Gov Tyron Uy delivers his State of the Province Addresss

Davao de Oro---Governor Jayvee Tyron L. Uy delivers his State of the Province Address (SOPA) 2020 on Monday, January 20, 2020 at the session hall, new Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) building, Cabidianan, Nabunturan, Davao de Oro during its 28th regular session of the 8th Sanggunian.
The SOPA is an annual report of Gov. Uy that highlights the accomplishments of the provincial government of the previous year as well as the major plans and programs for the ensuing year, based on 4Ps plus.

The 4Ps+ the PLANET for Environmental Management and Disaster Preparedness; PEOPLE for Social Protection and Human Development; PROSPERITY for Economic Development; PEACE for Peace Justice and Security and PLUS for Good Governance.

In the morning, Gov. Uy gives time for the press before he delivers his SOPA at the SP multi-purpose hall attended by the members of the press for print, radio and mainstream media from Tagum City, Davao City as well as from the province of Davao de Oro.

The members of the school paper campus writers from Nabunturan National Comprehensive High School (NNCHS) and Manat National High School (MNHS) together with their class advisers were also present during the press conference.

Vice Governor Maricar Zamora was also present during the press conference were the Governor expressed his gratitude for the full support of the Vice Governor as well as the members of the legislative body for their strong support and commitment as partners in implementing the plans and programs for the province.

Kim Kayel Calabio, a student from NNCHS asked the Governor about what to expect on education and environment program were the governor happily answered it by informing everyone about the several programs that were successfully implemented during the past years and the plans for the incoming years.

On the other hand, this will be the 1st SOPA delivered after the renaming of the province to Davao de Oro and the second time that the governor made it more accessible to the people of the province by organizing different venues in the 11 municipalities and streaming it live on social media (Facebook).

Under the new vision, “By 2030, Davao de Oro is a top investment and tourism destination in Mindanao with healthy, peaceful, resilient and safe communities.”

“We will see more greens and blues, more homegrown talents and countless opportunities in this golden era. This is the promise of Davao de Oro. This is us. This is who we are becoming. And with our becoming comes our golden identity,” the governor said. (Rey Antibo, ID DDO)

Photocaption Press  Con 1- On January 20, 2020 a press conference  was held at the Legislative Building, Provincial Capitol Ground,Nabunturan, Davao De Oro. The opportunity was attended by various media partners coming from the neighboring provinces of Davao De Oro together with journalism students from National High Schools.  The event was held to give room for queries regarding the 2020 State of the Province Address of Governor Jayvee Tyron L. Uy.(photo by A. Dayao, ID DAVAO DE ORO)

Photocaption SOPA-   Davao De Oro Governor Jayvee Tyron L. Uy  delivers his State of the Province Address on January 20, 2020, 1 PM at the new session hall of the Legislative Building at the Provincial Capitol Compound, Nabunturan, Davao de Oro. Governor Uy  delivers the achievements of the province's 4PS+ Program which stands for Planet (Environmental Management and Disaster Preparedness), People (Social Protection and Human Development), Prosperity (Economic Development), Peace (Peace, Justice, and Security), and Plus (Good Governance). (photo by A. Dayao, ID DAVAO DE ORO)

UNLIMITED TIME OFF

Critics say giving workers unlimited time off can actually deter them from taking holidays - so are minimum leave policies the answer? An interesting question by BBC-author Maya Yang... .

It reminds me on my own. For example, I decided to stop teaching. I found out, that from month to month, I really got only very limited time for myself and my family.

In 2014, the leadership at social media management company Buffer noticed something odd. Despite an unlimited leave policy implemented in 2012, employees were barely taking any holidays.

To encourage people to take more time off, Buffer – which employs remote workers globally, primarily in the US and Europe – introduced an incentive: a $1,000 annual holiday bonus to each employee (and an additional $500 per partner or family member). It was a roaring success. In fact, it was too successful, costing the company too much money. Buffer pulled the plug on the policy in June 2016.

Later that year, Buffer changed tack: instead of offering unlimited leave, it decided to strongly encourage employees to take a minimum of 15 work days off per year. Using an online planner, employees input leave requests and HR personnel track the number of days people take off via a collective calendar.

Buffer’s minimum leave policy is unusual, even for a tech company. Unlimited time off is a much more common perk among start-ups and other tech firms – but despite the name, unlimited leave can feel like anything but. Often, workers are at the mercy of their workloads, managers and company culture, a situation which can discourage people to take a fair amount of leave.

Could insisting that people take a minimum number of days off be a better way to ward off burnout? Well, maybe. Talking again myself: I am in the great situation deciding about my days off and and a maybe unlimited time off. Just to avoid a burnout... . How about millions of Filipino workers?

It's interesting to know, that  every country in the European Union is required by law to offer at least four weeks of paid holiday, with varying accrual policies per country (Austria takes the lead with 35 days of annual paid holiday). Similarly, in New Zealand, employers must provide employees with at least four weeks of paid holiday, not including public holidays or sick leave. Philippines is much more different. Yes, I know... .

While still staying in Germany, I had the pressure of needing to prove myself and the mentality that I shouldn’t take many days off. Most often, it’s up to management to create a culture where workers feel comfortable taking leave, says Sir Cary Cooper, an organisational psychology professor at the University of Manchester. Many bosses lack the social and perceptive skills to detect employee burnout and remind ambitious employees of the importance of taking breaks.

Creating choices? Why not. While minimum leave policies don’t operate solely on ‘trust’ placed in employees, it’s not a model that is feasible for all companies – for those with tens of thousands of employees, tracking individual and collective leave, let alone scheduling individual holiday check-ins and reminders, would be very difficult to scale.