DOLE intensifies campaign vs illegal recruitment

TACLOBAN CITY Leyte, August 6 – The Department of Labor and Employment in Eastern Visayas is set to intensify its anti-illegal recruitment campaign amidst recent developments of people being illegally recruited by unscrupulous persons.



DOLE Regional Director Forter Puguon through DOLE Information Officer Dondon Doroja informed that this move is in answer to the directive of DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.



DOLE Region 8 is partnering with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the various local government units in Eastern Visayas in the conduct of advocacy campaign against illegal recruitment.



Mr. Doroja said that DOLE and POEA are scheduled to conduct an advocacy campaign in Catarman, Northern Samar on August 9, 2011. He said similar campaign will be conducted in the capital towns of the provinces composing the Region.



Mr. Doroja added that many of the victims of illegal recruitment are from the hinterland barangays of far-flung local government units.



During the advocacy campaign, DOLE and POEA will educate the people on what illegal recruitment is all about, how to identify an illegal recruiter, what are the penalties for illegal recruitment, and how they can avoid illegal recruitment.



The public will also be informed on the various modus operandi of illegal recruiters so that they will not fall prey as victims of these unscrupulous illegal recruiters.

Section 6 of Republic Act 8042 defines illegal recruitment as any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring or procuring workers and includes referring, contract services, promising or advertising for employment abroad, whether for profit or not, when undertaken by a non-license or non-holder of authority contemplated under Art 13 (F) of Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines: Provided, That any such non-licensee or non-holder who, in any manner, offers or promises for a fee employment abroad to two or more persons shall be deemed so engaged. (opt)

Aquino vows leadership by example No sirens for Pnoy; others must follow

Tacloban City (July 1) -- President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III in no simple words revealed his resolve to practice leadership by example.
"Kayo ba ay nagtiis na sa trapiko para lamang masingitan ng isang naghahari-hariang de-wangwang sa kalsada? Ako rin. Kayo ba ay sawang-sawa na sa pamahalaang sa halip na magsilbi sa taumbayan ay kailangan pa nila itong pagpasensiyahan at tiisin? Ako rin."
True enough, on his way to the Quirino Grandstand with former President Arroyo, their car stopped when the traffic lights turned red.
President Aquino knows that becoming a leader means that one must now possess much more than good intentions; he must also have the ability to translate intention into reality and to sustain it with action and behavior.
During the first press conference under the new Administration, the new Justice Secretary said that she would make a research on what particular law, the prohibition on the use of sirens, is found.
The Philippine Information Agency found Presidential Decree NO. 96 dated January 13, 1973, declaring unlawful the use or attachment of sirens, bell, horns, whistles or similar gadgets that emit exceptionally loud or startling sounds, including domelights, and other signaling or flashing devices on motor vehicles and providing certain exceptions therefore.
That it shall be unlawful for the owner or possessor of any motor vehicle to use or attach to his vehicle any siren, bell, horn, whistle, or other similar gadgets that produce exceptionally loud or startling sound, including domelights, blinkers and other similar signalling or flashing devices.
The gadgets or devices mentioned above may be attached to and use only on motor vehicles designated for official use by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Bureau of Investigation, Land Transportation Commission, Police Departments, Fire Departments, and hospital ambulances.
In compliance with the directive of President Aquino, the Philippine National Police, immediately after the Presidents Inaugural Address, has banned the use of sirens for its vehicles escorting VIPs. At the same time, the PNP will no longer allow its vehicles to counterflow when escorting VIPs. (olive tiu)

