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| 15 MAY 2008 | . | |
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| 15 MAY 2008 | . | |
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| PGMA inaugurates RP’s ‘largest’ barangay hall |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated today what is touted as the
"largest" barangay hall in the Philippines – the Maysan Barangay Complex (MBC)
in Valenzuela City. Located right smack in the middle of the 253-hectare Barangay Maysan, the P27-million MBC is a three-storey building with a floor area of 3,000 square meters. The structure sits on a 936-square-meter lot, which was acquired by the barangay council in 1997 during the term of then Barangay Captain Pablo Lucas. Of the P27 million allocation for the MBC, P5 million went to the acquisition of the land while P22 million was spent on the construction of the building. Funding for the project was sourced from the congressional fund of then Congressman Emmanuel Carlos, (1st dist., Valenzuela City), and later from the congressional allocation of Congressman Magtanggol Gunigundo I, (2nd dist., Valenzuela City. Construction of the MBC was completed in 2007 and, shortly thereafter, the hall was opened to the public in October 2007. Aside from the administrative offices such, as the ones for administration, treasurer, barangay council and the barangay chairman, the MBC also houses a livelihood training, day care and action center, a senior citizen's office and a multi-purpose hall-cum-gymnasium. The Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) office and a Hall of Justice are located at the second floor of the MBC. Upon her arrival in Valenzuela City, the President led guests composed of Department of Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, Gunigundo I, Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian, Vice-Mayor Eric Martinez, and Maysan Barangay Chairman Enrique Urutia in the ribbon-cutting ceremony formally opening the MBC to Valenzuela City residents. She then unveiled the project marker located at the ground floor of the MBC, after which she was then given a tour of the MBC's facilities starting with the Livelihood Training Center, Day Care Center, SK, Personnel and Chairman's Offices, and, finally the Multi-purpose Hall. The President expressed amazement at the accomplishment of Valenzuela City, particularly that of Barangay Maysan, and congratulated the officers and employees for their "outstanding work." "Congratulations for keeping the City of Valenzuela dynamic and prosperous," the President told some 200 Maysan officials and employees who came out to greet her. **** raymond/ava/reba |
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| NCR, region 10 wage boards ready with new round of wage increases |
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The National Capital Region (NCR) and Region 10 Regional Tripartite
Productivity and Wage Boards (RTPWBs) are ready to issue an order setting a
new round of wage increases for minimum wage earners in the two regions. President Gloria Macapagal –Arroyo, who was the guest of honor at the 29th National Conference of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) held today at the Centennial Hall of the historic Manila Hotel, made the announcement as she congratulated the RTPWBs “for doing overtime work last Labor Day.” The President said that acting Labor Secretary Marianito Roque informed her last night that the NCR wage board agreed to add P20 to the minimum wage, thus raising the daily minimum wage in the NCR to P382. The President said, however, that this is still subject to “refinements” as the wage board was still meeting this morning. “But the refinement may be P15 increase in the minimum wage and P5 additional cost of living allowance (COLA),” she added. In Region 10 (Northern Mindanao), the President said that the wage board has finished its deliberations and that of the existing P26 COLA, P16 would be integrated into the minimum wage, while P12 would be added to the remaining P10 COLA. This means an increase in the daily minimum wage in Northern Mindanao of 16 from P244 to P260. The President’s announcements came as the ECOP, in its resolution submitted to the Chief Executive, stressed that employers are for the “upward adjustment of salaries and wages, but it should be adjusted solely to compensate for the erosion caused by the upward movement of the consumer price index. And we also fully agree with the President that we leave the deliberation and eventually decision to the Regional Wage Boards.” “Because the world is flat, employers, labor and government make joint decisions, institutionalized at the policy level by the RTPWBs,” the President said. She was referring to the international bestseller written by Thomas Friedman analyzing the process of globalization where all competitors have an equal opportunity. |
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| PGMA prods employers to provide the rice requirements of their employees |
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“Making food affordable to employees brings about an empowered workplace,”
