P103.9 B P10,000 70 KM

Vol. II No. 1
Daylight
Good news
2,232,839
household
beneficiaries
registered in the Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program
(4P’s) as of October 2011.
P 103.9 B
Revenue collections for
the month of October
representing a 5.5 percent
increase from P9.85 billion
last month
P 10,000
Productivity Enhancement
Incentive to be received
by state employees on top
of their Christmas Bonus
and 13th month pay to be
funded by the National
Government
about the
December 2, 2011
Philippines and Pinoys
“Chun DOO-HWAN and Roh TAE-WOO were convicted of crimes only they, as
former presidents, could have committed. It was not seen as a vendetta, but
rather, as what it was: justice. The strengthening of a system of laws, and not
men. Closure to a painful and harrowing past characterized by impunity in
official circles.”
President Benigno S. Aquino III, in his speech at the
30th Anniversary Dinner of the Makati Business Club
(The full text of the speech can be found on the Official Gazette website at http://www.gov.ph)
“The overwhelming vote to pass the appropriation was,
above all, a vote of confidence in the leadership
of P-Noy (President Aquino).”
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., on the early ratification of
the P1.8-trillion national budget for 2012
“Our improved expenditure and deficit management will allow the national
government to authorize the grant of additional bonus to government personnel
on top of what they regularly receive.”
Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad,
on the P10,000 bonus for each government employee
The Philippines has “a unique combination of Eastern,
attentive hospitality and [an] attitude of care and compassion
mixed with what I call Americanization.”
70 KM
length of the chain of coins
gathered through an event
initiated by civil groups. It is
poised to break the current
Guinness World Record for
the longest line of coins.
The coins gathered from
the event, worth more than
P875,000.00 will go to the
building of classrooms in
public elementary schools.
Aparup Sengupta, chief executive of Aegis Global, speaking on the qualities
that make the Philippines the ideal location for call center operations. Aegis
Global is an outsourcing firm based in Mumbai, India, that acquired Manilabased People Support in 2008 and now employs nearly 13,000 Filipinos.
(Source: “A New Capital of Call Centers”, The New York Times, November 25, 2011)
SWS: Juan more optimistic
The latest SWS survey revealed that Filipinos are most optimistic over their quality of life and the
country’s economic conditions for the next 12 months, the highest for the year. The survey was
conducted Sept. 4-7 through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults nationwide.
The survey showed a rise among “optimists” to 39% for September 2011, compared to the
36% and 35% in June and March, respectively. Those who expected it to worsen (“pessimists”)
remained the same, both 9% for September and June of this year, nevertheless a decline from the
11% in the March survey.
Ifugao Terraces
to rise again
Court orders Arroyo
transfer to VMMC
DOLE: Social Contract
for contractual workers
Striking a bid both for agriculture
and tourism, the Department of
Agriculture has allotted an initial
P30M to restore the grandeur of
the world-famous Ifugao Rice
Terraces. P10M will go toward
repairs of eroded and damaged
portions,as well as irrigation systems
of rice terraces at BatadTown, while
P20M will go to the restoration
of four other sites, including the
Banaue Rice Terraces.
Former
President,
now
Pampanga
representative
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has
been ordered by the Pasay
Court to be moved from her
suite in Saint Luke’s Hospital in
Taguig to the Veterans Hospital
in Quezon City.
Labor
and
Employment
Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz
said starting Dec. 5, her
Department will be enforcing
Department Order No. 18A. Under this new D.O.,
contractual
employees
would be entitled to benefits
provided under the Labor
Code such as 13th month pay
and overtime pay, as well as
retirement benefits under the
Social Security System, PagIbig and PhilHealth. Aside
from these, it also clarifies
the effect of termination
of employment, highlights
occupational safety and health
regulations,
strengthens
their right to self organize
and guarantees security of
tenure. This is on top of all
their entitlements under the
previous D.O.
The DA has also allotted P25
million for agricultural projects
undertaken in partnership with
the provincial government and 11
municipalities of Ifugao.
The rice terraces have been
hailed for being a site that
displays Ifugao ingenuity, and the
viability of the 2,000 year old
organic paddy farming.
Citing better facilities and
security, Judge Jesus Mupas of
the Pasay Regional Trial Court
ruled Arroyo’s transfer must be
completed in five days. For his
part, Interior Secretary Jesse M.
Robredo said, “There is no way
that harm would come her way
while confined at the Veterans
hospital.”
The former President is under
detention while an electoral
sabotage case against her is
being heard in court.
2012 Budget on time
House
Speaker
Feliciano
Belmonte attributed the early
congressional passage of next
year’s appropriation as a vote
of confidence for President
Benigno S. Aquino III.
In a statement, Belmonte said
the proposed P1.8-trillion
2012 budget is “aligned to the
overarching objectives of our
people – drastic reduction in
poverty and the empowerment
of the disadvantaged; economic
growth; and the fight against
corruption.”
These are the themes upon
which the Aquino government’s
Social Contract with the
Filipino people is founded.
Budget Secretary Florencio
Abad expects the President
to sign the budget into law by
mid-December. He also noted
that the 2011 budget, signed
on December 27, 2010, was
the earliest enacted budget
since 1986 and the only budget
passed on time in a dozen years.
DECEMBER 2, 1899
President Benigno S. Aquino III during the ceremonial lighting of the Palace Christmas tree and ground lights at the
Kalayaan Hall, Malacañan Palace grounds. (Malacañang Photo Bureau)
General Gregorio del Pilar, the
youngest Philippine General at
the age of 24, and a mere 60
soldiers engaged Major Peyton
March and 300 Americans in
the Battle of Tirad Pass. In a
valiant effort to protect the
retreating party of President
Emilio Aguinaldo, the entire del
Pilar company, including the
general, was killed, successfully
preventing the immediate
capture of Aguinaldo.