Palace asks Comelec to pay teachers election
honoraria
The Department of Budget and Management released
early this year P960 million to the Commission on Elections and there is no
reason for the electoral body not to pay teachers’ honoraria for serving the
midterm election last week, a Palace official said.
A group of teachers reportedly staged a rally at
the Philippine International Convention Center allegedly for non-payment of
their services during the election.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte
said in a radio interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan Saturday that there is no
reason for the Comelec to withhold the payment for the teachers because their
budget is already there.
Valte appealed to the electoral body to
immediately pay the teachers of their honoraria.
“Umaapela naman tayo sa Comelec na tulungan
naman ang ating mga guro na nagtrabaho noong araw ng eleksyon at para maibigay
naman ang kakaunting assistance na ibinibigay in exchange for the work that
they did during the May 13 elections,” Valte said.
The Comelec must give the teachers what they
deserve because serving the election isn’t an easy task and teachers are
usually at the frontline during elections, Valte said.
“And they went beyond the call of duty kasi
siyempre, mga guro natin ‘yan, they really just expect to teach and guide our
children but, since ‘yan ‘yung additional na mandato sa kanila ay ginagawa
naman nila ito nang mabuti,” she added.
With regards to some criticisms on the conduct
of the May 13 polls, Valte said the President isn’t distracted by negative
comments and he will remain focused on addressing the needs of the people and
will continue to push his reform agenda.
“Sa side naman ng Pangulo, hindi naman ‘yan
magiging distraction lalo at tapos na ang eleksiyon, at least for everybody.
Ang tinututukan naman natin talaga kung ano ‘yung mga dapat pa nating gawin,
moving forward,” Valte said.
Although there are people criticizing the
conduct of the polls last week, Valte said there is a group of foreign
observers who noted improvements in the conduct of the May 13 election compared
to the elections in 2007 and 2010.
Valte said she hopes the Comelec will address
all these issues that are being raised about the conduct of the elections.
“On the side of the executive, while the
Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines were both
deputized, alam naman natin ang mga concerns din ng Pangulo against
vote-buying,” Valte said.
“And whatever happened in the past elections
will certainly be taken into consideration by these institutions on how
situations can be improved in coming elections.” PND (as)
MECO team to work with Taiwanese officials to
stop harassments against Filipinos, Palace says
The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO)
has organized a team that will document reports of harassment and assaults
against Filipinos in Taiwan and relay it to Taiwan’s foreign ministry, a Palace
official said on Saturday.
“The MECO has already formed a team para tutukan
‘yung mga ganitong mga report at in-assure ng MECO na lahat ng mga verified
reports na kanilang makukuha at masasala ay agad nilang ipapadala doon sa
Ministry of Foreign Affairs ng Taiwan para naman ito’y mabigyang pansin at agad
maimbestigahan,” Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a radio
interview over government-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
Despite the call of the Taiwanese president to
spare Filipinos in Taiwan, there were reports of assault and discrimination
against Filipinos staying in that state.
Valte said the Philippine government does not
want the tension to escalate and result to violence, which the reason the
government is calling upon the Taiwanese people not to harass Filipinos because
they have nothing to do with the shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman last
week off Batanes.
“We’ve repeatedly made the call for calm and
that our Filipino overseas workers in Taiwan have nothing to do with the said
incident… they are there to work, they are not there to make trouble,” Valte
said.
Asked if the Aquino government will send an
emissary to work with the Taiwanese to protect Filipinos, Valte said the
government has not decided on sending an envoy to Taiwan.
With regards to the possible impact of the
tension to the country’s tourism sector, Valte said an exacerbating tension
will both hurt the Philippines and Taiwan economically.
“Nagkakaroon naman din ng economic downside
hindi lang sa atin, kundi din sa kanila din naman. Htaving said that, of
course, we will also look into focusing our energies on other markets that can
cover up, in case for any projected impact pagdating naman doon sa tourism
front,” Valte said.
The government said it has contingencies in
place in case there is an exodus of Filipinos from Taiwan. The labor department
said it is looking at other markets such as South Korea, the Middle East and
Malaysia that could absorb Filipino workers affected by the current diplomatic
row with Taiwan. PND (as)
