PIA Dispatch - Monday, January 19, 2009

PGMA pushes gov't-church program to help poorest of poor Filipinos

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo awarded today livelihood and scholarship certificates to indigent residents of Malibay in Pasay City as part of the continuing government-church program to uplift the lives of the poorest of the poor Filipino families.

From Makati City where she opened the StarTek International Ltd., the President motored to Malibay to lead government agencies, Catholic church and civic organizations in the distribution of micro-finance livelihood certificates to the poor beneficiaries of the assistance program.

Upon her arrival at the San Juan Nepumuceno Parish Church along C. Jose st. in Malibay, the President handed out livelihood certificates to 10 members/beneficiaries of Caritas SALVE (Savings and Livelihood with Values Education) credit cooperative.

Caritas Manila Executive Director Fr. Anton Pascual said the national government has already provided some P2 million to finance the Caritas SALVE credit cooperative in Malibay.

The President also awarded the scholarship certificates to 45 elementary, high school, college and vocational student-beneficiaries of the Caritas Scholarship Program.

She also handed to Fr. Pascual 120 scholarship certificates under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) – Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) of Caritas.

Under the joint scholarship program, qualified elementary and high school students will be given subsidies for school supplies, projects and books, on top of a P600-monthly transportation allowance.

Meanwhile, college and vocational scholars will receive projects and book subsidies, plus a P1,000-monthly transportation allowance.

Moving around the vicinity of parish, the President fed “sopas” to 250 malnourished elementary school pupils at the second floor of the church. The children, aged 5-11, are students of Timoteo Paez Elementary School, Marcela Marcelo Elementary School and Apelo Elementary School.

Assisting the President in the awarding of livelihood assistance and scholarship certificates were Undersecretary Fatima Valdez of the Office of the President for Religious Affairs, Fr. Pascual, executive director of Caritas Manila, and Fr. Tony Navarete, parish priest of San Juan Nepumuceno.

The President has directed the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to lead the implementation of the pro-poor program.


PGMA inaugurates newest BPO center in Makati

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo opened today in Makati City the latest addition to the country’s burgeoning business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, a sector that pulled in $7 billion in revenue last year.

The newest BPO center is owned by StarTek Incorporated, a Denver, Colorado-based, leading international service provider, which operates 21 call centers, all in North America.

Its Makati City call center is StarTrek’s first overseas venture.

StarTrek officials said they decided to establish a customer care facility here after a comprehensive global search, which showed the Philippines is a perfect location for its first offshore operations.

The President led the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the StarTek contact center this morning at the SM Cyberzone Building located between Jupiter street and Buendia Avenue in Makati City.

Assisting her during the inaugural rites were Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) Secretary Ray Anthony Chua III, StarTek president and chief executive officer (CEO) Larry Jones and other StarTek officials.

Also present were Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) CEO Oscar Sanez, StarTek senior vice president for business development Mary Beth Loesch; VP for operations Bret Milne; and regional vice president and Country Manager Susan Padley.

In his welcome remarks, Jones praised the President for her all-out support to BPO locators, as he cited the growth of the jobs-generating BPO industry in the country.

To attract locators and help the local BPO industry, the President has funneled heavy investments into human resource development and infrastructure programs, in tandem with the promotion of the Philippines as an excellent investment destination.

“We are truly honored to have the presence of the internationally respected President of the Philippines at this inauguration. Madam President, your presence demonstrates the tremendous support that you have given not only to StarTek but the BPO industry. And without your support, the industry growth would not have been what it is today,” Jones said.

StarTek provides clients with the highest quality customer care, sales support, complex order processing, accounts receivable management, technical and industry-specific services, including specialized high-value, non-voice customer care and provisioning services.

Last July, with the world already in the cusp of the financial turmoil, StarTek announced that it has selected the Philippine as the site for its first operation outside of North America, citing the attraction of the country, notably its large talent pool of highly literate, English speaking and productive workers with reliable customer care skills.

“We are here because of the flexible workforce, very well-educated, English-speaking, are great at customer service and you have great technical infrastructure,” Padley said.

Padley said the 400 customer care representatives employed at StarTek’s Makati facility would reach 600 next month, and up to 1,125 at full capacity.

