Monday, July 25, 2016
President Rodrigo Duterte’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA)
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will be delivering his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) today. Since Duterte is enjoying a trust rating of 91% — the highest rating among presidents on their first month — we can expect a lot of Filipinos all over the world to be tuned in to watch and listen to Duterte deliver his speech outlining the Philippines’ present economic, political, and social condition. The public is also expecting him to summarize the accomplishments and plans of his program of government.
It’s President Duterte’s turn: his policies, his methods, his way.
Beyond Duterte’s actual speech, many people are looking forward to being entertained, because past SONAs have become a joke. In the last six years, SONAs became more about the dresses the women politicians were wearing and less about the problems that needed to be addressed. Members of the Senate and House of Representatives shamelessly paraded their million-peso attires and sought to outdo each other. Some, like Senator Nancy Binay even had a change of costume in the previous SONA and some wore backless dresses. They were trying to outshine each other making like they were supermodels while millions of Filipinos were hungry.
Yes, the SONA during former President Benigno Simeon Aquino’s term became a circus. His claim that he is simple did not match the reality. The excesses during BS Aquino’s term are comparable to the excesses of previous administrators. It didn’t help that his celebrity sister Kris Aquino was always around to turn the event into a spectacle. The absence of Kris Aquino alone will be an improvement to the event, indeed.
Duterte’s SONA will be a simple and more formal event unlike in the past. Members of Congress and other guests are expected to attend in their business attire. This is bad news for narcissists in Congress but good news for the Filipino public. If decadence and self-indulgence was promoted during BS Aquino’s term, simplicity and decency will be promoted by Duterte.
One thing’s for sure, the public will not hear about Ninoy, Cory, and their so-called “legacy”. The public will not hear about the “dark years” of Martial Law and how BS Aquino’s family supposedly suffered under the Marcos regime. The Public will not have to listen to BS Aquino blaming former President Gloria Arroyo over and over. More importantly, the public will not have to put up with BS Aquino talking about his supposed “achievements” which usually means taking credit for something his predecessor initiated. It was unfortunate that every year in the last six years, BS Aquino did not fail to spew the same formulaic drivel. No wonder the voters finally got sick of him.
BS Aquino’s supporters like his cousin, Senator Bam Aquino and that other ‘senator’ convicted putschist Antonio Trillanes are also anticipating Duterte’s first SONA. They hope that Duterte will tackle other problems and not just his war on drugs. They should talk. They should have asked BS Aquino to stop mentioning his parents and talk more about his policies around dealing with crime. BS Aquino did not even have a policy on how to deal with drugs. His government allegedly allowed criminal gangs and drug lords to run the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa City. There are reports saying former Department of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima regularly rubbed elbows with convicted drug lords. There are photos of her circulating on the Net mingling and partying with them. The prison had become a drug lab where drug lords run their operation. This happened under the watch of BS Aquino.
In signing FOI to law, President Duterte just made former President Aquino look like a failure.
(Photo source: SBS Australia)
(Photo source: SBS Australia)
Frankly, BS Aquino and his supporters have lost their moral high ground. They should lie low and think twice about criticizing Duterte’s policies because they already had their turn but failed to deliver results. It is probably taking a while for them to realize that they are not in power anymore. They had six years to fix the problems or at least address it, but they didn’t. Now it is someone else’s turn and he’s got his own policies to implement. They may or may not work but it is too early to say it will or it won’t. The best thing for BS Aquino’s supporters to do is to remain vigilant, but stop spreading misinformation just to derail Duterte’s projects. Trillanes is Number One when it comes to doing disruptive things. He has a penchant for throwing false accusations against his rivals. Good thing he had lost his credibility to the public.
What’s also ironic is how some people, mostly Liberal Party supporters who campaigned strongly for losing Presidential candidate Mar Roxas, are asking what Duterte has so far accomplished. Instead of asking Duterte three weeks into his Presidency, they should be asking BS Aquino what he has accomplished after six years at the helm. Liberal Party supporters seem to have lost their grip on reality. They cry foul at reports of alleged drug pushers and drug lords being killed during a raid but they do not cry for the victims of the drug epidemic and how Philippine society is slowly descending into chaos because of the proliferation of illegal drugs. These are the same people who were quiet about extrajudicial killings during Aquino’s time — like when the Lumads were being slaughtered allegedly by people who were said to be working for the military. I do not condone extrajudicial killings but the war on drugs was never going to be peachy. There is an urgency to nip the problem in the bud before the country turns into another Mexico.
