Gov’t identifies sources for P9.3-b cash aid program

By Julito Rada

THE government has identified the funding sources for the planned P9.3-billion cash aid to the poorest of the poor under the Targeted Cash Transfer program which may be released within this month, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said.

Of the total amount, Pangandaman said in a briefing that P7 billion will come from an “unreconciled” portion of the previous cash aid implemented by the government under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN Law, while the balance will come from the contingent fund.

“This was earmarked from the TRAIN Law, and there were unreconciled amounts for some reasons. There is around P7 billion that is intact and still with the Land Bank [of the Philippines], on top of the P18 billion released,” Pangandaman said.

“So there is already a source for the P7 billion. The remaining will come from the contingent fund…,” she said. “Maybe we can release the first P7 billion initially, then next is the P2 billion,” she said.

Contingent fund is used exclusively for requirements of new and/or urgent projects and activities that need to be implemented during the year, except for the purchase of motor vehicles, including any improvements thereon.

All releases from this fund require the prior approval of the President.

Last week, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the government was planning to roll out around P9.3 billion cash aid to the poorest of the poor under the TCT program to lessen the impact of the elevated inflation to consumers.

In an interview at the sidelines of the annual reception for the banking community, Diokno said 9.3 million poor individuals will get P1,000 that will be divided for distribution for two months. Diokno said the cash aid would be an extension of the TCT program that was launched during the Duterte administration wherein beneficiaries received P500 a month for six months.

The Department of Budget and Management earlier allocated around P206.50 billion of ‘ayuda’ in the form of cash transfers and subsidy programs under the 2023 national budget to help mitigate the impact of rising prices of basic commodities and fuel costs to the society’s most vulnerable sectors.

Inflation in January 2023 accelerated to more than 14-year high of 8.7 percent from 8.1 percent a month ago and 3 percent a year ago, driven mainly by faster increases in the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas and fuels.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the January inflation was the fastest since November 2008 at 9.1 percent.

Bodycams eyed for OTS teams at NAIA

By Maricel V. Cruz

BATANGAS Rep. Ralph Recto on Friday urged the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to consider providing body cameras for Office of Transportation Security personnel manning X-ray machines and other airport security checkpoints that put them in close contact with plane passengers.

Meanwhile, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) eyes some measures to address long lines at the Immigration counters of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

“This simple device would deter pickpockets

UNIVERSE GLOBAL.

PNA urges DOH to act and stop brain drain in nursing

By Willie Casas

A NURSES’ group urges the Department of Health (DOH) to be aggressive in recruiting nurses in the country.

According to Melvin Miranda, president of the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA), the recruitment of Filipino nurses by foreign countries is alarming.

He said the Philippines needed 617,000 nurses, but only 125,000 currently are working in the country. He said, foreigners are coming to the Philippines entice local nurses to go abroad. According to Miranda, due to aggressive recruitment and offers from other countries, many Filipino nurses are resigning to go abroad.

He said that the DOH does not have a retention plan, so the Philippines lacks a nursing workforce, at the same time as there is an implementation of the Universal Healthcare Act. He said that there is also a lack of teachers teaching in nursing schools in the Philippines.

He said that the DOH must fix the plantilla positions of nurses.

Also among the things that can be arranged is the better provision of health emergency allowance to nurses, saying that high pay is said to increase the motivation of nurses to go to other countries that offer better salaries.

Recently the DOH said the country needs 350,000 nurses aside from the ones working in the Philippines. With Willie Casas

Bill eyes free medical checkup for PhilHealth members

A MINDANAO lawmaker on Friday cited the need for Congress to enact a law mandating the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to provide free annual medical checkups for its members.

“To promote health, identify risks, and ensure early diagnosis, PhilHealth shall establish a system that allows access to a free annual medical check-up and ensure that Filipinos shall be accorded the quality health care services that they deserve,” Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte.

Dduterte filed House Bill 5074 seeking to ensure that every Filipino gets access to preventive care and are able to address potentially serious health conditions possibly in their early stages.

