Zamboanga News Forum

Mayor Celso Lobregat and religious leaders of Zamboanga meet in City Hall Friday afternoon to discuss ways and means on how to help resolve the peace and order situation in the Mampang, Arena Blanco and Talon-Talon area. – Joey Bautista

Via Zamboanga Times

by Shiela Covarrubias

Feuding groups in Barangays Mampang and Arena Blanco, through the intercession of Mayor Celso Lobregat, on Tuesday committed to end any and all disputes for peace and tranquillity in their respective villages.

Barangay chairmen Jesus Dulaca of Mampang and Adim Atti of Arena Blanco with their barangay kagawads, tanods accompanied the Estrada family (Mampang) and Abdusamad family (of Arena Blanco) to City Hall to thresh out their differences before Mayor Lobregat at City Hall. Councilor Abdurahman, who is president of the Liga ng mga Barangay and City Hall Executive assistant on barangay affairs Mario Roca also played important part in the settling of the dispute. Lobregat said the meeting Tuesday afternoon was prompted by the numerous incidents took place in the recent past weeks involving the Estrada and Abdusamad families. One incident resulted in the death of Rosalino Estrada Jr. and the wounding of his companion around mid July. A succeeding incident was the attempt on the life of Nur Abdusamad of Arena Blanco. The mayor said tension grips in the two barangays because of mere hearsays or unconfirmed reports (haka-haka) that the families would avenge each other to make up for losses or damages incurred. Both families during the meeting agreed that they will not put the law into their own hands and to let justice take its course. Lobregat said the families together with their respective barangay officials also came to an understanding that should there be any future incidents involving them in the future, the matters would be left to the police. ?They also promised to give any and all information about any incident to the proper authorities?.Aside from Mampang and Arena Blanco barangay officials, also present during the meeting were the mother, brothers and wife of the slain Estrada, Nur Abdusamad and his relatives. Lobregat said the meeting was also upon the initiative of Mampang barangay chairman Dulaca with the purpose of bringing back peace and tranquility in the barangay and the neighboring Arena Blanco. ? Sheila Covarrubias

Via Zamboanga Times

A 49-year-old woman was released yesterday aftrenoon in Arena Blanco after she was abducted by seven armed men in Sta. Maria last Wednesday night.

Delia Francisco, married, was fetched by policemen around 1 pm. and was taken to the Directortate Integration for POlice Operation (DIPO) in Sta. Barbara for custody.Francisco told the police that she was about to go to sleep in her rented house in Sta. Maria around 10 p.m. when a woman appeared and pretended to ask for something from her. When she went out of the house to talk to the woman, seven men alighted from a white van and dragged her to  their vehicle.Francisco said that one of the men punched her in stomach while the others hogtied her inside the car.She recalled that while she was aboard the van, she heard her abductors talking to somebody over the cell phone and were discussing about a pumpboat to ferry them to Basilan.She said they stayed in the van overnight and heard some of her abductors talking in Tausug and Chabacano.Francisco said she later heard her abductors saying that they commited a mistake in taking her instead of their target.At noon yesterday, Francisco said she was freed by her abductors in Arena Blanco. She was still hogtied and blind folded when policemen fetched her.Francisco was presented to Mayor Celso Lobregat yesterday afetrnoon by City Police Director Chief Supt. Amador Corpus. ? Dan Toribio Jr.

Via Zamboanga Times

The problem on overpopulation in public secondary schools is being addressed through the opening of annex schools in the barangays, according to Mayor Celso Lobregat.
Lobregat said this, as he recently spearheaded the opening of the Recodo National High School, a project he initiated and pursued in line with the city’s commitment to help and assist the education sector.

