Palace mulls mandatory vax for workers

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Nov. 13 (PIA) -- Amid the country’s campaign to secure COVID-19 vaccines, now that there is a fair number of jabs in the country’s inventory, Malacanang is reportedly finding ways to make vaccination mandatory.

Except for people who could provide sufficient justification to default from the jabs, the government is not sticking to a policy on forced vaccination.

Recently, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque has announced that the Palace is eyeing on making COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for government and private workers in areas with enough stocks of vaccines.

The move came after health officials reported that many people still refuse to get vaccinated.

Earlier in Bohol, during the time when the vaccines have yet to arrive, San Miguel Mayor Virgilio Mendez said he would force all his people to get vaccinated, and would use police powers of the state to ensure public health and safety among his constituents.

Mendez, who is a former National Bureau of Investigation director, said it is through discipline that government programs should thrive at.

But the Department of Labor and Employment in earlier pronouncements said workers cannot be forced into vaccination.

Roque, following the president’s position on an earlier telecast briefing earlier, said unvaccinated workers cannot be terminated, but considering that they could be carriers who could start infections in the workplace, Roque said they will be required to undergo regular RT-PCR or antigen testing at their own expense.

On the other hand, Department of Justice (DOJ) Sec. Menardo Guevarra said Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte was correct when he waived the police power of the state to protect a majority of the Filipino population from COVID-19 infection, but punishing people for their refusal to get the vaccines would need an enabling law.

Gueverra said Duterte can invoke the police power of the state to compel people to have themselves inoculated, but getting people who refuse to get the shots penalized is another story.

He said while it is the government’s constitutional mandate to protect the health and welfare of the people as the basis for the implementation of mandatory vaccination in the country, all the president can do is to persuade.

The Palace has accordingly said all eligible workers involved in public transportation services in the road, rail, maritime, and aviation sectors shall also be required to be fully vaccinated as a condition to continue operations.

Public and private establishments may refuse entry or deny service to people who remain unvaccinated or are partially vaccinated despite being eligible for the jab, Malacañang said. (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)

Feature:

Donghil’s life, now going uphill

Thanks Duterte’s enacting 4Ps,

For quite some time, the family relies on her husband’s income as a fisherman.

Isidra Donghil 35 years old housewife from Barangay Cuya in Ubay, is by no means poor, if one looks by her face. But she was.

Their lives could have been better had she gotten to college, as she could have better chances at landing a job. Married at am early age, she considers her family among the poorest.

Her husband’s fishing income was all they had, on stormy days and moonlit nights when there are no fishing trips, there will be no income.

“Life was hard, that sometimes, our meal consists of soy sauce and lard.” she stammers as she narrated her life.

Her family lived in a small hut near the water.

“Its walls were discarded tarpaulin, the roof was nipa which flips during gale winds, all of us inside would get wet. We did not have electrical connection and as a mother, it is painful to see the kids study under the flickering glow of kerosene lamps,” she recalls sometimes visibly flinching from some painful memories she could not share as yet.

In an effort to fill in their needs, she sometimes goes with her husband fishing, or do chores that could earn her money to have something to feed the kids.

She was all too resigned to that nasty fate, when something came up which slowly changed their lives.

“It was in 2011 when the government implemented the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), and we were in, which gave us cash assistance for our children’s education,” she timidly went on.

The 4Ps offers conditional cash grants program to poor families who could send their children 0 to 8 years in school, improve their health, nutrition, and attend family development sessions (FDS), and implemented under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

“With money now to but for our children’s needs in school, we can save the very little that’s left from fishing,” she said.

“In time, we decided to build a sturdier safer and more comfortable house farther from the water. And we had a bit of savings enough to get us power connection,” Donghil shared this as a testimonial for their changed lives due to 4Ps.

FDS are monthly meetings where we learned and earned guides on how to cope up with the responsibility as a parent, obligations in the community, the importance of cooperation and participation, the gist of volunteerism and gained leadership skills.

I became a 4Ps parent leader, and since I like teaching, I soon served as the barangay Day Care worker.

In 2018, when a new president was elected, she began to worry as rumors have surfaced that the new administration is going to cut off the 4Ps.

“If that happens, how do we manage to continue sending the kids to school? We know that my husband’s income is barely enough for our daily needs, I begin to worry, she shared.

After weeks and months, they accordingly noticed that the program was enhanced even more.

“We were so happy when we heard the news that the new president, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has signed the law that institutionalized the 4Ps,” her voice still carrying that excitement she must have felt five years ago.

After the cash grants came the monthly Rice Subsidy, some additional benefit to make sure every 4Ps family can buy rice.

“There was an increase in the cash grant, and then we, for the first time, got hold of cash cards that we no longer have to take the queue to claim our benefits,” she said.

“Beyond the 4Ps, we started to feel the government programs that truly helped us make our lives easier: there was the Unconditional Cash Transfer, which included 3Ps members, then we learned that as indigents, we were automatic Philhealth members and could avail of the zero billing policy in government hospitals,” she started to enumerate on her benefits.

With these, she thanks God for guiding the government under the Duterte Administration to help the poor.

When the threat of the coronavirus disease came in 2020, life for the Donghil family again shivered in the test.

“We could not go fishing anymore due to the community quarantine restrictions, we thought we would slide back to our past, but then, the government was there to help the poor like us.”

