by admin | Mar 17, 2015 | Headlines, National News
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration warned Filipinos who wish to work abroad on the modus operandi of unscrupulous illegal recruiters enticing workers, especially household service workers (HSWs), to procure and use visit or tourist visa in order to secure overseas employment.
Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac said Filipinos wanting overseas jobs should make sure they have approved and appropriate work permit or visa before they leave the country. They should not accept job offers if they are to leave using tourist visa even with the assurance from the recruiters that they will find employment for them upon arrival in the country of destination.
“Foreign workers without proper employment documents cannot work legally in any country and are constant target of crackdowns. They are also more prone to exploitation by employers,” Cacdac said.
The POEA administrator cited Dubai as one of the favorite destinations of Filipino “tourists” wanting to find work overseas with the proliferation of advertisements in the social media offering plane tickets bundled with a 30-day visit visa at very low rates.
“Unfortunately, it is not easy to find work in Dubai. Holding a visit visa which will expire in a month, the worker could be pressured to agree to a substandard employment contract and submit to physical and emotional abuse just to have a work visa,” Cacdac said.
Cacdac also said OFWs should not be easily swayed by illegal recruiters and traffickers who promise immediate deployment to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and other Asean countries where visit visa is not prior requirement from citizens of its members.
“The legal way is to obtain an employment contract and employment visa or work permit and submit them to the POEA for processing and issuance of exit clearance,” Cacdac added. He also reminded workers of the strict procedure being implemented by the Bureau of Immigration in screening Filipinos leaving as tourist.
A traveler found to be misrepresenting the purpose of the foreign trip will not be allowed to board the plane. (POEA/PIA)
by admin | Mar 17, 2015 | Headlines, National News
DENR, nanawagan sa publiko sa
MANILA, Mar. 17 (PIA)–Nanawagan ang Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) sa publiko nga magdaginot sa paggamit og tubig.
Matud pa ni DENR Kalihim Ramon Paje, mahinungdanon kini alang sa kaayohan dili lamang sa mga consumers, apan apil na usab sa ubang sektor sama sa agrikultura ug enerhiya.
Dungan niini, gimanduan usab sa DENR ang Protected Area Management Boards sa pagpatuman og mga lakang batok sa pagpanigarilyo ug pagpanghaling sa mga lasang aron malikayan ang sunog.
Kining gipagawas nga panawagan sa DENR may kalabotan sa mas init nga panahon sa nasud karong tuig tungod sa El Niño. (ecb/PIA7-Bohol)
by admin | Mar 17, 2015 | Headlines, National News
MANILA, Mar. 17 (PIA)–Gipagawas sa Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) ang bag-ong implementing rules and regulations sa mas taas nga tax exemptions alang sa 13th month pay ug uban pang benepisyo sa mga kawani sa gobyerno ug pribadong sektor karong tuig.
Matud pa sa BIR, ang balaod alang sa pagsaka sa tax-exempt bonuses sa P82,000 dili pwede sa mga self-employed individuals ug income generated gikan sa mga negosyo.
“The amount shall only apply to the 13th month pay and other benefits paid on or accrued beginning Jan. 1, 2015, it does not apply to other compensation received by an employee under an employer-employee relationship such as basic salary and other allowances, sigun pa sa BIR.
Gipaseguro usab sa BIR sa mga employers ang saktong kwentada ug aplikasyon sa tax exemption alang sa 13th month pay ug uban pang benepisyo sa empleyado sa yearend adjustments.
Giingong ang computation angay nakabutang sa certificate of compensation withheld.
Kahinumdoman nga gilagdaan ni Presidente Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III niadtong Pebrero ang balaodnon nga nagsaka sa P82,000 sa tax exemption sa mga bonus sa mga kawani sa gobyerno ug pribadong kumpanya.