Duterte said “investing in free medical checkups for every Filipino will help save lives and ensure that no one gets left behind when it comes to health care.”

Detecting potentially serious medical conditions in its early stages will not only benefit every Filipino but also PhilHealth, as this would bring down the costs of providing coverage for expensive medical procedures that usually come with treating life-threatening diseases, Duterte added.

Under the bill, Filipinos can avail of the free medical checkup in any government-run hospital or medical institution.

On top of free cholesterol and blood sugar tests, the three lawmakers also proposed the inclusion of expanded laboratory and diagnostic tests in the free annual medical checkup benefit “subject to the availability of PhilHealth funds.”

“The State is tasked to institutionalize regular checkups for its citizens in order to determine their potential health concerns and avoid further complications. Every citizen must be able to exercise his or her right to health without incurring any financial burden,” the bill’s authors said. With all Filipinos automatically becoming PhilHealth members under the Universal Health Care Act, free medical checkups should form part of their benefits, Duterte said.

Maricel V. Cruz

SAN JOSE del Monte Rep Florida Robes on Friday batted for a wider government intervention to address what she described as “alarming” incidents of mental health problems among the youth.”

“It is alarming to know that, in 2021, around 1.5 million Filipino youth or seven percent attempted to commit suicide,” Robes, chair of the House committee on public accountability, said in a statement.

Robes revealed that depression, suicide, and mental health disorders have been plaguing the Filipino youth prior and even after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Citing a study conducted by Global SchoolBased Student Health Survey Philippines, Robes said an estimated 17 percent of 13-17 years old have attempted suicide at least once a year.

“Ironically, the quarantine restrictions at the start of the pandemic kept parents and their children in the confines of their home but still many families failed to address issues on depression and suicide. The 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study revealed that symptoms of depression among our youth in uniform and at the same time ward off rude passengers who harass airport personnel who are just doing their duty," Recto said in a statement. Recto made the suggestion following two recent incidents of thievery at the airport where OTS personnel were allegedly involved.

Recto said a bodycam protects both the checker and the checked.

“May footage habang binubuksan ang isang bag na may kadudadudang laman. At may resibo kung ang bag naman na iyon ay inatake ng salisi gang na naka-uniporme,” Recto said. He said the DOTR and the Office for

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) said a five-member advisory group was looking at documents belonging to 131 senior police officials in a bid to detect police complicity in the illegal drugs trade.

Meanwhile, PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr., formally installed Brig. Gen. Rudolph B. Dimas as Director of the PNP Special Action Force, its national maneuver force. Dimas replaced outgoing SAF commander, Maj. Gen. Edgar Alan Okubo, who was designated as National Capital Region Police Office head.

The PNP said the probe also covered police generals and colonels to cleanse the ranks from possible involvement in illegal drugs.

“The advisory group marked the third session of its evaluation and screening of PNP senior officers in relation to the internal cleansing campaign of the PNP," PNP spokesman Col. Redrico Maranan said in a statement.

The panel has so far evaluated a total of 466 senior officials and is set to evaluate and process the remaining senior officers in the coming weeks.

According to the advisory group, those

A TOTAL of 121 new cases of Omicron subvariants have been detected in the country, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

Among the recent samples logged from February 20 to 24 by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and University of the Philippines’ Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC), 60 were classified as BA.2.3.20.

Some 33 were classified as XBB including three cases classified as XBB.1.5, eight as XBC, and 20 as other Omicron sublineages. Of the additional BA.2.3.20 cases, the DOH said 59 were local cases from Regions

PHILIPPINE Navy (PN) personnel have assisted the passengers and crew members of passenger ship that ran aground off Talibon, Bohol last Feb. 28.

The Naval Forces Central through Naval Task Force 50, deployed two patrol ships BRP Filipino Flojo (PC-386) and BRP Enrique Jurado (PC-371) to assist M/V Starlite Saturn, a roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) passenger vessel that ran aground off Bilangbilangan Island in Talibon town.

