Tuesday 30 April 2013

PIA News Dispatch - Tuesday, April 30, 2013

President Aquino declares May 3 as special non-working day in celebration of ‘Sublian Festival’ in Batangas

President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared May 3, which falls on a Friday, as a special (non-working) day in the municipality of Bauan, Batangas in celebration of "Sublian Festival".

The Chief Executive issued the declaration through Proclamation No. 573 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. on April 29, to give the people of Bauan the full opportunity to celebrate and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies.

Sublian Festival is a yearly festive ceremony commemorating the founding of the holy cross in Bauan, a town in Batangas. The festival aims to revive the centuries-old tradition of dancing the Subli, an indigenous dance of Bauan. PND (js)


President Aquino appeals to workers and employers: Celebrate Labor Day

President Benigno S. Aquino III appealed to the Filipino workforce and employers to set aside negativism and blame-throwing and celebrate Labor Day (May 1) to recognize the industry and dedication of the worker.

The President issued his appeal in his speech keynoting a Pre-Labor Day dialogue with labor organizations in Malacanang on Tuesday.

“Hindi po ba mas maganda kung imbes na tratuhin ang Labor Day bilang araw ng piket at sigawan, ituring natin ito bilang selebrasyon— isang araw na masayang nagdiriwang ang mga manggagawa at mga negosyante dahil sa matagumpay at produktibong taon; isang araw na kinikilala natin ang sipag ng bawat empleyado, at kung gaano kalaking biyaya ang magkaroon ng isang trabahong marangal at bumubuhay sa pamilya mo?” the President said.

“Mula ngayon, sana ay ituring natin ang Labor Day bilang Good Job Day. Tama na ang negatibismo. Marami tayong positibong nagawa, at nangyari ito, hindi dahil sa mga reklamo o pagbabatuhang-sisi, kundi dahil sa nagtulungan tayo. Panahon na para batiin natin ang isa't isa ng "good job," he added.

He vowed to come up with working solutions to persistent labor problems by continuing to focus at addressing four major concerns: Ang mapanatili ang mga trabahong nariyan na; ang lumikha ng mas marami pang trabaho; ang dagdagan ang kakayahan ng ating mga manggagawa; at ang maigting na pagpapatupad sa ating mga batas” to protect the rights of the common worker.

The President said he has directed the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council to look into the process of amending the Security of Tenure Bill to conform with existing labor laws and the Department of Justice to beef up its efforts at addressing labor law violators.

He added that P187-million has already been set aside for the Department of Labor and Employment to hire 372 Labor Law Compliance Officers to augment the government’s apprehension of labor law offenders.

“Inaasahan nating pagdating ng Oktubre, makakatulong na sila sa paghuli sa sinumang umaabuso sa ating mga batas paggawa,” the President said.

On the issue of job mismatch, the President said he has ordered the labor market information service to provide relevant information the most sought after job profiles such as those in the tourism, business process outsourcing and agri-fisheries industries.

“Sa katunayan, nitong Enero, umabot ng 268,278 ang job vacancies sa Phil-Job.Net, habang may 116,795 ang bilang ng mga aplikante dito. Ibig sabihin, may mahigit isandaang libong trabaho pa ang kailangang punan, at oportunidad ito para lalo nating pag-ibayuhin ang pagpapalakas sa mga kursong akma sa mga bakanteng trabaho,” the President said.

He pointed out that P900-million has been allocated to fund the government’s Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) and the Private Education Student Financial Assistance Program (PESFA) in order to hone its students’ knowledge and capabilities.

“Sa nakalipas na dalawang taon, umabot ng 480,430 ang scholars ng TWSP, at ayon sa huling tala ng TESDA, 70.7% ang employment rate ng mga benepisyaryo nito. Ibig sabihin, sa 65,048 na nagsipagtapos, 45,961 sa kanila ang nagtatrabaho na sa industriya ng animation, call center, medical transcription, at software development. Patunay itong habang nabibigyang-lakas sila para itimon ang sarili nilang kinabukasan, nagiging katuwang din natin sila sa tuloy-tuloy na pag-ahon ng bayan,” the President said.

