Jinggoy confident of Manila’s turnabout under Mayor Erap

MANILA-Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada expressed confidence today that his father, former President and now Manila City Mayor Joseph Estrada will deliver a complete turnabout of the country’s capital from a decaying city into a progressive, dynamic metropolis.

 

This developed as Mayor Estrada recently marked his first 100 days in office since his inauguration on June 30, 2013.

 

Sen. Estrada cited that in just a short time, Manileños have witnessed how serious his father is in rebuilding and restoring the glory of Manila amid problems of bankruptcy, high criminality rate, massive flooding, demoralized employees, unsettled debts, soaring unemployment rate, among many others.

 

“Sa unang araw niya bilang mayor, ipinakita niya na talagang lilinisin niya ang Maynila. Nagwalis pa siya sa Quiapo. Nakikita mo, siya mismo ang nagta-traffic sa gitna ng kalsada. Pumunta rin siya kamakailan sa Japan upang hingin ang kanilang tulong sa pagsasaayos at paglilinis ng drainage system ng lungsod,” Jinggoy said as he joined his father last Thursday in his 100th Day Report held in Manila Hotel.

 

In his report, Mayor Estrada related his administration’s efforts in transforming the City of Manila into a premier city, including institution of order through effective law enforcement, regulation of mass transportation, and launch of public-private partnerships in various projects.

 

Jinggoy said that the people could expect more reforms and positive changes throughout the city during his father's mayorship. Moreover, the lawmaker called on to the people of Manila to support the programs of their government and to do their share by following the laws and regulations.

 

“Hindi po magtatagumpay si Mayor Erap sa pagbabagong-bihis ng Maynila kung hindi makikiisa ang mga mamamayan nito. Kaya naman para maging posible at mas mabilis ang pagbangon ng ating kabiserang lungsod, nawa ay makibahagi ang lahat sa pagsasaayos at pagpapaganda ng Maynila,” Jinggoy asserted. 

 

The younger Estrada also noted that if Mayor Erap succeeded in turning then municipality of San Juan into a highly urbanized city, there is no reason why he cannot accomplish the same in Manila. Erap served as mayor of San Juan for 17 years.

Legarda Launches First Philippine Resilience Awards

MANILA-In celebration of the 2013 International Day for Disaster Reduction, Senator Loren Legarda today announced the start of the search for the Philippines’ disaster-resilient communities.

Legarda, the United Nations Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation for Asia-Pacific, said that the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and the Senate Committee on Climate Change, together with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), are now accepting entries for the first Philippine Resilience Awards.

“In our continuing quest to build a safe nation, we must look at exemplary efforts so that we may enjoin other communities to strengthen their resilience as well. We want to show our local government units (LGUs) that it can be done—we can fight climate change and we can save our communities from the threats of natural hazards,” said Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change.

“The Philippine Resilience Awards will recognize communities that have excelled in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation through compliance with various related laws, such as the Solid Waste Management Act, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act and the Climate Change Act, successfully implemented effective land-use planning and made necessary investments to reduce disaster risks,” she added.

Applicants for the Philippine Resilience Awards 2014 should be LGUs that must meet a set of criteria, foremost of which is adherence to the “Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready!” campaign.

Participant LGUs must also submit to UNISDR their Local HFA: Local Government Self Assessment Report, which measures the progress of communities toward meeting the objectives of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), which is the global framework to reduce disaster risks.

The winner will be recognized as a Role Model for Resilience, will receive a seedling bank from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and will be featured in UNISDR publications.

“Aside from the recognition, the award gives the winner that important role of engaging other leaders in disaster risk reduction efforts at future events,” said Legarda.

“I also wish to call on other nations to create their own Resilience Awards. Our ultimate goal is to have a safe planet and we need to work double time to ensure this. The Philippine Resilience Awards will be an effective tool to encourage governments and communities that it is possible to achieve zero casualty and minimize losses when natural hazards occur because there are ways to build our defenses against the effects of disasters and climate change,” Legarda stressed.

The award will be presented on October 13, 2014, during the celebration for the 2014 International Day for Disaster Reduction.

