DENR inspects CL furniture shops, sash factories compliance to log ban

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga-Over 400 furniture shops and sash factories in Central Luzon are currently subjected to an immediate inventory of their lumber stocks, logs, and flitches to check their compliance to President Aquino’s Executive Order 23 or a logging moratorium in natural and residual forests.

 

“We deployed four composite teams composed of senior foresters and each led by a deputy director in the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija to determine the sources of materials and the available supply of furniture makers and sash manufacturers,” DENR Regional Executive Director Maximo Dichoso disclosed in a media statement.

 

The teams have been ordered to confiscate all illegal lumbers found on the stockyard and to file charges against violators under Presidential Decree (PD) 705 otherwise known as the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines.

 

Offenders under PD 705 shall be punished with the penalties for the crime of theft imposed under Articles 309 and 310 of the Revised Penal Code, and face imprisonment of up to 20 years for forest products worth more than P22,000.

 

“We are doing this to ensure that the wood industry only gets its supply of raw materials from legitimate sources, and that appropriate forestry taxes are paid to the government,” Dichoso underscored.

 

Through Executive Order 23, the government wishes to address the continuing problem of deforestation, which has led to floods, soil erosion, and landslides that have claimed lives, displaced families, and damaged millions of pesos worth of property.

It also aims to address the killings allegedly carried out in connection with illegal logging activities in the area.

Furthermore, the EO is a manifestation of President Aquino’s commitment to his agenda and policy on environment protection, and in accordance to his platform, the 16-point Social Contract with the Filipino People, which calls for change from a “government obsessed with exploiting the country for immediate gains to the detriment of its environment, to a government that will encourage sustainable use of resources to benefit the present and future generations.” (Carlo Lorenzo J. Datu)

7ID holds general inspection of assets

FORT MAGSAYSAY, Nueva Ecija-7^th Infantry Division (7ID) of the Philippine Army recently conducted a general inspection of troop, facility, and mobile assets.

 

7ID Commander Brigadier General Hernando Delfin Carmelo Iriberri said the inspection aims to refresh the troops on the basics of soldiery to ensure that they maintain their issued equipment and marching proficiency.

 

“We will be conducting this activity every week to further instill discipline to our troops.  This will also serve as a reminder that we are all bounded by rules and regulations and much is expected from us in order to sustain and maintain our gains in our internal peace and security operations.”  Iriberri stressed.

 

In line with the Army Transformation Roadmap, inspection of troops, mobility assets and facilities are scheduled every Saturday morning. (Camille C. Nagaño)

Legarda to Fast Track Approval of Bills on Preservation of Forestlands and Protected Areas

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda said that she will prioritize the approval of proposed measures that will ensure the preservation of forests and other protected areas in the country.

Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, said that she will file an omnibus bill on the demarcation of each and every protected area classified under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act and work on the swift passage of related bills, including the proposed Final Forest Limits Act.

“We need to ensure that our forests are restored to its old grandeur and richness to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs,” said Legarda.

During the committee hearing on the proposed 2014 budget of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Secretary Ramon Paje said that of the country’s 15.8 million hectares of forestland, only 7.2 million hectares are forested.

The DENR said that although they are undertaking the delineation of the specific limits of forestlands and national parks, marking clearly their boundaries on the ground, the Final Forest Limits Act is vital in ensuring that these boundaries will be unchanged.

Recognizing the importance of such law, Legarda said that, “with demarcated and properly identified forestlands, the national government can better plan the utilization of the natural resources of the country, and local government units would be better equipped to initiate and implement development projects and programs with due regard to the preservation and protection of the integrity of the demarcated forest lands.”

Moreover, the DENR said that legislation is needed to demarcate each of the 113 protected areas under the NIPAS Act because only 13 of the protected areas have specific laws that mandate their establishment and demarcation.

Legarda said that she will file an omnibus bill to ensure the establishment and demarcation of the remaining 100 protected areas.

