Isinusulong ngayon sa Senado ang panukalang mandatory organ donation. Kapag naisabatas ito, puwede nang magamit ang mga organ ng mga namatay o idineklarang ‘brain dead” para sa mga nangangailangan nito.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com

Bago matapos ang taon, isusulong ni Philippine Red Cross Chair Sen Richard Gordon ang bill na naglalayong gawing mandatory ang pagdo-donate ng organ sa oras na yumao ang isang tao.

Ayon kay Sen Gordon, sa ilalim ng Organ Donor Act of 2019, sa oras na yumao na ang isang Pilipino ay otomatiko nang mapupunta sa isang nangangailangang pasyente ang organ nito.

Ang hirap kasi aniya sa mga kaso ng mga organ donor sa kasalukuyan, sa oras na yumao na ito, hindi pa rin makuha ng ospital ang mga idinonate ng donor dahil ayaw ipagalaw ng mga naiwang pamilya ang katawan nito.

Maganda rin aniyang ang batas na ito upang maiwasan nang maabuso o mapagsamantalahan ang mga mahihirap na Pilipino ibinibenta ang kanilang organ kapalit ng pera, dahil walang sapat na kaalaman tungkol sa mga kumplikasyon at mas malaking gastos na maaaring idulot nito.

Sa mga ayaw naman na maging organ donor, ayon sa Senador, walang magiging problema basta’t susulat lamang ng written consent, na nagsasaad ng hindi pagpayag sa pagiging isang organ donor.

Source: rmn.ph

Continue Reading

CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera III says they will wait for the Supreme Court’s final decision, as groups plan to appeal the recent decision regarding Filipino in the general education curriculum

ON HOLD. The CHED says it will wait for a final decision from the Supreme Court before it implements its 2013 order removing Filipino and Panitikan as required college subjects.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said it will wait for the Supreme Court’s (SC) final decision before implementing a 2013 memorandum order removing Filipino, Panitikan, and Constitution as required general education subjects in college.

CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera III on Wednesday night, November 14 said the CHED will not implement its order yet as advocates of the Filipino language said they plan to appeal the Court’s decision, which lifted a 2015 Temporary Restraining Order that had blocked the memorandum order.

“We cannot implement if there is a motion for reconsideration,” De Vera told Rappler.

He added, “The CHED respects this decision and will wait for the Supreme Court to decide finally on the issue.”

Groups and faculty from several universities slammed the SC’s decision, saying the removal of the subjects from the minimum required courses in college would lead to the erosion of Philippine culture and identity.

They also warned it would lead to the loss of jobs of thousands of teachers.

CHED’s authority recognized: De Vera said the SC’s decision highlighted the CHED’s power to decide and set standards for higher education institutions in the country.

The Court’s decision, he said, affirmed CHED’s authority to set the minimum requirements for college academic programs, distribution of requirements in the general education curriculum, and specific “professional subjects” that may be needed for degrees with licensing requirements.

The CHED also said it was highlighted in the SC’s decision that the subjects were removed to avoid duplication of subjects taught in elementary and high school.

But university faculty disputed this, saying that Filipino and Panitikan subjects taught in college were not repeated lessons but a continuation and expansion of a student’s’ learning.

De Vera said the SC noted that the law did not require the subjects to be taught in colleges and that “the study of Filipino can easily be included as courses of study in the tertiary level, if higher education institutions decide to do so.”

He added the CHED also assumes students who graduated from the K to 12 program have taken up the subjects as part of requirements to become “university-ready.”

“To be university-ready, graduates of the basic education curriculum should have taken Filipino, Panitikan, and the Constitution. Higher education institutions may enhance these competencies by including additional subjects in Filipino, Panitikan or integrate these into existing subjects in their curriculum.”

Advocates questioned this, saying the CHED could easily include the subjects among the minimum required subjects “if they wanted to.”

Various education and language groups said they will file separate motions for reconsideration on November 23.

Source: rappler.com

Continue Reading

Photo Credit: subicnewslink.blogspot.com

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — All is set for this year’s “Takbo para sa Pagmamahal sa Karagatan,” an annual fund-raising activity of the Subic Bay Integrated Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (SBIFARMC) to support the protection of marine resources and environmental conservation.

Some 300 participants are expected to join the five-kilometer and 10-kilometer runs that will be held within the Central Business District of the Freeport on Saturday, November 17.

SBIFARMC chairman Resty del Rosario said in a press conference on Wednesday that this annual activity which is now on its sixth year will help establish marine sanctuaries in Olongapo City and the provinces of Zambales and Bataan.

“This year’s fun run will also be a venue to plead for support from the national government with regards to fishermen’s dwindling livelihood, and to ask for the creation of a department that will oversee the welfare of fisherfolk,” he said.

Del Rosario said the local fishermen are also asking to be allowed to freely go fishing in the waters of the West Philippine Sea.

He said fishermen from Olongapo, Subic and San Antonio in Zambales and Morong in Bataan are currently being allowed in the area but with some restrictions.

“We need help to improve the lot of local fishermen, that’s why we’re calling for government assistance in fishing in the West Philippine Sea. We need help because local fisherfolk have been displaced and are now the poorest among the 14 basic sectors,” del Rosario added.

