PIA Dispatch (14 May 2010)

PGMA orders release of P.5-million for Pagadian hotel workers cooperative

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur – President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo directed the Department of Labor and Employment regional office here to release P500,000 for the Springland Employees’ Multipurpose Cooperative during her visit to the province this morning.

In her speech, President Arroyo said the fund would be used by the SEMC (aka Springland Young Workers’ Association) to put up Botika ng Barangay outlets in selected areas in and around the province and provide residents with affordable, quality medicines.

The President said the additional monetary assistance was given in recognition of the cooperative’s pioneering efforts to make good use of livelihood funding for micro, small and medium enterprises.

She told the gathering of local officials led by Zamboanga del Sur governor Aurora Cerilles, Representatives Antonio Cerilles and Victor Yu, Pagadian City mayor Samuel Co and hotel employees that SWYA had an impressive track record of improving themselves and their cooperative by putting to good use any and all opportunities – financial or otherwise.

She said that in 2001, during the infancy of her presidency, the President, through the DoLE regional office here, donated P200,000 to the SYWA which the cooperative used to build a fishpond beside the hotel.

Now, the very same fishpond provides the hotel and its guests the fresh aquatic produce it requires.

The President added that in 2008, she donated P500,000 which the SWYA used to put up an internet café and turn the hotel into a wi-fi zone.

DoLE undersecretary Lourdes Transmonte said that the hotel management had been deluged with requests for internet connectivity from hotel guests comprised mainly of foreigners so that they could “stay connected” with friends and loved ones wherever they may be.

Trasmonte added that the internet café now earns P1,500 a day for the hotel and cooperative.

President Arroyo lauded the SYWA for their efforts saying the “tripartite partnership” of government, private sector and employees has been successful in supporting entrepreneurs.

“This project reflects the success of the tripartite partnership during our administration to support entrepreneurs. It is part of the O in our 10-point BEAT-THE-ODDS agenda: opportunities for 6-10 million jobs, three million entrepreneurs by extending them loans and helping them become good managers, and one million hectares of agribusiness land,” the President said.

“Government was represented by DOLE, whose Workers Income Augmentation Program gave the initial funds. The coop first obtained a loan of P100,000 to develop the fishpond. Last year it received a boost of P476,000 for its internet café, which earns P1,500 a day,” she added.

The President pointed out that the MSMEs program of government is a continuing advocacy to help entrepreneurs earn additional income and improve their lives.

“In fact, from 2004 to 2009, government has lent to micro entrepreneurs throughout the country, through various conduits, a total of P 6-billion,” the President said.

The Springland Young Workers Association (SYWA) is a group of 65 wage employees of the Springland Resort, Hotel and Restaurant in Pagadian City. The association was granted P100,000 under the PRESEED program for the Training-Cum-Production (TCP) on Tilapia and Prawn Culture in 2001.

Due to its profitability the association was granted second tranche of loan amounting to P100,000 bolstering its fishpond’s marine production and was added with another by-product of aquaculture which is milkfish production.

SYWA is also a recipient of DOLE’s Promotion of Rural Employment through Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship Development (PRESEED) in the amount of P476,000.


Successful polls vindicate PGMA

Presidential Deputy Spokesperson Charito Planas said today President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was vindicated by the successful and generally peaceful May 10 national election that proved her critics wrong.

“As the Administration was bombarded with various accusations of machinations ranging from ‘no-el’ (no election), failed election resulting in a vacuum in the presidency, a civil and military junta that will secure the position for PGMA to many other wild imaginations, the smooth and almost trouble-free polls last Monday, despite fears of technical malfunctions, refuted all these insinuations,” Planas said in a news conference in Malacanang.

Planas said the smooth conduct of elections is not just a significant democratic event, but also fulfills Arroyo’s commitment that the first automated elections will take place during her term.

“It is but fair to commend President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for all her quiet moves in gathering all the agencies and sectors concerned for the continuous support and belief in the constitutionally-mandated body in charge of elections, to ensure smooth, clean and orderly elections, and for keeping her word,” Planas said.

