Naga City Journal

Doctor Bet Eyes Lying-In Facilities in Barangays

2009-12-21T14:49:03Z

NAGA CITY --- Maverick Bicol Mail columnist Joaquin Chito F. Perez, a general surgeon who caters mainly to the poor and average-income patients in the city and environs and who has been recruited to join Team Naga under the Liberal Party here is pushing for two brilliant projects that will enhance citizen health care once he gets elected as city councilor.
Dr. Chito, as he is fondly called by his patients and friends, will seek for the establishment of lying-in facilities with at least two beds in every two adjacent barangays to be manned by one midwife and a doctor that will go on night shifts from 9 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. the next day.
According to Dr. Chito, the midwife can take care of normal spontaneous deliveries especially at night while the doctor will take care of emergencies like asthmatic attacks, vehicular accidents (particularly those involving motorcycles), knife wounds and other minor incidents where first aid has to be applied first, like suturing to stop the bleeding or to prevent loss of blood until the patient is safely transported to a hospital for further evaluation and management, if necessary. He explained that these doctors will be taken from medical interns who will be required to serve a months community service.
The other equally important project is to put into motion the strict imposition of the Generics Act. He lamented that as of now big drugstores are trying to circumvent this law by giving limited number of drugs to senior citizens on the excuse that they just run out of these expensive drugs. I myself have seen this happen to my patients where I prescribed 14 tablets of drugs but my patient was able to buy only five tablets, he said even as he explained that the drugstore clerk told his patient that they just run out of stock, an oft-repeated alibi.
Dr. Chito said that several action numbers would be put up where senior citizens could call anytime to report situation like this, and more. Action teams would also be set up to be composed of public safety officers or related enforcement bodies who would verify if indeed these drugstores were telling the truth or not, he said.
He added that plainclothes action teams would also be mobilized to pretend to buy the same medicines with senior citizen IDs. If it is verified that these drugstores have been dishonest in their dealings with senior citizens then they will be warned, Perez stressed, adding that on third violation or instance, such errant drugstore would be recommended for the suspension of license to operate or transact business.
Perez said he has been writing about a lot of suggestions in his column in this paper and would be glad to be given the chance to implement them as elected member of the city council.

Naga City Receives 'Gawad Kampeon ng Kabataan 2009" for its Youth Programs

2009-12-14T14:33:06Z

NAGA CITY --- This multi-awarded local government unit again received an award, this time the Gawad Kampeon sa Kabataang Pilipino 2009, to be given by the National Youth Commission (NYC) for the citys most outstanding programs for the youth sector.
City Councilor Ray-An Rentoy, received Thursday the award in behalf of the city government from Pres, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during ceremonies in Malacanang.
Rentoy attributed the citys latest honor to the outgoing administration of Mayor Jesse Robredo whose governance is focused on people empowerment, including the youth sector.
Only last Nov. 25, the city, through First Lady Atty. Leny Robredo, a foremost womans rights advocate, received in the Most Outstanding Violence Against Women (VAW) -Responsive LGU in the Philippines.
The board of judges, according to Rentoy, took note of the city pioneering programs like the Quality Universal Elementary Education in Naga (QUEEN) and QUEEN-Plus which ensure that children of school age in the city have the opportunity to finish basic and secondary education by eliminating barriers to public education admission.
Another program of note is the expanded Sanggawadan which enlarges the menu of benefits to parents who will ensure that their children are in school for the school children to achieve high classroom retention rates.
Reinforcing the Sanggawadan program is the Sangguniang Kabataans approval to allocate 70 percent of its budget for educational assistance to indigent students.
Rentoy said the SK leadership is looking forward to work even more actively with the incoming new city administration to enhance other programs like the City Yout Officials (CYO) and the Iskolar ng Ciudad programs. The CYO has been awarded by the Galing Pook Foundation as an innovative program in 2007. It allows the youth to serve hands-on as city officials, from the mayor down to department heads, for a significant period in summer and receive allowances that they will need in enrolling for the incoming school year.

