SMC, gov’t forge biggest CSR collab to clean up, rehab Luzon rivers
Experience Super -Sized Fun at SM’s 65th Anniversary
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OCTOBER 18 - 24, 2023
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VOL. II, NO. 13H
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THE PHILIPPINES
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Israel-Hamas war put P7.4B remittances of OFWs at risk
Bishop hits return of STL in NegrosOr
DUMAGUETE City -- A Catholic bishop in the central Philippines has criticized the impending resurgence of small-town lottery (STL) operations in Negros Oriental. Bishop Julito Cortes of Dumaguete is opposing the return of the state-run local lottery due to its “harmful effects” and potential “erosion of the moral fiber of our people.” “We humbly appeal to our provincial and local officials to rethink approval of STL applications in the province,” Cortes said. “STL and similar games encourage especially the poor to rely Turn to page A4
THE Philippines risks losing some P7.4 billion in cash remittances from thousands of migrant Filipino workers, mostly caregivers and private duty nurses, in the event of an escalation in the war between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas. “Our best estimate is that Filipino workers in Israel send to their families here in the Philippines around $131 million (or P7.4 billion) in cash transfers on an annual basis,” Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said on Monday. “The ballpark figure covers dollars coursed through bank as well as non-bank remittance channels,” Pimentel said. Turn to page A4
p TEAMWORK. THE success of the implementationm of the Department of Health’s campaign ‘Chikiting Ligtas’ is anchored on the teamwork of the vaccination team from the City Health Office, barangay functionaries and the citizens themselves. During the vaccination drive in Brgy. Poblacion 24, Batangas City’s most populous urban village, Punumbrangay Emma A. Tumambing personally assisted the mothers in having their kids got the jab.| Photo courtesy of Palakat
Doctors Without Borders calls on the Israeli authorities to show humanity
p PROMO. A Mindanaoan solon said that exempting public school teachers from paying taxes on their salaries may entice bright and most qualified teachers to consider teaching in public schools. | Photo file of PNA
Tax exemption for public school teachers sought MANILA – A lawmaker is proposing the grant of tax exemption to public school teachers as a non-wage benefit. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said it is crucial that the government adequately compensate teachers so that the education sector could attract the most qualified individuals.
“To do this, the government must provide compensation and benefits, whether monetary or otherwise, commensurate to the work they perform and the contribution they make to society,” Rodriguez said. He pointed out that teachers are among the lowest-paid government workers despite the importance of their work.
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THE Department of Health (DOH) in Calabarzon has given itself a pat on the back for its role in a recently concluded immunization effort that has successfully vaccinated over a million children against potentially serious diseases threatening newborns, toddlers and preschoolers. Despite Israeli announcements suggesting that there are safe areas for the population trapped in the Gaza Strip, they are in fact exposed to bombardment throughout all the territory, including in the south, where tens of thousands of people have fled following the ultimatum. As the Israeli army has been bombarding the Gaza Strip without restraint for a week, we are calling for the most elementary humanity to be shown. The injunction to nearly 1.1 million people to move in a few hours to an already overpopulated territory with precarious access to food, water and healthcare is as absurd as it is
intolerable. Doctors Without Borders teams are witnessing the fact that drinking water is becoming scarce in the south of the Gaza Strip and the difficulty of obtaining it is adding to the dis-
tress of the population. Doctors Without Borders urgently calls for the restoration of sufficient and immediate access to drinking water for the population of the Gaza Strip. Turn to page A4