thus stressed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo this morning as she sounded
anew her call on large corporations to provide the rice requirements of
their employees by importing or producing the staple cereal. “Because the world is flat, we encourage, the President said, alluding to Thomas Friedman’s “The World is Flat” international bestseller which views the world as flat or level in terms of competition, or where all competitors have an equal opportunity in the process of globalization. On May 2, the President signed Executive Order 721 encouraging large corporations to provide the rice requirements of their workers. “I ordered the National Food Authority to encourage large corporations to provide for the rice requirements of their employees either by engaging in the production of rice, or by importing rice to meet their employees’ requirements,” she said. “We encourage those large corporations with existing landholdings determined to be suitable for rice production. Those without landholdings who decide to engage in rice production may lease public agricultural lands or, subject to mutual agreement with the land owner, idle agricultural lands,” she added. The President also said that corporations that opt to import rice have to register with the NFA. Corporations may also enter into agreements or other forms of combinations among themselves for the purpose of engaging in rice production and/or importation. |
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| PGMA distributes scholarship checks for P150-M for poor high school studes in Metro Manila |
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Incoming high school students now have a chance to pursue secondary
education in government-recognized private high schools after President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo launched the Department of Education's (DepEd)
Education Voucher System (EVS) in Valenzuela City this morning. The President distributed P150 million worth of EVS checks to DepEd-National Capital Region director Teresita Dolamante and an additional P10-million worth of EVS checks to principals representing nine government-accredited private high schools in Valenzuela City for a grand total of P160 million in EVS checks. To formally kick off the EVS program for 2008, the President distributed EVS checks to an initial 19 incoming Valenzuela City high school students. The EVS checks, in denominations of P10,000, will benefit some 15,000 incoming high school students in the NCR with 1,000 of them from Valenzuela. Originally, each EVS check amounted to P5,000 but owing to the rising cost of tuition and, school materials, the amount was increased to P10,000 this year. "Dati-dati yung mga high school vouchers ay P5,000 ang kanyang scholarship amount, pero mahal ang matrikula…kaya gumawa kami ng desisyon para mas maraming mahihirap na estudyante ang maka-kayang private high school education… tinaas natin ang amount ng high school voucher dito sa NCR ng P10,000," the President said. The EVS aims to provide and maintain a system of financial assistance for underprivileged elementary school graduates, plus qualifiers of the Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) and Alternative Learning System's Accreditation and Equivalency (ALS A&E), and out-of-school youth who wish to pursue high school education in a private school. It also aims to help alleviate the problem of excess enrolment in public schools by tapping the services of private schools in providing education to students who cannot be accommodated in the public school system due to classroom shortage, large class size, lack of teachers and insufficient instructional facilities and materials. The EVS checks cover tuition and other school fees in the private school of choice until the student graduates. Beneficiaries shall be entitled to receive the succeeding voucher certificates only when they are promoted to the next year level. Once fully implemented, the EVS, which was first implemented in June 2006, will greatly contribute to the improvement of the quality of secondary education. |
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| President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's Speech during the 29th National Conference of Employers by the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), Centennial Hall Manila Hotel, City of Manila, May 15, 2008 |
