Zamboanga City Government News Bits – June 5, 2015
Three clusters representing the different departments of the City Government battled it out for the title in the cheer dance competition which highlighted the opening program of the Zamboanga Sports and Fitness Program 2015 Friday afternoon, June 5 at the City Coliseum in Tetuan. The sports program will be a friendly competition among city employees in various games and fitness activities during Fridays and weekends with the intention of promoting good health and camaraderie. The opening program culminated with a Zumba dance.
The 3rd day of the Information Caravan (3rd Wave) organized by the Communications Working Group with support from the USAID and the Asia Foundation, engaged with 433 internally displaced persons (IDPs) housed at the Tulungatung transitory site Friday afternoon (June 5). The main agenda of the caravan covered the Code of Policies on Z3R Beneficiary Selection and its Implementing Rules and Regulations with City Housing and Land Management Division Chief Rodrigo Pagotaisidro as key speaker. On Saturday, June 6, the caravan will touch base with home-based IDPs from the east coast and will be held at the ZSCMST gymnasium starting at 9 a.m.
City Police Director Senior Superintendent Angelito Casimiro has suggested certain amendments in the City Ordinance 413, otherwise known was the anti-smoking edict, as he admitted that the police are having problems in imposing penalty on violators, especially those coming from remote or island barangays. The problem with the existing edict, Casimiro explained, arises when a man from an island barangay for instance caught smoking in non-smoking area downtown, the police will have problems or difficulty in bringing him (the violator) to his barangay where he is supposed to render community service in case he cannot pay the citation ticket for P100 as penalty.
The City Government of Zamboanga is all set for this year’s observance of Philippine Arbor Day on June 25. The city-wide celebration dubbed “Arbor Day na Ciudad de Zamboanga,” will be highlighted with massive tree planting by all stakeholders at CCC Freedom Park, Sitio Abong-Abong, Pasonanca. The activity will be proceeded with a commemorative program at 7 a.m. of said date. The tree planting on Arbor Day is provided for under Ordinance 281, which calls for active public participation in the said annual event.
ACF works to ensure sustainability in all its WASH interventions. In a three-day training workshop, held May 25-27, WASH Committees from six Transitory Sites were trained on the basics of operation and maintenance of WASH facilities. Forty-five IDP leaders from Masepla, Buggoc, Silsilah, and Rio Hondo learned the essentials of plumbing, safety procedures of maintenance, mechanisms and functions of hand pump, and installation of single unit sanitation through actual repair of sanitation facility. An action planning workshop was also included to address the current issues on WASH facilities. The same training workshop was held for the second batch on June 3-5, 2015.
Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is a community-based sanitation program which aims to eliminate open defecation by inspiring and empowering communities to build their own latrines. In partnership with the barangay council and barangay health center of Tulungatung, CLTS triggering was done on Zone 7 recently. This is a process where community members are confronted with the crude facts of open defecation. Now 22 families from the said purok are constructing their own latrines. ACF will continue partnership with BLGU and CHO to conduct CLTS triggering in other puroks of Tulungatung as well as three other barangays in Zamboanga.