Region III

Details: Category: Region 3; Published: 24 December 2018

2018 BNS Conference One thousand six (1,006) Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNSs) swore their Panunumpa ng BNS during the 2018 Central Luzon Regional Conference of BNSs held on 8-9 November 2018 at the Forum Halls of The Orchid Gardens, Lazatin Boulevard, Barangay San Juan, City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Isang pagkilala at pagpupugay sa mga Bida ng programa sa nutrisyon, with the theme “BNS: Bayani, Noon, Ngayon at Bukas”.

This is the 4^th convention after the three successful series of national conferences of the National Nutrition Council held in 2010, 2015 and 2016.

Delegates were from seven (7) provinces, namely Aurora (57); Bataan (56), Bulacan (152), Nueva Ecija (145), Pampanga (92); Tarlac (120) and Zambales (82) and 14 cities, namely Angeles (20), Balanga (26), Cabanatuan (14) Gapan (20) Mabalacat (66) Malolos (15) Meycauayan (30) Olongapo (15), Palayan (20) San Fernando (34), San Jose (18), San Jose Del Monte (9), Science City of Munoz (15) and Tarlac (5).

Other guests who came to celebrate the 40 years of existence of the Barangay Nutrition Program were the 33 members of the Association of Central Luzon District and City Nutrition Program Coordinators (ACL-DCNPCs) District, members of the regional nutrition technical working group (RNTWG), Salinas Food Incorporated and NNC-Region III secretariat.

The event magnified the support extended by the local chief executives from seven (7) provinces, 14 cities, 116 municipalities and about 3,000 barangays in Central Luzon by way of logistics and financial assistance to their BNSs.

Details: Category: Region 3; Published: 06 October 2018

An opening line of a book “The Perfect Meeting” of author David Sharman says “No organization can really function without meetings”. Meeting is considered as one of the essential communication tools at NNC-Region III. It serves as a venue for rapid decision making, disseminating information, internal changes, external changes, exchange of ideas and developing teamwork.

For NNC-Region III, Aha! moment or the sharing of “good things” that happened to one or two members of the team has always been part of the agenda or a starter prior to discussion of serious matters. This is to create an atmosphere of openness and positivism during the meeting.

During the 2 October 2018 meeting, Nutrition Officer III Angelita M. Pasos shared that her Aha! Moment was her discovery of the very touching and meaningful “Sulat ni Tatay at Nanay” written in Module 10: Nutrition among Older Adults of the Trainer’s Manual for Continuing Education for the Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNSs). The discovery took place during the last day of the Training on Basic Course for the BNSs on 24-28 September 2018. NO III Pasos recalled that she first read the poem during her visit at the EMAUS Home for the Aged located in Malolos City, Bulacan many years ago. The poem was shared with the participants of the training. Majority of the female participants (27) of the training exclaimed that they were also moved into tears upon reading the poem.

Details: Category: Region 3; Published: 27 June 2018

region3 dingalan

The saying “Life begins at 40” sounds true for the Municipality of Dingalan, Aurora as it landed to be the 40th Nutriskwela community radio from among the 45 Nutriskwela radio networks established by the National Nutrition Council in 2017. The municipality is also the very first LGU-recipient of the Nutriskwela Community Radio in Central Luzon.

Truly life begins when the municipality chose “Kaedup” to be the radio station’s name. Derived from the tribal dialect “MAEDUP”, which means “Mabuhay”or “Kaagapay sa Buhay”, Radyo Kaedup now literally brings life to its community through the nutrition and development information provided by radio broadcast.

