T H E
ENTERT
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Rosanna Roces to marry lesbian partner See Page 5
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Vol. 5 No. 40
A BALITA MEDIA PUBLICATION
LOS ANGELES
Friday - Thursday, Aug. 5 -11, 2016
Duterte warns big businesses on temp workers His message: No more ‘contractual’ employees or face closure
MANILA, Aug. 1 (PNA) – President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday warned large businesses to refrain from the practice of contractualization just to cut cost or they will face closure. PRRD said they will lose their permits to operate if caught abusing labor laws. He said the labor department will be sending people in the field to check if companies are following regulations even if the government does not have much resources to do such review. “Alam mo wala akong pera, na ninyo ‘yan, bayaran ninyo ang wala akong tao to really inspect all tao sa tamang suweldo; stop conof the, you know, doing away with tractualization. It will not do good contractualization. My message to to our country,” he added. them is very simple: Do not wait for The practice is unfair to the peous to inspect,” the President said. ple as well as to the government, “I would like to assume that he said. For instance, the Technical everybody who falls under that Education and Skills Development category will honor what we are Authority (TESDA) trains people asking for the people. Huwag na to become plumbers, electricians ninyo akong hintayin na mahuli ko and carpenters only to find jobs kayo because I will be unforgiving. good only for six months. You will not only lose your money, Companies adopting contractuyou will lose your plants, ” he said. alization does not help the people PRRD reiterated his zero tol- with the security of tenure, the erance for big businesses abus- President noted. He also particing labor laws, noting it was his ularly mentioned that security See CONTRACTUAL, page 12 promise to the people. “Hintuan
DENR all set for Mindanao environment summit MANILA, July 31 (PNA) – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will hold a two-day summit in Davao City this August to discuss with stakeholders possible solutions to the most pressing environmental problems facing Mindanao today. The DENR has partnered with the Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) for the environmental summit to be held at the campus
on Aug. 4. Some 4,000 participants, particularly from the academe, civil society and other stakeholders from across Mindanao’s six regions are expected to attend the event. The second day (Aug. 5) will see the DENR work with selected CSO representatives in a strategic planning workshop at the Davao Convention Center. DENR Secretary Gina Lopez See SUMMIT, page 12
Police: Arrest of Vhon Tanto proves not all suspects are killed MANILA, July 30 (Mabuhay) – Amid a spate of killings of suspected criminals under the Duterte administration, police authorities assured that not all criminals are gunned down by the police if they peacefully surrender. Senior Supt. Joel Coronel, director of the Manila Police District, issued the statement on Saturday after Quiapo road rage suspect Vhon Tanto was turned over to
police authorities. “’Di naman lahat ng suspek, napapatay. ‘Pag sumuko naman ng maayos, magiging maayos naman ang kahihinatnan (Not all suspects are killed. If they surrender peacefully, they will be treated fairly),” Coronel said in a televised press briefing. He, however, said police would be allowed to use force if their lives
Four-year-old Allih Hachaso, son of Police Officer 3 Eric Hachaso, gives President Duterte a snappy salute as the latter talks to members of the Philippine National Police at the Southern Luzon Command Headquarters in Camp Guillermo Nakar, Lucena City on Thursday.(MNS photo)
Estrada mulls installing bike lanes in parts of Manila MANILA, July 30 (Mabuhay) – Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada is considering putting up bikes lanes in some streets in the city following a road rage incident that killed a cyclist. Estrada said he would discuss his plans with the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and various groups of cycling enthusiasts. “There may be areas here where we could install bike lanes. We’ll look into it,” he said in a statement on Saturday. Estrada cited that many streets in Manila are narrow, owing to its Spanish-era design See ESTRADA, page 12
Villanueva seeks expansion, improvement in technical House leader seeks PHP15,000 education to curb high across-the-board hike in teachers’ salary unemployment rate
MANILA, July 31 (PNA) – A House leader is seeking a PHP15,000 across-the-board increase in the salaries of public school teachers and the provision of other benefits for them as incentives to attract highly qualified teachers into the public school system. Deputy Speaker Romero Quimbo said despite the teachers’ important responsibility of molding children to become productive Filipino citizens, teachers are getting a measly salary as compensation for their noble work.
See VHON TANTO, page 12
“The responsibility of molding a child to become a productive Filipino citizen lies heavily in the hands of a teacher. This is the delicate duty that teachers have committed in their line of work being intimately connected with building the nation’s future. Despite this, however, existing laws are still unresponsive to their plight of enduring a measly salary as compensation for their work,” said Quimbo. Quimbo, representative of the second district of Marikina
MANILA, July 31 (PNA) – Senator Joel Villanueva, who was recently given the chairmanship of the Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, has expressed concern over the high unemployment rate in the country. According to the World Bank, the Philippines’ unemployment rate is highest at 7.1 percent from 2010 to 2015. It is during the same period when the country was considered as one of the fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia
See PHP 15,000, page 12
See EXPANSION, page 12
CPP declares own unilateral ceasefire an hour after Duterte lifts truce By Lilian C. Mellejor
DAVAO CITY, July 31 (PNA) – After President Rodrigo Duterte called off the July 25 government’s unilateral ceasefire, the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) declared its own ceasefire on Saturday. This was announced in a press statement on Sunday by Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza, who said, “The leadership of the CPP-NPA-NDF announced through the media its belated but still strategic and awaited decision to also declare its own unilateral ceasefire.” Dureza welcomed this development as it affirms the value of the President’s firm actions for peace. “This is what we have been waiting for,” he said. Dureza was positive the Presi-
dent will still walk the extra mile for peace at any given opportunity. Given this, Dureza assured that he would make his corresponding recommendations to the President and the whole cabinet in the cabinet meeting. It may be recalled that at 5:30 p.m on Saturday, the President has ordered the immediate lifting of the unilateral ceasefire declared last July 25 against the communist rebels. The President also ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to also withdraw the operational guidelines they issued in pursuance to that ceasefire declaration. “I am ordering all security forces to be on high alert and continue to discharge their normal functions See CEASEFIRE, page 12
Obama calls Republican nominee Trump ‘unfit’ to be president WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 (PNA/Xinhua) – US President Barack Obama on Tuesday called Donald Trump “unfit” to be US president amid bipartisan outcry following the Republican presidential nominee’s feud with the family of a fallen US Muslim soldier. “I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president,” said Obama here at a press conference. “I said so last week and he keeps on proving it. “The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family that has made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he doesn’t appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia, means that he’s woefully unprepared to do this job,” said Obama. Trump provoked bipartisan blame over the weekend after he derisively answered criticism from Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim American solider killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq. Khan, during last week’s Democratic National Convention, blasted Trump for his divisive remarks and proposal to temporary ban Muslims entering the country and divisive tone.