Sun.Star Pampanga

Beyond rememberin­g

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is different. Usually white paper is the most expensive, followed by old newspapers and brown boxes. The cheapest is mixed paper like chipboard (gray colored paper), colored paper, folders, brown envelopes etc. The best thing to do is sort the paper before shredding.

Paper is shredded because they contain sensitive informatio­n. That’s understand­able. Burning is out of the question because it is against the law. It is not allowed under RA 9003, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. However, there is an alternativ­e to shredding. It is easier, faster, convenient and more secured.

I’m talking about an arranged delivery to a paper mill. The confidenti­al documents will be fed directly into a pulper, a huge machine similar to a blender, which will instantly turn the paper into pulp. Paper mills inside the TECO Industrial Park in Bundagul, Mabalacat City are open to this kind of arrangemen­t.

I have made this type of arrangemen­t for some companies, mostly banks. But the most notable is the one with the Profession­al Regulation­s Commission (PRC) for the disposal of their board exam questionna­ires. I was told that the PRC had difficulty disposing the test questionna­ires for their licensure exam for teachers. They used to burn them but it is no longer allowed. A former co-teacher from Holy Angel University who was with DepEd called me.

The paper was escorted by PRC Personnel, policemen and DepEd officials. They were allowed to go into the wastepaper feeding area to witness the repulping of the paper. It was a win-win situation for all. The mill had clean raw materials, PRC was able to dispose the material convenient­ly and safely and they went home with cash from the sale of the paper.

For those who want this confidenti­al document disposal arrangemen­t for paper mills inside TECO Industrial Park in Mabalacat City Pampanga, e-mail me at rox_pena@yahoo.com.

WE REMEMBER the past year as another scary and ugly event in our lives which saw our resources drained and our dreams and plans zapped.

It was more like a nightmare to all of us. This pandemic, which is still festering us, constantly threatens our lives and health, but we could do nothing more than hope that the vaccines made available to us could provide the much-needed r el i ef.

If it’s consolatio­n enough, we’re not alone in the fight against the invisible enemy-the coronaviru­s and its variants. Even the erstwhile powerful economies of the world are reeling under the weight of this destructiv­e disease. It has crippled everybody, every nation, the proud and the arrogant. What comes next? The deluge, perhaps.

In her column As a matter of fact, Sara Soliven de Guzman wrote: How many more months or years will this pandemic take? Even countries which seem to be in control are falling. It has been a really crazy ride and the only way to survive is to keep trying.

De Guzman furthered, quoting Dennis

Snower, president of Global Solutions Initiative­s: The pandemic has revealed a vast sea of kindness and benevolenc­e in our communitie­s around the world. It has led to countless acts of selfless heroism in hospitals, especially our frontliner­s and medical workers and care homes. It has impelled many of us to use our greatest strengths to serve our greatest purposes, suddenly giving our lives new, inspiring meaning.

* * *

Today, we are faced with the litmus test of our battle against COVID 19. Why is it that, despite the presence of vaccines, there is still a spike in COVID 19 cases? Are we losing it despite our relentless and valiant efforts?

There are officials who weigh on the issue of surging COVID cases. One is Health Secretary Fraancisco Duque who admitted that the spike in COVID cases is alarming and blamed it on quarantine fatigue and a breach in minimum public health protocols.

The said materials are to be used for the printing of distance learning materials and activity sheets for modules for the third quarter of the current school year. Some 274,082 reams of printing paper was personally turned over by Governor Dennis Pineda to DepEd officials.

The funding for the printing paper was sourced from the Special Education Fund (SEF) of the provincial government.

“Eto yung commitment ng provincial government in providing quality education despite COVID-19 pandemic,” Pineda said.

The DepEd Division of Pampanga said that some 337,230 students will directly benefit printing materials.

Each learner is using 20-page modules for eight subjects every week for the span of 34 weeks. At least 10 reams of printing paper is consumed to cover each learner’s modules for the entire year.

“Sobrang laking tulong po nito para sa 561 na eskwelahan at mga estudyante po natin. Malaking bagay po ito sa pagpiprint po ng mga self-learning modules natin,” said Engr. Edgar Domingo, Ph.D., CESO V, Pampanga schools division superinten­dent.

The provincial government also shouldered the purchase of 100 risograph machines for the printing of the self-learning modules.

Apart from this, the provincial government also funded the education-onair program of the department including the funding of equipment, production costs and airtime of “Super K-Teleskwela,” which is now being used as a counterpar­t learning modality of Kapampanga­n students.

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