PRO3’s THANKSGIVING MASS AND FREE ANTI -PNEUMONIA VACCINATION

CAMP OLIVAS, City of San Fernando, Pampanga-  A thanksgiving mass officiated by Rev Fr Jerry Orbos was celebrated at the Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel, Camp Olivas, City of San Fernando, Pampanga on October 12, 2013.

         

          Said mass was offered by PCSUPT RAUL D PETRASANTA to thank God and to ask for continuous blessings not just for Police Regional Office 3 but for its entire members as well.

           

          Coinciding with the Thanksgiving mass is a free anti- Pneumonia lecture and vaccination sponsored by the NHQ- PNP Officers Ladies’ Club headed by Mrs Jojie Rojas and PRO3 Officers Ladies’ Club headed by Mrs Ceny Gunnacao in coordination with SANOFI Pharmaceuticals and PNP Health Service 3 given to uniformed and non-uniformed personnel of PRO3 held at the PRO3 Multi-purpose Hall also in Camp Olivas.

         

Senate determined to abolish PDAF, says Drilon

MANILA-Senate President Franklin M. Drilon today/Oct. 12 said that insofar as the Senate is concerned, the senators will exercise all options available to them to dissolve the controversial Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) even in the absence of a Supreme Court ruling declaring it unconstitutional.

“Under my watch as Senate President, reforms will start with the immediate abolition of PDAF allocation for senators in the proposed 2014 national budget,” said Drilon.

While an actual vote has yet to be officially taken, the Senate chief said that a majority of the senators have publicly declared that they will do away with the PDAF allocations in 2014 in response to the people cry for change.

“There is no turning back as far as the pork barrel system is concerned. We have to institute these reforms in order to regain our people’s trust and confidence,” stressed Drilon.

Drilon issued the statement in response to Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio’s opinion that only an act of Congress or a Supreme Court ruling can abolish the PDAF.

He said there are available remedies to the Executive and the Congress to get rid of the pork barrel.

“We do not need a special law to abolish PDAF as an item in the General Appropriations Act. Aside from a court ruling that will declare the PDAF unconstitutional, the Executive or the Congress may exercise other options to abolish congressional pork barrel to respond to the clamor of the people,” said Drilon.

First, the President may opt not to include the PDAF item in the National Expenditures Program when he submits it to Congress on an annual basis. Second, the Congress may delete the PDAF item in the General Appropriations Act (GAA), an option which the Senate intends to do when the 2014 proposed national budget reaches the Senate.

Third, if Congress passes the national budget with PDAF, the President can exercise power of line item veto. Lastly, the President can fully or partially impound release of any item in the GAA, including PDAF.

Meanwhile, Drilon said the Senate will prioritize the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill, which is crucial in the fight against corruption, when the Senate resumes its session on Monday.

“We will begin the period of interpellations on the proposed legislation this week, so that it will be approved by the end of the year,” he said. 

Jinggoy wants creation of BOSS centers for small, medium enterprises

MANILA-Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada seeks to create BOSS Centers or business one-stop shop centers which shall cater to the needs of the small and medium enterprises from registration up to their operations.

 

Under the Senate Bill 1593, also the Business One-Stop Shop Center Act of 2013, the BOSS Centers will be established in all regional and provincial centers throughout the country and will be under the supervision of Small and Medium Enterprises Development (SMED) Council.

 

Sen. Estrada, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, notes that SMEs are drivers of employment generation.

 

2011 data from the Department of Trade and Industry show that 61% of the total jobs generated by all types of business establishments for that year were contributed by the micro, small and medium scale enterprises. A total of 3,872,406 jobs were generated in 2011 by the MSMEs.

 

“Recognizing the potency of the small and medium enterprises on providing employment and livelihood to the people, it is only reasonable to further support this sector and lay out simpler, trouble-free procedures for setting up businesses, especially for prospective ‘bosses’ of their own companies,” Jinggoy states.

 

The lawmaker also points out the recent spike in the number of unemployed as indicated by an independent survey by the Social Weather Stations. SWS said that adult joblessness rate increased during the second quarter of 2013 to 26.1% (estimated 11.2 million Filipinos) compared to 25.4% recorded for the previous quarter.

