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Taguig City’s Conga Creek remains ‘extremely dirty’ despite cleanup drive

April 18, 2018

THE 273 waterways or estero in different parts of Metro Manila should be a cause of alarm to the 17 mayors of the metropolis because they are all extremely dirty.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said these waterways will not pass the international standards of safety and cleanliness because they are beyond the most probable number (MPN) of less than one up to less than 10 MPN.

“It is not uncommon to see polluted waterways, but as to how polluted they are should be a cause of concern,” the DOST said in a statement.

The DOST cited the Conga Creek in Barangay Hagonoy in Taguig City as an example of dirty waterways in Metro Manila. It is beside Dreamland Subdivision, reaching up to the Pulong Walang Diyos community.

Taguig City’s mayor since 2010 is Mayor Maria Laarni L. Cayetano, wife of Foreign Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano.

Conga Creek is 300 meters long and has 28 billion MPN/100ml reading of Coliform and Zero oxygen water analysis, the4 DOST disclosed in the statement.

It means the pollution in Conga Creek is way beyond the acceptable limit, using up all the oxygen, the DOST stressed in the same news statement.

The DOST further explained the implication of extremely dirty waterways, saying “under such condition, no fish would ever survive because they would have to compete with billions of bacteria.”

Several residents of Dreamland Subdivision told the BusinessMirror that Conga Creek has been the subject of a number of complaints to the Cayetano administration, but the latter allegedly did nothing to clean it up.

To address the Conga problem, the DOST’s National Capital Region (NCR) office invited the Cayetano administration and other government agencies in February to jointly clean up the “Conga Creek to achieve a cleaner, safer and healthier waterway.”

The DOST initiated a cleanup drive that happened in less than four hours. It was attended by city government officials, particularly those who belong to the environment department, and Barangay Hagonoy officials headed by Barangay Capt. Renato Gutierrez.

Helping local government units like that of Taguig is part of the assignment of the DOST.

The department said its “aim [is] not only to help in cleanups of the creek, but also help empower the communities through the community empowerment through science and technology.”

At the same time, the DOST wants to “help boost the areas on economic development, health and nutrition, human resource development, disaster-risk reduction and climate-change adaptation and environmental protection and conservation,” DOST-NCR Director Jose B. Patalinjug III said.

Aside from the DOST, cleanup of Conga Creek was also being done by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other stakeholders, including those from the private sector.

The other government agencies that helped the DENR and the DOST in cleaning up Conga Creek were the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Department of Health (DOH).

Conga Creek is among the 48 out of 273 creeks in Metro Manila that has been included in the “Adopt an Estero Program” of the DENR.

The DOST said its NCR office and the other partners of the DENR will support each other in terms of information and education campaigns, community mobilization and other activities that would foster harmonious relations, decongest the pilot site of garbage, introduce interventions which are aligned with the DENR-approved measures, such as planting of bamboo and other plant species along the river banks in order to address the dirty waterways in Metro Manila like Conga Creek.

After the less than four-hour cleanup activity at the Conga Creek, DOST-NCR employees removed their tarpaulin that announced its was adopting an estero project.

Afterward, DOST-NCR people, representatives of the Cayetano administration, barangay officials and representatives of different government agencies, including the DENR, conducted the cleanup as witnessed by this BusinessMirror correspondent.

At the same time, this journalist discovered that the DOST-NCR people, representatives of the Cayetano administration, barangay officials headed by Gutierrez, representatives from MMDA, DENR, DPWH, DILG and DOH never went back to Conga Creek to continue its promise to clean up the dirty waterway.

Not even a single representative from these government agencies returned to Conga Creek to clean it up, the residents of Dreamland Subdivision confirmed.

As of Wednesday, Conga Creek’s MPN remained unacceptable according to international standards.

Advantages of plant food supplement

By: Julio Yap Jr.

Friday, April 20, 2018

FOLLOWING its implementation after three years, the research and development (R&D) program dubbed “Plant Bio-stimulants and Elicitors from Radiation-modified Natural Polymers” produced beneficial effects based on its recent review and evaluation.

The program aims to use radiation-modified carrageenan (RMC) as a plant growth promoter (PGP) in integrated nutrition management designs, improve plant health, and induce resistance to increase crop productivity of peanut, mungbean, and rice.

Dr. Lucille V. Abad of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute of DOST (PNRI-DOST) presented the accomplishments and key findings of the project titled “Evaluation of the Effects of Radiation-modified carrageenan on the Growth and Yield of mungbean and peanut.”

It was reported that field experiments conducted in Regions 2, 3, and 4A resulted in about 16 to 51 percent increase in yield at RMC-PGP concentration of 50-200 parts per million (ppm).

Variation in the optimum concentration of RMC-PGP depends on the varieties of mungbean and peanut that is suited for the said regions.

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) presented the second project titled “Elucidation of Growth Promotion Mechanisms of Radiation-modified Carrageenan on Rice.”

It aims to study the synergistic mechanism of RMC in its growth promoting effects on rice under greenhouse and field conditions.

