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Trust in Robredo falls in SWS survey

NET TRUST in Vice-President Maria Leonor G. Robredo fell 13 points and one grade to a “good” +39, according to the latest poll by the Social Weather Stations. The First Quarter 2018 Social Weather Survey, conducted from March 23-27, found 58% of adult Filipinos with much trust, 23% undecided, and 18% with little trust in Ms. Robredo, yielding the +39 net trust which compares with her “very good” +52 (66% much trust, 14% little trust) in December last year.
The SWS terminology for Net Trust Ratings is as follows: +70 and above, “excellent”; +50 to +69, “very good”; +30 to +49, “good”; +10 to +29, “moderate”; +9 to -9, “neutral”; -10 to -29, “poor”; -30 to -49, “bad”; -50 to -69, “very bad”; -70 and below, “execrable.”
Ms. Robredo’s net trust rating remained “moderate” in Metro Manila (+23) and “very good” in the Visayas (+56), although both ratings dropped by 4 and 8 points, respectively.
However, net trust in Ms. Robredo fell by one grade from “very good” to “good” in Balance Luzon (down 15 points to +41) and Mindanao (down 18 points to +32).
Ms. Robredo’s net trust fell 4 points and one grade to “good” +48 among elementary graduates.

Among non-elementary graduates, it fell 20 points and one grade to “good” +46.
Her net trust among high school graduates also fell one grade as well as 16 points to “good” +35.
Among college graduates, Ms. Robredo’s net trust fell two grades and 14 points to “moderate” +29.
The noncommissioned survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide, with 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages, and ±6% each for the said areas.
Ms. Robredo’s camp was sought for comment as of this writing.

Poll shows 64% of Filipinos opposed to Charter Change

MAJORITY OR 64% of Filipinos are not in favor of charter change, a poll released Wednesday by Pulse Asia showed.
The March 2018 Pulse Asia nationwide survey found that only 23% favored that move, a key initiative in President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s program of government, while 13% were found ambivalent on the matter.
In comparison with a 2016 survey also by Pulse Asia, overall public support for constitutional amendments declined by 14 points to 23% in March 2018. Those against constituted 64%, a 20-point rise from 2016’s 44%.
In Mindanao, Mr. Duterte’s home region, 58% of respondents were against constitutional amendments whereas 24% supported it. The 58% against compares with 2016’s 36%.
Polled as well about their knowledge of the 1987 Constitution, 25% of respondents indicated 25% of respondents nationwide indicated a sufficient to a great deal of knowledge, as opposed to 75% who had little to no knowledge of the country’s basic law.
Twenty-nine percent (29%) said they had a sufficient to a great deal of knowledge on the proposed federal system of government, while 71% said they had little to no knowledge of that system as being pushed by the Duterte administration.
On the other hand, 66% of Filipinos opposed the proposal to adopt a federal government; while 27% of the population supported it. The survey noted 36% of respondents who opposed the move maintained they are not in favor of the shift regardless of the timing of such change, while 30% said they are not in favor of changing it now, but may be open to it in the future.
The survey also showed only 49% of Filipinos are aware of proposals to change the Constitution.
The noncommissioned survey was conducted from March 23 to 28, using face-to-face interviews.
The Consultative Committee on Charter Change welcomed the survey results. “The survey was taken at a time when the Consultative Committee is still formulating the proposed revisions. Once we are done and the proposed revisions are presented to the public, we are confident that the public perception will change,” the body said in a statement.
For his part, Presidential spokesman Harry L. Roque, Jr. said: “The Duterte administration is thus working tirelessly in promoting to the public the workings of a federal set-up, a campaign promise of the President to bring government closer to the people.”
Sought for comment, Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III said in part, “I acknowledge that people still need to know more about federalism as the word has remained a new and still unfamiliar concept to them.”
House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez in a statement said: “The survey finding that 3 out of every 4 Filipinos, or 75 percent, have little/almost none/no knowledge at all about the 1987 Philippine Constitution tells us very clearly that we must come together and intensify the information, education and communication campaigns throughout the country to tell our people that we must revise the three-decade-old Constitution to make it responsive to changing times.”
And opposition senator Francis N. Pangilinan, who heads the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes, said in a statement: “This lack of support for Cha-cha and federalism even in Mindanao, which is supposed to benefit from this push and is reflected in the survey results, simply means that rushing Charter change and forcing it upon the citizens is not the way to go.” — Charmaine A. Tadalan and Camille A. Aguinaldo

