Philippine Information Agency Central Visayas

  NCIP Bohol head Emmilou M. Gonzaga (right) discussing updates on the ancestral domain claim of the Eskaya communities in Bohol during the Kapihan sa PIA in Bohol. (PIA Bohol) TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) — The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in Bohol announced that the communal title for the Eskaya ancestral domain claim will be issued this year. The community of indigenous peoples in Taytay in Duero, Biabas in Guindulman, Cantaub in Sierra Bullones, and Lundag in Pilar recently gathered in Guindulman to receive the government recognition for their ancestral domain claims, 17 years after they filed their Certificate of Ancestral Domain Claim (CADC). The Eskaya received their CADC in 1997 when then Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Sec. Victor Ramos released the official document acknowledging the government’s receipt of the claim by the indigenous communities. “The claim on ancestral domains was based on established genealogies, folk knowledg...

  TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) — Gilantaw sa Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) nga mas makahimo na ang ilang mga empleyado nga nagpatuman sa Agrarian Reform ilabi na sa paghubad sa nagulgot nga mga buruka sa nagsaw-id ug mga nagsaylo nga mga yuta nga gikatugyan sa ahensya ngadto sa mga mag-uuma. Kini human malampuson nga gitapos sa DAR Bohol ang usa ka workshop nga nagtutok sa paghubad ug pagpahapsay sa mga nagpadayon nga nagsaw-id ug nagsaylo nga mga yuta nga gibahig na isip yutang agricultural. Tumong sa workshop ang paghatag sa nga partisipante nga nga sakop sa DAR sa gikinahanglan nga mga kasayuran, balaod, ug nga tamdanan nga sundon sa higayon nga may mga mahibagatan nga mga suliran sa mga yuta nga nag-saw-id. Mismo si DAR Regional Office Regional Environment and Social Safeguards Specialist Jose Mari Espenido ug representante sa DENR-CENRO Tagbilaran nga si Albert R. Tulang ug Norman A. Manungol, JD ang nagpuli og padayag sa mga solusyon nga ikatanyag ngadto sa mga reklaman...

  TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) — Gikan sa ordinansa nga nagmugna sa Provincial Human Immune Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Multi sectoral council, gilantaw sa Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) Committee on Health and Public Sanitation karon ang panginahanglan nga lig-onon pa ang mga mekanismo aron pugngan ug sumpoon ang mga sakit nga dala sa pagpakighilawas, pinaagi sa pagmugna sa Bohol Province STI, HIV, ug AIDS Council (BPSAC). Ang BPSAC mao nay tahasan sa pagtuki sa mga programa ug pag coordinate sa mga mga isyu ug mga inisyatiba nga may kalambigitan sa Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI), Human Immuno Virus (HIV) ug Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) dinhi sa Bohol. Kahinumduman nga ang lalawigan sa Bohol nagpanday na sa Ordinance No. 2007-007, nga nagmugna sa Provincial HIV/AIDS Multisectoral Council. Karon, dala sa panginahnaglan, ang ordinansa himoon na nga “Strengthening The Provincial Local Aids Council, Providing For A Comprehensive STI, HIV, and AIDS Pre...

  (L-R) PRO7 Spokesperson Police Col. Arvie Aserre Paraon-Bueno, LTO7 Assistant Regional Director Arturo R. Apolinar, LTO7  Chief of Intelligence Unit Hakam Y. Nepomuceno, PCG Command Center Central Visayas Director Lt. j.g. Abel Jan V. Lomboy, and LTFRB7 Transportation Development Officer and Information Officer Eugenio Ibo, Jr. discussing their security measures during the observance of Holy Week. (JJT/PIA7) CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) – Over 2,000 police personnel have been deployed across Central Visayas to ensure public safety in anticipation of the upcoming summer vacation. “Yung deployment po namin nakalatag sa places of convergence. Sa mga place of worship, major thoroughfares, commercial areas, and transportation hubs,”  said Police Regional Office 7 (PRO-7) spokesperson Police Col. Arvie Aserre Paraon-Bueno during the Kapihan sa PIA forum in Cebu. (Our deployment is in areas of convergence—such as places of worship, major roads, commercial areas, and transportation hu...

  Si LTO-7 Assistant Regional Director Arturo R. Apolinar (center) atol sa gipahigayon nga Kapihan sa PIA program niadtong Abril 10 sa Cebu City. (JAT/PIA7 Cebu) CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) –   Gipahimangnoan sa Land Transportation Office – Central Visayas (LTO-7) ang tanang mga motorista, drayber, ug operators sa mga pampubliko ug pribadong sakyanan nga magbyahe karong Semana Santa nga magmatngon ug magbantay sa ilang seguridad ug kaluwasan sa kadalanan. Sumala sa LTO-7, nagpakatap sila ug mga law enforcers sa tanang mga terminal ug seaport sa tibuok rehiyon aron masiguro ang hapsay ug luwas nga pagbyahe sa mga pasahero karong umaabot nga Semana Santa. Atol sa gipahigayon nga Kapihan sa PIA niadtong Abril 10, si LTO-7 chief sa Intelligence and Investigation Unit Hakam Y. Nepomuceno miingon nga ang ilang ahensya nagpatuman usab og random drug ug liquor testing sa mga drayber aron masiguro nga walay mobyahe nga drayber nga ubos sa impluwensya sa ilegal nga droga ug sa ilimnong makahu...

