NIA’S 2015 BUDGET GETS A NOD FROM CONGRESS

MANILA-The proposed P28.824-billion budgetary support  for the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) under the National Expenditure Program (NEP), which forms 90% of the total NIA budget, has been approved by the House of Representatives during the budget plenary sponsored by Ilocos Sur 2^nd District Representative Eric D. Singson on September 23, 2014.

The NIA – which has been placed under the supervision of the Office of the President’s Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization (PAFSAM) headed by Secretary Francis N. Pangilinan together with the National Food Authority (NFA), Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), and Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority (FPA – satisfactorily addressed the inquiries of the House members  and provided sufficient justifications pushing Singson to move for the approval of the agency’s budget. However, NFA was scheduled for another plenary.

Bulk of the budgetary support the agency will receive from the government, or 57%, amounting to P16.614 billion is allocated for locally-funded projects (LFPs). LFPs include small reservoir irrigation projects, small pump irrigation projects, feasibility studies and detailed engineering, Grassroots Participatory Budgeting Projects (GPBP), Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) Program, and other major irrigation projects such as the Casecnan  Multipurpose Irrigation and Power Project Phase II (CMIPP-II), Balog-Balog Multipurpose Irrigation Project Phase II (BBMP-II), Malinao Dam Improvement Project (MDIP), Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project Phase II (MMIP-II), and Umayam River Irrigation Project (URIP).

NIA’s Operations, which include Irrigation Network Services (estension/expansion and restoration/rehabilitation of existing projects, climate change adaptation works, Irrigation Management Transfer Support Services, and Payment of Right-of-Way and Completion works & unpaid claims) and Construction of irrigation projects and repair of systems, claims 27% of the allocation amounting to P7.710 billion.

The remaining amount went to the agency’s foreign-assisted projects (P2.279 billion or 8%); general administration and support (P1.643 billion or 6%); and support to operations (P.578 billion or 2%).

The other 10% of the total NIA budget falls under the corporate funds amounting to P3.205 billion making the overall NIA budget P32.029 billion.

Senate adjourns today, ratifies pro-education bills

MANILA-The Senate ratified three bicameral committee reports promoting education before it adjourned session today, September 24, 2014. Plenary sessions will resume on October 20, 2014. 

 

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon said the passing of a number of pro-education legislation is seen to expand the delivery of educational services offered by the state.

On its final day of session, the upper chamber ratified the bicameral committee report for Senate Bill No. 2272, which aims to strengthen the ladderized interface between technical-vocational education and higher education. The proposed measure seeks to provide alternative methods and systems of education for working students and out of school youths. 

On Tuesday, the Senate ratified the bicameral committee reports for Senate Bill No. 2274, which seeks to expand access to education through open learning and distance education in the tertiary level, and Senate Bill No. 2275, or the “Iskolar ng Bayan Act,” which seeks the automatic admission and provision of scholarship grants by all state colleges and universities to public high school students who belong to the top ten places of their graduating classes.  If enacted into law, the bill would give approximately 80,000 graduating students access to free college education as early as next year.

Drilon said the three education bills belong to the five proposed legislation passed by the Senate since the beginning of the 2^nd Regular Session of the 16^th Congress that are intended to advance the reach of the national educational system, and to overcome the challenges posed by poverty, physical barriers and lack of opportunities to the educational sector.

“Since the opening of the 16^th Congress last July, the Senate has passed 14 bills on third reading, and another bill on second reading, while eight other bills are currently being interpellated or amended on the floor. The Senate also passed a total of 16 resolutions and three concurrent resolutions with the House of Representatives,” the Senate chief said.

Greater Social Services

Drilon said senators also pushed for the upgrading of social services extended by the government to its citizens.

Leading such measures is the Senate Bill No. 712, which provides for the mandatory Philhealth coverage for all senior citizens, thus amending Republic Act No. 7432 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.