The formal launch of the StarTek facility followed the recent survey by BPAP and Outsource2Philippines, which showed that 70 percent of BPO executives in the Philippines believe that the global financial crisis will have either a neutral or even positive impact on their Philippine operations this year.


PGMA to visit flood victims in Tubajon, meets RDCC in Surigao City

Surigao City - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is set to visit Tubajon town in Dinagat Islands on Wednesday, January 21, to attend to the needs of flood victims.

President Arroyo will personally inspect the extent of damage wrought by massive flooding in the area particularly the damage seawall, fishing and pump boats. She is also expected to distribute food assistance to the flood victims.

The People's Government Mobile Action (PGMA) of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) will also conduct a medical-dental outreach in the area to ensure the delivery of government assistance to the victims.

After her Tubajon visit, the President will also conduct an RDCC meeting on the same day in Surigao City.

In a recent report as of Jan. 17, 2009 from RDCC-Caraga region, seven people were reportedly dead and one was missing and some 60,025 families were displaced when floodwaters and huge waves caused by incessant rains struck the region over the weekend affecting 311 barangays.

Caraga region's damages on infrastructure particularly in roads, bridges, wharf, seawall & fishing & pumpboats now estimated at P63,349,490.00 (Dinagat Islands-P4,586,600.00; Agusan Sur-P42,787,200.00; Surigao Norte-P13,095,690.00, and Surigao del Sur-P2,900,000.00).

In agriculture particularly in crops, fisheries & livestocks now totalled at P19, 062,000.00 (Dinagat islands-P2,063,669.60; Agusan Sur-P6,583,796.00; Surigao Norte-P9,529,582.40; Surigao Sur-P885,000.00).Damage to houses/properties is now estimated at P355,000.00. (PIA-Surigao del Norte)


DOT moves to create 3,000 new jobs in 2009

San Fernando City, La Union - The Department of Tourism is confident in creating 3,000 new jobs this year in support of President Arroyo's program to provide one million new jobs in the first six months of 2009, as it eyes 3 to 4 million tourist arrivals this year.

Despite the global financial crunch, Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano is confident of continued tourism activities and attain its target this year owing to the momentum generated by the agency's aggressive sales blitz in its major and emerging tourism markets including China, Russia and other European countries.

The DOT secretary expects the new hotel rooms totaling about 3,000 that would be opened up this year would yield 3,000 new jobs based on the one is to one ratio.

Durano launched recently the DOT's Tourism Apprentice Program another "investment" of the department to train students of tourism-related course as DOT's ambassadors by exposing them to our tourism destinations.

These include Davao, Palawan, Cebu, Boracay, Iloilo, Bohol and Bacolod. Durano stressed the Philippines has edge over its neighboring countries owing to its variety of choices in beauty and bounty.

"We are a blessed country, so much beauty and so much bounty. Our destinations offer different charm and different experiences," Durano said.

The apprentice program will tap graduating students from private schools as well as state-owned schools with the support of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

The private schools included in the program are the Arellano University, University of Sto.Tomas, Centro Escolar University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, College of the Holy Spirit, De Ocampo Memorial School, Emilio Aguinaldo College, St. Scholastica's College, Sta. Catalina College, University of Manila, San Beda College, University of the East, Far Eastern University, Feati University, Lyceum of the Philippines, Philippine Women's University, San Sebastian College Recoletos, St. Jude college and St. Paul University, Manila.

With the freeze of hiring abroad due to the global financial crisis, Durano expects graduates of tourism-related courses to be employed in the Philippines.

The bustling activities in the tourism sector are manifestations of the confidence of investors like the Ayalas and George Yang of the McDonald"s chain.

The two Filipino investors are putting in money in improving the Caticlan airport near Boracay.

The DOT is eyeing the five-million mark in tourism arrivals by 2010, when the global economy is expected to bounce back.

President Arroyo has earmarked a P100-billion resiliency fund to pump-prime our economy amid the world economic downturn. (PIA La Union)


1-M poor families benefit from gov’t school feeding program – NAPC

MANILA (PNA) -- Around one million poor and underprivileged Filipino families struggling to feed and educate their children benefited from a massive school feeding program undertaken by the Arroyo administration during the height of the global oil and rice crises last year, according to the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC).

