TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan – Members of the Cordillera Administrative Region-Media Educators on Nutrition (CAR-MENU) learned from the “pros” in their recent visit to Cagayan the province for a benchmarking on the advocacies on nutrition by the Balay ni Ifan – the Region 2-based organization of media practitioners advocating good nutrition.

Established in 2009 as partner of the National Nutrition Council in promoting good nutrition in one of the most challenging provinces in the country, partly due to its location, Balay ni Ifan has cemented its repute as one of the most active media organizations in the country. Since its inception, it has produced many information and education materials all geared towards informing the public about the importance of good nutrition.

Committed in their role as purveyors of information, Balay ni Ifan produced collaterals, radio drama, advertisements, and have even initiated contests that would help promote their advocacy to various sectors such as the academe, out of school youth, mothers, and even the transportation sector.

As volunteers and advocates, professional fees of most members of Balay ni Ifan have been waived and their ad rates, discounted.

The group, currently with 31 media organizations as members also participates in the distribution of food packs not just in this city but even in the farthest villages of Cagayan and in the nearby provinces of Kalinga, Apayao, and Batanes.

Overwhelmed about how far the advocacies of Balay ni Ifan has gone, CAR-MENU President Marilou Guieb said it is both an honor and a challenge for Cordillera media practitioners to replicate or even exceed what its counterpart in Region 2 has done.

Guieb vowed to come up with projects that CAR-MENU will be able to implement – initially in Baguio City, and if successful, in nearby towns of Baguio.

She said CAR-MENU has committed members who are willing to share their time and talent so as to realize the projects that will benefit the communities they serve.

Members of the CAR-MENU who joined the benchmarking activity included Marilou Guieb of Business Mirror, Dennis Dionisio of Philippine News Agency, Rimaliza Opiña of Baguio Midland Courier, Rose Malekchan of MPBC-DZWT, Wenilyn Asuncion of Baguio Chronicle, Joseph Manzano of RPN-DZBS and Dexter A. See of the Baguio Public Information Office, Herald Express, and Manila Standard.

Balay ni Ifan members expressed optimism in the successful implementation of nutrition-related initiatives and activities of their counterparts in the Cordillera. They urged them to strive for the delivery of quality messages that will empower people to practice a healthy lifestyle through good nutrition.

CAR-MENU was organized in 2012.

The Cordillera media delegation was accompanied by NNC-CAR personnel Nancy Paclos and John Carl Legaspi. – CARMENu release (by Dexter See and Rimaliza Opiña)