PNoy to citizens: Do your part in safeguarding public funds

 News
Mar 122014
 

President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday called on citizens to also do their part in safeguarding public funds amid corruption controversies in the government.

During the anniversary of the Ateneo Professional Schools on Wednesday night, Aquino said that the problem does not lie on the type of funds or system in place.

He explained that like any tool, funds like the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) are not evil.

“A car can be useful to transport you from here to there. If you’re a mad man you run over people it can be bad,” he said.

What’s important, he said, is that there are trustworthy officials and that all branches of government are coordinating with each other.

Because of this, he said citizens should choose their officials properly.  “It starts with the quality of the politicians we elect into office,” he said.

“We should be the ones that who would tell all of functionaries who were given parang the privilege of exercising these powers on our behalf, parang di ba, they should be directed as to what should and shouldn’t be done,” he added.

And after their election, he said the public should help officials monitor how public funds are being spent.

“They are the eyes and ears on all of these government projects as another check and balance,” he said.

“At the end of the day, I really think that the best check will be how the people treat the whole issue,” he added.  — ELR, GMA News

P89.065M Superlotto jackpot goes to lone bettor

 News
Feb 272014
 
P89.065M Superlotto jackpot goes to lone bettor

A lone bettor is now P89.065 million richer after bagging the jackpot of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s Superlotto 6/49 draw. The PCSO said the winner got the combination of 30-44-45-07-39-48 to win Thursday night’s lotto jackpot worth P89,065,812. But as in the past, the PCSO is not likely to name the winner for security reasons. Last Feb. 14, two lotto bettors jointly won P26.69 million in the PCSO Megalotto draw, getting the combination of 02-10-14-38-31-33 to win the jackpot worth P26,690,616. On Feb. 1, two bettors won P27,893,532 after getting the combination of 11-21-12-04-20-08 in the PCSO Lotto 6/42 draw. Last Jan. 31, a bettor won P78,792,744 in the PCSO’s Megalotto 6/45 draw after getting the combination of 38-16-32-07-19-14. On Jan. 20, a lone lotto bettor got the combination of 02-38-32-19-08-03 to win the Grand Lotto jackpot worth P155,401,636. On Jan. 12, a lone bettor won the jackpot in the PCSO’s Superlotto 6/49 draw by getting the combination of 09-21-14-27-06-19 to win P24,816,752. But the biggest lotto prize in recent history was in November 2010, when a lone bettor won some P741.176 million for getting the winning combination 11-16-42-47-31-37. — ELR, GMA News

Immigration chief bars BI airport staff from using mobile phones while on duty

 News
Sep 092013
 
Immigration chief bars BI airport staff from using mobile phones while on duty

Immigration personnel assigned to the country’s airports, including the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, will now be banned from using mobile phones while on duty. Bureau of Immigration OIC Siegfred Mison said this move seeks to lessen the opportunities for chances of BI officials engaging in activities like human trafficking and human smuggling. Mison, in a news release, cited recent incidents where BI officers were caught on surveillance cameras facilitating the entry of blacklisted aliens and exit of human trafficking victims and foreign fugitives. “In most of these instances, the immigration officers were seen using their phones in talking with their cohorts and the passengers,” he said. Under the new policy, BI employees assigned to airports will have to deposit their cell phones in pigeon-type lockers or with their supervisors for temporary custody. The policy will apply to all immigration officers assigned to the airport’s arrival and departure counters, whose task is to conduct immigration formalities on thousands of international travelers. Also banned from using cell phones while on duty are team leaders of the BI Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) and acting immigration officers and confidential agents at the Filipino counters. Mison said emergency calls or texting may be allowed via phones officially used by the employees’ duty supervisors. Meanwhile, Mison’s directivealso  prohibited immigration officers from merely pinning or tacking nameplates on their uniforms, saying these should be sewn or embroidered. The directive also said that while official jackets may be worn while on duty, the employee’s nameplate must Read More …