“Under the bill, all senior citizens would only need to present valid IDs to avail of Philhealth coverage for their medical expenses, as compared to the existing law where only senior citizens classified as indigent could avail of the national health insurance program,” Drilon said.

The Senate also passed Senate Joint Res. No. 2, which seeks to increase the subsistence allowance of all personnel under the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) from P90 to P150 per day, and carried over House Bill No. 694, which aims to increase the burial assistance for veterans from P10,000 to P 20,000.

Up next: 2015 budget, Bangsamoro bill

Drilon said that upon resumption of plenary sessions, the Senate will immediately focus on the passage of the 2015 national budget, and other priority legislation such as Senate Bill No. 2408, or the Bangsamoro bill.

“When we return to the Senate floor, we will act on the proposed General Appropriations Act, which we have to finish and pass by the end of the year,” Drilon said.  

Drilon said he anticipated the beginning of healthy debates for the Bangsamoro bill, which he expected to be passed the Senate within the first quarter of next year.

Drilon said the Senate would also work on the joint resolution being sought by President Aquino granting him emergency power to deal with the looming power shortage in the summer season next year.

 

Senate commends Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Awardees

The Senate today adopted a resolution commending the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Awardees for their contribution in promoting the country’s cultural heritage.

           

Senate Resolution No. (SRN) 765, introduced by Sen. Loren Legarda, recognizes the outstanding Filipinos artists whose craft reflects Filipino culture and identity.

            The Gawad ng Manlilikha ng Bayan or GAMABA award was institutionalized through Republic Act No. 7355 in April 1992.

“Since its first conferment in 1993, the GAMABA award has so far recognized the efforts of 13 traditional artists,” the resolution said.

 

The GAMABA awardees are Ginaw Bilog, Masino Intaray, Samaon Sulaiman, Lang Dulay, Salinta Monon, Alonzo Saclag, Federico Caballero, Uwang Ahadas, Darhata Sawabi, Eduardo Mutuc, Haja Amina Appi, Teofilo Garcia and Magdalena Gamayo.

 

“Cognizant of their artistic genius and their perseverance to instil national pride through the arts, it is but fitting that our Manlilikha ng Bayan, the nation’s "living treasures," be recognized and honored for their painstaking dedication to promote, protect and safeguard the nation’s rich intangible heritage,” Legarda said.

 

Candidates for the GAMABA award must be inhabitants of an indigenous cultural community in the Philippines that has preserved indigenous customs, beliefs, rituals and traditions and/or has syncretized whatever external elements that have influenced it.

 

She said each candidate must have engaged in a folk art tradition that has been in existence and documented for at least 50 years. The candidate must have consistently performed or produced over a significant period works of superior and distinctive quality. He or she must possess a mastery of tools and materials needed by the art, and must have an established reputation in the art as master and maker of works of extraordinary technical quality.

Legarda said the candidate must have passed on and/or will pass on to other members of the community their skills in the folk art for which the community is traditionally known. (Olivia Caunan)

Legarda: Dams Should Control, Not Worsen Flooding

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda today reminded the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR), which is in charge of managing 22 water dams in the country, to ensure that protocols on dam water releases effectively control, not worsen, flooding.

Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, said that at the height of incessant rains brought by Typhoon Mario and enhanced by the Southwest Monsoon, several dams reached their spilling levels.

“Updated dam protocols and improved coordination among agencies on disaster management and dam operators must serve their purpose of reducing, and not worsening, disaster impacts. Protocols should include projections of extreme weather events and must be linked with effective forecasting and early warning systems,” she said.

“Aside from ensuring that dam protocols are updated, there is a need to review actual implementation of such procedures. Timing is important—when and how much water should be released before a typhoon arrives is crucial in ensuring that dams store flood volume,” she added.

Legarda also said that when dams reach spilling levels due to heavy rains, operators should ensure that they do not indiscriminately release dam waters, that the warnings reach the communities that will be affected, and that the alerts allow them to respond ahead of time. Meanwhile, local governments should make sure that flood warnings are heeded by the communities and forced evacuation is implemented when needed.

