P7T bonus already given to teachers
CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Education-7 has already issued the P7,000 bonus for each teacher to the division offices in the region last Monday.
DepEd-7 director Ricaredo Borgonia said the amount, issued both in cash and check, is called "performance enhancement bonus," not as additional Christmas bonus as some teachers believe.
Borgonia said that they received the check from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) last December 24. But due to the Christmas holidays and weekend, they waited until Monday for the banks to open and encashed the check.
After encashing the check on Monday, they immediately distributed the amount to the division offices in Central Visayas, Borgonia told The FREEMAN.
He said that practically before New Year, the recipients can already receive their bonus, just like last year.
Contrary to reports, Borgonia said the distribution of the bonus was not considered delayed because DepEd-7 extends it before the yearends, stressing that Christmas bonuses of teachers were already issued last month.
Borgonia said those who have complaints about their performance enhancement bonus may call their office so they can call the attention of the division office.
Senate urged to probe delay in teachers' Christmas bonus
"It's not as if this is a surprise budget allocation. It is an annual tradition and benefit that government employees deserve and look forward to at a time of extreme financial stress and following a series of calamities, this productivity bonus means the world to an ordinary public school teacher," she added.
A DepEd official earlier said that the DBM was still in the process of releasing the Special Allotment Release Order and the Notice of Cash Allocation for the grant of Productivity Enhancement Incentive or bonus.
Applications for nursing work, caregiving in Japan accepted
CEBU, Philippines - Those who would want to work in Japan as caregivers and nurses now have the chances of gaining employment there as the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration in cooperation with the Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services is now accepting applicants for the second batch on said job slots.
City Hall office opens on holidays to accept payments for realty tax
EMPLOYEES of the Cebu City Treasurer's Office (CTO) will work overtime today and tomorrow to accept real property tax payments and to distribute the P2,000 additional cash gift to senior citizens.
Oil prices advance toward $79
Flour prices to remain stable next year
Food poisoning kills 1; downs 8 in Lapu-Lapu, 10 in Cebu City
CEBU, Philippines - A man died while eight others landed in the hospital due to food poisoning after eating puffer fish, locally known as "boriring" in Lapu-Lapu City the other day.
The fatality was identified as Gregorio Paquibot, 69. Gregorio's wife, Cenporiana, is now being treated at the Chong Hua Hospital.
The other victims include Gregorio's relative Jose Paquibot and his three sons Jonathan, 26, Edwin, 24, and Renante, 19. Jose's wife, Gina, and uncle, Saturnino Andamon, also got sick.
Gregorio's son, Godfrey, said that they bought the puffer fish from a vendor who went to their housethe other day. Because Jose was said to be an "expert" in preparing puffer fish, he cooked the fish for lunch.
The family had lunch together around 11:30am and three hours thereafter, the victims started to feelstomach pains.
Two-month old baby among hundreds injured by firecrackers, DOH says
DTI cautions against substandard fireworks
DOH readies ghoulish tools for revelry: bone saws
Sunken ro-ro ferry death toll could reach 50
Ferry in Batangas sea tragedy not designed for open sea
Girl, 4, dies of dengue, 41st casualty this year
CEBU, Philippines - Health officials yesterday confirmed that another four-year-old girl from barangay Binaliw died of dengue a few days ago bringing to 41 the total number of dengue-related casualties in Cebu City since January.
Fire brings down giant Christmas tree in Boljoon
CEBU, Philippines - The giant Christmas tree that was put up in front of the historical church in the southern town of Boljoon burned down around 9:30 pm on Christmas eve.
City engineer told to cover city's open manholes
CEBU, Philippines - Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday ordered acting city engineer Nicomedes Leonor to attend to the public's complaints about uncovered manholes in different places of Cebu City to prevent accidents.
RDC asking for release of funds for road project
CEBU, Philippines - The Regional Development Council has requested the national government for the immediate release of P359 million to finance the construction of the road component of the Cebu North Coastal Road project from barangay Tayud in Consolacion town to Liloan town proper.
The RDC-7 in a resolution said they hope the national government will fast track the release of the said amount, as they also requested the Office of the Press Secretary in Central Visayas to facilitate the availability and release of funds for the implementation of the road component of the project.
