TRENDS (15 January 2010)

Hiring ban starts March 26

CAGAYAN de Oro City (01/15/10) – Effective March 26 until May 10, 2010, no head, official or appointing officer of any national or local government office, can appoint or hire any new employee, except upon prior authority of the Commission on Elections.

Included in this prohibition are all government agencies or instrumentalities and government owned or controlled corporations (GOCC) who may want to appoint employees or create and fill any position, whether permanent, provisional, temporary, substitute or casual.

During the same period, no government official can also promote or give any increase in salary or remuneration or privilege to any government official or employee including those in the GOCC, Atty. Renato A. Magbutay, Regional Elections Director (RED) of region 10, said.

As embodied in Resolution No. 8737, promulgated last Dec. 23, requests for Comelec authority to make or cause any transfer or detail had to be made in writing indicating the office and place to which the officer or employee is proposed to be transferred or detailed or otherwise moved and the reasons therefor.

Magbutay said these requests may be filed with the Law Department of the Comelec when the official station is in the central / main offices of national agencies and GOCC, when the transfer is inter-regional and when it involves the following personnel:

Regional Directors, Assistant Regional Directors or positions of similar rank, Philippine National Police (PNP) Provincial / District Directors or Commanders, Officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) with the rank of major or equivalent rank and/or holding positions of battalion commanders or higher.

Provincial Treasurers and Schools Division Superintendents, irrespective of their official stations in the field offices including the National Capital Region (NCR).

Meanwhile, requests may be filed with the RED for transfers or details involving City / Municipal Treasurers and Assistant Schools Superintendents and government employees with official stations in field offices, with corresponding offices of the RED where the employee/s sought to be transferred or detailed are stationed.

Renewal of appointments of temporary, casual, substitute and contractual personnel, however, are not covered by this prohibition and therefore will no longer need prior authority of the Comelec.

On the other hand, requests for authority to suspend an elective provincial, city, municipal or barangay officer applying the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act will be submitted to the Comelec thru the Law Department supported by a copy of a formal complaint executed under oath and containing the specific charges therefor. (Rutchie Cabahug-Aguhob, Philippine Information Agency, Region 10).


Transfer of employees illegal starting Jan. 10

CAGAYAN de Oro City (01/15/10) – Effective January 10 to June 9, 2010, no public official can make or cause any transfer or detail, whatsoever, of any officer or employee in the civil service, including public school teachers, except upon written authority by the Commission on Elections.

Thus clarified Atty. Renato A. Magbutay, Regional Elections Director (RED) of region 10, who said the prohibition includes the suspension of any elective provincial/city/municipal/barangay officer, unless the suspension will be for purposes of applying the Anti-Corrupt Practices Act.

Magbutay said “transfer,” here means any personnel movement from one government agency to another or from one department, division, geographical unit or subdivision of a government agency to another without the issuance of an appointment.

Likewise, effective March 26 to May 10, 2010, the hiring of new employees, whether for permanent, provisional, temporary, substitute or casual is also prohibited unless a written authority will be granted by the Comelec.

However, renewal of appointments of temporary, casual, substitute and contractual personnel are not covered by this prohibition and will no longer need prior authority by Comelec.

“The appointing officer will just have to furnish the Comelec, through the regional offices and the Law Department, a complete list of employees whose appointments were renewed, indicating their position, item number, salary grade and station,” Magbutay said.

Should there be a need to appoint or hire new employee and such employee has already been appointed or hired without prior authority of Comelec, the requesting office/agency shall just notify the Comelec in writing within three (3) days from the date of the appointment or hiring.

The letter should state the exact date when the position sought to be filled became vacant, the cause of the vacancy, the reasons for said appointment or hiring and all the necessary data or information regarding the same.

Magbutay said the appointment or hiring of new employees shall be valid, unless the same is found by the Comelec to have been made to influence, in any manner, the results of the election, issued without the required notice, or that there is no urgent need for the appointment.

Meanwhile, the need to fill up a vacant position by a new employee may be considered “urgent” if the position to be filled is essential to the proper functioning of the office or agency concerned and that the same has been vacated either by death, retirement, resignation, promotion or transfer of the regular incumbent.

Provided, the appointment is issued within 60 days from occurrence of the vacancy and that the same cannot be filled by promotion or transfer of insiders within the same period and provided further, that the position shall not be filled in any manner that may influence the election.

Appointment to a position which has been vacant for more than 60 days shall not be considered urgent and must, therefore, require prior written authority from the Comelec or the RED concerned, Magbutay added. (Rutchie Cabahug-Aguhob, Philippine Information Agency, Region 10)


NFA assures enough, stable supply of rice in LNorte and Iligan

ILIGAN City – Despite increasing trend on prices of other commodities, the price sold by the National Food Authority (NFA) to its accredited outlets remains stable.

NFA Provincial Manager Edegary H. Roncal of Iligan City said that they have enough rice supply with an estimated 5,000 metric tons (MT) stored at their warehouses located in Bara-as, Iligan City and at Panguil, in Lala, Lanao del Norte.

