Samal flood victims get assistance from Bong Go

By Javier Joe Ismael November 5, 2022 

SEN. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go continues to push for improved access to basic services, shelter and other amenities for victims, especially in areas where calamities frequently occur.

In this regard, the lawmaker has refiled Senate Bill 193 which provides for the establishment of a dedicated evacuation center in every municipality, city and province that can accommodate victims and meet their basic needs during emergencies to help them cope and recover faster.

"With the typhoon season, it is expected that many affected communities will be needing evacuation centers. As the pandemic continues to threaten the health of many Filipinos, we need to scale up our efforts to keep them safe from harm and other health hazards," said Go.

"We should ensure that the facilities for the evacuees are Covid-ready and disaster resilient. Let's act on it. Let us not wait for the calamities and the rise in Covid-19 cases will simultaneously occur," he continued.

On Monday, October 31, the senator sent his team to help the flood-affected households in the Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos), Davao del Norte. 

The senator's staff visited the evacuation center in Barangay Peñaplata where they gave grocery packs, vitamins, masks, and snacks to 74 flood victims. In addition, they gave away bicycles, cellular phones, shoes, basketballs and volleyballs to select individuals.

Personnel from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) also gave financial assistance to each affected household to hasten their recovery.

"My countrymen, let us help one another because belongings can be bought. Money can be earned. However, the money we earn cannot buy life. This is why I always remind flood victims and other victims of calamities and disasters that what is important is that we are alive," said Go in a video conference to the victims.

"A lost life is a lost life forever. Let us be careful with our lives and health," he added.

As chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, Go likewise offered support to victims who need medical care. He also informed them that there are Malasakit Centers at Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City or Davao Regional Medical Center in Tagum City where they may conveniently avail medical aid from the government.

The centers are one-stop shops which streamline the process of requesting medical assistance from the relevant agencies, namely, the DSWD, Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. To date, 152 Malasakit Centers have assisted millions of poor and indigent patients nationwide.

He was also instrumental in the construction of the Igacos Super Health Center to further improve access to health services in Samal Island.

Super Health Centers are medium versions of polyclinics and are bigger than rural health units, which offer basic services such as out-patient, birthing, isolation, diagnostic (laboratory: X-ray, ultrasound), pharmacy, and ambulatory surgical unit, among others.

Go, as vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, has also supported the water system project in Barangay Pangubatan, Libertad and San Remigio, Kinawitnon and Miranda; construction of bypass road Jct. Babak-Samal-Kaputian Road Brgy. San Antonio, Tagpopongan, Phase 2, Igacos Circumferential Road; and the construction of a two-story multipurpose building and a farm-to-market road in Barangay Tambo.

He likewise supported the construction of several roads, including the road from Crossing Toril, Babak to Barangay Sto. Niño, Babak District; the road from San Agustin Elementary School to Maximo Arellano Elementary School, Barangay Sto. Niño, Babak District; and the road at the Port of Barangay Sta. Cruz to Barangay Linosutan, Talicud Island, Kaputian District.

Other initiatives he supported in the province are the rechanneling of a river, construction of a river wall, and concreting of the Sitio Bunsalag to Sitio Misulok-Sulok road in Talaingod; construction of a concrete revetment along the Tagum-Libuganon River Basin and dike along the Sadpudon Creek in Carmen; construction of multipurpose buildings in Kapalong and New Corella; and renovation of the public terminal, public parks and plaza in New Corella.

The other day, Go's team likewise visited and provided aid to more than a thousand typhoon victims in Maguindanao.

Assistance needed for sick workers on home quarantine

by Manila Bulletin

The past few days saw a surge in the number of new COVID-19 cases. In fact, last Jan. 15, 2022, new cases reached 39,004, marking a grim milestone since the start of the pandemic. This surge was attributed to the Omicron variant — now becoming the dominant strain — which is more transmissible, even three to five times potent than Delta. This was evidenced by a high household transmission rate, where one infected individual could lead to infecting everyone at home.

Though the World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned that the Omicron is still “dangerous” and may still cause death, data has revealed that this variant appears to be less threatening especially among the vaccinated. Thus, a majority of the infected were able to recover through home isolation, utilizing home remedies that ease the virus’ symptoms.

With this scenario, a majority of the workforce who were infected were in self-imposed home quarantine. Depending on the number of days and pursuant to their company’s policies, this has affected their take-home pay, which negatively impacts their capability to pay rent, electricity, and even for medicines. A lot of them have acceded to the government’s call to self-isolate but how are they now, especially if they are on a “no-work, no-pay” basis?

