Total care given for 200 preggy women

LINGAYEN---Ultrasound, pre-natal check-up, laboratory tests, dental check-up, beauty care services, PhilHealth enrollment advocacy, vital signs, pharmacy.

These were the various services that pregnant women from the six eastern towns of Pangasinan availed of following the holding of the “Buntis” Congress  on August 30 at the Rosales Gym in Rosales town.

Gathering more than 200 expectant mothers from Rosales and its neighboring towns of Villasis, Sta. Maria, Sto. Tomas, San Quintin and Balungao, Provincial Health Officer Anna De Guzman said the assembly aimed at encouraging all pregnant women to give birth in a hospital and avail of the health and safety services for the mother and  her child.

Aiming for a zero-maternal death in Pangasinan, Gov. Amado T. Espino, Jr. had often stressed that “no woman should die while giving birth so that every pregnant woman should give birth in a birthing facility.”

Dr. De Guzman said the Buntis Congress was among the strategies of the provincial government to reduce maternal mortality in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of 52 deaths per 100, 000 live births by 2015.

Buntis Congress at Rosales, Pangasinan
Source: Amado T. Espino Jr. Facebook Page

Family Health Cluster Head Cielo Almoite noted that the province hopes to meet the MDG as she noted that based on data, the province has recorded a significant decrease in maternal mortality rate from 104 per 100,000 live births to 54 in 2012.

The congress, which was the fourth to be conducted by the PHO since last year, was held in cooperation with the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society (POGS) in Region 1 and the Pangasinan Medical Society.

The congress also paved the way for the launching of an audio-visual presentation which will be telecast at local cable stations and at waiting areas of the provincial government-owned hospitals.

De Guzman said the AVP encapsulates the Maternal, Neo-Natal, Child Health and Nutrition (MNCHN) program of the province.

As this developed, the pregnant women participants at the congress were very happy as they expressed thanks to the provincial government.

Pearl Ann Mariano, a five-month expectant mother from Barangay Kita-Kita, Balungao expressed her gratitude for the rare opportunity of getting free medical services plus pampering where she also got free foot spa and haircut  from beauty care providers from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) students of Pangasinan School of Arts and Trades led by Clemencia Ibarra and Marymar Rosario.

“Nagpapasalamat po ako at nagkaroon ako ng pagkakataon na matutunan ko ang tamang pangangalaga sa pagbubuntis,” said Ely Rae Pagaduan, a first time mother from San Quintin.

Physicians from POGS performed ultrasound on mothers diagnosed to have high risk pregnancies while medical technologists from the PHO and other government hospitals and Philippine Red Cross performed laboratory tests like blood typing, urinalysis and hematocrit.

The participants, who underwent oral prophylaxis performed by dentists from the Eastern Pangasinan District Hospital and personnel from the Rural Health Unit of Balungao and PHO, also received toothbrushes and calcium lactate for their oral care.

            Also present were USAID Reg’l Cluster Adviser Edward Tandingan, PMS Chairman Ellen Manzano and PMS President Betha Fe Manaois-Castillo who provided free lectures.  (PIO/Angeline D. Villanueva)

Pangasinan soon to have DFA Regional Consular Office

LINGAYEN—  Passports and other documents for  Filipinos bound to foreign countries will soon be processed  in Pangasinan.

This was disclosed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Regional  which said that  a Consular Office will be located at the third floor of Robinson's Pangasinan in Calasiao by the end of this year.

Photo By: Reginald Agsaloln

The closest consular office of DFA is in San Fernando, La Union but most OFWs still get their passports and other travel documents.processed in Metro-Manila.

Revealed during the August 5, 2013 Provincial Board regular session, the DFA Regional Consular Office will not cost the national government any rental fee, said Board Member Ranjit Shahani.

The Board Member also remarked that the opening of a DFA office in the province will encourage people to get passports as such are not only travel documents but are means of identification.

"In fact,passports are more effective-as a notary public- than cedula (community tax certificate)," he said.

In addition, Shahani said that Governor Amado Espino Jr. together with  Ex-President Fidel Ramos, Vice President Jejomar Binay, DFA Secretary Albert Del Rosario, and Senator Grace Poe are expected to lead the inauguration of the office in December. (PIO)

Pangasinan OTOP goes Google Seminar, A Huge Success

Held last July 29, at the Pangasinan Training and Development Center, the OTOP Pangasinan goes Google seminar was positively another pioneering step for the province  to make its local products known all over the world through Google mapping and divulging more to the business community - an "intervention to make the invisible visible" so to speak.

Welcoming you at your arrival are elated attendees coming from the diverse towns of Pangasinan hoping to learn something about bringing their produce globally through a more constructive platform, and the food, needless to say, which got everyone tasting and saying, “Yum!” A photo booth was also installed for everyone's enjoyment and remembrance of the event.

Attendees include LGU representatives and OTOP entrepreneurs

A hundred of participants were in attendance during the event. Entrepreneurs brought some of their town products for display.