“I laud the DENR for undertaking the necessary action for the preservation of our forests and protected areas even with the absence of the necessary law. On my part, I will work on the immediate passage of these measures, and I hope that the environmental challenges we are facing will be addressed with the legislative and executive branches’ partnership in finding ways to protect and conserve the country’s natural resources and prevent illegal activities that destroy our ecosystems,” Legarda concluded.

Territorial Defense Workshop

Camp Aquino,Tarlac City-The Divisions and Brigades staffs for intelligence, operations and civil military operations (CMO) under Northern Luzon Command responsibility were joined the one day seminar-workshop for Global Security Challenges and the Concept on Territorial Defense at Cordillera Hall, Camp Aquino, Tarlac City.

The said activity was participated by sixty-five (65) officers representing the field manuevering and supporting units of NOLCOM.

The main objective of said seminar is to provide awareness and understanding on external threats being posed to Philippine territory particularly in West Philippine Sea and the Nature and Development of Global Challenges.

Guest lecturer coming from General Heaquarters, Camp Aguinaldo,  Col Raul C Vinoya, the Chief War Plans Division, OJ5, and Cdr Archibald Dino C Delfin, the Chief Territorial Defense Branch were share the AFP strategic program during the workshop.

The workshop concluded with the clear understanding to the field participants regarding the focus and primary functions of the AFP when it comes to challenges and critical situations they may encounter in their respective units.

Arrested NPA with 2.05 million reward

Camp Aquino,Tarlac City. A member of NPA, finance and logistic officer, Lolita Longuibis with two (2) others were arrested during joint operations conducted by PNP and Philippine Army at So Mabbay, Brgy Poblacion, Sagada Mountain Province on 5:00pm, September 9, 2013.

Lolita Longuibis is currently the finance and logistic officer of Kilusang Larangan Guirrilla (KLG) MARCO in Mountain Province. She has six (6) warrants of arrest for murder  case with a DND reward of 2.05 million for her capture.

PNP and military troop were also recovered subversive documents, electronic devices and cash amounting to P200,000.00.

The two other arrested are still for verification for their identity and relationship with Longuibis.

Commander Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM) Mgen Gregorio Pio P Catapang AFP said “by continues cooperation’s  and joint effort of our PNP, military troops and other government agency, we can achieve the lasting peace in any region”.

NOLCOM commander further said, “peace, progress and prosperity” are the primary objective of military operations which will be attained through the collaboration of concern elected government official.

The arrested NPA’s Longuibis and two other un-identified persons were turned-over to PNP in Mountain Province.

Legarda: 3.4M Kasambahays to Benefit from Domestic Workers Convention

Senator Loren Legarda today said that more Filipino domestic workers will be provided with better compensation and greater protection from abuses as the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 189, or the Domestic Workers Convention, has entered into force early this month.

Legarda, sponsor of Senate Resolution 816 that pushed for the Senate's concurrence in the ratification of the ILO Convention 189 during the 15th Congress, said that at least 1.9 million Filipino domestic workers in the country and at least 1.5 million others abroad will benefit from the Convention, which primarily ensures that domestic workers are treated as legitimate workers, not slaves, and are accorded decent working conditions, just compensation and sufficient benefits.

“We are making headway in championing the causes of domestic workers as both the Kasambahay Law and the ILO Convention 189 are now being enforced. I hope that we will be able to effectively implement these policies,” said Legarda, co-author and co-sponsor of Republic Act No. 10361 or the Kasambahay Law.

“The Convention 189 will strengthen our resolve and leverage in negotiating for stronger protection and better terms and conditions of employment of Filipino domestic workers,” she added.

The Senator explained that the Convention also directs ratifying states to consider entering into bilateral, regional or multilateral agreements to prevent abuses and fraudulent practices in recruitment, placement, and employment of domestic workers. The Department of Foreign Affairs can cite this Convention in initiating bilateral labor talks with fellow ILO members.

Like the Kasambahay Law, the ILO Convention 189 provides that all domestic workers should be informed of the terms and conditions of their employment, including salary, time of work and rest, provision of food and shelter, and vacation.

