by magnolia_eic | Mar 8, 2011 | Headlines, National News
PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III will ensure the welfare of Filipinos working in Singapore when
he visits that country this week. The President leaves Tuesday for a five-day state visit to
Indonesia and Singapore.
Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ramon
Carandang, said the President will prioritize knowing the conditions of Filipino workers in
Singapore because many of them work there than in Indonesia.
There are few Filipinos working in Indonesia and most of them are management and high
ranking professionals so they are more secured, he said.
“There’s really a need to focus on those working in Singapore because there are many more of
them there. Second, they are in need of more assistance because most of them are domestic
workers. So, the issue regarding the welfare benefit of the OFWs is more for Singapore than for
Indonesia” Carandang said.
According to the Foreign Affairs department the President’s trips are aimed at strengthening ties
with the neighboring countries. The visit also follows a tradition for new heads of state to pay
courtesy visits to fellow ASEAN-member countries.
After Indonesia, the President will fly to Singapore on Mar. 9, where he is set to hold briefings
at the Changi Reclamation Plant, Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore Technologies Kinetics and
the Changi International Airport. He leaves for Manila Mar. 11.
The Singaporean government will confer on President Aquino the honor of having an orchid
breed named after him, a courtesy accorded to a visiting heads of state. President Aquino
will also meet with the Filipino community in Singapore as well as with business taipans and
organizations to gain support for government investments. (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 7, 2011 | Headlines
CITING consumer protection against unscrupulous traders and retailers, the Department of Trade and Industry
urges local government intervention in making sure trade malpractice does not happen in their localities.
In a letter sent to local government units, Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo calls local government units
increased visibility and intensified monitoring of prices.
This is in the light of increasing prices of basic necessities and prime commodities which may be caused by
increases in prices of imported raw materials.
The recent crisis in Western Africa and on several countries in the Middle East has also pushed several
economies on a bind that the repercussions are felt even on oil consuming countries, including the Philippines.
Domingo then asks the Local Price Monitoring Councils (LPMC), which are tasked to monitor price irregular
fluctuations and trade malpractice to conduct regular updating of price billboards installed in wet markets, or
installation of such when there is none.
These price billboards give consumers price data at a glance and this facilitates more informed decisions as
well as stops price manipulation by individual businessmen with interests, explained authorities at the local
trade office.
Aside from price billboards, the DTI asks the LPCC, with the coordination of the LGU to set up Timbangan ng
Bayan so consumers can compare the weights and measures used by individual businesses in the wetmarket.
The DTI Secretary, who is also the Chair for the National Price Coordinating Council also asks for regular
inspection of weighing scales as well as price tags in al retail outlets including wet markets.
According to Joe Hibaya, local DTI consumer protection division chief, fair trade laws demand that retailers put
up visible price tags on every piece of goods, tags that show no erasures.
He even went on to say that the price tag law rules that upon payment, the consumers must insist the price
tag value as it prevails when there is a discrepancy over price scanners and price tags.
At the recent Kapihan sa PIA which tackled on Fair Trade Laws in the real threat of unwarranted price
increases in basic goods, Hibaya added that most major stores department stores and supermarkets have set
up Consumer Welfare Desks to attend to consumer complaints.
Moreover, Domingo, in his letter sent to local government unit heads enjoined on continued joining of
forces in keeping the commitment of protecting the welfare of consumers against any form of trade abuse.
(racPIABohol)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 2, 2011 | Headlines, National News
AMID threat of more fuel price hikes, the Department of Energy reassured consumers
Wednesday it can protect them from profiteers, even without emergency powers for President
Benigno Aquino III.
DOE Undersecretary Jose Layug Jr. also said giving Aquino emergency powers to deal with
rising fuel prices may invite doubts from some groups, adding, “some people might even
spread speculations about the implications of such powers.”
“We have sufficient laws and mechanisms to protect the public against profiteering. We do
not see the need for emergency powers,” Layug said in Filipino in a radio interview.
Earlier, Layug said the DOE has asked oil companies for a regular advisory on their pricing
trends based on world prices of oil, and that they should increase their inventories from 15 to
30 days. He also said the DOE meets every Monday with transport groups to brief them on
possible fuel price adjustments.
On the other hand, President Aquino had thumbed down emergency powers as proposed by
members of the House of Representatives last weekend. (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 2, 2011 | Headlines, National News
THE Department of Foreign Affairs and the National Bureau of Investigation are working to
get the medical and dental records of 11 Filipinos still missing in the magnitude-6.3 quake
that hit New Zealand last month.
Officials from the DFA and NBI requested the relatives of the missing Filipinos for fingerprint
and dental records so a Philippine Embassy team can help identify bodies, or survivors,
recovered from the rubble.
“[Philippine] Charge d’Affaires (CDA) in Wellington Giovanni Palec has reported the New
Zealand police are gathering pieces of evidence including personal belongings to verify
identities – through DNA testing – those who perished. New Zealand authorities would not
release the identities of those who perished unless and until they have recovered the bodies
and verified their identities,” the DFA said in a news release posted on its website.
The Philippine Embassy team in Christchurch and the DFA’s Office of the Undersecretary
for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) are presently coordinating with the NBI in Manila to
facilitate and gather the records.
So far, the DFA-OUMWA has forwarded to Christchurch the information about the missing
Filipinos that it gathered from the DFA Office of Consular Affairs database.
For its part, the Embassy team is directly and regularly in touch with the relatives of the 11
Filipinos who remain missing. (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 2, 2011 | Headlines, National News
GISEGURO sa Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) nga gihimoan nila og pamaagi
aron makakuha og trabaho ang mga Pinoy nga nibakwit gikan sa Libya.
Matud pa ni Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, nakipag-tambayayong na sila sa European
Chamber aron mahibaw-an ang mga skills sa mga Pinoy nga matang-tang sa Libya.
Gipahayag ni Baldoz nga interesado ang European Chamber nga kuhaon ang serbisyo sa
mga mamumuong Pinoy.
Samtang miabot na sa 628 ka mga Pinoy ang nakaule sa nasud gikan sa Libya.
Base sa talaan sa Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Action Center, pinaka-
uwahi niini ang 51 ka Pinoy nga niabot sa nasud ganinang buntag.
Sa pagkakaron, moadto sa Greece ang Greek vessel nga Ionian Queen nga gi-abangan
sa Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) aron kuhaon ang uban pang Pinoy gikan Libya nga
gustong mopaule sa nasud. (ecbPIABohol)