The exhibit was surely an eye candy for all, and for someone who have not yet been to the corners of the province, definitely had good time familiarizing himself with the new discovery. I, for one, did not know we had a Duhat wine production.

In terms of pasalubong alone, Pangasinan offers a veritable feast. And when we talk about that ubiquitous term, it isn't simply a token of affection, or a tribute piece of places traveled. When visitors come and visit Pangasinan, they inevitably lug home, say a bottle of "bagoong" or a bag of fresh "tupig", but more than that, they bring home with them history, culture, and even future possibilities.

Other products put on display were: 

Calasiao's best-tasting glutinous rice cakes or the popular ‘puto’ which comes in different colors and flavors;

Bolinao's “binungey” or rice cakes cooked in bamboo tubes over open fire,

and quality shell works;

Lingayen's famous “bagoong” products - that Filipino condiment made of partially or completely fermented fish or shrimps and salt;

Salt which is the catalyst for bagoong, has been the heart of an ancient industry that has built the local economy and given a province its name, and Dasol its business veneration;

"Bangus" or milkfish, and your fill of your various seafood from Alaminos and Dagupan cities and other coastal towns;

Burgos' weaved bamboo products ranging from small wallets to the native "bayong" bags; and

Recycled handicrafts and vermicompost presented by the Solid Waste Management in its endeavor to promote KAP knowledge, and right attitude and practice of proper waste supervision in the province.

The Speakers

Provincial tourism officer Ma. Luisa Elduayan imparts on the participants how OTOP can boost a town's tourism potential. 

Entrepreneurs will surely get a boost and confidence in their businesses as JR Padilla, GBG co- manager, talks on how Google tools can help them.

Vanj Padilla, the manager of Google Business Groups Dagupan, co- presenter of the event, discusses how women entrepreneurs will dominate the world wide web in the years to come.

Speakers from Google South East Asia, Aileen Apolo-de Jesus and Chelle Obligacion-Gray discuss the empowerment of women respectively, and how to go global through Google.

Pangasinan OTOP goes Google!

Source: http://pangasinantour.blogspot.com

Many Philippine provinces and towns have stamped their names through their celebrated products and produce. For sure, a town’s name would invariably conjure images of quality products from an area.

But Pangasinan, to that test, proves to be the pioneer of bringing a wider platform to its small and medium enterprises (SME’s), to not only promote, market, and showcase their products but also, share their unique history and enriched culture.

In partnership with GBG Dagupan and Google Southeast Asia, the Provincial Government of Pangasinan conducts another digital project called “Pangasinan ‘One Town One Product’ (OTOP) goes Google” - an event converging town and city representatives, agencies, provincial offices for Tourism and Agriculture, GBG Dagupan members, media partners, and volunteers from Pangasinan Bloggers.

This will be held on July 29, 2013, from 8:00AM to 4:00PM at the Pangasinan Training and Development Center, and is live streamed via TalkTV Global.

This also serves an eye opener to the province’s local SMEs to further improve and diversify their products with the help of Google Apps, so it would suit the taste of the changing market with the goal of selling quality products.

At The Heart of Pangasinan

The Philippines has roughly 15,000 kilometers of coastline. That’s a whole lot of beach for a country that’s about the size of Italy. And the province of Pangasinan contains a whopping 44 towns and four cities — 15 of which are along the shoreline of the Lingayen Gulf.  So you won’t run out of beaches or charming coastal towns.

But if you’re interested in a beach experience in the middle of the city, check out Capitol Beach. The beach extends as far as the eye can see. Whether you stroll, sunbathe, swim, kayak, or surf in the gulf, it’s an incredible experience.

For period architecture, you don’t have to look far. The Capitol building is said to be one of the eight architectural wonders of the Philippines. Designed in the American Colonial style of the early 1900s, the building features iconic columns and local hardwood. Lingayen is the capital of the province, so you will also find everything here — universities, museums, and the provincial library.

Things to Do

• Feast on milkfish! They say the yummiest bangus or milkfish hails from neighboring town, Dagupan. Bangus can be cooked several ways: soured in guava or tamarind broth; grilled with tomato and onion salsa; or fried to a golden crisp.

Curated from: http://itsmorefuninthephilippines.com/lingayen-pangasinan

Bangko Sentral confers Most Outstanding LGU to Pangasinan

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) headed by BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr., (right) awards the trophy to Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. (2nd from right) in recognition to the province of Pangasinan for being the most outstanding local government unit in the implementation of the Credit Surety Fund (CSF) during the 10th Awards Ceremony and Appreciation Lunch for BSP Stakeholders held last July 16 at the BSP Assembly Hall, Manila.  The CSF program is a collateral-free loan facility extended to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that are experiencing difficulty in obtaining loans from banks due to lack of acceptable collaterals, credit knowledge and credit track records.  (PIO Photo by Matt Magno)