Mindanao Daily News (February 6, 2013 Issue)

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Groups thumb down exceptions in FOI bill VOL. VOL.2, 2,No. No.213 224

Cagayan Cagayande deOro OroCity City

Thursday Wednesday

January 24, February 6,2013 2013

P10.00 P10.00

“A watered-down FOI bill will just reinforce what is already a pattern of information denial by the government which is fearful of genuinely engaging its citizens on policies it knows are antipeople and anti-developmental.” --Ibon Foundation By RONALYN V. OLEA of Bulatlat.com

Advocates of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill have called for transparency in governance but what if the version that awaits approval by the Congress would institutionalize secrecy? The consolidated bill House Bill 6766 or the FOI bill lists ten points of exceptions, all of which are present in Malacañang’s version of the FOI. These exceptions

prompted the Makabayan coalition of progressive partylist groups in Congress to withdraw their sponsorship of the bill. Groups that frequently ask government agencies to release information on various matters also raised objections to the exceptions. ‘Misnamed’ Independent think-tank Ibon Foundation deemed that the current FOI bill bill | page 10

PROUD. Department of Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad (left) boasts the “remarkable and impressive performance” of the Aquino administration during the Philippine Development Forum, February 4 at the Marco Polo Hotel Davao. He told the audience, media practitioners included, that the country has a “robust fiscal condition, and stellar and resilient economic growth.” Davaotoday.com photo by Alex D. Lopez

Amid GDP growth hype, Hike in tax collection jobs situation in PH worsens Business Matters

By PAT SAMONTE and JOEL PORTUGAL of Mindanao Daily News

BUTUAN City––Business permit tax collection for this year has increased by nine percent to P68,518,479.94 compared to 2012. This was learned from

Ronald Dizon of the City Mayor’s public information office, based on a report from the Business Permits and Licensing Division. tax | page 10

Maybank opens 55th branch in Davao City

FULL STORY ON PAGE 3

THE reported 6.6% growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012 being played up has not improved the jobs situation in the country, which even worsened last year. According to research group IBON, the number of unemployed and underemployed Filipinos increased to 11.9 million in 2012. IBON estimates that the number of unemployed Filipinos increased by 48,000 to reach 4.4 million and the number of underemployed by 349,000 to reach 7.5 million in 2012 – for a total of 11.9 million

unemployed and underemployed. The unemployment rate remained at 10.5% while the underemployment rate increased significantly to 20.0% from 19.3% the year before. These figures are based on IBON’s estimates on official data correcting for the change in methodology that now underreports unemployment. The official government unemployment figure for 2012 is 7.0% but which is also unchanged from the year before. As it is, the Philippines still has the worst worsen | page 10

For more details, contact Tel. No.: 309-5276 Hermilino Villalon

Move to save forests of mining town snowballs By CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN of Mindanao Daily News

ROSARIO, Agusan del Sur--Better late than sorry. Local government executives here have snowballed a movement to protect and preserve what has critically left of this mining town’s forest reserve inside the watershed areas. Ironically, the move to revitalize the multi-sectoral forest protection council could be a big challenge considering that multi-millionaire Mayor Jose Cuyos and most of the local officials are engaged in gold mining tunnel operations and small-scale logging activities. Cuyos, a former “habalhabal” passenger motorcycle driver who struck big fortune from an abandoned gold mining tunnel in the “high grade” mountainous small-scale mining areas called “red mountain” is seeking reelection in the coming May polls. At the meeting held at the session hall of the Sangguniang Bayan on Monday, Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer Nemesio de Paz admitted the move to save the remaining forest of the town’s watersheds is a tall order because the local government has not prioritized environmental protection as a matter of policy. “We need to redirect to our degree of priority,” de Paz said as he warned in his power point presentation that the forest reserves particularly in Maputi Spring move | page 10

J.P. RIZAL - CRUZ TAAL STS., (NEAR SHANGHAI BAKERY) DIVISORIA, CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY

Editorial: e-mail: mindanaodailynews@gmail.com • 72-33-44, 856-3344 Advertising: e-mail: mindanaodaily.ads@gmail.com Contact cell nos.: 0917-7121424, 0947-8935776


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