ASEAN Leaders need to Prioritize Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation says Legarda

Hanoi, Vietnam, March 7, 2011-To avert further losses of lives and livelihoods from disasters, Senator Loren Legarda, Chairperson of the Philippine Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, urges the member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to prioritize disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) in national development agenda.

In addressing high-level officials of the Government of Vietnam led by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai at the Second National Forum on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation held in Hanoi, Legarda said that we cannot content ourselves with merely reacting to disaster events that claimed countless of lives, ruined properties, and left lingering effects on people’s livelihoods and the environment; thus, there is a need to protect our development gains from the regressive impacts of disasters, adding that in order to win against disaster climate change there is a need to be proactive.

  

Legarda noted that the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) and the United Nations Regional Coordinating Mechanism (UN-RCM) agreed to prepare the ASEAN-UN Strategic Plan of Cooperation on Disaster Management for 2011-2015 which shall cover risk and vulnerability assessment, preparedness and early warning, among other disaster risk management activities where the 3^rd ASEAN-UN Summit was held in Hanoi, Vietnam last October.

Legarda said that if national leaders govern with commitment, responsibility, and accountability to bring about a safer and more resilient society the rising trend of disaster risk can be stopped, adding that climate change has already made its effects in our region like extreme weather events, stronger typhoons, heavier rains, severe floods, and devastating droughts have become recurring events, a common concern for many countries in Asia.

She furthered that the ASEAN member-states, based on what was agreed upon at the ASEAN Summit, must actively collaborate and pursue efforts to build disaster and climate-resilient communities within the region, saying that if national leaders consider risk reduction not as a cost but a wise investment disasters can be prevented.  

Legarda added that no conscientious leader would want to see the poor and most vulnerable constantly drawn back by disasters into abject poverty for lack of government action and no responsible politician would want the government to waste millions on public infrastructure that can be instantly destroyed by earthquakes and floods.

The Senator was invited in Hanoi to share the 2009 Climate Change Act and the 2010 Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act that she authored and sponsored and now considered legislative models by the UNISDR and the Inter-Parliamentary Union for other nations to emulate.

Legarda revealed the UN report that Asia is the world’s most disaster prone region, saying that the Asian people are four times more likely to be affected by disasters caused by natural hazards than those in Africa; and 25 times more likely than those in Europe or North America. (Jason de Asis)

Senator Loren Legarda discussed integrating risk reduction and climate change adaptation at the 2^nd Natonal Forum on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation at the Sheraton Hotel in Ha Noi, Vietnam. The UNISDR Regional Champion for Asia and the Pacific was invited by Vietnam government where she shared the Climate Change Act of 2009 and the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 that she authored. (Jason de Asis)

Senator Loren Legarda met the Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai at the 2^nd National Forum on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation at the Sheraton Hotel in Ha Noi, Vietnam. (Jason de Asis)

Drilon eyed new law to regulate plea bargaining agreement

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, March 7, 2011-Amidst the irregularities uncovered in the highly controversial plea bargain agreement forged between state prosecutors and a former military comptroller accused of plunder but was later charged with lesser offenses, Senator Franklin Drilon, a former justice secretary proposed a new set of policy that would govern plea bargaining agreement in the criminal cases under Senate bill No. 2732 otherwise known as Plea Bargaining Act of 2011.

Drilon filed the said bill following the Senate Blue Ribbon committee’s sixth round of inquiry into the plea deal by former Gen. Carlos Garcia, who was allowed to post bail despite glaring evidence and testimony exposed in the chamber’s hearings.

“There should be a clear cut law that would establish a formal policy implementation of plea bargaining agreements,” Drilon said, explaining that without legislation, individuals accused of grave offenses like plunder would just enter into a plea bargain with the prosecution even without the consent of the offended party.

Drilon furthered that the proposed legislation would form part of the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon committee that allows a plea of the accused in a criminal case to a lesser offense with the consent of the offended party, in a move that trails the Garcia case grossly disadvantageous to the government part.