They also instructed the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas to look into the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between the DPWH and the Cebu provincial government as a requirement for the release of funds.
The construction of the Cebu North Coastal Road Project has been monitored by the Regional Project Monitoring Committee as this is one of the flagship projects of President Gloria Arroyo.
Although the Cansaga Bay bridge component of the project has been implemented ahead of schedule, the road component that would complement the bridge has not been started.
Upon the instruction of Arroyo during theCabinet meeting in Cebu, the road component will be implemented by the Cebu provincial government.
It was learned that the agreement between the DPWH and the Cebu provincial government, which wants to take over the outlet road from the Cansaga Bay Bridge into Liloan town was not yet finalized.
The draft agreement was returned to the regional office pending a certification from the Department of Budget and Management that the funds for road rehabilitation are available.
The road portion, including civil works and right-of-way expenses, costs close to P359 million and is to be sourced from the National Disaster Coordinating Council.
In an earlier meeting of the RDC-7 Infrastructure Development committee, provincial engineer Eulogio Pelayre said Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has already instructed his office to start widening the road from the bridge.
DA 7 'squatting' on Capitol lot
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) 7 has requested Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia for an extension of its stay on the Provincial property until May 31, citing lack of funds for its transfer.
Trader charged with murder
CEBU, Philippines - A trader from Mindanao was charged with murder for allegedly killing a customer who could not afford the merchandise he was selling during the Christmas Eve at the night market along Colon Street.
DENR legal officer cleared of administrative complaint
CEBU, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman Visayas has dismissed the administrative complaint against the chief legal officer of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for failure to act on an inquiry relative to a land reversion case.
4,000 machines for 2010 polls now with Comelec
Comelec shuts out 400 people
AT LEAST 400 would-be voters were denied registration yesterday because the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Lapu-Lapu City allegedly ran out of forms as early as 9 a.m.
Less than 600K overseas votes seen in 2010
Vice mayor candidate in Surigao del Norte shot, wounded
Chief Superintendent Lino Calingasan, Police Regional Office 13 director, identified the wounded victim as Barangay Aurora chairman Wilbert Oregenes. He said Oregenes is also the president of Tagana-an town's Association of Barangay Chairmen, thus making him also a councilor in the municipality.
The shooting reportedly occurred 7 p.m..
Oregenes was immediately brought to Surigao Medical Center in Surigao City.
The suspects in the shooting remain unidentified.
Dissatisfaction with Arroyo persists, survey shows
New Year to bring new hope–Arroyo
2010 polls touted to boost climate change issue
Duque to leave DOH, endorses replacement
State of emergency in Maguindanao to stay
Ampatuan sons deny plotting Maguindanao massacre
Ampatuan Jr. faces 16 more murder raps
DOJ warns Ampatuans against playing with legal proceedings
Cops probe link of 2 Lanao ambushes
Attempt to bomb power pylon in N. Cotabato foiled
Deaths in evacuation camps not due to Mayon eruption, says Salceda
10 more cocaine bricks found in Samar
Arroyo orders burning of Samar cocaine
Filipina found dead at Lebanese envoy's house: Vienna police
According to Vienna police, the other Pinay employee discovered the body of the housekeeper in the basement apartment of the villa in 59th Gymnasium Street.
Aside from the slain victim, the cook was reportedly the only other person present at the envoy's residence in Vienna's posh 18th district at the time.
According to initial information, multiple stab wounds on the upper body of the victim were found. The police were reluctant to give further information.
The ambassador is currently out of the country, said police spokeswoman Iris Seper. The two Filipina employees are staying in the ambassadors house.
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| Villa of the Lebanese ambassador in Vienna, Austria where the Filipina employee was found dead, December 29, 2009 Photo by Hector Pascua |
The murder weapon and traces of the perpetrator were still being looked into by police with the help of a sniffer dog looking around the residence. According to neighbors, the Lebanese ambassador may have lived alone with his cooks.
Lebanese authorities, which alerted the police, were cooperating with the investigation and allowed Austrian police officers free access to the scene.