NAPC Secretary Domingo Panganiban on Monday said that some 1.04 million Filipino families received rations of rice under the Food-for-School Program (FSP) in 2008 following the directive of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for all government agencies to step up efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of the global oil and food crises on the welfare of the poor.

"The FSP effort, which is implemented under the leadership of President Arroyo, Social Welfare (DSWD) Secretary Esparanza Cabral and Secretary Jesli Lapus of the Department of Education (DepEd), was among the many government initiatives that helped poor families cope with higher fuel and food prices last year," he said.

Panganiban said FSP beneficiary families that ensure the regular attendance of their children in public schools and state-run daycare centers are entitled to a free kilogram of rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) for each of the 13 days covered by the program.

"Some 826,815 families with children attending Grade 1 classes in DepEd supervised public schools have already received rations of rice under the FSP," he said.

The NAPC chief said that another 214,972 children attending classes in day care centers run by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) have also received rice rations under the program.

"The President was deeply concerned over the difficulties confronted by the poor when both the price of fuel and food saw record increases last year. That is why both the DepEd and the DSWD worked double time to see to the implementation of the FSP," he added.

A report by the National Nutrition Council (NNC) indicates that the government has already accomplished 90 percent of its targeted distribution under the first phase of the FSP for the current school year.

The same report also revealed that the program covers pupils in pre-school and Grade 1.

Panganiban said the current FSP covers the nation’s top 20 food-poor provinces, 21 hotspots in the National Capital Region (NCR), and the 100 poorest municipalities in the country.

A report issued by the DepEd last year indicates that the FSP had helped to improve school attendance among students in public elementary schools from 90 percent in 2006 to 95 percent in 2007.

Levels of malnutrition among the same set of students also declined from 21 percent to 17 percent during the period. (PNA)


OFW deployment up in 2008

Iloilo City -- The deployment of Filipino workers abroad increased during the first eleven months of 2008, said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recently.

In its press report, BSP cited the preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration indicating that during the first eleven months of 2008 the number of Filipinos deployed abroad increased considerably by 24. 4 percent to 1,221,829 from 982,286 a year ago.

The POEA data further showed that 90 percent of newly hired overseas Filipino workers in the first ten months of 2008 consisted of professionals and skilled workers. The deployment was concentrated in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Hong Kong.

The continuing global economic slowdown is expected to decelerate the deployment of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWS) in the coming months.

However, BSP said that the strong labor demand in Canada, Bulgaria, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar is expected to mitigate the decline in hiring of OFWs.

"The Philippine government has signed Memoranda of agreement with various provinces of Canada and with Qatar and is also in negotiations with South Australia for possible employment opportunities for Filipino skilled labor," said the BSP.

Also, the Department of Labor and Employment through its overseas labor offices in more than 30 strategic host destinations worldwide, has continued to conduct marketing missions and employment facilitation programs to widen the productive opportunities for Filipino workers both in the local and global fronts.

Meanwhile, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has assigned all Cabinet members to handle emergency and livelihood programs over and above agency projects in place to lessen the impact of the global economic meltdown on the Filipinos including OFWs earlier this year.

As part of this effort a special program for OFWs who lost their jobs as a result of the economic meltdown, will be mapped out. (PIA)


Luzon farmers thank PGMA, Yap for massive palay procurement program

Farmers’ organizations from Nueva Ecija and other top palay-producing provinces in Luzon have thanked President Arroyo and Secretary Arthur Yap of the Department of Agriculture (DA) for carrying out the government’s biggest-ever local palay procurement program in the last 30 years.

The Nueva Ecija Federation of Farmers Association Inc. (NEFFAI), Nagkakaisang Magsasaka Agricultural Primary Multipurpose Cooperative in Talavera, Nueva Ecija, and 12 other farmers’ organizations based in the province sent separate letters and resolutions thanking the President and Yap for procuring a record volume of palay from local farmers last year to help beef up the country’s rice buffer stock.

The Provincial Farmers’ Action Council (PFAC) of Malolos in Bulacan and of Dinalupihan in Bataan also thanked the President and Yap, along with NFA Administrator Jessup Navarro for approving this massive palay procurement program.

Last year’s procurement of 685,000 metric tons (MT) of palay from farmers in the second half of 2008 was the highest level for the government since 1979. In contrast, the NFA’s procurement volume in 2007 was just 32,577 MT or 651,540 bags.

