After seven years in and out of the Bataan District Jail (BDJ), Bernadeth Gabor could feel confident to disprove President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent assertion that those who had spent time behind bars are hopeless and could no longer be rehabilitated to become productive members of society.

Gabor: From one-woman show to university mission —Jovic Yee

Make no mistake, Gabor is no troublemaker. She is the dean of the College of Technology of the Bataan Peninsula State University (BPSU) who initiated the Hope Behind Bars program to help hundreds of BDJ “residents” get a second shot at life after prison.
The in-prison skills development program offers various technical-vocational courses to inmates.

Mr. Duterte and others who see no hope for former prisoners might learn that some of Gabor’s students who are now free had landed decent jobs here and abroad while others were helping her maintain and expand the program.
Gabor, 41, started Hope Behind Bars in 2010 after a friend working at the BDJ asked for her help to teach some skills to the inmates. She was hesitant at first to jump at the idea because she feared for her life due to the bad image of prisoners she then had.

Nonetheless, with the civic-mindedness that had been instilled in her since childhood, she accepted the challenge, she told the Inquirer. Despite lacking resources in the first two years of the program, she soldiered on, inspired by the BDJ residents’ “eagerness to learn.” “They see you as their chance to become better individuals. They are very happy because they learn a lot. I’ve grown fond of them because I saw hope in their eyes,” Gabor said.

It was difficult for her to recruit other teachers as they, too, were afraid of the inmates as she was. But after some prodding and experiencing how it felt to teach inside a jail, volunteers started signing up.
What was initially a one-woman show became a full-fledged program backed by no less than 50 teachers and BPSU staff.

The university later provided financial support. This enabled Gabor, who first taught how to bake bread like the popular pan de sal, to offer other courses such as welding, automotive repair, housekeeping and even dressmaking. Most of her students have been certified as professionals by the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (Tesda).

BDJ residents who took part in the program were mostly those who were about to be released and who saw their new skills as a boost to their social reintegration.
Gabor said a study showed that those who took part earned enough to send money to their families to buy appliances and fix their homes. Some have been employed in cruise ships and even as security officers in provincial malls, she said.

Good feeling

“It gives you a good feeling that somehow you are able to restore their self-confidence, that you are able to impart to them new skills, knowledge and information,” she said.
Gabor’s work has been recognized by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, which has tapped her to replicate Hope Behind Bars in Olongapo City in Zambales province.
Bato Balani Foundation Inc. and Diwa Learning Systems Inc. have also honored her with “The Many Faces of the Teacher” award.

Now on its 14th year, the award aims to inspire and encourage teachers around the country to do more, especially outside their classrooms where they can make a make “a bigger difference.”
The achievements of Gabor’s students dispute Mr. Duterte’s recent statement that prisoners “do not want [to go] out of prison because they have lost the existence, the essence or existence of a productive person.”

“If they get used to six, seven, 10 years, 15, 20 years they are in prison, no matter what form of livelihood you teach them in Tesda, once they are out, they will look for some trouble. And then they will return to Muntinlupa and they will be happy,” Mr. Duterte said in a Tesda anniversary speech.
‘There is always hope’

Gabor, however, believes “there is always hope” for those who may have lost their way.

“Once they are out, there are jobs and they have families waiting for them. The people must learn to accept them. That’s why I strive to open the minds of others that they (prisoners) can change,” she said.
According to Gabor, one of the main reasons some released prisoners go back to jail is people look down on them and are afraid of them.
“This should not be the case. We should support them in their path to changing their lives,” she said.

Gabor said her passion to teach at the BDJ was further strengthened when two years into the program, her younger brother was locked up at the facility on “false charges” of selling and possessing illegal drugs.
After spending at least two years in jail, her brother was acquitted. Now he is a contractor abroad.

Gabor said what happened to her brother made her better understand the plight of the BDJ inmates and realize that people in prison need help and should be given an opportunity to turn a new leaf.

Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

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Foreign investment approvals fell by more than 50 percent in the second quarter, the government reported on Friday, with all but one of six agencies reporting year on year declines.

Photo by: rappler.com

Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that six out of seven monitored investment promotion agencies (IPAs) had approved just P18.16 billion in foreign pledges, down 55 percent from P40.39 billion a year earlier.

Year-on-year declines were recorded by the Board of Investments (P3.57 billion, down 83.3 percent), Clark Development Corp. (P441 million, -40.5 percent), Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (P21 million, -73.6 percent), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (P13.7 billion, -2.5 percent), and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (P62.4 million, -98.4 percent).

The only gainer was the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, which posted 258.2 percent growth to P279.2 million.

The BOI-Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao had no record of investment approvals for the three-month period.

The PSA said Japan was the top prospective investing country during the quarter, with P4.8-billion worth of commitments or 26.4 percent of total foreign investment pledges.

Singapore and the United States were second and third respectively, pledging P2.4 billion or 13 percent and P2 billion or 11 percent.

The largest share of pledges, or P6.7 billion, was for the manufacturing sector, followed by administrative and support services (P4.1 billion) and real estate (P3.8 billion).

In terms of location, the National Capital Region had the largest share of P5.1 billion, closely followed by Calabarzon with P5 billion.

For the first half of the year, total approved foreign investments, fell 38 percent to P41.04 billion from P66.63 billion in 2016.

Total investment pledges, combining those from Filipino nationals and from foreign investors, showed positive 29.7 percent growth in the second quarter to P230.45 billion from P177.68 billion in the year-ago period.

Filipino nationals accounted for 92.1 percent of the total at P212.3 billion.