Under rules of extra-territoriality, an ambassador's residence would not usually fall under Austrian jurisdiction.
BIR to run after local, GOCC execs not remitting taxes
Teves: Shopping, poll campaign saved RP from recession
To illustrate the important role mobile phones play in the lives of Filipinos, here are some fast facts:
Statistics show that seven out of every nine Filipinos have mobile phones; Filipinos send about two billion text messages on any given day; and, they spend about 10 percent of their income on telecommunications services.
Citing the preliminary result of 2006 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES), XMG said households consider communications expenses, along with transportation, as one of the priorities next to food and rent.
Vincent Altez, senior analyst at information technology consulting firm XMG Inc., said competition—not regulation—has always been the most effective way of bringing costs down.
"In fact, industry players need to have constant product and service innovations because switching cost in the industry is very minimal," Altez said in a recent interview. "Consumers can easily change their brand without spending more."
Cheap SIM cards themselves are testament to the downward pressure competition has on prices.
SIM cards, which used to cost a few hundred pesos to buy in the late 1990s, are now practically given away to consumers to encourage them to switch from their current networks.
Another offering consumers are now enjoying as a result of stiff competition is the slew of bucket-priced promos for texts and calls.
The entry of Sun Cellular in the industry in 2003 was largely brushed off by major industry players. It wasn't until the Gokongwei-led telco started offering its 24/7 unlimited calling and messaging services that everyone sat up and took notice.
Leading mobile phone brand Smart Communications Inc. and rival Globe Telecom Inc., to regain the market share they both lost to Sun, came out with service offerings designed to directly compete with the 24/7 business model.
Latest figures show that Smart now has about 40 million subscribers. Globe trails in second with 25 million, while Sun has nine million.
"It's really competition that drives innovation and brings rates lower," Globe Telecom legal affairs head Froilan Castelo said.
More recently, Lopez-led Bayan Telecommunications introduced a new service that had sent shockwaves throughout the sector.
The company released its wireless landline service, allowing people to make mobile calls at low landline rates. Again, in response, Smart and Globe officials scrambled to come out with competing offers.
XMG's Altez said it is this competition that has brought call and text messaging rates relatively low over the years.
"I say relatively low because consumers can only enjoy low prices through those various bundled/bucket products offered by telecommunications companies. Obviously, economy of scale exists here. Consumers should purchase more to acquire discounted rates," he said.
Philippines to buy 586,554 T rice from Dec 15 tender
Somali pirates hijack 3 vessels, 2 with Pinoy crew
WHO says too early to declare swine flu victory
Nevada orders urine tests for Pacquiao, Mayweather
The head of the Nevada boxing commission ordered Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. to submit to urine tests Monday as a way of trying to break the impasse that has threatened to derail their proposed March 13 megafight.
Arum might ask Pacquiao to reconsider stance on blood issue
Bettor from Luzon wins P111M lotto pot
Lily Monteverde questions MMFF criteria for best picture
The film producer, however, clarified that she is happy for Revilla. "But of course I'm happy for Bong Revilla. Anak ko yon. And I'm happy for him."
Despite her confusion, Monteverde said she is satisfied that "Mano Po 6" took home a total of 7 awards, including best actress for lead star Sharon Cuneta.
Pacquiao's 'Wapakman' a box-office bomb?
Sharon Cuneta, Kiko Pangilinan plan to adopt baby boys
Rizal wished for only a simple headstone, says historian
Ocampo said the national hero left the following instructions in an undated letter to his family, written in Fort Santiago before he was shot: "... Bury me in the ground, place a stone and a cross over it. My name, the date of my birth and of my death. Nothing more. If you later wish to surround my grave with a fence, you may do so. No anniversaries. I prefer Paang Bundok [where Manila's North Cemetery now stands, as my burial place]."
These final instructions were not followed, except for the construction of a fence around his grave—the Rizal Monument at Luneta Park in Manila.
"There is no cross on his grave. Instead of the simple piece of stone above his grave we have a whole obelisk topped with three gold stars and a statue of him. The simple inscription with his name and dates of birth and death may be there in elaborate bronze, but you have all sorts of other inscriptions around the grave," said Ocampo, who writes a column for the Inquirer.