Palace defends: Duterte did not promise to end all forms of contractualization

PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte’s executive order (EO) signed on Labor Day, May 1, does not grant the labor unions’ wish to have total prohibition on all forms of contractualization by establishing direct hiring as the general norm of employment.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. defended that the President never promised to end all forms of contractualization.
“His promise was to end ‘endo’ (end-of-contract scheme). He did not promise to end all forms of contractualization, even if you review all of his speeches during the 2016 elections,” Mr. Roque, speaking in Filipino, said in his interview with Radyo Pilipinas on Wednesday morning.
Endo has been a longstanding practice that denies workers permanent employment and benefits by deliberately terminating or not renewing their contract before becoming eligible for such status.
Rep. Carlos Isagani T. Zarate of the militant party-list Bayan Muna, in a statement, said that the President’s EO is “useless as its general provisions are already stipulated in the Labor Code.”
Section 2 of EO No. 51, which the Palace released on Wednesday, May 2, states that “contracting or subcontracting, when undertaken to circumvent the worker’s right to security of tenure, self-organization and collective bargaining, and peaceful concerted activities pursuant to the 1987 Philippine Constitution, is hereby strictly prohibited.”
Under the draft EO submitted to the Palace by labor groups, a copy of which was sent by the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) to the media, Section 2 on the “Prohibition Against Contracting or Subcontracting” includes the line: “Consistent with the policy of this government, direct hiring of the employee by the principal employers shall be the general norm in employment relations.”
It adds: “Security of tenure is hereby strengthened by the general norm of direct hiring.”
Both the draft and signed versions define Security of Tenure as “the right of employees not to be dismissed or removed without just or authorized cause and observance of procedural due process consistent with the constitution, labor code of the Philippines as amended, and prevailing jurisprudence.”
Mr. Zarate said what is needed now is to issue a policy to stop all “forms of job contracting,” as promised by Mr. Duterte during the 2016 presidential campaign.
SENATE
Meanwhile, Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III vowed to have the proposed ENDO law as the Senate’s priority measure when Congress resumes sessions in mid-May.
“The law on endo will have priority once Congress resumes its session on May 15, 2018. Ending endo will empower our workers and improve their quality of life,” he said in a statement issued late Tuesday.
“For my part, I will make sure that a law on the matter will be passed as soon as possible to make the gains of workers permanent,” he added.
Senate Bill No. 1116 or the proposed End of Endo or Contractualization Act of 2016 seeks to amend the Labor Code of the Philippines and prohibit labor-only and manpower contracting. It simplifies the classification of employees to regular and probationary and lists unfair labor practices in a contracting or subcontracting arrangement.
Its counterpart version at the House of Representatives was approved on third and final reading last January 29. — Arjay L. Balinbin and Camille A. Aguinaldo

DoJ starts probe on SC IT consultant; Senate urged to assert impeachment power over Sereno

THE DEPARTMENT of Justice (DoJ) on Wednesday, May 2, began its investigation on the Supreme Court’s (SC) allegedly anomalous hiring of information and technology (IT) consultant Helen Perez-Macasaet.
The case stems from the complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo G. Gadon, who claims that only two out of Ms. Perez-Macasaet’s eight contracts with the SC passed through the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), while the rest were handled and renewed by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno.
The impeachment case against Ms. Sereno before Congress was also filed by Mr. Gadon.
Ms. Perez-Macasaet, who was represented by her legal counsel, was given by Assistant State Prosecutor Gilmarie Fe S. Pacamarra until May 9 to submit her counter-affidavit.
The co-respondents in the case, lawyers Ma. Lourdes B. Oliveros and Michael Ocampo of the SC BAC, submitted their counter-affidavits through their legal counsels.
The state prosecutor gave the complainant until May 17 to submit his reply on the counter-affidavits. A rejoinder is set on May 29.
SERENO SUPPORT
In a related development, advocacy group Coalition for Justice (CFJ) on Wednesday urged the Senate to assert its exclusive power to impeach government officials and pass a resolution asking the Supreme Court to suspend its quo warranto case against Ms. Sereno.
“We ask the Senate to call for a special session before May 11 and/or to pass a resolution asking the Supreme Court to suspend its Quo Warranto proceedings and await the resolution of the impeachment,” the group said in a letter addressed to senators, citing reports that the SC plans to decide on the case on May 11.
CFJ said the May 11 special session of the SC was meant “to pre-empt and render moot the transmittal of the articles of impeachment to Congress.”
The letter to senators also contained a petition signed by over 300 individuals denouncing the quo warranto case, including former vice president Teofisto T. Guingona, Jr., Senators Francis N. Pangilinan and Antonio F. Trillanes IV, Makabayan lawmakers, human rights advocates, artists, and leaders of civil society groups. — Dane Angelo M. Enerio and Camille A. Aguinaldo