  (L-R) Negros Oriental Provincial Board Member Jessica Villanueva, Lawyer Myles Bejar, Department of Interior and Local Government Provincial Director Farah Gentuya, and a representative of Police Col. Ronan Claraval of Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office during the Provincial Peace and Order Council Meeting on April 2, 2025 in Dumaguete City. (PIA Negros Oriental) DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental (PIA) — The Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) has confiscated a total of 296 firearms for violation of the election gun ban from January to March this year. NOPPO Information Officer Police Lt. Stephen Polinar reported that a police team also arrested 10 persons carrying guns outside their residence. During the recent Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) meeting here, Polinar said most of these arrests happened during the 283 patrol and checkpoints operations conducted by NOPPO. The Philippine National Police (PNP) also conducted a series of Commission on Election...

  CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) — The Department of Health in Central Visayas is urging the public to report suspected cases of measles to the nearest health office in their community.  “We are requesting stakeholders, partners, and even communities to report any suspected cases. Information dissemination should not be limited to health care professionals but must reach down to the smallest units of the community,” said Ruff Vincent Valdivieso, a nurse at the Central Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH-CVCHD). Valdivieso said that among the Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (VPDs) in the country, DOH is focusing on measles as it is the most contagious.  “Among all the other VPDs, we are focused more on measles. Measles is the most contagious among the VPDs. So, kung ma-stop nato ang pinakapaspas mo-transmit, mahinay pud nato ang transmission sa other VPDs,” he said. (If we can stop the fastest-spreading one, we can also slow down the transmission of the other VPDs.) A single in...

  TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, (PIA) — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is urging local government units (LGUs) to adopt cashless transactions.  BSP deputy director for payments policy and development department Maria Christina Masangkay, said they are promoting digital payments as it allows everyone in the community to benefit from financial inclusion.  BSP, together with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), earlier issued Joint Memorandum Circular 1-2022 which outlined the guidelines for LGUs to participate in the Paleng-QR PH program.  Launched in 2019, the Paleng-QR PH works as a person-to-person or person-to-merchants exact payment system.  The program aims to promote the adoption of digital payments in wet markets and public transport and help vendors and consumers feel safer in their financial exchanges.  “QR PH is the national QR code standard that allows fast, low-cost methods to pay, transfer and get funds from other banks and e...

  More than 3,000 establishments in Cebu have already registered with the Emergency Alert Button App created by the Police Regional Office 7 as a crime deterrent tool. The PRO7 is the first among all regional police offices nationwide to come up with an emergency app. (PIA7) CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) – With just one tap, the plan to commit a crime is thwarted after an instant alert is sent to the police with a response time of less than five minutes.   This is the purpose of the first Emergency Alert Button App designed by the Police Regional Office  7, which was created as an alert system for business establishments to seek police assistance during emergencies.  The initiative of the PRO-7 to maximize the use of technology to curb crimes received praise from the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI).  MCCI chairperson Mark Anthony Ynoc lauded the PRO7’s move to apply technology in stifling criminal acts because peace and order is a precursor to entic...

  BSP Visayas Deputy Director for Payments Policy and Development Department Maria Christina Masangkay urges LGUS to adopt the PalengQR Ph, to promote digitalization and inclusive economy. CORTES, Bohol (PIA) —The Provincial Anti-African Swine Fever (ASF) Task Force here has asked the public to stop feeding their hogs with kitchen and table leftovers or swill, especially if these contain pork.  Feeding hogs with food leftovers have earlier been identified by the Department of Agriculture (DA) as a possible cause of the deadly ASF outbreaks.   The DA has reminded swine raisers not to feed pigs with swill.  The task force is also urging the public to buy meat only from markets that bear the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) seal.  “Make sure to buy pork from markets with NMIS seals displayed by stall traders,” said Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado who sits as chairperson of the Provincial ASF Task Force.  The NMIS seal is an assurance that the meat i...

  CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) — Residents and visitors in Central Visayas are advised to take precautions against extreme heat as the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) has warned of potentially dangerous heat conditions in the coming months.  According to the Visayas Pagasa Regional Services Division (VPRSD), the region’s heat index is forecast to reach the danger level category by the end of April and throughout May 2025. The heat index measures how hot it actually feels when humidity is combined with air temperature. “In the coming months, higher na ang atong heat index. Ato nang gi forecast na ang Central Visayas o Negros Island Region, ma reach nato ang danger level category at the end of April and May,” said VPRSD Weather Specialist Jhomer C. Eclarino during the recent Response Cluster meeting of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC7).    (Our heat index will go higher. Our forecast is t...

  CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) —  The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is urging fishermen and local government units (LGUs) to comply with the regulations set by the government for catching Blue Swimming Crabs (BSC).  The BFAR, Department of Agriculture (DA), and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has issued Joint Administrative Order 01 which outlines the regulations for catching BSC to prevent overfishing of the crabs.  The order sets conditions that must be followed by fishermen and mandates LGUs to ensure the updated registration of fishermen who belong to the crab fisheries sector.  “The registration will help facilitate the active monitoring of the fishermen’s sea operations, especially concerning the catching of the Blue Swimming Crab,” explained Alberto G. Simbajon Jr., officer in charge for Enforcement and Regional Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Operation Center of BFAR Central Visayas.  During the recent Coastal...