We do not want CHANGE!

Everything seemed to be acting against the rule of nature. The weather and the climate are interchanging and becoming unpredictable. Who says rain could not fall during summer or only snow flakes could fall from the sky? One may think it is “cool” but what one is experiencing now is no longer amusing rather, it is deadly.

Climate change has been an issue so long forgotten. It was only brought to life again, when different catastrophes caused by nature happened. These “natural disasters” devastated the lives of the many, and awaken everybody’s call to save the earth.

The government is allocating large amount of money in order to maintain the natural cycle and the balance of the environment.  Projects regarding renewable energy source, alternative ways of preventing global warming are the top priorities of every country or states. Experiments and researches were conducted in order to cope with the changes the planet undergoes. Artificial ways of making rain, energy savers, and waste minimization were developed to protect man from the negative effects of their own work.

Despite all these efforts, one can say that the earth and its people are still in great danger. The continuous move for a greener planet is being overpowered by the uncontrollably phenomena.

Just like in the Philippines, many provinces have been declared to be in the state of calamity because of El Niňo. This only shows that climate change does not choose the country to be victimized. A third world country will be shown no mercy by this deadly curse created by man.

I f the present situation continues, the planet earth will become a big stadium where only the strong and powerful country survives. The competitions for survival will be stiff and tough. Man will continue to exhaust every means to keep up with every change but will only be disappointed with the realization, that things could have been avoided earlier.

Road to Development

Faster and safer trip to Barangay Indag-an, Cubay and Cagbang is guaranteed thanks to the road construction from Barangay Malagyan to Barangay Tan-agan.

Because of the road construction, traveling will be made easier and faster. It will minimize accidents caused by unstable gravel surface thus promoting safer trips to any barangays found within the Miagao area nearing barangay Mat-Y onwards.

Also, the road construction will help lower health related issues like allergy or asthma attack from the dust covering the streets and from the fatigue of traveling on road that is not concrete. In addition to this, it would be favorable for pregnant women since they can afford to go the nearest hospital anytime without risking the health of their child and their body condition.

In terms of economic growth, road construction could make the barangays more accessible thus promoting trade and improving their local business such as pottery in Barangay Cagbang and Hablon in Barangay Indag-an.

However, there are some loopholes in the planning and implementation of this road construction project by the government.

When it comes to organisation, there is no starting point to where the road construction should start. It seemed that almost each barangays have a part of concrete road but they are not even finished and some were unevenly distributed.

This set-up of road construction could still bring danger to the travelers especially during at night. Since streetlights are not low in number and with the unstable road, accidents are being welcomed.

If this road construction aims to serve and give the people a better and safer road, the implementation of this project should be taken into consideration whether it is effected or just another waste. Strategies on how to make the road concrete should be developed and should not left unevenly constructed. It should not left unfinished.

Despite these problems, the road construction is still a good sign of development and improvement of the barangays in the rural area of Miagao. With proper execution from the government, it will not be long for the whole far flung areas to be part of the modern Miagao.

Wanted Perfect Boarding House

There were reports that some operators of boarding houses in Miagao do not comply with the rules and regulation set by the municipality. Also there were persistent rumors that most boarding houses do not issue receipt upon the boarder’s payment of monthly rental.

In accordance to these, the researchers conducted a census in order to find out whether these claims have enough grounds.

“Boarding House” as defined in Miagao’s Municipal Ordinance No. 96-04 is any house where boarders are accepted or accommodated for compensation by the week, or by month, and where meals are served to boarders; or where boarders occupy space only. For the purpose of this ordinance, a boarding house includes any dormitory.

It is essential that there are clear standards governing the care provided in these settings, and that these standards are monitored and enforced effectively.

This report concerns monitoring of boarding houses based on the requirements cited on Miagao’s Municipal Ordinance No. 96-04. The purpose of this report is to outline findings from our inquiry that will highlight serious problems with the way boarding houses are being managed.

Most Boarding House operators do not abide on the Ordinance which regulates the operation of boarding houses in the Municipality of Miagao.