Kaniadto, P30,000 ang tax exemption ceiling sa mga bonus. (ecb/PIA7-Bohol)
by admin | Mar 16, 2015 | Headlines, National News
The coming of an undersecretary of the Department of Energy in Bohol portends something we can’t simply turn off. Or unplug.
One side of the mask is the energy department assuring us there is enough power, the other side however tells us otherwise.
What this simply tells us is: We have enough supply of something we don’t.
And if you are as confused as we are, damn if we know how to handle the truth: anytime soon, some environmentalists would have to be worditarians, yes, eat their words and be amnesiac about their otherwise untenable position then.
There is apparently a looming energy crisis, but the government is not admitting it. Or it is, but does not know how to say it.
A few years back, Ayala power development started prospecting, and in fact was on the initial steps of wiring a plan for P1.3 billion 8 megawatt Cantakoy hydropower development.
Unluckily, it was ill timed; at an election season where water drop in a turbulent ocean can produce the ripples enough to sink a plan.
Of all reasons oppositors: who are self-confessed staunch environmentalists, can think, it was for a hydropower plant’s disastrous environmental impacts.
Zoom in on a bulldozer opening a road access, blow it up like its leveling a mountain, send in a probe team who looks at upturned stone and displaced ants rather than the plan, and as you notice, the project was water-under the bridge.
The persecution naturally sends off the image-conscious investor pfffft.
Now, the same probe team now wants a land-based power plant in Bohol.
Of course, they can forget about their stance then, in fact they have eaten their environmental concern like they have forgotten that the impacts of the multi-billion airport or the multi-room resorts in Panglao are impossible to imagine.
Now the same issue haunts them back: a land based power source in Bohol and seemingly, if it’s not Cantakoy, its again a dam that will also act as a generator of 10 MW of power.
The proponents of these power generation sources are basically the same. But the season isn’t.
Damn if you do, Damn if you don’t.
by admin | Mar 13, 2015 | Headlines, National News
GrabTaxi drivers can now receive reimbursements through the GCash GrabTaxi card
G-Xchange, Inc. Sales Issuance Director Albert Antig (right) with one of the first taxi drivers to enjoy the new GCash GrabTaxi Card
GrabTaxi drivers can now experience the convenience of GCash, the flagship mobile money service of Globe Telecom, with their very own GCash GrabTaxi card.
G-Xchange, Inc., the operator of GCash, recently formed a partnership with GrabTaxi Philippines. The partnership offers to its over 5,000 drivers an easy, safe and hassle-free reimbursement system using GCash Payroll, a funds disbursement service linked to a Globe/TM SIM where one can receive and withdraw cash transfers.
At the recent GrabTaxi Driver’s Day held at the Globe Circuit Event Grounds, participating drivers got the chance to sign up and claim their GCash GrabTaxi card that came with a free Globe Prepaid SIM.
With the new system of payment, GrabTaxi can now easily remit drivers’ reimbursements through the GCash GrabTaxi card. GrabTaxi drivers from Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao no longer have to visit GrabTaxi offices or garages to claim their reimbursements, saving them more time and making them more productive. With their new card, they will be able to withdraw from any of the 13,000 Megalink ATMs and more than 7,000 GCash outlets nationwide.
“We are privileged to be part of the driving force of GrabTaxi’s continued success by harnessing technology in boosting their operations and giving their drivers a wonderful experience when it comes to reimbursements through the GCash GrabTaxi card,” said GXI President and CEO Xavier Marzan.
Acting General Manager for GrabTaxi Natasha Bautista also shared, “We take care of our dedicated GrabTaxi partner drivers in the same way that we take care of our valued passengers. With this partnership with Globe and GCash, we are assured that we can better provide more innovative solutions that will benefit our GrabTaxi drivers.”
Apart from the GCash GrabTaxi card registration and card distribution, cab drivers also enjoyed free haircut, free massage, medical and dental check-up, as well entertainment from radio personality Papa Jack and all-female singing group Mocha Girls at the GrabTaxi Driver’s Day.
