By Rachelle M. Nessia

Dumaguete City (13 October) -- In line with the Buglasan Festival of Festivals, the Provincial Agriculturist Office is set to hold one of the biggest agricultural celebrations in the province.

Starting October 15 until 17, PAO will conduct the Buglasan Farm Family Congress to recognize the contributions of agricultural technicians and rural-based organizations such as farmers, fisherfolks, 4-H club and rural improvement clubs to the agricultural development in the province.

DA-RFU 7 Regional Executive Director Eduardo Lecciones Jr is expected to grace the event.

According to PAO Information Officer Nitz Bangay, this year’s farm family congress banners the theme “Intensifying Oriental Negros Civil Society and LGU Partnership in Organic Farming for Sustainable Development.”

Bangay said this year’s theme is in line with the provincial government’s efforts to make the local produce organically grown and its move to ban the use of chemical fertilizers.

The congress will kick-off on October 15 at the PAO Compound and a “Booth/Pinaka” contest will be conducted on October 16.

Other activities during the three-day congress include various sectoral activities through a contest of skills and method demonstrations, symposium on organic piggery and rice-duck farming, Search for Mr. and Miss 4-H 2006 and Farmer Association King/RIC Queen 2006.

Amid the continuing surge of investments in the electronics industry, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assured today the sector of full government support, particularly in terms of insuring that the country’s business environment remains attractive to investors. The President made the assurance during the roundtable discussion with electronics industry stakeholders in Malacañang’s Kalayaan press briefing room this morning.

"The government will do whatever it can with regard to the policy environment in order to attract more investments," the President said as she expressed elation over reports that total investments in the electronics industry in the first half of the year reached $310 million (P15.5 billion), a 15 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Cathay Pacific crew to visit Negros Oriental children

By Jennifer Catan-Tilos

Dumaguete City (13 October) -- Some 30 cabin crew of Cathay Pacific will arrive for a learning field visit in Oriental Negros on Monday (October 16) together with the officials of the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) as partners in the promotion and protection of children’s rights.

Oriental Negros is selected to showcase some of the success programs and projects for children and women among the 19 provinces and 5 cities under the 6th Country Programme for Children.

Dubbed as “Change for Good,” the field visit of Cathay Pacific cabin crew is designed to witness and perform volunteer work at a UNICEF-assisted health centers.

The week-long visit will bring them to DAuinat the Garantisadong Pambata health center, lying-in clinic on basic emergency obstetric care facility in Sibulan, Amlan and Tanjay day care centers, Pamplona Nutrition Post, Dumaguete rehabilitation center for children in conflict with the law, and Mabinay for children and families in sugar cane farms.

The stewardesses and stewards of Cathay Pacific will also interact with the youth reporters of the Kabataan News Network here and for them to witness the young journalist in handling the television production segment of KNN Dumaguete Bureau as part of the major child rights, the Participation Rights.

Along with the celebration of Children’s Month this October, around 1,000 children from the different schoolseight local government units (LGUs) in the province participated in this year's Children and Youth Convention at Bethel Guesthouse, Dumaguete City on October 28, 2005.