Metro Naga towns get production facilities for women enterprises

2009-12-10T07:46:22Z

Under the GREAT Women Project

Six LGU-members of the Metro Naga Development Council (MNDC) will soon receive financial and technical assistance from the Canadian International Development Agency-funded GREAT Women Project for the establishment of Common Service Facilities in their respective municipalities. This was signified in a partnership agreement signed last Friday, 3 December, with the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), DTI, DOLE, DOST and DENR.
Said service facilities aim to enhance the production capabilities of women-led micro enterprises, specifically the producers/processors of bamboocraft, agas, pili , ceramics, crabpaste and kakanin in Bula, Milaor, Naga City, Magarao, Gainza and Pili, respectively.
The PCW, formerly known as NCRFW and the lead agency implementing the Gender-Responsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women (GREAT Women) Project, shall provide initial funding for the procurement of equipment. It will likewise provide funding for the capacity development activities of the women micro-entrepreneurs, and provide technical assistance to the Common Service Facilities, among others, making available information vital to the pursuit of the facility and linking it to appropriate technical resources.
MNDC shall facilitate linkages to various business service providers such as national government agencies, non-government organizations, and research institutions; facilitate business support services such as market promotion and inclusion of CSF products in trade fairs.
The partner-LGUs will provide funding for the acquisition of other assets (land, building, office furnishing, and office equipment), operating capital, and research and development. They will also ensure that the needs of the marginalized women are addressed and are carried out in the implementation and management of the CSFs until their turn-over to the WMEs. They will take the lead in creating linkages and networks with support agencies/organizations through their One-Stop Women Enterprise Development Desks; and ensuring the sustainability of project.

The operation of the production facilities is also supported by national government agencies, particularly DOST, DTI, DENR and DOLE. They will provide additional equipment, technical assistance, training, product development and marketing support to ensure the success of the project.

The Gender-Responsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women (GREAT Women) Project is being implemented in the Metro Naga area through PCW and the Metro Naga Development Council. GREAT Women Project Manager Luzviminda A. Villanueva said in an interview that the partnership aims to establish a gender-responsive enabling environment at the local level for the economic empowerment of women, particularly, women in micro-enterprises or WMEs. She said that efforts under the partnership should lead to (a) womens increased access to economic and/or enterprise-related programs and services, (b) better support services for womens economic/ enterprise endeavors, (c) less constraints on women as a result of gender and reproductive roles and expectations, and (d) better incomes and expanded capabilities and life opportunities for women.