Details: Category: Region 3; Published: 09 October 2018

elderly

Kudos to the elders, 60 years old and above, as the nation observes the 2018 Elderly Filipinos Week with the theme: “Kilalanin at Parangalan: Tagasulong ng Karapatan at Pangangalaga Tungo sa Lipunang Mapagkalinga” on 1-7 October 2018. This year’s celebration in Central Luzon is spearheaded by the Commission on Population-Regional Office III led by Regional Director Eleanor A. Cura of the POPCOM-Regional Office III and an active member of the Regional Nutrition Committee. NNC Region III’s proud member of Senior Citizens, Administrative Aide VI Dulce E. Santos, participated in the said event at the Event Center of the Robinson’s Starmills, City of San Fernando, Pampanga on 1 October 2018. Copies of the NNC-developed Nutri-tips sa Senior Citizens flyers, along with emergency kit, mugs and other goodies were distributed to those who joined the celebration.

The 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article XIII, Section II provision states that “The state shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive health development which shall endeavor to make essential goods, health and other social services available to all people at affordable cost. There shall be priority for the needs of the underprivileged sick, elderly, disabled, women and children”.

Filipinos do love the elder members of their families. And as espoused by the 1987 Philippine Constitution, several laws were enacted as an expression of respect and honor to the elderly Filipinos and to ensure that their rights are ensured and promoted.

Republic Act 7432 “An Act to Maximize the Contribution of Senior Citizens to Nation Building, Grant Benefits and Special Privileges and for Other Purpose;
Republic Act 9994 “The Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010”, and
Republic Act 7876 “An Act Establishing Senior Citizen’s Center in all Cities and Municipalities of the Philippines, and Appropriating Funds Thereof”.

The Philippine Plan of Action for Senior Citizens 2006-2010, which is anchored on international mandates and guided by national policies and legislation acknowledge the role of senior citizens and promoting their active participation in development.

There are also strategies employed to achieve active aging such as:

Prevention of non-communicable diseases. Older adults get disabled due to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (coronary heart disease, stroke), osteoarthritis (a disease that causes joint swelling or “pamamaga ng kasu-kasuan” with pain and limits movement), osteoporosis (a disease in which bones become brittle and more likely to break), and hypertension (high blood pressure and a risk factor for several other NCDs. All of these if older adults are able to practice healthy lifestyle when they were younger.
Access to age-friendly primary health care for early signs and better management of chronic diseases.
Creation of age-friendly environments for senior citizens such as mandatory retirement, creating a friendly environment that encourages participation and strengthening the relationship between age groups.

Details: Category: Region 3; Published: 26 June 2018

san jose As the song goes, “…and we can build this dream together, stand this storm forever, nothing’s gonna stop us now”. Yes, nothing can stop the expanded Regional Nutrition Evaluation Team of Central Luzon (RNET-CL) from taking a wide stride to start and finish the 2018 Monitoring and Evaluation of Local Level Plan Implementation (MELLPI) from April to August 2018.

The team’s “take off point” for the 2018 MELLPI was the validation visits of the contenders for the 2017 Search for the Regional Outstanding Barangay Nutrition Scholars (ROBNS) held on 23 April to 26 May 2018. The 2017 Search for the ROBNS aims to recognize individuals with outstanding performance in improving the nutrition situation of their respective communities. Participating ROBNS contenders came from the cities of Cabanatuan, Science City of Muñoz, San Jose and Palayan (Nueva Ecija); Malolos and Meycauayan (Bulacan), Angeles, San Fernando and Mabalacat (Pampanga) and from the provinces of Aurora (Dilasag), Bataan (Samal), Nueva Ecija (Talavera), Pampanga (Lubao), Tarlac (La Paz) and Zambales (Candelaria).

Details: Category: Region 3; Published: 20 August 2018

dingalan 2 Since its installation on 4 October 2017, Radyo Kaedup Community Radio in Dingalan, Aurora was first visited by a team composed of MQ Mediazone Managing Director Mackay Quadra and Nutrition Officer I Melany A. Orquia of the NNC-Region III on 28 November 2017. The objectives of the monitoring visit were to know the status of the radio station, its current operations, station personnel, functionality of the community radio council, among others.

The monitoring visit inspired the Community Radio Council to improve its operation and on the programs that it broadcast.