 

Sen. Estrada, co-author of Republic Act 9501 or the Act to Promote Entrepreneurship by Strengthening Development and Assistance Programs to Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises during the 14^th Congress, specifically pushes for a policy for the establishment of “institutional framework to make economic environment conducive to business by raising government effectiveness in the delivery of services to small and medium enterprises” and “provide the necessary and strategic information and research assistance to expedite the process of business formation and encourage the growth of entrepreneurship.”

 

RA 9501 defines microenterprise as business activities engaged in industry, agribusiness or services with total assets of not more than Php 3,000,000. Small enterprises are those with total assets between Php 3,000,001 and Php 15,000,000; while medium enterprises are those with total assets of at least Php 15,000,001 but not more than Php 100,000,000.

 

BOSS Centers would accept and act on all registration application of SMEs and facilitate the processing of all documentary requirements for the establishment of business enterprise. They shall also provide necessary information and other services related to training, financing, marketing, referrals to SMEs and prospective entrepreneurs.

 

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Social Security System (SSS), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), and the local government units shall detail representatives and officers at each BOSS Center.

 

The Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship, headed by Sen. Paulo Benigno Aquino IV, is set to conduct a public hearing on the proposal along with other enterprise development bills on Tuesday, October 22.

Recto wants unjust qualification under law removed Mandatory PhilHealth coverage for entire 6.1 million senior citizens pushed

MANILA-Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto is pushing for the enactment of a bill that would provide mandatory PhilHealth coverage to all senior citizens – without distinction – by removing the limitation under the law that grants the statutory benefit only to those who are considered as indigents.

“I firmly believe that in the case of providing mandatory PhilHealth benefits to our senior citizens, the law should not distinguish. If limitations imposed by law tend to create unjust consequences, then they should be amended,” Recto said in filing Senate Bill No. 712.

He explained that the bill seeks to amend Republic Act No. 9994, or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 which provides an array of benefits, privileges and assistance for senior citizens, one of which is the mandatory PhilHealth coverage for “indigent” senior citizens.

Recto said RA 9994 defines “indigent senior citizen” as “any elderly who is frail, sickly, or with disability, and without pension or regular source of income, compensation or financial assistance from his/her relatives to support his/her basic needs, as determined by the DSWD in consultation with the National Coordinating and Monitoring Board (NCMB).”

The Senate leader said his bill proposes to remove the limitation on the mandatory Philhealth coverage for senior citizens. Under this bill, all senior citizens, whether indigent or not, shall be enrolled under Philhealth.

“The mandatory Philhealth coverage for indigent senior citizens enables them to avail of health services, free from out-of-pocket expenses. However, while this provision is meritorious, it is limited only to indigent senior citizens, most of whom are already under the indigent or sponsored membership of Philhealth,” Recto stated.

“Senior citizens who are not considered as indigents but who cannot afford to enroll themselves under the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP), are then deprived of the Philhealth benefits.”

Another salient provision of SB 712 is to source the funds needed to ensure the PhilHealth coverage of the country’s 6.1 million senior citizens from the National Health Insurance Fund. 

Under present law, local government units (LGUs) where the indigent senior citizen resides shall allocate the necessary funds to ensure the PhilHealth enrollment of their respective qualified constituents.

“I see no problem in PhilHealth footing the bill of providing coverage to all our senior citizens, especially if its vault is filled with more than P110 billion in retained earnings. I have always maintained that this fund should be used to improve the delivery of health services to the people,” Recto stressed.

“And providing coverage to all our 6.1 million senior citizens is but one way of putting to good use PhilHealth’s stash of retained earnings.”

During last week’s hearing on the proposed 2014 budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Recto asked DSWD chairperson Dinky Soliman about her thoughts on the proposed bill.  Soliman is fully supportive of the measure.

Earlier, the Batangas lawmaker questioned the wisdom behind the decision of the PhilHealth board to hike members’ contributions by 100 percent – from P1,200 to P2,400 – without providing any justifications.

He said this was tantamount to an increase in the payroll tax and that PhilHealth should disclose what additional services accompany the increase in annual rates. 