P-Noy highlights role of media as sentinel of democracy

Tacloban City (December 3) -- President Benigno S. Aquino III stressed the active role of media in protecting the well-being of the people.
President Aquino made the statement speaking at the silver anniversary of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the launching of the commemorative book entitled "From Ninoy to Noynoy: 25 years of the Philippine Daily Inquirer" on December 1, at the Makati Shangrila in Makati City.
"There is no doubt that media plays an active role in guarding our freedoms and making the powerful accountable," the President said, stressing that when our institutions were weak, "the media put truth to power for the well-being of our citizenry."
The President underscored that media does not operate in a vacuum or was it not immune from the pressures heaped by influential people in the government, he urged all journalists and broadcasters to watch their own ranks and condemn their colleagues who try to exert a corrupt influence on the government.
He also asked the assistance of media to help the government in maintaining the highest form of professionalism, integrity, and truth-telling.
"Together, it is vital for us to raise the level of public discourse so that important issues are distinguished from vulgar personalities and trivial stories," he added.
Quoting his late father and icon of people power, Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., the President said that "a free media is indispensable if a democracy is to function efficiently, if it is to be real. The people, who are sovereign, must be adequately informed all the time."
The President acknowledged the contribution of Inquirer for igniting and catalyzing professionalism through its fair reporting and exposes against the government, having started before martial rule and continuing to the present.
He assured the men and women of the country's leading broadsheet that his government is not after fame but to protect the meaning of democracy which the Filipino people had recovered from 20 years of dictatorial rule of former President Ferdinand R. Marcos.
"This is the path the Filipino people have committed to, and we all have a role to play in defending it," he said and admitted that he will personally proudly claim and inform his late parents, Senator Ninoy and former President Corazon Aquino, if his administration succeeds in defending democracy during his term which would be ending in 2016. (olive tiu)

Tacloban, Palo, water-less till July 20?

After the rotating brownouts, comes three water-less days.
Tacloban folks walked up Sunday morning to find out that air not water come out of the faucets. Good for those who woke up before 6:00 o’clock in the morning, at least they were able to take a bath and cook their breakfast.
Telephone brigades had one message. Was this water-less day announced? The answers were the same- NO.
Verifications made from the Leyte Metropolitan Waterworks District chairman of the board showed that two water pipes were busted, one at Purisima Bridge and another one at the Diversion Road near Camella Homes and Pawing, both in Palo, Leyte.
“It might take at about three days before repairs are completed,” LMWD Board Chairman Ted de Veyra said in a phone conversation with a Leyte Board Member. This is the information he received, according to him.
This means that Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, or July 18, 19, 20, the affected areas, mostly in Tacloban City, will be water-less.
Who would last three days without taking a bath, without washing the dishes, without water in the water closets, without washing clothes.
No problem for those who have overhead water tanks. What about the middle-income and poor families? They will incur additional expenses buying water from those who have in the nearby municipalities.
For those who do not have water jugs just like the writer, there is also the problem of buying water jugs which was found out to be expensive. Water jugs with faucets cost about P250. Empty jugs of soy sauce or lubricants cost about P60 but they have to be washed well, otherwise, one will smell like soy sauce or lubricant after taking a bath.
If one will buy one water jug with faucet at P250, he or she will spend more buying water.
Verifications made with the purified water suppliers showed that one jug with faucet of purified water costs P235. This is even cheaper than buying just the water jug alone.
So, ten water jugs would cost P2, 350 which is equivalent to about six months water bills if paid at LMWD. But water is so important. One whole day of brown out could be bearable but one whole day without water is unthinkable. So, never mind the additional expenses.
Water bought; there was time to patiently call other LMWD officials. At about 11:10, Manager Gang Villasin was contacted by the same Leyte Board Member.
Manager Gang confirmed that indeed, two pipes were busted. The LMWD people immediately were mobilized and started repair works as soon as the problem was reported to the Manager.
With the kind of work the LMWD people are doing, water will be restored within the day, Manager Gang informed.
What a relief! Never mind that the writer has already spent more than two thousand pesos. What is important is that the water consumers specially the disadvantaged families will not spend this Sunday without the most important necessity – WATER.

Mission Marines: HUNTING DOWN THE CULPRITS

Hunt down the culprits. This is the mission of the company of Marines detailed with the Presidential Security Group, which was sent off by no less than President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Saturday.

This is in line with the earlier directive of the President for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) "to hunt down and arrest those who treacherously killed and beheaded the soldiers," stressing "there can be no excuses or alibis for these acts of savagery."

It would be recalled that the Moro Islamic Liberation Army fighters mercilessly killed on July 10 in Basilan, fourteen members of the Marines, beheading and mutilating ten of them, while on a mission to rescue kidnapped Italian priest Gian Carlo Bossi.

The President’s action of sacrificing her own personal security by sending a part of the Presidential Security Group to help in the manhunt, only shows that the Philippine Government values the life of the 14 marines and the it will never allow any one to trample on the rule of law and put a threat on the peace and security of the people, by sowing terrorist acts.

As aptly stated in the invocation of PSG Chaplain Col. Pelagio Namocatcat, Jr. when he called on the Almighty God to make the marines lovers of peace but ever prepared to defend it.
The barbaric killing and mutilation of the 14 Marines also led the Association of Generals and Flag Officers (AGFO) to announce its support for any "punitive action" by the military against the group that perpetrated the "cruel and animalistic conduct of decapitating and chopping off private parts, ears, arms and legs of the dead Marines (that) cannot but evoke anger as it is horrifying."