He said that during or after the presentation of the prosecution evidence, the prosecution may enter into plea bargaining with the accused with the consent of the offended party, but before the presentation of the defense evidence, and in no case after the dismissal by the court of a demurrer to evidence, the following conditions must be provided and presented such as the evidence of the prosecution is insufficient to prove the offense charged beyond reasonable doubt; in cases involving the recovery by or restitution to the offended party of property in crimes against property and those committed by the public officers in relation to public funds such as, but not limited to, the crime of plunder, graft and corrupt practices, bribery, and malversation, the accused makes a full restitution of the property or public funds involved; and in cases of conspiracy, the accused fully cooperates in the prosecution of principal conspirators responsible for the commission of the offense charged who are the most guilty, including in the provision of documentary, object and testimonial evidence, in the event that the accused has not yet qualified as a state witness in accordance with the Rules of Criminal Procedure.

“When there is no private offended party in the offenses charged,” Drilon said that the party whose consent is necessary shall be the People of the Philippines as represented by the prosecution, the Republic of the Philippines as represented by the Office of the Solicitor General and the government agency represented by the Solicitor General responsible for the enforcement of the law violated by the offense, adding that if the penalty imposable for the offense charged is prison mayor or six years and one day imprisonment, or higher, or a fine exceeding P12,000, the plea bargaining agreement shall first be approved in writing by the city prosecutor, provincial prosecutor or the prosecutor general in criminal cases handled by the National Prosecution Service, the Ombudsman in cases handled by the Office of the Special Prosecutor, or the head of the agency in the case of other agencies authorized to prosecute criminal cases, before it is submitted to the court for approval. Without the written approval of the respective approving authorities the plea bargaining will not be allowed.

Drilon, who is a staunch critic of the Garcia plea bargain who strongly urged the Ombudsman to drop the motion to approve the plea bargain before the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court explained that the guidelines setting will ensure that the process does not become a mere vehicle for diluting the gravity of the offense charged against the accused, for destroying the deterrent value of the law intended to prescribe the offense committed or for creating opportunities for graft and corrupt practices.

Drilon noted that there are instances that a plea bargain is needed but there should be check and balance, adding that a fine ranging from Php6,000 to Php60,000 to any violation with the penalty of imprisonment ranging from six months and one day up to six years shall be the punishment. (Jason de Asis)

COMSTE to boost Phl electronics and semiconductors industry-Angara

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, March 7, 2011-To boost the competitiveness of the Philippine electronics and semiconductors industry through integrated circuit (IC) design, the Congressional Commission on Science Technology and Engineering (COMSTE) is pushing for the establishment of the Industrial Research and Development Institute (IRDI).

The IRDI is modeled after a similar institute in Taiwan, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), which is credited with creating an environment for industry and government to partner which in turn helped Taiwan become a technology leader.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara, Chair of COMSTE, said that the project was conceptualized after studying Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), which was a key factor in Taiwan’s economic success, a model we want to replicate here.

“IRDI will be a Public-Private Partnership that is industry led model. As envisioned by the COMSTE Electronics and Semiconductors panel Government and academe can support R&D initiatives in the institute,” Angara said, adding that COMSTE is currently working with a worldwide industry leader in IC design to establish a training center that would be available to colleges and universities.

The training center shall have access to the facilities and personnel that are currently employed by the IC design company where the training modules for undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty would also be provided by the company.

“The guidance of an industry of the leading company enables the universities to develop circuits that would have an end use industry,” Angara said, and that it would enable engineers to develop skills necessary to enter seamlessly into the workforce and eventually set up their own startup companies.

Students from De La Salle, Ateneo, Mapua Institute of Technology and the University of the Philippines have expressed their interest to take part in the IC design training. (Jason de Asis) 

Trillanes meets Samahang Magdalo Visayas Chapter

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, March 6, 2011-At least 18 chapters of the Samahang Magdalo Visayas chapter convened yesterday led by Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV at Cebu International Convention Center, Cebu City until today.

Since Trillanes was released last December after seven years of incarceration, Trillanes personally thanked them for helping him won in the last 2007 senatorial election, saying that this is the first time that Trillanes convened with members and volunteers of the Samahang Magdalo.

The said convention served as a venue to discuss local concerns and identify solutions to forward the welfare of the people in the Visayas.

Trillanes said that the Magdalo firmly believes that the only way toward achieving its vision of peaceful, progressive and prosperous country is to have a united, responsible and empowered citizenry; thus, the group has decided to open its doors to all people from all walks of life who shared the same dreams and aspirations for the love of the country.

The Visayas convention is the first of a series of meetings the Magdalo plans to hold, as preparations are under way to hold gatherings in Luzon and Mindanao.