Legarda: Address Housing Woes to Maximize Asia’s Growth Potential

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda today said that governments and citizens of Asia-Pacific should make good use of the region’s growth potentials and start addressing homelessness among Asians.

Legarda echoed the call of Former US Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros, who said that Asia-Pacific is steering the world in growth and prosperity, which must be used to eliminate poverty.

In a meeting with Sen. Legarda at the sidelines of Habitat for Humanity Asia Pacific Housing Forum, the former US housing secretary said that an important tool in addressing poverty is ensuring decent shelter for all citizens. Quoting a pastor from the Ebenezer Baptist Church, he said, “The homes you build will last beyond your time. The children will realize a future beyond your time. The creation of a vibrant part of the world by providing opportunities for people and eliminating poverty is a cause beyond your time.”

“I am inspired by Mr. Henry Cisneros’ positive outlook on Asia-Pacific, notwithstanding its many challenges. I share his view that addressing poverty housing, which afflicts 581 million people in Asia Pacific, should be a priority of governments in Asia,” Sen. Legarda said. 

Asia is home to 4.3 billion people.  UN studies estimate that it will be home to 12 of the world’s largest cities by 2020.  UN data show that that many of Asia’s poor live in slums in urban areas. These demographics have led a number of experts to coin the phrase “urbanization of poverty.” 

“The numbers speak for themselves.  More effective housing interventions, urban planning, land use management, and implementation of environmental laws have to be at the forefront of efforts to battle the pervasive housing and poverty issues in the region,” Legarda said.

The Senator cited that the Philippines has a backlog of four million houses, affecting about a fifth of the population.

“It is this fact, together with the increasing urbanization rate, which is projected to account for 70% of Philippine population by 2015, that led me to introduce a measure that will create a Department of Housing and Urban Development,” she explained.

“Mr. Cisneros also highlighted the need to build sustainable homes—those that are climate- and disaster-resilient, so that we can escape the exhausting and costly cycle of rebuilding our communities when extreme weather events occur,” said Legarda.

The Senator has also proposed a National Land Use Act that will create a general long-term framework for proper allocation, use and management of the country’s land and other physical resources, while local government units (LGUs) will have to develop and implement their respective comprehensive land use plans (CLUPs).

Legarda also said that she will look into the proposal of Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino, presented during the Asia Pacific Housing Forum, to create a government facility, similar to Singapore’s Drainage Department, that will be primarily responsible for planning and maintaining the public drainage systems.  

“We have a disintegrated and poorly planned drainage system that leads to clogged waterways. This is borne out of a complex web of issues related to poverty housing, poor environmental compliance, and weak urban planning.  We have to improve our drainage systems so that these can effectively convey flood water to the sea and not to the streets and our communities,” the Senator said.

2,300 houses in northern Aurora still have no electricity Manny Galvez

CASIGURAN, Aurora – Some 2,300 households in two municipalities of northern Aurora are still without electricity almost two months since Typhoon Labuyo brought destruction in northeast Luzon.

          Noel Vedad, general manager of the Aurora Electric Cooperative, said the households, which are serviced by the power coop, represent roughly 30% of the 7,938 households which power was cut when strong winds brought by Labuyo toppled 324 electric posts and broke 214 others in this town, Dinalungan and Dilasag and in Dinapigue town in Isabela province.

          The damage was estimated at P10 million.

          Vedad said, however, that they expect power to be restored in Dinalungan and Dilasag by next week.  He said a four-men Aurelco crew has been working on the damaged lines.

          Households in this town, totaling 4,188 have been enjoying 24-hour electricity since last month, along with households in  Barangay Nipoo in Dinalungan. 

          Vedad said the National Electrification Administration released on Thursday P10.7 million to restore the remaining damed power lines.

          Earlier, rural electric cooperatives in Central Luzon formed a task force to help Aurelco restore electricity by rehabilitating the 538 damaged poles in the three northern towns.

          The RECs, which belong to the Central Luzon Electric Cooperatives Association (CLECA),  created “Task Force Labuyo” composed of 60 foremen and linemen equipped with 11 boom trucks who were dispatched to the northern Aurora towns of Dinalungan, Casiguran and Dilasag, also known as the Dicadi area. 

