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THE BIG NEWS
87 firms violate safety standards
By Edward Lactaoen
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EPARTMENT of Labor and Employment (DOLE) regional director Joffrey M. Suyao says that 87 out of the 599 establishments in the Davao region have violated occupational safety and health regulations. Suyao made the revelation during the Kapihan sa PIA press forum at the Philippine Information Agency office last June 22. He said the inspection, which began last March, will end in November, this year. Of the 87 erring establishments, 47 were construction industries. The most common of their violations were the lack of safety wear in construction sites, such as hardhats, safety shoes and harnesses when working in elevated areas. Other violations were the lack of onsite nurses and doctors, resulting in the issuance of a stoppage order to the violating
By Maybelle Anne C. Yutiamco
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Wanted
EDGEDAVAO
construction industry. In explaining how stoppage orders affect the companies, Suyao said the companies are still obliged to pay their workers their wages, even if construction was halted, resulting in loss of money without any progress on the building. Work-related accidents in construction sites happen mostly during the finishing phases of construction. “Pag patapos na, ‘yun ang time na maraming aksidente kasi nagmamadali na, kampante na.” (When it’s almost done, that’s the time that there are more accidents because they start to rush, they become less concerned). DOLE schedules these inspections with the establishments, but prioritizes those whom they’ve received complaints about. Suyao hopes to establish a “culture of voluntary compliance” by establishments and for the workers not to view DOLE inspections as a sort of policing activity.
CRO training guros to register births he Civil Registration Office recently trained ten more public school teachers who will be deputized to accept birth registration in remote areas of Davao City, Lawyer Leo Anthony R. Braceros, CRO chief, said the ten teachers are prepared to settle parents’ concerns on errors found in their children’s birth certificates, like erroneous surnames, as well as legitimation concerns. Such mistakes hamper the qualification of some graduating students. The trained teachers will be accessible to parents during the enrollment period, and can handle problems concerning students’ records throughout the school year. This program has been in effect for over a year and has trained teachers as well as social workers to enhance their skills in dealing with civil registration problems. The program initially
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started in only eleven central district schools, like Sta. Ana and Marilog districts, but is today serving over thirty schools. The program is part of the Service Caravan with Mobile Registration, initiated by Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio that gives citizens, especially those in remote areas, access to managing and correcting records held by the CRO. The Caravan, usually held during the Araw ng Barangay celebration in each area, van, according to Braceros, uses the same process and requirements so that residents of each area will have no need to go to the main office in order to manage their records. Currently in its infancy phase, the program will later be involved in providing equipment like computers with direct database, digital certification with the corresponding bar code and printers.
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION. Customers view the display mounted in SM City Davao which is part of the 10th Mindanao Design and Construction Fair.
DILG allots P47M Challenge Fund for Davao Region LGUs [KARLOS MANLUPIG]
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HE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has allotted P47 million Performance Challenge Fund (PCF) as incentives for good governance-compliant local government units (LGUs) of Region XI. For this year’s PCF release, priorities are the LGUs belonging to the 1st3rdincome class municipalities and cities. Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse M. Robredo said, “In this region, I am so pleased to announce that all local government units passed the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH). Because without the SGH, there will never be PCF.” “Meaning, to be able to qualify and avail of the PCF
funds, LCEs must comply with the government’s full disclosure policy on the use of public funds, exemplary governance and delivery of basic services,” Robredo explained. The SGH for LGUs is in line with the Department’s commitment to aggressively scale up interventions to elevate the practice of good, accountable, participatory and transparent governance; commitment to public interest; and development. Regional Director Francisco C. Jose said that SGHcompliant and PCF recipient LGUs may use the fund to jumpstart local development initiatives that are aligned with the national government’s program for the attainment of the Mil-
lennium Development Goals such as on tourism and economic development, disaster risk reduction and management and solid waste management. The PCF may also be used to finance projects such as school buildings, rural health units, water and sanitation system, local roads and bridges, slaughterhouses, flood control, reforestation, postharvest facilities, cold storage facilities and other programs and projects that would enhance local government services. More importantly, the PCF is not intended as competition among LGUs but to reward them for helping the government attain the MDG of reducing poverty and improving the opportunities for poor households to rise
above their current conditions. Congress earlier allotted some P500 million for the DILG’s PCF funds for the various SGH-compliant LGUs nationwide, giving out P1 to P7 million each to qualified recipients. Robredo said DILG also intends to set aside funds for those LGUs who will be awarded with the Seal of Disaster Preparedness (SDP). “Through the SDP program, we will not only provide incentives to LGUs that fared well on disaster preparedness, we will also be able to assess performance gaps, provide policy or program intervention based on the identified gaps, and monitor performance progress,” Robredo explained.
Aside from recognizing outstanding OFW families, the MOFYA aims to promote best practices in achieving optimal success in all aspects of life in the face of overseas migration of one or more members of the household. All 17 regions will have two MOFYA winners, one from land-based category and one from the sea-based category, thus a total of 34 MOFYA regional winners. Among the regional winners, two national winners, one each from land-based and sea-based categories, will be chosen as the MOFYA.
Two more regional winners shall be cited for Special Awards namely Outstanding Achievement in Community Projects and Outstanding Achievement in Entrepreneurship, thus a total of four MOFYA national awardees. Since its inception, two national awardees have come from the region, namely Virgencita Maizarah Ambrusio Lagunsay, an OFW in Saudi Arabia, who was the 2007 MOFYA natonal winne; and, Capt. Norberto C. Bajenting, the Outstanding Entrepreneur for the Special Award. Nomination of an OFW family may be done
by any non-government organization; people’s organization; religious organization or association; community-based socio civic organizations/associations; and, local government units. To be qualified, an OFW family should meet the following criteria: The family is headed by an OFW (land- or sea-based), formerly or presently working abroad with a formal or informal contract of employment or work permit, and with proof of OWWA membership; It is important that the OFW’s migration is not
Fishery and marine More nominees wanted for model OFW family biology graduates By Lorie A. Cascaro
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HE lack of manpower to protect and conserve the coastal areas beyond municipal waters has led the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to create a quick response team (QRT) in each region. This is the objective of the capability building and skills training on fishery resource protection and law enforcement for quick response team (BFAR FRPLE-QRT) being conducted since June 18 until June 27 at the Royal
Mandaya Hotel, Davao City. BFAR Director Asis Perez, in an interview last Friday, said nine individuals were hired under job orders to compose the QRT for each region, although the bureau intends to increase the team members to 20. Wanted are graduates of, and licensed in fisheries, marine biologists, criminologists, and legal officers. He said the program aims to create opportunities for fisheries graduates, thus, the BFAR is encouraging local government units to employ them.
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HE Davao region’s Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) is calling for more nominees for the regional search for the Model Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) Family of the Year Award (MOFYA). Model families are those who have maintained strong family relations; properly managed financial benefits from OFW’s overseas employment; have educational achievements and exemplary performance in their respective professions; and, at the same time have a positive impact on their community.
[DILG 11/MIKA-ChAN S. MAGtULIS]
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