“SANTI” CLAIMS 12 LIVES, MILLIONS IN DAMAGES ON AGRI AND INFRA IN BICOL

LEGAZPI CITY — Albay province has achieved anew a “zero-casualty” but at least 12 people died in the northern provinces of the region in the wake of typhoon ‘Santi’, the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) reported Sunday.

Lieutenant Darwin Nieva, RDCC Bicol regional spokesman, stated that a total of 12 deaths were reported as of 10:00 pm Saturday from the provinces of Camarines Norte, with 11 fatalities, and one in Catanduanes.

Nieva said RDCC would still account for other unreported casualties in other parts of the affected provinces and that would also include surveys on the damages to infrastructures and people’s properties as well as the agricultural crops.

Albay, on the other hand maintained its zero-casualty with preparations even though ‘Santi’ did not pass through the province because the residents still have to be very vigilant against volcanic eruption which is sometimes too quick to happen unlike typhoons that could be detected earlier.

Albay Governor Joey Salceda said, “Preparations are in place at all times with Santi and Mayon combined and we would not be taking things for granted to maintain the zero-casualty plan from whatever calamity.”

Albay had evacuated more than 10,000 residents from the flood-prone areas as part of the province’s pre-emptive evacuation efforts.

Meanwhile, at least 1,481 houses were totally damaged and 4,276 partially damaged in the provinces of Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur and Catanduanes.

Agriculture and infrastructures suffered some P35 million damages based on the initial findings of the RDCC as of 10pm of Saturday

Hardest hit in Camarines Norte was Paracale with 1,236 houses totally damaged followed by Siruma, Camarines Sur with 88 houses totally damaged, based on the report of the RDCC as of Sunday morning.

The total for the two provinces was 1,481 and partially damaged 4,276. Catanduanes had totally of 24 while 287 partially damaged houses.

Nieva added that the RDCC is conducting a regional survey the whole day of Sunday especially at the hardest hit province of Camarines Norte as well as that of Camarines Sur and the island province Catanduanes. (MALoterte, PIA/NHMediavillo, RnB/)


ALBAY ALLOTS P42 MILLION FOR EMPLOYEES’ EXTRA BONUSES

LEGAZPI CITY — Albay Governor Joe S. Salceda has approved a total budget of P42 million for the year-end bonus, cash gift and 14-month incentives of permanent, casual and contractual of employees of the provincial government


Salceda said on Tuesday he has endorsed to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Albay the immediate passage of a resolution granting each provincial employee, aside from the regular 13- month year-end bonus and additional P15,000 cash gift, another 14 month pay bonus from savings arising from prudent expense management despite aggressive social programs of the provincial government.

Last year, every employee of the Albay provincial government unit received P12,000 cash gifts.

Salceda said “we have set aside some savings for the extra bonuses of the employees which they really deserveD not only for working diligently but also as calamity assistance in the wake of negative effects of the global financial crisis and the calamities that our employees have gone through.”

The savings, according to the chief executive, were accumulated despite the province aggressive social programs including scholarships, PhilHealth vouchers, livelihood and capacity build-up for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. (MALoterte, PIA/NHMediavillo, RnB)


DSWD JOINS SUTA CAMPAIGN TO END POVERTY

LEGAZPI CITY — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Bicol regional office here has initiated the Fight Poverty campaign and National Week for Overcoming Extreme Poverty in support to “Stand Up Take Action,” (SUTA).

Remia Tapispisan, DSWD Bicol regional director, underscore the urgent need to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) which is to eradicate extreme poverty, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat major diseases, ensure environmental sustainability and develop a global partnership for development by the year 2015.

Tapispisan also said the fight poverty campaign is included in the KALAHI program of the government and it has been helping the poorest communities in the past six years of its implementation.

The campaign has contributed in alleviating poverty in Bicol region through provision of community projects like water system, roads, school buildings, irrigation, post harvest facilities, flood control and other innovative projects which the community themselves implemented.