The Senator recounted that in 2009, the Senate Committee on Climate Change, which she chairs, conducted a series of public hearings after the onslaught of Ondoy and Pepeng. A matter of discussion in these hearings was dam operations as waters were released based on outdated protocols, flooding several provinces in Luzon.

“Like Ondoy in 2009, Mario brought too much rain for a day. These extreme weather events are the new normal and we should keep up with it through effective disaster risk reduction and management programs, which should include updated protocols on dam water releases,” said Legarda.

Cabanatuan HUC plebiscite set November 8

CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija – After two postponements spanning three years, the Commission on Elections has set for November 8 the holding of a plebiscite to ratify the conversion of this city into a highly urbanized city (HUC).

          In a four-page resolution approved by the Comelec En Banc, the poll body gave the go-signal for the plebiscite with all 1,360,508 registered voters of Nueva Ecija to participate in the exercise.

          City election officer Leonardo Navarro said the resolution was signed by Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. and Commissioners Al Parreno, Arthur Lim, Christian Robert Lim, Luie Tito Guia and Lucenito Tagle.

          It came after the Supreme Court directed the Comelec to hold the plebiscite after ruling that all registered voters in the province should vote, granting a petition for certiorari filed by Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali seeking to stop two earlier Comelec resolutions setting the dates for the conduct of the plebiscite on December 1,2012 and January 25,2014 but with only registered voters of the city allowed to vote.

The bid to convert this city into a HUC, which is being pushed by Umali’s former ally, Mayor Julius Cesar Vergara, is contained in Presidential Proclamation 418 issued on July 4,2012 by President Aquino. However, the proclamation needs to be ratified in a plebiscite.

          Last January, the SC issued a Temporary Restraining Order stopping the Comelec from proceeding with the plebiscite scheduled on January 25. In issuing the TRO, the SC granted the petition of Umali who filed an earlier petition with the Comelec to consider allowing all qualified voters in the province to participate in the plebiscite, not just voters from the city.

The poll body struck down his petition and his motion for reconsideration.

Umali  has argued that Novo Ecijanos will be affected once Cabanatuan becomes HUC and thus, it is imperative for them to participate in the  plebiscite. He said no less than two former SC chief justices – Claudio Teehankee and Reynaldo Puno – have held the view that the political units affected by the plebiscite – Nueva Ecija and Cabanatuan – should participate in the electoral exercise.

“We are not saying the plebiscite should not be allowed. What we are saying is who should be allowed to vote,” he said.

Vergara said that the conversion of the city into a HUC is long overdue and has been supported by senators, among them former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and former senator Aquilino Pimentel who authored the Local Government Code of 1991.  

Umali, a lawyer, said there is already  existing jurisprudence, foremost of which is a July 11,1986 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Tan vs Comelec regarding the creation of a new province of Negros del Norte wherein 2,768.4 square kilometers from the land area of the parent province were to be removed to create a new province whose boundaries would be substantially altered.

          He mentioned the separate concurring opinion of Teehankee stating that to limit the plebiscite to only the areas to be partitioned and seceded from the province is “as absurd and illogical as allowing only the secessionists to vote for the secession that they demanded against the wishes of the majority.”

          Another case in point, he said, was the October 19,1992 ruling in Padilla Jr. vs Comelec which stated that when the law states that the plebiscite shall be conducted in the political units directly affected, it means that residents of the political entity who would be economically dislocated by the separation of a portion thereof have a right to vote in the said plebiscite. “Evidently, what is contemplated by the phrase “political units directly affected,” is the plurality of political units which would participate in the plebiscite,” he stressed, quoting from the ruling.

          Umali said this is not the first time the issue of who should vote in the plebiscite is raised before the Comelec, citing the first case was Antipolo City’s own HUC bid wherein Rizal Gov. Casimiro Ynares III raised the same arguments.         The Law Department of the Comelec, he recalled, found basis in the contention of Ynares and officially opined that the conduct of the plebiscite must include the qualified voters of Rizal.