On orders of President Arroyo, Yap directed the NFA last September to increase its procurement volume at the support price of P17.00 a kilo as part of the Arroyo administration’s efforts to build up the country’s rice buffer stock amid the then-global food crisis that saw the cost of rice rising thrice to over $1,000 per MT in the world market.

“Your decision of reviving the palay procurement program of NFA boosted the morale of our fellow farmers to continue production of palay,” the NEFFAI said in a letter to Yap signed by its President Conrado Virtucio.

In thanking the DA, the Nagkakaisang Magsasaka also expressed its appreciation for the Department’s efforts to set up buying stations near farmers’ storage areas, which helped their members save on transport costs.

“Hangad po naming na maging tuloy tuloy ang inyong magandang programa para sa mga magsasaka at makaaasa kay sa aming patuloy na pagsuporta sa inyong magagandang programa (Our wish is for the DA’s farm-friendly programs to continue and you can expect our continuing support for these programs,” the organization said in a letter signed by its president, Ricardo Buenaventura.

Various cooperatives based in Nueva Ecija such as the Kadre Development Cooperative, Bagong Buhay, Young Farmers Cooperative, Pinagbuklod, Bagong Pagasa, Balite, and Kawanggawa also thanked the President and Yap for buying palay from farmers at a high farm gate price of P17 a kilo and for providing a P1,800 incentive for every 50 cavans sold by farmers to the NFA.

“Kami po ay nagkaroon ng karagdagang kita at ito po ay lubos na nakatulong sa aming pang-araw araw na buhay at sa aming gastusian sa pagsasaka (We were able to earn more and this additional income has helped us cover our daily expenses at home and in our farms),” they said in a resolution.

The Malolos PFAC, for its part, said the Arroyo administration’s palay procurement program is a major step in increasing incomes in the countryside.

The Dinalupihan PFAC noted that the NFA was able to buy 100,000 MT of palay from Bataan farmers, the highest-ever procurement volume in the province’s history.

The organization also thanked the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) for rehabilitating irrigation canals and facilities in the province.

Yap had instructed the NFA last year to set up more mobile stations to facilitate the buying of palay from farmers during the main or wet harvest season of 2008, which had peaked in October to December, and to open more warehouses near palay-producing areas.

For the first time, the DA also directed the NFA to buy palay with up to 30% moisture content to heed the clamor of farmers who find it difficult to dry their produce during the wet season.

The NFA used to buy palay with only up to 24% moisture content.

President Arroyo had ordered the NFA to increase its palay buying price from P12 a kilo to P17 a kilo starting April last year.

The DA also provided farmers an additional cash incentive of P1,800 for every 50 cavans of palay they sold to the NFA. (DA-PRESS OFFICE)


DOLE Secretary launches Provincial Phil-Jobnet Center in Pagadian

DOLE Secretary Marianito D. Roque visited Pagadian City on January 17, 2009 to launch the Phil-Jobnet Center of the Provincial Government of Zamboanga del Sur and grace the opening of the jobs fair sponsored by the City Government of Pagadian to highlight the City Fiesta Celebration dubbed as “Pasalamat Festival”, where he is the Guest of Honor and Speaker.

The Phil-JobNet is the computerized job and skills matching system of the Department of Labor and Employment accessible round-the-clock to job seekers and employers through the internet. While the jobs fair is an employment facilitation strategy that draws firms and job seekers together in one venue.

A total of 13 local employers and five (5) Pagadian-based overseas recruitment agencies have confirmed to join the jobs fair that expects to draw applicants, not just from Pagadian City but also from the neighboring municipalities in Zamboanga del Sur Province. The fact that the participating firms are bringing with them more than 3,000 thousand job openings is an indication that the economy continues to generate employment despite the financial crisis.

Secretary Roque is also set to release One Million Pesos worth of livelihood checks to four (4) associations with 115 beneficiaries under the Integrated Services for Livelihood Advancement (ISLA) . The livelihood funds are intended to finance income-generating projects of the fisher folks. .

Secretary Roque will also meet with the officers of the ZamPen Career Guidance Counselors Network, ZamPen Federation of Family Welfare Councils (FWC), Regional Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (RTIPC) and Regional Federation of Public Employment Service Office (PESO) who will be converging in Bay Plaza Hotel for the DOLE Intermediaries Strategic Planning Workshop.