Bangusan crowd

A big crowd gather at the J. De Venecia highway on April 30 for the annual street party that caps Dagupan City’s Bangus Festival. Mayor Belen T. Fernandez said participants are continuously “growing bigger and bigger every year!”

Van check

Vans are lined up for checking along a highway in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, as authorities crack down on unlicensed vehicles operating as public utility. The Department of Transportation reported that as of 8:45 a.m., May 2, 17 colorum vehicles were apprehended by the Inter-Agency Council for Traffic (i-ACT).

P490M for Boracay road rehabilitation out this week

THE GOVERNMENT is set to release this week more funds to support road works in Boracay, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.
“The budget department will also release P490 million to Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the rehabilitation of the whole Boracay Circumferential Road in Aklan during the six-month closure of the island,” Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said during a press briefing Wednesday, May 2 in Mandaluyong City.
The new funds will augment the P50 million already appropriated this year to “accelerate the construction progress of the 5.2-kilometer road that will strictly follow the 6.10-meter carriageway standard on both sides.”
Mr. Diokno said, however, that the release of funds is still subject to the approval of the Office of the President.
The P480 million will be charged against savings generated by DPWH .
This follows the P448 million released to the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) last week covering financial assistance for the 17,735 residents and workers affected by the six-month closure to tourists.
The road project will incorporate an improved drainage and sewerage system along the main road to contain flooding.
The first phase covers 1.4 kilometers from Cagban Port to Rotonda, while the second phase is 1.9 kilometers from Rotonda to Brgy. Balabag.
The third phase involves another 1.9 kilometers from Barangay Balabag to Barangay Yapak.
ENOUGH FUNDS
Mr. Diokno said the government has enough fiscal space for financing rehabilitation efforts in Boracay.
“We can finance it through the 2018 national budget, we don’t need a supplemental budget, he said.
Apart from taking funds from concerned government agencies, the government can tap the P19 billion calamity fund, as the island has been declared under a state of calamity, or the P13 billion contingent fund.
The calamity fund can be tapped for relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and other works or services in connection with the occurrence of natural destruction, while the contingent fund can be used exclusively for requirements of new and urgent projects that need to be implemented during the year.
SSS, DSWD
Meanwhile, the Social Security System (SSS) said in a separate statement Wednesday, May 2 that it has opened an emergency loan window to an estimated 11,000 members who are affected by the Boracay closure.
It said that it has allocated about P111.61 million for the Emergency Loan Assistance Program (ELAP), where members can borrow P1,000 to 16,000, depending on their monthly salary credit, payable in 32 months, inclusive of eight months moratorium period.
“We have also waived the 1% of the loan amount for the service fee so the members will get their loaned amount in full,” SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel F. Dooc said.
“When the loan application is finally approved, the generated emergency loan checks may be picked up by the member within 10 working days at the SSS branch office where the application is filed. After this period, the check will be forwarded thru mail to the member’s mailing address indicated in the form,” he added.
Qualified members are those who have 36 monthly contributions, six of which should have been posted within the last 12 months prior to the month of filing of application; must be living or working in Boracay prior to its closure; under 65 years old at the time of loan application; have not been granted any final benefit; no outstanding Loan Restructuring Program (LRP) or Calamity Loan Assistance Program (CLAP); and have not been disqualified due to fraud against the SSS.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), for its part, said it has so far provided P7.1 million in transportation assistance to displaced workers and residents of Boracay who have decided to exit the island due to the closure.
“As of May 1, a total of 3,115 individuals have availed of transportation assistance,” the DSWD said in a statement.
DSWD officer-in-charge Secretary Emmanuel A. Leyco assured that the agency has enough funds to further assist residents and workers. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

