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THE OFFICIAL E-NEWSLETTER OF THE PHILIPPINE INFORMATION AGENCY-7 | WWW.PIA.GOV.PH VOL. 2 | NO. 36| November 21, 2012
TOPSTORIES
Anti-Cyber pornography, prostitution advocates gather in Cebu for reg'l dialog By Amorganda A. Saludar
CEBU (PIA) -- Anti-Cyber pornography and prostitution advocates gathered at Dohera hotel in Mandaue City on November 13 for a regional cluster dialog to come up with concrete programs in combatting cyber-porn/prostitution in the country. Amihan Abueva of Asia Against Child Trafficking and End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking (ECPAT) Philippines, one of the resource speakers in the dialogue said that here in the Philippines many regions have cases of cyber pornography and cyber prostitution involving not just women and children but also men. “We should take note that cyber pornography and cyber prostitution also involves men as victims,” Abueva said. She added that keeping records of the cases in every region is very essential to have successful measures such as workshop on cyber pornography and cyber prostitution. “Local situation is very crucial for the success of any measures like this workshop,” Abueva stressed. With the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-7) taking the lead, various stakeholders and anti-cyber pornography advocates recommended to address the issue of harmonizing national laws and local ordinances across the ASEAN region. There is an urgent need to synchronize comparability of definitions, penalties, extraditions and extraterritoriality and trial of perpetrators across the member states in the ASEAN region to be effective in the campaign against cyber pornography and prostitution, the dialog noted. According to DSWD-7 the regional dialog in Cebu and other up-coming dialogs in other parts of the country was an off-shoot recommendation from the 3-day ASEAN Conference on Working Toward a Cyber Pornography and Cyber Prostitution–Free Southeast Asia held on June 19-21 at Diamond Hotel, Manila. The said conference agreed to have each member’s states conduct a regional cluster dialog to have a local overview of the situation and to form and create measures per region because cases and their extent varies from region to region, this is learned. The ASEAN conference also became the platform to enhance the competency of ASEAN member states in addressing the gaps and to ensure responsive and comprehensive programs for victims-survivor of cyber pornography and cyber prostitution. The same format was adopted in the regional dialog here that was expected to widen awareness, understanding, realities and dynamics of cyber pornography/prostitution. Topics presented in the regional dialogue included Legal Bases; Coordination and Protection Mechanisms; Preventive and Response Strategies. It also included workshop on the cases of cyber pornography and cyber prostitution in every locality and recommendations on how to improve measures in the combat against these issues. The outputs of the Cebu and other region’s dialogues will served as inputs of the Philippines for the next ASEAN Conference on Working Toward a Cyber Pornography and Cyber Prostitution –Free Southeast Asia in 2013. (mbcn/AYS/PIA-CEBU)
Over 200 foreign and local delegates including the Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministers from the 10-ASEAN member nations and six dialogue partners from China, Japan, Korea, India, the European Union and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) attend the opening ceremonies of the 12th ASEAN Telecommunications and Information Technology Meeting (Telmin 12), November 15 at Shangri-la Mactan Resort and Spa in Lapulapu City.
Aquino gov't bullish over ICT sector in the country By Fayyete C. Rinen
CEBU CITY (PIA) -- The Aquino administration remains bullish in the growth of the country's information and communication technology (ICT) sector, which has generated US $11 billion dollars in direct revenues last year. “In the Philippines, our ICT industry, which is now at the forefront of the BPO (business process outsourcing) race, has enjoyed continuous growth and expansion…and contributed 638,000 new jobs, giving our people opportunities to live more comfortable and safer lives,” President Aquino said in his message to the 12th ASEAN Telecommunications and Information Technology Meeting (Telmin 12) which opened in Cebu this morning. In a speech read for him by President Jejomar Binay, the President said, "Renewed optimism in our government and institutions and increased investor confidence in the skill and quality of the Filipino workforce have contributed to the success of the ICT industry in the country." More than 200 foreign and local delegates in the ICT sector attended the meeting. “These past two years, our efforts have resounded one clear message: the Philippines is open for business under new management,” Aquino said. The government recognizes the important role of the ICT and has developed policies that would improve our internet use and broadband penetration. “As quoted in the ASEAN ICT Master Plan 2015 from World Bank studies, a 10 percent increase in the broadband use will result in 1.3 percent hike in the overall ASEAN gross domestic product (GDP),” Aquino said. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) through its Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO) executes various programs that address the overall ICT needs of the country. The DOST-ICTO has initiated the ICT Industry Development Program in order to further minimize the digital divide and to equip the people with the necessary skills and resources, the President said. A larger and more connected ICT industry in this part of the world means more efficient services, which in turn ensure satisfaction, encourage greater interest, and thus ultimately lead to business expansion and investments, he said. Aquino added that, "a connected ICT also means empowering more of our peoples giving them a chance to speak out their minds, to contribute to social discourse and development." “This is about promoting transparency, accountability, and efficiency in both our private and public spheres. At the end of the day, our work here is all about building on capacities and bridging gaps and ensuring that everyone has an equal access to information and opportunities,” the President said. The two-day meet carries the theme “ICT: Connected ASEAN, Enabling Aspirations.” Among those who attended were Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministers from the 10-ASEAN member nations and six dialogue partners from China, Japan, Korea, India, the European Union