The Takbo para sa Pagmamahal sa Karagatan is supported by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), business locators in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, and fisherfolk organizations in the greater Subic Bay area.

Del Rosario also said that there has been a significant decrease in the number of fishing grounds in the surrounding coastal communities in San Antonio and Subic, Olongapo City and Morong due to development projects in the Subic Bay area through the years.

He, however, said the fisherfolk organization has remained cooperative and supportive of the SBMA, which manages the free port.

Since it was formed, he said the SBIFARMC has become a reliable partner of the SBMA in the protection, conservation, management and rehabilitation of Subic Bay.

“We work in collaboration with the SBMA Harbor Patrol in monitoring and reporting illegal fishing activities, oil and gas spills, water pollution and other unlawful activities within the bay area,” del Rosario said.

“We also undertake regular monthly coastal cleanups, information and education campaigns, and other initiatives for the protection and preservation of the environment,” he added.

Del Rosario also said their group will continue to support industrial peace in the Subic Bay Freeport, protection from coastal outlaws, and smooth operations for locators. (PNA)

Source: pna.gov.ph

Continue Reading

by Romeo Dizon

Photo Credit: bomboradyo.com

San Fernando, Pampanga?The Departments of Tourism and Trade and Industry in Central Luzon are preparing the region to be a “Muslim-friendly destination” to meet the need of the rising number of Muslim tourists to the country, including the 15,000 delegates coming for the 30th Southeast Asian Games the Philippines will host next year.

The DoT is preparing the tourist spots and sites in the region while the DTI is ensuring the halal-certified foods and other needs of Muslim visitors and the incoming athletes, coaches, and their supporters, the agencies said in a joint statement.

Most of the approved 56 events in the SEA Games will be held at the multi-purpose Clark Global City and the Subic Bay Freeport Zone managed by Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

The Philippines will host the biennial multi-sports event from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, 2019, with 11 countries participating ? five of them Muslim countries, including the Philippines.

Around 8,750 athletes, 2,000 coaches, and 15,000 people are expected to attend the games.

Clark will serve as the main hub of the SEAG and will host aquatics, athletics, martial arts, baseball, softball, and archery, while Subic events include triathlon, duathlon, and windsurfing, among others.

Carolina Uy, DoT regional director, said Central Luzon is now getting a fair share of Muslim tourists due to the direct flights of Qatar Airways and Emirates to and from Clark International Airport.

“With this development and the coming 30th SEA Games with athletes, supporters, guests and other delegates coming, we have to prepare the region ahead of time, specially the land attractions of Clark with the combined features of Subic Bay, its beaches, and other tourist sites of Central Luzon,” Uy said.

The director also said that in recent talks with the airlines companies promise to more additional flights from Clark International Airport and establish connecting flights to the Middle East and Mindanao for tourism purposes in the region.

According to Uy, they are now holding the 1st regional Halal Stakeholder Congress in Central Luzon to cater to the sector and to boast of the local tourism industry.

“The holding of back-to-back seminars aims to promote awareness of the fundamental of halal-certified food industry and recognize their temporarily needs so that [Muslim tourists] will keep coming back in the country,” she said.

Uy says Muslim tourists have two major needs, namely to be understood and to not go hungry.

Earlier, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat toured the New Clark Global City to coordinate the department’s plan of action.

Romulo-Puyat visited the 20,000-capacity Athletic Stadium accompanied by Vince Dizon, president, and CEO of Bases Conversion Development Authority and architect Royal Pineda.

Dizon appreciated the visit of Romulo-Puyat to Clark City, the country 1st fully master planned area as the green and smart city of the 21st century in the country.

Meanwhile, the DTI is now visiting companies producing certified halal foods in the region to determine their compliance as required by the Bureau of Product Standards.

Warren Serrano, DTI spokesman, said halal being a religious matter under the purview of the Islamic Religious Organizations, the Bureau of Products Standard is very strict in labeling, handling and preparation rules because once passed it its approved for international standards for the global market.

The trade department has certificate 200 halal companies in the country, giving them access to the $150-billion global market.

Source: manilastandard.net

Continue Reading

Families flock to Rizal Park to celebrate Christmas Day.

MANILA, Philippines — Government workers nationwide will receive their 14th month pay, or Christmas bonus, and cash gift starting November 15, the Department of Budget announced on Wednesday.

The year-end bonus is equivalent to a full month’s salary, while the cash-gift amounts to P5,000, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno told reporters at a press conference.

The release of the year-end bonus and cash gift is pursuant to Budget Circular No. 2016-4, which mandates that the said incentives be given not earlier than November 15 of the current year to qualified personnel who satisfied the following conditions:

Those still in government service as of October 31 of the current year and with at least a total of four months of service from January 1 to October 31 of the current year; or
Those who have retired or separated from government service before October 31 of the same year and have rendered at least a total or an aggregate of four (4) months of service from January 1 of the current year, shall be granted pro-rated year-end bonus and cash gift, within the month of retirement or separation.

Under the law, the 13th month pay and other benefits, including productivity incentives and Christmas bonuses, are exempted from tax if they do not exceed P90,000.

On top of these bonuses, government employees can also look forward to receiving their Productivity Enhancement Incentive, which will be released starting December 15.

Source: philstar.com

Continue Reading