In a statement, the AGFO, headed by retired Brig. Gen. Jaime Echevarria, said justice has to be "meted against the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf for perpetrating such hideous and dreadful crimes."

The government continues its search for lasting peace in Mindanao to ensure that the Filipino people will continue to live in an atmosphere of security and development.

WHEN EDUCATED WORKING WOMEN ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE BATTERED

When women from the far-flung areas become battered wives, we are not surprised. We readily assume that these are not educated, they do not know their rights, and hence, they cannot defend themselves.

So the government targets the women in the rural areas, educating them on their rights and responsibilities, arming them with the necessary skills so that they will not fall prey to battering husbands.

What a shocking surprise it is then to know that educated women, working women, women who are in the government service allow themselves to be battered, physically, emotionally, psychologically!

Read this. Belle (not her real name) is a frontline staff in a government agency in Tacloban City. She is a smart staff, otherwise, she will not be assigned as a front liner. But what was described to the writer last night, is far from the Belle she used to know. Belle is lost, confused, disoriented.
Late yesterday afternoon, two social worker friends, answered to a call for help from a college student whose mother sent her a text message asking the daughter to save her because she has been lacked in her house for days.

Belle, the mother, was living with a partner in one of the housing villages in Tacloban City. Her live-in partner lacked her up and did not allow her to leave their abode as a punishment for giving him only P1,500.00 from her winning of P10,000.00. Belle gave the lot of the winning to her daughter and son, who are both studying and who needed the money for their tuition fees.
When the composite team together with the daughter to the abode of her mother, they practically had to pull her out of her abode. The live-in partner who was leaving the abode when the team arrived, came back to sweetly ask Belle to eat first. He was told by the social workers to just talk to her at the women's desk of the Tacloban City Police Station.

Why did Belle not seek help earlier? She said that her live-in partner threatened to show her delicate video to her office mates and that she was afraid he might harm her children as well.
Belle and her daughter are now in the custody of the Haven. What a shock that she has never heard of RA 9262.

There are many other faceless Belles in the bureaucracy. Several of them, we know. The story of Belle is an eye opener that even educated women, women in the government service, are themselves victims of wife battering.

For another government worker, Thel, it was just a slap. He apologized. He said he'd never do it again. But he did do it again and the next time he hurt her. He was contrite. She was confused. In the years after the first slap, the violence escalated. She was hospitalized twice. But she didn't leave. She loved him. He said he loved her. And he was always so sorry afterwards. It's so difficult but it is very important to understand why she stayed and what she can do to break the cycle of battering.

Most of us have a need to see only the good in people, especially the people we love. When the 'love' signal is mixed with the "violence' signal, it's very difficult to see the violence for what it is. This is especially true if the violence has gone on for long periods of time, or if there is a long period between violent episodes.

Indeed, it is true that for every effect, there is a cause. Battered women often feel, or are made to feel, that they are to blame for their battering. It is very difficult for them to place the responsibility where it belongs, to the batterer. Some people have said that a battered woman is very much like a prisoner of war because she is often dependent on her batterer emotionally and physically.

A batterer is often verbally as well as physically abusive. He may tell his victim that she is worthless and that he is the only one who will ever love her. At the same time, he tells her that she doesn't deserve his love. The batterer might also try to isolate his victim from the friendship of others, from participating in social activities or from holding a job. He wants total control. And one way he gets it is by beating down his victim's sense of self.
Many women feel that they would not be able to make it on their own if they left the batterer, or if the batterer were jailed. A woman may worry that, without a mate, she won't be able to support herself or her children. These are very real concerns and must be addressed by any intervention.

A battered woman needs to talk to people who can help. Friends and relatives can be supportive and helpful, sometimes providing emotional stamina, which the victim does not have, for herself.
It is about time, the plight of the women in government service be looked into. It is time the women in government create women's advocacy groups to help the battered woman leave her battering relationship and turn her life and the lives of her children around.

THIS IS TO HAVE SUCCEEDED

Lately, I have been reading old notes and this note writen in an old sheet of pink paper struck my attention -- it was among the remnants of my high school things, imagine!

Reading it, I guess, it reflects my thoughts and my sentiments exactly. Here it goes...

"To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch ... to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!"