Naga wins top national award for advocacy vs violence against women

2009-12-09T07:40:43Z

THE City of Naga was awarded as this years Grand Prize Winner and the Most Outstanding Violence Against Women ( VAW ) Responsive LGU in the Philippines.
Naga City last Nov. 25 received the award at the Rembrandt Hotel in Quezon City. The year-long Search for Outstanding VAW-Responsive LGUs was launched last year by the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), in cooperation with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Women's Crisis Center (WCC), Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), and the Coalition Against Trafficking of Women in Asia-Pacific (CATW-AP).
Naga City bested eleven other nominees to the Search which were also given recognition during the kick-off ceremonies of the 18-day campaign to end violence against women. (VAW). The other finalists were Barangay Luz, Cebu City; Amlan, Negros Oriental; New Lucena, Iloilo City; Jones, Isabela; Calumpit, Bulacan; Calauag, Quezon; Tupi, South Cotabato; Olongapo City; Quezon City; San Juan City; and Davao City.
"The Search for Outstanding VAW-Responsive LGUs recognizes local governments --- barangays, municipalities and citie --- that have excellent gender-sensitive VAW initiatives, policies and programs. The Search is the first of its kind in the country", PCW Chairperson Myrna T. Yao explained.
Why Naga?
Naga City is the first city to file a Protection Order for a VAW survivor through the selfless efforts of Atty. Leni G. Robredo, legal counsel and president of Naga City Council for Women.
The concerted efforts of NGOs facilitated the filing of a case on incestuous rape where the perpetrator was convicted for life imprisonment. It has put in place a standard protocol in handling VAWC cases to avoid duplication of efforts and ensure that utmost care is exercised in dealing with the problem and that proper protection and assistance are extended to the victims. The interventions include rescue, counseling, medical assistance, provision of shelter and administration of justice.
It has promoted awareness on VAW to its constituents through the dissemination of Primers on RA 9262 or the Anti-VAWC law, translated into local dialects.
It has also put in place Anti-VAW mechanisms. The Naga City Council for Women, a tripartite body composed of LGU-government-and NGO groups, serves as the consultative and policy recommendatory body in all issues and concerns of women sector and acts as the city government's arm in gender development.
Worth noting is the participation of Naga City Bantay Familia founded by former City Councilor Nene V. De Asis. As a barangay - based community watch group of women and men, Bantay Familia ensures that delivery of all public and private sector services to women and children victims of violence from the city down to the barangays are effectively organized and coordinated.
The City government has provided a permanent office space for the Naga City Council for Women and the Bantay Familia with office personnel as well as basic equipment and facilities to perform their functions and formulate developmental programs towards prevention and elimination of VAW.
And these mechanisms will not be realized without the unselfish and indispensable support and legal services of the citys forefront women advocates, Atty. Leni G. Robredo, wife of Mayor Jesse M. Robredo, Atty. Imee Abardo-Estrada Legal Officer IV of City Legal Office, and Atty. Hazel Marie Lavitoria , Branch Coordinator , Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panlegal ( SALIGAN-BICOL).

AcadFest 2009 winners bared; Ateneo declared champ

2009-11-05T08:33:08Z

NAGA CITY --- Defending champion Ateneo de Naga University secured the top crown in the recently concluded Academic Festival (AcadFest) 2009 held October 28-30 at the Naga City Youth Center here.
Universidad de Sta. Isabel was first runner-up, followed by La Consolacion Academy of Iriga City as second runner-up. Third runner-up was Philippine Science High School, Bicol campus, which was dislodged from its first runner-up rank in last years academic fest.
AcadeFest is an annual academic and public speaking competition among high school students in this city and the province of Camarines Sur. It is hosted by UP Harong, an organization of University of the Philippines-Diliman Bicolano students, in cooperation with the City Government of Naga and private sponsors.
This years theme, Breaking the Apathy: The Critical Role of the Bicolano Youth in Political Participation and Social Transformation challenges the Bicolano youth to partake in political activities and to initiate social change.
Participants vied for cash prizes, medals and certificates in at least six academic events in the 3-day competition.
Janine Patricia G. Robredo of the Universidad de Sta. Isabel, the mayors daughter, was adjudged Best Speaker of the Tingog nin Rason Debate Tournament final round and Dwight Garvy Tan of the Ateneo de Naga University was picked the Best Over-All Speaker during the Tingog nin Rason Debate Tournament where the Ateneo de Naga Debating Team emerged as champion.
Following are the champions of the other events: 2ndd Ladawan nin Kabikolan Photojournalis-- Jainee Khyara Almazan (La Consolacion College, Iriga); 6th Gayon Bikolnon Poster Making Contes-- Gil Bustilla (Baao National High School); 7th Sural Essay Writing Contest -- Deborah Nolasco (Naga College Foundation); 8th Harong nin Dunong Quiz Bee (Team A, Philippine Science HS Bicol); 12th Boses kan Jovenes PublicSpeaking Contest -- Dwight Tan (AdNU); 14th Tingog nin Rason DebateTournament (Team A, AdNU)

Tanya Mia Perez, AcadFest chairperson, said the event is part of the organizations role of honing well-rounded individuals and developing their potentials. It aims to promote awareness among the students of their being a decisive force in determining the future of our society, she explained even as she added that the various contests shall exhibit the advocacies of our organization and uphold the value of camaraderie, intellectual freedom, and social awareness.

