The Rebirth of Kalinga Advocate

By Marciano Paroy Jr.

The concept of using the media in advancing developmental efforts of an organization or an agency is not new. This is the very core of what is stylishly known as Development Communication – an approach that is anchored on the principle “communicating with a purpose.”

It follows the simple premise: if something good has been accomplished, and as a result of such accomplishment, positive change has been attained – resulting to a tangible impact – then that “something good” should be made known through all the available media in its various forms.

While it is true that government offices are here to serve the common good, with public leaders carrying out the mandates for which they were installed in the first place, the cause of pushing for stronger support from the people is made easier when they are completely aware of what leaders are trying to achieve.

True, traditional media would scoff at this methodology – for it does put under the limelight the leaders who are currently in position. But there is nothing wrong with that, since they are indeed performing tasks expected from them. A little line of logic: how could people know about the options available for them when they are completely left in the dark? How can a farmer from Bayabat know of the existence of dispersal projects when no efforts were made to disseminate it? How can a house-maker from Tuga know about livelihood trainings?

Any information – regardless of its source, whether a government information officer or a media practitioner from a private media organization – is always news. Treatment may vary: a private media practitioner may put slants, while a government information officer may take the “highlighting” stance – but still, the intent is the same: to inform.

Kalinga Advocate takes the direction of whetting the people’s right to know – believing that in so knowing, some beneficial changes may be effected in the lives of those who became aware.

As this paper is given a new lease on life, the cause of meaningful change shall be the underlying fabric that weaves all the aspects of development under one cast – which is why its editorial staff and its list of contributors is a conglomeration of this community’s currently active writers.

Tabuk Central School Implements NEPP

It cannot be denied: we seem to have lost the effortless adeptness that we used to have where the English language is concerned.

In here comes the National English Proficiency Program (NEPP) as a national strategy to arrest the staggering decline of Filipinos’ English proficiency. The program is anchored on the concept that learners and teachers become equally responsible in developing an atmosphere where English is the language of instruction.

The learning module for the program goes as far as “knowing the learners first – where they came from, their life in their communities, and their spoken and unspoken needs.” Clearly, this necessitates a very committed role on the part of the teacher.

When teachers at the Tabuk Central School learned that the school would take the lead in implementing the NEPP, adverse reactions were observed and noted. But this initial feedback got slowly eroded as the teachers who were trained began to appreciate the various approaches contained in the program.

First is the so-called 2C2IA (Cognitive, Constructive, Integrative, Interrelated and Affective Approach); the CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) and the LEA (Language Experience Approach) which utilizes the WBL (Whole Brain Literacy Framework). These series of methodologies may seem confusing – but they do make the learning of English as fun and as meaningful as possible. All it takes is the sharing of a common interest between the teacher and the learner and a common vision to use the language in real-life situations.

It should be made clear, however, that the approaches are not really new to teachers because they have been using them – there are just some new innovative insertions and modifications, as well as additional activities so that the learning process would be more meaningful and interesting.

Also, the young student’s advanced view of life is given focus, with emphasis on the influence that the youth may be deriving from fast-changing technologies. The key idea is to cultivate a balanced literacy where the brains of the youth can be made to concentrate on the learning tasks at hand. This is what WBL seeks to attain.

As one of the regional coordinators for NEPP, we are tasked to conduct trainings for other trainors not only in our respective divisions, but even in other regions. Coordinators from the MIMAROPA (Mindoro Oriental, Mindoro Occidental, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) Region and the Ilocos Region were the first to be trained, followed recently by the Cordillera Administrative Regiun, the National Capital Region and the Cagayan Valley.

Tabuk Central School started to implement the program in the first grade. Teachers like Sally Wandaga, Julia Sandoval, Imelda Dinnang, Erlinda Ramos, Eufemia Ducusin, and Gemma Tolentino initially balked at the new concept but later on realized how advantageous the program is – despite being very tiresome.

The end of the sessions with the teachers made us all realized that, aside from grasping new ideas, we also learned to appreciate one another better – and this has been deepened by fruitful discussions that we had.

The demonstration done by the teachers proved how much were imbued from the training. Indeed, education is a continuous process, and that teachers need to be updated with the new directions in the educational system.

