Seamen may file complaints at sea

 News
May 242013
 
Seamen may file complaints at sea

By Tina G. SantosPhilippine Daily Inquirer 6:46 am | Saturday, May 25th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Filipino seafarers may file work-related complaints even while aboard ocean-going vessels, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz had issued Department Order No. 127 directing the opening of communication lines between Filipino sailors and the POEA to strengthen the modes of conciliation and mediation of labor disputes in the maritime industry. “The department order effectively aligns with Regulation 5.1.5 of the Maritime Labor Convention 2006 of the International Labor Organization which requires the mandatory implementation of onboard complaints procedure for the fair, effective and expeditious handling of seafarer complaints alleging breaches of the requirements of the said convention, including labor and employment rights of seafarers,” Cacdac said. Aggrieved seafarers usually filed complaints only upon their return to the country, the POEA said. But Cacdac said a seafarer could now communicate to the POEA an onboard complaint either through postal mail addressed to the POEA administrator, Blas F. Ople Building corner Edsa and Ortigas Ave., Mandaluyong City, Philippines 1501; through e-mail addressed to onboardconci@poea.gov.ph, or by calling the office at tel. nos. 8336992, 5516641 and 5511560. Cacdac said the POEA would provide the seafarer with impartial advice on the complaint and assist him in going through the complaint procedures. He gave assurance that all information gathered during consultation would be kept in strict confidence and evaluated in accordance with existing rules and regulations governing the employment Read More …

Rescue of Russian mountaineer from Mt. Mayon proved costly

 News
May 242013
 
Rescue of Russian mountaineer from Mt. Mayon proved costly

By Mar ArguellesInquirer Southern Luzon 6:45 am | Saturday, May 25th, 2013 LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Russian tourist Mark Yuchyugyaev’s fascination with the majestic beauty of the Mayon Volcano proved to be costly, in more ways than one. To rescue the Russian tourist who went on an unauthorized Mayon Volcano climb and was injured in the process, the government had to shell out at least half a million pesos. Raffy Alejandro, regional direct of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol, said the government spent at least P520,000 during the two days of search and rescue (SAR) operation to extract Yuchyugyaev from a gully near the mouth of the volcano’s crater. Alejandro broke down the expenses as follows: P450,000 for the fuel used by the two Philippine Air Force helicopters during the two-day operation, or a flying time of about three hours for each helicopter at a fuel cost of P75,000/hour, and food and supplies amounting to P70,000 for the four teams of 35 personnel dispatched during the search. Alejandro said the bill for the entire exercise was charged to the Disaster Emergency Response fund of the PAF and the provincial government of Albay. Yuchyugyaev, who is now hospitalized at the Bicol Regional Teaching and Training Hospital (BRTTH) for a broken ankle, told officials here that despite his accident, he would still want to scale the 2,600-meter-high Mayon Volcano in the future. He said he was mesmerized when he saw the majestic Mayon Volcano in a tourist brochure, which made him Read More …

PCG report on grounded US ship due

 News
May 242013
 
PCG report on grounded US ship due

Philippine Daily Inquirer 6:39 am | Saturday, May 25th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is expected to release next week its report on the grounding of the US Navy minesweeper, the Guardian, at the Tubbataha Reef last Jan. 17. According to PCG spokesperson Commander Armand Balilo, the report is about 90-percent complete. It will be submitted next week to Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya who will then forward it to President Aquino. According to Balilo, the report will include what actually happened or what caused the incident, as well as measures and recommendations to prevent its recurring. The 68-meter long Guardian ran aground at the Tubbataha Reef and damaged more than 1,500 square meters of the reef, which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) has declared a World Heritage Site. The Guardian was cut into pieces and removed from the reef last March 30. The US government has committed to rehabilitate the portion of the reef that was damaged by the Guardian but its discussions with the Department of Foreign Affairs on the matter have been kept confidential. Tina G. Santos Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: Commander Armand Balilo , Philippine Coast Guard , President Aquino , Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya , Tubbataha Read More …