Aquino: Congress should re-apportion districts nationwide

2009-10-29T07:44:01Z

NEWSBREAK | Tuesday | 27 October 2009
Written by Jesus F. Llanto
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[image] http://newsbreak.com.ph/images/stories/zoom/govtofficials/noynoy_robredo.jpg

Senator Benigno Aquino III, chair of the Senate committee on local governments, and Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional a recently passed law creating a new district in Camarines Sur, which failed to meet the minimum population requirement and is widely believed to an accommodation for President Arroyos son.

Named respondents of the case are Commission on Elections commissioners Jose Melo, Rene Sarmiento, Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle, Armando Velasco, Elias Yusoph, and Gregorio Larrazabal.

Instead of forming unqualified districts on a piecemeal basis, Congress should instead push for a wholesale re-apportionment of congressional districts nationwide, Aquino told Newsbreak right before filing the 37-page petition.

It is better and more equitable and it can track population movements, Aquino said.

The 1987 Constitution mandates Congress to re-apportion legislative districts within 3 years following the return of every census. The last census was conducted in 2007. Bills calling for wholesale re-apportionment of districts have been pending in the Congress even before that.

Asked why proposals for a sweeping re-apportionment have not gained support, Aquino said that redistricting has great impact on local political dynamics. Lawmakers will find out that they may lose their bailiwicks.
Suddenly unopposed

The new Camarines Sur district being questioned is widely believed to be a case of preserving a politicians bailiwick. Republic Act 9716 has been seen as a form of accommodation for the presidents son, Rep. Dato Arroyo, who represents the provinces first district.

Talk is rife that Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya, the former congressman of the first district, is eyeing a comeback in 2010. The creation of a new district, therefore, will prevent them from facing each other.

This law favors both of them because they will not face each other in the next election. Bigla silang nawalan ng kalaban (suddenly, they will both be running unopposed), Aquino told reporters.

He noted the unusual speed with which the bill passed the House of Representativesa week after it was filed. Normally, the gestation of the bill last for a year.

RA 9716 created a new district in Camarines Sur by regrouping the towns of the first and second district.

The enactment of RA 9716 done beyond the framework of the Constitution clearly shows that the same was accomplished with grave abuse of discretion and in excess of authority. It is patently unconstitutional, manifestly illegal and contrary to the fundamental law of the land, the petition reads.

Section 5-3, Article 6 of the Constitution requires a minimum population of 250,000 for a local government unit or clusters of LGUs to be declared a congressional district. Each district should be composed of a contiguous, compact, and adjacent territory.
Below minimum

Aquino said the law resulted into the creation of a district with a population of 170,000 which is below the minimum population requirement of 250,000.

RA 9716, which was signed on October 12 by President Arroyo, was published on October 15 in Manila Standard newspaper. It will take effect 15 days after the publication, or on October 30.

Under this law, the municipalities of Libmanan, Pamplona, Pasacao and San Fernando of the first district were grouped with the towns of Gainza and Milaor from the second district to form a new district to be called the second district.

The remaining towns of the former first district will become the new first legislative district of the province while the former second district will be renamed as the third legislative district. The former third and fourth district will be called as the new fourth and fifth legislative districts, respectively.

With the reapportionment of the two districts, the first district will have a population of 176,383, way below the population requirement under the Constitution, the petition reads.
Why not entire Camsur?

Robredo, meanwhile, said that aside from being unconstitutional, the law is inequitable and lacks consultation with the residents. He added that if one is to follow the proportion stated in the Constitution, Camarines Sur is entitled to six districts because it has a population of 1.6 million.

Why did they choose to redistrict that part of the province only? Why did they not consider reapportioning the entire province? Robredo told Newsbreak.

Camarines Sur should have six districts but if they make it six, there will be changes in the dynamics of local politics, Robredo said.

Aquino added that this law might encourage lawmakers to propose creation of new districts with population less than 250,000. There are changing what has been traditionally been accepted as the rule. What will prevent other proposed districts with population of 170,000 from asking for additional representation?
Unlike Makati

Aquino said the case of Camarines Sur is different from what happened when a new legislative district was created in Makati City after its conversion into a highly urbanized city in through Republic Act 7854 in 1995.