Planas also commended the Commission on Elections, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, teachers, poll watchers, volunteers, students and senior citizens who stood alert to guard the whole exercise and who added up to the safety nets of a computerized counting of votes.

Planas said the last polls resulted to many “firsts” in the history of Philippines. “This is the first time that winning local candidates were proclaimed the day after the election; the first time in the history of Philippine politics that almost all losing candidates conceded sooner than expected, and teachers expressing a sigh of relief and accomplishment a day or two after the elections,” she said.

“Let it be the kick-off point of future fraud-free, honest and orderly elections our country and our people deserve to have,” Planas concluded.


DOH cautions against government partnership with tobacco manufacturers

The Department of Health (DOH) today strongly urged all government agencies to refrain from establishing partnerships with and accepting donations from tobacco manufacturers as this goes against the country’s commitment to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

“These donations and partnerships are packaged as corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs of the tobacco industry”, explained Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral. She stressed that under Republic Act 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, such CSR activities which involve the indiscriminate display of the tobacco manufacturer’s name or brand name may constitute a prohibited form of advertising. She also reminded the public that RA 9211 also bans cigarette and tobacco companies from sponsoring any sport, concert, cultural or art event which will involve advertisements of their products. Despite these restrictions however, Secretary Cabral observed that it had not deterred the tobacco industry from advertising its deadly products, albeit through alternative methods.

She cited a 2008 article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer which detailed how tobacco giant Philip Morris garnered seven top awards during the 43rd Anvil Awards of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines. She also noted a photo last year showing the crowning of a college student as Miss Virginia Tobacco 2009 in the weeklong Tobacco Festival of Candon City, Ilocos Sur. Also in the photo with the young beauty queen were Administrator Carlitos Encarnacion of the National Tobacco Administration (NTA), House Deputy Speaker Eric Singson, and Philip Morris Philippines Managing Director Chris Nelson.

Cabral lamented that the NTA’s job was not to protect and promote the tobacco industry but to help tobacco growers find an alternative source of livelihood.

Meanwhile, the 2009 Philippines’ Global Adult Tobacco Survey revealed that seven out of every ten (71.2%) Filipino adults noticed pro-cigarette advertising during the past 30 days from the time they were surveyed. Also, about three of every ten (29.1%) noticed pro-cigarette promotion during the same period.

“A stricter implementation of RA 9211’s provisions on advertising and promotions which will plug the loopholes currently being used by the tobacco industry can help save a lot of lives in the future,” Cabral further added.


RP now has tech transfer law, DOST lauds passage

A proposed bill that seeks to roll out mature and potentially important technologies generated by government-funded researches to the market was finally enacted into law recently after almost three years into legislation.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Republic Act 10055, otherwise known as “An Act Providing the Framework and Support System for the Ownership, Management, Use, and Commercialization of Intellectual Property Generated from Research and Development Funded by Government and for Other Purposes” or the “Philippine Technology Transfer Act of 2009” into a full fledged national statute on March 23 at the Malacañan Palace. The new law is expected to serve as the blueprint for a nationally coordinated technology transfer framework of government-funded researches.

Department of Science and Technology Secretary Estrella Alabastro said that the whole science community is overwhelmed with this development.

“We are optimistic that this new law, a landmark policy on technology transfer will revolutionize the commercialization of technologies generated by researches funded by taxpayer’s money,” Sec. Alabastro said.

The enactment came after Congress approved in December 2009 the Senate version, Senate Bill 3416, authored by Sen. Edgardo J. Angara and co-authored by Senators Manuel Roxas II and Loren Legarda. Senators Pia Cayetano, Gregorio Honasan, Panfilo Lacson, Aquilino Pimentel, Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Miguel Zubiri also served as co-sponsors.

At the House of Representatives, Cavite 1st District Rep. Joseph Emilio A. Abaya was at the forefront of the Bill’s passage and served as its principal author. Angara and Abaya chair the Committees on Science and Technology at the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively.

