PIA Dispatch - Thursday, August 13, 2009

PGMA orders DPWH to expedite Caramoan coastal road project

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay, Aug. 13 (PNA) - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo directed the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Thursday to expedite the completion of the Presentacion-Caramoan coastal road here.

The Chief Executive, who was scheduled to visit Caramoan, deferred the road inspection due to inclement weather. She instead proceeded to her scheduled visit to this city to inaugurate the re-opening of the tolling facilities of Legaspi Oil Company in Barangay Arimbay.

Upon landing at the Legazpi Airport, the President was briefed by DPWH Undersecretary Rafael Yabut on the status of the Presentacion-Caramoan costal road project.

President Arroyo directed Yabut to expedite the completion of the project, particularly the Caramoan road leading to San Vicente roll-on-roll-off (RoRo) port that will connect the mainland of Caramoan peninsula to Catanduanes.

According to the President, she will inspect the Caramoan road project in September this year to oversee the development of her priority project in the province.

The Presentacion-Caramoan road is expected to link the nine barangays in between the two towns.

The proposed road project is anticipated to open new income opportunities and spur the socio-economic development by providing people the means to transport livestock and agricultural products to commercial centers.

It is also designed to serve as an access to the RoRo ferry port in Caramoan going to the island province of Catanduanes.


PGMA set to sign Magna Carta of women tomorrow

MANILA, Aug. 13 - Women can look forward to equality in family relationship and on the worksite once President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signs the Magna Carta of Women tomorrow.

The Magna Carta of Women, Republic Act 9710, prohibits discrimination against women and recognizes, promotes, and protects their rights.

Scheduled to be held at the Rizal Hall in Malacañang at 10 a.m., the signing ceremony will be preceded by a program that includes acknowledgement of those who worked for the passage of the law and an audio-visual presentation.

Implementation of the law by all government agencies (national, local and Philippine embassies and consulates abroad) will be overseen by the Philippine Commission on Women (formerly the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women), under the Office of the President.

The PCW, will be the primary policy-making and coordinating body for women and gender equality concerns. It will ensure that government agencies mentioned are effectively implementing the law.

The law also applies to women working abroad through the designation of a gender focal point in the consular section of the Philippine embassies or consulates, who shall be trained on gender and development in handling gender concerns of women migrant workers, especially those in distress.

Other agencies like the Departments of Labor and Employment and Social Welfare and Development are also mandated to cooperate in strengthening the Philippine foreign posts’ programs for the delivery of services to women migrant workers, consistent with the one country team approach in foreign service.

All government offices, including local governments and government owned and controlled corporations, are responsible in implementing the provisions of the Magna Carta that falls within their mandate, particularly those that guarantee rights of women requiring specific action from the State.


Thousands flock to ‘Serbisyo sa Mendiola’ for jobs, livelihood training and free services

MANILA, August 13 (PNA) - An endless stream of job applicants and people looking for livelihood opportunities flocked to the “Serbisyo sa Mendiola” trade and job fair at the Mendiola parking lot on Thursday.

The “Serbisyo sa Mendiola” is part of the continuing effort of the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to help improve the people’s economic status and uplift their financial condition by bringing the needed services to the people.

Coordinated by the Presidential Action Center (PACE) and the Office of External Affairs (OEA), the fair pooled together the different line agencies of the national government that have direct importance in the delivery of basic social services, as well as several big private companies and manning agencies to bring jobs, basic services and livelihood opportunities to the people living in the vicinity of Malacañang.

Among the services offered by government agencies at the fair were free livelihood training seminars from the Technology Resource Center (TRC), free haircut and massage from the Technical Education and Skills Development (TESDA), free overseas call to overseas Filipino workers from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), cheap medicines from the Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC), cheap basic commodities from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and subsidized rice from the National Food Authority (NFA).

The Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) gave away free vegetable seeds, seedlings of fruit bearing trees and educational pamphlets.

For their part, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) offered free legal services.

Even the Presidential Security Group (PSG) had its own booth which served as a first aid station that offered free blood pressure checkups.

Meanwhile, hopeful applicants seeking local and overseas employment who lined up at the various booths put up by private companies were very pleased with the mobile centers of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the National Statistics Office (NSO).

Those still without their birth certificates and NBI clearances literally took only a few steps to get their needed documents. NBI clearances were processed and released in only five minutes while birth certificates would be received by the applicants through mail.

Overall, the “Serbisyo sa Mendiola” was a huge success.

Mrs. Restina Magno, a 68-year-old widow and grandmother of 10 from nearby Concepcion Aguila St., was among the scores of old women who availed of the free haircut offered by TESDA.

"It had been almost two years now since I have been to a parlor to have my hair styled because extra money is hard to come by. Now I feel rejuvenated and I have the government to thank for this free gift," Aling Restin, as she is fondly called, said.

Meanwhile, 36-year-old Jorge Bagobo from Bicutan, Taguig City, a former overseas Filipino in the Middle East, said he just happened to pass by Mendiola and saw the fair.