Palace says it is 'not imputing any motive' in Congress scrutiny of 2014 budget

 News
Jul 132013
 
Palace says it is 'not imputing any motive' in Congress scrutiny of 2014 budget

Malacañang on Saturday welcomed lawmakers’ plan to scrutinize parts of the proposed P2.268-trillion national budget for 2014, saying it is within their mandate to do so. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte downplayed speculations that some lawmakers may have political motives in taking a closer look at the proposed budgets of some agencies. “We welcome scrutiny when it comes to the budget. That is the province of any legislator who may want to look at the budget of any program or any agency,” Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. She added the Palace is not in any position to “impute any motive” when legislators say they want to take a closer look at the budget.  Some reports quoted Sen. Ma. Lourdes “Nancy” Binay as saying she plans to scrutinize the proposed 2014 budgets of the Departments of Interior and Local Government and Social Welfare and Development. Sen. Binay’s father, Vice President Jejomar Binay, defeated now-DILG Secretary Manuel Roxas II in the 2010 vice presidential race. The elder Binay and Roxas have been projected to possibly run for the presidency in 2016. But Sen. Binay maintained there was no political color in her interest to scrutinize the DILG’s proposed budget.  — ELR, GMA News

DepEd adds 7 languages to mother tongue-based education for Kinder to Grade 3

 News
Jul 122013
 
DepEd adds 7 languages to mother tongue-based education for Kinder to Grade 3

At least seven more languages have been added to the Department of Education’s Mother-Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTB-MLE) program. The DepEd said this brought to 19 the number of major local languages used as medium of instruction from Kinder to Grade 3. In a news release, the DepEd said the additional languages are: – Ybanag for pupils in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, and Isabela – Ivatan for Batanes – Sambal in Zambales – Aklanon in Aklan, Capiz – Kinaray-a in Capiz, Aklan – Yakan in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao – Surigaonon covering Surigao City and provinces. The other 12 local languages used in MTB-MLE are: – Tagalog – Kapampangan – Pangasinense – Iloko – Bikol – Cebuano – Hiligaynon – Waray – Tausug – Maguindanaoan – Maranao – Chabacano. MTB-MLE is implemented in two modules: first, as a learning/subject area; and second, as a medium of instruction. DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro said the use of the same language spoken at home in the early grades “helps improve the pupils’ language and cognitive development in addition to strengthening their socio-cultural awareness.” Citing local and international studies, the DepEd said using the mother tongue inside the classroom during the learners’ early years of schooling may produce better and faster learners who can easily adapt to learn a second (Filipino) and third language (English). — ELR, GMA News

UP adopting systemwide @up.edu.ph email service

 News
Jul 102013
 
UP adopting systemwide @up.edu.ph email service

Students and employees at the University of the Philippines will soon be getting their @up.edu.ph email addresses as part of the state university’s eUP program. UP Manila Information Management Service Director Romeo Villarta Jr. said the eUP email will use the Google App for Education accounts that provide 30 GB of mailbox space. “The University of the Philippines, through the eUP Program, has created a new system-wide email service. The plan is to provide email addresses for all UP students and employees. These email addresses will be using the email domain name of @up.edu.ph. These eUP email addresses will be used by students and employees in accessing the information services to be provided by eUP,” Villarta said.   Users can activate their account by logging in at http://google.com/a/up.edu.ph, Villarta said. Aside from 30 GB of mailbox space, the new eUP e-mail service allows use of other Google services, such as Gmail, Google+, Google Drive, and Google Groups using the UP account. He added the eUP email account is different from the UP Manila email service (@post.upm.edu.ph), though holders of the UP Manila accounts can continue using them. “The user has the option to utilize both accounts for email purposes. But for eUP purposes, the eUP email using @up.edu.phmust be used for authentication purposes,” he said. But as of Wednesday, he said email accounts for some employees and students, particularly freshmen, have not been created yet. He said UP Manila will coordinate with eUP to resolve this issue.  — ELR, GMA Read More …

