DOH not easing on mask mandate

No mask mandate for now says DOH

 

I guess status quo muna. mahirap na

wearing masks can help prevent

Bagong Department of Migrant Workers, malaki ang tulong sa mga OFWs: Cayetano

Sinabi ni dating House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano na nilagdaan na ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte noong Huwebes ng Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Act.

Ayon kay Cayetano, ang nasabing batas na kanyang sinimulan at itinaguyod sa Senado’t Kamara ay magbubunga ng karampatang pagkilala at benepisyo para sa mga overseas Filipino worker (OFWs).

“When I first filed Senate Bill No. 1435 on May 4, 2017, I wanted to see the creation of a single department that would address the many issues and concerns of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families face on a regular basis,” ayon kay Cayetano sa isang pahayag noong December 27, 2021.

(Noong una kong inihain ang Senate Bill No. 1435 noong May 4, 2017, ginusto kong makita ang paglikha ng isang kagawaran na tutugon sa mga issue at pangangailangan ng mga OFW at kanilang mga pamilya.)

Bagama’t hindi naisabatas, muling naghain si Cayetano noong 2019 ng House Bill No. 5832 na siya namang pumasa sa Kamara noong Marso 11, 2020 sa kanyang pamumuno bilang House Speaker.

Ang panukalang batas, na isa si Cayetano sa punong may-akda, ay naglalayong lumikha ng isang Department of Overseas Filipino Workers and Foreign Employment — isang sentralisadong ahensya na tutugon sa mga pangangailangan ng mga OFW.

Noong inaprubahan ng Senado ang bersyon ng naturang panukala na Senate Bill 2234 noong Disyembre 24, 2021, agad itong sinang-ayunan ng Kamara sa sumunod na araw para mapadala na agad ito para lagdaan ng Presidente.

Pinasalamatan ni Cayetano ang Pangulo para sa pagsasabatas ng DMW, at sinabing ito ay naghahatid ng panibagong pag-asa para sa mga overseas Filipinos na nagsakripisyo upang matustusan ang mga pamilya at panatilihin ang ekonomiya ng bansa.

“We have always called our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) our modern day heroes but government has not been able to give full attention to them because their welfare is handled by different departments and agencies,” aniya.

(Tinatawag nating makabagong bayani ang ating mga OFW pero hindi sila nabibigyan ng sapat na atensyon ng gobyerno dahil iba-ibang kagawaran at ahensya ang humahawak sa kanilang mga pangangailangan.) Ayon kay Cayetano ang paglikha ng bagong departamento ay magbibigay-daan para sa mas angkop na budget sa mga serbisyo’t programa para sa mga OFWs at ito’y isang oportunidad para sa isang mabisang pagtugon ng nasyonal na pamahalaan sa pangangailangan ng mga OFWs sa oras ng krisis. “During our term as Foreign Affairs Secretary, we became close to OFWs and we advocated for programs such as the Assistance to Nationals Fund and the Legal Assistance Fund to assist our kababayans,” sabi niya.

(Noong ako ay Foreign Affairs Secretary, naging malapit tayo sa mga OFW at itinulak natin ang mga programa tulad ng Assistance to Nationals Fund at Legal Assistance Fund para tulungan ang ating mga kababayan.) Pagsasamahin sa isang sentralisadong DMW ang mga tungkulin ng Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) National Reintegration Center, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) International Social Services Office, at ng Commission on Filipino Overseas ng Office of the President ukol sa OFWs.

“With the DMW, we will have a Secretary whose primary responsibility is to protect and promote the welfare of our OFWs — someone who will be held accountable in Cabinet meetings — and provide the services the OFWs need,” sabi ni Cayetano.

(Sa DMW, magkakaroon tayo ng isang Kalihim na ang pangunahing responsibilidad ay pangalagaan at itaguyod ang kapakanan ng ating mga OFW – isang Kalihim na sasagot sa mga Cabinet meeting – at magbibigay ng mga serbisyong kailangan ng mga OFW.)

