PIA Dispatch - Wednesday, September 9, 2009

LGUs to continue receiving government assistance

MANTICAO, Misamis Oriental – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Wednesday assured local government units (LGUs) of assistance despite the devolution of basic services to the provincial level.

The President gave the assurance during the inauguration and turnover ceremonies of the Misamis Oriental Provincial Hospital to this municipality.

In her short message after a tour of the recently completed MOPH-Manticao, the President said that basic services, particularly those involving health, would still receive financial assistance from the government.

“We inaugurate this joint project despite the devolution of health services, including the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), (to the provincial level), the President said in the local dialect.

“Health services will still receive contributions from my administration so that we can upgrade the other hospitals in the province and thereby increase their ability to serve more of our countrymen,” she added.

The President cited the nursing staff of the MOPH-Manticao who will undergo further training for six months to improve their chances of landing better paying jobs.

“I wish to extend my warmest welcome to our nurses and nursing trainees who in six months will undergo a rigorous training schedule to hone their skills while waiting for their permanent working contracts to be employed as full-pledged nurses,” she said.

The President lauded workers here who have availed of the government's emergency employment program and have become valued citizens of the province for the income they bring to their respective families.

“I am glad that our emergency employment has helped not only our nurses in rural services but the province's workforce in general and has been instrumental in bringing down unemployment despite the downturn and recession affecting the world's economies,” she said.


Palace welcomes Noynoy’s bid for presidency

Malacañang on Wednesday welcomed the decision of Senator Benigno Aquino III to run for president in the May 2010 presidential elections.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, in a press briefing, said Aquino’s decision serves as a “motivation (for the Lakas-Kampi- CMD) to ensure it strategizes properly” in choosing its standard bearer.

He however downplayed the impact of the announcement, saying it has been overshadowed by Senator Manuel Roxas II’s decision to quit the presidential race in favor of Aquino.

”Senator Mar Roxas’ passing on the baton to Aquino two weeks ago made Aquino’s announcement unexciting,” he said.

Despite the alleged euphoria over Aquino’s bid for the presidency, Ermita said he still foresees a victory by the administration candidate based on qualifications and capabilities, and with the full support of the party’s mechanism.

The administration party however has yet to choose its standard bearer.

Ermita admitted Aquino possesses the qualifications of a presidential candidate but that his being popular now is more of an offshoot of the death of former President Corazon Aquino, the acknowledged democracy icon in the country.

He said it is interesting to see how long the euphoria over Aquino’s decision to run for president will last.

Aquino timed his announcement on the 40th day of his mother’s death, a significant Catholic tradition for the departed.


PGMA orders NDCC to step up anti-calamity measures

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo directed Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. today to strictly implement all mitigating measures to prevent loss of lives especially during typhoons and calamities.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the President issued the directives to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) headed by Teodoro in the midst of continued rains due to the inter-tropical convergence zone and the fast approaching tropical depression “Maring.”

Ermita noted NDCC and its attached local agencies should ensure that affected municipalities implement appropriate steps to prevent flooding and prevent soil erosions.

NDCC, he added, should also put up early warning systems in shoreline communities.

As of 4 a.m. today, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) announced that tropical depression "Maring" maintained its strength and was estimated at 230 kilometers west northwest of Dagupan City in Pangasinan.

Public storm signal No. 1 was hoisted over Ilocos Sur, La Union, western Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, and Lubang Islands.

Due to the new tropical depression, Luzon will experience occasional rains while the western sections of the region will experience frequent rains that may trigger flashfloods and landslides.


DepEd suspends afternoon classes up to high school level in Metro Manila

Due to heavy rains spawned by tropical depression “Maring,” the Department of Education (DepEd) declared on Wednesday the suspension of afternoon classes up to high school level in the National Capital Region (NCR).

DepEd-NCR Director Teresita Domalanta said the suspension of the afternoon session applies to all pre-school, elementary school and secondary school levels.

“Local DepEd officials and local government executives in other areas may decide to suspend classes in their areas depending on local situation, including flooding and landslides, which may endanger our students," she added.

Earlier, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said “Maring” would bring heavy rains today to some parts of Luzon.

"Luzon will experience occasional rains, becoming frequent over the western sections which may trigger flash floods and landslides," PAGASA said.

Storm Signal No. 1 was raised over Ilocos Sur, La Union, western Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan and Lubang islands.

DepEd had earlier announced the suspension of pre-school classes in the areas affected by Storm Signal No. 1, even as it said local officials have the discretion to temporary cancel classes if the situation warrants it.


DOH turnovers morphine to UP-PGH for pain management

Manila – Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III leads today the official turnover of millions of peso worth of morphine to the University of the Philippines- Philippine General Hospital, to be use in the pain management and palliative care for the hospital’s indigent patients who are suffering from pain from chronic and terminal illnesses like cancer.

According to Secretary Duque, the DOH procurement and distribution of ten million pesos worth of morphine to affiliated hospitals and hospices nationwide was made to narrow the gap of accessibility and availability of opioids, especially for indigents and people living in remote areas.

Subsequent turnover ceremonies will take place in Visayas and Mindanao.

Last year during the international workshop organized by the Philippines Technical Working Group for Opioid Availability and Accessibility, whose member agencies include the DOH, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Dangerous Drugs Board, PHILHEALTH, and other health organizations, Secretary Duque pledged his full support to making opioids such as morphine more available and accessible to the thousands of Filipinos needlessly suffering from pain.

Pain in cancer and other terminal and chronic illnesses is not uncommon especially in the later stages of the disease.

Inadequate pain relief can impair many aspects of life resulting to failure to provide the highest attainable standards of health and quality of life to patients suffering from terminal illnesses.

At least 200,000 Filipinos cancer patients are suffering from pain everyday.

In the Philippines, the relief and management of cancer pain is benchmarked on the “WHO Three-Step Ladder of Cancer Pain Management.

”But the success of the cancer pain management method depends on the availability of, and patient access to, medicines that can relieve severe pain, such as morphine and other opioids.

Opioid analgesics, in the class of morphine, are safe, effective and essential for the medical management of pain.

Latest data (2006) from the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), which is the international narcotic regulatory authority for the United Nations, put the Philippines’ morphine consumption at a minimal 0.2351 milligram per capita.

Morphine consumption in the Philippines has steadily increased from less than 15 kilograms in 1999 to almost 20 kilograms in 2006, but the country is still tailing behind developed countries and even other neighboring nations in the Southeast Asian region.

The low usage of opioid in the country is a result of various factors including opioids regulatory and distribution issues, existence of misconceptions about morphine at different levels, and coordination issues between the stakeholders at the service level.


DBP to serve remittance needs of Macau-based OFWs

State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Industrial and Commercial Banking Corporation of China Ltd (ICBC) recently signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for a remittance partnership that will enable DBP to reach out to overseas Filipino workers based in China.

Through its partnership with ICBC, DBP will now be able to handle and serve the remittances of Filipino migrant workers particularly in Macau, a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China.

DBP chairman Patricia A. Sto. Tomas expressed gratitude to ICBC officials led by its chairman Zhu Xiaoping and vice chairman and CEO Shen Xiaoqi for partnering with DBP.

She also expressed hopes that the relationship between the two banks will be strengthened not only to cover remittances but also other banking services.

ICBC is the world’s biggest bank with more than 300,000 personnel. It also has overseas branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Australia, Germany, United Arab Emirates, United States and United Kingdom.