Foreign and Filipino ventures approved by the IPAs are expected to generate 95,131 jobs, the PSA said. The bulk of 76.2 percent will come from projects with foreign interest, it added.

Source: manilatimes.net

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House Minority Leader Danny Suarez is taking to task Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea for sitting on the leadership issues that have hobbled the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) for months.

Suarez said these agencies have a big role to play and failure to resolve the corruption probe on ERC Chair Jose Vicente Salazar and the boardroom squabble between SBMA chair Martin Diño and administrator Wilma Eisma.

Salazar was suspended last May as Medialdea launched a probe into allegations that he signed an infomercial project without going through the mandatory bidding. ERC Commissioner Alfredo Non was appointed as officer-in-charge for the duration of Salazar’s suspension until December.

Medialdea has assured House leaders that his office would resolve the issue as soon as possible without sacrificing due process.

In the case on SBMA, Diño initiated a turf war by creating a task force to monitor the day-to-day activities, specifically financial, business, and security operations, of Eisma.

Medialdea has assured lawmakers that the SBMA row would be settled soon with the signing of a new Executive Order restoring the power of the SBMA to the administrator.

Source: politics.com.ph

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The government’s investment promotion agencies (IPAs) expect more investments from China on top of the $24 billion worth of economic benefits the Duterte administration had secured during the President’s visit to Beijing last year.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary for Trade and Investments Promotion Group Nora K. Terrado said this as she led the Philippine Delegation to the 14th China-ASEAN (CAEXPO) and 14th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (CABIS) held at the Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center (NICEC) in Guangxi Province, China.

Comprising the Philippine contingent of over 100 participants are local export companies, Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) such as the Board of Investments (BOI), Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), Subic Bay Metropolitan Area (SBMA), Clark Development Corporation (CDC), and the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) as well as businessmen and government sector representatives aiming to promote Philippine tourism and business opportunities to the huge Chinese and Southeast Asian market.

“This is an opportune time for the Philippines to fully present its potential as an investment destination to the Chinese market. It is also a chance for Philippine exporters to meet with potential partners and buyers of their products and services and see how they can maximize the booming trend in China,” said Terrado.

The country’s contingent in China highlighted the Philippines’ trade potential through an exhibit of products and commodities from various sectors, including home, fashion and wearables, gifts, handicraft, personal care, and food.

Moreover, the Philippine participation also gave spotlight to this year’s Philippine featured destination, the province of Aurora. Tagged as the “Province of Charm,” the Aurora provincial government led by Vice Governor Rommel Angara, presented its booming tourism industry and economic potential particularly its agriculture sector.

“High on our agenda as we send Philippine trade missions abroad is opening more opportunities for countryside development. That is why we are happy to introduce Aurora province to the Chinese and Southeast Asian market as it has tremendous potential in the tourism and agriculture sector,” explained Terrado.

Currently, Aurora’s growth is primarily driven by agriculture. The sector employs approximately half of its population with about 49,991 hectares or 15% of the provincial land area classified as cultivated farmlands. Major crops include rice, coconut, coffee, bananas, root crops, corn, citrus fruits, peanuts, and abaca. The province is also a major producer of the Philippine’s coconut distilled alcoholic drink known as “lambanog,” and “tuba” which are made from the sap of coconut tree flowers.

Terrado was the key speaker at the China-Philippines Production Capacity and Investment Cooperation Forum co-organized by the National Development and Reform Commission of China and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) of the Philippines.

Source: business.mb.com.ph

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Investment pledges made by foreign firms slid 55 percent year-on-year to P18.2 billion in the second quarter, the fourth straight quarter that commitments dropped.

photo by: rappler.com

In a report Friday, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said foreign investments approved by seven investment promotion agencies (IPAs) from April to June declined from P40.4 billion in the same three-month period last year.

The PSA data consisted of approvals made by the following IPAs: Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, Board of Investments, BOI-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, Clark Development Corp., Philippine Economic Zone Authority and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

IPAs give away fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to investors.As of the end of the first six months, IPA-approved foreign investments totaled P41 billion, down 38.4 percent from P66.6 billion a year ago.

To recall, foreign investment pledges fell 12.8 percent year-on-year to P22.9 billion in the first quarter. Also, approved foreign investments declined 9.3 percent year-on-year to P125.7 billion in the fourth quarter of last year after commitments dropped by a faster 45 percent to P26.7 billion in the third quarter of 2016.

It meant that foreign investors’ pledges decreased in the first four quarters of the Duterte administration. In contrast, approved foreign investments increased 11.5 percent year-on-year to P40.4 billion in the second quarter of 2016, as well as climbed 19.2 percent to P26 billion in the first quarter last year.

From April to June, the top three sources of foreign investment pledges were Japan (P4.8 billion), Singapore (P2.4 billion) and the United States (P2 billion).

Over a third of the total or P6.7-billion worth of approved foreign investments in the second quarter would be infused into the manufacturing sector.

Investment commitments by foreigners for administrative and support service activities reached P4.1 billion, on top of P3.8 billion for real estate projects
But when foreign investment pledges were combined with those made by Filipino investors, total investments approved by the seven IPAs in the second quarter jumped 29.7 percent to P230.5 billion from P177.7 billion a year ago.

Filipino-led projects amounted P212.3 billion, equivalent to 92.1 percent of all IPA-approved investments during the April to June period.
The projects approved by the IPAs in the second quarter would generate 95,131 jobs, up 76.2 percent from the projected new employment of 53,998 last year

Source: business.inquirer.net

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