iSIQUIJOR Information is our business.
THE OFFICIAL E-NEWSLETTER OF THE PHILIPPINE INFORMATION AGENCY - SIQUIJOR | WWW.PIA.GOV.PH and the DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - SIQUIJOR | WWW.DOST.GOV.PH VOL. 4| NO. 40 November 21-30, 2016
Siquijor Chamber, CR+ID to focus roads, infra for agri, market development by Rizalie Anding Calibo, PIA7-Siquijor Good developments are happening now in the island of Siquijor. The Coordinating Roads and
Infrastructure Investments for Development (CR+ID) Project of the Siquijor Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., (SCCII) and The Asia Foundation (TAF) in partnership with the
Exchaneg of ideas during the CR+ID Value Chain Analysis (VCA) workshop held earlier at the SP Session Hall, Provincial Capitol, Siquijor, Siquijor. (rac/PIA7-Siquijor
Siquijor inmates join correctional consciousness week observation
SIQUIJOR, Nov 25 (PIA) -- Ninety-five inmates of the Siquijor Provincial Jail attended the Information Dissemination Campaign aimed at promoting awareness about the plight of prisoners and detainees conducted recently by the Parole and Probation Administration (PPA) office here. The activity is in line with the observance of the National Correctional Consciousness Week (NACOCOW) of the Parole and Probation Administration. It is mandated by Presidential Proclamation No. 551, series of 1995 that NACOCO is celebrated every last week of October. During the information campaign, Senior Probation and Parole Officer (SPPO) Antonette Baldonado
discussed topics on the existence and various services of PPA-Siquijor. VPA Eduardo Abatayo shared his insights on God’s love and life purpose to inspire the inmates and detainees that there still awaits a bright future for them. SPPO Baldonado together with the Volunteer Probation Assistants (VPAs) conducted the activity. Meanwhile, Provincial Jail Warden Neal Rosaroso said that the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) has also prepared activities for the NACOCOW observance like Macho Gay, Sportsfest and awarding for the outstanding service providers of BJMP. (rmn/rac/PIA7-Siquijor/with reports from I.Acabo-Abatayo)
provincial government will conduct another Value Chain Analysis (VCA) Workshop on the Cattle commodity of Siquijor province. The workshop aims to identify roads and infrastructure projects strategic to commodities identified by the agriculture sector domestic to Siquijor. “It hopes to build the capacity of the SCCII, the government and other stakeholders to produce evidence-based analysis on potential infrastructure investments, and the skills to influence investments decision at the provincial and regional level,” says CR+ID Provincial Coordinator Bambi Chan. A series of stakeholders workshops with the business community were conducted in the previous years that also identified strategic roads and infrastructure investments (SRIIs) through a private sector led VCA based on the economic drivers of the province. The workshops provided the private sector with the venue to work together and formulate a common investment road map, discuss and resolve constraints to increasing economic investments and participate effectively in investment planning at the provincial level. Most of those identified SRIIs have been approved and funded from by the various funding agencies through improved coordination and cooperation between local and national government and the private sector. “But cognizant of the significance the market has, from the angle of improving liquidity and as a stimulus for economic growth, the CR+ID project this time shifts the focus to market based concerns, says SCCI chair Engr. Judy Booc. She said the CR+ID noted in its previous workshops and studies that significant disconnection exist between needs for public infrastructure and effective demand for such investments and that there was a lack of complete public infrastructure investment roadmap for province to inform
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ISLAND VIEWS
The Magic of Siquijor
iSIQUIJORGOVERNMENTNEWS Repost: http://brunetteblogging.com/2016/05/the-magic-of-siquijor/
(2nd of a series)
If you’re up for an adrenaline rush, go to Salagdoong beach and jump off the cliff. I personally wussed out (it’s HIGH) but my boyfriend did take the plunge. This is pretty cool if you’re into that kind of thing, but I have to mention that you have to pay a fee to get in (which is kind of not worth it if you’re not all about the jump). The “restaurant” is simply bad (serious tourist trap alert) and the surrounding “resort” looked kind of sad to me (this was a case of faded glory– they are doing some renovation works at the moment, but it still needs a lot of patching up). So basically, only go here if you’re interested in the jump.