“OFWs are a priority for me, and to know that the government is also beginning to show how important OFWs are is good news for me,” dagdag pa niya. (Prayoridad ko ang mga OFW, at ang malaman na nagsisimula na rin ang gobyerno na ipakita kung gaano sila kahalaga ay magandang balita sa akin.

Panunumbalik ng death penalty sa bansa, tinututulan ni Atty. Conti

LARAWAN MULA SA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

San Pascual, Batangas – Tutol naman si Batangas 2nd District congressional candidate Atty. Nicasio Conti na ibalik ang parusang kamatayan o death penalty sa bansa.

Sa panayam ng programang Ang Ating Kakampi ng ABN Online Radio Pilipinas noong ika-5 ng Nobyembre, sinabi ni Conti na mas pabor siya sa parusang habambuhay na pagkakabilanggo lalo’t batay na rin sa karanasan ay hindi aniya epektibong “deterrent” o pamuksa sa mga kriminal ang death penalty.

“Paano mo ga tatakutin yung adik na nanggilit ng leeg ng kanyang lola o nanggahasa ng kapatid? Paano maging deterrent ang death penalty kung pag wala nang utak ang mga yan na ang iba ay talagang lulong sa droga,” ani Conti.

Wala nang takot aniya ang mga kriminal kahit sa parusang kamatayan kayat hindi aniya death penalty ang solusyon para  mapigilan ang krimen.

Isa pa sa mga problema aniya ay pag ang mga taong inosente pa ang mga nakukulong.

“Halimbawa may isang nasasakdal, death penalty (ang parusa). Paano kung inosente yon? Kawawa naman,” dagdag ni Conti.

Mungkahi niya sa gobyerno: “Gawin nating effective ang ating justice system. Ibig sabihin, yung mga nagkakasala’y parusahan at ang mga walang sala ay pakawalan.”

Dalawang beses nang inabolish ang death penalty sa bansa – una noong 1987 at noong taong 2006 matapos muling ibalik ito noong 1993. Isa ang Simbahang Katoliko sa mga pangunahing tumututol sa parusang kamatayan dahil labag ito sa 10 Utos ng Diyos.

Pero nang maupo si Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ay isinusulong niya ang parusang death penalty by lethal injection para sa mga krimeng nakalista sa Republic Act 9165 o Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Sa ilalim ng Section 20 ng House Bill 7814 ay pinapatawan ng parusang kamatayan ang panibagong krimeng pagamit o paghahain ng search warrant batay sa perjurious o falsified o pinekeng mga dokumento o itinanim na ebidensya.

Mayroon ding presumption of guilt kung ang inakusahang nagtanim ng ebidensya ay hindi sumunod sa investigation procedure sang-ayon sa nakasaad sa nasabing bill.

Sto. Tomas City Hall closed as employee tests COVID positive

Sto. Tomas City, Batangas – Sto. Tomas City Hall will remain closed for another day after one of the employees tested positive for COVID-19, the city government said.

In its Facebook advisory, the city government said the building will undergo disinfection as they continue with massive contact tracing and testing of close contacts.

Today’s wedding ceremonies, however, would push through at the office of City Mayor Edna Sanchez. Those attending the celebration are advised to follow the minimum health standards like wearing of face mask and face shield, hand disinfection and observation of social distancing.

City hall was also closed Monday for disinfection.

In its latest report as of 5 pm Monday, the city health office said there were 11 new COVID-19 cases in Sto. Tomas City, bringing the total number of COVID cases to 1325, with 49 active cases, 27 deaths and 1248 recoveries.

 

 

Ikinalulungkot po namin ipaalam sa ating mga kababayan na muling hindi makakapagbigay ng serbisyo ang mga tanggapan ng…

Posted by The City of Sto.Tomas, Batangas on Tuesday, March 16, 2021

You will now get fined P5000 for not wearing face masks in Batangas City

Members of the Batangas City Police conduct roving patrol at the city proper to ensure compliance with health protocols (photo by Palakat Batangas City)

Batangas City – In an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus disease, the Batangas City government will strictly impose fine penalty of P5000 for those who will not wear or improperly wear face masks beginning Tuesday.

