Cagayan

Police confiscates an estimated volume of 4,671.73 board feet illegally sawn lumber worth P255,155.60 in Santa Ana town, Cagayan. PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE-CAGAYAN CAMP MARCELO A ADDURU, TUGUEGARAO CITY: Four suspected illegal loggers were arrested while transporting illegally sawn lumber in Santa Ana town in Cagayan province, according to a police report released on Sunday. Lt. Col. Andree Abella, Police Regional Office 2 (PRO2) chief, said an Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) checkpoint operation in Barangay Casambalangan in Santa Ana town stopped four individuals onboard a truck without proper documents relating to the lumber transported. Abella said the lumber with an estimated volume of 4,671.73 board feet worth P255,155.60 were seized from Jordan Dela Cruz R...

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (June 3)—The island town of Calayan in Cagayan Province remains free of Covid-19 despite a report from the Provincial Epidemiology Surveillance Unit two Calayan residents were tested positive for the virus on Monday. According to Mayor Joseph Llopis, the two natives who tested positive remained stranded in Aparri, Cagayan and had not reached the island yet. Llopis noted it has become the policy of the Calayan local government unit that everyone who returns to the island must undergo a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test from their point of origin. "This makes Calayan Island Covid-free because the two new cases recorded for the island have not set foot or returned to their hometown," Llopis said. He said they ar...

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO CAMP MELCHOR DELA CRUZ, Isabela (June 2)—After having endured beds made of woven leaves and other materials, former Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) rebels can now own homes under the Housing Assistance Packages for Former Rebels (HAPFR) program of the government. Maj. Gen. Laurence Mina, 5th Infantry Division (ID) commander, said the program is the first of its kind in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) in partnership with the National Housing Authority (NHA). One of the first beneficiaries who was identified only as "Rico" for security reasons was present during the "signing agreement" on Monday in Barangay Bangag in Lal-lo town, Cagayan province. "Within the movement, our bedrooms were of woven leaves in the wild. I have no regrets...

TUGUEGARAO CITY (May 31)—At least nine packs of marijuana were confiscated in anti-illegal drug operations of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Philippine National Police in Lasam town, Cagayan, according to police reports released on Sunday.  Lasam town police identified the suspected drug pusher as Romel Maguddayao, 36, a resident of Lasam.  Tagged as a high-value target, Maguddayao was arrested in Centro 1 village in the town after an agent acted as a poseur buyer of marijuana leaves.  The arrest of Maguddayao yielded nine blocks wrapped in packing tape containing dried marijuana leaves with fruiting tops and stalks of approximately 8,500 grams.  Police said the marijuana packs had a street value of more than P1.020 million. The suspect was ...

DA REGION 2 PHOTO TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (May 27)—The Livestock Program of the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office 2 (DA-RFO2) completed the distribution of 4,316 heads of free range chickens to farmers in eight towns in the province. These were the municipalities of Aparri, Amulung, Alcala, Gonzaga, Penablanca, Gattaran, Tuao and Enrile that were heavily affected by typhoon Ulysses. "The poultry farmers were heavily hit by typhoon Ulysses. This is to rehabilitate the chicken industry in those areas," Demetrio Gumiran, DA-RFO2 Livestock Program head, said. Gumiran said his team has been going around the eight municipalities to complete the distribution today. DA-REGION2

DA REGION 2 PHOTO RIZAL, Cagayan (May 27)—The Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office 2 (DA-RFO2) through its High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) continues to strengthen its stance on Plant, Plant, Plant Program through the implementation of Gulayan sa Barangay. After conducting a series of technical briefings in Cagayan province, staff of the HVCDP distributed vegetable seeds, farm implements and equipment in Rizal town in Cagayan province on May 26. Vice Mayor Joel Ruma graced the activity and in his message, he stressed that there will be a contest among the five barangay recipients with the first prize of P10,000 from the local government. The DA-RFO2 has been linking with government agencies and local government units to realize food sufficiency through t...

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (May 23)—Taking off from the design direction of product development last year which focused on culture-oriented and tradition-based approach, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Region 2 through its One Town One Product (Otop) Next Generation (NexGen) program conducted information sessions for the 2021 food and non-food beneficiaries of the program via Zoom on May 18. This session was the first phase of the intervention of the product development program which aimed to capacitate and upgrade the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in terms of product label requirements, brand development, and product DTI design trends in the global market.  It also provided the participants an orientation on the results of the cultural mapping conduc...

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (May 20)—The Cagayan State University (CSU) has been awarded more than P2.95 million worth of financial grant for its three major projects in two of its campuses from the Department of Science and Technology (DoST). Cagayan State University will be receiving more cash and equipment grants from the Department of Science and Technology this 2021 in support of its Electromobility Program, Metals Engineering and Innovation Center and Food Innovation Center. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Engineer Sancho Mabborang, DoST Region 2 director, said during the virtual awarding earlier this month that CSU has been an active partner of the DoST by producing various science and technology innovations.  The DoST-funded project titled “Production & U...