Tapispisan also said that in the province of Masbate, about 1,947 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program (4Ps) beneficiaries pledged to start taking action and fight poverty through seven conditionality set by the government.

Last year, more than 110 million people, nearly two per cent of the people on earth participated in “Stand Up Take Action, End Poverty Now,” breaking the Guinness World Record for the largest mobilization of human beings in recorded history.

“Stand Up, Take Action, End Poverty Now,” is coordinated globally by the United Nation Millennium Campaign and Global Call to Action Against Poverty.

“We will continue this program to help improve the quality of life among our people in the communities,” Tapispisan said. (CLMartinez, DSWD/PIA)


OVERSEAS, LOCAL JOBS OPEN TO MASBATE RESIDENTS

MASBATE CITY — Amid the difficulty faced by probinsyanos in finding work, scores of jobs becOme available after close to a dozen recruiters looking for local and foreign employment participated in a job fair at Magallanes Coliseum from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday (October 29).

“This is not the time to be picky,” said Estela E. Moreno, who unsuccessfully applied in a job fair in Manila early this year where more than 10,000 job seekers scrambled to gain a slot in the construction sector’s employment opportunities for around 3,000 workers.

Moreno, 22, was one of the hundreds of unemployed and underemployed, mostly fresh graduates, who went to the coliseum to find work from companies gearing up for the global economic recovery.

The event was sponsored by the office here of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. The provincial and city governments of Masbate had lent their support to the project.

Eliman L. Florita, who lost his job in Japan last month, also went to the coliseum after reading in this paper about the job fair.

“My previous stints as a welder in constructions in Japan and Saudi Arabia, I think, qualify me for another welding work,” Florita said.

Mario Agustin, supervisor of International Experts based in Makati City, said he picked three nurses for deployment to the Middle East just a few hours after the fair opened.

The companies that joined TESDA’s Job Bridging Program advertised for machine operators, carpenters, plumbers, electricians and nurses.

Mildred Marcaida, TESDA provincial director, noted that the presence of more than 2,000 graduates of technical schools here had helped ensure there would be manpower to match the vacancies from companies. (EADelgado, PIA Masbate)


LEGAZPI CITY HOSTS INTERFACING ON URBAN HOUSING

LEGAZPI CITY – The city government of Legazpi, under the leadership of Mayor Noel E. Rosal, hosted the 14th Bicol Cities and Urban Municipalities sharing workshop last October 29 and 30 at Casablanca hotel here.

The 2-day activity was aimed at putting into work the objectives of the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 (Republic Act 7279).

With the theme: Participatory Land and Housing options for the Poor in the context of urban development, Tabaco City Mayor Krizel Lagman Luistro welcomed the participants, guests, and visitors to the said workshop, stressing the need to protect the rights and give more opportunities about Land and Housing distribution to Urban Poor communities.

Vice President Noli de Castro keynoted the interfacing stressing that the national government is resolute in the implementation of its program on socialized housing sites and in just a matter of four years 82,000 urban poor homes were relocated and upgraded lives of the people living in the urban poor communities.

De Castro likewise explained that if possible, the local government units (LGUs) should prioritize the housing options for the poorest of the poor at their own localities.

He said that we need to push the right to progress to all cities and municipalities.

“From 2001 to 2009, the Home Development Mutual Fund (PAGIBIG Fund) has put up 10 institutional projects, four of which were completed already and six are in the process of completion,” De Castro said.

The Vice President congratulated Mayor Rosal and the city government for for hosting the said sharing workshop.

Professor Ernesto Serote of the School of Urban and Regional Planning, University of the Philippines (UP), meanwhile, expound on “social justice”, noting that equality and enjoyment of basic rights and assignment of basic duties and inequality is justified if the results in compensating benefits for everyone, specially for the least advantage members of society and the poor is limited only to acquire land.”