Fil-Am staffers and students join UC Medical Center strike frontline

 News
May 242013
 
Fil-Am staffers and students join UC Medical Center strike frontline

By Hiyasmin QuijanoINQUIRER.net US Bureau 5:55 am | Saturday, May 25th, 2013 Filipino hospital staffers at strike picket line in front of the University of California Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Los Angeles. Photo by Hiyasmin Quijano LOS ANGELES, California–Filipino-American workers and students joined a two-day strike in front of the University of California Ronald Reagan Medical Center to “get priorities straight.” After ten months of negotiations, UC patient technical workers continue to bargain for enforceable safe staffing standards to protect patient care, a stop to outsourcing frontline care to less-experienced workers, fair wages to afford sending their own children to the University of California and a stop to oversized executive entitlements. Medical center works say hundreds are being laid off, schedules reduced and less-experienced providers being hired. Thousands of UC Medical patient care workers voted 97 percent in favor of the May 21-22 job stoppage. The strikers included respiratory therapists, nursing aides, radiologists, certified nursing assistants, MRI technologists, licensed vocational nurses, surgical technicians, diagnostic sonographers, pathology lab technicians, pharmacy technicians, or technicians and others staff members. UC Medical Centers serve approximately four million people annually. “I’m here for my patient. A lot of us are overworked because we’re also given on-call assignments. So sometimes we are working all week. We also never get released on time because there’s not enough staff to relieve us,” states Jing Ulamgkang. Staffers complain that over-scheduling, causes stress and exhaustion for care providers and delays for patients. “It all boils down to patient safety and Read More …

Kids make art to help rescue other kids from neglect

 News
May 242013
 
Kids make art to help rescue other kids from neglect

1:01 am | Saturday, May 25th, 2013 Children of The Filipino Channel (TFC) create art to support programs for child rescue and rehabilitation in the Philippines. Photo by Bryan Reynoso REDWOOD CITY, California—Art classes attended by children of the employees of The Filipino Channel are producing works that will help raise funds for the rehabilitation of neglected or abused children in the Philippines. The art program, Kids heART Bantay Bata, is hosted by the ABS CBN Foundation International in partnership with Filipino-American artist Paolo Mejia, whose work and advocacy supports emerging artists and designers to raise awareness and support for the foundation’s flagship program, Bantay Bata (Child Watch Philippines). The foundation is the corporate social responsibility arm of ABS-CBN International and The Filipino Channel (TFC). “Our philanthropy starts at our home, at TFC,” says Jo Ann Kyle, managing director for the foundation. “The children are deeply engaged and understand that they paint for a purpose. Knowing that kids as young as four years old create art with the less fortunate in mind gives a more layered and solemn beauty to their raw talent,” Kyle adds. Art for charity   The classes create original art that will be reproduced on cards and made available with minimum donations to the charity. Proceeds will support the multi-awarded initiative that rescues and rehabilitates impoverished, abused, and neglected children in the Philippines. Notecard reproductions will be available at the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI) parade in New York on June 2, 2013 and online Read More …

Saudi, PH ink pact on workers

 News
May 212013
 
Saudi, PH ink pact on workers

Philippine Daily Inquirer 5:10 am | Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013 Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz (left) and Saudi Arabian Labor Minister Adel Bin Mohammed Fakeih INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/PHOTO OF MINISTER FAKEIH FROM GCF.ORG.SA MANILA, Philippines—Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and Saudi Arabian Labor Minister Adel Bin Mohammed Fakeih signed in Jeddah on Sunday an agreement on the recruitment of Filipino domestic workers and the duties and responsibilities of their Saudi employers. The agreement, described by Baldoz and Fakeih in a joint statement as “historic,” came after last year’s pact on the standard employment contract (SEC) to be observed by employers and Filipino household service workers (HSWs) in the Middle East kingdom. The agreement lays down areas of cooperation between the two countries, including the following: a mutually acceptable recruitment and deployment system; recruitment of workers through offices that practice ethical recruitment and are licensed by their respective governments; prohibition to deduct from the salary of the worker any cost attendant to recruitment and deployment; Right of recourse to competent authorities in case of contractual disputes; legal measures against recruitment offices, companies and agencies for any violation of applicable laws, rules and regulations; and resolution of any issue arising from the implementation and enforcement of the agreement.—Jerome Aning

Civil groups taking poll plaints to UN

 News
May 212013
 
Civil groups taking poll plaints to UN

By Jocelyn R. Uy Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:14 am | Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Civil society groups Solidarity Philippines and Kontra Daya on Tuesday said they were bringing to the attention of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) the inadequacies and lapses committed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) during the May 13 balloting. Over Church-run Radio Veritas, the groups’ convenor Fr. Joe Dizon said they were resorting to the move because the Comelec had not been transparent in its conduct of the recently concluded elections, the second time automated elections were held using the controversial precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines. During the interview, Dizon said the complaint would include the premature proclamation of the winning senators as well as the glitches that popped up in the voting machines and the compact flash (CF) cards. “First and foremost, the Comelec erred in entering into a deal with Smartmatic and purchasing the PCOS machines because (Smartmatic) was not the owner of the source code,” Dizon said. The source code is the computer program that runs the PCOS machines. The PCOS technology, including the source code, is owned by Dominion Voting Systems Inc., which had severed its ties with Smartmatic following a legal dispute in the United States. Dizon also stressed that the recent elections should merit the attention of the UN body because the Comelec decided to proclaim the winners of the senatorial race even if only 20 percent of the total votes Read More …