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Thank you very much, Mike, for your very kind and generous introduction. Secretary Favila and the other members of government who are here today; Jun Ortiz-Luis, Donald Dee and the other top brass of ECOP; David Chua, the new generation representative who chairs this Conference; ladies and gentlemen. Congratulations for being devoted to striking a balance between employers’ interest and workers’ welfare! That is what ECOP is known for. Since your birth in 1975, ECOP has been the voice of the business community on employment, industrial relations, labor and related social policies. Thank you for your special task and thank you for doing it so well. Your theme this year, “The Empowered Workplace,” recognizes that today, in order to create an empowered workplace, management’s role must change from a command-and-control mindset to a responsibility-oriented and supportive environment in which all employees have the opportunity to do their best. I was just re-reading the book, “The World is Flat” because when I was reading the talking points and the introductory material for your theme, it's as if I was reading “The World is Flat.” Although I read it three years ago, I read it again today. This is the bestselling book by the author and journalist Tom Friedman. He uses the terminology the world is flat, but the world he is describing is exactly the world that John Tan was describing earlier. And I can see that ECOP's vision of the empowered workplace embraces the notion indeed that the world is flat. Friedman outlines the compelling and revolutionary change that has affected the world as a result of tectonic shifts in the post-Cold War order. You know, when the Berlin Wall fell started the coming of age of China, Russia, the Eastern countries, Russia breaking up into not one empire but many equal nations. And also the changes that happened with the impact of technology. Our awardee for this year, Andrew Tan, is really a personification of the recognition of the importance of technology because Andrew's shares, Andrew's stock, has risen because he pioneered in being the landlord of all those BPOs and that is a representation of the new world that ECOP is describing. ECOP’s theme underscores the substantial elements that make up the new and thriving face of the Filipino employer in the flat world. In the world that is flat, office zones are designed by borderless business, and enterprise competitiveness is driven by labor creativity and technological innovation. Yes, the world is flat! You don't have to have large starting capital to make it if you have creativity and innovation. And if you know how to bring out the best in those who work in your theme. Yes, the world is flat and the flatter it gets, the more it requires companies to adapt and innovate, to survive and thrive. And that is what the theme of ECOP is all about this year. More and more companies are realizing that developing and supporting an empowered workplace results in a return on investment for all stakeholders in the enterprise, not just the workers but also the employers and the customers and the suppliers. Employers, labor and government, make joint decisions because the world is flat. And our joint decision-making at the policy level is institutionalized by the Regional Tripartite Productivity and Wage Boards where ECOP is very active. I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to join me in thanking the Wage Boards for doing overtime work last Labor Day. Thank you very much to all those who are in the Wage Board. You know, in the past and up to today, in order to promote domestic tourism -- although we celebrate the national holiday on the day itself determined by law where all the ceremonies and all the commemorations are done -- we usually move the day-off to the day, the closest day to the weekend, either Monday or Friday. But Labor requested that, "No, let us not make Labor Day the day-off Friday.” Because Labor Day was Thursday this year. They said, "Keep the Labor Day day-off Thursday not Friday." So it was a no-work holiday for all on May 1, except for the Wage Boards. And because the Wage Boards have been working very hard, last night, Secretary Marianito Roque -- who is not here today because I will explain in a moment what other job he has to do today -- last night, Nitoy Roque reported to me that as a result of the discussions initiated on Labor Day, the NCR Wage Board has come to some agreement which will be refined further today in a meeting, ongoing, and that was why Nitoy Roque is attending to that. The agreement they have come to is 20 pesos added to the minimum wage... but the refinement to be determined today is whether it will be 15 minimum wage addition plus 5 percent... Five pesos COLA or 20 minimum wage addition. Nitoy Roque will be coming, I believe,to join ECOP when their meeting is finished today and you will get the final decision of the Wage Board. Last night, Nitoy also reported -- and I thank the Region X for being here -- that the Region X Wage Board has also finished its deliberations. Before the deliberations, the existing cost of living allowance in Region X was 26 pesos. The Regional Wage Board decided that of the 26 pesos, 16 pesos will now be part of the integrated minimum wage. And of the remaining 10 pesos COLA, there will be an additional 12 pesos. So, a 12-peso increase in the takehome pay of our workers. So thank you to the Wage Boards who have finished your work, and we look forward to the Wage Boards in the other regions coming up with their work soon. We have also been working for non-wage benefits. Yesterday, I understand Senator Angara and Congressman Manny Guinigundo were here in ECOP where you discussed the legislative agenda of ECOP. And earlier our speakers talked