          He said the Department of Budget and Management has categorically ruled that there will be a substantial decrease in the land area of the province once Cabanatuan becomes a HUC.

The poll body originally set the date of the plebiscite on December 1, 2012 but this was postponed by the issuance of a TRO by the Palayan City Regional Trial Court. Subsequently, the Comelec issued a resolution postponing the plebiscite because of its proximity to the elections.

          On June 28 last year, shortly after Vergara got reelected, he wrote the Comelec asking it to conduct the plebiscite but the poll body said it was forced to defer all actions until after the barangay polls. 

          Vergara’s bid marks the second attempt to turn the city into HUC.  In 1995, Vergara’s predecessor, then-mayor Manolette Liwag pushed for HUC conversion which was subsequently proclaimed by then-President Fidel Ramos.

           However, the move lost badly during the plebiscite, largely due to the opposition of the Josons who were then at the height of their political reign. (Manny Galvez)  

ANGARA SEEKS TO AMEND PESO LAW TO CREATE MORE JOBS IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

MANILA-Senator Sonny Angara has stressed the need to expand and strengthen the network of the Public Employment Services Office (PESO) to address the persistent issue of unemployment in the country, especially in the rural areas.

Angara, the acting chair of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources, on Tuesday delivered a sponsorship speech on Senate Bill No. 1386, which seeks to amend Republic Act 8759 or the Public Employment Service Act of 1999.

"The policies that govern our PESOs must be fine-tuned and improved—the very objective of the measure we are sponsoring today, as originally pushed and authored by Senator Jinggoy Estrada," he said.

The PESO law was enacted to create PESOs across strategic areas in the country to serve as a venue for Filipinos to explore employment opportunities and other labor market information. It also provides for training activities, certification tests, career guidance, and job referral services.

To date, there are PESOs in 75 provinces, 142 cities, and 1,374 municipalities in the country.

Collectively, PESOs may be credited for up to 4.45 million job placements between 2010 and 2013.

"We saw how these offices become instrumental in minimizing unemployment and underemployment. The success of select PESOs should be replicated in more areas of the country. We want each local government unit (LGU) to have its own PESO," Angara said.

SB 1386 seeks to create PESOs in all provinces, municipalities, cities and other strategic areas throughout the country, and to ensure their continued operation and sustainability through the support of the LGUs and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

The proposed measure also mandates PESOs to form a national network for the generation of labor market information to allow for more efficient, effective, timely gathering, processing and dissemination down to the grass roots level.

"Sa madaling salita, pinapatibay ng panukalang batas ang PESO bilang katuwang ng DOLE sa lokal para sa paghahain ng employment facilitation services. Ang PESO rin ang magiging pangunahing opisina sa ilalim ng lahat ng LGU na tututok para intindihin at hanapan ng solusyon ang mga isyung may kinalaman sa labor market," he said.

Based on the April 2014 Labor Force Survey, 2.9 million Filipinos are unemployed while seven million are underemployed.

The survey further showed that 62 percent or around 1.8 million of the unemployed had a high school diploma, a post-secondary certificate or a bachelor’s degree.

"Ironically, even our graduates are hounded by joblessness. According to studies, it can take 18 months up to two years before new college graduates can land a job," the senator said.

In addition, according to DOLE, one out of every four job vacancies are considered hard-to-fill or openings that either have too few applicants or those that attract a large number of applicants but are unqualified for the job.

"The prevalence of jobs-skills mismatch in the country is very alarming. I can't stress enough the need for us to create more and better jobs not only for the 10 million Filipinos who are either unemployed or underemployed, but more so for the thousands of young Filipinos who enter our labor force every year," he added.

"Sa kabila ng ating malakas na ekonomiya, marami pa rin ang naiiwan sa kahirapan at kawalan ng trabaho. Kaya marapat na i-arangkada pa lalo ang mga proyekto’t polisiya ng gobyerno para tulungan ang bawat mamamayan upang makahanap ng trabaho. Malaki ang maitutulong ng pag-amyenda sa PESO law sa adhikaing ito," concluded Angara.

