Archive for December, 2008
Written by anyajulia on 29 December 2008
LAST WEEK, it was eight, now it’s nine non-working days marking the onset of 2009.
This happens as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has declared January 2 a non-working holiday, Wednesday, Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.
Before the President declared January 2, local papers have issued advisories for eight non-working days, including December 27 and 28, Saturday and Sunday as traditional week-end rests.
Regular holidays for the week are December 25, or Christmas Day, December 30 or Rizal Day and January 1 as the New Year’s Day.
The recent development also added a day for the workers to get a bit of respite with December 26, 29, and 31, as contained in Proclamation 1463 already declared additional special holidays.
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Written by anyajulia on 29 December 2008
NEW year’s gift or the classic right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing?
At a time when the government is easing up to pass the Reproductive Health Bill in efforts to get a grip on bursting population na dits management, its premier health insurance provider is also launching expanded maternity care package coverage this year.
In a move that may be translated by many as conflicting, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has recently expanded the coverage for the Maternity Care Package.
With the recent move, the government now included claims for the fourth normal spontaneous delivery, according to Circular No. 20, series of 2008.
This new benefit applies to normal (uncomplicated) deliveries, and may be availed in PhilHealth accredited hospitals and non-hospital facilities such as birthing homes, lying-in or midwife-managed clinics, Philhealth said.
Normal delivery birth would mean spontaneous onset of labor; low risk at the start and during labor, and delivery.
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Written by anyajulia on 27 December 2008
TUBIGON, under Mayor Luna Piezas, jumps from its last classification as 3rd to first class town, an achievement that would probably go in local history as rare.
Tubigon shares with Ubay barging into becoming Bohol’s first class towns, a position then solely occupied by Talibon.
Then earning a little less than P44 million four to five years ago, the town’s income leaped astronomically in the past three years to an average of P55 million, reported town treasurer Servanda Salomon.
Records bare that Tubigon has earned an average of P63.361 in the past 3 years, catapulting it to the top position.
On the development, local tax observers see that the dynamic local leadership and its improvement of the town market is instrumental in the increase of income.
While many Tubigon residents speculate about increased taxes to maintain the status, Salomon said that aside from the real property taxes, which they do not have any control, municipal taxes remain the same, or until a new tax ordinance is passed.
“There is no upgrading yet of local taxes, except the real property tax, which is revised every three years, she said.
We are expecting a revision of municipal tax ordinances in 2010, as mandated by the local government code, she added.
Wanting to downplay the fear of tax rate jumps, the town bagman said the biggest impact of the re-classification is increase in paychecks for local employees.
“The reclassification basically affects the salaries of local employees; the salary standardization would now be using the first class bracket following salary standardization,” she bared.
The Bureau of Local Government and Finance (BLGF) in its memorandum of circular no 01-M (15)-08 dated November 20, 2008 has issued the re-classification of Bohol municipalities, effective July 29, 2008.
According to BLGF, class brackets are based on average annual income in three years.
First class towns should have an average of P55M or more, 2nd class towns earning P45M to P54M average.
Third class towns earn P35M to P44M; fourth class: P25M to P34M; fifth class P15M to P24M and sixth class towns earn below P15M. (rachiu/PIA)
Tags: 1st class town, Tubigon
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Written by anyajulia on 27 December 2008
AT P280 against P600 per kilo, it is quite logical that people convert to R12, but with a devastating effect it gives to earth’s ozone layer, it is also understandable why the government is off to a phase-out of the cheaper refrigerant.
Come 2010, all those cars, refrigerators and air-conditioning units using the dreaded chlorofluorocarbons (R12 Freon) may be wasted, unless they are retrofitted with the environment friendly hydrofluorocarbons (HFC 134a).
CFC-12 or Freon, an ozone depleting substance, is widely used as cooling agent especially in car air-conditioning systems. However, a freon total phase-out following zero importation by year 2010 would force the refrigerant to be irrelevant in the Philippines, being among the signatories to the Montreal Protocol on the Protection on the Ozone Layer, sources said.
In short, what becomes vogue in 2010 are those that use non-CFC, because freon is the earth’s biggest ozone depleting substance.
How does a retrofit cost? Well, according to air-conditioning technicians, not much, except that units need to be using different capilla oil, one that has Society of Automotive Engineers 20 viscousity.
The Department of Transportation and Communication – Land Transportation Office (LTO) and Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) – Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is implementing a regulation under the DOTC-DENR Joint Administrative Order No. 3 series of 2006.