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and the International Telecommunications Union. (FCR/PIA 7)
CEBU
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DTI, BOI to conduct Investments Roadshow in Cebu By Amorganda A. Saludar
By Amorganda A. Saludar CEBU CITY (PIA) -- The Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI-7) and the Board of Investments (BOI) are set to conduct an Investments Roadshow on November 22 from 8:30 am to 2 p.m. at the Crown Regency
PCOO Usec. Atty. Lesley Jeanne Cordero (center) with PIA-Bohol Infocen Manager Rey Anthony Chiu (left) and PIA-7 Regional Director Minerva BC Newman (far right) during the press conference with the Bohol media at the Governor's Mansion last Nov. 5. Usec Cordero was the keynote speaker of the 20th RADIO-7 Consultative Conference in Bohol. (PIA-Bohol/ECBongosia)
NEGROS ORIENTAL
Cebu-based NGO to inaugurate country's 1st adventure education center By Amorganda A. Saludar CEBU (PIA) -- A non-government organization is set to inaugurate the country’s first fully dedicated adventure education center by next year. Roberto Aboitiz, president of the Cebu-based Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI), said the Kool Adventure Camp (KAC) will be located in Balamban. "It is a big responsibility we assume. There are other institutions in the Philippines involved in team building and adventure. Many also just for entertainment and leisure. Kool Adventure Camp is a serious attempt to build leadership attributes in the Filipino youth,” Aboitiz said. The RAFI wants to come up with measures to transform the lives of the youth and professionals for effective leadership and team development through expeditions, kayaking, ropes courses, service learning, adventure camps, and backpacking challenges. KAC has been offering these adventure education programs for
leadership and team development for youth and professionals for the last decade. November this year, the buildings and facilities in the center situated in Balamban, Cebu are now close to being complete. The center also features 28 kinds of Challenge Ropes Course (CRC) High Elements an experiential adventure activity that offers groups and individuals the opportunity to participate in a series of activities involving mental, physical, and emotional risk taking. These are activities that give individuals the opportunity to develop and increase their communication skills while creating techniques to become effective at group problem solving, Aboitiz noted. Aside from the technical equipment, training structures and facilities that have been built, the high level of quality and safety that has been designed into its curriculum, program and systems are what distinguishes the KAC centre, Edvan Loh, KAC camp director
Hotel and Towers, Cebu City. This activity is intended to provide venue for presentation of the just approved 2012 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP). A DTI-7 statement said the roadshow serves as feedback session to guide government’s further assistance to the existing measures and to the entrepreneurs in their business undertakings. This year’s IPP covered 13 preferred economic activities that include agriculture or agribusiness and fishery; creative industries or knowledge- based services; shipbuilding, mass housing, iron and steel, energy, infrastructure, and PPP; research and development; green projects, hospitals and medical services projects; motor vehicles; strategic projects; and disaster prevention and recovery projects. All these are subject and entitled to a package of incentives including income tax holiday, duty-free importation of capital equipments among others, the same statement added. For this year, strong signal investor interest is envisioned with the inclusion of these sectors like hospital and medical services and iron and steel for 2012 IPP. Expected speakers to grace this year’s Investments Roadshow are DTI Undersecretary for International Trade Group Adrian Cristobal Jr., and Governor of the Board of investments Geronimo Sta. Ana. (mbcn/AYS/PIACEBU) declared. “Our team of passionate and professional instructors are highly trained and competent in both outdoor leadership skills and facilitating learning through the outdoors,” added Loh. For more information on KAC and its services, please contact 418-7234 local 407 and look for Althea Santillan, or visit www.rafi.org.ph or www.facebook. com/rafi.org.ph or e-mail at info.kac@ rafi.org.ph. (mbcn/AYS/PIA-CEBU with reports from RAFI)
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Over 4,000 jobs available during two-day job fair in NegOr By Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY (PIA) -- More than 4,000 job opportunities for overseas and local employment will be offered during a two-day recruitment activity on November 28 and 29 at the Lamberto Macias S p o r t s a n d C u l t u r a l C e n t e r,
Dumaguete City. The two-day job fair is open to all job seekers from around Negros Oriental, Provincial Public Employment Services Office (PESO) focal person Jose Ramon Benedicto said. Benedicto said that during the job fair, Trioceanic Manning and
