Israel Hans Golez, a boy scout from Iloilo City, was diagnosed with Stage 4 brain cancer when he was only two years old. He was cleared from the disease when he was eight.

A year after surviving brain cancer, his life was threatened anew by dengue. But again, the boy was able to survive.

Golez, 19, is one of the finalists of the 21st Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Awards for leading the Iloilo National High School Boy Scout of the Philippines (BSP) Outfit 154 for a project that provides access to light and electricity to Sombrero Island in Concepcion, Iloilo —a five-hour trip from the city.

Golez said that when he led his high school’s BSP in 2022 as its president, they launched Project Kasanag.

Project Kasanag is part of the 20 finalists of TAYO Awards 21 from more than 700 entries that submitted their application for this year’s search.

Each year, TAYO Awards recognizes 10 youth organizations which projects contributed significant impacts to their communities.

“Kasanag in Ilonggo means to light up or to illuminate,” he said.

“We came up with the idea because I experienced a brownout during studying. So it started from empathy. I wonder how about those communities that really do not have access to electricity? This is where Project Kasanag sparks,” he added.

Project Kasanag has two phases. The first phase of the project provided 100 portable solar lights to 85 households in Sombrero Island, benefitting 400 residents. They also installed 10 street lights around the island.

For the second phase of the project, Golez’s group set up a centralized power station to provide electricity in the island powered by solar energy.

“We have a mixed source of funding from the LGU (local government unit) of Iloilo province and we also reach out to several private sectors,” he said, adding the two phases of the project cost around P300,000.

Golez cited four notable impacts of Project Kasanag to their beneficiaries in Sombrero Island.

First, students boosted their academic performance, improving their grades from 80 or 85 to as high as 95 after having access to light and electricity.

Second is more productivity as the households can work in the community for longer hours.

Third is visibility and mobility.

“Actually, Sombrero Island is known as the ‘ghost island’ of Concepcion because you can never see them in the evening. But because of the project, they became the brightest island in Concepcion and they are no longer a ghost island,” Golez said.

“They can now have activities in the evening, they can bond and celebrate things because they have light and electricity,” he added.

Lastly, the project has provided comfort and convenience to the residents of Sombrero Island, as the electricity allows them to connect to the public WiFi, giving them the access to information and communication.

As Golez already graduated from high school and is now taking up Political Science at University of the Philippines-Visayas, he is planning to establish his own organization that would continue this project.

Golez said he plans to implement the same concept in other areas in the province, and that will need more support both from the public and private sectors.

“I ought to live my life with a purpose because I [think] and I believe that I owe my life to the Lord and I need to give back this to people because I’m here today because of God’s blessing,” he said.

“We can actually maximize this opportunity to reach more communities and maybe to inspire more people also with our advocacy. As what I’ve said, our story does not end here. We hope that our story has brought light to everyone.”PNA

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The educational tour, initiated by the Tuburan Adventure Club, gave the students an idea of “what transpires inside a modern power distribution utility.”

“Very highly developed for Panay kag overall kanami. Very good. It would really help kung ma-electric engineer ko,” Querubin Villanueva III, one of the students, said

The tour is part of the initiatives to expose the youth sector to more complicated processes so they may understand it at a young age.

“It’s very fun to look at our power station that runs our electricity. It’s nice, it’s good to take a look at our substations, including the ones in our school. The transformer, stuff like that. It’s good for our electricity,” Blaise Francis Nufable, also a student, said.

Since then, MORE Power has opened its doors to various institutions who wish to see what goes behind the power utility’s doors and how it delivers seamless service in Iloilo City.

“Thank you so much to Mr. Roel Castro (MORE Power CEO and president) and the People here at MORE Power Iloilo for giving us the opportunity to tour their facilities at how electricity is distributed to our houses, the purpose of substations, the SCADA and how they are maximizing the efficiency of power distribution,” said Gavin Hermollata.

“Now na intindihan how electricity reaches their home from the main source to the transmission to the distribution lines to the home. Mas na intindihan how,” school administrator Rene Tan said.

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Engineer Fulbert Woo, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Iloilo chapter, said their annual project in partnership with the Iloilo City government will expand to Pavia and Sta. Barbara towns where giant lanterns will adorn the national highway leading to the airport.

“It will be unique this year because we changed the design of the parol (lanterns); we will have a rainbow parol,” he said.

From the traditional five-pointed star donned in blue, green, yellow, and red, this year’s lanterns will have seven points draped in various rainbow colors.

They planned to deck the city with 1,500 lanterns, and they have installed 100 so far. The other 500 will be placed in Pavia and Sta. Barbara.

“In Iloilo City alone, we are targeting around 1,500. We have started to install 100 parols as of today in major streets,” he said.

Woo said the project will also bring cheers to persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the male dormitory of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) as they were tapped to make the lanterns.

The PDLs have so far produced around 600 lanterns with materials provided by the PCCI.

The PDLs will get paid for every parol they make, he said without giving details.

They will officially light the lanterns on Nov. 16.

Meanwhile, PCCI will also launch the “Parol sang mga Ilonggo” contest that encourages Ilonggos to join the parol-making contest.

The mechanics will be released after the elections.Perla Lena/PNA

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More or less 10,000 BHWs gathered for the Iloilo Provincial BHW Congress 2023 at the Iloilo Sports Complex.