“The Convention sets international standards that would make sure domestic workers enjoy effective protection against abuse and other forms of violence. We hope that through the faithful implementation of this treaty, as well as of the Kasambahay Law, we can give due recognition to our domestic workers, our household heroes, not as invisible hands but as legitimate workers, equipped with the rights and benefits they truly deserve,” Legarda concluded.

JINGGOY URGES DOLE TO ENSURE FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF MINIMUM WAGE

MANILA-Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada is strongly urging the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to ensure that the workers in the private sector will receive the stipulated minimum wage.

 

Sen. Estrada said that this is the only consolation our government could provide the workers with the measly 10-peso minimum wage adjustment announced and approved by the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board last Friday.

 

“Many workers complain that they are not receiving the prescribed minimum wage rates in Metro Manila, even before this wage increase. Our government must guarantee that this benefit, however modest, will reach the labor sector and our laws and standards regarding compensation are fully complied with and strictly enforced,” Sen. Estrada, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development.

 

Sen. Estrada noted that the National Capital Region (NCR) has among the lowest compliance rate on minimum wage upon inspection according to the Current Labor Statistics published by the DOLE. NCR posted 61.7% compliance rate for the First Quarter of 2013. The figure is significantly lower than the recorded national average of 81%.

 

On the other hand, among those with the best compliance rates on minimum wage upon inspection of establishments are the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) with 93.8%, Region III with 93.9%, Region V with 93.1%, and Region XII with 94.5%.

 

The RTWPB-NCR Wage Order brings the new daily minimum wage to 466 pesos. Household service workers and workers of duly registered barangay micro business enterprises are not covered by the new wage order.

 

Jinggoy also expressed that the disappointment of the labor sector is understandable considering the impressive economic growth posted by the country for the past quarters attributed to the labor sector.

 

Sen. Estrada further said that the workers have to wait for at least a year before the regional wage board entertains another petition for salary increase.

 

“Philippine economy is consistently showing the world an excellent performance. I think that these gains should go and be returned to the backbone of our economic growth that is our labor force through decent wage,” Jinggoy stressed.

3,732 OFWs in jails in 53 countries

MANILA-At least 3,732 Filipinos were languishing in jails in 53 countries at the beginning of the year, Sen. Ralph Recto said today.

Of this number, 108 were in death row in six countries, with 69 in Chinese jails awaiting execution or clemency, the Senate President Pro Tempore said.

DFA officials, however, gave a lower figure of 80 Filipinos in death row in seven countries, with 28 in China, when they appeared before a House committee last week.

According to Recto, Malaysia hosted the most number of Filipinos behind bars, with 2,236, mostly immigration cases as the country had launched a crackdown against undocumented aliens.

Next was China, including Hong Kong and Macau (345), followed by Saudi Arabia (277), USA (208), Italy (97), United Arab Emirates (75), Kuwait (72), Japan (59), Peru (37) and Qatar (34).

As to sex, at least 476 of the Filipinos imprisoned abroad were female and 865 were male, Recto said.  The gender of the 2,391 was not indicated in the reports filed by the country’s 60 embassies and 20 consulates abroad.

It was the reports of these diplomatic posts which were later collated into a 732-page “Status of OFWs Report” which the Department of Foreign Affairs submitted to the Senate last June.

“Overall, 7,601 Filipinos, including those already in jail, were in trouble with their host country’s law as of Dec. 31, 2012.  If some of them will be convicted, the number of Filipinos in jails abroad will rise,” he said.

As to the nature of the cases Filipinos were facing, one-third, or 2,236, were work disputes or immigration-related, Recto said.     

“What is worrisome is the number two cause, which is the possession or trafficking of illegal drugs. This accounted for 646 cases. In fact, most of those in death row were there because of drugs,” Recto said.

“One consulate alone, Shanghai, reported that they were monitoring the cases of 32 Filipinos who were either in the dock or already in jail serving sentences for heroine smuggling,” Recto said.

It is because of drugs that 3 Filipinos were in jail high up in the Andes in Peru, he said.