â??We need to open new schools in the barangays to decongest thickly populated high schoolsâ?, the mayor said in an interview. Aside from Recodo National High School, the city government also initiated the opening of the Talon-Talon national high school, Capisan National High School, Lubigan National High School and the Landang Gua Integrated National High School. During the time of the late Mayor Maria Clara Lobregat the city also opened the Zamobanga City High School-North now known as the Don Pablo Lorenzo Memorial High School, the Divisoria National High School now known as the Maria Clara Lorenzo Lobregat National High School. The Recodo National High School had its ceremonial opening for the first year level last week. The over 240 students are utilizing the new 2-storey 8 classroom building intended originally for the Recodo Elementary School, as the school buildings for the high school are still under construction. It was the city government that secured the donation of the lot for the school site from the Consunji family of the Dacon Company. The project broke ground early this year and the construction of the school building as well as the site development are expected to be completed in a few monthsâ?? time. The Recodo National High is expected to resolve the over population problem at the Ayala National High School; the Talon-talon NHS will help decongest the Zamboanga City High School-main in Tetuan while the Capisan NHS will solve the problem on increasing student population at the Southcom National High School. â??In four years, over 1,000 students will be reduced at the Ayala National High School with the opening of Recodo National High Schoolâ?, Mayor Lobregat said. On the other hand, the Landang Gua Integrated HS will help decongest the Arena Blanco NHS.   The present administration began its school building program in 2006 and todate, support to the education sector has reached over half a billion pesos. Meanwhile, Lobregat announced the additional allocation of 50 teacher items to the Zamboanga Division by the Department of Education. Education Secretary Jesli Lapus personally informed him about the additional teacher items and is a response to the city governmentâ??s massive school building infrastructure program. The mayor, who heads the local school board, is closely coordinating with the Division of City Schools under Dr. Dolores Alcantara for the deployment of the teachers based on the Basic Education Information System (BEIS) of the DEPED. (CITY HALL PR – Sheila Covarrubias)  

Via Zamboanga Today

The problem on overpopulation in public secondary schools is being addressed through the opening of annex schools in the barangays, according to Mayor Celso Lobregat.
Lobregat said this, as he recently spearheaded the opening of the Recodo National High School, a project he initiated and pursued in line with the city?s commitment to help and assist the education sector.

?We need to open new schools in the barangays to decongest thickly populated high schools?, the mayor said in an interview. Aside from Recodo National High School, the city government also initiated the opening of the Talon-Talon national high school, Capisan National High School, Lubigan National High School and the Landang Gua Integrated National High School. During the time of the late Mayor Maria Clara Lobregat the city also opened the Zamobanga City High School-North now known as the Don Pablo Lorenzo Memorial High School, the Divisoria National High School now known as the Maria Clara Lorenzo Lobregat National High School. The Recodo National High School had its ceremonial opening for the first year level last week. The over 240 students are utilizing the new 2-storey 8 classroom building intended originally for the Recodo Elementary School, as the school buildings for the high school are still under construction. It was the city government that secured the donation of the lot for the school site from the Consunji family of the Dacon Company. The project broke ground early this year and the construction of the school building as well as the site development are expected to be completed in a few months? time. The Recodo National High is expected to resolve the over population problem at the Ayala National High School; the Talon-Talon NHS will help decongest the Zamboanga City High School-main in Tetuan while the Capisan NHS will solve the problem on increasing student population at the Southcom National High School. ?In four years, over 1,000 students will be reduced at the Ayala National High School with the opening of Recodo National High School,? Lobregat said. On the other hand, the Landang Gua Integrated HS will help decongest the Arena Blanco NHS.   The present administration began its school building program in 2006 and todate, support to the education sector has reached over half a billion pesos. Meanwhile, Lobregat announced the additional allocation of 50 teacher items to the Zamboanga Division by the Department of Education. Education Secretary Jesli Lapus personally informed him about the additional teacher items and is a response to the city government?s massive school building infrastructure program. The mayor, who heads the local school board, is closely coordinating with the Division of City Schools under Dr. Dolores Alcantara for the deployment of the teachers based on the Basic Education Information System (BEIS) of the DEPED. ? Sheila Covarrubias

Via Zamboanga Times

The Landang Gua elementary and secondary schools and other island barangays were the first in the list of recipients of the products of Operation 10-Rs, a project initiated by Mayor Celso Lobregat to recycle dilapidated or junk chairs and desks.
Mayor Lobregat yesterday morning supervised the delivery of 260 chairs to Landang Gua in time for the first day of school today. The chairs were ferried from the 10-Rs project depository at the Don Pablo Lorenzo Memorial High School in Gov. Ramos to the Arena Blanco wharf where the facilities were ferried to Landang Gua.