TECHNOLOGY AT WORK

TECHNOLOGY AT WORK. KASC Research Coordinator Ferdinand Ganotice oversees the careful handling of the lacatan plantlets that would be finally moved to the demo farm. M-16

KASC REACHES OUT

STAKEHOLDERS, AGRI-MOVERS. (L) Dr. Jovita Saguibo erases the doubts of farmers who are hesitant about going into banana production full-blast, during the forum with active and prospective banana growers. (R) Mr. Gerry Jose from the Provincial Agriculturist Office, acknowledges the participation of a farmer at the forum. M-16

CULTURED LACATAN PLANTLETS BOOST KASC’S PRODUCTION PROSPECTS

by Marciano Paroy Jr.

Research becomes meaningless when its results gather dust in shelves overflowing with literature devoted to technical subjects. Technology becomes useless when its advantages cannot be utilized by a target segment of the population which is supposed to benefit from it.

Not so in the case of the Tissue Culture Laboratory of the Research and Extension Department of the Kalinga Apayao State College. Having spent a considerable amount of fund, time, and effort on the improvement of banana suckers that would produce disease-resistant plantlets, the Laboratory, manned by tissue culture expert Dr. Hazel Buslig, is now ready to reap its first batch of plantlets that have been cultured to ward off diseases, and grow to be robust – thereby potentially increasing the profit considerations of banana farmers.

After several months at the tissue culture lab, and after proving to be adaptable in Tabuk climatic conditions when they were moved to the demo farm, the lacatan banana plantlets can now be dispersed to farmers who are always looking for the best plantlets to raise. The plantlets are also targeted to enterprising farmers who may want to shift to banana production.

Banana cultivation, of course, is not a foreign crop of choice to farmers in the province, as there are many of them who also include the crop in their overall production projects – rightfully recognizing it as one of the high-yielding value crops that are being prioritized by the Department of Agriculture.

“Farmers now have the opportunity to avail of lacatan plantlets that have passed rigorous culturing inside the laboratory,” Mr. Ferdinand Ganotice, KASC Research Coordinator, said. “But farmers, especially the new banana growers, have a lot to consider; like the proper handling of plantlets, the time of planting, the distance of planting, and the method of planting.”

“That is where we can extend additional help to the farmers, since we have technical experts that can address concerns on banana production,” Dr. Maximo Garming, KASC Extension Director, added.

With the lacatan plantlets readily available, does it mean that farmers can visit KASC and buy their plantlets here?

“Definitely. The tissue culture lab has been established to come up with plantlets for commercialization – which is part of the production efforts of the State College. But farmers end up as winners here because the price is lower,” Dr. Jovita Saguibo, Research Director, ended.

KASC Hosts Reg’l Training Workshop On Vermi-Compost And Vermi-Meal Production

The Kalinga-Apayao State College hosted the Regional Training Workshop on Verm-compost and Vermi-meal Production on August 28-29, 2007 at the TAMPCO Training Hall, Tabuk City, Kalinga with Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero, Executive Director of PCAMRD-DOST, as Main Lecturer.

Dr. Eduardo T. Bagtang, KASC President, welcomed the 23 participants from the various agencies and State Universities and Colleges in Cordillera Administrative Region. He thanked Dr. Guerrero for considering KASC to be tapped as the Regional Vermicompost and Vermimeal Production Project (RVVPP)Training Center through the Philippine Council on Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (PCAMRD)

According to Dr. Herbert Imatong, Project In-charge of the RVVPP, the rationale of the RVVP is to promote the vermicompost and the vermimeal production technologies nationwide through techno-demo, training and techno-transfer in strategic regional centers in partnership with SUCs and LGUs and the private sector. Specifically, the program should demonstrate the commercial feasibility of producing vermicompost and vermimieal as an economical and environment-friendly option for the recycling of biodegradable materials(household, municipal and farm wastes); and to mass produce the suitable earthworm species (African night crawler) for dissemination nationwide at a price of P30.00 per kg or less for increasing access of small farmers to earthworm biomass and enhancing livelihood opportunities while reducing pollution of the environment.

Both the Provincial and Municipal governments expressed their support and cooperation for the project. Governor Floydelia R. Diasen was represented by Mrs. Aster Caruso, Executive Assistant for External Affairs, while Mayor Camilo T. Lammawin, Jr. was represented by Mr. Laurence Bayongan, Municipal Administrator.

Dr. Guerrero, in his message, gave emphasis on caring for mother earth and one of the ways is to take care of earthworms. He gave assurance that the African night crawler will not be another pest.

The Training Workshop covered the following topics: Overview of the Vermiculture Industry in the Philippines and its potential for livestock and aqua feeds by Dr Guerrero; Management Requirement of African nightcrawler for production; Economics of vermicompost and vermimeal production by Dr. Guerrero and Dr. Imatong; Role of Vermicompost In Sustainable Crop Production by Dr. Jovita Saguibo; Values Enhancement for Sustainable Vermiculture Project by Dr. Maximo Garming

The second day of the training was devoted to action planning and workshop, visit to the vermiculture project site and presentation of outputs.

