DAILY STAR: Negros Oriental

Members of the House Committee on Agriculture have signed a manifesto asking President Benigno Aquino III to hold in abeyance the plan to downsize the Department of Agrarian Reform in 2014.

Rep. Pryde Henry Teves (Neg. Or., 3rd District), who chairs the committee, said the manifesto, that was also addressed to House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and the Department of Budget and Management, said it will be unconstitutional to abolish DAR as the constitution provides that agrarian reform shall continue to be implemented with a corresponding annual budget.

He said P30 billion is needed to complete the mandate of DAR by 2014, including the distribution of more than 500,000 hectares of land to agrarian reform beneficiaries.

Nuns, parish implement skills,
livelihood training for beggars
BY MARICAR ARANAS

The Franciscan Sisters of the Poor and the Saint Catherine of Alexandria Parish have embarked on a livelihood project for the poor and beggars who are recipients of the feeding program of the church.

Sister Maria Atorino, one of the Italian nuns who manages the feeding program of the parish, said the project aims to stop the begging for food and asking for alms in the streets.

She said that adult beneficiaries of the feeding program are encouraged to join the livelihood project, that involves the making of planters, using discarded pieces of wood from crates. The proceeds will be used to purchase additional materials and to pay the workers.

6th Dumaguete
Adventure Marathon up
BY MARICAR ARANAS

Runners from various parts of the country and even abroad are expected to join the 6th Dumaguete Adventure Marathon in Dumaguete City on November 18.

The event, launched last Friday in Dumaguete, is spearheaded by the Foundation University. It aims to help promote wellness and a healthy environment, conservation as strategy for food sustainability, make Negros Oriental the tourism hub in the Visayas, and promote and preserve the Filipino culture.

FU Youth Sports for Peace director Aparicio Mequi said the activity will be made more important because representatives from the Philippine Rice Research Institute are coming to Dumaguete, also on November 18, for the launching of 2013 as the National Year of Rice in the Philippines. He said the Institute is an active supporter of the DAM.

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