Monday, October 21, 2013

Ibalik naton ha Konseho ADRO LABANAO

Sunday, October 20, 2013

USA NGA LEADER NGADTO HAN KAUPAYAN

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Samar’s anti-corruption group moves on

Samar’s anti-corruption group moves on
By EMY C. BONIFACIO, Samar News.com

CATBALOGAN, Samar – Samar’s anti-corruption group, Multi-sectoral Alliance for Transparency and Accountability (MATA-Samar), convened on October 9 at Tony’s Kitchen in Catbalogan for a whole day organizational structuring and workshop planning on the various activities that the group would undertake for this quarter. Despite holding the activity on a weekend, the session had at least 20 members from its core member-organizations participating actively in the workshop. The attendees came from the Samarnews.com, Alliance of Concerned Employees of Samar (ACES), Social Action Center (SAC), Tandaya, Isog han Samar, academe, group of volunteer lawyers and parish priests.

In its visioning, the group identified a participatory democracy, responsive governance and an empowered citizenry as factors in achieving a progressive and peaceful Samar. It envisions Samar to be a livable community that is corruption-free and whose quality basic services would be accessible to everyone. Specifically, MATA would focus on the monitoring of infrastructure projects that are being implemented, engage on budget tracking and procurement and the delivery of social services. A feedback mechanism such as “Ulat ng Bayan”, scorecards and other accountability reporting tools will be facilitated to effectively monitor the performance of local government units. Efforts on establishing linkages with other agencies and networks are considered in its sustainability. At the same time, capacity building for all sectors will be undertaken to professionally develop and capacitate its members. These activities will be handled by the various working committees created directly under the supervision of an Executive Committee. Its respective functions and memberships were properly delineated on the same forum. The organization will be drafting its constitution and by-laws as a pre-requisite for its immediate registration at the Securities and Exchange Commission. MATA-Samar considers this imperative in seeking official representation in the different development councils in the locality. An official logo, distinctly representing the vision, missions and objectives of the anti-graft body will soon be publicly out. While a MATA website is waiting to be developed and maintained, Samarnons are encouraged to actively participate in the discussions and post related experiences and photos on a newly created “Facebook” account of MATA-Samar. Furthermore, updates of its activities are posted at Samarnews.com (online and print editions). Likewise, a weekly media forum will be initiated to engage local government officials and generate public feedback. “We are very happy that initiatives of this kind are being facilitated. Somehow, this will bring Samar to progress. A consolidated effort of the public sector and the civil society organizations is a means towards achieving fiscal accountability and transparency”, comments Mr. Dominador Cabanganan, President of the Samar Chamber of Commerce and Industry. MATA-Samar’s efforts are being reinforced by a Memorandum of Agreement signed for and between the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Samar Island Partnership for Peace and Development (SIPPAD). It would be recalled that the said MOA was signed on September 22, 2010 by the DILG Sec. Jesse Robredo and the three (3) Bishops of Samar as representatives of the respective contracting parties. The MOA encourages CSO engagement in all government transactions for transparency and accountability purposes. In a related story, MATA-Samar has been officially recognized as a member of the Millennium Challenge Account, a local monitoring counterpart that will take a major role in the implementation of the 222 km. road network from Brgy. Buray, Paranas Samar to Guiuan, Eastern Samar and the KALAHI-CIDSS. The project is part of the $434 million Millennium Challenge Corporation fund released by the U.S. foreign aid agency to address global poverty. As a requirement, beneficiaries should be committed to good governance, economic freedom and investments in their citizens. As of press time, data gathering and documentation on infrastructure projects implemented by the provincial government are ongoing. A complete listing of all these projects is requested from the concerned offices for monitoring. At the same time, MATA is watching closely the preparation of the Provincial Annual Budget for 2011. MATA is in possession of an Office Memorandum signed by Governor Sharee Ann T. Tan requesting for all Chiefs of Offices to attend a Budget hearing on the 2011 Annual Budget Proposals at the Governor’s residence on October 7, 2010 t 4:00 pm. MATA believes that budget hearings are public transactions, thus, should be conducted openly and during office hours for transparency reasons. “The practice should be discouraged since this is not in accordance with the guidelines set. Budget hearings are participatory and the public has the right to be informed,” a MATA member asserts.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Gov’t. agencies to ink joint memo protecting ‘Pantawid Pamilya’ in upcoming elections

Manila - The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) together with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) will sign on October 1, at the COMELEC Office in Intramuros, a Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) that will provide policy guidelines to safeguard the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of DSWD from being used by personalities as leverage for the upcoming barangay elections.