One of the government’s responses to assist the infected workers in home confinement is through the Social Security System (SSS). In a statement, the SSS clarified that members who cannot work due to sickness or injury and are confined, either in a hospital or at home for at least four days, could avail of the sickness benefit. Aside from employed members, SSS also grants sickness benefits to self-employed, voluntary, and OFW members.

The statement added that COVID-infected members in home confinement can “qualify under the program if they have paid at least three monthly contributions within the last 12 months before the semester of sickness or injury and are confined either in a hospital or at home for at least four days.”

This is welcome news for employed members. But they “should have used all their current company sick leave with pay and notified their employer about their sickness.” On the other hand, self-employed, voluntary, and OFW members and those separated from employment must notify SSS directly.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) also called on the private sector to assist their employees who are sick. In an advisory, the department “urged employers, in consultation with their employees, to adopt and implement an appropriate paid isolation and quarantine leave program on top of existing leave benefits under the company policy, Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Labor Code, and special laws.” It added that the “paid isolation and quarantine leaves shall be without prejudice to other benefits provided by the SSS and the Employees’ Compensation Commission.”

These are all welcome developments to assist the majority of workers who were sick these past few days. But going back to our question earlier, how about workers in the informal sector? The contractual workers? Or those who have no SSS membership?

The government, in its pursuit to provide a convenient life for all, must now make it up to the sick who risked a few days’ worth of income just to stay at home. After all, when these workers were well, they moved the wheels of the economy for the benefit of all. The government now owes them the best response.

DTI-DdO completes the distribution of P2.5M livelihood assistance to MSMEs

Davao de Oro --- More than five hundred micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in 23 identified barangays in the province received over P2.5-million livelihood assistance under the DTI’s Livelihood Seeding Program–Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay – Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa (LSP-NSB PBG) with strict adherence of health protocols for COVID-19.

Each beneficiary received a package of various livelihood kits amounting to PHP5, 000 who were residents of Barangay Longanapan, Aguinaldo, Anitipan, Bahi, Golden Valley, Linoan, New Visayas, Bayabas, Sto. Niño, Pagsabangan, Andap, Panansalan, Diwalwal, San Isidro, Bawani, Araibo, Bongabong, Tibagon, Manipongol, Panangan, New Dalaguete, Mayaon, and Conception in this province.

 The program aims to boost micro-enterprises affected by natural and human-induced calamities such as pandemic brought by COVID-19 and intends to provide livelihood opportunities for identified beneficiaries in areas considered as priorities. They also underwent four modules of capability building seminar to develop and strengthen their entrepreneurial competencies during the turn-over ceremony.

There is a Negosyo Center per municipality that promotes ease of doing business and providing access to development services for MSMEs through business counselors in their areas of responsibilities.

This was made successful in partnership with the provincial and local government units that allows a wider reach of business development assistance by bringing government services closer to the people especially in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantage Areas (GIDAs) and vulnerable communities. (Rheafe C. Hortizano, Provincial Information Office, Photo Courtesy of DTI-DdO)

Assistance sought for pork dealers affected with ASF outbreak

By:  KEN E. CAGULA

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Pork dealers here appealed for government assistance as sales “hugely” dropped in the wake of African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak.

Earlier this month, authorities declared the entry of ASF in Davao City, initially affecting two villages in Calinan District–Brgy. Dominga and Brgy. Lamanan. Last week, Brgy Inayangan, still in Calinan District, was confirmed to also have ASF cases.

Since then, sales of fresh and processed meat dropped to as low as 50 percent, said pork dealer Eden Guira, during a press conference on Monday (Feb. 24). That is, from P100,000 income/day to only P35,000-P40,000/day.

“That amount is not yet enough for me to pay my laborers,” Guira added.

Teodora Guira, who distributes processed pork products to other areas in Mindanao, said that sales from other provinces also went down after local governments prohibited the sales of processed pork products from Davao City.

“Our buyers from Malungon, Gensan, Mati, Surigao, Butuan, said they were given a memorandum prohibiting the sales of products such as chorizo, embutido, tocino and lumpia shanghai from Davao,” she lamented.

Davao City slaughterhouse Operations Manager Chalemagne Aldevera Jr. noted that from about 500 pigs in a day on previous months, only around 200 pigs were processed at the time of this writing.

“What we are processing are only for the consumption in Davao City because our pork cannot go outside of the city as a result of the lockdown,” Aldevera said.

Allaying fears from other consumers, pork dealers stressed that the meat being sold in public markets in the city came only from registered farms, are provided with certifications, and are not from backyard farms susceptible to ASF. (davaotoday.com)