The case of Makati City has been by cited Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte and Senator Joker Arroyo during the height of the deliberations on the proposed new district. Republic Act 7854 added a new legislative district in Makati and was also questioned before the Supreme Court because the citys population, based on 1990 census, was only 450,000.

The case was filed by Juanito Amatong, a Makati resident against the Commission on Elections. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition for lack of merit.

Even granting that the population of Makati as of the 1990 census stood at four hundred fifty thousand (450,000), its legislative district may still be increased since it has met the minimum population requirement of two hundred fifty thousand (250,000). In fact, section 3 of the Ordinance appended to the Constitution provides that a city whose population has increased to more than two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) shall be entitled to at least one congressional representative, the SC decision on Mariano v. Comelec reads.

Aquino, however, said the same decision contained a footnote that states that a certification from the then National Census and Statistics Office was issued and it said that the population of 1994 was already 508,174.

The legislators knew already that the population of Makati has reached 500,000 before the law took effect, Aquino told Newsbreak. If you have a population of 250,001 does that mean there is a need to create a new district? (Newsbreak)

Noynoy Skeds Naga, Camarines Sur Visit

2009-10-22T09:28:09Z

NAGA CITY --- Liberal Party presidential aspirant Noynoy Aquino will be in town on Saturday, October 24, to witness the formal unveiling and blessing of the Ninoy and Cory Avenue, the main thoroughfare fronting the SM City Naga at the citys Central Business District II.
The Sangguniang Panglunsod here passed Ordinance No. 2009-060 naming the street that stretches from corner Panganiban Drive to corner Roxas Avenue (Diversion Road) in recognition of the significant contributions to the restoration of Philippine democracy of couples former Sen. Benigno Ninoy Aquino, Jr. and former Philippine President Corazon Cory C. Aquino, Noynoys parents.
Compared to other areas in the country, Naga City and the Bicol region in general gave the widest margin to Cory in the 1986 elections that saw the toppling of Martial Law helmsman Ferdinand Marcos.
Arriving at the Naga airport in the morning of Saturday, the young senator will immediately proceed to the Archbishops residence for a courtesy call on Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legazpi. He will then make another call to Monsignor Zosimo Sanado at the nearby Naga Metropolitan Cathedral grounds for a similar call and brief conference with members of the local media.
Local organizers said Noynoy and his entourage of top LP leaders and senatorial hopefuls will be welcomed by Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo, local city and barangay officials and representatives of various civic, academic, and sectoral organizations. He is also expected to attend a series of consultation meetings with local officials and stakeholders in the towns of Calabanga and Libmanan in Camarines Sur.
In Libmanan, Noynoy will drop by the official residence of Bishop Jose Rojas before the consultation meeting while in Calabanga he will be met by the parish priest there, Fr. Antonio de los Santos, and former Municipal Mayor Ruben Medroso.
Since he announced his plan to run as president in the upcoming 2010 elections, Noynoy has been topping the surveys. In the latest survey by the Social Weather Station for the third quarter of 2009, Noynoy took the top spot with a commanding 60 percent of the respondents who preferred him to be the next president.
In that same survey, second-running Manny Villar of the Nacionalista Party took 37 percent, followed by former President Erap Estrada with 18 percent. Bicolano senator and presidential aspirant Chiz Escudero took the fourth slot with 15 percent.