The Samahang Magdalo was established last November 28, 2008, a socio-civic organization and well known group of reformist officers and men of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Magdalo is a national movement that advocates good governance and social justice where its vision is to have a peaceful, progressive and prosperous country with a united citizenry.

It was founded by a group of reformist officers and men of the AFP who upheld their constitutional mandate as the protector of the people and the state, bravely fought the alleged corrupt and oppressive Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo regime where it’s members were eventually incarcerated for their conviction and yet after several years of detention, they remain steadfast in their belief that the Filipino people deserve a better government. (Jason de Asis) 

Legarda pushes the urgent passage of Vietnam’s disaster risk reduction and management law

HANOI, Vietnam, March 6, 2011-During the 2nd National Forum on DRR and CCA at the Sheraton Hotel, Ha Noi, Senator Loren Legarda, the UNISDR Regional Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) for Asia and the Pacific, yesterday pushed the urgent passage of a disaster risk reduction and management law in Vietnam.

Legarda said that for more effective and sustainable DRR and CCA programs like the Philippines, Vietnam has compelling reasons to develop an enabling institution, law, and policy environment and yet accomplishing these required a concerted effort of key stakeholders and the unrelenting commitment of leaders to bring about needed change.

The common concern of the two (2) countries are the extreme weather events, stronger typhoons, heavier rains, more severe floods, and devastating droughts have become recurring events, adding that the Philippines regularly exports some of its typhoons to Viet Nam and that the weather events in Manila serve as effective early warnings for Hanoi.

“Vietnam’s disaster risk management legislation is pending in the Parliament, Legarda said, noting that the two new Philippine laws that she had shared with them are a product of passion and perseverance where she hopes that the legislature of Vietnam would find them useful.

“The 2009 Philippine Climate Change Acts provides that the strategic framework for a comprehensive program and action on climate change at national and local levels while the 2010 Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act strengthens the country’s institutional mechanisms for disaster risk reduction and management and lends great importance to disaster prevention and mitigation,” she furthered, saying that the ministries of Vietnam may consider taking the same path to effectively build resilience to disasters like the Philippines. 

Legarda concluded that in order to succeed to reduce disaster and climate risks building linkages and promotion of common understanding and cooperation among stakeholders are ways of consolidating forces, expertise and resources, whereas our country resorted to these ways when the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and the Commission on Climate Change entered into a Memorandum of Agreement to do certain initiatives together. (Jason de Asis)

Aquino led safe disposal of explosive remnants of world war 2 in Tarlac

CAPAS, Tarlac, March 6, 2011-In the recent discussion of Philippine government with US President Barack Obama on the urgency to remove and dispose the leftover World War II naval ordnances from Caballo Island, President Benigno S. Aquino III led the culmination of the disposal of some 400,000 pounds of leftover ordnances used during the World War II where he personally detonated the last two pallets of 287-pound Mk 6 depth charges and two pallets of 190-pound Mk 9 depth charges using a radio firing device some 1.6 kilometer away from the blast range at Crow Valley here.

At the Caballo Island where the said explosives were restored, three-phase EOD operations started with the stabilization and rendering safe the ordnances, segregation, and its placement on pallets including site survey, engineering works and logistics fill-up at Crow Valley and coordinating conferences with EOD teams where the first phase conducted for 15 days from January 20 to February 4, while phase two included the safe transport of ordnances from Caballo Island to Crow Valley last February 6.

Earlier in February, the exercise was led by the Naval Special Operations Group (NAVSOG) of the Philippine Navy was the last of three phases of the Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Operations with EOD teams from the Army, Air Force, Philippine National Police (PNP) and Coast Guard.

Phase three is the disposal by safely and gradually detonating the leftover World War II naval ordnances at the demolition range of the Philippine Air Force at Crow Valley in barangay Sta. Juliana, Capas.

President Aquino lauded the Armed Forces of the Philippines and to all those involved in the success of the operations where he was impressed on how the team managed to complete the disposal operations weeks ahead of the targeted date of completion set on March 20.