Speaking at PCARRD (Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development) recently, Sec. Alabastro expressed optimism of the law’s merit in uptaking technologies to the market as well as preventing brain drain and out migration of S&T professionals, and encouraging students to pursue R&D studies.

A key provision in the law provides for incentives to researchers by according them share in the royalties as well as allowing them put up their own start up companies.

The law was Sec. Alabastro’s brainchild, having recognized the need for a national backbone and framework that would push technology generation and application to its maximum potential through efficient and coordinated transfer capability and intellectual property assertions around the country, similar to the Bayh-Dole Act in the US .

The S&T czar also lauded President Arroyo and Congress for taking into account such a much-needed legislation for the science and technology sector.

Alabastro explained that taking advantage of the new law would hasten the process of technology commercialization and broadens the scope of protection of intellectual property rights in government RDIs.

“For the longest time, we rely mostly on breakthroughs from outside, while our local technologies generated through public funds remain untapped or archived in laboratories around the country. Hence, this is a significant break for us to roll this out to the market and be availed by the public,” she added.

Once fully in place, the new law is expected to provide the mechanism to allow important technologies to be commercialized and be made available to the public.

Dr. Patricio S. Faylon, PCARRD Executive Director, meanwhile expressed elation with this development. He described this as a leap for the inter-agency policy advocacy collaboration and a feat in the Council’s policy development and advocacy mandate relating to S&T development.

PCARRD, the central planning council of DOST in the agriculture, forestry and natural resources has led the Department’s efforts in the Bill’s legislative advocacy and public awareness activities since 2006.

Meanwhile, the technical and financial support given by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of the Philippines , DOST Planning and Evaluation Service, and DOST councils and institutes were instrumental in the legislative advocacy of the law. Currently, DOST and IPO are preparing the basis for the Act’s implementing rules and regulation (IRR).


MIRDC upgrades facilities to strengthen fire prevention

Fires caused by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder have been quite common in the country. From 1995 to 2000, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) reported a total of 1,475 LPG-caused fire incidents
throughout the country. From 2004 to 2008, BFP again recorded 756 fires caused by LPG tank explosions.

According to the LPG Association of the Philippines , half of the 12 million LPG tanks in the country today are not fit for public use. The group also estimates that out of the six million unfit LPG tanks, three million are for scrapping and could no longer be fixed. Another three million are for requalification or for inspection and certification by concerned government agencies.

An LPG tank explodes and causes fire when it has considerable leak. This leak, which may emanate from the hose or from the burner, bursts once the LPG is ignited. Thus, ensuring the safety of LPG cylinders becomes of utmost importance in preventing fire, particularly in high density household areas.

The Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC), an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory by the Department of Trade and Industry’s Philippine Accreditation Office (PAO), has upgraded its fire prevention facilities to address the growing problem on LPG-related fires. Among the tests conducted by MIRDC on LPG cylinders are radiographic, tension and bending, and bursting.

The radiographic testing detects internal welding defects of the weld joint portion of the LPG cylinder. It is exposed to radiation with attached film using an industrial X-ray of 300 kVA capacity.

Tension testing involves determining the tensile properties of both materials and weld joints (tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation) using test samples machined to specified dimensions, while bend testing determines ductility of the weld joint. Both tests are done using a Universal Testing Machine (UTM).

Meanwhile, in the bursting test, the finished LPG cylinder is subjected to a very high pressure using a hydraulic system. A burst testing equipment is used to prove that the LPG cylinder will not rapture up to at least four times its designed pressure.

These testing processes employed by the MIRDC are in accordance with the Philippine National Standard (PNS).

LPG cylinders require mandatory certification issued by DTI’s Bureau of Product Standards (BPS) for local manufacturers and importers. The local manufacturers are required to secure Product Safety (PS) mark, while importers have to secure the Import Commodity Clearance (ICC).
Recently, MIRDC’s facilities and expertise in providing technical requirements were featured in ABS-CBN’s morning television program Umagang Kay Ganda in collaboration with the DTI-BPS.