Aquino bares AFP buildup vs ‘bullies in our backyard’

 News
May 212013
 
Aquino bares AFP buildup vs ‘bullies in our backyard’

Agence France-Presse 8:55 pm | Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 President Aquino AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday announced a $1.8-billion military upgrade to help defend his country’s maritime territory against “bullies,” amid an ever-worsening dispute with China. The announcement came on the same day that the Philippines filed a protest with China over the “illegal and provocative” presence of a Chinese warship and two other vessels at a Filipino-claimed shoal in the disputed South China Sea. In thinly veiled comments referring to China, Aquino vowed during a speech to mark the navy’s 115th anniversary that the armed forces would be given the resources necessary to protect Philippine sovereignty. “We have a clear message to the world: The Philippines is for Filipinos, and we have the capability to resist bullies entering our backyard,” Aquino told naval chiefs. Aquino detailed a P75-billion ($1.82-billion) military modernization program that gives priority to upgrading the navy, which is one of the weakest in Southeast Asia. He said by 2017 the Philippines would acquire two new frigates, two helicopters capable of anti-submarine warfare, three fast vessels for coastal patrols and eight amphibious assault vehicles. “We will also improve our communications, intelligence and surveillance systems,” he said. The Philippines has been locked for more than two years in an increasingly hostile dispute with China over rival claims to the South China Sea, which is believed to sit atop vast resources of oil and gas. China insists it has sovereign rights to most Read More …

Taipei releases satellite record, rejecting Manila’s claim

 News
May 212013
 

Agence France-Presse 9:13 pm | Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 TAIPEI — Taiwan on Tuesday released a satellite record of the route of a fishing boat fired on by Philippine coastguards, flatly rejecting Manila’s allegations that the boat intruded into Philippine waters. The killing of crew member Hung Shih-cheng, 65, sparked outrage in Taiwan, which has announced a series of economic sanctions against the Philippines. Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency said the voyage data recorder from the fishing boat showed it was not in Philippine waters when it came under fire on May 9. “The satellite records indicated that the Guang Ta Hsin 28 had been fishing within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone throughout,” the agency’s deputy chief Tsay Tzu-yaw told AFP. The satellite record showed that the ship was positioned at 122 degrees and 55 minutes east and 19 degrees and 59 minutes north when it was attacked at 10:12 am. The economic zones claimed by each country overlap. “Since the Philippine authorities repeatedly alleged that the fishing boat had intruded into their waters, then why not make public the video records they claim they have taken from the coastguard boat?” Tsay said. The Philippines said Monday it would make “coordinated efforts” with Taiwan to look into the incident. Its coastguards claimed that the fishing boat intruded into Philippine waters and tried to ram their vessel, forcing them to open fire. Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou has termed the killing “cold-blooded murder” based on an initial inquiry by Taiwan, which showed that the boat Read More …

Aquino: We can fight back vs any threat

 News
May 212013
 
Aquino: We can fight back vs any threat

8:46 pm | Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 Members of the Philippine Navy SEALS display their gear during a ceremony celebrating the 115th anniversary of the Philippine navy at Fort San Felipe, Cavite city southwest of Manila, Philippines Tuesday, May 21, 2013. The Philippine government is planning to spend $1.8 billion dollars to modernize the Philippine navy with acquisition of additional ships and anti-submarine helicopters. AP MANILA, Philippines—Faced with territorial disputes and worries of external and internal threats, President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday claimed that the Philippines can fight back and defend itself within its bounds. “Our message to the whole world is clear: what belongs to the Philippines belongs to the Philippines,” Aquino said in a speech at a naval base in Cavite province south of Manila. “We can fight back and defend ourselves every time somebody will threaten us right in our own home ground.” Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said the Philippines denounced the “provocative and illegal presence” of Beijing’s ships off Ayungin Shoal in the South China Sea, adding the area is “an integral part of our national territory.” “We have already sent communications on this. We have already told them about our position regarding these vessels, which have intruded in our EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone),” Hernandez in a press briefing on Tuesday. Asked what such “communications” were, Hernandez said: “When we send communications on things like this, when there are intrusions, we file protests.” The DFA filed the protest with the Chinese Embassy Read More …

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