The reporters conducted an initial interview with at least 10 boarders and owners to assess the common problems among boarding houses. In addition, a municipal ordinance was requested from the municipal office to serve as the guidelines in making the questionnaire.

In order to determine the trend, the reporters conducted a survey among 20 respondents. Each of the respondents comes from a particular boarding house in Miagao town proper or private dormitory within the UPV dorm area. A questionnaire is given to the respondents for data gathering.

The study is limited to the following boarding houses and private dormitories:

1. Car An’s Place

2. Royal Angels

3. Romyr’s Apartment and Dormitory

4. Pink House

5. RL

6. Fajarillo’s Residence

7. Nafunar’s Residence

8. Mumbay

9.  Balay Cawayan

10. Susan’s Dormitory

11. St. Michael’s Dormitory

12. Rey Dumalag’s Fashion Corner

13. Nonato’s

14. Monte Claro Building

15. Neild’s Apartel

16. Saquian Boarding House

17.Natonio’s Dormitory

18.Nochete Boarding House

19.Kamalig ni Cano

20.British House

The research and interviews from various sources showed that:

• 12 out of 20 boarding houses do not issue receipt for the boarder’s payment of monthly rental.

Issuance of receipt is important for taxpaying purposes. If operators of boarding houses do not issue receipts, it only means that there is a big possibility that they are not also paying their taxes exactly to the government.

• 11 out of 20 boarding houses do not provide a registration form to the boarders upon admission. (See Table 1 on page 10)

This violates the Sec. 9 of Municipal Ordinance No.96-04.(No owner, manager or operator of a boarding house shall accept a boarder unless he/she has signed his/her name, entered his/her address, residence certificate and personal circumstances in a register of boarders.

• 10 out of 20 boarding houses do not have fire exit.

This violates the Sec. 4 of Municipal Ordinance No.96-04.(The house must be installed with a fire alarm system and have an adequate fire exit aside from the main door.)

• 6 out of 20 boarding houses do not provide a printed copy of house rules and regulation in each room and reception room. (See Table 1 on page 10)

This violates the Sec. 10 of Municipal Ordinance No.96-04. (The owner/operator of the boarding house shall post in each room and reception room, in printed form, a house rules and regulations for the information and guidance of the boarders, shall prohibit, among others, gambling, use of prohibited drugs or regulated drugs without a doctor’s prescription, and other violation of laws, rules and regulations.

• 5 out of 20 boarding houses do not provide/institute safety and health measures for the boarders.

This violates the Sec. 11 of Municipal Ordinance No.96-04. (It shall be the duty and responsibilities of the owner or operator of boarding houses to maintain cleanliness of the boarding house and sanitation of the premises… It shall also be the duty of the owner or operator to provide and institute safety and health measures, such as fire escape, locked doors, first aid kit or cabinet and others.)

• Some of the concerns that were pointed out by the respondents were on the issue about sanitation, maintenance, privacy, security and lack of water supply.

The data show that only three (3) boarding houses were able to comply with the guidelines provided by the municipal ordinance of Miagao on the operation of boarding houses and private dormitories.

The issuance of receipt and securing the tenant’s information on or before admission are given the least attention by the owners of these commercial establishments.

Also, most boarding houses do not have fire exits but the owners have provided fire extinguishers which are not enough to secure the boarders.

If these problems will not be addressed properly and immediately it can cause future problems between the owner, tenants and the government.

Commercial establishments should adhere to the rules and regulation in order to provide quality services to the students and to other tenants.

Boarding house owners should issue receipt to serve as proof of payments and to make sure that they are exactly paying their taxes. They should also provide fire exits or backdoors in case of fire and other unavoidable circumstances. The cleanliness of the area should also be maintained for the convenience of the boarders and for health reasons. They should also give privacy and secure the things of their tenants such by providing security device on the doors, lockers, and drawers. In order to monitor the operation of the boarding house, owners should allow and give permission to the government to inspect, check and examine the area and the facilities provided.

The issue on sanitation and water supply should be given proper actions in order to provide convenience to the boarders and to compensate to the amount that they are paying.