No less than DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman will lead the signing together with DILG Undersecretary Austere A. Panadero and COMELEC Chairman Sixto S. Brillantes. According to Soliman, DSWD is taking bold steps to shield the programs of the department most especially Pantawid Pamilya from individuals or groups who may wish to take advantage of the program and its beneficiaries. “Based on our experience, election period has been one of the most crucial events in the implementation of our programs as there are individuals, electoral candidates and government officials who use the program to advance their political interests. During the midterm elections we have made our message clear, thus, we continue with our campaign,” Soliman shared. She added, “With the signing of the JMC by the DSWD, DILG and COMELEC, we are hopeful that the number of election-related Pantawid Pamilya grievances will drastically decrease.” Pantawid Pamilya is the conditional cash transfer program of the Philippine government implemented through DSWD in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DoH) and DILG. It provides cash grants to poor households with the condition that they send their children to school and, along with pregnant mothers, visit their health centers regularly. The cash grants are an investment in human capital, specifically child education and maternal and child health. There are 3.9 million households nationwide covered by the program as of August 24, 2013. The program is being implemented in all 17 regions of the country, covering 79 provinces, 143 cities and 1,484 municipalities. (Pantawid Pamilya). Links to the TV Commercials: TVC Beneficiaries TVC kinetic

Farmers demand probe of 7.2B DAP funds in agrarian reform department

Trade liberalization in agriculture resulted in worsening poverty, underdevelopment

“While our farmers and farm workers suffer from poverty, agricultural transnational corporations increased their profits three times.” – Ibon Foundation By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA – Decades of liberalization of agriculture did not bring development but losses in agriculture and further impoverishment of Filipino farmers. This, in gist, is the analysis of economist Jose Enriquez Africa on the impact of the liberalization of agriculture on the Philippine economy. In a forum organized by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and Resistance and Solidarity Against Agrochemical TNCs (RESIST), Africa, executive director of independent think-tank Ibon Foundation, discussed how free market policies worsened rural poverty. Trade liberalization has resulted in the reduction of tariffs, or taxes imposed on imports, over the years. Africa said that the period between 1981 and 1994 registered the highest decrease in tariffs. From the average 42 percent tariff of imports in 1981 to 1985, it was reduced to 28 percent in 1991 and decreased further to 20 percent in 1994. In fact, Africa said, the World Trade Organization (WTO), which was formed in 1995, merely consolidated these tariff reforms. By 1996, in compliance with the WTO, the tariff was pegged at 9.7 percent then down to 7.8 percent in 2006 and 6.1 percent in 2011. Today, tariff on imported agricultural products is only 8.7 percent. Reducing tariffs, Africa pointed out, removes the protection on the local economy. Add to this the low subsidy for farmers. Africa said only 5.9 percent of the national budget goes to agriculture, which includes compensation for landlords for lands placed under agrarian reform. It is thus not surprising that Philippine agriculture has declined over the years. From the 22.6 percent share of agriculture, fishery and forestry to the national economy between 1990 and 1994, it went down to 16.8 percent in 2010. Africa said that the WTO’s promise of additional millions of jobs in agriculture was proven false. From 1994, before the Philippines entered the WTO, there were 11.3 million jobs in agriculture, Africa said. By 2012, there were 12.1 million jobs. Africa added that in five regions – Davao, Bicol, Caraga, Eastern Visayas and Northern Mindanao – some 693,000 jobs were lost in agriculture. Over the years, wages of farm workers have fallen. While the nominal wage in 1995 was P92 ($2.13) and in 2011 was P207 ($4.80), the real wages in 1995 was P126 ($2.92) and in 2011 was only P122 ($2.82). According to the government’s latest poverty data in 2009, national poverty rate was at 27 percent. Farmers and fisherfolk were poorer, at the rate of 37 percent and 44 percent respectively. Africa said that Ibon estimates, using the same data from the National Statistics Office, the national poverty rate at 70 percent and rural poverty rate between 75 percent and 90 percent. For how can local farmers compete with imported agricultural products? The food import dependency of the Philippines, an agricultural country, increased in a span of 18 years, from pre-WTO in 1994 to 2010. Data culled by Ibon from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics showed that in 1994, only four-percent of the rice supply were imported, but in 2010, imported rice accounted for 19 percent of the rice supply. The list below shows the increasing importation of food. boo-table-increase-importation-food In the same period, Africa said, food insecurity increased 11 times. In 1994, agricultural trade deficit was $287 million and in 2010, it rose to $3.3 billion. Food trade deficit, according to Africa, multiplied by 21 times. From $181 million in 1994, it ballooned to $3.6 billion in 2010. On the contrary, the profits of agricultural business giants soared. From P674 million ($15.61 million) net income in 2001, they raked in P2.5 billion ($57.89 million) in 2010. “While our farmers and farm workers suffer from poverty, agricultural transnational corporations increased their profits three times,” Africa said. Imperialist countries, Africa said, benefit from the country’s agricultural trade. Eighty percent of coconut oil exports go to the United States and the Netherlands; 53 percent of banana exports to Japan; 80 percent of sugar to US and Japan and 72 percent of pineapple to US, Japan and Singapore. “After two decades of the WTO and some three decades of free market policies of globalization, the Philippine economy remains backward and underdeveloped ,” Africa said. “Despite its vast potential it is still not able to meet the basic needs, much less improve the welfare, of the largest number of Filipinos.” Africa said further that the WTO is foremost among the international agreements, treaties, policies and programs that legitimize and protect a foreign trade and investment regime biased for foreign monopoly capital and against the Filipino people. He said that the landlords and big business in the country, in partnership with foreign corporations, were the only ones who benefited from globalization policies. To achieve genuine economic development, Africa said that genuine agrarian reform must be implemented. A well-developed agrarian base shall be the foundation for nationalist industrialization, he said. “What we need is pro-people economics free from foreign dictates,” Africa said. (http://bulatlat.com) - See more at: http://bulatlat.com/main/2013/10/10/trade-liberalization-in-agriculture-resulted-in-worsening-poverty-underdevelopment/#sthash.QiR2grEZ.dpuf