Participants were given the chance to view the process of taking care of the earthworms , the gathering and combining of the waste they are going to eat and how to stock the vermicompost.

RESEARCHER BUSLIG IMPROVES BANANA PLANTLETS

By Marciano Paroy Jr.

Banana production is one viable farming venture. However, its production in the province has not reached considerable proportions yet since most farmers fear the risks associated with the crop – specifically, the diseases, like bunchy top, that easily attack the plants as early as the plantlet stage.

But this will soon be addressed by the production of high-quality plantlets that have passed efficient propagation techniques inside the laboratory. These planting materials are currently undergoing what is known as tissue-culture method or micro-propagation inside the tissue-culture laboratory of the KASC Research Division – currently the only tissue-culture lab in the province. Dr. Hazel Buslig oversees the method, having undergone training to equip her with the necessary expertise.

According to Researcher Buslig, tissue culture is a rapid technique used in the production of planting materials by breeding them with the help of an artificial nutrient under sterile condition, which is why the technique should be housed under a carefully monitored lab.

“The advantage of using banana plantlets that have been cultured is obvious. Aside from having higher rates of reproduction, they are sure to be disease-free at the moment of planting, and they very high resistance to the possibility of catching disease as they grow. It’s even more practical because a single stock may produce hundreds or thousands of plants,” the tissue culture expert explained. “Actually, the technique is very much in use in Benguet, particularly by growers of potatoes, orchids and cut-flowers.”

Mr. Ferdinand Ganotice, Research Coordinator, added that the plantlets housed at the tissue-culture lab of KASC will soon be planted at the banana research area. Their growth shall serve as the school’s show window for interested researchers and farmers to observe. When assessed and recommended to be transferable for the community, the plantlets will then be sold to farmers so that they may benefit from the utilization of planting materials that shall erase their apprehension about going into banana production full blast.

“With the chemical solution that Dr. Buslig has concocted, the school hopes to be a major force in banana production through the use of highly improved planting materials,” Dr. Jovita Saguibo, Research Director, envisioned.

Local Colleges Offer Ladderized Courses Approved by TESDA and CHED

by Marciano A. Paroy Jr.

With the current trend of offering ladderized courses in college, the Kalinga-Apayao State College (KASC), the Kalinga Colleges of Science and Technology (KCST), the Saint Louis College of Bulanao (SLCB), and the Cordillera A+ College of Technology (CACT) have overhauled their curricular programming for the courses Bachelor of Agricultural Technology (for KASC), Bachelor of Science in Criminology (for KCST), and Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (for both SLCB and CACT).

These ladderized programs have all passed through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). Director Julie Banganan explains, “The TESDA Provincial Office scrutinizes the curriculum of the program being submitted for ladderization, after which we shall forward it to the regional office. The memorandum of agreement is both given a stamp of approval by TESDA and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).”

According to the Provincial Director, the four tertiary institutions mentioned above have all satisfied the requirements for their programs to get both the CHED and TESDA approval.

“This ladderized scheme is our response to the present mandate of higher education institutions to respond to the need of providing students with as many alternatives as possible when they enroll a certain course,” Dr. Joseph Aguilar, Dean for KASC’s Institute of Agriculture and Forestry, said. “I should mention that KASC is the eleventh school in the Philippines to have its ladderized BAT program approved for offering.”

The Dean explained that if a student decides to take up a certain course, – say, BSA – by the time he finishes his first year in college, he can already be given a National Certificate which would attest that he has earned one-year worth of expertise that makes him legible to land a job within his field. By the time he finishes his second year, another certificate is earned, and so on, until he finally earns the four-year degree.

Ladderization realistically accepts the fact that, in time, a college student will have the tendency to stop pursuing the degree originally enrolled. The certificates strewn along the academic ladders would then provide the inevitable dropouts with opportunities to land jobs even without completing the degree.

Simply put, a student does not have to finish the course to find a job.

“That’s viewing it off-target,” Ms. Cleofalyn Gayaman, a KCST instructor countered. “A ladderized curriculum simply opens other doors for a student who may eventually decide not to pursue the complete degree due to various reasons, like financial constraints.”

The KCST program on Criminology indeed gives Certificate of Security Services (NC-1) to a student who has completed his BSCrim first-year (and NC-2 for a student who has completed his second year) so that he can already opt to apply for a job in security services that minimally require only the level he has attained.