about the things that you have to be doing in the days to come on legislation. Jun Ortiz-Luis mentioned some of them being in the resolutions but let us also thank Congress, especially the House of Representatives, for work already accomplished. Let us thank the House of Representatives for the swift passage of the tax exemption bill for minimum wage-earners. This bill has been balanced with a measure on simplified income taxation. I hope that... I want to congratulate the House for a beautiful bill and we hope the Senate will soon pass its own version. I understand from our Legislative Liaison Office that the Senate has a different version but also a very good version. So, we hope that whatever version will come out or whatever compromise will come out in the Bicameral Conference Committee will be something that will be good for employers and good for workers as well. So, this is what we wish to do in an empowered workplace. It is especially important to empower the workplace at a time today, not just because the world is flat, but also there are clouds in the world that are driving up the price of oil and food, particularly rice. Thankfully, in large part because we have taken advantage of the blessings of a flat world— including information technology, education using Business Process Outsourcing and knowledge outsourcing as among our drivers of growth— we are now in a vastly improved position to weather the global storm than at any time in recent memory. Our response to the rice situation is based on three fundamental needs: One, to ensure supply; two, to make sure distribution of rice gets to the people who need it most efficiently and cost-effectively; and lastly, to be vigilant that unscrupulous traders do not price gouge and exploit the situation. To help in our fundamental need, number one, which is to ensure supply. Last May 2nd, I signed an Executive Order -- still to be released by Secretary Ermita -- encouraging large corporations to provide for the rice requirements of their employees. But because the world is flat, we use the word ‘encourage,’ we do not use the word ‘require.’ The one that we gave an order to is not the corporation. We gave an order to the National Food Authority to encourage large corporations to provide for rice requirements of their employees either by engaging in the production of rice or by importing rice to meet their employees’ requirements. I remember going to one of the top cement factories in Cebu -- one of the model employers, in fact -- and when I was telling them about rice, they said because Cebuanos eat kamote and corn, they will instead plant either kamote or corn in their available land. We encourage those large corporations with existing landholdings determined to be suitable for rice production, to indeed engage in rice production. Those without landholdings who decide to engage in rice production may lease public agricultural lands for the purpose or subject to mutual agreement with landowners whose lands are still idle to plant on those lands. Again subject to mutual agreement because the world is flat it must be because of common consensus and not anybody forcing anybody to do anything. Those corporations who decide to import rice may register with the NFA so that the importations can be coursed through the NFA and so that they may be eligible for fiscal privileges provided through the NFA. Now these are for large corporations, meaning, 500 employees and above. But other corporations may enter into agreements or other forms of combination among themselves for the purpose of engaging in the production and/or importation of rice for employees. This is an important non-wage benefit at this important time in our history. After all, the law provides for tax exemption for benefits up to 1,000 pesos worth per month. Making food affordable to employees, indeed, brings about an empowered workplace. Because if they have the rice, they don’t have to worry about the most basic need of their families. I would like to thank ECOP and congratulate you because ECOP has long realized the importance of developing and maintaining an empowered workplace. You have become a cornerstone of our country’s development. Prior to the flat world we wanted an empowered workplace because of social justice. But now that the world is flat, your message is clear -- an empowered workplace is also good for business, good for the economy, and good for our country. And therefore, in promoting an empowered workplace ECOP is a major partner in helping the Filipino nation take advantage of the flatness of the world and move into the First World in 20 years. So to ECOP, I say, “Salamat, “flat-worlders.” Maraming salamat sa inyong ginagawa para sa kapakanan ng manggagawa at inyong mga negosyo. Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat. |
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| Calabarzon wage board grants P20 pay hike |
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Minimum wage workers in the private sector in Region IV A (Calabarzon) have
been granted a P20 wage increase following the release of Wage Order No.