The Chief Executive also lauded the safe transport of the explosives from Subic to Caballo Island to Crow Valley, saying that the operations were carried out safely. (Jason de Asis)

President Aquino detonates the remaining explosive remnants of war during the culmination of the joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) operations in Crow Valley, Capas, Tarlac. (Jason de Asis)

Photo shows the actual blasting of leftover naval explosives used during the World War II which was held at Crow Valley in Capas, Tarlac. (Jason de Asis)

President Aquino standing, told newsmen that he is set to announce the new AFP Chief of staff today (March 6, 2011) during a press briefing after leading the culmination of the joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) exercise which was held at Crow Valley in Capas, Tarlac while in his right was AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Ricardo David to be retired on March 8. (Jason de Asis) 

Task Force Caballo Chief Capt. Rommel Jason Galang explains to President Aquino the procedure on how to detonate explosive remnants of war using the remote firing device. (Jason de Asis)

The Catholic Media Network News Online: Trillanes meets Samahang Magdalo Visayas Chapter

The Catholic Media Network News Online: Trillanes meets Samahang Magdalo Visayas Chapter

Reproductive health bill should be passed says Santiago

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, March 5, 2011-Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago yesterday called for the urgent passage of the reproductive health (RH) bill following the rise in maternity-related deaths, unwanted teenage pregnancy, and HIV infection in the country, which could be curbed by implementing measures that would promote and safeguard the reproductive health of persons, especially women.

Santiago, who has filed the Reproductive Health Act, aka SB No. 2378 in the Senate said that in the celebration of Women’s Month at the University of the Philippines Visayas, women are mostly affected by the delayed passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill into law.

She said that access to reproductive health information and services are virtually denied to the poor, the less-educated, the adolescents, the rural, indigenous women, and women from the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). By responding to the reproductive health needs of women, the RH bill affords women more employment, educational opportunities and ultimately, economic empowerment.

The senator claimed that more than half of the pregnancies in the Philippines are unattended by health professionals, saying that child-birth related deaths could have been avoided, if more Filipino women have access to reproductive health information and health care.

“Only three percent of the population does not use contraceptives because of religious belief,” Santiago said, saying that the proposed law that could reduce the number of abortions is being opposed by fundamentalist groups.

She furthered that the increased access to information and services on modern contraceptive methods will reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, eliminate the need for abortion, and prevent maternal deaths.

2008 national and manila surveys of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) stated that the Filipino people have recognized the need for the passage of the RH bill, saying that 71 percent of the national population and 86 percent of the population in Metro Manila are in favor of the passage of the RH bill.

Santiago manifested that the SWS survey showed that there is a clamor and demand to have the bill passed which provides emergency obstetric care in each province and city; full range of modern family planning methods in all accredited health facilities; the inclusion of family planning supplies as essential medicines; PhilHealth benefits for serious and life-threatening reproductive health conditions such as HIV and AIDS, breast and reproductive tract cancers, and obstetric complications; mobile health care service vans in each congressional district; mandatory age-appropriate reproductive health and sex education starting at Grade 5; capability building of barangay health workers; employers' responsibilities where employers shall provide reproductive health services to all employees; Multi-media campaign to raise the level of public awareness; and Management of abortion complications so that women are not left to die.

“Although middle class and upper class women can afford to pay for their own contraceptives and other reproductive health care services, this is not the case for majority of Filipina women who belong to the lower economic strata, Santiago lamented.

She said that there is a need for budgetary allocation to increase access to reproductive health care information and services, sighting that poor women suffered for they cannot afford to buy their own contraceptives, do not have the money to pay for antibiotics to treat their reproductive tract infection, cannot afford to pay a Php2,500 ligation procedure, are unable to get pre-natal and post-natal checkups, or even afford to pay for a simple pap smear procedure.

“It has been almost a decade since the first RH bill was filed in Congress last December 2001, and that delay in the passage of the RH bill is detrimental to the health and lives of Filipinos especially women and children; thus, the passage of the RH bill delayed was a violation of the constitution promulgated by the state.

“Our health is a fundamental of human right indispensable for the exercise of other human rights and conducive to living a life with dignity, therefore our constitution guarantees full respect for human rights,” the Senator ended. (Jason de Asis)

Looming worldwide food crisis can be prevented through Science and technology-Angara

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, March 5, 2011-In line with the reports that the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which measures global food prices may hit us all the time, Senator Edgardo J. Angara, Chair of The Congressional Commission on Science Technology and Engineering (COMSTE) made a statement that the looming worldwide food crisis can be prevented with the implementation of S&T based projects and the continued cooperation of government, academe and industry.

“The improvement of a national railway system could help battle the rising food prices in the country,” Angara said, pointing out that a good, efficient rail system that can help move people and cargo especially in the distant areas of both Luzon and Mindanao.