“As front-liners you have sacrificed your lives to ensure the safety of the community, said Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. in his virtual message.

Defensor added that, with their help, the province has achieved 90.73 percent coverage of the target population for the MR-OPV, with 20 municipalities hitting over 95 percent accomplishment.

The accomplishment translates to 146, 590 children vaccinated out of the 161 566 target in the province.

He hoped they remain committed to their work as there is more to do under the provincial government’s development agenda.

Dr. Mary Pauline C. Gestosani representing Department of Health Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH WV CHD) Regional Director Adriano Suba-an, shared the sentiment of the governor of BHWs as partners in the Covid-19 response and immunization activity.

She said the roles of BHWs have been highlighted during the crafting of the Universal Health Care Law, where they will serve as health promotion officers in their barangay.

“Together with the Provincial Health Office, the DOH will continue to capacitate BHWs to become better health promotion officers. They will be the source of correct information and provide basic health services because they are the first contact of people in barangay,” she added.

She hoped that local government units could craft policies that would also provide them benefits.

BHW Partylist Rep. Angelica Natasha A. Co, in her message, announced the Magna Carta for BHWs is now in the hands of the Senate.

The Magna Carta, she said, contains benefits and incentives for barangay health workers, including a monthly honorarium of not less than P3,000.Perla Lena/PNA

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Start the celebrations with K-Eats and Treats, and munch on your Korean food favorites and essentials with exclusive deals and promos. Then, discover the heart and soul of Iloilo and Korea with a kaleidoscope of authentic products and delicacies at the Saranghae Square. Meet other K-fans in the community and join Chingu Chats to celebrate the love for all things K-Pop. At the K-Fan Fest, watch live K-Pop dance performances courtesy of talented fan groups.

In the spirit of camaraderie and cultural exchange, the Bridges of Cultures: Iloilo-Korean Friendship Day event is set to dazzle everyone with an event filled with exciting activities and programs.

At K-Idols at K-Town, enjoy live performances, fan greetings, and more with K-Pop sensation, Blank2y. Fans also have the chance to score an exclusive meet and greet for Blank2y’s Siwoo and Donghyuk.

“As we gather in K-town to celebrate the Iloilo-Korea Friendship Day, we are reminded of the power of cultural exchange to forge unbreakable bonds between nations. K-Town at Festive Walk Iloilo, the first K-Town in Western Visayas, is proud to be a host to this symbolic celebration. As we come together to revel in the beauty of diversity, let us cherish the shared moments, the laughter, and the flavors that bridge the gap between our countries,” said Festive Walk Iloilo General Manager Karmela Jesena.

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Using various cleaning tools, they religiously cleaned different school zones in Sambag Elementary School in Jaro district on Monday, Aug. 14, to the delight of the students, parents, and school teachers.

According to Edna Dominguez, Principal II of Sambag Elementary School, Brigada Eskwela is very important because it is their way of preparing the school for the learners. They were not expecting that MORE Power would send a lot of workforce for the program.

“Madamu gid nga Salamat sa management sang MORE Power sa pagpadala sang inyo personnel sa pag preparar sang amon eskwelahan sa abre kalse. Grabe ang MORE Power kadamu sang manpower ginpadala nila subong nga adlaw,” she said.

“Privilege kag happy gid bisan paano nakabulig kami sa pagtinlo sang school, paagi sa MORE Power guardians of the environment,” said Mirriam Valeriano, Admin Staff, Guardians of the Environment.

Last year, the Guardians of the Environment started its active role in coastal clean-ups and tree planting.

This is part of the Corporate Social Responsibility of MORE Power to become active in various initiatives to help and make every Ilonggo experience the company’s excellent service.

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Gihun Ng Yoo, an incoming Grade 9 student from St. Joseph School Iloilo Inc., won the silver medal in the World Mathematics Invitational (WMI) at Yonsei University last July 15, 2023, after surviving the comprehensive competition participated by 1,275 students in 17 countries, including the United States of America, China, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Nigeria, Hong Kong, Macau, and Iran, among others.

Gihun initially passed the elimination rounds of the contest which was held virtually for him to secure his place in the final rounds.

He then hurdled tough mathematical questions, including square roots, polynomials, linear functions, quadratic equations, word problems, math puzzles, logical reasoning, series, and sequences, and other prominent areas in the subject to win the silver medal.

Gihun, in a media interview, admitted that the competition was tough, noting that he did not expect to win the silver medal.

“I was expecting somewhere like Bronze, but I got silver so I was mostly surprised,” he said about his result.

Meanwhile, his coaches, Irish Mae Palomo and Albert Gumana, noted that Gihun came to school thrice a week for his review wherein they used reviewers from previous math competitions, as well as other resource materials similar to the contest, in order to prepare.

However, shortly before he left the country for the contest, Gihun contracted dengue fever and was under medication, but Gihon persisted to go despite his health condition.

“It was already planned and I didn’t want my preparations to go to waste,” Gihun stressed, who is the only learner from Iloilo who represented the Philippines in his level in South Korea.

Prior to this contest, Gihun also won several medals at the Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary Schools (ASMOPSS 12) in Bali, Indonesia last December 2022 and during the Singapore and Asian Schools Math Olympiad in April 2023.AL/JNH/PIA6 Iloilo

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