This would also impose upon car-owners the mandatory inspection of their car aircon systems as a prerequisite for renewal and registration.
This means all model 1999 vehicles to present should only have R-134a or non-CFC air-conditioning system to be registered.
It also means HFC-134a air-con system vehicles are banned from converting to freon as commo practice to skip the expensive hydrofluorocarbons and other blends.
Older models with Freon-using airconditioning system may be allowed to register until 2012, but they have to retrofit.
Notwithstanding its commercial and industrial value, CFCs pose serious environmental threats.
Studies undertaken by various scientists revealed that CFCs released into the atmosphere accumulate in the stratosphere, where they had deleterious effect on the ozone layer.
Stratospheric ozone shields the earth’s living organisms from harmful ultraviolet rays.
For the concern over ozone depletion, the ban against CFCs in aerosol-spray dispensers have now graduated into total ban for CFC. (rachiu/PIA)
Tags: 2010, government, total freon ban
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Written by anyajulia on 22 December 2008
A world-class musical drama by a community theater rendered at the foot of the centuries old watchtower is the latest in culture and history pedagogy now making a hit in Bohol.
Here, a community theater tells the story in a brilliant weaving of music and dance.
The artistic cultural presentation retells the infamous pangayaw raids of the moro Tirones, one that would force the people to fortify for themselves and build a stone watchtower for their defense and organize an armada of boat riding men to meet the raiders and engage them in battle at sea.
Pangayaw is a traditional pillaging of moro tribes in the region for gold, food and slaves to be sold to rich sultans in Mindanao in the 17th century.
Performed by local Cultural Collective at the foot of the centuries old watchtower, the Castillo del San Vicente Eco-Heritage Tour officially opened with much fanfare Thursday, December 18 at the Punta Cruz Complex in Maribojoc.
Mayor Leoncio Evasco, in an interview before the musical and artistic rendition of the tour’s main highlight aired his elation over the outcome of their effort to help the community.
Aided by a funding agency partner and assisted by an NGO, the government and contacted artists, the mayor said the town has developed livelihood and enterprise as well as harnessed young talents in the area.
Along with Bohol Alliance of Non-Government Organizations in a project called Building Livelihood Enterprise in Support for Sustainable Eco-Tourism (BLESSED) in Maribojoc, the local government has also effectively reclaimed the town landmark from it’s an image as just one of the many heritage towers here, but as a root of local history and culture becoming a major crux of tourism activities.
“Along the process, the Punta Cruz Cultural Collective, a community theater comprised by 21 artists who went through the Basic Integrated Theater Arts Workshop was established” creative and artistic consultant Lutgardo Labad said.
“The soft launching turned out to be a major event which opened eyes to the historical realities that shaped the local culture and tradition,” admits a Maribojoc local artist who witnessed the 30 minute artistic performance.
Performed at the foot of the 17th century watchtower venerated to San Vicente Ferrer, the brilliant dramatization of historic moro raids intricately weaves the past with the present, reinstating the towering role of the heritage structure in the lives of Maribocjanons, shared a retired teacher too awed by the performance.
Trained local artists from barangays Punta Cruz, Guiwanon, Lagtangon and Bood all of Maribojoc staged the dramatization using classic pangalay (southern temple worship dance) choreography, indigenous instrumentation and the age-old chanted narration to thread the entire story line.
At the opening rites, PACAP Bohol project coordinator May Blanco hailed the town for the integration of culture, empowerment, conservation and history to develop economic and livelihood opportunities for communities.
She pointed out that several development plans overlook the crucial culture and environment, but now Maribojoc.
The Castillo del San Vicente Eco-heritage Tour is unlike your other stops that takes about 15 minutes.
This is may be an hour-long tour featuring local guides, cultural presentations, souvenir item shopping and the soon to open marine protected area guided tours, Fritzie Mae Zamora tells.
Zamora coordinates Bangon tourism assisted events and also helps communities develop tourism support products.
The tour at the Punta Cruz complex also feature banana chip pasalubongs, native souvenir items crafted by nearby communities and next year also adds a guided marine protected area tours, she added. (rachiu/PIA)
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Written by anyajulia on 22 December 2008
IN time for Christmas, the government gives a gift that may go a long way for lifeline power consumers, including Boholanos through the Katas ng VAT.