Angara said that during the time that he served as Secretary of Agriculture, he saw the abundance of food and goods in Mindanao but their biggest difficulty transporting their products to the consumers, saying that railway system can be built without marring the beautiful landscapes in the country.

The Senator believed that it is possible to build a tunnel inside the mountain that will not destroy mountains along the way by using new technology in train building and tunneling.

To support the initiatives of COMSTE, Angara has filed senate bill no. 2055 otherwise known as the Biotechnology Industry Development Act of 2010, pointing out that the world biotechnology industry is a multibillion industry.

“Medical biotechnology investment alone is estimated to US$200 billion whereas investment in agricultural biotechnology was worth US$67 billion in 2003,” Angara said, adding that the start of the 21st century indicates the coming convergence of agriculture and medicine with pharmaceuticals being produced by genetically engineered plants and the greater acceptance of herbal medicine.

To develop a biotechnology-based industry, the proposed bill intends to address the weaknesses of the country’s system where private sector is given incentives to invest in biotechnology R&D by allowing the total R&D cost and prices of shares of stocks in biotech companies as tax deductible.

“To lessen the burden of an unwieldy accounting and auditing system, majority of the government's investments in biotechnology R&D is awarded through a government corporation,” the Senator ended. (Jason de Asis)

Villar urged the gov’t. for a comprehensive strategy to address OFWs welfare

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, March 5, 2011-To address the concerns and welfares of repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from restive states in the Middle East and North Africa, Senator Manny Villar urged the government to formulate a comprehensive strategy in giving economic and social assistance in the form of livelihood and technical skills training, preference in redeployment, free hospitalization and Philhealth membership, educational help and other benefits aside from the Php10,000 financial aid.

A proposed senate resolution number 412 was filed by Villar urging the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) as well as other concerned executive agencies to devise a strategy that will address the concerns of repatriated OFWs who now lack sources of income.

The senator said that the OFWs still need help and will be repatriated and rendered without employment that’s why it is necessary for the government to act and to lay down measures to ensure that these Filipinos are given adequate economic assistance so that they may be able to start again either here in the Philippines or abroad.

“Workers who were repatriated with their families should be assisted in relocation, housing and education of their children as well as healthcare,” Villar said, noting that the unrest in the region has placed the livelihood and safety of OFWs at risk, saying that an estimated number of 30,000 Filipinos are affected by the conflict and are now in the process of repatriation in Libya alone, adding that at least 14,000 Filipinos are waiting to be evacuated from Libya according to the Department of Labor and Employment.

“Armed conflicts sometimes have a psychological impact on a person,” Villar said, saying that free counseling and other similar services must be made available so that the workers may be aided in coping up with the experiences that they suffered while they were in conflict zones.

Meanwhile, the Senator lauded the emergency repatriation being carried out by employers in Libya, specifically the efforts of French company Vinci Construction Grand Project for airlifting 97 Filipino workers out of the war-torn nation.

A welcome lunch was hosted by Lito Soriano, CEO of LBS Recruitment Solutions Corp. Susan Ople of the Ople Center presented the resolution for the 60 OFW from Libya on behalf of Villar. Villar’s Sagip OFW and the Ople Center started the “Skills-Up” program, a vocational skills scholarship program for repatriated OFWs who are victims of abuse and illegal recruitment. (Jason de Asis)

Phl natural resources being sold below market price should be regulated-Angara

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, March 5, 2011-During the Wednesday’s Commission and Appointments hearing, Senator Edgardo J. Angara, vice-chair of the Senate Committee on Finance warned Department of Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima to confirm reports that the Philippines precious natural resources are being sold below market prices.

Angara said that it is ridiculous that we are selling out the rights to our country’s natural resources so cheaply and practically giving away our farmlands, forests, fisheries to anyone willing to fork over the minimum amount needed which is not even at market prices, explaining that to acquire a mining claim here is at ease while the other countries guard their territories intimately so that they can derive significant income from this option.

“I am questioning the stagnant rate of growth in some areas of the nation’s economy,” Angara said, adding that our GDP has shown huge growth in the last decade where he believed that since 1997 around 30 percent increase, but no considerable improvement on other areas of the economy.

“What about the continuing efforts on regular tax collections? These provide dependable income from neutral sources such as the rich and abundant natural resources that we have,” he asked, saying that the abundant resources of the country are not being put to good use.