GrabTaxi, available for FREE download on iOS, Android, and Blackberry platforms, is the first and largest taxi app in Southeast Asia that enables passengers to book taxis in just a few taps on their smartphones. It aims to revamp the local taxi industry by introducing simple and cost effective mobile-based technology to both drivers and passengers.
For more information about GCash and various services it offers, visit www.globe.com.ph/gcash or call 2882 straight from your Globe mobile phone for more details.
# # #
For more information, please contact:
Yoly C. Crisanto
Head, Corporate Communications
Globe Telecom, Inc.
Email Address: gtcorpcomm@globe.com.ph
Globe Press Room: www.globe.com.ph/press-room
Twitter: @talk2GLOBE │ Facebook: www.facebook.com/globeph
by admin | Mar 12, 2015 | Headlines, National News
MANILA, Mar. 12 (PIA)–Ang panagpulong sa niaging semana tali nila Philippine Ambassador Antonio Morales sa Singapore ug Kalihim Rosalinda Baldoz sa Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) usa ka maayong higayon aron hisgotan ang pagduso sa reporma sa gobyerno pinaagi sa DOLE nga himuong propesyonal ang lebel sa household service worker; mahatagan sila og mas hugot nga proteksiyon ug mas maayong kabutang; ug isaka ang dignidad nila sama sa mga anaa sa pormal nga sektor sa pamuo.
Nihangyo si Baldoz kang Ambassador Morales nga tabangan ang Philippine Overseas Labor Office sa pagpangita og usa ka lugar sa Singapore diin mahimong gamiton sa mga Pilipino sa pagtapok-tapok sa adlaw sa ilang pagpahulay nga mas komportable ug mas produktibo.
Ang Lucky Plaza sa Singapore ang gi-ilang lugar karon diin magkita-kita ang mga Pilipino sa adlaw sa ilang pagpahulay,
“Isang lugar na maaari nilang gamitin para sa pagpupulong o pagsasagawa ng pagsasanay ang aking naiiisip. Ito rin ang aking nilalayon para sa iba pang bansa tulad ng Malaysia, Hongkong, at Taiwan,” pasabot ni Baldoz.
Sa niaging tuig, gimanduan ni Baldoz si Philippine Labor Attache Vicente Cabe nga susihon kun mahimo bang padak-an ang Filipino Workers Resource Center, o Bahay Kalinga, aron mahimo kining magamit alang sa mas produktibong bulohaton alang sa mga OFWs ug paspasan ang pagpaule sa mga HSW nga adunay problema. Tuyo sa FWRC nga himuong usa ka lugar nga adunay taas nga lebel sa pag-atiman ang mga OFWs base sa 22-point labor and employment agenda ni Presidente Benigno S. Aquino III.
Gipahibalo usab sa Kalihim kang Ambassador Morales ang kasamtangang gihimo sa DOLE nga ipatas ang tanan sa POLO training sa skills assessment and certification program sa Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) aron isaka ang katakos sa mga OFW nga makakuha og maayong klase sa trabaho ug taas nga suholan.
Naglaum ang Kalihim nga dali kining mapatuman sa Singapore. Gisugdan na usab kini sa Dubai, United Arab Emirates, diin adunay 100 ka OFWs, apil na ang HSWs, ang pagpa-ubos sa skills assessment and certification on-site. Gi-planohan usab nila ang Hong Kong karong bakasyon ug mao usab unta kini sa Singapore.
Gibutyag usab ni Baldoz sa Ambassador nga ilang gibantayang pagpatuman sa Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration sa iyang direktiba nga magmugna og usa ka training module sa pagbag-o sa OFWs, partikular na ang HSW, nga mahimong modelo sa maayong buhat o ambassador of goodwill.
Gihangyo usab sa Kalihim sa Ambassador nga magmugna og country-specific module alang sa mga OFW isip Ambassador of Goodwill sa Singapore. (ecb/PIA7-Bohol)