HRW condemns killing of another journalist

Edmund Sestoso — PHILSTAR

HUMAN RIGHTS Watch (HRW) denounced the killing of radio broadcaster Edmund Sestoso, who was shot by gunmen riding in tandem last April 30 in Dumaguete City. In a statement, HRW Asia Division researcher Carlos Conde said the murder was another demonstration of “the persistence of a culture of impunity in the Philippines” which drive Filipino journalists “to work and live in a climate of fear.” HRW urged the Duterte administration “to arrest and prosecute the killers of (Mr.) Sestoso and the many others who were murdered over the years.” — Minde Nyl R. dela Cruz

Virgin Island in Bohol found littered

A SMALL island called Virgin, a part of the municipality of Panglao in Bohol, has been found to be littered, with a number of food vendors setting up shop for visiting island-hoppers. An inspection team sent by Bohol Gov. Edgardo M. Chatto reported last week that garbage litter the island. “Garbage were placed on sacks and allegedly brought to the mainland for disposal. No segregation of waste is being practiced. Some vendors even throw the garbage on the sand,” reads the team’s report to the Panglao Island and Tagbilaran Executive Council (PITEC). The team also said that some of the vendors were issued permits by the local government unit (LGU) of Panglao, while others had expired permits, and others none. The team recommended that after all permits have expired, the LGU should demolish all structures made of light materials. “The island should be free from any commercial activity, consistent with Presidential proclamation 1801 declaring Panglao Island as Tourist Zone. Virgin Island must be for recreational activities like swimming and snorkeling only.” — The Freeman
>> See the full story on https://goo.gl/J2L2is

Initao rural bank shut down by BSP

THE BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has shut down a bank in Misamis Oriental after it was found unfit to remain in business. The Monetary Board has ordered the Rural Bank of Initao, Inc. to end its operations on April 30. The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) stepped in as receiver Wednesday, May 2, assuming the bank’s assets and will administer depositor payouts. The provincial lender holds P46.4 million deposits covering 1,476 accounts. Of the amount, P42.3 million are covered by deposit insurance. Bank deposits are insured up to P500,000 per depositor, according to the law. Rural Bank of Initao is the third to be ordered closed by the BSP this year, following the fate of the Batangas-based Empire Rural Bank and the Rural Bank of Loreto, Inc. in the Dinagat Islands. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

Only over 2,000 applicants for 12,500 opening in Davao job fair

JOB SEEKERS totalled only 2,027 on the first day of the two-day job fair organized by the Department of Labor and Employment-Davao (DoLE-9) in Davao City, where there are 12,500 employment opportunities on offer. DoLE-9 Assistant Regional Director Jason P. Balais said many applicants were for service crew and call center positions. However, the most in-demand applicants were skilled workers for the construction industry, including masons, carpenters and tile setters. “This could be because of the government’s Build, Build, Build program,” he said. Around 100 applicants were hired on site while 1,716 were asked to submit documents or scheduled for further interviews. Mr. Balais expects the number of applicants who will be immediately hired to increase on the second day, May 2, of the job fair held at the Gaisano Mall. — Carmencita A. Carillo

Zamboanga City gov’t takes over Z3R housing concerns

THE ZAMBOANGA City government has taken over all concerns relating to the Zamboanga City Roadmap to Recovery and Reconstruction (Z3R) Project, including the housing component. The move came after a group, including Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar and other officials, fell into murky water when a footbridge in a housing area collapsed during a site visit last April 26. The city’s Housing and Land Management Division, headed by former councilor Cesar “Jawo” L. Jimenez, has been put in charge of Z3R effective April 30. The mayor, in a statement, said they intend to check on the housing units, implemented by the National Housing Authority (NHA), and undertake necessary retrofitting, depending on available funds. “We have been asking NHA to come up with a third party monitoring because the role of the city is only regulatory and coordinative. It will also be quite difficult to do the monitoring because according to NHA they are monitoring themselves,” Ms. Climaco said. “We are picking the pieces up. We are really doing our best and we sat down to be able to address the problems,” she added. Meanwhile, the mayor also lamented that as of May 1, the NHA has yet to submit to the city all documents pertaining to the housing projects for review. — Mindanao Bureau

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