          The Dicadi area was one of those hardest-hit by Labuyo which left in its wake three persons dead and over P500 million worth of properties, infrastructure and crops destroyed. It also affected 12,000 families in the province alone.

For days, the Dicadi towns were isolated due to landslides, the overflowing of rivers and toppled communication lines.

          REC executives, led by National Association of Geneneral Managers of Electric Cooperatives (NAGMEC)-Region 3 and Pampanga Electric Cooperative, Inc.-1 (PELCO1) provided the services for free while Aurelco shouldered the food and shelter to the task force personnel. – Manny Galvez

Stakeholders ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas sa Gitnang Luzon, pinarangalan.

CABANATUAN CITY, NUEVA ECIJA - Pinarangalan ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ang mga stakeholders nito sa Gitnang Luzon sa Annual Appreciation lunch sa BSP Cabanatuan City branch noong Miyerkoles na pinangunahan ng isa sa Monetary Board Member ng BSP na si Armando Suratos.

Sa 71 awardees sa buong Pilipinas sa iba’t-ibang kategorya, tatlo ang nagbuhat sa Gitnang Luzon na pinangunahan ng Producers Savings Bank Corporation na napili bilang Outstanding Respondent sa Large and Medium firms para sa Business Expectations Survey o BES. 

Ang parangal ay personal na tinanggap ng Presidente at Chief Operating Officer ng PSBC na si Edmundo Medrano. “We are very happy that we have gotten the award again. We are continuing to support the BSP.” sabi nito

Outstanding Respondent naman sa Small Firms sa buong rehiyon ng Gitnang Luzon ang Polarmarine, Inc. na gumagawa ng mga tank cleaning equipments para sa marine and industrial applications. 

“We are very proud that we are part of this advocacy,” pahayag ng Area and Finance Manager of Polarmarine, Inc. na si Carolina Agoo. 

Tinanghal naman na Outstanding partner for the Report on Regional Economic Development ang Provincial Planning and Development Office ng Bataan dahil sa pagbibigay nito ng epektibong plano, programa at iba pa para sa kaunlaran ng lalawigan.

“Hindi ko inaasahan na yun palang simple bagay na ginagawa namin ay malaki din ang impact sa iba kaya ako’y natutuwa at kahit papaano ay nabigyan kami ng ganitong recognition,” sabi ni  Ludivina Banzon, ang Provincial Planning and Development Officer ng Bataan.

Ang taunang pagbibigay ng pagkilala at parangal sa mga katuwang ng BSP ay nagsimula noong 2005 at ang programang isinagawa sa Cabanatuan ay ika-8 sa siyam na kagayang programa ngayong taon. (Ronald Madrid Leander)

Legarda Bats for Better Opportunities for Farmers to Increase Rice Productivity

MANILA-Amid issues on rice price hike, Senator Loren Legarda stressed the need for strengthened support for farmers to increase the country’s rice productivity.

Reports say that National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Sec. Arsenio Balisacan’s “Memorandum for the President” dated 10 September 2013 informed President Benigno Aquino III about the country’s true rice situation: domestic supplies are low and can only be augmented by importing 500 metric tons (MT) of rice.

“This probably explains why the public continues to be burdened with unstable rice prices despite assurances from agricultural officials that buffer stocks are sufficient and production figures within target,” said Legarda who had earlier filed Senate Resolution No. 233, which paved the way for the Senate agriculture committee's inquiry on the matter.

Reports further say that Balisacan's memorandum details how the third quarter production forecast of 7.4 million MT does not suffice to cover total utilization amounting to 9.1 million MT, a deficit of 1.7 million MT without buffer stocks, which can even balloon to 2.6 million MT if a 30-day buffer stock is factored in.

“This is alarming because it goes beyond just the issue of rice self-sufficiency. It has become a food security concern,” warned Legarda. “If domestic production cannot meet demand, prices will naturally increase - as they already have – which may lead to widespread hunger if unabated.”

Import, but not through the NFA

In his memorandum for the President, Balisacan supposedly recommended the importation of at least half-a-million MT of rice to “address the projected supply gap and stabilize prices or possibly lower them.”