Next to drug cases were those lumped up by the DFA as “morality cases”, which was responsible for the haling to the court or the hauling off to jail of 510 Filipinos.

Running afoul with local customs sent 151 men and 11 women in Saudi Arabia and Qatar to the slammer.  Their violation: drinking alcohol. Six women in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, were facing “witchcraft” charges, according to the DFA report cited by Recto.

Other cases were theft (297), murder and homicide (114), fraud (105).  However, diplomatic posts failed to specify the nature of 3,446 cases.

Recto said the DFA report also bared the continuing scourge of illegal recruitment and human trafficking.  

“In the Middle East and Africa alone, 2,013 of these cases were reported from June to December last year,” Recto said.      

"The dispersal of Filipinos worldwide has also resulted in the incarceration of a many them. Some of those who have joined the great Filipino Diaspora never found their own Promised Land," Recto said.

Recto said a reading of the DFA’s ‘OFW situationer’  “would bring one to places, some with exotic sounding names, where you wouldn't imagine that a Filipino would land in a jail there."

Because of the rising number of OFWs in jail, Recto called for the augmentation of the "Assistance-to-National Fund".

Under the proposed 2014 budget of the DFA, the said fund will increase to P300 million from P150 million this year.  “But this is still a drop in the bucket compared to the P 1 trillion that OFWs are forecast to remit this year,” Recto said.  

Last year, overseas Filipinos funneled back  $21.4 billion through formal channels.

NFA assures sufficient rice supply for Central Luzon until end of 2013

CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija-National Food Authority (NFA) assured that Central Luzon, the country’s rice granary, has sufficient supply of the staple until end of 2013.

 

“Our buffer stock stands at 1.77 million bags which is good to last in the remaining four months of the year,” NFA Regional Director Amadeo De Guzman emphasized.

 

This pronouncement was made in the wake of reports indicating that increasing prices in the region is due to the tight supply brought about by lean months, hinting a possible rise crisis in Central Luzon.

 

“Lean months, which starts late June and ends early September is the traditional planting season for farmers.  Hence, we expect no harvest that is why supply of commercial rice dwindles and prices soar ranging from P36 to P42 per kilogram,” De Guzman explained.

 

To mitigate the effects of such, NFA intervenes by releasing a greater volume of its P28 per kilogram rice through its accredited distribution outlets.

 

The food agency likewise deploys Palengke Watch teams to monitor, on a daily basis, the actual situation in public markets and to check on the operation of authorized retailers.

 

“The government’s market intervention in Central Luzon was able to prevent the prices of commercial rice from increasing at unreasonable levels during the lean month period. We expect supply and prices of commercial to normalize with the onset of the main cropping harvest season as palay deliveries from the provinces started arriving at the Intercity in Bocaue, Bulacan which is one of the biggest rice trading center in the entire Luzon island,” De Guzman disclosed.

 

NFA calls on consumers to be vigilant by reporting any irregularities in the market situation by calling telephone numbers (044) 600-2539 or 958-0142 or by sending an email via nfaclro@yahoo.com. (Carlo Lorenzo J. Datu)

Jinggoy says ILO Convention 189, Kasambahay law ‘twin towers’ of positive policies for domestic workers

MANILA-Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada has lauded the coming into force of the Convention on Domestic Workers (International Labor Organization Convention 189), referring to it and the Philippines’ Batas Kasambahay (Republic Act 10361) as the ‘twin towers’ of positive policies for household helpers.

 

The ILO has announced the coming into effect of Convention 189, formally known as the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Domestic Workers, starting September 5, 2013. 

 

The Convention was adopted by the ILO General Conference on June 16, 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland. As per its Article 21, it would come into force twelve months after the date on which it was ratified by at least two ILO member-states.

 

The Philippines completed the ratification process on August 6, 2012 and became the second member-state to ratify the Convention, triggering its coming into force. The resolution for the ratification was co-sponsored by Estrada as chairman of the Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development.