Neither was Rizal's request to be buried in Paang Bundok complied with, "so there he lies in Luneta close to the spot where he was shot," Ocampo said, adding:
"Worse, every year there are two anniversaries celebrated there: his birthday on June 19 and his death day on Dec. 30. On the latter, the president of the Philippines leads the nation in a Rizal Day celebration, when Rizal didn't want any."
The same information was presented by Ocampo in his book "Rizal Without the Overcoat," a collection of essays on the national hero.
Day of mourning
The observance of Rizal Day goes back to the decree issued by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo on Dec. 20, 1898, declaring Dec. 30 as a "national day of mourning" for Rizal and other casualties of the revolution against Spain.
The first-ever commemoration of Rizal Day was held in Manila by Club Filipino on Dec. 30, 1898, which coincided with the unveiling of the Rizal Monument in Daet, Camarines Norte.
On Feb. 1, 1902, the Philippine Commission enacted Act No. 345, which set Dec. 30 of each year as Rizal Day.
Today, President Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to again lead Rizal Day rites at the Rizal Monument in Baguio City.
Vice President Noli de Castro, on the other hand, will lead wreath-laying rites at the Rizal Monument at Luneta Park.
Other wreath-laying ceremonies will be held simultaneously at the Rizal Shrines in Calamba, Dapitan City, San Nicolas in Ilocos Norte, Davao City, and Cebu City, among other places nationwide.
Pending legislation
Early this year, Ocampo expressed full support for the proposed transfer of Rizal Day from Dec. 30 to June 19. It was believed that the move would give Rizal the prominence he deserved instead of the seeming afterthought squeezed between Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
In June, the House of Representatives passed on third and final reading House Bill No. 5408 seeking to move Rizal Day to June 19.
The Senate, however, has yet to approve the proposal, which seeks to amend Executive Order No. 292, or the Administrative Code of 1987 which covers the commemoration of Rizal's death anniversary.
Manila Rep. Jaime Lopez, who sponsored HB 5408, said June 19 was the appropriate date to mark Rizal Day because it was the hero's writings, and not his death alone, that triggered the 1896 revolution and that roused Filipinos to unite in order to win independence against foreign domination.
Why Rizal Day on Dec. 30
But last year, Dr. Pablo Trillana III, former NHI chair and Knight Grand Officer of the Order of the Knights of Rizal, wrote a piece in the Inquirer stating what he described as the "compelling reasons why we should continue celebrating Rizal Day on Dec. 30."
Said Trillana: "Rizal's death, not his birth, is the greater event... The newborn Rizal, like any newborn, held nothing more than the promise of a life that could be filled with meaning. His death, on the other hand, summed up his life, held the record for what he had become, and defined its meaning.
"Births, deaths or days of great achievements can be milestones for commemoration. The fundamental objective is to choose an event which locks the lives of the hero and his nation in a tight embrace of context and meaning... Rizal's death, more than his birth, embodies that spirit."
Practical reason
In his Dec. 21, 2006, column in this paper, Ocampo wrote: "While it is traditional and proper to celebrate the national hero's martyrdom, there is a more practical reason for a change.
"Each year, Rizal Day passes by almost unnoticed because the official ceremonial wreath-laying in Rizal Park takes less than half an hour and even if it is aired live on TV, radio or the Internet, almost everyone is asleep at 7 a.m., enjoying the holiday and the cold December weather...
"One would think that moving Rizal Day to June 19 would provide a logical excuse for reflections on nationhood by having a weeklong celebration that begins on June 19. Unfortunately, people are so comfortable with the present setup to even consider change."
25-volume of hero's writings
In his Jan. 9, 2009 column, Ocampo wrote: "There are people who think we should wear long faces and commemorate Dec. 30 with somber thoughts of death and martyrdom and 'Ultimo Adios.'
"I would rather that people read Rizal's novels and discuss them instead of repeating stock phrases and praises that have numbed our youth. Better yet, try and read Rizal's other writings, those that were not forced on you in school," including the little known volumes in the complete 25-volume compilation of the hero's writings.
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