He expressed that under the Constitution, social justice is full protection to labor, organized and unorganized, local and overseas, full employment and equal employment for all, Agrarian Reform to promote the rights of landless persons to own the land they till and to provide support to agriculture, and protect the rights of subsistence fisherfolks to the preferential use of communal marine fishery resources, provide affordable and decent housing and basic services to homeless citizens in urban centers and give priority to the health needs of the under privilege sick.

Serote, also explained about social justice in the city, saying that the city is for everyone who wants to live there, and that it needs to ensure enough space not necessarily land for the housing needs of every household and there should be a genuine Urban Land Reform,as exemplified by greater consolidation rather than distribution of urban land and undertake honest to goodness socialized housing scheme for those who cannot afford to avail of housing in the market he added.

The participants of the said sharing workshop were Mayors of different Towns and Cities in the Bicol Region and Urban Poor Sectors from the Cities of Iriga, Naga, Legazpi, Tabaco, Ligao, Masbate and Sorsogon and the municipalities of Daet Camarines Norte and Pili Camarines Sur.

According to Rex Calleja, one of the participants from Tabaco City, the Urban Poor Sectors were asking for security of land tenure to the land owners and LGUs should implement the RA 7279.

Calleja said that under this law, LGUs are mandates to conduct a land inventory and land acquisition of properties. (MASolis, LGU Legazpi City/PIA)


AUTHORITIES RECAPTURE I OF 3 MOBO JAIL ESCAPEES

MASBATE CITY— One of the prisoners who bolted the district jail in Mobo last week has been recaptured by authorities.

A composite team from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the Milagros Police Station caught up with murder suspect Regan D. Abelinde at around 11:00 am last Monday in barangay Paraiso in that municipality.

Abelinde, 20, had been in hiding in Milagros since he and the two other prisoners staged a jail break on Sunday, according to Chief Insp. Bernardo M. Sanchez, BJMP Masbate, who along with Insp. Christopher F. Aduviso, led the team in the hunt for the escaped prisoners.

The manhunt for the two remaining fugitives by the BJMP personnel was still ongoing, Sanchez added.

Police and BJMP teams have been sent to track down the escapees, including the one who took the M16 rifle of a jail guard.

The armed escapees, who were reported to have fled to the hills of Mobo and Milagros, were identified as Johnny P. Vergara, 33; and Judy B. Besana, 42. Both were charged with robbery in band.

Following the jailbreak, two jail guards—SJO1 Julius M. Sampaga and JO3 Rowan Espejon, were reportedly relieved by their superiors. (EADelgado, PIA Masbate)


DAET STEPS UP CAMPAIGN ON HIV/AIDS

DAET, Camarines Norte — A 3 day planning workshop on Strengthening Local Response on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was conducted here recently.

Dr. Arnulfo G. Salagoste, Camarines Norte provincial health office chief, said that the planning workshop intends to have at least 60% of sex workers or night establishment entertainers be informed and provided with services in line with the campaign on prevention and control of Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) and HIV.

Dr. Ferchito Avelino of the Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC), on the other hand, discussed the most common sexually transmitted infections/HIV, its complications, transmission and prevention.

Other topics discussed were the results of the Rapid Assessment Survey conducted by Bicol Reproductive Health Information Network Inc. (BRHIN) and the status of HIV and STI in this municipality.

Interfacing, brainstorming and preparation of the local response measures to address the issues and concerns on STI/HIV were also among the activities during the workshop.

Present during the activity were Councilor Virgilio Dumapias, Sanguniang Bayan chair on Health, DOH-Provincial Health Team leader Dr. Jocelyn Iraola and Milave Schneider, Provincial Program Coordinator and Daet MPDO Emily Palomiano and other representatives from other sectors. (RBManlangit, PIA CamNorte)


SAFADECO NAMED TOP GROSSER COOP IN BICOL

SORSOGON CITY — The Salvacion Farmers Development Cooperative (SAFADECO) has achieved another feat with the recognition it recently received from the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) on enterprise management system during the 2009 Bicol Cooperatives Congress held in Daet, Camarines Sur.