 

Batas Kasambahay, principally authored by Estrada, was signed into law by President Benigno Aquino III on January 2013.

 

The ILO said there were at least 53 million domestic workers worldwide, 83 percent of whom were women and about 10.5 million were children. Estrada meanwhile said there were some 1.9 million kasambahay in the Philippines, and hundreds of thousands more employed overseas.

 

Convention 189 provides, among others, the following:

-       promotion and protection of the human rights of all domestic workers;

-       respect, promotion and realization of fundamental principles and rights at work for domestic workers, namely: freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; and elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor, child labor and discrimination;

-       protection against all forms of abuse, harassment and violence;

-       fair terms of employment; and

-       decent working conditions.

 

Batas Kasambahay, for its part, states the following, among others:

-       upholding of the rights and dignity of household workers;

-       ample protection;

-       use of a formal contract to govern employer-employee relationship;

-       realistic minimum wage that is regularly adjusted in accordance with rising cost of living; and

-       provision of other benefits such as membership in SSS, Philhealth and PAG-IBIG.

 

Estrada said, “We may refer to Convention 189 and the Batas Kasambahay as the ‘twin towers’ of positive policies for domestic workers as these legal instruments embody, define and guarantee the rights of household helpers and set the standards that should guide governments and societies in general in treating these workers and addressing their concerns.”

COA has P2.2 billion to hire more auditors - Recto

MANILA-The Commission on Audit (COA) has P2.2 billion in the 2014 national budget that it can tap in hiring more auditors who can serve as  “tripwires against corruption,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said today.

With that amount, Recto said COA can recruit 6,485 more personnel, some of whom could be “frontline auditors,” to beef up its present workforce of 8,734.

Recto explained that the while the COA official plantilla has 15,219 authorized positions, only 8,734 are currently filled, “or a fill up rate of about 60 percent.”

A special provision in the proposed budget of the agency for 2014 states to the effect that portions of the P2.2 billion earmarked for the salaries of the 6,485 unfilled positions will only be released by the Department of Budget Management once the COA undertakes hiring.

“In short, it is some sort of a hiring fund the COA can withdraw from to pay for the salaries of new employees it has hired,” Recto said.  

The COA has a proposed budget of P8.4 billion for 2014.

In its budget submission to the Senate, COA reported that “19,081 agencies are subject to its financial, compliance and other audits,” prompting Recto to comment that “even if COA achieves full staff complement, that would still be below the 1:1 personnel to office ratio.”

In addition, COA stores 39 million spending vouchers, “which its auditors are supposed to examine,” he said.

In Thursday’s Senate hearing on the pork barrel mess, Recto urged the recruitment of more government auditors “so that these watchdogs embedded in public offices won’t have a hard time in auditing expenditures.”

Recto said “if the Ombudsman’s staff is being strengthened, if ‘integrity bodies’ in revenue agencies are being given additional funds, if internal affairs units in the police and the military are being beefed up, then all the more that COA, the public’s whistleblower, must have more personnel.”

He said if the commission is having a hard time getting accountants due to low pay, “then I think as a fiscally-independent body it can grant additional pay or it can ask the DBM to scrap many lower positions and consolidate them into fewer positions with higher pay.”

Legarda Calls for Inquiry on Rising Cost of Rice

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda has called for a Senate inquiry on the actual state of rice supply in the country following the alarming rise in the cost of rice.

Legarda filed Senate Resolution 233, which calls for the said inquiry, noting that the price of the lowest variety of commercial grade rice available in the market rose from P27 to P34 per kilo within just a few months.

“The rise in the cost of rice in the past few months can imply either an insufficient supply in the market or the presence of manipulative forces adversely affecting the price dynamics of our staple food,” she said.

“It is also important to note that the country’s rice self-sufficiency targets are even more threatened by the ever increasing number and intensity of typhoons and other extreme weather events. Thus, we must look into the cause of this increasing rice cost and also review existing policies and programs aimed at rice self-sufficiency,” she added.