The gift comes in the form of P500 government power subsidy for lifeline consumers who are good payors, Bohol Electric Cooperative Assistant general manager Engr. Virgilio Fortich explained over the weekly Kapihan sa PIA Thursday.
The Kapihan discussed concerns on the government power subsidy and invited BOHECO and Bohol Light Company Inc. to elucidate on Pantawid Koryente: Katas ng EVAT, a topic that concerns lifeline power consumers.
By lifeline, the government means residential consumers whose power consumption last May was below 100.
The government decided to hand down the subsidy to help dampen the impact of high oil prices that cause disastrous volatility in prices of basic commodities, including power consumers.
With BOHECO as partner in the government program, the Bohol power provider would effect the power subsidy in December, or at a time when people are expected to be consuming and thus paying more.
The peak usage of power would be in December where people put in additional consumption with the Christmas lights.
But the subsidy, according to Engr. Fortich would not be transferable, non-convertible to cash and would only be creditable to the monthly billings beginning December until the whole amount is used up.
Of the P500 subsidy, he means that if a consumer uses up only about 20 kilowatts per month, the subsidy would be stretched until the whole amount is credited and is left with a no-balance.
In that case, if a consumer qualifies to avail, and if by December his billing is more than P500, he would only pay the balance.
And in other case, if the December billing consumption is only about P100, then the consumer can still stretch his subsidy until he uses up the whole amount.
Over this, BOHECO institutional services department manager Ernesto Mascarinas reiterated the call for consumers to go to the nearest Boheco collection station to get their credit memos.
The credit memo allows consumers to know if the qualify to the program or not. (rachiu/PIA)
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Written by anyajulia on 19 December 2008
WORST case nga scenario ang una na nga gitaho nga dul-an sa usa ka milyon ka overseas foreign workers (OFWs) ang mawad-ag trabaho dala sa global nga krisis sa ekonomiya.
Kini maoy patin-aw sa Department of Labor and Employment dihang gibasa gilayon ang ilang unang gitaho nga kadaghanon sa mga mataktak sa trabaho.
Matud ni Labor Secretary Mariano Roque, ang Philippine Overseas and Employment Administration (POEA) padayon pang nagapagawas sa dul-an sa 3 mil ka trabahante nga buot mogawas sa nasud aron manarbaho sa matag adlaw.
Kini nagpa-ila nga paspas pa gihapon ang pagpagawas sa trabahante bisan pa sa global crisis.
Gipasabot sa DOLE nga kinahanglang ilang pangandaman ang worst case aron dili direaktang makalitan ang kagdamhanan sa pagsagubang sa tabanagonong mga banay sa OFWs. (rachu/PIA)
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Written by anyajulia on 19 December 2008
INTERESADO ang Qatar sa pagpamuhunan sa mga negosyong panguma ug pangisda dinhi sa Pilipinas.
Mismong si Emir sa Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, mipadayag kang Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sa tumong sa iyang nasud sa kabahin sa laraw.
Kusog nga importer ang Qatar sa kasagaran niining panginahanglan sa agrikultura gikan sa laing mga nasud ug karon nagpalig-on sa iyang ekonomiya pinaagi sa pagpamuhunan agig bag-ong negosyo.
Niini, gimandu na usab ni Presidente Arroyo si Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Arthur Yap nga maghomo ug mga project proposals nga magtubag sa panginahanglan sa Qatar.
Una na nga misulod ang Qatar sa negosyo sa Pilipinas sa iyang paglagda sa joint venture sa nasud kabahin sa paghatag ug serbisyong Qatar Telecom (QTelcom) wireless broadband dungan sa pagbisita ni Mrs. Arroyo sa Qatar.
Ang Qtel maoy labing daku nga kompanyang telecommunications sa Qatar nga naghatag ug wireless broadband, mobile ug mobile broadband nga serbisyo.
Kasamtanagan na usab kini anaa sa 16 ka nasud ug naghatag ug wireless-tribe brand, nag nagsuporta sa broadband serbisyong wireless. (rachiu/PIA)
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Written by anyajulia on 19 December 2008
SUGOD Disyembre 15, makadawat na sa tag P10 mil nga performance bonus ang matag empleyado sa goberno.
Agi ug sayo nga pinaskuhan, gipadayag ni Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. nga andam na ang mga dokumento sa pagpagawas sa pahat tag P7 mil nga gikan sa nasudnong kagamhanan sa matag empleyado samtang laing P3 mil ang adto kuhaon sa mga natigum sa tagsa-tagsa ka ahensya.