To provide sizeable source of revenue in the future, the Senator called on the interim Finance chief to create a structural pricing scheme to regulate the use of the country’s natural resources where he advised the secretary to act on the matter as soon as possible.

Purisima was advised by Angara to mark all of the nation’s resources from land to airwaves as the nation’s new fiscal chief. Angara furthered that there is a need to regulate their use to have a sustainable source of revenue and at the same time preventing overstretching the resources of the country. (Jason de Asis) 

5 years missing broadcaster remembered in a simple ceremony

BALER, Aurora, March 4, 2011-The militant organization here composed of the Multi-Sectoral Action Group (M-SAG), Justice Peace and Action Group (JPAG), Pamana and church leaders yesterday remembered in a simple ceremony along burgos street the reportedly missing for five (5) years who was known as a hard hitting radio commentator airing on DZJO FM.

Joey Estriber, 37 was known as an active Bataris member, a church-based non-government organization here who was tagged by the soldiers as supporter of rebels in the province and said that this was the reason for his abduction. He was a radio host of “Pag-usapan Natin” (Let’s Talk About It) and abducted by unidentified four men dragged to a maroon Besta van with tinted windows and no plate number.

Estriber’s kin together with the militant groups sought for justice of Estriber. (Arnel Turzar, DZJO FM, CMN-Baler, Aurora)

Environmental and human rights activists appealed to the government to find Estriber and sought to give them a concrete steps in making Gloria Arroyo accountable for the over a thousand deaths and some 200 enforced disappearances of activists, human rights defenders during her presidency. (Arnel Turzar, DZJO FM, CMN-Baler, Aurora)

Militant groups sought justice for the victim through prayer and candle lighting vigil. (Arnel Turzar, DZJO FM, CMN-Baler, Aurora)   

Legarda sought investigation on the Phl preparedness giving aid to OFWs

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, March 4, 2011-To provide assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Senator Loren Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations sought for an investigation on the preparedness of the Philippine government including embassies and consulates abroad, saying that the recent incidents in different parts of the world have brought impending danger to OFWs.

There are more than 14,000 OFWs who remain trapped in strife-torn Libya while 11 Filipinos are still missing following the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that hit Christchurch, New Zealand last February 22 according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

“Due to the eruption of violence and cross-fire between pro and anti-government forces, the political turmoil and social unrest in Libya have compromised the safety of thousands of OFWs,” Legarda said; thus, New Zealand recent turmoil has affected our countrymen that have brought anxiety both to the OFWs and their relatives.

Legarda said that the safety of the more than 1.5 million OFWs scattered throughout 197 countries around the world is of paramount importance in their significant contribution in saving the Philippine economy and also the added hardships that they have to face while living and working abroad.

Through this, Legarda is pushing for an inquiry into the efforts conducted by the government particularly the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, other related agencies, our embassies and consulates abroad to these events and preparedness in providing assistance to the OFWs should other emergency arises in other countries.

Her sought for inquiry explained that the bilateral relations with foreign nations where OFWs are residing must be utilized in combined effort for their protection in cases of distressed and emergency situations.

Legarda said that our embassies and consulates must provide the government here with constant assessments of the existing situations in their respective territorial assignments, saying that so as not to compromise the safety of our OFWs, there is a need for a sense of urgency and be prepared to adopt contingency measures even before a crisis erupts.

“There is a need to strengthen the intelligence network of diplomatic posts abroad so that they will be able to foresee a looming crisis and to plan ahead by analyzing domestic tensions in their posts,” she said.

To get back on their feet after their stressful experience abroad and also to boost their morale, the government should be prepared at all times not only in providing immediate repatriation for OFWs but also in adopting reintegration programs, such as skills training for displaced OFWs, that would provide them job opportunities. (Jason de Asis)

Defense Chief Gazmin lauded NOLCOM AFP

CAMP AQUINO, Tarlac City, March 4, 2011-Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin, who is a member of the Philippine Military Academy class of 1968 lauded the operational accomplishments of the Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM) headed by the Commander Lieutenant General Gaudencio S. Pangilinan during his visit here yesterday where he was hoping that the situation in Northern and Central Luzon will continue to improve up to the point that all of the command areas of responsibility are insurgency free.

Gazmin was optimistic that by the year 2016,  the AFP can already focus on territorial defense where he urged everyone to continue to cooperate and do their part to ensure that the AFP’s Internal Peace and Security Plan (Bayanihan) as implemented by NOLCOM Campaign Plan (Ugnayan) will succeed.