IVA-13 by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in
the region, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today said. Citing a report from National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) Executive Director Ciriaco Lagunzad, Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque said minimum wage earners in Calabarzon will receive pay adjustments ranging from P12 to P20 per day. The Calabarzon consists of the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon. Roque said the wage increase will take effect 15 days after the publication of the new wage order in a newspaper of general circulation. He said minimum wage earners in specific areas in Calabarzon will get additional increases as follows: P16-20 per day for those in the Growth Corridor Area: P14 for those in the Emerging Growth Area: and P12 per day for those in the Resource Based Area. Overall, the highest minimum wage rate in the region will be P320 per day, the DOLE Chief said. Roque noted that the Calbarzon wage board acted motu proprio and reviewed wage levels across the regions without waiting for the end of the one-year effectivity of the previous wage order. He said that wage board took into consideration the increases in the prices of products and services brought about by the shortages in supply, high importation costs, and upward trend in world market prices. The board, he added, was motivated to respond to the urgent need to provide for a wage hike for minimum wage earners to help them cope with price increases. It declared the existence of supervening condition on April 17, 2008 and subsequently hold exhaustive consultants with labor and employer sector and other stakeholders to ensure the continued employment of the workers and viability of business in Calabarzon. The new minimum wage rates, according to the order, shall apply to all minimum wage earners in the private sector in the region “regardless of their position, designation or status and irrespective of the method by which their wages are paid. Expressly exempted from the provision of the wage order are household or domestic helpers and person in the personal service of another, including family drivers, and workers of Barangay Micro Business Enterprises, distresses establishment and exporters may be exempted from compliance with the new wage increase. Wage Order 4A-13 also encourages the implementation of a productivity and gainsharing programs at the enterprise level to increase the net take home pay of the workers and enhance the competitiveness of business. Earlier, the Regional Wage Board of Region X (Northern Mindanao) granted an additional Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) in the amount of P12 to all minimum wage earners in the region. The wage Board also granted an integration to the basic wage the existing COLA of P16.00 under Wage Order No. RX-12. By November 10 2008, the P10 COLA granted under Wage Order No. 13 will be integrated to the basic wage bringing the total to P244. |
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| PGMA cites importance of empowered workplace in RP’s bid for first world |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo underscored today the importance of the
empowered workplace in the country’s goal of achieving a First World status
in the next two decades. In her message at the 29th National Conference of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) at the Centennial Hall of the Manila Hotel this morning, the President also noted that ECOP’s vision of the empowered workplace embraces Thomas Friedman’s notion that the world is flat. “Your theme this year, “The Empowered Workplace,” recognizes that today in order to create an empowered workplace, management’s role must change from a command-and-control mindset to a responsibility-oriented and supportive environment in which all employees have the opportunity to do their best,” the President said. “ECOP’s theme underscores the substantial elements that make up the new and thriving face of the Filipino employer in the flat world, where office zones are defined by borderless business, and enterprise competitiveness is driven by labor creativity and technological innovation,” she added. The President noted that more companies have realized that by developing and supporting an empowered workplace “results in a return on investment for all stakeholders in the enterprise.” “Yes, the world is flat!” the President said, adding that the flatter or the more the process of globalization gives an equal opportunity to all competitors, the more companies have to adapt and innovate to survive. The ECOP, she said, has long realized the importance of an empowered workplace. “You have become a cornerstone of our country’s development…your message is clear- an empowered workplace is good for business, good for the economy, and good for the country,” the President said. ”To ECOP, ‘flat worlders,’ you have been a major partner in helping the Filipino nation move into the first world in 20 years,” she said. The 29th national conference of ECOP addressed the basic issues affecting stakeholders on the radically changed workplace brought about by globalization, trade liberalization, coupled with information and communication technology. The ECOP noted that the new workplace needs new approaches to foster industrial peace, improve productivity and resolve disputes. |
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| SSS implements year-long amnesty for short-term loans |
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The Social Security System (SSS) has implemented a year-long amnesty for
