by anyajulia | Dec 11, 2009 | Headlines, National News
The Civil Service Commission (CSC) seeks stronger protection for civil servants against work-related sexual harassment.
Calling unto the Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI), Acting Chair Cesar D. Buenaflor said that an active CODI will bring swift justice to victims and deter offenders.
From 1994 to 2009, the CSC’s Office for Legal Affairs has recorded a total of 132 sexual harassment cases where 61% or 81 have been resolved. Of the resolved cases, 73% or 59 were decided in favor of the complainant.
Republic Act No. 7877, otherwise known as the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995, mandates the creation of a CODI in all work, educational or training institutions. The committee shall be tasked to increase understanding and prevent incidents of sexual harassments, as well as conduct investigation of alleged cases.
The CSC, as the central personnel agency of government, initiates and supports efforts to ensure that sexual harassment has no place in government offices and activities/operations. In line with its participation in the 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women (VAW), which runs from November 25 to December 12, the CSC will undertake a series of discussions on VAW- and gender-related topics that aims to prevent violence and promote gender equality and awareness in the public sector. (CSC)
Click here for full article.
by anyajulia | Dec 10, 2009 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
BOHOL Local Monitoring Board (LMB) acts as the big brother to the country’s peace advocates when it becomes a learning model for the five provinces with set up but dormant human rights monitoring teams.
And like them, the vigilant and working Bohol LMB also hopes to learn something from these groups at a workshop set here on the third week of this month.
Visiting Bohol this December 16-18 are LMBS in San Jose Tarlac, Bondoc Peninsula in Quezon Province, Negros Occidental, Masbate and Sorsogon, all dormant boards wanting to learn from Bohol.
LMB Chairman Romeo Teruel said the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) brings to Bohol the four set up LMBs across the country.
It presents to us a perfect opportunity to learn from other peace building processes across the country and at the same time enrich our processes, says Romeo Teruel, LMB
In efforts to cascade monitoring of the observance of the agreements entered into by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Communist Party of the Philippines, New Peoples Army and the National Democratic Front, both camps put in the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC).
But even with the mechanism set up in the national levels, Boholanos saw an opportunity to bring down the level of monitoring to the provinces and the OPAPP was just too supportive of the move, Teruel explained.
The setting up of the local LMB by virtue of an executive order by the governor pushed members to actively engage in monitoring insurgency related human rights violations as well as put up human rights education and advocacy forums credited now in the drastic decrease in reported violations, claimed Dr. Asteria Estoreon of the local LMB.
Operated in an area with other innovative practices in peace building anchored in poverty alleviation, people empowerment and cultural-revolution, Bohol significantly figured out in the country’s peace map.
Now with record successes in the implementation of the national military template on its special operations teams (SOTs), Bohol experience has also been widely credited as responsible in stabilizing the peace situation. (PIA)
by anyajulia | Dec 10, 2009 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
INTERNATIONAL Human Rights Day, December 10, becomes even more meaningful to the Boholano Kauban sa Reporma (KRs) as the provincial government opens a 50 hectare resettlement site for them to finally own lands in their efforts to be in the mainstream.
On the same day when the United Nations pushed for the adoption of the Universal Declaration on the Human Rights after the vicious attack on Pearl Harbor was retaliated with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where the war cause the death of multitude of innocent civilians.
With the Philippines as one leading signatory to the declaration, it also vows to advance the cause of rights protection, premier of which is taking alternatives to rebels who decide to go the way to peace.
Then popularly called Kanhi Rebelde, Bohol’s KRs now name their new haven Kalayaan Resettlement which would be their new home after finally giving up the fight against the government.
With the office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and the office of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Provincial government has allocated hectares of farm lots and residential areas to finally afford KRs a decent living while partnering with government in development.
Now made even more ideal with some members of the resettlement as non-rebels, the Kalayaan resettlement site puts in the governments social integration component, explains an OPAPP functionary who came to Bohol recently.