EcoWaste group finds lead on labels of 3 soft drink products

 News
Jul 092013
 
EcoWaste group finds lead on labels of 3 soft drink products

Aside from the threat to health due to high sugar content, bottled soft drinks may endanger children due to lead on the label of the bottles, an ecological group said Sunday. The EcoWaste Coalition said it found the lead on the labels after subjecting the bottles to a test with an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer. “Lead was specifically detected on the paints used for the product labels, and not on the actual beverage,” said coordinator Anthony Dizon. Dizon said soft drinks are among the most widely distributed products and are easily available to children. He also said that while lead from the label may not leach into the liquid inside the glass bottle, lead may get into the bottle when it is washed for recycling, or ingested by a consumer, “particularly a child, when she touches the leaded part and then put her fingers in her mouth.” The group reiterated lead may be harmful even in small amounts, and may cause mental, physical, developmental and behavioral problems and even reproductive disorders. Dizon said the group will write to the soft drink companies and ask them to stop using leaded paint on their product labels. “If most soft drink companies can have their product names and emblems made with unleaded paint, we see no reason why other companies cannot do the same,” he said. Three products The group tested 15 soft drink products last July 5 and 6, and found three to contain lead way above the 90 ppm US limit Read More …

PCSO: Lone bettor wins P53.988M in Megalotto 6/45 draw

 News
Jun 282013
 
PCSO: Lone bettor wins P53.988M in Megalotto 6/45 draw

A lone lotto bettor became P54.988 million richer after hitting the jackpot in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s Megalotto 6/45 draw Friday night. The PCSO said the bettor got the correct combination of 20-19-42-18-32-01 to win the night’s jackpot worth P53,987,876. But as in the past, the PCSO is not likely to make public the winner’s name, for security reasons. On Thursday night, a lone winner bagged the P33.917-million jackpot of the PCSO’s Lotto 6/42 draw. Last June 6, two lotto bettors got the winning combination of 22-13-05-19-25-10 to win the Lotto 6/42 jackpot worth P39,462,944. On June 4, a lone lotto bettor became P90.996 million richer after hitting the jackpot in the PCSO Superlotto 6/49 draw. Last April 30, two lucky bettors shared P95,932,278 after getting the combination to the Superlotto 6/49 draw jackpot. But the biggest lotto prize in recent history was still in November 2010, when a lone bettor won some P741.176 million for getting the winning combination 11-16-42-47-31-37.  —  ELR, GMA News

Biometrics among added requirements for gun permit from PNP

 News
Jun 272013
 
Biometrics among added requirements for gun permit from PNP

Licensed gun owners applying for permits to carry firearms outside their homes may have to comply with added requirements, including biometrics samples, the Philippine National Police said Thursday. “All licensed gun-owners applying for gun-carrying privileges are now required to personally submit their biometric fingerprint specimen and photograph as mandatory requirements for issuance of (PTCFOR),” it said. The PNP said the new administrative requirements will be used for adjusting records in the Firearms Information Management System (FIMS) database. Such adjustments aim to “further improve the processes in the issuance of firearms licenses and permits.” For his part, PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Reuben Sindac said these processes also seek to boost the campaign against “delinquent gun owners and those in possession of loose firearms.” Meanwhile, the PNP said it will continue to implement Oplan “Katok” or house visits on licensed gun owners, to verify the current status of the guns and its registered owners. In the last six months, the PNP conducted 464,996 house visits on registered gun owners with expired licenses, to remind them to update their firearms records.  — ELR, GMA News

Senate OKs anti-bullying bill

 News
Jun 052013
 
Senate OKs anti-bullying bill

The Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that seeks to curb incidents of bullying in schools in the country. The approved measure directs elementary and secondary schools in the Philippines to put in place policies that will address bullying. “The heart of this measure is the education of parents on bullying and to familiarize them with the anti-bullying policies of the school. With that information, parents would have better choices which schools to send their children,” said Senator Edgardo Angara, one of the authors of the bill, in a statement. The measure also tasks the Department of Education to propose administrative sanctions for schools who will not have anti-bullying policies. In the House version of the bill, which was approved last December, bullying may be in the form of “any severe or repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic expression, or a physical act or gesture, or any combination thereof.” The House bill added that these actions should be “directed at another student that has the effect of actually causing or placing the latter in reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm or damage to his property” to be considered as bullying. The Senate committee on education, arts and culture opted to use the House version as its working document, take two similar Senate bills into consideration (SB 413, SB 2677) and approve the bill with five specific amendments. A bicameral conference committee will convene soon and its output will then ratified by both Read More …

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