DOLE Regional 9 Director Ponciano M. Ligutom will lead the members of the Regional Coordinating Committee (RCC) composed of DOLE Family of Agencies like Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA), National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB), Philippine Overseas Employment Authority (POEA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) in welcoming the Secretary.

The visit marks the first time that the highest official of the Department of Labor and Employment visits Pagadian City, the new regional center of Zamboanga Peninsula. (DOLE-9 / PIA BASULTA)


DILG stepping up implementation of anti-red tape project

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will step up the implementation of its anti-red tape project this year and closely monitor the compliance of local government units (LGUs) in formulating their respective “citizens’ charters” that would guide citizens on how to quickly avail of frontline government services at the community level.

DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno said the Comprehensive and Unified Response to Eliminate Red Tape or CURE project will be among the initiatives that the Department will prioritize this year to enhance the delivery of basic services to the people, particularly at the level of LGUs.

The CURE project, which is being carried out in tandem with other government agencies—among them the Civil Service Commission and the Office of the Ombudsman—aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of LGUs in their delivery of basic public goods and services to the public through the elimination of red tape practices.

Puno said the project, which is the Department’s response to the provisions stated under the Anti-Red Tape Law of 2007 or Republic Act 9485, also seeks to prevent graft and corruption at the local level.

For the first and second quarters of 2009, Puno said the DILG will focus on training anti-red tape “champions” who will help carry out the provisions of RA 9485 at the local level.

“One of the key provisions of the Anti-Red Tape Law is the formulation of the Citizen’s Charter by the LGUs,” Puno said. “We will strictly monitor LGUs in terms of their compliance with this provision so that we can realize our goal of unifying government action in the elimination of red tape down to the local level.”

The Citizen’s Charter is a document that contains relevant information on the frontline services and goods provided by LGUs to its citizens and serves as the standard of the their delivery of these services and goods to the public.

Through the Local Government Academy (LGA), the DILG assists LGUs in crafting the Citizens’ Charter, which should also contain information on the maximum time and amount of fees needed to cover these basic frontline services, DILG Undersecretary for Local Government Austere Panadero said.

Besides the CSC, Ombudman and LGA, Project Cure also involves the Local Research Institutes, Development Academy of the Philippines and the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission, he added.
On top of crafting the Citizen’s Charter, Panadero said that Project CURE also intends to familiarize LGUs on the provisions of the anti-red tape law; improve the existing systems and procedures of delivering frontline services at the local level; and provide venues for the enforcement of the law through citizens’ feedbacks and development of community-level alliances with anti-corruption watchdogs.

Panadero said the DILG began conducting orientation workshops to inform city governments about the law’s provisions in the last quarter of 2008 and will continue with these activities down to the municipal and barangay level this year.

In the latter part of 2009, Panadero said the DILG would firm up, in tandem with the CSC, Ombudsman and other stakeholders, the mechanisms on citizens’ feedback and the law enforcement provisions of RA 9485.

Earlier, Puno called on provincial governors, city and municipal mayors and barangay chairmen nationwide to strictly implement the Anti-Red Tape law.

In a memorandum circular, Puno had reminded local chief executives and other local officials and employees of the mandatory requirement of the anti-red tape law for officials and employees to accept written applications, requests and documents being submitted by their clientele, which is the citizenry.

He explained that all applications or requests for frontline services should be acted upon within the period prescribed under the Citizens’ Charter, which in no case shall be no longer than five working days for simple transactions, and 10 working days for complex transactions. No application or request shall be returned to the client without appropriate action, as stated under RA 9485.

In his circular, Puno also cited other significant provisions of the law, such as: limiting the number of signatories for a basic transaction to a maximum of five signatures; adopting appropriate working schedules to ensure that all clients are attended to and served during lunch breaks and after regular working hours; providing frontline services as early a 7 AM, and as late as 7 PM; and establishing public assistance or complaints desks, hotline numbers, and one-stop-shops.

Puno said any complaint regarding violations of the Anti-Red Tape Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations may be received by the DILG field offices, and forwarded to the central office for endorsement to the Office of the Ombudsman.