by magnolia_eic | Sep 22, 2010 | Headlines, National News
PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III has forwarded the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) report to his legal team for review and will be acted on upon his return from a seven-day working visit to the United States.
The President issued the statement Monday afternoon hours before his departure for San Francisco where he will take another plane for New York.
President Aquino said he has directed Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo De Mesa to review and make recommendations on the IIRC report.
When asked to comment on the IIRC report, the President emphasized that he will not make decisions on such important matters without a thorough review.
He added that upon his return from the US, his first priority is to study the findings of his legal team on the recommendatory report of the IIRC and act on it accordingly. The result of the legal team’s evaluation and recommended course of action will also be released at that time.
After reviewing the IIRC report, the President assured his administration’s commitment to implement the necessary changes to upgrade the capabilities of the local government units, the police and security forces to ensure the safety of the public.
He said efforts are now being made to improve the procedures and protocols for emergency and crisis situations which will eventually lead to drafting a new crisis management manual.
The IIRC recommended the filing of administrative and criminal charges against former PNP Chief Jesus Versoza, General Rodolfo Magtibay, NCRPO Chief Leocadio Santiago, Supt. Orlando Yebra, Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and Vice Mayor Isko Moreno and Broadcasters Erwin Tulfo and Michael Rogas and the big three television networks which covered the bus hostage-taking crisis. (PCOO/PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Sep 18, 2010 | Announcements, Headlines, National News
Philippine officials in Israel reiterated early this week that there are no job openings for
hospital workers in Israel, and job applicants must particularly beware of a fictitious hospital
used as decoy by illegal recruiters.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a release citing a report from the Philippine
Embassy in Israel that “this announcement is being issued in response to reports and
queries from prospective applicants verifying job opportunities offered to them by certain
unscrupulous recruiters to work in various capacities for a ‘Jordan Valley Medical Center in
Israel.”
The Embassy confirmed that the “Jordan Valley Medical Center” is “fictitious and no such
hospital exists in Israel,” the DFA said.
It reiterated there are no job openings in Israel for hospital workers such as doctors, nurses,
medical technicians, ambulance crew, or drivers, that are available to Filipino applicants.
It also reminded that Filipinos are recruited for Israel as caregivers for home care and not in
hospitals. (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Sep 18, 2010 | Headlines, National News
President Benigno S. Aquino III bared on Thursday that two additional funding sources to
increase the coverage of the government’s poverty alleviation program, the Kapit Bisig Laban
sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-Cidss) to include
1.3-million more Filipino families.
The President said the new funding sources are part of the administration’s renewed drive to
garner more funding sources through public-private partnerships.
Without specifying an amount, the President said the World Bank had agreed to provide
fresh funds for the Kalahi-Cidss program, one of three poverty alleviation measures the
government is implementing through the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The other two programs are the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) which allocates
conditional cash grants to qualified families provided certain requirements concerning
maternal health and the education and health of their children, are met; and the Self
Employment Assistance-Kabayan (SEA-K) – a sustainable livelihood project that aims to
enhance the socio-economic skills of qualified Filipino families.
The President pointed out that the number of additional Filipino families who will get the
chance to improve their lives through the anti-poverty program is still far from his target of
4.6-million families.
President Aquino added that the Millennium Challenge Corporation, an innovative and
independent U.S. foreign aid agency that is helping lead the fight against global poverty will
give a total of P5-billion for the Kalahi-Cidss program. (PCOO/PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Sep 17, 2010 | Headlines, National News
ANG Senate blue ribbon committee magsugod na sa ilang imbestigasyon karong Martes sa mga gipasangil sa usa ka retiradong obispo nga adunay mga opisyal sa administrasyong Aquino nga nagdawat og binuwan nga suhol gikan sa mga jueteng operators.
Si Senador Teofisto Guingona III, pangulo sa blue ribbon committee, niingon nga ang maong hearing maghatag sa hapsay nga forum alang sa mga hingtungdang tawo aron pagsaysay sa ilang mga nahibaw-an bahin sa giingong jueteng payoffs.
Matud pa ni Guingona nga tumong nilang mahibaw-an ang gidak-on sa maong problema, unsaon pag sulbad niini, ug kon aduna bay kinahanglang himoong bag-ong balaod.
Si Guingona nagkanayon nga ila nang gidapit sa maong hearing si retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, kinsa maoy niingon nga adunay ubang opisyal sa kagamhanan ni Presidente Aquino ang naglihok isip jueteng operators o mga protektor sa jueteng operators.
Gidapit usab silang Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno, Philippine Charity Sweepstake Office (PCSO) Small Town Lotteries (STL) project manager Romualdo Quiñones, ug Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Deputy Director General Raul Bacalzo. (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Sep 17, 2010 | Headlines, National News
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported on Wednesday that the number of jobless Filipinos had declined by 200,000 as the country recovers from the effects of the global financial crisis.
DOLE said data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that unemployed persons nationwide dropped to 2.7 million in July compared to the 2.9 million jobless workers recorded during the same period last year.
Based on results of the NSO’s latest Labor Force Survey (LFS), male workers account for 62.6 percent of the total number of unemployed citizens while a majority or 52.5 percent belong to 15 to 24-years age group.
About one-third (32.5 percent) of the unemployed were high school graduates, 22.7 percent were college undergraduates, and 20.5 percent were college graduates.
Labor officials said the lingering effects of the financial crisis have increased the number of jobless Filipinos last year with Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, and Quezon (CALABARZON) region bearing the brunt. (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Sep 17, 2010 | Headlines, National News
President Benigno S. Aquino III vowed to improve the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program and make it more effective for the benefit of the most vulnerable members of society.
In his message at the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program on Wednesday at the Cebu Coliseum in Cebu City, the Chief Executive said he is aware of complaints on payment issues such as lower-entitlement and no cash in card, missing names in the payroll list or delay in the delivery of cash grants—which are hindrances to the program’s objectives.
The President told the program beneficiaries that the DSWD is implementing the National Household Targeting System to identify the families that most urgently need assistance in order to ensure that social funds are spent wisely on the most vulnerable members of our society.
“A well-targeted CCT program will truly afford the poor’s opportunity to enjoy basic human services that were once extremely difficult to avail,” the President said.
The President also said that the FY2011 proposed budget will fund urgently needed programs on education, health and job generation.
In the said budget, P 21.2 billion was allocated for CCT which will be distributed to 2.3 million household beneficiaries.
The 4Ps is a poverty reduction and social development program that provides conditional cash grants to extremely poor households to improve their health, nutrition and education, particularly of children aged 0-14. (PCOO/PIA)