Asdaris Jakaria, head teacher of both Landang Gua Elementary and High Schools, who received the chairs from Mayor Lobregat, expressed appreciation to the chief executive for prioritizing Landang Gua stressing that it will help resolve the problem on lack of chairs in the school. The Landang Gua Elementary School has an estimated student population of 400 for school year 2009-2010 but the seating capacity is only 142. Jakaria said the 260 chairs allocated for the school would ensure that no student will squat during classes. â??This is a big help to the students and we thank Mayor Lobregat and the city government for this very laudable initiativeâ?. Since Saturday, Mayor Lobregat in cooperation with the other stakeholders in the Operation 10-Rs project has started distributing the chairs to different schools based on a listing prepared by the Division of City Schools. The project, launched late March, is a multi-sectoral undertaking initiated by Mayor Lobregat to â??Recycle, Repair, Refurbish, Rehabilitate, Restore, Remodel, Repaint, Renew, Redistribute and Reuseâ? dilapidated wooden and metal chairs/desks from the public schools. The stock piles of dilapidated armchairs and desks from the different public secondary and elementary schools in the city have now been transformed and recycled to over a thousand chairs/desks, ready for redistribution to and reuse by students this coming school year. Mayor Lobregat said over 1,900 newly recycled and refurbished chairs/desks have already been produced out of the 10-Rs project. The chairs are stored at the gym of Don Pablo Lorezon Memorial National High School but work on more scraps is ongoing at the Zamboanga City Polytechnic College (ZCSPC). No less than Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, who saw the work at the ZCSPC and the newly refurbished chairs at the DPLMHS Thursday, May 28, described the project as amazing and incredible and is contemplating on using Lobegratâ??s initiative as a model project in the Education Congress or Adopt a School Congress or even in the League of City Mayors. A brand new chair or desk now costs between P800 to P950 each, thus sparing the government, either the Department of Education or the local government unit, from spending for the repair of those dilapidated school facilities. Operation 10Rs is undertaken in coordination with Los Cotratistas de la Ciudad de Zamboanga, Industrial Group of Zamboanga, Southern Philippines Deep Sea Fishing Association (SOPHIL), Zamboanga Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerse abd Industry,Inc., Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Commission on Audit, City Schools Division Office, City General Services Office (CGSO), Western Mindanao State University (WMSU), Zamboanga State College of Marine Sciences and Technology (ZSCMST) and ZCSPC. (CITY HALL PR – Sheila Covarrubias)

Via Zamboanga Today

The Landang Gua elementary and secondary schools and other island barangays were the first in the list of recipients of the products of Operation 10-Rs, a project initiated by Mayor Celso Lobregat to recycle dilapidated or junk chairs and desks.
Mayor Lobregat yesterday morning supervised the delivery of 260 chairs to Landang Gua in time for the first day of school today. The chairs were ferried from the 10-Rs project depository at the Don Pablo Lorenzo Memorial High School in Gov. Ramos to the Arena Blanco wharf where the facilities were ferried to Landang Gua.

Asdaris Jakaria, head teacher of both Landang Gua Elementary and High Schools, who received the chairs from Mayor Lobregat, expressed appreciation to the chief executive for prioritizing Landang Gua stressing that it will help resolve the problem on lack of chairs in the school. The Landang Gua Elementary School has an estimated student population of 400 for school year 2009-2010 but the seating capacity is only 142. Jakaria said the 260 chairs allocated for the school would ensure that no student will squat during classes. â??This is a big help to the students and we thank Mayor Lobregat and the city government for this very laudable initiativeâ?. Since Saturday, Mayor Lobregat in cooperation with the other stakeholders in the Operation 10-Rs project has started distributing the chairs to different schools based on a listing prepared by the Division of City Schools. The project, launched late March, is a multi-sectoral undertaking initiated by Mayor Lobregat to â??Recycle, Repair, Refurbish, Rehabilitate, Restore, Remodel, Repaint, Renew, Redistribute and Reuseâ? dilapidated wooden and metal chairs/desks from the public schools. The stock piles of dilapidated armchairs and desks from the different public secondary and elementary schools in the city have now been transformed and recycled to over a thousand chairs/desks, ready for redistribution to and reuse by students this coming school year. Mayor Lobregat said over 1,900 newly recycled and refurbished chairs/desks have already been produced out of the 10-Rs project. The chairs are stored at the gym of Don Pablo Lorezon Memorial National High School but work on more scraps is ongoing at the Zamboanga City Polytechnic College (ZCSPC). No less than Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, who saw the work at the ZCSPC and the newly refurbished chairs at the DPLMHS Thursday, May 28, described the project as amazing and incredible and is contemplating on using Lobegratâ??s initiative as a model project in the Education Congress or Adopt a School Congress or even in the League of City Mayors. A brand new chair or desk now costs between P800 to P950 each, thus sparing the government, either the Department of Education or the local government unit, from spending for the repair of those dilapidated school facilities. Operation 10Rs is undertaken in coordination with Los Cotratistas de la Ciudad de Zamboanga, Industrial Group of Zamboanga, Southern Philippines Deep Sea Fishing Association (SOPHIL), Zamboanga Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerse abd Industry,Inc., Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Commission on Audit, City Schools Division Office, City General Services Office (CGSO), Western Mindanao State University (WMSU), Zamboanga State College of Marine Sciences and Technology (ZSCMST) and ZCSPC. (CITY HALL PR – Sheila Covarrubias)

Via Zamboanga Today