Previous policy recommendations by both the NEDA and the country's rice self-sufficiency roadmap, the Food Staples Security Program (FSSP) have consistently maintained, however, that importations should be done by the private sector and not the National Food Authority (NFA).

Balisacan, himself a former agriculture undersecretary, in various published papers, had proposed “relieving the NFA of the burden of handling rice imports” supposedly because of the corruption associated with these transactions.

It was previously alleged that the DA-NFA’s April importation was overpriced by as much as nearly half-a-billion pesos.

“We will continue to look into those allegations. What is certain is that government should spend more for irrigation development programs that will increase productivity in the countryside and provide better livelihood opportunities for our farmers,” said Legarda, a known advocate of sustainable agricultural development.

Nothing illegal, immoral in legislators getting DAP funds for infra projects, says Drilon

MANILA-Senate President Franklin M. Drilon clarified today that “there was nothing wrong, illegal, and immoral with his receiving P100 million worth of infrastructure projects under the government’s Disbursement Acceleration Plan (DAP).”

Drilon issued the statement in response to the social media posting of actor Robin Padilla who called for his resignation as Senate President amidst his admission that he received additional P100 million from the DAP in December 2012.

“I think Padilla got it all wrong,” Drilon said.  “It’s not like I pocketed P100 million in kickbacks. The DAP allocation is not cold cash and but was merely a list of infrastructure projects recommended by legislators and local government officials to be implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways.”

“We were only asked to list down a number of projects which were immediately implementable at that time in order to accelerate government spending and boost the economy,” Drilon explained.

“That I admitted receiving P100 million in DAP funds was not like I admitted committing a crime. On the contrary, I was only doing my role in helping prime the economy that was needed at that time.”

Drilon lamented that there was a deliberate attempt to muddle the issue on Budget Secretary Butch Abad’s revelations on the DAP funds and link it to allegations of pork barrel corruption against allies of President Aquino.

Drilon pointed out that the practice of allocating Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or DAP was a regular budgetary process in government. “The public indignation that we are experiencing now is because of allegations that certain lawmakers pocketed these funds instead of utilizing them for public projects.” Drilon said.

In his case, Drilon said, he used his P100 million DAP funds to the construction of the Iloilo Convention Center. “Contrary to the insinuations and allegations that are continuously being spread by certain quarters out to destroy my reputation, the P100 million I requested under the DAP in December 2012 was not misused and misallocated as it was utilized to fund various infrastructure projects in Iloilo City which was eyeing to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ministerial meeting in 2015,” stressed Drilon.

“I can account for every peso that I received and I do not have a history of malfeasance and misuse of government funds. I am sure that that not a single centavo was channeled to bogus non-government organizations linked to Janet Lim-Napoles,” he added.

“As Malacanang said, there was nothing irregular in allocating funds to senators through the DAP which was designed to boost the spending capacity of the government,” he said.

In fact, stressed Drilon, even the local government units and government owned and controlled corporations were also given additional funds to increase government spending.

Drilon said the DAP was created in the last quarter of 2011 to address the issue of underspending by the Aquino administration which was being blamed for slow and lackluster growth in previous quarters.

He said the fact that the DAP was already in existence months before the impeachment trial of then Chief Justice Renato Corona meant that it was not created to get funds to bribe the senators to convict Corona.

Luisita farmers receive land titles

TARLAC CITY-An early Monday light to moderate rains failed to dampen the enthusiasm of 84-year old Benigna Escaño-Mañalac of barangay Pando in Concepcion town as she welcomed a historic week.

 

Accompanied by her children and on wheelchair, she patiently waited at the village-covered court for the prize she had won in a raffle more than a month ago.

 

It’s neither cash nor any appliance. It’s the title of her individual lot within Hacienda Luisita, which she and hundreds of others in ten barangays of Tarlac province had been fighting to have for almost three decades.

 

Escaño-Mañalac and around 600 of her neighbors where the first batch of farmer-beneficiaries of the vast sugar estate to receive the certified true copies of their Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

 

“Finally its ours. I never expected to see it happen in my lifetime. I thank President Benigno Aquino III for fulfilling his promise,” Escaño-Mañalac said in Kapampangan as she receives her CLOA from Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio Delos Reyes.