He applied at one of the participating manning agencies as a hotel and restaurant staff.

"After applying and getting a schedule for a preliminary interview, I suddenly remembered that my birth and NBI certificates were both expired. That was when I saw the NSO and NBI mobile centers just across the job fair booths," he said happily.

It just took him additional 15 minutes to have the two documents processed.
Even students from nearby colleges along Mendiola, especially the graduating ones, availed of the services offered by NSO.

Like everybody else who went to the event, all of them came out satisfied and very grateful to the government for bringing the services closer to them.

Moreover, just like the People's Government Mobile Action (PGMA) caravans, which had national government agencies reaching out to the different provinces of the country to offer their services for almost three years now, ‘Serbisyo sa Mendiola’ succeeded in bringing needed social services closer to the people and showing them where their taxes are being spent.


AFP deploys combat troops, war planes, helicopters as fierce gunbattle rages in Basilan

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Aug. 13 – The Armed Forces Of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (WestMincom) based in Zamboanga Peninsula on Thursday deployed more combat troops in Basilan province as fierce gunbattle still rages where 20 Abu Sayyaf bandits were already reported killed and unaccounted number of others were critically wounded.

A flash report reaching this frontier city of Northern Mindanao also stated that at least 22 government soldiers were also killed in clashes which began at dawn Wednesday in Silangkom, and Baguindan areas in Tipo-tipo town, both in Basilan province. .

Identities of the dead soldiers were withheld by the WestMincom pending notification of their next of kin.

Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, chief of WestMincom ordered Brig. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, commanding general of the 1st Marine brigade the deployment of more combat troops and war earth-moving equipments in the battle front.

The WestMincom chief also ordered the Philippine Air Force (PAF) strike wing and helicopter wing commanders the deployment of war planes and attack helicopters to extend air cover to the ground troops.

The Naval Forces of the WestMincom also directed set up blocking positions along the coastal areas in Basilan.

Initial reports indicated that the Abu Sayyaf bandits were reportedly led by Puruji Indama.

More than four battalions of Marine soldiers are now deployed in Basilan province, particularly in Tipo-tipo, according to a WestMincom tactical officer who requested anonymity.

The initial engagement occurred when Marine soldiers launched their offensive position in Silangkom area, he said.

As this developed, sporadic gun fighting is still raging in the mountainous jungle areas in Silangkom and Baguindan.

In her recent State of the Nation Address, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the wiping out of Abu Sayyaf bandits to pave way for the full economic development in that southern tip province of Zamboanga Peninsula.


DOH gets satisfaction ratings for looking after the public’s health - SWS survey

The Department of Health (DOH) today expressed its gratitude to the public for conveying their confidence in the government’s capability of looking after their health in the light of the most recent survey results that showed positive satisfaction ratings.

The Social Weather Stations (SWS) latest survey revealed that the government got a +40 satisfaction rating (the highest net rating among the 13 issues surveyed) on “the issue of protecting the public from the outbreak of diseases” and a +14 rating for “ensuring that medicines are available”.

“We are very happy that all our efforts did not go to waste. Our government, under the leadership of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and its health workers are selflessly and relentlessly working to give the public better health services and we are very thankful to the public for appreciating all these endeavors,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.

The health chief said that during the height of the A (H1N1) outbreak earlier this year and even with the year-round continuous threat of dengue, health workers have never tired of serving the public and have always had their best interest in mind.

“The battle against A (H1N1) is not easy. I am not saying that the fight has already been won and that we have squashed the novel virus. But due to the diligent work of our people at DOH and our front liners in the field and in the hospitals, we were able to stall the increase in the number of cases and treat those afflicted accordingly,” Duque explained.

Duque said that to maximize the impact of the agency’s information drive against this disease, the DOH did not just rely on traditional means such as lectures and other community-organized meetings but also tried using mass media as a channel to expand its reach.

“We have infomercials to augment our health promotion efforts. We have print advertisements in leading newspapers, we have television commercials, and we have radio plugs that can reach the farthest areas. We even partnered with Smart to use SMS text in disseminating vital information on A (H1N1). We really did not leave any stone unturned just to make the information get to the public and it is paying off because it raised their awareness,” Duque stressed.

The health chief said that the 4-S Kontra Dengue campaign launched in 2006 had been given the same media treatments and made the public more aware of its prevention and control. “The government’s efforts in ensuring medicines are affordable to the public is not an easy feat also.
The fight for cheaper medicines was a long and tedious battle with the multinationals for years and now that a law has finally been signed to make the costs of essential medicines half by 50%, its time for the public to reap,” Duque said.

Duque said that as the head of the DOH he has an accountability of informing the public about these developments.“We need to make the most out of our resources and have to resort to all information channels that will best deliver it: the media. It’s a very good tool and is cost-effective if we compare it to the expenses that may possibly incur when thousands of the public get sick,” Duque said.