Zozobrado Speaks On Mindanao Alliance Youth Congress

Councilor Rachel Zozobrado commended the organizers of the Mindanao Alliance Youth Congress for providing a forum and bringing youth from different parts of Mindanao together to discuss issues that concern them now and in the future.

"The active participating of our young citizens in this congress is a concrete manifestation of eagerness in pursuit of transformation not just spiritually but holistically ---as what the Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches of the Philippines is aiming for," she said.

Zozobrado, who represented vice mayor Sara Duterte for the Congress opening night last April 7, said the event is an opportunity for the youth express themselves and to stand and shine for something they believe in.

5 of 8 women councilors vote YES to Children’s Dev’t. Plan

Majority of the Davao City women councilors see the Davao City Local Development Plan for Children as beneficial to women and children and to the family as a whole during last Tuesday's session.

This was evident when five of the eight women councilors in the city voted YES to the resolution which was being pushed by councilor Angela Librado despite the opposition of religious groups headed by Archbishop Fernando Capalla. A total of 18 councilors approved the resolution while 2 abstained and four voted yes.

“I voted yes because I believe nothing in the LDPC is against the law, morals and public policy,” councilor Rachel Zozobrado said yesterday. As a public servant, she said, “I have to think of the common good and the adoption of the LDPC will be beneficial to our children and the people of Davao in general.’

Councilor Mabel Sunga-Acosta asked for the deferment of the approval of the resolution saying it would be best to see the final draft including the amendments first before it is put to a vote. “Anyway the deferment will not change the minds of those who have already decided to vote for or against the resolution,” she said.

But when the councilors decided to put the resolution to a vote, Acosta voted yes. The other female councillors who voted yes for the LDPC are councilors Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz, Sudagar, Zozobrado and Librado-Trinidad. Councilors Dante Apostol and Conde Baluran abstained from voting.

The primary oppositors of the resolution are councilors Teresita Mata-Marañon and Pete Laviña, Pilar Braga and Susan Reta.

“The LDPC has a beautiful title but its reproductive flavour make sit objectionable as it involves contraceptives; the policy is destructive and reduces the meaning of sexual act which can lead to sexual promiscuity, abortion and teenage pregnancy,” Mata-Marañon said.

Councilor Pilar Braga said she voted NO “because of my deep Catholic faith.” Laviña said it is a Trojan horse because the reproductive law has failed to be approved in Congress and now they are using the local legislatives to have it approved.

Librado-Trinidad denied all the allegations of the religious groups and even of Archbishop Capalla saying a closer look at the resolution will show that it promotes the role of parenting and the family in moulding the character of the children and it does not promote pre-marital sex.

Davao Farmers Urged To Promote Products Through ALMACEN

Davao City farmers especially those from the third district should take advantage of the facilities available at the Alternative Marketing Center or ALMACEN located in Catalunan Pequeño this city.

The Josefa Segovia Foundation, Inc. has spent P15 million for ALMACEN, which is an alternative marketplace and marketing center for farmers, cooperatives, local government units and people’s organizations in the city

“Farmers can coordinate with ALMACEN or with their cooperatives so they can market their products using ALMACEN’s facilities,” councilor Rachel Zozobrado said. The JSF has been working with the upland farmers for the last 16 years and they know the needs of the farmers well so they can assist them in marketing their products, she added.

Zozobrado said among the problems being faced by farmers from the third district today is transportation and marketing of their produce. If they can take advantage of the assistance being offered by the Foundation in terms of providing transportation and marketing for their products then they would be better off, she added.

ALMACEN opened its doors to the public November last year and JSF is inviting farmers to coordinate with the Foundation and find the best way for them to market their products for free through the center. They have allotted ten market stalls for farmers cooperative and associations as well as people’s organizations. As of now, only one of the stall is being occupied.

Planning is underway to maximize the exposure for farmers’ products that will be displayed in the center. The center is also being eyed as the venue of night markets for selling fresh fruits, livestock, fish, seedlings and even flowers.

DCWD taps Bgy. Cebuda main line
50-year wait for water now over

The long wait for water is now over as residents of Purok 5, Barangay Cebuda in Bago Oshiro, Mintal this city finally saw water oozing from the main water line of the area. This came after the Davao City Water District tapped the main water line last Thursday, March 27.

“The residents of barangay Cebuda can now start applying for their own water connection,” councilor Rachel Zozobrado said yesterday. The construction of the water line was a project was a project of the late councilor Jesus Zozobrado but lack of communication and other problems delayed the full implementation of the project years after it was completed.

Zozobrado, who witnessed DCWD’s tapping of the main water line, said “at long last niagas na gyud ang tubig diri sa Purok 5.”

The project encountered delays after the Bureau of Plant Industries refused to cooperate with the barangay and then accused the residents of the area as squatters. The project was already completed but DCWD earlier refused to activate the main water line sans the payment of the disinfection fee.

Zozobrado however criticized DCWD for not informing them about the fee earlier so as to fasttrack the project. Engineer Rosendo Almonte, chief of DCWD’s Planning and Design Division said they may have been remiss when they failed to include the P11,839.70 disinfection fee in the work program.

“Nalipay gyud mi kay diri na mi nanigulang pero wala pa gyud mi nakabitan ug tubig,” Sitio Cebuda resident Gloria Sarucam said. Sarucam has been living in Purok 5, Barangay Cebuda in Bago Oshiro all her life. She is now 49 years old. Her five children and her several grandchildren were all born, brought up and presently living in the same barangay for several decades already.
Sarucam said the water from the artesian well can only be used for cleaning and washing but not for drinking. “Pero mauga man gud sya (artesian well) kay gamay lang ang tubig unya daghan pa gyud linta nga musaka kung maugahan (water from the artesian well easily dries up and lots of leech come out of the well when the water is too low) ” she added.

With the activation of the main water line and the possibility of their applications being approved by DCWD, Sarucam and the other residents of Purok 5 no longer have to buy water at P1.50 per container per gallon.

Zozobrado said it is high time that the people of Purok 5, Sitio Cebuda are given a chance to be able to get their own water lines for the first time in 50 years.