“Warnings will no longer be issued,” the office said Monday in a statement published in Batangas City’s official Facebook page Palakat Batangas City, citing the consensus made by the city’s Inter-agency Task Force for emerging infectious diseases.

The LGU said the move was meant to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus and protect citizens against the new variants.

Batangas City ordinance no. 4, series of 2020, requires residents and those traveling to or within Batangas City to the wear facemasks covering the nose, mouth and chin during the existence of epidemic or publich health emergency. Violators may face a fine of not less than P5000 and maximum six months imprisonment.

The city government led by the EBD monitoring team and the Batangas City police would strictly monitor and enforce health and safety protocols among business establishments such as shopping malls, supermarkets, restaurants, eateries and other businesses.

The said establishments may be closed if caught violating health protocols.

They will also monitor public utility vehicles to ensure that the 50 percent maximum capacity for passengers and other protocols namely the presence of plastic barriers and alcohol and the mandatory wearing of face masks and face shield are followed.

Tricycles plying Batangas City will also be under watch.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard is tasked to monitor and ensure that the minimum health and safety protocols are being followed on sea vessels.

Swimming in public beaches is strictly not allowed.

Only the hotels and resorts accredited by the Department of Tourism, those with business permits and permit to operate, will be allowed to open and accept bookings.

Individuals aged 14 years old and below and 66 years old and above are still not allowed to go out of their residences in accordance with the IATF guidelines.

Mayor Beverly Dimacuha asked DILG city director Ester Dator and her brother ABC President Dondon Dimacuha to ensure the barangay official’s cooperation towards the strict enforcement of health protocols in their respective jurisdiction.

In its latest report as of 5 pm yesterday, the city health office said Batangas City has 2582 confirmed COVID cases, 43 active cases, 77 deaths and 2462 recoveries.

Two more individuals confirmed positive for the virus yesterday – a 24 –year-old woman from Barangay Balagtas and a 62-year-old man from Barangay San Isidro, who had comorbidities.

Papal ‘gift’ for PHL Catholic Church’s 500th year? John 3:16

Pope Francis chats with Cardinal Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle during Sunday’s Mass to celebrate 500th day of Christianity in the Philippines (screengrab courtesy of Vatican’s official broadcast of the Mass)

MANILA — Imbibing the message of the world’s most famous Bible verse turned out to be Pope Francis’ gift for the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines.

That gift, handed out by the Supreme Pontiff as a homily message inside St. Peter’s Basilica yesterday, is John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son”).

The message from this verse was heard by at least 100 actual attendees, mostly Filipinos, who celebrated Holy Mass to commemorate the Philippine Catholic Church’s fifth centenary (or “quincentennial”).

“(This) Gospel message is not an idea or a doctrine. It is Jesus Himself: the Son whom the Father has given us so that we might have life,” Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ) said at a mass on the fourth Sunday of Lent.

And on the 500th year of Philippine Christianity, Pope Francis said the Philippine Church has “received the joy of the Gospel: the good news that God so loved us that He gave His Son for us.”

The March 14 mass served as a “launch” for the Philippines’ celebration of the quincentennial of the Christian faith, set to formally begin this Easter Sunday, April 4th.

The Mass also had the Filipino Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle (prefect for the Congregation for Evangelization of Peoples) and the Italian Angelo Cardinal de Donatis (vicar general of Rome) as co-celebrants.

A processional featured dancing Filipino performers who sported barong and saya, including those who carried replicas of the Santo Niño de Cebu and the cross that the explorer Ferdinand Magellan brought to the country some 500 years ago.

The Eucharistic celebration also featured mass songs in Tagalog, even as the ceremony was spoken in Italian, English and Tagalog.

“This joy is evident in your people. We see it (joy) in your eyes, on your faces, in your songs and in your prayers,” Pope Francis said.

