Gov't asks Taiwan to safeguard welfare of Filipino workers
President Benigno S. Aquino III’s private emissary to Taiwan, former Senator Mar Roxas, said he made a strong pitch to senior Taiwan officials led by its President Ma Ying-jeou on Tuesday (Feb.22) to safeguard the welfare of Filipino workers despite the strain brought by the deportation to China of 14 Taiwanese nationals by Philippine courts.
Roxas told Palace reporters that Taiwan considers the deportation to China of the 14 Taiwanese nationals charged by Philippine courts as unjustifiable. “They demanded from the ministerial level to the President an apology which we did not give,” Roxas said.
“We expressed deep regrets for the damaged and hurt feelings this has caused the people of Taiwan but we also conveyed the Filipino people’s sincere desire to ease the strain caused on Philippine- Taiwan relations. We assured the Taiwanese that there was never any intention on the Philippine side to put at risk the longstanding good relations between the two sides,” Roxas said.
He reported on the extensive meetings—one at the foreign ministry level (headed by Foreign Minister Timothy Yang) which lasted for 11 hours last Monday and then with President Ma for one hour on Tuesday—but “at every instance we forwarded the concerns of the Philippines regarding overseas Filipino workers already in Taiwan and those who were scheduled to go to Taiwan which could be put on hold by this controversy.”
Roxas said the Philippines expressed “openness to establishing a mechanism of mutual assistance in dealing with transnational crimes and the feasibility of beginning negotiations for closer economic ties possibly through economic partnership agreements, to which Taiwan expressed receptivity and openness.
Roxas maintained that Philippine relations with Taiwan have not worsened as there are communication links and initiatives in place which are being considered to “repair the damage from this regrettable incident and for friendly relations to move forward.”
Accompanying Roxas in Taiwan were Manila Economic Cooperation Office (MECO) Chairman Amadeo Perez Jr., Ambassador Tony Basilio and other MECO board members. (PCOO)
Aquino orders evacuation of Pinoys in Libya
President Benigno S. Aquino III has ordered concerned agencies to prepare for the evacuation of Filipinos in Libya in case the situation in the northern African country deteriorates.
In a press briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos said the President has instructed all relevant agencies to use all resources, infrastructure and logistics to undertake evacuation in case the need arises.
The President, according to Conejos, has instructed “not to leave anybody behind.”
Conejos said the President’s directive was to put in place the comprehensive plan on Tuesday, explore sea, land and air routes out of Libya and be ready with such modalities in case the need arises.
“All resources of government in anticipation of evacuation should be put at the disposal of this operation including the commission of special flights to bring home the OFWS there,” he said, quoting the President.
Talks are ongoing with Philippine Airlines and Qatar Airways to undertake the special flights.
“In planning we always prepare for the worst scenario,” he stressed adding that the government hopes for a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Libya.
The final plan to execute, according to him will depend on actual developments on the ground.
Conejos also said that 24-hour crisis management teams in Tripoli and at the Department of Foreign Affairs are continuously monitoring the situation on the ground.
The DFA has advised the 26,000 Filipinos in Libya, who are mostly professionals and skilled workers to stay in safe places.
As a result of the latest development, the DFA has raised the alert level to 3 which means that any one can avail of voluntary repatriation.
Other instructions included: If you are employed with a company, stay with your company and if your company implements an evacuation plan go with your company; If you are not in that situation, stay where you are safe; and if you feel you are not safe, then contact the embassy and the embassy will tell you where to go, If you are unable to contact the embassy, go to the nearest relocation site.
Conejos said that in the event it is safe to move around Libya, the government will execute an evacuation for Filipinos there not taken cared of by their employers.
He said the government had asked the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to help arrange seats for Filipinos wishing to leave Libya.
“We cannot do it alone. We hope the IOM will help us arrange for us to swiftly air transport people out of Libya,” Conejos said.
However, he said that the President‘s directive was clear---to “implement the plan on our own. (PCOO)
People empowerment true spirit of EDSA '86 -- Aquino
President Benigno S. Aquino III on Thursday stressed that the true spirit of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution is people empowerment which is very much alive in the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (linked arms against poverty)-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services.
In his message at the two-day “People-Powered Development,” a Local Government Unit (LGU) forum on integrating community-driven development in local governance practice at the Heroes Hall of Malacañang, the President, speaking in Pilipino, recognized the contribution of local government officials and people’s groups in empowering the people and restoring democracy.
According to the Chief Executive, this democracy is “Demokrasya mula sa kurapsyon at kalayaan mula sa kahirapan. Ito ang kahulugan ng people power. Ito ang pamana ng Edsa (Democracy from corruption and freedom from poverty. This is the legacy of EDSA).
