The Latin dance sport competition of the Panaad sa Negros Festival on the theme "Tatak Negros (Truly Negros-made)" set at 7 p.m., April 27, at the Panaad Covered Court, Brgy. Mansilingan, Bacolod City, will feature samba, chacha, rumba, and jive, and will be held, a Capitol press release said yesterday.

Local government units who want to join the event must confirm their participation on or before April 11, it also said.

Official entry forms are now available at the local government units or with the Panaad coordinators. Inquiries may be made with the Panaad Secretariat at 434-0631, the press release added.*

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Anti-trafficking
group to meet today

The mere act of maintaining or hiring a person for purposes of prostitution or pornography is an act of trafficking based on Republic Act 9208, Bacolod Councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue yesterday warned night club operators in the city.

Batapa-Sigue said the contents of Republic Act 9208, or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Law, as well as the salient features of City ordinance No. 385, will be discussed during the first meeting of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Committee today, pursuant to Executive Order No. 4 of Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia, a press release said.

The C.O. 385 was authored by Batapa-Sigue, it added.

Leonardia, as chairman of the ATPC, invited Batapa-Sigue, Councilors Ana Marie Palermo, chairman on Children and Family, Dindo Ramos, chairman on Labor and Management, as well as, concerned line agencies such as the City Health Office, Social Welfare and Development Officer, Department of Labor and Employment, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Bureau of Immigration, National Bureau of Investigation, Bacolod Police, City Prosecutors Office, Liga ng mga Barangay, City Legal Office and Visayan Forum Foundation.*

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3-month-old needs help

A 3-month-old girl from Purok Sunrider, Brgy. Bata, Bacolod City needs to undergo a cardiac catheterization for having been diagnosed to have congenital heart disease, but her parents said they cannot afford its cost and are appealing for help from DAILY STAR readers.

The patient, Hereal Gustilo, 3, had developed fever when she was six weeks old, and when she was about 2 months old, she was observed to have a heart murmur when deep breathing, her mother, Early Gustilo, 22, said.

Early is a jobless while her husband, Herwin, 25, works in a junk shop.

The mother said her daughter needs to be brought to the Philippine Heart Center for Asia in Manila, as recommended by pediatric cardiologist, Ma. Shelah Salaya.

A cardiac catheterization is a procedure to prepare the patient for a definitive cardiac surgery, medical records showed.

The Social Services and Development Office in Bacolod City said that the parents of Hereal are not members of the PhilHealth and have no financial resources to bring their daughter to the PHC.

Any help for the patient may be coursed through the DAILY STAR office.*GCT

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