City councilor wants LRay out of Plaza Rizal immediately

2009-10-19T12:15:43Z

NAGA CITY --- Reminding that Camarines Sur Gov. L-Ray Villafuertes time in Plaza Rizal is up, a city councilor who once served as the city legal officer asked the perovinces top executive officer to leave the plaza immediately following a Supreme Court decision that places the city-based plaza under the administrative control and supervision of the city government.
As an honorable governor, the most prudent and appropriate for you to do is to leave Plaza Rizal immediately, City Councilor Nelson S. Legacion stressed in a privilege speech he delivered during the Sangguniang Panglunsod regular session here last Tuesday, Oct. 13.
On Sept. 18, 2009, the Supreme Court promulgated a decision which read, thus the local government unit that is the proper agent of the Republic of the Philippines that should administer and possess Plaza Rizal is the City of Naga.
The same decision also held that allegation of ownership by the provincial government [of Camarines Sur] by continuous adverse possession since time immemorial does not hold water.
Legacion noted that with the Supreme Court decision, the provincial government of Camarines Sur has been illegally occupying the Plaza for the past 51 years since Naga became a chartered city on June 18, 1948 that effectively placed all properties within the city, including Plaza Rizal, under its territorial jurisdiction.
The city of Naga had consistently been very patient and respectful of the law and the processes of the courts; let us therefore call on the province of Camarines Sur to do the same and obey the recent decision of the Supreme Court, Legacion said.
Tama na! Sobra na an 51 anyos! (Enough is enough; fifty-one years is too much), the city councilor lamented as he called on those occupying the plaza and the merchants who leased it for a flea market to leave quickly the hallowed ground. Magharale na tabi kamo dyan sa Plaza Rizal! Irespeto po nindo si Gat. Jose protacio Rizal! Irespeto po nindo an mga residente kan siyudad, Legacion made his plea in the local language.
In the same privilege speech Legacion said that with the legal victory, it would be remembered that former City Legal Officer Rolando Bobis (who is now RTC judge in Labo, Camarines Norte), incumbent City Legal Officer Angel Ojastro III and Legacion himself as former city legal officer were the legal advocates who worked hard in the courtl battles from the RTC, to the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.
Credit should likewise be given to our city mayor who, as always, had been very supportive of the quest to recover Plaza Rizal and who even served as the guiding light throughout the entire judicial process, the city councilor stressed. He also wanted to share the sweet legal victory with the faithful followers of Dr. Jose Rizal and the officers and members of the Knights of Rizal.
Legacion disclosed that it was Atty. Bobis who started it all as he was the one who thought of and initiated the filing of an action for declaratory relief in 1997.

SC orders Naga to take over Plaza Rizal

2009-10-08T13:16:00Z

NAGA CITY --- The battle that turns nastier each day between this city and the provincial government of Camarines Sur over Plaza Rizal is, as it is hoped, finally over.
The Third Division of the Supreme Court in its order dated Sept. 18, 2009 has declared that Plaza Rizal, which is under the territorial jurisdiction of the city, should be under the administrative control and supervision of the city.
The decision, penned by Associate Justice Minita V. Chico-Nazario and concurred by Associate Justices Presbitero J. Velasco and Eduardo B. Nachura, once and for all resolved that Camarines Sur cannot claim that Plaza Rizal is part of its patrimonial property. It clearly stated, thus: The administrative control and supervision of Plaza Rizal is hereby vested in the City of Naga.
Naguenos hailed the Supreme Court decision as a victory for the people of Naga City, as well as for the decent people of Camarines Sur. Henceforth, they expect the plaza to be returned to its original noble purpose as a public park that gives honor to the national hero for whom it was dedicated. As of this writing, the plaza remains a beehive of stalls, hawkers, and traders who have paid their rent for the three-season yearlong tiangge, or flea market, under the supervision of the provincial government.
The provincial governments insistence that it owns Plaza Rizal, which is often the site of Capitol-sponsored flea markets and trade fairs, has long been dismissed by the Regional Trial Court. When appealed before the Court of Appeals, the latter on March 14, 2007 ruled that allegation of ownership by the provincial government by continuous adverse possession since time immemorial does not hold water.
For a considerable period of time, the provincial government of Camarines Sur possessed and claimed ownership of Plaza Rizal by virtue of a tax declaration. As a result, Camarines Sur exercised administrative control and management of the plaza, to the exclusion of the City of Naga. The city government, therefore, could not introduce improvements thereat and its constituents could not use the property without securing permit from the provincial capitol. This situation, the Supreme Court noted, created a conflict of interest between the two parties and had generated animosities among their respective officials.
It was noted in the same decision that the city did not intend to acquire ownership of the plaza as it was a property of public domain which could not be claimed by any subdivision of the state. Instead, the city sought a declaration that the administrative control and management of the plaza be vested in it, given that such property is within its territorial jurisdiction.
Plaza Rizal used to be a garden that served as the front lawn of the old capitol site (on which now stand Banco de Oro and Robertson Department Store) when Naga was the capital of the province. A monument of the national hero was built on it sometime in 1911. The provincial capitol continues to take control over that parcel of land even when the seat of the provincial government was long transferred to Bgy. Cadlan, in Pili, Camarines Sur, the new provincial capital.
In an earlier decision , the Court of Appeals held that when Naga was converted from municipality into a city, all properties under its territorial jurisdiction, including Plaza Rizal, were vested upon it.