Roseller Olayres, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Sorsogon chief, said that SAFADECO was awarded by CDA as one of the 100 top grosser cooperatives of the year in the Bicol region.

SAFADECO is a farmer’s organization consisting of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB).

“The cooperative have started from the “piso-piso” daily contribution scheme until it has evolved into a dynamic organization,” Olayres averred.

Olayres said the cooperative’s management competence was previously recognized by DAR and as a result they became a recipient of Lakatan Production Project as well as Sasso Chicken and swine raising projects.

SAFADECO now also manages and operates the Inarched Pili Nursery from PhilGer fund.

“Their growth marked the establishment of their consumer’s store and copra trading located along the high-way of barangay Salvacion, in this city,” Olayres added.

“With these accomplishments and recognitions, it is in no doubt why SAFADECO was considered one of the top grosser cooperatives in the region. We also look forward that more cooperatives in the province will be inspired by what SAFADECO has achieved,” Olayres also said. (BARecebido, PIA Sorsogon/AJArbolente, DAR Sorsogon)


PGMA says peace pact to leave country whole

MANILA — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has made clear that any peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) must hew closely to the Constitution, that the Philippines is “one nation that must never be divided…”

In reply to a question from a reporter IN Ganassi, Lanao del Sur, the Chief Executive assured that peace talks with the separatist movement will soon resume and that they will take the sentiments both of the rebels and the inhabitants of Mindanao.

The President cited three principles that will guide the negotiation to arrive at the desired peace to Mindanao.

“First, we must have a single objective of peace and prosperity; second, we must abide by the Constitution that we are one nation that must never be divided or [any part] separated; and third, our society is multi-ethnic and not just one culture so there must be social justice for all and must institutionalize our accommodation for all kinds of ethnic traditions.”

“The problem of war is all about economic exclusion and bringing peace and prosperity to Mindanao will be a more sustainable option for our country,” she pointed out.

“Why am I here in Mindanao every week? Unless we come to terms with Mindanao, we will never achieve our goal of becoming a great nation like the United States, which overcame racial prejudice and inequity and became a great nation,” the President stressed.

“I asked Ambassador Rafael Seguis, undersecretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs for Special Concerns, to go around, talk to the ordinary people of Mindanao and find out their real sentiments so that when he sits down in the negotiating panel, he will have something more comprehensive and substantive to work on with the other camp,” the President said in a regional media interview or RMI here.

Also during her visit here, the President discussed lengthily her various infrastructure projects in the South, principally the water systems, which Mindanao so badly needs.

She said the first step is to seek a Sangguniang Panlalawigan resolution calling for the establishment of water districts and water systems. The next step is for the Local Water Utilities Administration will identify the possible sites of these water districts.

“But if the larger systems are not that feasible or viable in the short term, then we must aspire to put up level 1 or simple systems that will ensure potable water for everyone,” the President said. (PIA V Release)


Government bent on improving tax collection

MANILA — The government is bent on improving tax collection and rein in the budget deficit.

Presidential Spokesperson on Economic Affairs Gary Olivar said in a press briefing Tuesday (November 3) that it is important that the government address these concerns to make the economy stronger in the wake of the global financial crisis.

He called upon the citizenry and the business community to pay the appropriate taxes, thus enabling the government to meet revenue collection targets.

Otherwise, Olivar said, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will miss its P798.5 billion collection target this year.

BIR Senior Deputy Commissioner Joel Tan-Torres, according to him, has stated that the tax collection is seriously affected by the world economic downturn.

“The revenue collection efforts have been seriously impaired as the effects of weaker global economy which lowers the level of taxable economic transaction,” he said.