Pinasikad sa Administrative Order No. 250, nga giluwatan niadtong Disyembre 10, 2008, gitugot na ang paghatag sa performance bonus (PerB) ug kini adto magsukad sa unreleased appropriations ubos sa Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) ug sa natigum sa mga ahensya.
Lahi ang PerB sa na-andang Year-End Bonus ug cash gift nga una na nga nadawat sa mga empleyado sayo sa miaging buwan, dugang niya.
Kahinumduman nga ang DBM mibuhi sa P11.6 bilyones aron kuhaan sa katunga sa year-end bonus ug cash gift ngadtos kapin sa usa ka milyon ka empleyado. (rachiu/PIA)
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Written by anyajulia on 19 December 2008
EIGHT no-working days cap 2008 and signal the coming of 2009.
The 8 rest days this year starts from December 25, when the traditional Christmas Day get-together packs the family together, and ends on January 1, the New Year.
The day after 25 is a Friday, and so as not to break the fun and celebrations, Malacanang has declared December 26 as an additional special non-working holiday, and so is Monday December 29.
By signing Proclamation 1463, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has caused December 26 and 29 as non-working holidays this year.
In the proclamation, the Palace hopes the additional holidays would “enable Filipinos to have more meaningful observance of Christmas and New Year, to strengthen their ties with one another”
Moreover, December 27 and 28 fall on Saturday and Sunday, so the week-end stretches the Christmas get-together celebrations.
Meanwhile, December 30, Tuesday is Rizal Day, is an annually declared holiday.
The next day, December 31 Wednesday is traditionally the last day of the year and is again a special non-working holiday.
January 1, or the New Years Day is a red latter day throughout the country.
Over these developments, state workers may not find it all to appealing as the long holidays would be a drain in the pockets.
Fresh recipients of the government’s productivity bonuses of P7T and P3T form their respective agencies, an annual P5Tcash gift and 13th month pay, the holiday cash windfall may not be enough to spend for one’s wants.
For those who indulge in honest to good-ness holiday shopping spree, they may find themselves totally emptied by the beginning of the new year. (rachiu/PIA)
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Written by anyajulia on 19 December 2008
TERRAZA de Mariveles, the romantic trysting nook at the historic plaza de Dauis becomes the main hub of classical and joyous Christmas music this Tuesday, December 30.
The romantic terrace transforms itself into another heart-warming venue for Christmas music as two of the region’s most sought after music groups perform a concert billed as Christmas Jamming `08.
Performing are Loboc’s famous youth band and Cebu’s Philippine Peace Philharmonic Orchestra String Quartet, says Rev. Fr. Val Pinlac, Assumption parish priest and Dauis Renaissance Program (DRP) key figure.
Fr. Pinlac said aside from the romantic seaside terrace just across scenic Tagbilaran strait, the terrace which features the historic Mariveles palms and grand acacia trees also exude yuletide music to saturate everyone with the mood for joyous giving and sharing.
Both groups fill the air with noels and classical yuletide compositions from the worlds greatest composers in an event organized by the parish.
The event is one of the activities that the parish offers to cause the full operation of the Dauis Renaissance Program.
The program, a partnership initiative with the Diocese of Tagbilaran, Assumption Shrine Parish and Ms. Bea Zobel Jr., and aims to promote Dauis heritage conservation leading to community development and empowerment through sustainable tourism.
Aside from managing the Pilgrim Center Complex, DRP also works for the operation of the Café Lawis, Handumanan Souvenir Shop, a 100 person fully furnished function room and the Terraza.
The end goal is to train locals to be responsibly operating the tourism enterprises upon its full turn over of responsibilities a few years from now, Fr. Pinlac adds.
The Terraza, within the church complex forms a major part in the local oral traditions as told by visiting fishermen from Argao, at least a century ago.
A story handed down tells about Argao fishermen landing between two marvelous trees (mariveles) in Dauis where their woman hitch rider from Cebu, disembarked.
The woman accordingly wanted to be near her husband in Bohol. She was later seen resembling the image of the Lady of the Assumption now enthroned at the altar of the shrine.
True enough, about a kilometer behind the Dauis Church is the imposing Cathedral of St, Joseph the Worker Parish.
The site also now comes alive with the nearby terrace fully lit and becoming a very romantic venue for al fresco dinner dates and functions. (rachiu/PIA)
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