DSWD Sec. Dinky Soliman (seated, center) with Sibulan Mayor Marcela Bartoces (seated, right) signing the memorandum of agreement for the additional beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya Program in Sibulan and Amlan towns. The signing was held Nov. 12, 2012 at Bethel Guesthouse, Dumaguete City. Witnessing the signing is Gov. Roel Degamo (seated, left) and DSWD-7 Regional Director Evelyn Macapobre (center, standing). (RMN/PIA NEGOR)
DSWD delists 71,000 names from 4Ps list of beneficiaries By Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY (PIA) -The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) recently delisted 71,000 names from their nationwide roster of beneficiaries under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). DSWD Sec. Dinky Soliman disclosed that the beneficiaries they dropped from said list were found to be ineligible to receive the conditional cash grants issued under the 4Ps program. Of the total delisted, three are from Negros Oriental; one is from Siaton town and two from Bayawan City. “After validation, these people were found to have a stable source of income,” said Soliman. Beneficiaries for the program are the “poorest of the poor” households culled from the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR). Households eligible to benefit from 4Ps are those classified as poor based on the NHTSPR at the time of assessment, have children 0-14 years old and/or have a pregnant woman at the time of assessment, and those that agree to meet conditions specified in the program. The DSWD chief, in a press conference held Nov. 12 in Dumaguete City, said the department continues to conduct
a thorough validation process to identify beneficiaries who must be delisted from the program. She said that after four years of implementing 4Ps, the standard of living of the beneficiaries have improved, from their living conditions to the way they dress. “Sometimes, when the COA (Commission on Audit) staff go to their houses to assess them, or when the media interviews them, they will notice that their houses have improved, and they have better clothes and they immediately ask why DSWD is helping these people when they look like they can afford. But of course, we have been helping them for several years already so we should expect them to be in better living conditions or else we’re not achieving our goals,” Soliman explained. Part of what the 4Ps program is doing is to help give the beneficiaries dignity, and we should not take that away from them, she added. 4Ps is a human investment program spearheaded by DSWD which provides conditional cash grants to household beneficiaries for their children’s education and health needs. Soliman was in Dumaguete City to lead the signing of a memorandum of agreement for the additional beneficiairies in Sibulan and Amlan towns. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)
Shipping Inc. seeks to hire 4,000 fishermen from the province to work in accredited Chinese vessels. “These vessels are bound for Argentina, Japan, Cape Mauritius, Fiji Island, and other neighboring Asian countries,” he said. Qualified to apply are males aged 18 to 30-years-old who have completed elementary or high school levels and are physically fit to work. Interested applicants are required to bring the following documents: bio-data with recent 2x2 ID photo, NSO-authenticated birth certificate, and latest NBI clearance. Trioceanic will also hold another recruitment activity on Nov. 30 at the Siaton municipal gymnasium, Benedicto said. Local employers participating in the Nov. 28 and 29 jobs fair are Qualfon Dumaguete, Robinson’s Place Dumaguete, and Island Merchants Corp. which is the distributor of Nestle Philippines in Negros island. Also joining the job fair is the Simon Group of Companies based in Cebu which is set to hire workers for local jobs in engineering fields such as civil, chemical, and mechanical engineering. These companies seek graduates of Commerce, Psychology, Human Resource Management, Business Management, Criminology, Marine Engineering, Science Vet Medicine, Computer Accounting, Midwifery, Nursing Aide, Associate Healthcare Course, English majors, Mass Communication, Nursing, and other four-year courses. Benedicto said the job fair will help the provincial government address local unemployment through the “Magdegamo Equals Trabaho” program. For more details on the job fair, applicants may contact Benedicto at the Provincial PESO at telephone no. 225-1111 loc. 396 or 0925-275-9950. (RMN-PIA7, Negros Oriental)
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is a weekly electronic newsletter produced by the Philippine Information Agency-Region 7 with stories submitted by its Provincial Information Centers in Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
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SIQUIJOR
Pantawid Pamilya releases over P50M to beneficiaries in Siquijor By Rizalie A. Calibo
SIQUIJOR (PIA) -- The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program released P50,245,000 cash grant to over 3,000 household-beneficiaries in Siquijor province from 2010 to 2012, said a report from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) during Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman’s visit to the island on November 12. Of the total cash grant, P19,967,700 went to 1,067 households of Lazi town in September 2010 (set 3); March 2011 (set 4) and January 2012 (set 5) releases; and P919,200 to 200 households of Enrique Villanueva in its March 2011 (set 4) release. Maria town had 557 householdbeneficiaries that got P2,120,500 in June 2010 (set 4) and San Juan, 625 households with P2,115,100 in December 2011 (set 4). Siquijor and Larena municipalities are included in August 2012 (Set 5) and September 2012 (set 6) with identified beneficiaries of 634 and 163 households, respectively, but cash grant for the two municipalities are still on process, the report said. DSWD secretary Dinky