The Supreme Pontiff also acknowledged the role of overseas Filipinos in sowing the joy that comes with the Catholic faith. “I have often said that here in Rome, Filipino women are ‘smugglers’ of faith! Because wherever they go to work, they sow the faith. It is part of your genes, a blessed ‘infectiousness’ that I urge you to preserve.”

The Pope’s message comes as the world reels from a SARS-CoV-2 pandemic that continues sowing infections. As of today, the Philippine Department of Health reported that some 621,498 Filipinos became ill with COVID-19 (about 12,829 Filipinos died of the said disease).

Historical accounts show that the Portuguese explorer Magellan (Fernao Magalhaes) planted the cross in Cebu province, the reputed “Cradle of Philippine Christianity,” on March 16, 1521. Magellan then led the conversion of Rajah Humabon and consort Harah Amihan (baptized as Carlos and Juana, respectively —and named after the Spanish king and the mother of the Spanish queen).

The baptism of Carlos and Juana occurred weeks after Fr. Pedro de Valderrama, the chaplain of Magellan’s voyage, offered the first Holy Mass on March 31, 1521 (an Easter Sunday) in Limasawa Island, Southern Leyte.

On March 16, 1521, the Gospel reading was the resurrection of Lazarus, making Magellan call the islands the “Archipelago of St. Lazarus.” Yet the name that stuck was Las Islas Filipinas (The Philippine Islands), given by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos.

The “Philippines” (Filipinas) was named after former Spanish King Philip II (16th century).  

The coming of the Christian faith, says Tagle in a response to the Supreme Pontiff, “is God’s gift. That the Christian faith was received by the majority of our people, and given by them a Filipino character, is God’s gift.”

The country’s 2015 mid-decennial Census of Population and Housing, administered by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), showed that some 80,304,061 Filipinos (79.5 percent) are affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church.  

The independent broadcast agency Rome Reports cited international figures saying that the Philippines is the third-largest Catholic nation. The Philippines trails behind Brazil (170 million Catholics, or 64 percent of the population) and Mexico (111 million, or 77 percent of the population).

The quincentennial begins on April 4, 2021 and ends on April 22, 2022 (the later coinciding with the Second National Mission Congress in Cebu City). The 85 dioceses across the country have also designated jubilee churches, with these churches’ “holy doors” to be opened on April 4.

Filipinos remember Pope Francis’s apostolic visit to the Philippines on January 15 to 19, 2015. His homily during the January 18 Mass at the Quirino Grandstand paid tribute to the Santo Niño, saying that “He reminds us of our deepest identity, of what we are called to be as God’s family.”

Pope Francis also urged Filipinos and the Philippine Church “to persevere in the work of evangelization… The Christian proclamation that you have received needs to be constantly brought to others.”

He then went back to emphasizing John 3:16, of which its message the Philippines had received. “With your joy, you will help the people to say of the Church too: ‘she so loved the world!.. May it be so, dear brothers and sisters, in the Philippines and in every part of the earth.”

This story can be published, broadcast and/or posted online provided The Filipino Connection and the article’s author/s are properly acknowledged. Editorial mistakes are the publisher’s. Email: thefilipino.connection@gmail.com

Hinihinalang magnanakaw ng manok, arestado sa Lipa

Lungsod ng Lipa, Batangas – Diretso sa kulungan ang isang 34-anyos na farm caretaker matapos na mahuli sa aktong nagnanakaw ng manok panabong sa pinagtatrabahuhan niyang poultry farm sa Barangay Lumbang nitong Martes ng madaling araw.

Kinilala ang suspek na si Francis Sobremisana.

Ayon sa report, bandang alas-3:30 ng madaling araw ihinahanda ni Hermilo Diaz ang mga manok panabong ng mga oras na iyon ng mahuli niya sa akto ang suspek na ninanakaw na ang ibang manok dito.