Have lunch at U.Story Guesthouse and spend the afternoon here to treat yourself to a little bit of luxury and relaxation. Initially, I wanted to stay here but their beautiful bungalows were already fully booked. Since it looked so appealing, and I heard only great things about their food we decided to at least stop by for lunch there. I can only strongly recommend you do the same. The food was absolutely delicious (there’s definitely a Western influence present here, but not in a bad way) and you should treat yourself at least once to it – it’s not expensive compared to Western prices, but definitely more pricey than the usual Filipino food. Their open-air restaurant is the coziest ever (also at night) and as you can see their sunbeds and setting is just a little piece of paradise. To make it even better, you can go snorkeling right in front of the charming resort since they have stairs that lead into the water. Heaven, I tell you. My – very serious – award for Most Beautiful Beach of The Philippines goes to the one in front of Coral Cay resort – have you honestly seen anything more stunning than this? The good thing is you can just walk in here without paying a fee (depends on the resort whether you have to do this or not), and if you want you can have a drink or some food at their restaurant (which wasn’t equally amazing as the beach, to be honest).
More of Brunette Blogging in the next issue....
iSIQUIJORGOVERNMENTNEWS
CEBUANO NEWS
Malakanyang sa PNP: hugtan ang seguridad sa mga pambublikong lugar
MANILA, November 28 (PIA) -Gimando na sa Malakanyang sa Philippine National Police (PNP) ang paghugot sa seguridad sa mga pampublikong lugar human sa nakitang improvised explosive device (IED) duol
sa US Embassy ka kaulohan ganinang buntag. Matud pa ni Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Kalihim Martin Andanar, gimanduan na usab ang mga hingtungdang transport agencies nga
dugangan ang deployment sa mga uniformed personnel sa mga tugpahanan, pantalan ug terminal sa mga bus ug hugtan ang screening sa mga mosulod nga pasahero ug bagahe isip parte sa security vigilance. Dugang pa ni Andanar, ilang gipaniguro sa publiko nga dili angay hinungdan sa pagka-alarma ang insidente ug ipadayon lamang ang mga aktibidad sa normal nga paagi. Una niini, gi-angkon ni PNP Chief Dir. Gen. Ronald dela Rosa nga ang bombang nadiskobrehan sa Roxas Boulevard duol sa US Embassy sa kaulohan susama ra usab sa eksplosibo nga gigamit sa Davao City bombing. “The PNP is on top of the situation and shall beef up security measures in public places especially where there are big crowds. To ensure public safety in airports, seaports, bus and mass transport terminals, concerned transport agencies are instructed to increase the visibility and presence of uniformed personnel and heighten the screening of persons and luggage as part of our security vigilance. We assure the public that this incident should not be a cause for alarm. Business and work continue as normal,” matud pa ni Andanar. (ecb/PIA7-Bohol)
Target Hardening Measures Forum with resort owners in DILG nipasidaan the island of Siquijor: batok pekeng ( From top) PRO7sa PSSupt. Rey Lyndon opisyal T. Lawas, Siquijor Provincial Police Superintendent Erson Digal and Siquijor Vice Governor Mei Ling Quezon with the chiefs of police of the six municipalities, their police personnel, local officials and the resort owners in the island during the tackled target hardning measures forum at San Juan, Siquijor. Lawas, in that forum boldly declared that “there is NO CURRENT DIRECT THREAT in Central Visayas as far as threat groups is concerned,” but called all locals to be proactive and be vigilant during the Siquijor Police Provincial Office (SPPO). (rac/PIA7-Siquijor)
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY/TOURISM
Duterte administration investing $23-B in tourism infra, says DOF exec MANILA, Nov. 30 - A
hefty part of President Duterte’s unparalleled public investments on his watch will be devoted to infrastructure servicing the tourism industry in keeping with his goal of transforming this sector into one major engine of growth to sustain the Philippines’ momentum as one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies. Finance Undersecretary Grace Karen Singson said that under the Duterte administration’s National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP), the Philippines will have to invest $23 billion in tourism infrastructure between now and 2022, when the President’s term ends, to make the sector “not only sustainable and highly competitive in the region but also socially responsible to propel inclusive growth.” Singson said these proposed NTDP investments cover road networks, airports, cruise ports, railway, site infrastructure, tourism enterprise zones, transport units, accommodation facilities, and aircraft acquisition. She said that under the NTDP, the government has targeted to build as much as 2,620 kilometers of tourism roads over the next six years, from a baseline of 900 kilometers, which will require an investment of $2 billion. “As many renowned tourist sites in the Philippines, such as the Banaue Rice Terraces,