Speaking of accomplishments. Duterte just signed an executive order on Freedom of Information (FOI). He managed to accomplish that in less than a month. The FOI was something BS Aquino promised to give the Filipino people while campaigning in 2010. He broke that promise. Now Duterte just made Aquino look even more the failure that he is. We can’t really blame Noynoy for planning on not attending the SONA. He’s probably afraid that Duterte will do the same thing he did and blame him for the problems the new government is facing now. It’s a shame the public will not have the pleasure of watching BS Aquino’s face when the camera zooms in while Duterte talks about the enormous problems the former president left behind.
http://www.getrealphilippines.com/blog/2016/07/president-rodrigo-dutertes-first-state-nation-address-sona/
Saturday, July 23, 2016
BREAKING NEWS: US GOVT OFFERED WARSHIP TO REPLACE momentarily the RUSTY SHIP that PHILIPPINES has in the AYUNGIN, SCARBOROUGH!
The rusty BRP Sierra Madre ship that has been holding the fort for the Philippines in Ayungin, Scarborough is a pitiful, if not laughable, sight. It has been there ever since the Philippine government stood its ground for the ownership of the territory that is widely known as West Philippine Sea.
After the ruling of the International Tribunal in the Hague in favor of the Philippines, China has been so headstrong about not packing up and leaving the Scarborough Shoal. Other countries have sent their congratulations to the Philippines and felt irritated that China is not honoring the ruling. France, UK, Australia, Japan and Germany, among others have offered to extend their support to fight China in case they will wage a war against the Philippines.
In this connection, the US government sent an envoy to the Philippines and sought to speak with an undisclosed cabinet member to relay the message to President Duterte that they are offering their warship USS Bataan. According to this link, the ship is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship commissioned in 1997. The ship is named to honor the defense of the Bataan Peninsula on the western side of Manila Bay in the Philippines during the early days of US involvement in World War II (refer to the left picture above). Check out its general characteristics below:
| Class and type: | Wasp-class amphibious assault ship |
| Displacement: | 40,358 long tons (41,006 t) full load |
| Length: | 844 ft (257 m) |
| Beam: | 106 ft (32 m) |
| Draft: | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
| Propulsion: | Geared steam turbines |
| Speed: | exceeds 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) |
| Troops: | 1,894 Marines |
| Complement: | 104 officers, 1,004 enlisted |
| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: |
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This friendly offer by the US government, one of the Philippines' best and strongest allies in the world, would definitely help boost the confidence of not just the soldiers stationed in Ayungin, but also the entire Filipino community. There is still no confirmation, though, whether the Philippine government is amenable to this offer, that seems to be free of obligations or repercussions from the Philippines, or not.
http://whattrendz.blogspot.it/2016/07/breaking-news-us-govt-offered-warship.html?m=1
Hold Of Your Passport A Stern Warning To OFWs in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar
For Filipinos and many countries abroad, the passport serves as one of the main requirement to travel across countries. Once you have it, this should remain in your possession without further explanation.
There are already a lot of issues, especially to OFW’s, involving the employer and employee as to who will hold their employees passport. But actually, there’s no question to that. A passport should be in the possession of the person whose name and image is attached to it.
Sadly, this rule is not practiced by all employers especially with OFWs working in Middle East countries.
SAUDI ARABIA
The Labor Ministry has reiterated that it is the right of foreign workers to keep their passports and official documents.
“Anybody violating this rule will face serious penalties,” said Taysir Al-Mofraj, the ministry’s spokesman.
KUWAIT
“Companies in Kuwait will no longer be allowed to withhold employees’ passports under new labour laws being written, according to Arabic daily Al Shahed. A draft resolution is expected to be submitted to the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of Planning and Development Hind Al- Subaih before the end of this month, the daily said, quoting ministry sources.”
“It [new law on domestic helpers] prohibits employers from confiscating workers’ passports, a common abuse, but fails to specify penalties.”
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on the Abolition of Forced Labour
“Retaining workers’ passport also amounts to forcible work in violation of International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on the Abolition of Forced Labour – to which the UAE is a signatory. Employers who fail to give workers their passports on request are in breach of trust. The offence carries imprisonment of upto three years and/or fine amounting to AED20,000 or more,” quotes UAE Ministry of Labour Legal Department.