“The said commercial vessel carries 157 individuals including 102 passengers and 55 crew members. The immediate response of PC-386 and PC-371 together with PCG (Philippine Coast Guard) vessel BRP spiked from 2013 to 2021, she said.

The same study showed a doubling of suicide ideation and suicide attempts among our youth from 2013 to 2021 showed that young adults (aged 15-24) have considered ending their lives, “when this is the stage where it is supposed to be the time that they are building their dreams and conquering the world”.

The same survey said that in 2013, 574,000.00 or three percent of Filipino youth attempted to end their life. What the data presented, Robes lamented “is an autopsy of what is going wrong in our families” as cases of suicide, depression and mental health problems are just the symptoms.

To address the problem, Robes proposed “a wider government and community intervention to address these problems.”

She said several government agencies, especially the Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Philippine Commission on Women and Children have to come up programs and activities that will “create mental health awareness among families, initiate found to be of reputable character upon screening and without any derogatory information throughout their service will be recommended to continue their police service.

Transportation Security cannot plead poverty in not buying bodycams, a device even food riders have, made affordable in this age of live-streaming. “Ang X-ray machines ay parang toll gate.

Bawat pasaherong dumadaan ay bayad ng P60 na Airport Security Fee kung sasakay ng international flights at P15 kung domestic,” Recto said. Apart from close coordination with the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the MIAA said immigration counters at the NAIA will be increased, electronic gates (e-gates) will be opened, and airlines would be requested to operate their check-in counters much earlier.

On the other hand, the senior officers found to have derogatory reports will be subjected to further scrutiny and investigation.

The group is also set to prepare a comprehensive report to the Interior and Local Government Secretary and National Police Commission chairperson Benjamin Abalos Jr. for his subsequent endorsement to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

“Moreover, the Group aims to culminate the screening process earlier than the imposed 90-day period. However expeditious the process may be, fairness, objectivity and due diligence in the conduct of the review proceedings is always observed,” Maranan said. Okubo expressed gratitude to the SAF personnel for their unwavering support during his term.

He also thanked the PNP leadership for the opportunity to lead the elite unit and for their trust and confidence in him.

2, 3, 4B, 11, 12, and National Capital Region (NCR), while one case was classified as from a Returning Overseas Filipino (ROF). The Health department said among the 33 recently reported XBB cases, one case was a ROF while 32 were local cases from Regions 3, 4B, 11, 12, and Caraga (including three XBB.1.5 cases). It added that all additional XBC cases were local cases from Regions 4B, 11, and 12. Omicron subvariants under World Health Organization monitoring are BF.7, BQ.1, BA.2.75, CH.1.1, XBB, XBB.1.5, and XBF as of February 9. Willie Casas dialogue between parents and children, capacitate both parents and their children to effectively express themselves and engage in healthy and affirmative conversations with passion.” She also urged families and communities to take initiatives supporting effective communication within families. I am aware that there are many Non-Government and Civic Society Groups that voluntarily provide services supporting the promotion and welfare of families.

Malamawi (FPB-2403) and some civilian motorized boats in the area to the said distressed vessel resulted to the safe transfer of 88 passengers to a SuperCat watercraft M/V St. Camael which subsequently ferried the said passengers to Pier 5, Port of Cebu, Cebu City,” Naval Forces Central public affairs office chief Lt. Michael John B. Savillo said.

Meanwhile, 14 other driver-passengers volunteered to remain onboard to look after their vehicles.

Savillo said the Naval Forces Central remains committed to providing responsive and effective assistance at-sea to ensure the safety and protection of all Filipinos.

Robes earlier filed a measure declaring the month of February as the “Buwan ng Nag-uusap na Pamilya”, to raise mental health awareness among family members.

She said that in San Jose del Monte alone she and her husband Mayor Arthur Robes already launched a project called “One-Like-For-Life”, a community campaign organized with doctors, nurses, psychologist and other mental health practitioners which provided counseling to the youth and children.

“There is, therefore, a need to provide avenues to bring families to talk again,” she added. Maricel V. Cruz