On non-wage benefits, the President said that he had signed Executive Orders 134 and 135 last week that sets Employee Compensation Benefits (ECB) of government workers equal to the ECB of those in the private sector.

“Napag-alaman din nating hindi pantay ang Employees’ Compensation Benefits ng mga nagtatrabaho sa pamahalaan, kumpara sa pribadong sektor. Halimbawa, kung may mangyaring masama sa isang empleyado ng gobyerno habang nagtatrabaho, wala siyang makukuhang carer's allowance, at siyamnapung piso lang kada araw ang matatanggap niyang Temporary Total Disability Benefit. Samantala, ang nasa pribadong sektor, dalawandaang piso kada araw na ang kanilang TTD, may 575 pesos pa silang carer's allowance,” the President said.

“Upang gawing patas, nilagdaan natin nitong nakaraang linggo ang EO 134 at 135 na ginagawang pareho ang Employees’ Compensation Benefits na natatanggap ng pribado at pampublikong sector,” he added.

The President stressed the need to amend the Social Security System Pension Scheme whose contribution rate has only increased twice since 1980. He said this failure to increase the contribution rate has made the state pension’s unfunded liability balloon to P1.1-trillion.

“Ngayon, kung magdadagdag lamang tayo ng .6% sa contribution rate, at gagawin itong 11%, 141 bilyong piso agad ang maibabawas sa unfunded liability ng SSS,” the President said.

“Ang mga ganitong reporma sa pamamahala ay ginagawa natin upang mapanatiling matatag ang ating mga istitusyon, at masiguro ang pangmatagalang pakinabang nito sa mamamayan,” he added.

“May panibagong lakas ang ating ekonomiya, at nagmula ito sa pinagsanib na dedikasyon at tiyaga ng mga manggagawa at negosyanteng Pilipino. Kayo ang gumawa nito. Maraming salamat sa inyong sipag; good job sa napakalaking ambag sa bansa; good job sa mas marami pa nating magagawa,” the President noted. PND (rck)


Aquino attends job, livelihood fair in Tarlac City

TARLAC CITY: President Benigno S. Aquino III attended Tuesday the Tarlac Job and Livelihood Fair here in Camp Servillano Aquino aimed at providing employment to the people of Region 3 particularly the new graduates.

The President toured the booths joining the job affair upon arrival at Camp Servillano. He was accompanied by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General Joel Villanueva.

The booths include the recruitment area for both local and overseas, TESDA Health and Wellness Treats, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Supported livelihood projects and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) trade fair and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) both.

The Tarlac and Livelihood Fair showcases 66 participating employers (41 local and 25 overseas) with 2,522 local and 35,000 overseas job vacancies.

The Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Navy, Philippine Air Force and the Philippine Military Academy also participated in the job fair. Agencies providing pre-employment documentation services such as the Social Security System (SSS), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), National Statistics Office (NSO), PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG Fund, Department of Foreign Affairs and the PNP also joined the event.

The OFW-3M (Mag-impok, Magnegosyo Movement) Savings and entrepreneurship advocacy project participated in by about 100 current OFW family leaders.

OFW-M3 reinforces current savings promotion and enterprise development components of the Philippine Reintegration program. The Tarlac provincial government promoting the One-Town, One Product (OTOP) project, also joined the job and livelihood fair.

The job and livelihood fair here is a kick-off event for the Labor Day celebration in Region 3. The event is in partnership with the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) aimed at making available employment opportunities to new graduates, job seekers, and workers reentering the work force.

Throughout the country, there are 74 job and livelihood fairs with 2,903 participating employers and recruitment agencies. The government said there are around 4,000 job vacancies for those seeking employment for the May 1 Labor Day celebration. PND (as)