the Chocolate Hills and Mt. Apo require long road travel, the Tourism Development Plan has also included the upgrading and construction of access roads to tourism sites and tourism development areas,” Singson said at the recent 11thASEAN Finance Ministers’ Investor Seminar in Jakarta, Indonesia. Singson, the undersecretary of the Department of Finance for Privatization and Special Concerns, represented Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III at the this forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). She said that as an ASEAN member, the Philippines can benefit from the regional bloc’s actions towards greater connectivity, especially in terms of air and sea travel, as well as improving travel facilitation, such as the full implementation of the ASEAN lanes. “Moreover, the high level of intraASEAN tourism,” which accounts for 47 percent of visitors’ origin, “provides the opportunity to harmonize ASEAN tourism
quality and standards that could be a precursor to a certain ‘ASEAN brand’ that the region could roll out to the global tourism market,” Singson said. According to Singson, developing the tourism industry is integral to the Duterte administration’s 10-point socioeconomic agenda as this sector is the third biggest contributor to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) that accounted for five million jobs in 2015, mostly in the areas of transport and hospitality services, representing 12.7 percent of the country’s total employment. She said the 10-point agenda provides for accelerated spending in infrastructure from 3 percent to over 5 percent of the GDP, “and we believe this will be a boost to tourism infrastructure.” Singson said the government’s goal is to double the number of foreign tourist arrivals, increase tourism revenues by 90 percent and generate 14.4 percent of total Philippine jobs from the tourism sector by the time Mr. Duterte steps aside in 2022.
to have food analysis, you may go to DOST’s Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) (URL: http://www.itdi.dost.gov.ph/) to help you with thermal processing studies, such as heat penetration test on canned and bottled products, heat distribution tests for retorts and corrective action and sterility tests. They also do physico-chemical and microbiological analysis, as well as pilot plant setup and shelf life testing. ITDI also has Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) that are available for shortterm lease for start-up entrepreneurs to help themget familiarized with the technologies involved, enable them to produce product samples for market testing, help them get more established before venturing on their own and set up their own production facility. The good news is that most of these services are available the provinces because DOST has regional offices that help in the technology needs of the entrepreneurs in the regions. Every regional office has Regional Standards and Testing Laboratory that provides
technical support to food manufacturing, trading and production sectors through the physico-chemical and microbiological tests it offers. The RSTL adopts and implements several quality assurance programs and quality control activities. Its equipment are calibrated and maintained; it also undergoes regular proficiency testing, continuous improvement of its facility, personnel training program, andother relevant standards. The regions also conduct seminar and training, some of which are technology seminars on the following: packaging and labelling training, Good Manufacturing Practices Awareness Seminar,Food Safety Orientation Seminar, andCharcoal Briquetting Technology, among others. For more information on technologies and services you may visit http://www.dost. gov.ph/ and find the agencies and regional offices that can possibly help you give your entrepreneurial ventures a push.(Geraldine B.Ducusin, S &T Media Service)
Gov’t services that can help in your food business
Do you know that there are a number of government programs and services which can help you either start your own food business or help your existing food business grow? If you’re still undecided as to what food business you’d like to get into, the food technologies of the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) can help you come up with healthy food products, such as vegetable noodles, crunchy healthy snacks, high fiber fruit juices, fortified food, healthy street food (squash fish balls and squash maja), ethnic food like instant pinakbet or laing, and many other possible food products. For a list of food technologies, you may visit their website and the list of food technologies: http://www.fnri.dost.gov.ph/ images/sources/List_FT.pdf Now, if you already have a business, but want to improve yourfood packaging or the shelf life of your product, or you’d want
SPIRITUALITY
iSIQUIJOR iSIQUIJOR iSIQUIJOR
from Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation
Image credit: Le Bateau-atelier (detail), 1874, by Claude Monet (1840-1926), Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands
Everything Belongs:
Growing into Belonging
You Belong