Ecija court unseats mayor, installs rival as winner in polls

ALIAGA, Nueva Ecija – A Regional Trial Court (RTC) unseated here on Monday incumbent Mayor Elizabeth Vargas and installed her rival, businessman Reynaldo Ordanes  as the duly elected winner in the May 2013 elections, ending the Vargas’ 22-year stranglehold in this town amid the former’s alleged refusal to vacate her post in the municipal hall.

          Ordanes,  an ally of the Joson’s Nationalist People’s Coalition,  was installed after Cabanatuan City RTC  Branch 30 deputy sheriff Victoria Roque served the writ of execution issued by Judge Virgilio  Caballero to Vargas at the town hall where she  holed herself since last week.

               Ordanes is the brother of Quezon City assessor Rodolfo Ordanes.

              Vargas, a four-term mayor and wife of former three-term mayor Marcial Vargas, was proclaimed winner by the municipal board of canvassers last year, garnering 11,477 votes to Ordanes’ 11,413, or a scant margin of 64 votes.

         

         However, Ordanes  filed an election protest before the RTC which examined the votes.

Last May 28, the court voided 72 of Vargas’ votes. It also ruled that three of Ordanes’ votes, which were rejected by the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines , were valid, bringing his vote total to 11,416 while Vargas’ votes were reduced to 11,405 votes after the 72 votes were deducted from her tally, prompting the court to declare Ordanes winner by a plurality of  11 votes.

On June 19, the court issued a writ of execution of its decision pending appeal but it was withheld on July 15 after the Commission on Elections issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining it to cease and desist from enforcing its order for a 60-day period.

The TRO expired last September 16, prompting the court to issue another order dated September 17 implementing the writ.

“To date, no restraining order is issued by the higher authority and therefore the writ of execution pending appeal to enforce the said decision on June 19, 2014  is now effective,” the court said.  

In its September 17 order, the court said Vargas has not produced any evidence to defend her position.

Ordanes, who took his oath last Friday before Quezon City RTC Judge Jose Paneda, said  he will temporarily hold office in his house near the town hall while Vargas is still occupying the mayor’s office to avert any untoward incident.  

He was accompanied by his running mate, Vice Mayor Alfredo Domingo and throngs of wildly cheering, loyal supporters.

“We don’t want any trouble. What we want is peace in Aliaga because I love our townmates,” Ordanes said as he appealed to Vargas to peacefully step down from her post to effect a smooth transition. 

          He said he believed in the rule of law and would await for the Department of the Interior and Local Governments to step in.

          Vargas has refused to come out of the mayor’s office. Reporters trying to gain entry in her office were barred from doing so.

            But municipal administrator Emmanuel San Juan said they will abide by the legal processes and will respect the DILG directive. (Manny Galvez)

Senate commends journalists, graduates, provincial government and design team

The Senate today approved four resolutions commending journalists, graduates, provincial government and a design team for their respective contributions to the country.

Senator Loren Legarda sponsored Senate Resolution No. 644, honoring and commending Angelo Castro, Jr. and Harry Gasser, veteran Filipino broadcast journalists, who have contributed in “elevating the standards of Philippine broadcast media.”

Castro and Gasser, who had both passed away, were known as news anchors of The World Tonight and RPN 9’s NewsWatch respectively.

“Throughout the lives of Angelo Castro, Jr. and Harry Gasser, they both stood for sincerity, impeccable work ethics, perseverance, balance and truth in broadcast media,” Legarda said.

Legarda also sponsored a resolution congratulating and commending the graduates of Escuela Taller de Intramuros for showcasing their skills in projects reviving the historic quarters of Intramuros, restoration of colonial churches and bridges and other heritage restoration projects.

