Sorsogon's Liga ng mga Barangay commits to "Good Housekeeping"

By Irma A. Guhit

SORSOGON CITY, March12 (PIA) -- A series of trainings will be conducted by the Sorsogon provincial Liga ng Mga Barangay to assist the 541 barangays of the province to come up with a program for good governance in the implementation of the social basic services.

According to Nelson Marana, provincial president of the Liga, this traning for barangay officials will provide them development in forging effective partnership with the national government in the attainment of the national goals and policies, and the Liga’s advocacy to strengthen gradually the barangay governance and administration.

Marana also explained that these officials will be trained along in the key areas of transparency, accountability and efficient performance, particularly in implementing the programs in the barangays especially in the delivery of basic social services like health,education, infrastructure development, environmental protection and others.

The "Seal of Barangay Good Housekeeping" will be the standard of services to be delivered and will also guage each municipal Liga chapter on their capability and performance in four recognized areas of local governance namely 1) good planning and participatory governance; 2) sound fiscal management; 3) transparency and accountability; and 4) valuing of performance monitoring, and ultimately, the recognition and giving of awards for those Liga Chapters and barangays found to have excelled in these areas.

He also explained that the call of the national government through the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is for full disclosure and accountability of the local government units and the firm intent to be involved and to support the "Daang Matuwid" campaign of the present administration of President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino.

The training further will enhance the improve delivery of services by the barangays to their constituency, Marana explained. (MAL/IAG, PIA Sorsogon)

CSC spearheads logo design contest for Linggo ng Kalikasan

VIRAC, Catanduanes, Mar 12 (PIA) -- As a kick-off to the annual Linggo ng Kalikasan celebration, the Catanduanes State Colleges will spearhead the Logo Designing Contest which is open to all interested

Catandunganons who have a flair for graphics design and visual arts.

The entry must capture the essence of the theme, “Sa Turismo at Kalikasan, Nakasalalay ang Matatag na Kinabukasan.”

The criteria for judging are: originality (40%), content/relevance (25%), format/aesthetic appeal (25%), and creativity/overall impact (10%). It must also have a written explanation on the concept contained in the logo. A certification as to the originality of the logo signed by the participant is also required. Should complaints arise, prize will be forfeited, if ever the entry wins. As such, the certification must also be attached to the email or file together with the entry.

The entries can be submitted electronically in JPEG format at catanduanes_state_colleges@yahoo.com, with the subject “Logo Entry” or can be forwarded in CD/DVD or flash drive to the Office of the Executive Assistance Services, Catanduanes State Colleges.

For clarity and sharpness of image, the logo entry must have a minimum of 300 DPI resolution. The deadline for submission is on March 13, 2012.

Top three entries will receive the following prizes: First Prize - P3,000.00, Second Prize - 2,000.00 and Third Prize - 1,000.00.

The first prize winner logo will be used in the Linggo ng Kalikasan Celebration to be spearheaded by the Provincial Government of Catanduanes, together with national and local government agencies in the Catanduanes on June 18-22, 2012.(GSRubio/CSC/PIA Catanduanes)

847 establishments to be inspected if compliant with basic labor standards

Legazpi City, Mar 12 (PIA) -- Some 847 establishments will be the subject of inspection by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Bicol region in line with the agency’s drive on compliance to basic labor standards.

DOLE V regional director Nathaniel V. Lacambra said that ‘new breed’ of labor inspectors will be dispersed by the office starting this March to go ‘by the book in enforcing compliance to basic labor standards."

The decision came after the labor sector prompted DOLE V during the conduct of the Public Wage Hearing last month to strictly implement the wage order.

“In the wage hearing, the labor sector has been urging us to strictly implement the wage order. The answer for this is a comprehensive inspection activity.” Lacambra said.

The inspection will start with establishments having 10 to199 workers covering the entire region.

Lacambra further said that although the number of establishments seems to dwarf the number of available inspectors, the office is confident that a ‘thorough’ and in-depth inspection will be done by the office employing a zonal inspection strategy.

“This is not a numbers game. Hindi ito padamihan ng ma-iinspection kundi ang quality ng inspekyon ang gusto nating gawin dito sa Bicol.” Guzman added.

Labor inspection is under the DOLE Labor Standards Enforcement Program (LSEF). The LSEF is a three-pronged strategy in correcting violations on core labor standards. Under the LSEF, large companies or those with 200 or more workers are covered by Self-Assessment (SA) while medium sized establishments with 10-199 workers are covered by the Inspeciton Program (IP) and small and micro industries (SMEs) are covered under Technical Assistance Visit (TAV).

In self-assessment, both the management and labor representative of companies with 200 or more workers are invited by DOLE every year to undergo a training on basic labor laws and standards. After the training, they will be given a checklist that must be accomplished and submitted to DOLE after one month. The checklist will determine whether or not the company conforms with labor standards. If the company fails to return the accomplished checklist, then it will be subjected to inspection.

In regular inspection, establishments with 10-199 workers will be visited by labor inspectors to chalk all possible incidence of labor violation in the company. The inspector must inspect the establishments’ payroll system, payment scheme, remittances including compliance to occupational safety and health of the workers. DOLE-Bicol will adopt a pro-active developmental approach to labor standards enforcement by providing technical assistance such as productivity improvement implementation.

In TAV, small businesses are required by DOLE to attend a one-day training on basic labor laws, productivity improvement, and enhancing labor-management relations. Businesses that fail to attend the training will be subjected to inspection.

This year, in addition to the current list of establishments held by DOLE-Bicol, RD Lacambra said, that DOLE provincial offices were required to enhance its establishments listing by mapping their respective jurisdiction in order to enrich our labor standards enforcement program. (MAL-PIA V/Albay/DOLE)