Tan-Torres, Olivar said, is among the possible replacement for BIR chief Sixto Esquivias IV, who resigned last Friday.

Records show that the BIR collected only about P500 billion from January to September this year, falling short of target by P39.2 billion.

Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, which devastated Luzon, were a major factor cited as the cause for the losses revenue earners claimed in their quarterly income tax returns.

Olivar said both the BIR and Department of Finance (DOF) are now in the process of pinpointing “those changes in evaluating the performance of the BIR and possibly asking the target revision depending on the situation on the ground.”

To improve tax collection and address the fiscal challenge, according to Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Lorelie Fajardo, requires serious implementation of anti-corruption laws.

The BIR’s RATE (Run After Tax Evaders), and the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) RATS (Run After The Smugglers) and RIPS (Revenue Integrity Protection Service), make up the three-pronged anti-corruption drive of the Department of Finance (DOF) which continue to file complaints at the Office of the Ombudsman against erring revenue officers.

“The Ombudsman’s conviction rate is high because the government is seriously going after tax offenders,” Olivar said.

In 2005, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed and called for a full implementation of Republic Act No. 9335 or the Attrition Act of 2005 to improve the national tax collection performance through the creation of a rewards and incentives system. (PIA V Release)


Government holds dialogue with business sector on oil price cap

MANILA — Presidential Spokesman Gary Olivar said Tuesday (November 3) in a press briefing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would lift the oil price roll back if the situation calls for it.

The Spokesman made the observation in light of the appeal made by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) for the President to lift Executive Order No. 839, which rolls back oil pump prices to the October 15 levels after the declaration of state of calamity in Metro Manila and Luzon.

In same briefing, Deputy Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera along with the Department of Energy (DOE) had met on Friday with the business community led PCCI for a series of consultations on their appeal.

“There will be a continuous dialogue and consultation. But for as long as there is a calamity in Luzon, then the price control will remain,” Fajardo insisted.

However, she noted that the Department of Justice and the DOE Taskforce assigned to look into the appeal of business community to lift the oil price freeze may also review the price ceiling considering that oil is imported and depends heavily on the price of global market.

“The DOE can keep track and monitor the prices of oil and make the necessary recommendations,” she said.

Fajardo emphasized that the primary concern of President Arroyo is the plight of the majority of citizens affected by the calamity. (PIA V Release)


Palace backs Pacquiao on fight vs Cotto

MANILA — Malacanang Tuesday (November 3) has extended its warm wishes to Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquaio in his Nov. 14 fight against welterweight title holder Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand Hotel and casino in Las Vegas.

In a press briefing, Deputy Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said the Filipino nation is behind Pacquiao in his fight against the Puerto Rican.

“We just wish Manny Pacquiao well and we are praying for him. I hope he knows that his kababayans are all supporting him all throughout this fight,” Fajardo said.

Pacquaio scored a sensational knockout against Ricky Hatton to win the junior welterweight title last May also at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.

Cotto, a titleholder at 147 pounds, agreed to fight Pacquiao at a catch weight of 145-pounds. (PIA V Release)


ECC issues compensability guidelines of murderous assault

MANILA — The Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) recently issued a set of guidelines for determining compensability of murderous assault for the purpose of uniformity in the evaluation of claims by the administering agencies of the program, the Social Security System (SSS) for the private sector and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for the public sector.

The guidelines provide that the death of an employee as a result of a murderous assault is deemed compensable when it happens while the worker performs his official functions.

Motive of the assault need not be established if the injury was inflicted while the employee was at his designated workplace or when he was executing an order of his employer.

On the other hand, establishment of the motive becomes important when the assaulted employee was on vacation leave, off-duty, or outside the workplace when the assault occurred. Disclosure of the motive helps determine the causal connection between the incident and the employment of the worker.

The ECC formulates policies and guidelines for the effective implementation of the Employees’ Compensation Program. (PIA V Release)