 

Her family received a total of seven CLOAs as her children also became laborers of the Hacienda.

 

“We intend to plant in our lands. We need the support of the government for the start-up. I hope they will be able to help us,” she shared.

 

Luisita is composed of the villages of Cut-Cut, Bantog, Balete, Asturias, Lourdes, and Mapalacsiao in Tarlac City; Parang, Pando, and Mabilog in Concepcion; and Motrico in La Paz.

 

DAR has identified more than 6,000 farmworkers who are qualified to become agrarian reform beneficiaries.

 

Each one shall own farm lot with an area of 6,600 square meters from the total area of 4,099 hectares up for distribution.

 

“Under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, beneficiaries will have to pay their awarded land for a period of 30 years. In the case of Luisita, beneficiaries will pay P730 per year or P61 per month for the first three years; P1, 410 per year or P118 per month for the 4^th and 5^th year; and P2, 770 per year or P230 per month from the 6^th to the 30^th year,” Delos Reyes disclosed.

 

As to why the farm lots were determined through a raffle, Delos Reyes explained, “the Hacienda is a plantation wherein the workers here in 1989 are farm workers. This means that they have no specific farming areas. As such, draw lot is the fairest way to distribute the land.”

 

The awarding of copies of CLOA for other claimants are scheduled on October 1 for Motrico, October 2 for Lourdes, October 8 for Parang, October 9 for Mabilog, October 10 for Bantog, October 15 for Cutcut, October 16 for Asturias, October 17 for Balete, and October 18 for Mapalacsiao. (Carlo Lorenzo J. Datu)

Jinggoy to PNoy: ‘Protect Filipinas in Kuwait; hear deployment halt calls’

MANILA-President Benigno Aquino III must beef up protection for Filipinas hired as household service workers (HSWs) in Kuwait amid the growing calls to suspend their deployment in that country due to rising incidents of rape and other abuses against them.

 

This was aired by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada as he expressed alarm over the situation, noting some of the reported cases such as:

 

- “Teresa,” 40 years old, from Davao City, raped repeatedly by Kuwaiti employer and his three sons in Jahra City in 2012;

- “Mely,” raped four times by employer in Mishref District (2012);

- “E.S.,” 34, from Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat, repeatedly beaten by employer with wooden sticks and metal rods (2012);

- “Marissa,” 27 year-old from T’Boli, South Cotabato, raped and stabbed several times by a Kuwaiti policeman in South Surra (2012); and

- Adelyn Sumin-ao, from Kibawe, Bukidnon, beaten by employer resulting to her death (2011).

 

Estrada, chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment and Human Resources Development, lamented, “The incidents of rape and other forms of abuse against Filipina HSWs in Kuwait continue to pile up, and these are only some of those reported. I believe there are many more of such instances, though not reported and documented.”

 

“Worse, our kababayans in Kuwait feel that the Philippine government is not implementing concrete and effective measures to prevent and stop these assaults, thus, their calls for a moratorium on deployment of HSWs to that country,” he added.

 

The senator cited the petition for the moratorium signed by at least 10,000 OFWs and submitted to the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait. The group Mga Oragon sa Kuwait which spearheaded the petition said the moratorium should be imposed and maintained until and unless the HSWs’ safety and welfare shall have been guaranteed.

 

Noting the disappointment of those bringing their problems to the Embassy’s attention, the group also mentioned in the petition the “sex-for-flight scandal” against foreign service personnel. Estrada spearheaded the Senate investigation into the scandal.

 

Based on statistics, Kuwait ranks third among the top OFW destination countries, hosting around 180,000 Filipinos, some 80,000 of whom are HSWs.

 

Jinggoy said, “There are many concerns surrounding this issue: those of the HSWs and the other OFWs needing their jobs, our country’s economy and our political and diplomatic standing vis-à-vis Kuwait and other OFW destination countries. But the safety of any one Filipina or Filipino is of paramount concern, way above all considerations.”

 

He thus seconded the OFWs’ call and echoed this to President Aquino: ‘Ensure complete protection for Filipino workers, especially the household service workers who are considered the most vulnerable and defenseless against abuse.’