As we grow spiritually, we discover that we are not as separate as we thought we were. Separation from God, self, and others was a deep and tragic illusion. As we grow into deeper connection and union, the things that once brought meaning and happiness to our small self no longer satisfy us. We tried to create artificial fullness through many kinds of addictive behavior, but still feel empty and nothing, if we are honest. We need much more nutritious food to feed our Bigger Self; mere entertainments, time-fillers, diversions, and distractions will no longer work. At the more mature stages of life, we are even able to allow the painful and the formerly excluded parts gradually belong to a slowly growing and unified field. This shows itself as a foundational compassion, especially toward all things different and those many people who “never had a chance.” If you have forgiven yourself for being imperfect, you can now do it for everybody else too. If you have not forgiven yourself, I am afraid you will likely pass on your sadness, absurdity, judgment, and futility to others. “What comes around goes around.” Many who are judgmental and unforgiving seem to have missed out on the joy and clarity of the first childhood simplicity, perhaps avoided the suffering of the mid-life complexity, and thus lost the great freedom and magnanimity of the second simplicity as well. We need to hold together all of the stages of life, and for some strange, wonderful reason, it all becomes quite “simple” as we approach our later years. The great irony is that we must go through a lot of complexity and disorder (another word for necessary suffering) to return to the second simplicity. There is no nonstop flight from first to second naiveté, from initial order to resurrection. We must go through the pain of disorder to grow up and switch our loyalties from self to God. Most people just try to maintain their initial “order” at all costs, even if it is killing them. As we grow in wisdom, we realize that everything belongs and everything can be received. We see that life and death are not opposites. They do not cancel one another out; neither do goodness and badness. There is now room for everything to belong. A radical, almost nonsensical “okayness” characterizes the mature believer, which is why we are often called “holy fools.” We don’t have to deny, dismiss, defy, or ignore reality anymore. What is, is gradually okay. What is, is the greatest of teachers. At the bottom of all reality is always a deep goodness, or what Merton called “a hidden wholeness.” [1
Gateway to Silence: Everything—yes, everything—belongs.
Gateway to Silence: Everything—yes, everything—belongs.
I believe that we have no real access to who we fully are except in God. Only when we rest in God can we find the safety, the spaciousness, and the scary freedom to be who we are, all that we are, and much more than we think we are. Only when we live and see through God’s eyes can “everything belong.” All other systems exclude, expel, punish, and protect to find identity for their members in some kind of ideological perfection or purity. The contaminating element always has to be searched out, isolated, and often punished. This wasted effort keeps us from the centrally important task of love and union. As we read yesterday, St. Bonaventure (1221-1274) had a very positive view of God and the world. In his philosophy and theology we have a coherent and grounded meaning that our world no longer enjoys—yet still longs for. Most people today are not sure where we come from, who we are, and where we are going; and most no longer seem to care about such questions. Some call this postmodernism. The Cosmic Christ is the blueprint of reality, bringing all of history—from before the Big Bang to the end of time—to wholeness. Paraphrasing Paul’s words to the Colossians (chapter 1), “God made absolute fullness reside in him.” Christ is the distillation and “corporate personality” for all of created reality, the symbolic stand-in for everything, as it were. Paul goes on to say “in Christ, everything is reconciled. God holds all things together in him.” This means there’s no ground for hating or excluding or torturing anyone, because we all belong to God, even our enemies, which is why Jesus tells us we must love them. When God looks at us, God can only see “Christ” in us. Yet it’s hard—for us!—to be naked and vulnerable and allow ourselves to be seen so deeply. It is hard to simply receive God’s loving and all-accepting gaze. We feel unworthy and ashamed. The very essence of all faith is to trust the gaze and then complete the circuit of mutual friendship. “The eye with which I see God is the same one with which God sees me. My eye and God’s eye is one eye, and one sight, and one knowledge, and one love,” as Meister Eckhart says. [1] When you go to your place of prayer, don’t try to think too much or manufacture feelings or sensations. Don’t worry about what words you should say or what posture you should take. It’s not about you or what you do. Simply allow Love to look at you—and trust what God sees! God just keeps looking at you and loving you center to center. Hinduism called this darshan, the practice of going to the temple—not to see the deity, but to allow yourself to be fully and lovingly seen. Try reversing the engines. This reversal is the triumph and victory of grace.