IPHO appeals public support to campaign on Sin Tax Bill By Rizalie A. Calibo
SIQUIJOR (PIA)--The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) in Siquijor province is calling for support for the ongoing one million signature campaign to support the Sin Tax Bill. IPHO Information Officer Pamela Dominguez said that one can participate through signing a form at the office located beside the provincial hospital or through signing online by liking the sin tax bill page on facebook. Dominguez, said the approval of this bill will help both the government and the people through the generation of revenues for a universal health care program to improve access to quality health care. She cited that based on a study conducted by the World Health Organization, every ten percent in the price of cigarettes results in a seven percent decline in youth smoking, and a four percent decline in overall smoking. “Cigarette smoking has only bad effects, there is no compromise as to the amount as the chemicals and hazardous substances pose big health risks to smokers,” Dominguez said. Its detrimental effects extend to even nonsmokers and the environment itself, she added. Dominguez said that the Department of health (DOH) is pushing for a Sin Tax Law to deter people, especially the youth and the poor from smoking as well as drinking alcohol and be protected from a lifetime consequences. (mbcn/RAC/PIA-Siquijor)
Soliman, in a press conference, said that beneficiaries are those identified “poorest of the poor” based on the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) and that politicians had nothing to do with the inclusion or deletion of their names in the list. She disclosed this following reports on alleged involvement of politicians in the province in the identification and delisting of the beneficiaries for the Conditional Cash Transfer or Pantawid Pamilya program. “The only ones who can erase their names from the lists are the beneficiaries themselves, not the mayors, not the governors or any other politicians, she said. She explained that those delisted from the roster of beneficiaries are those found not following the stipulated conditions or those that are not eligible to receive the conditional cash grants as provided for in the program. DSWD-7 information officer Aileen Lariba said the secretary’s visit to the island is mainly to dispel the fears of the beneficiaries aside from the signing of memorandum of agreement for the additional beneficiaries in the province. A total of 3,601 beneficiaries have been identified under the 4Ps program in all six towns but only 859 of them were invited to the assembly representing their respective barangays. It was also attended by the local government and Siquijor parish priest Msgr. Candelario Catubig, who also wanted to hear the DSWD dispel rumors of political intervention in the CCT on the
island. “We are contributing to poverty reduction by ensuring that we will break intergenerational poverty,” Soliman said during the forum. She said the Pantawid Pamilya program wants to help children finish at least elementary so that they will have a better life than their parents or their grandparents. Soliman said the DSWD is strengthening convergence efforts with other stakeholders following President Aquino’s order to maximize the funds that they get for the poor. These include Student Grantsin Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (SGP-PA with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), State Colleges and Universities (SUCs), and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the National Greening Program (NGP) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Convergence and commitments with the Department of Health and PhilHealth are taking place, she said citing the 100 percent coverage of PantawidPamilya by PhilHealth and the Complete Treatment Pack (ComPack) program of the Department of Health (DOH). Other convergence efforts are the Free Birth Registration Project with the National Statistics Office (NSO), Philippine Energy Efficient Project (PEEP) with the Department of Energy (DOE), Trabahong Lansangan ng Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the skills training programs with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). (mbcn/RAC-PIA 7, Siquijor)
IPHO appeals public support to campaign on Sin Tax Bill By Rizalie A. Calibo
SIQUIJOR (PIA)--The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) in Siquijor province is calling for support for the on-going one million signature campaign to support the Sin Tax Bill. IPHO Information Officer Pamela Dominguez said that one can participate through signing a form at the office located beside the provincial hospital or through signing online by liking the sin tax bill page on facebook. Dominguez, said the approval of this bill will help both the government and the people through the generation of revenues for a universal health care program to improve access to quality health care. She cited that based on a study conducted by the World Health Organization, every ten percent in the price of cigarettes results in a seven percent decline in youth smoking, and a four percent decline in overall smoking. “Cigarette smoking has only bad effects, there is no compromise as to the amount as the chemicals and hazardous substances pose big health risks to smokers,” Dominguez said. Its detrimental effects extend to even non-smokers and the environment itself, she added. Dominguez said that the Department of health (DOH) is pushing for a Sin Tax Law to deter people, especially the youth and the poor from smoking as well as drinking alcohol and be protected from a lifetime consequences. (mbcn/RAC/PIASiquijor)