2009 Bicolano Artists Honored

2009-10-05T15:59:24Z

NAGA CITY --- National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario says he sees bright future for the Bicolano artists, given their esteemed recognition, which should not go the way of their counterpart in the national search for artists that regretfully has been haunted by selection controversy marred by selfish agenda and political patronage and pressure.

Nabibili na an national artist ngayon, he kidded aside but continued talking about the universal quest for truth and the value of honesty in all human endeavors, especially in the fields of arts, politics and culture.

Almario, also known as Rio Alma, is a poet, literary historian and critic who has revived and reinvented traditional Filipino poetic forms, even as he championed modernist poetics. He was the guest speaker during the well-attended Banggi nin Pagrokyaw or the conferment of honor and title to the 11 Bikolano Artists of the Year, dubbed as Bikolinismo 2009, held Tuesday night, Sept. 29, at Avenue Plaza Hotel here.

Conferred the highest Bikolano Artist Award who were all present during the rites were: Pancho M. Piano,Wilson B. Belarmino, Jose A. Barcena, Jr., and Ricardo Perez for Visual Arts; William M. Espejo for Theater Arts; Zeus A. Salazar, Alvin B. Yapan, Abdon M. Balde, Jr., and H. Francisco V. Penones, Jr., for Literature; Catherine Garcia-Molina and Ricardo A.Lee for Film and Broadcast Arts.

Naga City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo, Vice Mayor Gabby Bordado, and Dr. Ramona Raneses of the Bicol Regional Council for Culture and the Arts, along with National Artist Almario, conferred the awards, a plaque and a medallion, to each of the newly proclaimed artists.

The search that aims to recognize the most outstanding artists of Bicolandia, according to the city mayor, was launched February this year when the city hosted the month-long 16th National Arts Month-Bikol Arts Festival.
The Banggi nin Pagrokyaw also honored the winners of the 16th Premio Tomas Arejola para sa Literaturang Bikolnon, the regions most prestigious literary contest sponsored by the Arejola Foundation for Social Progress chaired by Carlos A. Arejola. Winners were picked for various categories, such as rawitdawit, saysay, osipon na pan-aki, nobela and dula whose entries came from budding poets and artists from all over Bicol.

Robredo said the double event was a historic and momentous occasion as it was not only a celebration of the highest level of Bikolano artistry but also an affirmation that we have taken a step closer towards our aspiration for that vibrant city of our dreams.

He said that what will give the region greater pleasure is the coming of the day when we fete the first ever Bikolano National Artist, hopefully coming from their ranks.

This years board of judges for the inaugural search for Bikolano Artists was composed of Sor Asuncion G. Evidente, D.C., president of Universidad de Sta. Isabel; Dr. Ramona B. Raneses, BRCCA chair; Fr. Danilo G. Isidro, S.J., of the Ateneo de Naga University; Carlos A. Arejola, and; Poet and Playwright Frank G. Rivera of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

The working committee for this years search is headed by Wilfredo B. Prilles, Jr. of the Naga City government.