Agad nilang isinumbong sa barangay ang pangyayari at don na inaresto ang suspek. Nakakulong na sa Lipa City Police Station ang sus

PHL has third highest number of terrorists in Canadian gov’t agency’s list

 

Story submitted to the Asia Pacific Report

 

MANILA–Lists developed by the Canadian government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) tagged the Philippines as having the third highest number of individual terrorists behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

The DFAIT list of over-1,800 identified individual terrorists, and a separate list for groups, was released by Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Feb. 6 and posted under the office’s anti-terrorism financing page.

About 68 Filipinos were identified on that February 2017 DFAIT list, with the Philippine total behind the 113 of Saudi Arabia and the  88 of Iraq.

The listed Filipinos, which included  are affiliated with local rebel groups like the National Democratic Front (NDF) and Abu Sayyaf, which were identified by the Philippine government as terrorist organizations.

Part of the list was Jose Maria Sison of the National Democratic Front (NDF). The NDF group was negotiating a peace deal with the Philippine government until President Rodrigo Duterte ordered government negotiators last Feb. 4 to pull out of the peace negotiations.

Another person in the list is Mukhlis Saifulla, one of the suspects in the bombing of the Light Railway Transit couches on December 30, 2000. On the list also is Julkipli Salim Salamuddin, an Abu Sayyaf member arrested in 2003 for a bombing  incident in Zamboanga City that killed three, including an American green beret (special force) officer.

Some of those Filipinos identified in the list had been detained, like five of them who are members of the Rajah Solaiman Movement

 

The DFAIT also has a separate list of terrorist groups. Those from the Philippines made part of the list include the Aub Sayyaf group, the New People’s Army/Communist Part of the Philippines, the Southeast Asian group Jema’ah Islamiyah that has operations in the Philippines, and the Rajah Solaiman Movement.

The lists’ release comes at a time Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had called for the end of peace negotiations between the government and the NDF, as well as his orders to pummel the Abu Sayyaf group.

In the list of individuals, Yemen was ranked fourth with 43 terrorists. Syria (36) and Russia (33) were fifth and sixth.

Other countries included in the DFAIT terror list (individuals) is the United Kingdom (26), France (23), Turkey (10), and even the United States (seven).

US President Donald Trump earlier banned the entry of nationals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen to the US as part of his administration’s anti-terror campaign.

But among the groups listed, three Filipino groups who were earlier identified to be linked with ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) were not in the DFAIT list: the Ansarul Khilafa Philippines, the Maute group, and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Duterte tagged the Maute group, allegedly led by Abdullah Maute, as behind the Sept. 2, 2016 bombing of a night market in Davao City (President Duuterte’s hometown) that killed 14 and injured 70 people.

The Canadian terrorism database has included notorious terrorists like Ibrahim al-Asiri, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Nasir al Whuayshi, as well as Hasan Izz-al-Din and Abdul Rahman Yasin (both tagged by the American Federal Bureau of Investigation as among the most wanted terrorists). Among the groups included in the list were ISIS, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and Boko Haram.

The lists were posted on the anti-terrorism financing page of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. Last year, though not related to terrorist financing, the Philippines was on the receiving end of the world’s largest online bank hacking incident that saw the Bangladesh central bank lose US$81 million to casino operators based in Manila.

Some money had been recovered and returned to the Bangladeshi government, while a Filipino-run remittance company and  a commercial bank are being investigated.

 

Roy Abrhamn Narra and Carlo Casingcasing are graduate journalism students of the University of Santo Tomas. This story was submitted as a class exercise in the ongoing course ‘Global Journalism Practice and Studies’ at UST (second term, academic year 2016-2017). 

 

 

Wrap-up: Mining as PHL ‘goldmine’ faces biggest test given crackdown by Duterte govt’s environment agency

 

News wrap-up for the Asia Pacific Report 

 

MANILA—The Philippines is among the world’s top sources of metallic deposits like nickel. But in this Southeast Asian mining haven, love may have been lost between the Philippine government and the mining industry.

[Read more…]

 

5 tips for getting started in data journalism

https://thefilipinoconnection.net/8064-2/