Legarda explained that the current scenario of constant price increases due to repeated supply shortages at the retail level may even be ominous of an impending rice crisis.

The Senator also reminded the National Food Authority (NFA) that part of its mandate is to bring down and stabilize the price of rice to a level that is more affordable to the public.

On SC’s order to answer petition scrapping PDAF Drilon: We will submit to the discretion of the court

The Senate will submit to the discretion of the Supreme Court in deciding on the petition by the Social Justice Society seeking to permanently stop the appropriation of funds for the Priority Development Assistance Fund, said Senate President Franklin M. Drilon today.

“We will submit to the discretion of the court based on the allegations of the petition and prevailing jurisprudence,” said Drilon.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court asked Drilon and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte who were named respondents in the petition to comment within 10 days.

The petition seeks that Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte be restrained from enacting legislation appropriating funds for PDAF. The Senate chief clarifies however that “it is the Senate and the House acting as collegial bodies that actually decide on the matter of appropriating funds.” “In any case, we will submit to the discretion of the court,” he added.

 “We will ask the Supreme Court to make its ruling on the matter immediately before the budget is submitted to the floor for deliberation and approval,” Drilon said. “The Senate only hopes for what is best and that good sense will prevail.”

He reiterated that the Senate is supporting the abolition of the pork barrel, with 15 senators who already said they are willing to abolish PDAF.

Earlier, Drilon said the Senate will have to await the General Appropriations Bill as there are two options that may be adopted by the House with respect to the efforts to reform PDAF.

The House may opt to totally delete the appropriation for the pork barrel resulting in a reduced 2014 national budget or it may realign budget for PDAF to the implementing agencies, he said.

Making SAROs public will make nat'l budget FOI-compliant

MANILA-Pending the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill, its features can be implanted in the national budget, beginning with the requirement to upload scanned copies of the Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) on the Budget department website, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said today.

Recto said the insertion of “freedom of information” provisions in the national budget need not be dependent on the enactment of an FOI measure.

“We can frontload the letter and intent of the FOI bill in the General Appropriations Act. We can make the national budget FOI-compliant while waiting for an FOI law,” Recto said.

“There are provisions in the FOI bill that can be applied on the national budget,” he said. “So while we await the passage of the FOl bill, we can pilot its implementation in the GAA.”

Recto said one way of making the implementation of the national budget fully transparent is by posting true copies of SAROs on the official website of the Department of Budget and Management.

A SARO is the “fund release” document signed by the DBM secretary which authorizes an agency to incur obligations for a specified purpose and amount.

Making the SARO public, Recto said, will help citizens “track the progression of public funds, from their release by the DBM to their usage by the implementing agencies, and to their review by the Commission on Audit.”

“If we will bring the SARO out in the open right from the starting line, we will prevent its diversion to bogus non-government organizations,” Recto added.    

He said  ‘porktrepreneurs’ were able to corner projects because they were probably in possession of inside or advance information.

“But if we will publish the SARO in its entirety, then we are democratizing information and making the whole community own the SARO,” he said.

In making the actual copy of a SARO “viewable by mere click of a mouse, we are also preventing criminal elements from peddling fake SAROs,” Recto explained.

He recalled that since he entered Congress in 1992, “every DBM secretary since then had made it a point to take out regular newspaper ads warning the public against unscrupulous elements who misrepresent  themselves as DBM officials.”

The Commission on Audit, he said, will benefit from a publicly-available SARO “as they need not go to the DBM to verify information or double-check facts in the course of auditing an agency.” 

Recto said FOI provisions can debut in the General Provisions of the GAA for 2014. 

2 SOLDIERS PAID THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE IN KALINGA

Camp Melchor F dela Cruz, Upi, Gamu, Isabela – Two (2) Army soldiers paid the ultimate sacrifice and three (3) others were hurt while performing security patrol at vicinity Sitio Tumiangan, Barangay Dupag, Tabuk City, Kalinga at about 1:40 pm this afternoon, August 30.