Escuela Taller de Intramuros was founded in 2009 through the collaboration of the Spanish Embassy in Manila, Agencia Española de Cooperacion Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID), the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Intramuros Administration (IA), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the City of Manila to offer free training to indigent young men and women on 18^th century and 19^th century construction techniques.

“The graduates of Escuela Taller de Intramuros who have risen above poverty, domestic abuse, and a seemingly hopeless future have now become skilled individuals who not only restore and create items of value but are actually guardians of Philippine heritage,” Legarda said.

Another resolution sponsored by Legarda commended the provincial government of Davao Oriental, Protected Area Management Board and the local community in their collaborative efforts conserving Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary for being included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee’s World Heritage Sites list.

Located along the southeastern part of the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor, the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary showcases terrestrial and aquatic habitats which include the Philippine Eagle and Philippine Cockatoo. Specifically, it hosts five endangered species, 27 rare species, 44 endemic species and 59 economically important species.

“The high level of endemicity of its habitat is significant for putting the Philippines in 7^th place among the 17 biologically rich countries in the world. The Philippines commits to the international community its strong support for the conservation of its rich flora and fauna. This recognition highlights the need to safeguard the biodiversity and natural heritage of the wildlife sanctuary and its surrounding watershed areas and forests,” Legarda said.

Meanwhile, Senator Teofisto Guingona III sponsored Senate Resolution No. 879 commending the Butterfly House Project Team composed of businessman and inventor Rogelio Santos, Jr., designer Budji Layug and architect Royal Pineda for initiating a design-led approach to providing “affordable, habitable, durable and convenient emergency shelters for displaced families, in lieu of the traditional tents and bunk houses.”

Santos, Layug and Pineda teamed up to design a solution to the loss of homes caused by man-made and natural calamities such as Typhoon Yolanda through the Butterfly House which is an “innovative, steel-framed housing structure that can be folded for compact shipping and storage, and unfolded into an immediately livable structure.”

In the resolution, Guingona commended the team for “designing ultimately for social innovation, and proving once again the innate ingenuity and resourcefulness of Filipinos in addressing socio-economic problems.”

“The government, through a national design policy, should support good designs such as this Butterfly House Project, by creating an environment that values and utilizes design as a problem-solving mechanism and by considering Butterfly Houses as a better alternative to tents or bunk houses,” Guingona said. (Apple Buenaventura)

Senate approves creation of Quezon City Development Authority

The Senate today approved on third and final reading a bill creating the Quezon City Development Authority (QCDA) which will be mandated to promote investments and generate employment opportunities in the city.

Senate Bill No. 2161, introduced by Deputy Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, and sponsored by Sen. Joseph “JV” Ejercito, would address Quezon City’s housing and urban development concerns through the creation of the QCDA, a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC). The measure was co-sponsored by Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph G. Recto.  

According to Sotto, one of the tasks of QCDA will be “to provide adequate and affordable housing to marginalized and low-income families in Quezon City.”

To encourage the participation of the private sector, he said, the QCDA will promote and develop vacant, blighted and under-utilized lands owned by the local government of Quezon City; develop resettlement sites, and enter into joint ventures and partnerships to pursue QCDA’s primary objective of urban renewal.

“We must always look for ways to uplift the way of life of the people. The QCDA gives the local government the chance to provide projects aimed at improving the quality of life of the people of Quezon City, such as providing them affordable transportation, energy, access to telecommunications and information,” Sotto said.

The measure, which provides the QCDA with an authorized capital stock of P2 billion, also provides that all the powers and functions of the QCDA will be in accordance with established urban development and housing plans prepared by the QC government.

With the creation of the QCDA, the QC Housing and Urban Renewal Authority (HURA), a corporation owned by the city government mandated to provide low-cost dwelling units for the city’s informal settlers and low-income government employees will be dissolved, Sotto said. (Yvonne Almiranez)

Automatic insurance coverage for senior citizens hurdles Senate

The Senate today approved on third and final reading a bill providing mandatory insurance coverage to Filipinos 60 years and above regardless of their social or economic status.