How could former rebels really assimilate ordinary life when they would be resettled in a land occupied by former comrades who used to think alike? asked a member of the Provincial Peace and Order Council in an interview.
We proposed for the integration with a real community where former warriors now live side by side with ordinary civilians to be able to make them adjust better to the real world, he added. (PIA)
by anyajulia | Dec 9, 2009 | Headlines, National News
UNITED States (US) Government ups its food aid in its disaster relief and recovery aid to the Philippines by another $ 10 Million, U.S. Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney announced.
The additional $10 million brings the total US help to $30 M.
According to reports, Kenney said “the additional assistance will help address the continuing needs of our friends in the Philippines, including the needs of communities not far from where we are standing.”
Kenney was in Baguio then, standing not more that a few kilometers from where the worst landslide of the year left many people permanently buried.
Immediately after Tropical Storm Ondoy, Typhoon Pepeng, and Typhoon Santi ravaged the Philippines, the United States provided more than $14 million in rescue and relief aid to help over 10 million victims of the storms.
Then on November 12, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodman Clinton announced an additional $5.2 million in disaster relief and recovery assistance during her visit to the Philippines.
The additional assistance unveiled by the Secretary will meet vital education, water and sanitation, health, and disaster preparedness needs.
The WFP logistics hub is part of the U.S. Government effort to address accessibility concerns in the northern areas of Luzon. Many barangays are still isolated by damaged bridges and severe landslides.
The WFP received $1 million to provide logistics support in the distribution of relief goods and much needed supplies.
Through the assistance, the Philippine government and humanitarian agencies are now able provide assistance to more than 2 million people.
“I commend Filipinos and our international partners for their long-term commitment to help those most affected by the storms. As we move our efforts from relief to rehabilitation and recovery, logistics will increasingly become a key component in future undertakings,” said Ambassador Kenney.
Ambassador Kenney will visit Barangay Little Kibungan in La Trinidad, Municipality of Benguet Province, one of the hardest hit areas in the Cordillera Administrative Region due to a landslide that killed 77 people on October 8.
Ambassador Kenney will also participate in the handover of relief items provided with U.S. Government logistical support to 142 Little Kibungan residents still displaced from their homes.
by anyajulia | Dec 9, 2009 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
BOHOL Commission on Human Rights (CHR) had only 23 cases of alleged human rights violations, but most of the complaints are against public officials or the military and police.
Documents furnished by the CHR showed that a total of 29 alleged violators are from the ranks of barangay officials, the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Army, agents of the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA), government employees and retired public school teacher.
Some civilians, which also include a dive instructor put in a combined 8 respondents to total the 37.
The data also shows that the government, who is supposed to lead the human rights advocacy as constitutional mandate needs to double up and internalized its sincere efforts to spread human rights and advance the cause, cites one observer at the Kapihan.
Sectors in government especially barangay officials and the police ought to know more than the ordinary civilians about the human rights, and that they must be last to be complained, observed one at the Kapihan.
The weekly forum tackled the theme Human Rights as a key to Peace and Development in preparation to the Human right Week December 4-10.
Clearly with human rights advocacy as an after-effect of irrelevant insurgency problem, Director Alejandro Alonzo Jr said there has been a note correlation between insurgency and human rights violations.
He pointed out that in 1999, or at the time when insurgency was at is peak, CHR Bohol recorded 57 alleged violations, the number drastically cut down to half or even lower in 2008 when insurgency in Bohol has become irrelevant.
This year CHR Bohol tallied the 23 cases since January to November, the most of the cases filed in August.
Based on the CHR records, after August, with 5 cases, January put in 4 while April and July each have three.
The CHR found a two complaints in June while the rest of the months each have single cases.
The CHR however pointed out that the reprieve in this number of cases may show that the human rights education conducted by both the civilian and military organizations have worked, albeit slowly. (PIA)