Roncal revealed that their local NFA office is programmed to receive some 27,000 MT imported rice from Misamis Oriental for the 2010 considered as the load port of NFA region 10.

This imported rice will serve as the buffer stocks of the province aside from its local palay procurement which the agency can buy from the local farmers of the province.

“To ensure that government subsidized rice channeled to its accredited outlets reaches to its intended beneficiaries, the local NFA intensifies its market monitoring and enforcement activities, enjoined by other agencies and the consuming public, for efficient implementation of our program,” said Roncal.

She added, the local NFA continues to implement its regular rice distribution program to its accredited outlets like Tindahan Natin Outlet (TNO), Tindahan sa Parokya (TSP), Bigasan sa Barangay Outlet (BBO), Institutionalized Bigasan sa Palengke (IBSP), and NFA Licensed Retailers.

Only the community based outlets such as TNOs and TSPs continue to avail the NFA subsidized price for rice at P18.25/kilogram to its identified family beneficiaries.

While market based outlets such as IBSP, BBO and individual retailers sell NFA rice at P25.00/kilogram, P30.00/kilogram, and P32.00/kilogram, respectively, depending on the rice variety and quality purchased.

The food agency assures the public that it will continue to deliver its mandate of ensuring food security and buffer stocks availability through its local palay procurement program and the timely positioning of its rice dispersal, stressed Roncal. (NFA Iligan / Lorry V. Gabule, Philippine Information Agency 10)


DSWD 10 answers issues on 4Ps cash release

As a response to the concerns of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps beneficiaries in Cagayan de Oro City on the schedule and frequency of the cash release, the department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) field office in region 10 clarified the payment process of the program over a radio station, on January 14, 2010.

Glofelia Uayan, Regional 4Ps Coordinator, Faith Maygay, City Link and Recthie Tolinero, 4Ps Information Officer, gave further details about the poverty reduction program.

Tolinero explained that 4Ps is one of the strategies of the government to alleviate poverty by providing conditional cash grants to the extremely poor households to improve the health, nutrition and education particularly of the children aged 0-14.

There are five (5) 4Ps barangays in Cagayan de Oro City namely: Lapasan, Consolacion, Macabalan, Carmen and Puntod with 2,112 beneficiaries.

The areas were selected through the Small Area Estimates (SAE) and the households were enumerated through the Family Income and Expenditures Survey (FIES).

According to Uayan, the conditional cash grants that the beneficiaries receive come from DSWD central office which will be transferred to the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) main branch in Manila.

After the funds are transferred, DSWD central office will then forward the payroll or the list of beneficiaries and the amount that they will receive to the regional office for those beneficiaries who were not given their cash cards yet.

The beneficiaries who already have their cash cards will no longer sign the payroll and the order of payment from LBP.

With this, Uayan stressed that DSWD regional office does not have access to the cash grants and that the beneficiaries themselves directly get the grants from LBP through over-the-counter payments or cash cards.

For Cagayan de Oro city, Maygay stated that LBP is still sorting the beneficiaries who are listed in the payroll and those who have their cash cards to avoid a double payment of the recipients.

She also explained that the payments are made every two (2) to three (3) months.

Uayan on the other hand, assured that the beneficiaries in Cagayan de Oro including those in the entire region will definitely receive their grants. Systems are already created by the department to enhance the implementation of the program especially on addressing the conditions’ compliance, issues and other concerns of the beneficiaries. (Recthie B. Tolinero, DSWD 10)


All systems go for sinulog 2010—Lnorte contingent

IN a bid to finally capture the elusive championship in the biggest cultural stage of the Philippines – Cebu’s Sinulog Festival, the Lanao del Norte contingent arrived early last January 13 for the grandest cultural festival in the country.

“This is the fulfillment to our promise to last year’s winning group in the Municipal Festival Contest during our Golden Araw Anniversary. And with their spectacular win, we are sending this year to the Sinulog the Kapatagan National High School to be our contingent,” explained Governor Khalid Dimaporo.

This is the second time that the provincial government is sending an official contingent in the Free Interpretation category where Lanao del Norte placed 4th over-all in a category that saw 25 groups compete.

“We are joining this festival first to show that Lanao del Norte is composed of diverse people groups and cultures and second is to declare that our province is a very peaceful place,” Dimaporo said.

Last year, Lanao del Norte was also able to grab the coveted title of Best in Costume despite being a first-timer in the festival.

“It’s all systems go for our second attempt at the Free Interpretation title,” assured Tourism Officer Minda Regis.

This year, the province’s Sinulog contingent is composed of 95 dancers, 50 propsmen, 30 instrumentalists and 24 support group personnel. Lanao del Norte is also represented by Lota Correos from the capital town of Tubod in the Sinulog Festival Queen.

“This is another chance for us to showcase to the whole world that Lanao del Norte is indeed a beautiful and peaceful province where people live in unity and harmony with one another,” said Information Officer Lyndon Calica.

The Lanao del Norte contingent is currently housed in the Abellana National School. Governor Khalid Dimaporo is set to personally lead the contingent in the 5.1 kilometer route of the Sinulog Grand Parade. (VNL / PIO-LDN)