As for Information Technology, both the BSIT courses offered by SLCB and CA+CT follow a ladderized curriculum. The competencies earned during the lower years, according to Director Banganan, would be of great help to the students who may be gainfully employed already as computer programmers, both here and abroad.

“As of now, we are still offering BSIT as an independent course,” Jefferson Tagtag, KCST instructor, commented. “although Director Banganan has been urging us to have our BSIT curriculum ladderized as well.”

“The four-year degree is still the real thing, of course,” Director Banganan said. “Ladderization should not give the notion that a four-year degree is not that important anymore. Also, a certificate which a student has received as early as his first year would give him further preparation in his chosen field. With his certificate, he can already seek employment which can support him as he completes his degree.”

IAF TRAINS AGBANNAWAG FOLKS

by Marciano A. Paroy Jr.

The role of agriculture in rural development is sometimes overplayed up. In excessive supply are technical experts who can automatically deliver a plethora of proposals at the click of a finger – as if giving a series of possible cure to a disease whose cause they have fully diagnosed.

Most of those who blabber technicalese are well-meaning though. And they do have a bag of tricks that can nip a symptom at its early outbreak.

Take the Institute of Agriculture and Forestry (IAF) of the Kalinga-Apayao State College as one distinct example. As the department most directly involved with agricultural extension, and with its impressive roster of technical experts, the IAF has added Agbannawag in its list of barangays that it caters to.

The on-going extension project in Agbannawag is firmly anchored on the precept that if a certain community has to eradicate its problem on food scarcity, then that community has to learn the essentials of food production.

But a barangay can only do so much with its own limited territory – and this becomes an even more pressing problem if the topography does not call for considerable agricultural cultivation.

Here enters the very basic principle of conversion of idle lands to meet the demands of food production. Dr. Joseph Aguilar, Dean of the IAF and project leader for the endeavor, appropriately addressed the concern in his lectures titled “Crop Production and Management” and “The Establishment and Management of Plantations.”

The seminar-training focused on better techniques in the cultivation of root and tuber crops, particularly sweet potato and yam (ubi), that are adaptable to hilly and marginal lands.

The undertaking, funded by the Extension Office under Director Maximo Garming, was able to train 96 participants – most of them farmers, but with several housewives and young trainees. Aiding Dr. Aguilar in the training were Dr. Visitacion Aguilar, Mrs. Iluminada Calbuyao and Mr. Daniel Suma-al from the Municipal Agricultural Office of Tanudan – also Dr. Aguilar’s student in the masteral program of KASC on Rural Development.

Dr. Amado Imper, KASC Vice President for Planning and Extension, recognized that the farmers may know much already, but that there may have been a lot of new knowledge that they have picked from the lectures. The VP also lauded the IAF for making the dissemination of beneficial know-how as one of its thrusts.

The IAF is now scheduling a similar extension training to be delivered to the rural folks of Locog.

ACCREDITATION: NO LONGER A SPECK IN KASC’S VISION

By Marciano A. Paroy Jr.

Only into his first year at the topmost seat of the Kalinga-Apayao State College (KASC), President Eduardo Bagtang has engineered a series of developments through his leadership savvy – the most notable of which is his recent drive to have six programs simultaneously submitted for accreditation.

For several years now, the state college had been making attempts to meet accreditation standards – and Dr. Bagtang’s predecessors at the management helm had indeed done their best to make the leap. The dawdling process somehow got the necessary shove it needed when Dr. Serafin Ngohayon of the Ifugao State College of Agriculture and Forestry (ISCAF) sat for a brief period as the Officer-in-Charge from November 2005-March 2006 – a fleeting stint in his career which has earned him a place in KASC history for having masterminded the accreditation process for the Teacher Education programs of the state college, and getting the nod for Level 1 status.

Inspired obviously by such feat, Dr. Bagtang immediately put accreditation right into the apex section of his concerns when he took over the reigns from Dr. Ngohayon in March 2006.

What Dr. Ngohayon did in such a transitory span of time, Dr. Bagtang did in about the same duration – not for one or two programs, but for six programs!

Last December 2006, accreditors from the well-revered Accrediting Agency for Colleges and Universities of the Philippines (AACUP) came and dug into the documents, pored into the minute details and concerns, raised areas of contention, and inconspicuously jotted down texts and figures into their notes.

And by January of this year, the convoluted mixture of text and figures finally got quantified and qualified. AACUP weighed in, and gave its approving nod to the six programs: BS in Forestry, BS in Agriculture, BS in Agricultural Engineering, BS in Commerce – Management, AB Political Science, and AB History.