The fierce firefight happened when the troops of 17^th Infantry Battalion responded to the information given by the villagers about the presence of the NPA rebels in the area who were conducting extortion activities. Upon reaching at the area, star troopers were fired upon by an undetermined number of NPA remnants that resulted to the incurred casualties from the government forces.

The wounded soldiers were immediately evacuated to the nearest hospital for their immediate medical treatment.

The slain soldiers were identified as Corporal Dominador A Concordia and Private First Class Rey B Raagas while those wounded were 2^nd Lieutenant CZAR N CARSIDO, Private First Class Marnel L Langnga and Private First Class Kennedy D Sallaya.

The report disclosed that the withdrawing NPA rebels were seen by the villagers carrying with them their undetermined number of casualties. Hot pursuit operations are being conducted by the troops to ensure the protection and safety of the villagers who are the usual victims of the violent activities of the NPA rebels.

The leadership of the Army’s 5^th Infantry Division extended their deep sympathies and condolences to the bereaved families of our fallen soldiers who offered the supreme sacrifices to risk their lives in order to fulfill their mandate to protect and secure the lives of our countrymen. 

Legarda: Let’s Save More Filipino Infants Thru Educated Parenting

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda today said that the country can continue to improve infant survival rate if parents, especially first-time mothers, are provided with right information and education on proper care for newborns and infants.

Legarda noted that statistics from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) showed the downward trend in the Philippines’ newborn and infant mortality rate.

In 1990, neonatal mortality rate is at 23 deaths per 1,000 live births. It decreased to 14 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2010. For the same period, infant mortality rate decreased from 42 deaths per 1,000 live births to 23 deaths per 1,000 live births.

A study from the National Statistics Office revealed that “neonatal deaths stem from poor maternal health, inadequate care during pregnancy, inappropriate management of complications during pregnancy and delivery, poor hygiene during delivery and the first critical hours after birth, and lack of newborn care.”

Legarda said that presented with these facts, there is a need to equip expectant parents with basic knowledge and skills that will foster effective parenting.

“An expectant mother’s knowledge about childbirth and skills on parenting has historically been obtained from other women, mainly from family members and through practical experience gained from caring for children from extended families. However, women’s increased participation in the workforce and attainment of higher education have made more expectant mothers likely to rely on formally-organized antenatal education as a means by which they develop their knowledge and skills on parenting,” said Legarda.

In line with this, the Senator filed Senate Bill 356, Literacy for Parenting Act, which requires all public and private hospitals, clinic, health centers and other similar establishment rendering maternity services to provide literacy programs to all expectant mothers.

The literacy programs shall focus on providing expectant parents with skills they can use to foster responsible parenting and empower them to make informed and educated choices with regard to the health and well-being of their child.

Legarda Hails Removal of PH from French Blacklist

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda today hailed the removal of the Philippines from the French Blacklist of tax haven territories and said that this development is reflective of the government’s efforts to improve fiscal integrity through sound policies, including the Tax Treaty with the French Government.

Legarda said that the Senate adopted the Protocol Amending the Agreement between the Philippine Government and the French Republic for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income during the 15^th Congress when she was Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“The revised agreement broadens the scope of the exchange of information requests that may be made. It now allows the exchange of information related to tax administration, including bank information,” said Legarda.

The Senator explained that in the previous PH-France Treaty, which took effect on January 1, 1978, Article 26 was not yet aligned with the text of the Exchange of Information provisions of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Model Tax Convention, which is why the Philippines had been listed as one of the non-cooperative countries and territories (NCCTs).  French nationals are dissuaded from transacting with NCCTs because of the higher tax rates being imposed on them. 

“While globalization brought about an increase in international trade, it also posed greater challenges to the effective enforcement of tax laws. This is what we want to address when we adopted the new PH-France Tax Treaty,” she stressed.

“The benefits of tax treaties, especially to developing countries, cannot be gainsaid.  They are intended to permit the Contracting States to better enforce their domestic laws so as to reduce tax evasion and they likewise promote technology transfer, and international academic, cultural and sports exchanges between the Contracting States,” Legarda concluded.