short-term loans starting May 1 to help ease the burden on Filipino workers
coping with rising prices, a senior official said. SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Corazon de la Paz-Bernardo said the pension fund would condone penalties on loans of members who would avail of the amnesty, which is part of the non-wage benefits package offered to workers to mark Labor Day. "This is an excellent opportunity for delinquent borrowers to settle their unpaid accounts at a huge discount," she said. "Under the amnesty, they would only pay the principal and interest, with their penalties written off by the SSS." The SSS expects to collect P2.62 billion in principal and interest from about 620,000 delinquent short-term loan borrowers. The amnesty would end on April 30 next year. The amount of penalties to be condoned would be proportionate to the arrears, or the outstanding principal and interest, paid by the borrower. Payments may be partial or in full. "If only half of the arrears are paid during the amnesty, then only half of the penalties would be condoned, while the balance would continue to accumulate penalties," De la Paz-Bernardo said. "This is why we urge borrowers to fully pay their delinquencies within the amnesty to enjoy 100 percent condonation of penalties." The SSS has been granting salary loans to actively-paying members with at least 36 contribution payments. Previous loans granted to members include calamity, emergency, educational, study now-pay later, vocational/technical, Y2K, stock investment and privatization fund loans. De la Paz-Bernardo said 721 delinquent members from 19 cooperatives which borrowed under the SSS Members' Assistance for the Development of Entrepreneurship (MADE) could also avail of the amnesty. The MADE program, which ended in 1994, had released over P140 million to cooperatives, which in turn lent the funds to its members for livelihood activities. More than 540,000 delinquent borrowers benefited from five amnesty periods for SSS short-term loans, the last of which was from January to June 2007. The SSS also has an ongoing amnesty for housing loan borrowers. |
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| PGMA taps state colleges in campaign to increase RP’s agricultural production |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo mobilized today the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED) and the 110 state colleges and universities (SUCs) to come
up with programs to intensify the training and increase the number of
agricultural technicians and workers as well as encourage students to enroll
in agriculture-based courses. The President held a conference this afternoon in Malacanang with the presidents of SUCs and officials of concerned government agencies to discuss ways and means for them to play a vital role In the government’s food production drive under the FIELDS program. Among those present were CHED Chairman Romulo Neri, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Estrella Alabastro, and 104 SUC presidents led by Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) president Dr. Lauro Tacbas. “One of the reasons why we have a problem in food supply is the lack of agricultural technicians and workers. Enrollment in agricultural courses in state colleges and universities (SUCs) has been substantially decreasing,” she said The President said that to encourage enrollment in agri-based courses, the government will offer scholarships to students taking up agriculture-related courses. “One of the things we want to do is provide scholarships to agricultural studies,” she said. There are 110 SUCs in the country with 3,144 faculty members teaching agriculture-based courses and studies. Neri reported to the President that at present 65,734 students are enrolled in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, veterinary medicine and agribusiness courses in the 110 SUCs nationwide. These SUCs have an unutilized landholdings of 50,133 hectares which can be utilized for farming, research, hybrid and certified seed production, and technology as demonstration farms. During the National Food Summit last month, the President launched the P43.7-billion FIELDS program, a package of interventions for Philippine agriculture that stands for fertilizer, irrigation and infrastructure, extension and education, loans and insurance, dryers and other post-harvest and facilities, and seeds of the high-yielding, hybrid varieties. Under Extension and Education, the President tasked government agencies to train more trainors and technicians on new technologies for dissemination to farmers, and to utilize the SUCs in their extension-related programs. The President underscored the importance of continuous training of farmers and fisherfolk on new technologies as she instructed the Department of Agriculture (DA) to continuously implement programs and interventions to improve agricultural production in cooperation with the Department of Interior and Local Government, local government units (LGUs) and the DOST. The President also alloted more funds for the training of farmers and fisherfolk on new and emerging technologies, including P2 billion for research and development, P1 billion for capability building, P1 billion for trainors and technicians, and P1 billion for the agricultural and fisheries education system. The President launched the FIELDS program to guarantee the stable supply of rice and other crops by boosting farm productivity and thus cushion the impact of the present global food problem. |
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