Swift passage of bill protecting rights of air passengers pushed

MANILA – Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-List

Rep. France Castro on Friday, June 16 urged his colleagues at the House of Representatives to expedite the approval of a measure seeking to protect the rights of airline passengers and ensure they are treated with dignity and respect.

Castro said House Bill (HB) 6738 or “the Magna Carta for Airline Passengers Act”, which she co-authored, should be passed soon after several complaints came out against a local airline.

He said complaints range from delayed and canceled flights to lost luggage, “and even instances of overbooking as well as denial of boarding.”

“We cannot turn a blind eye to these issues because they keep recurring and nobody is held to account. We call on the Congress leadership to investigate this matter and hold Cebu Pacific accountable for its actions,” he said.

“Airline passengers deserve better than what this airline is currently offering. We will not let this issue go unnoticed and we will continue to fight for the rights of our fellow citizens," he added.

In the Senate, Senator Nancy Binay has filed a resolution urging the Senate Tourism and Public Services Committees to investigate the mounting passenger complaints against Cebu Pacific.

In response to Senate Resolution No. 575, the two panels set the investigation on June 21. (PNA)

Filipino nurses ‘best’ in the...

every year, it would take 12 years to fill the gap.

As pointed out by Herbosa, the Philippines is in need of the services that only “the best” could provide. He said he does not want Filipino nurses to leave.

But to stop them from leaving, Ople said there should be a serious discussion on how to make local employment attractive.

Based on House Bill No. 4599, the entry-level monthly salary for nurses in the government is P32,097 then P8,000 to P13,500 in private hospitals.

FNU, however, pointed out that in most cases, thousands of government nurses are contractual and get much less than what is provided by the law regarding salary standardization.

Compared to the entrylevel pay in the United States ($3,800), United Kingdom (£1,662) and Canada ($4,097), some Filipino nurses said their choice is obvious.

Last year, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. set the deployment cap of Filipino aims to provide entrepreneurial programs for members of marginalized communities, including LGBTQIA+ persons.

Duterte said that the program aims to help entrepreneurs pursue “sustainable” businesses through training programs in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (Cristina Chi/Philstar.com)

Marcos said since he assumed the post in a concurrent capacity, he has put in place substantial changes to address the issues in the agriculture sector.

He said the problem was that during the beginning of the year, the president said it is his wish that when he finally lets go of the Agriculture post "we will have systems in place so that we can guarantee the food supply [is stable], the prices are affordable, and our farmers make a good living."

Marcos had said he wanted an agricultural expert to head the DA, and not a retired military or police official, given the complexity of the position.

"Agriculture is a very complicated subject. Hindi lang kung sino-sino basta't magaling mag-manager (It should not be just someone who's good at being a manager). They have to understand the science. ... They also have to understand the system," he has said.

There were calls late last year for the president to give up the Agriculture post because the agency needs a full-time head who can focus on the sector.

In a related development, prices of several agricultural commodities were higher during the first phase of June this year than the level in the second phase of May, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

The average retail price of bangus rose by 50 centavos, to P25 per kilogram in seven trading centers on June 1 to 5, with Cagayan de Oro City posting the highest increase, the PSA said.

Bangus prices went down by 89 centavos in the National Capital Region (NCR), by P10 in San Fernando City, by P25 in Cebu City, and by P30 in Legazpi City.

Eleven regions reported a rise in the retail prices of galunggong, ranging between P1.92 and P59.17 with the highest growth observed in Central Visayas.

A kilo of well-milled rice increased in price from P0.07 to P1 kilogram in nine regions, while its price in Butuan City dropped by 20 centavos and by 80 centavos in Cotabato City.

The price of native garlic went up in nine trading centers by as much as P30. Cabanatuan City posted the highest increase, while NCR recorded the largest decline in price at P10.44.

Six trading centers reported a decline in prices of red onion ranging from P2 to P35.

The per kilo price of vegetables per kilogram such as cabbage and carrots also went up by P13.50 in Cagayan Valley and P14.34 in Davao Region.

Brown sugar was selling between 25 centavos and P6.13 in six trading centers, with Cebu City having the biggest increase.

Cooking oil went down by 37 centavos to P27.50 in six trading centers with the biggest decline posted in Digos City.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort expected prices of agricultural commodities to rise further as some member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) experience warmer weather and other Asian countries reduce their output.

Ricafort said below-normal rainfall induced by El Niño toward the end of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024 "could reduce output of rice and other agricultural products."  nurses overseas to 7,000 a year.

Deserving of the best

As pointed out by FNU, the only way to make nurses stay in the Philippines is to address the decades-long issues that lead to massive migration.

It said there should be a decent living wage for nurses of P50,000 (entry level) in government and private hospitals.

There should likewise be a safe nurse-patient ratio to address the problem of severe and chronic understaffing.

It said all contractual nurses should be regularized.

FNU stressed that while the ideal nurse-patient ratio in hospitals is 1:12, a nurse, especially when COVID-19 cases were high, is taking care of 20 to 50 patients every shift.

“The DOH, being the vanguard of health workers, as they claim to be, must set an example of ensuring that laws are being enforced and implemented for nurses’ welfare,” it said.

“This could very well support nurses and eventually could help retain many nurses who opted to work in the country.” 