iSIQUIJORGOVERNMENTNEWS
Sec. Taguiwalo en- Siquijor Chamber, CR+ID to focus roads, infra for agri, market development courages ‘right way from page 1 of compassion’ for government decisions on priorities and needs failed to support the strategic priorities and investments. directions of local governments, it was also str eet kids this for Further, it was noted that fragmentation noted. in duplication which is a waste of CR+ID project, through its improved Christmas season results already limited government resources, and process lessens the fragmented system so that
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo reiterated her call to the public to refrain from alms-giving that encourages kids to roam the streets and endanger their lives. “The Department and its attached agencies continue to advocate the ‘AntiMendicancy Law’ that penalizes anyone who gives alms to mendicants or street kids. This Christmas season will not be an excuse for its implementation,” warned Sec. Taguiwalo. Presidential Decree 1563 or the AntiMendicancy Law of 1978 prohibits begging or soliciting of charitable donations by the poor and other religious organizations on the streets. “Let us make this Christmas season a safe season for street kids and discourage them from continuing mendicancy where they can seriously injure themselves by jumping from one public utility vehicle to another or by tapping the windows of privately-owned vehicles,” the Secretary said. Instead, Sec. Taguiwalo suggested that the public can still show “tamang paraan ng malasakit (right way of compassion)” that do not jeopardize the lives of street children by means of organizing community or Barangay Christmas parties or caroling sessions for children. The public can also donate to DSWD centers and other organizations that help street kids or participate in charity drives and other activities for children such as Christmas activities in various activity centers led by the DSWD-National Capital Region (NCR). Reaching out Aside from refraining from almsgiving and participating in charitable activities for children, Sec. Taguiwalo calls for the public to be more proactive in rescuing street kids through the DSWD’s @savestreetkids Twitter campaign. The Secretary also said that a reach out hotline number, 734-86-13, is also open to receive reports of streetchildren sighting in the National Capital Region. “We encourage the public to continuously help us in our campaign to reach out to street kids and to safeguard children from all forms of abuse and violence. We need the participation of everyone, including private individuals and institutions. Let us work in solidarity with each other to build safer communities for children and other vulnerable and marginalized groups,” ended Sec. Taguiwalo. (DSWD)
oftentimes fails to deliver the maximum value for what these public investments are intended for. The fragmented system of prioritizing roads and infrastructure investments also
DILG chief urges fire bureau to make new innovations in the issuance of fire permits
MANILA, Nov. 30 - Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael “Mike” D. Sueno challenged the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to make new innovative strategies in the issuance of fire permits to make it easier for business owners and other constituents. “We don’t want the fire bureau to be exercising the old traditional practices, we are encouraging you to be innovative, yong bago, for the good of the public”. “Pagbabago ang dapat dito sa BFP,” he said. “Think of innovations, be creative, kung ano pa ang maganda na gagawin ng fire bureau para mapabilis ang issuance ng fire safety inspection certificates (FSIC) and fire safety evaluation clearances (FSEC) without compromising the safety of our people,” he further said. The FSIC and FSEC are pre-requisites for a business or occupancy permit. He said there may not be enough fire safety inspectors to conduct inspections on all establishments particularly in Metro manila, where thousands of business establishments are located. “How can we hasten these permits, so that businesses will continue to flourish and our economy will grow? Of course, you also have to bear in mind that while you have to deliver fast and efficient services, your top priority is the safety of our people,” he said. He likewise cautioned fire officials to refrain from engaging in ‘extra-curricular’ activities like selling fire extinguishers. “Huwag naman tayong magbenta ng fire extinguisher, this is the common complaint sa fire bureau ng mga businessmen, at saka ang pag-issue ng fire safety, dapat walng pinapaboran, walang kinikilingan,” he said. (DILG)
road investments, and improvements may not only occur in segments or portions of strategic road links, which may severely compromise the usefulness of the strategic link. Its main objective is to improve the entire stretches of strategic road links that leads to decrease in transportation cost and travel time, cost of farm inputs, and prices of farm products, increase in tourism traffic and increase in access to basic services. Fragmentation is lessened if strategic road links are identified and there is increased coordination among agencies to invest in these strategic road links, the CR+ID noted. Improving coordination of infrastructure investments effectively direct investments in areas/sectors where it is needed most, thereby addressing a more general and wide ranging concerns such as movement of goods, services and people within the province or within the region, it added. Siquijor province is indeed on the right track because President Rodrigo R. Duterte is bent on addressing this concern with his development mantra: build, build, build. And rightly so, the administration is launching the biggest infrastructure push in Philippine history to propel economic growth in the next five-and-a-half years. The Duterte administration sees increased infrastructure spending as key to move the country forward and improve the lives of the Filipino people by generating massive investments, creating millions of jobs and lowering prices of commodities. (PIA)
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the Island of Siquijor’s first electronic newsletter produced by the Philippine Information Agency-Siquijor Information Center and the DOST - Provincial Science and Technology Center. It contains snippets of information about Siquijor, Central Visayas and the Philippine Government.