It’s about time really. What it obviously needed was the committed ascendancy which Dr. Bagtang displayed – so stirring enough for his human resources to respond and shoot for his vision.

A remarkable accomplishment, from whichever angle one may look at it.

“Now that we have crossed the first stage, we shall keep up with the pace set forth by the President,” Dr. Carmelita Ayang-ang, Vice President for Academic Affairs, remarked. “I have no doubt that with the leadership he exemplifies, the process of accreditation shall be a continuous endeavor until all of the programs shall have passed the levels needed to be attained.”

Accreditation, of course, is but one of Dr. Bagtang’s numerous plans for KASC. Adept in financial management, which has incidentally earned him his post as Auditor in the ASCU-SN, he may yet resolve how to better manage the finances of a cash-strapped institution like KASC.

As he has announced during the recently held Foundation Day of the school last January 26, “We shall look at one direction, and we shall tread the same path that leads us all to that which is but a mere speck in our far-reaching vision.”

COA Equips KASC With e-NGAS

by Marciano A. Paroy Jr.

The finance department of the Kalinga-Apayao State College joins the ever-growing number of agencies that opted to have a fully automated accounting system through a five-day training attended compulsorily by finance and administration personnel, on from Aug. 27 to Sept. 1, 2007.

The training, given by experts from the regional office of the Commission on Audit (COA), aims to equip finance and administration personnel with a state-of-the-art technology known as Electronic New Government Accounting System (e-NGAS).

As posted in the home page for the program (http://engas.gafmis.ph), e-NGAS is an accounting software developed by COA which aims to simplify government accounting, and provide adequate internal controls, as well as reliable and timely financial management information without sacrificing data integrity and fiscal transparency. Implementation of e-NGAS is under the Government Accountancy and Financial Management Information System (GAFMiS) of COA.

The training in KASC, led by Ms. Mary D. Bacwaden of COA-CAR, showed that e-NGAS is a powerful accounting tool that gives its users an immediate picture of the school’s entire financial situation by generating accounting reports and statements at the click of the mouse.

The features of the system include the following: Automated recording of accounting entries to the general journal, posting to the subsidiary ledger and the general ledger; Automatic checking of balances between debits and credits; Adequate security control mechanisms for data integrity and accuracy; Up-to-date generation of government standard reports necessary for management and auditing purposes; Real-time query of interim reports and documents; User-friendly screen; Simplified entry of financial transactions and activities, using transaction templates; Use of responsibility accounting for a more detailed financial reporting and analysis

“This makes our work so much easier,” Mr. Jeoffrey Peralta, KASC Accountant, expressed. “It is to our advantage that the administration has decided to avail of the benefits that the system provides. We shall no longer have problems on pegging how much a certain unit or department still has in its coffers.”

Mr. Peralta also added that if COA returns to fully put the system in place by October, KASC may be the first state college and university in the region to use e-NGAS.

The training was attended by personnel from the Accounting Section: Rex Duclayan and Renee Anjinette Chaclag; from the Cashiering Section: Mary Sarne, Normalyn Buen, Erlingine Sison, and Lourdes Natarte; from the Budget Section: Danilo Buen; from the Payroll Section: Antonio Pang-ay; and the Supply Office: Romulo Langgaman and Artefino Buen.

“After this training, we shall make it the administation’s commitment to have the system implemented the soonest time possible,” College President Eduardo Bagtang said.

Mr. Hector Cortes, one of the trainors, said “We are impressed by the enthusiasm showed by the trainees, and we commend the officialdom of KASC for embarking on this undertaking.”

The team from the regional office includes Peter Garas and Mydee Novencio.

Posted by mars_at

KASC Creates Website

by Marciano A. Paroy Jr.

Responding to the need to hook up with the unrestricted network of information-sharing, the Kalinga-Apayao State College has just created its own website, accessible via http://www.kasc.edu.ph.

In the official website, College President Eduardo Bagtang says “As you continue to search KASC's website, you will find various programs of the college that makes it an interesting educational institution. The dedicated and hard working faculty and staff make the college more promising institution for students who would like to craft a better future and be competitive in the world market.”

The site offers “clickable” tabs into its different areas like Administration, Instruction, Research, Extension, Production, Admission, and Special Projects. Strategically embedded are the all-too important Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives as well as the History of the State College.

The website is continually being developed and maintained by the IT Team headed by Engr. Manuel Bilagot Jr. and Mr. Javyee Flores.