He said his mother, the former President Corazon Aquino has said that the true meaning of people power has a different face--- not the millions of Filipinos marching through EDSA nor the placards bearing former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr.’s face nor the nuns holding rosaries but rather preparedness-- preparedness to fight corruption and preparedness to fight poverty.
“And this is the kind of preparedness these mayors from different municipalities sharing their knowledge and experiences in uplifting the lives of the poor through KALAHI-CIDSS,” he said.
The 33 mayors implementing KALAHI-CIDSS projects in their respective municipalities received commendation from the President for their good performance.
“Thank you to these leaders. I will not have second thoughts in calling you heroes if you are indeed government’s partner in fighting corruption by not stealing from government coffers and by fighting poverty as well through your pro-poor projects,” he said.
The President stressed that the mayors are part of the modern revolution to eradicate poverty by implementing the community- driven development approach in their communities which recognizes the community as not just recipients but as partners in local development.
“You are part of government’s war against corruption and poverty. I salute you,” the President adding that the united efforts and effective decisions of all local executives and the people can have a multiplier effect in the government’s war against hunger and poverty.
“Sa madaling salita binabahagi niyo hindi sa kabarangay lamang, umaabot ito sa mas maraming Pilipino,” the President said.
“Let us now be proactive instead of reactive. If we are one in working for the good of many, we will all be one in achieving success,” he said. (PCOO)
Aquino orders study of KALAHI as a national program
President Benigno S. Aquino III on Thursday instructed the Cabinet cluster on human development for poverty reduction to study the resolution submitted by mayors, people’s groups and non-government organizations involved in the implementation of KALAHI-CIDSS-CDD projects urging the national government to adopt the KALAHI-CIDSS-CDD strategy as a national program.
Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman, in an interview after the “People- Powered Development” forum in Malacanang, said the President wanted the details of the program so the national government can adopt it as a national strategy for all government agencies in implementing their projects.
“Ang sabi niya sa akin, in principle, wala naman siyang nakikitang problema, kailangan naming detalyehin ang ibig sabihin nito kung gagawing national strategy. So, kailangan aming mag-translate into a more detailed program para sa pambansang pamahalalan na implementasyon (The President said in principle, he does not see any problem but he wants the strategy to be detailed for it to be adopted as a national strategy),” Soliman said.
Soliman added that the KALAHI-CIDSS strategy of involving the community in the implementation of pro-poor projects can be adopted by government agencies.
“If the community is involved in the project, we can expect them to help in the sustenance and maintenance of the said project because they were part of the decision-making and in the implementation of the projects,” she said.
In the proposed resolution, the KALAHI-CIDSS Mayors’ Forum said that the KALAHI-CIDSS Community-Driven Development strategy, which was implemented since 2003 through community participation in poverty reduction and good local governance activities, is found to be effective in achieving local service delivery outcomes and best practices in good governance.
It further said that the KALAHI-CIDSS-CDD strategy complements national government’s efforts to converge programs and resources intended to support poverty reduction initiatives at the local level.
KALAHI-CIDSS covers 42 provinces,200 municipalities and 4,583 barangays. Some 5,326 community projects have been built benefiting 1,197,772 households since 2003.
This year, KALAHI-CIDSS will scale up in 374 municipalities through additional funding from the World bank and the Millennium Challenge Corporation grant. (PCOO)
Ochoa tells agencies to set up special windows for Taiwan-bound OFWs
Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. has directed five agencies dealing with the requirements for the processing of visa of Filipino workers bound for Taiwan to set up special windows to facilitate their documents faster.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Manila had previously announced that Taiwan-bound Filipinos would have to submit additional documents as a pre-requisite for the issuance of work visa, but Ochoa said the creation of special lanes would help ease the impact of the new requirements imposed on Filipino workers.
“Our priority here is the welfare of our citizens who have already obtained employment in Taiwan, but are now having difficulty getting their visas to Taiwan because of the new requirements issued by TECO,” Ochoa said.
In a memorandum dated February 14, Ochoa ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and National Statistics Office (NSO) to establish in their respective offices special lanes dedicated to the processing and authentication or issuance of documents.
In a separate letter, the Executive Secretary also asked the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to fast track the issuance of identification cards.
According to Ochoa, the SSS has already opened courtesy lanes in its offices and has started issuing documents certifying that the Taiwan-bound OFW is a member of SSS and has applied for the biometric identification card pending the production, supply and actual delivery of the SSS Biometric ID.
Under the new guidelines issued by the economic and cultural office of Taipei, workers seeking deployment to Taiwan must submit DFA- and TECO-authenticated birth certificate and NBI clearance, as well as the original and photocopies of ID cards issued by the SSS, Philhealth and COMELEC. (PCOO)