He added that insurgency is everybody’s problem; thus, the roles of individual are needed to win and become free on insurgency where he brought good news to NOLCOM AFP about the increase in combat pay of soldiers who are actually involved in combat duty from P240 to P500, availability of low-cost housing units for 20,000 soldiers this year and scholarship program which were the ideas of the President.

In the controversies generated by investigations in congress, Gazmin said that the government welcomes all these developments because everybody were able to see the bad practices before and noted that such malpractices are no longer happening now.  

Gazmin added that various reforms have been instituted where he organized a committee to look into the anomalous transactions previously and the review of the reforms that have been instituted, explaining that the committee has to finish their report until March 14 and submit the names of people involved to proper authorities so that justice can be delivered.

“We must adhere to the policies of transparency and accountability of President Aquino,” he ended.

Meanwhile, the new AFP chief of staff is set to be announced by President Aquino at the commencement exercises of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) class 2011 in Baguio City. AFP chief of staff General Ricardo David Jr. will be retiring on March 8 where eleven among the unnamed three-star generals are recommended to his post.

The AFP soldiers are waiting among the generals who will be the most revered and respected generals in the military circle professionalism that will lead them in serving the country. (Jason de Asis)

Phl at high risk for 6 major hazards: Science and technology needed to remain competitive

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, March 4, 2011-With the joint study by Columbia University and the World Bank entitled ‘Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis’, which identifies countries where the Philippines was pegged as one of the riskiest countries in the world for six (6) major natural hazards: earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, floods, drought, and cyclones, Senator Edgardo J. Angara, chair of the Congressional Commission on Science Technology and Engineering  (COMSTE) urged the government through the use of science and technology (S&T) to engineer resilience in the country’s agriculture industry to grow and to remain competitive even struck by natural calamities.

The Senator said that in order to create a more resilient nation, we have to utilize the tools that S&T can give us, saying that the we can lessen the impact of these events by equipping ourselves with the tools to be better prepared with the proper approach because the Philippines is often left at the mercy of typhoons and natural disasters.

“Our food supply is threatened because almost every time we are hit by storm; thus, there is a need to become more resilient as these disasters come yearly,” Angara said, adding that the reports from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) indicated that the rains that damaged the northern Luzon last month affected 21 provinces for nearly PhP 200 million worth of damage in the agricultural sector.

He furthered that the Department of Agriculture (DA) reported that the recent eruption of Mt. Bulusan has damaged up to 2,000 hectares of rice fields with standing palay crop of 10,000 metric tons (MT), adding that the defunct National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) reported that last year, approximately PHP 5 Billion worth of damage was wrought on the agricultural sector from typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng where the storms disrupted the nation’s rice supply, forcing then President Arroyo to initiate imports to avert shortage.

“The Presidential Coordinating Council on Research and Development (PCCRD) identified the development of food and non-food crop varieties for high yield, quality and nutritional value to be able to adapt to unfavorable environments and the development of enhanced systems that will minimize adverse environmental effects as key national priorities for 2010 t0 2016,” Angara said.

He added that the report from the commission stated that the Philippines accounted for less than 3% of the total expenditures of the regions expenditures during 1981-2000 and that the number of R&D agencies has not grown significantly since 1996 in terms of R&D spending.

“The last four years, the productivity level of the agricultural sector has been growing by 4%; however it is not growing at a pace to match the needs of the growing population,” Angara said.

He cited that the 2005 study by Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) showed that a 3.5% average growth rate in production is needed, which is almost 3 times higher than the growth rate of the rice in the 1990’s for rice to meet a growing populations needs. The same study also indicated that the country has a productivity crisis in agriculture and agricultural research, development and extension (RD&E).

From the Mid-90’s until now, the Philippine agricultural intensity ratio is at 0.4%, as compared to neighbors like Malaysia 1.1% and Thailand 1.6% where the Senator said that the underinvestment in agricultural R&D is believed to be one of the main reasons why the Philippines does not compare well with other countries in the region in terms of yield and productivity for almost all crops.

“The research intensity ratio of 0.4% should be raised to 0.75% by the end of the year and up to 1.5% by 2020 in order to be competitive,” Angara said, adding that there is a need to pursue in strengthening the R&D systems, institutions, facilities and human resources even there were improvements in agricultural R&D since 1990’s. (Jason de Asis)