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NATIONAL NEWS
Duterte inaugurates mega drug rehabilitation center
President Rodrigo Duterte led the inauguration of the mega Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (DATRC) at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija on Tuesday, November 29, as part of the administration’s
efforts to solve drug problem in the country. In his speech, President Duterte said he would fulfill his campaign promise to eliminate illegal drugs and create a safer environment for the Filipinos. “Let me warn you, drugs is a very
2017 will be a historic moment for the Philippines because we will be hosting the ASEAN Summit. Coincidentally, 2017 is the ASEAN’s 50th Anniversary. Philippine’s hosting is an opportunity for all of us to show our partners in the ASEAN our unique brand of hospitality and our solid support for its vision of an integrated community.
virulent agent in any society. The campaign against drug will continue ‘till the last day of my term. I will not stop until the last drug pusher is out of the street and the last drug lord or king killed,” he said. The President said the drug lords have invested on the lives and sanity of the Filipinos. “Kaya maraming property, mga hotel, barko, lahat na nandiyan sa kanila,” Duterte said. He said there will be no let up in the campaign against illegal drugs and the only compromise is for the illegal drug users and pushers to surrender. “The only compromise that’s acceptable to me is you surrender,” Duterte said. “If you continue, I said, you might end losing not only your funds but your life,” he added. Duterte meanwhile thanked Chinese philanthropist Huang Rulun who donated the first large scale drug rehabilitation center in the country, which can accomodate 10,000 drug addicts. For his part, Huang stated that the donation was his way of showing support to the administration’s war against drugs and as a sign of goodwill for the President’s efforts to strengthen the country’s ties and friendly relations with China. Huang is an honorary chairman of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Association of the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (FFCAP) and chairman of the board of directors of Century Golden Resources Group. During the event, the President unveiled the marker of the rehabilitation center together with Huang and the administration’s top officials. DATRC is located in Fort Magsaysay, a military camp that occupies a land area of hectares divided by four zones. It has a total construction area of 60,000 square meters with 172 building units. Huang first met with the President in Davao last June 28 before he donated an amount of about P1.4 billion to construct two drug rehabilitation centers inside Fort Magsaysay. In expressing his appreciation for the assistance extended by Huang to the government, the President stressed that those whom he consider as the country’s allies should also help him solve the country’s drug problem instead of criticizing his administration in its war against drugs. In his speech, the President also mentioned the ambush that happened in Lanao del Sur wherein seven members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) and two soldiers were wounded. The PSG personnel were part of the advance team of the President who is set to visit Marawi City on Wednesday to visit wounded soldiers fighting the Maute group. Duterte said he would push through with his visit despite ongoing conflict in the province.###PND
iSIQUIJORGOVERNMENTNEWS
GSIS pensioners to receive Christmas cash gift starting Dec 16
State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is set to release the yearly Christmas cash gift to a total of 281,000 old-age and disability pensioners starting December 16. According to GSIS Officer-inCharge and Senior Vice President for NCR Operations Atty Nora MalubaySaludares, a total of Php 2.67 billion has been earmarked for this benefit. Pensioners whose 2015 Christmas cash gift is above Php10,000 will be granted an amount equivalent to one-month current pension up to a maximum of Php12,600. While, pensioners whose 2015 Christmas cash gift is Php10,000 and below will be granted an amount equivalent to one-month current pension up to a maximum of Php10,000. Those who resumed their regular monthly pension after December 31,
2015 (after the five-year guaranteed period) will be granted an amount equivalent to one month current pension
up to a maximum of Php10,000. Pensioners living abroad and those in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao who are on suspended status as of 31 December 2016 are also eligible to receive this benefit provided they activate their status not later than 30 April 2017. They will receive their cash gift not later than 31 May 2017. Survivorship and dependent pensioners, and retirees who received in advance their guaranteed pensions in the form of lump sum and who are still within the guaranteed pension and are resuming their regular monthly pension after 31 December 2016 are not entitled to receive the cash gift. Also ineligible to receive the cash gift are pensioners under Republic Act 7699 (Portability Law) as well as pensioners receiving pro-rata pension. Retirees from 2012 to 2016 and members who were separated from the service from 2006 to 2016 before reaching age 60 who started receiving their regular monthly pension in 20122016 will be entitled to the benefit five years after regularly receiving their pension. Questions on the grant of cash gift may be directed to the GSIS Contact Center at 847-4747. (GSIS)