Senate Bill 712, introduced by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto and sponsored by Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, seeks to provide automatic Philippine Health Insurance coverage to all senior citizens.

Currently, only indigent senior citizens are entitled to PhilHealth coverage under Republic Act (RA) 7432, as amended by RA 9994, or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.

“As of June of this year, PhilHealth has covered 3.9 million senior citizens as lifetime members, dependents, sponsored or indigents,” Guingona said in this sponsorship speech.

However, Guingona said that around 2.16 million senior citizens have yet to get health insurance coverage.

“The government will need about P5.2 billion annually to provide the remaining 2.16 million citizens with insurance. But this amount is small when we compare to the hope we would give to our grandparents. This is a small price to pay for the promise of universal health care we have promise our citizens,” Guingona said.

“The way we treat our aging citizens, and how we spare them from the misery brought by lack of access to health services, is reflective of a nation’s collective character” he added.

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon said that the health-related measure “will advance the health of millions of Filipinos, and will uphold their right towards effective and easily attainable medical services.” 

"I share the belief that the country's elderly population must be provided with accessible and sufficient health care that will help them in their twilight years, and we can attain it by enrolling every senior citizen in Philhealth," Drilon said.

For his part, Recto said that PhilHealth coverage should be automatic and not optional for senior citizens.

According to Recto, PhilHealth, which has P116 billion in reserves and P62 billion in income as of December 31, 2013, can more than afford to provide insurance to the country’s elderly citizens.

“Only six in every 100 Filipinos today are 60 years old and above. Many of these six million “dual citizens” are already under the PhilHealth umbrella through various schemes. But there are many who fall between the cracks and this bill seeks to shut close the gaps,” Recto said.

Recto said the national government has been providing funds to PhilHealth to enroll sponsored members. He said the national government provided P12.6 billion for sponsored members in 2013, P35.34 billion for 2014 and an estimated P37.06 billion for 2015.

“Let me remind you that insuring our elderly should not be viewed as a revenue loss. Rather, it should be viewed as a productive expenditure and debt paid to those who gave the best years of their lives so ours will be better,” he said.

“”They are our senior citizens and it is time that we paid them back. They have invested in our future and they are entitled to dividends. This bill settles but a small portion of what we owe them. No obligation is more outstanding,” he added.

Once the measure is enacted into law, Recto said, senior citizens need not present a PhilHealth card to avail of its benefits. He said senior citizens need only to present a valid ID to be provided with health care. (Pilar Macrohon)

PIA, DENR hold first Eco-Art Olympics in Tarlac

TARLAC CITY-The provincial offices of Philippine Information Agency (PIA) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources recently held its first Eco-Art Olympics in Tarlac in a bid to make the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation advocacy closer to the youth.

 

PIA Tarlac manager Lorie Gene Cruz said the competition was designed to incorporate creativity and innovation in the course of strengthening environmental awareness among youngsters.

 

“This initiative is a trendsetter in our campaign on climate change adaptation and mitigation. Through this, we are not just able to discover budding potentials of students, but we are able to recognize modern heroes as companions in nation building and environmental stewardship,” Cruz added.

 

The contest has two categories: poster making and photography with students from Tarlac State University (TSU) as the initial contestants.

 

Among those who made the final cut in the TSU leg of the poster making were Jemimah Keren Galeon, Angelica Querido, Jhon Martin Dangcinan, Jayreen Ronquillo, Carl Jhiron Salcedo, Lawrence Ahl Sembrano, Maricar del Rosario, Philip Ermitanio, Bryan Gelacio, and Jinky Castillo.

 

Moreover, winners in the photography category were Peter Paul Pamintuan, Christine Marielle Arcilla, Yvonne Krizel Español, Jhosua Soren dela Cruz, Joan Marie Lactao, Fatima Banafra, Daiserie Llaneza, Kevin Rey Santos, and Alexis Callao.

 

Their works are presently on display in an exhibit in the main campus of TSU.