirmary.

Dr. Joey Rañola, BMC’s focal person for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases (EREID), said the vaccination will also serve as an avenue for the city’s medical frontliners to further their knowledge on immunization administration.

“The immunization which the city’s frontliners have gone through could expand the understanding they obtained from the series of webinars organized by the Department of Health in the province,” he said.

NAGA CITY — An ordinance that will work for an expeditious, efficient, and effective way of getting public and official records from the city government was enacted recently by the Sangguniang Panlungsod and approved by Mayor Nelson Legacion on Monday, Feb. 28, 2021.

Known as the Freedom of Information ordinance of the city government of Naga, the measure, which was authored by City Councilor Jessie R. Albeus, discussed in detail the kind of pieces of information that are allowed for mandatory disclosure and the manner as to how they can be accessed.

Legacion said that with the implementation of the ordinance, the LGU’s transparency and public accountability advocacy will further be strengthened.

The mechanism is contained also with guidelines on what data or documents which are exception to the freedom of information rule as stated in the November 24, 2016 memorandum issued by the Office of the Executive Secretary.

Section 11 of the ordinance said: “FOI shall be denied when the information falls under any of the exceptions enshrined in the Constitution, existing law or jurisprudence.”

The memo enumerates at least seven, they are:

1. Privileged information relating to national security, defense or international relations;
2. Information concerning law enforcement and protection of public and personal safety (confidential information of the Naga City Police Office, Public Safety Office, and other local government agencies related to acts of terrorism, drugs, human trafficking, firearms smuggling and the likes);
3. Information deemed confidential for the protection of the privacy of persons including minors who are victims of crimes or the accused;
4. Information, documents, or records known by reason of official capacity and are deemed as confidential, including those submitted or disclosed by entities to government agencies, tribunals, boards or officers, in relation to the performance of their functions or to inquiries or investigation conducted by them in the exercise of their administrative, regulatory, or quasi-judicial powers;
5. Prejudicial premature disclosure;
6. Records of proceedings or information from proceedings which, pursuant to law or relevant rules and regulations, are treated as confidential or privileged;
7. Matters considered confidential under banking and finance laws and other amendatory laws.

In an interview, Albeus said if the Office of the City Administrator, the designated FOI Coordinating Office and Integrating Complaints Mechanism Unit, decides to deny the request, it shall as soon as practicable, in any case within 15 working days from receipt of the request to notify in writing the requesting party about the denial.

“The notice shall clearly set forth the ground(s) for denial and the circumstances on which the denial is based. Right to information will obviously be denied if the application is fictitious or not legitimate, pure curiosity, for commercial purpose, contrary to laws, morals, good customs or public policy, and has evident improper motive,” he said.

The ordinance also bears remedies on denial of request for access to information, such as:

1. Filing of an appeal to the Office of the City Mayor. Provided, that the written appeal must be filed by the same person who made the request within 3 working days from the notice of the denial or from the lapse of the relevant period to respond to the request.
2. The appeal shall be decided by the Office of the City Mayor within 5 working days from the filing of the written appeal. Failure of the OCM to decide within the afore-stated period shall be deemed a denial of the appeal.
3. In case of legislative records that were presented to or belonging to the Sangguniang Panlungsod or any of its committees, the appeal must be requested from the Office of the City Vice Mayor within 3 working days.
4. Upon exhaustion of administrative appeal remedies, the requesting party may file the appropriate case in the proper court in accordance with the Rules of Court.

Failure of any government officer to comply with the provisions of the ordinance shall be a ground for the following penalties: 1st offense, reprimand; 2nd offense, suspension of 1 to 30 days, and 3rd offense, dismissal from service.

However, mere denial will not be a ground for liability. A mere denial in good faith of a request made pursuant to the provisions of the ordinance shall not constitute grounds for the penalties.

NAGA CITY — Piglansar kan LGU Naga an Civil Society Organization Desk na maserbing facilidad tanganing magin marikas an proseso sa pag-accredit o formal na pagbisto sa mga NGOs asin people’s organization sa laog kan ciudad.

An kamawotan kan LGU Naga na magin kapartner an mga civil society organizations sa pagpadalagan kan gobyerno lokal pigtutubudan na magiging sarong dalan tanganing mapaorog pang lalo an advocacy para sa marhay na paggobernar sa paagi nin makusog na people’s participation.

An aktibidad piggibo kasoodma, aldaw nin Lunes, Marso 30, pagkatapos kan flag raising ceremony, sa pangengenot ni Alkalde Nelson Legacion, Bise-Alkalde Cecilia V. De Asis asin mga miembros kan Sangguniang Panlungsod.

An proseso para sa accreditation gamit an CSO desk gigibohon online sa paagi kan link na: nagacitycsodesk.wordpress.com

Segun ki City Councilor Ghiel Rosales, chairman kan Committee on People Empowerment sa Sangguniang Panlungsod, pig aapod na one-stop-shop an proseso huli ta an transaksyon sa CSO desk matao nin access sa mga accreditation applicants nin kumpletong giya sagkod sa magin accredited sinda.

An mga transaksyon na pigtatao kan CSO Desk:

1. Access available resources and guidelines (e.g. Empowerment Ordinance, CSO Directory, DILG MC);
2. Download template forms and documents;
3. Upload required documents for CSOs applying for accreditation;
4. Register your organization for the Naga City CSO Directory;
5. Submit inquiries to the CSO Desk Officer. Visit the page through the link below: https://nagacitycsodesk.wordpress.com/ #NagaCityCSODirectory #CSOaccreditation #SPNaga

Sinabi ni Rosales na dae na kaipuhan magbisita pa sa City Hall para sana ma-accredit huli ta kaipuhan lang na mag-visit o isurat asin i-click sa saindang mga computers an arin man sa mga links na ini: https://nagacitycsodesk.wordpress.com/ #NagaCityCSODirectory #CSOaccreditation #SPNaga

An CSO Desk pigmukna tanganing tawan dalan an mahalnas na dalan nin pag accredit sa mga CSOs na iyo an yaon sa marhay na posisyon tanganing magin katabang kan LGU sa mas toltol pang pagpadalagan kan gobyerno arog kan paghaman nin budget, pagpartisipar sa mga proseso, mga committee asin public hearings, sabi pa ni Rosales.