– ILO
“It was stated in a decree by the Ministry of Interior (in December 2002) that it will be considered as an illegal action to retain the passports except by governmental parties. It is a personal travel document that proves the identity of the holder, and the laws stipulate that the bearer must keep his or her passport and present it to the government authorities upon request. In case of holding of passports by anyone without a court order, there will be a suitable punishment by the law.”
BAHRAIN
“No person shall be arrested, detained, imprisoned, searched or compelled to reside in a specified place, nor shall the residence of any person or his liberty to choose his place of residence or his liberty of movement be restricted, except in accordance with the law and under the supervision of the judicial authorities.”
OMAN
“It is illegal to keep the passport of the employee as it is a personal document and legally, the property of the government issuing it. In Oman, normally a passport is handed over by the expat only to get a residence visa stamped on it and as per the rules, it should be returned after the stamping.”
– Moath Al Ghilani, an Omani lawyer
QATAR
Qatar Labor Law – #4 of 2009 Regulating The Entry And Exit Of Expatriates In Qatar And Their Residence And Sponsorship
Article 9: The sponsor shall deliver the passport or travel document to the sponsored person once the procedures for issuing or renewing the residence permit are accomplished.
“The Law 4/2009 regulates the entry, exit and residency of the country’s foreign workers (expatriates) and it gives adequate protection to the foreigners and guarantees their right to keep passports in their possession.. Violation of the law could amount to a penalty of not less than QR10,000 to the sponsor or his representative for every passports that he keeps in his illegal custody.”
http://www.kwentongofw.com/2016/02/23/hold-of-your-passport-a-stern-warning-to-ofws-in-saudi-arabia-kuwait-uae-bahrain-oman-and-qatar/
Duterte sends SR40m aid to OFWs stuck at Saudi Oger
RIYADH: The Philippine government has stepped in to help Filipinos going without pay at Saudi Oger with SR40 million immediate financial assistance.
Newly elected President Rodrigo R. Duterte sent a high-profile team that comprised Atty. Guiling Mamondiong, new chief of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); Silvestre Bello III, labor secretary; and John Bertiz, Acts-OFW partylist Congressman.
“We are here to learn your real status and I don’t want to get doctored information ... Don’t be shy in telling us your problems,” Bello said at Saudi Oger on Friday.
Bello arrived here Friday bringing with him the P500 million aid. Each OFW will get P20,000 (SR1,667) plus P6,000 (SR500) for his family back home.
“Do you eat three times a day?” Bello asked his compatriots. Looking at the embassy staff, he said: “We are not taking care of our heroes,” giving a clear message.
He said: “I am also here to convey the sincere thanks of the president,” he said. “Your landline vote gave the president victory.”
The team also pledged to help OFWs’ children back home to continue their studies.
Speaking on his part, Mamondiong emphasized the important role of the TESDA in facilitating vocational and technical training to be conducted for the improvement of workers’ qualifications to raise their working status to a higher level.
“This is one of the reintegration programs being featured including livelihood and micro-businesses beneficial to the returning expatriates,” he observed, saying that the OFW must not return home without a job.
“The reaction of OFWs could have been described as the best gift and miracle that ever happened to them in their history as expatriates, when they received DOLE Secretary Bello together during the face-to-face dialogue with the Saudi Oger workers and Filipino community leaders, held at their camps,” said Saidali Malic, the Duterte Middle East Movement secretary.
He said, their happiness and relief could not be described upon hearing the good news from Bello that they are here for a special rescue mission to hear personally and sincerely address the controversial issues facing them for months without proper assistance received from the Philippine Embassy.
He continued that this is in addition to repatriation procedures, including their plane tickets, and legal assistance to claim their unpaid salaries and other entitlements. OFWs felt the sincerity of the government initiative and prove their worth of being modern day heroes after receiving this attention.
Other OFWs raised the important issue and urge the government to hire embassy officials who are Arabic speakers, and preferably from the OFWs themselves because they know and understand their concerns more than others.
A senior ISO system auditor, Gilbert G. Alarcon, at Dar Alriyadh Consultants said: “We cannot blame our host government for this unfortunate and unintended predicament as they themselves are greatly affected by their current economic recession.”
He said, transforming KSA from government-driven into a privately driven economy may be a sound solution but normally requires more time to implement. And the resulting vacuum is simply too much for all expatriate workers to bear, as it affects more than 11,000 Filipinos.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/958336/saudi-arabia
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