The application of 300-400 ppm RMC-PGP has showed promising beneficial effects in rice, such as higher seed germination rate, more tillers and panicles, and higher yield compared with other treatments.

Dr. Gil L. Magsino, director of the National Crop Protection Center (NCPC) of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), also presented the potential use of RMC-PGP to induce resistance against major pests and diseases of rice under greenhouse and field conditions.

The application of RMC-PGP induces resistance against Tungro virus in inbred rice and bacterial leaf blight in hybrid rice under field conditions.

Applying RMC-PGP can be an innovative approach to combat pests and diseases of rice, thereby improving crop productivity.

Dr. Jocelyn E. Eusebio, director of the PCAARRD Crop Research Division (CRD) led the terminal review and evaluation along with Dr. Pompe C. Sta Cruz, director of the Institute of Plant Breeding of the College of Agriculture and Food Science at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (IPB, CAFS-UPLB) and Dr. Erlinda S. Paterno, Professor Emeritus of the Agricultural Systems Institute of CAFS-UPLB.

The technical evaluators, for their part, suggested a separate study on the role of RMC-PGP in enhancing plants’ physiological processes.

The project, as suggested, is deemed to be a crucial parameter in explaining how RMC-PGP affects the growth, yield, and resistance of selected agricultural crops.

The R&D Program on Carrageenan is one of the programs under the ISP for Rice with the main goal of increasing rice productivity by 34 percent from 4.02-5.40 tons/hectare by 2020.

Held at the headquarters of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD), the program’s review and evaluation was attended by other PCAARRD staff from CRD, Applied Communication Division, and Technology Transfer and Promotion Division. (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it./PN)

DOST Calabarzon fetes S&T graduating scholars

By: PTV News - CD

LOS BAŇOS, Laguna – Some 305 graduating scholars of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Calabarzon from various state universities and colleges (SUCs) in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon were feted during the “First Exit Conference” and briefed on what to do after graduation.

Dr. Lydia Manguiat, DOST Calabarzon Assistant Regional Director for Technical Operations did not bid farewell to the graduands but rather welcomed them back as she hopes the DOST scholarship has helped and encouraged the beneficiaries to share their services to the country.

At the exit conference held April 14 at the Splash Mountain Resort’s Mariang Makiling ballroom here, Manguiat briefed the graduands on the DOST-Science Education Institute (SEI) policies on service obligation, necessary request for either temporary or final clearances and travel requirements.

Under the scholarship grant policy, the scholar-graduates are required to work in a government agency, local company, or non-government organization (NGO) for a period equivalent to the duration of their scholarship coverage.

The participants were also briefed on other DOST-SEI scholarships, which include Accelerated Science and Technology Human Resource Development Program (ASTHRDP); Engineering Research for Development and Technology (ERDT); and Capacity Building Program in Science and Mathematics Education for the Master in Science and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) S&T scholarships.

Department of Education (DepEd) Executive Assistant Susan Anne Quirante presented the hiring arrangement for the DOST-SEI scholar-graduates through Republic Act 10612, which exempts them from the DepEd regular evaluation process for teacher-applicants in Senior High School (SHS), as endorsed by DOST-SEI.

Some of the DepEd incentives for the DOST-SEI include a Special Science Teacher I position, priority job placement, one-time relocation allowance if not assigned in permanent residence, and teaching opportunity for those who have not acquired Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) eligibility – provided that they will pass the LET exam within five years from the date of hiring.

Jerry Sanguilosa, a former DOST scholar for his undergraduate, master’s, and doctorate degrees, reminisced the time when a UPLB volunteer goaded him to take the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) and DOST scholarship exam.

He said he did pass the UPCAT but was constrained to enter college due to financial problem until a DOST scholarship made his college education possible.

“A DOST scholar means not just studying for himself but also for the country. It also means not only fulfilling his dreams but also fulfilling the dreams of his countrymen,” Sanguilosa said as he underscored “poverty is not forever for as long as one uses his/her God-given talents and experiences to progress in life.”

Engr. Mark Anthony Francia, another DOST scholar now working in a private firm after earning a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree at UPLB, shared to the present crop of scholars his personal experiences on how to be tough amid the challenges, to validate authority and be wise to look for opportunities for career growth upon graduation.

Lyn A. Fernandez, a DOST scholar for her undergraduate studies at the Batangas State University and master’s degree at the Ateneo de Manila University, shared how she heaved a sigh of relief when her parents were freed from worrying about the tuition fees and allowance.

Now the head of the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP) unit of the DOST Calabarzon, Fernandez said the S&T scholarship instilled in her the love of country and inspired her to pay back her services to the government after graduation.

She also invited the scholars to “work in the country and don’t let foreign countries take advantage of your local talent and skills,” as the scholarship stimulates the interest of young Filipinos to venture into science and technology education and contribute to national progress.

Fernandez’s work at the DOST-SETUP unit provides her the opportunity to be part of the DOST’s flagship program on S&T strategy, which aims to encourage and assist Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to adopt technology innovations to improve their operations; and boost productivity and competitiveness. (Saul Pa-a/PNA)