First, there was the Social Amelioration Program, which had Donghil in the list of recipients of the financial assistance. This was a great help, as they were able to buy our food, hygiene kits like face masks, bath soap and other needs.

Sensing a sense of paying back, Donghil also offered herself as a volunteer in surveying family needs and giving out food packs and relief goods from the local government.

Months later, continuing its package of assistance to the poor, the government under the Duterte Administration handed out through the DSWD, financial assistance in the form of livelihood capital for the pandemic-affected families.

“Our family was among the beneficiaries, I continued on the small business we had in barbecue stand and grill while selling siakoy. This was a huge help in tiding up for our daily needs with the pandemic adding items to our daily costs,” she professed.

It was also this administration that decided right away to respond to the pandemic by giving free vaccines, which placed the members of the 4Ps and indigents in the priority list.

“I urge everyone who have not received the vaccine yet, to be there, as our chance of giving back to the government what it has been doing for us,” Donghil called.

“As I stand before you today, I am truly thankful to President Duterte for the better life we feel in the government’s pouring of help. I may not have reached success yet, but I trust in God that he would guide us to be models of the community in helping others get past whatever is holding them from betting out of poverty,” she capped.

Donghil’s testimonial for the Duterte Legacy Caravan going around in ten Bohol towns, was also a similar tune to the thousands of Filipinos who have felt an alleviation of the harder life they had in the past.

With this, Donghil’s sincere thanks to President Rodrigo Duterte for strongly implementing these programs under his Administration, sounded the same with the hundreds who found no venue for them to thank their leaders, for they could have disregarded the poor and stolen their money, but did not. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

Vaccination coverage now

28.68 of target population

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol Nov 13 (PIA) – To date, there are only two towns in Bohol which registers double digits of active coronavirus disease (COVID) cases, deaths by the viral infection have slowed to one per day from a staggering 6 per day over a month ago and recovery has increased to 97% per 100 incidents.

This as Bohol notched its vaccination against COVID-19, accomplishment to 27.68% as of November 10, 2021.

As of 3:14MP Saturday, November 13, only Tagbilaran City and Cortes town registered 32 and 11 active COVID cases for the day’s total of 122 active cases, data from the Emergency Operations Center showed.

And based on the list of death cases since last week, November 5, 2021, from 561 then, the number increased to 567 or some six more deaths in a week’s time.

From October 12 to November 12, or in a month’s time, Bohol averaged 1.8 deaths in a day, some .8 percent higher than the weeks average.

Based on the data provided by the Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force on the management of Emerging infectious Diseases like COVID, they said 266,340 Boholanos have received the complete two-doses of the vaccine that would allow the body to detect the entry of the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, the corona viral strain.

The figure is still, 27.86% of the 961,871 individuals targeted for inoculations in the Bohol master list.

According to the health experts at the Department of Health, to be able to achieve herd immunity from COVID, a community should, at least get to vaccinate 70% of its total population, so that once these people are protected, the virus will have no one to cling to and trigger infections.

However, the provided master list by the EOC is still a tad too short for the 70% of the total population in Bohol based on the recent census by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

According to the PSA, Bohol now has a population of 1,394,329.

Based on this data, the 70% of Bohol’s population should be 976,031, or some 14,160 short of the figure in the master list.

On the other hand, BIATF reports some 291,299 or 30% of the master listed individuals have been given their initial COVID vaccine shots.

While the herd immunity target is still too far to reach, BIATF spokesperson Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez said next top 70%, another target which should already manifest good results is 50% of the total population.

He said at 50% vaccination rate, the entire community should see a downtrend in infections and deaths, although it is still far from eliminating the threat.

At the current rates in Bohol, an indication of the 50% vaccination rate, is already showing despite the apparently smaller coverage as yet.

As to vaccine delivery update, Bohol has since received 856,912 vaccine doses from March 6 until this date.

Of the number, Bohol vaccination teams have dispensed 557,639 doses for a 65.07% utilization rate. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

NO LET UP. Vaccination teams in Bohol have been going around without let-up while there are still some vaccines available. Bohol has since seen the indications of a wider vaccine coverage or some sort of attained community immunity even if it still has accomplished 28% of its vaccination target. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

Town dad testimonial:

Millions in aid for Jagna at

Duterte Legacy Caravan

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Nov 13 (PIA)—Jagna Mayor Joseph Rañola lead 9 other mayors and ordinary Boholanos in out-pouring their thanks and appreciation to the key programs of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s Administration swearing in public testimonials how these have made their lives easier.

Admitting that these programs are simply too many to name, mayor Rañola picked programs of four government agencies in his detailed report before the Presidential Communications and Operations Office during the 4-days Duterte Legacy Caravan (DLC) across ten towns here.

For the Duterte Administration’s banner agriculture and food sufficiency program, the mayor said due to the support of the Department of Agriculture, Jagna has increased its rice productivity to near food sufficiency from its 250 hectares of rice fields to nearly 750 hectares.

For this, the government has given over P13,488,400 in hybrid and inbred seeds benefitting 826 farmers, P9,643,160.00 for machine equipment for the town’s farm mechanization program, P11,399,676.00 in irrigation support and financial subsidy for insured crops amounting to P9.795,821.00 for a total food sufficiency investment of P44,327,053.00.

This, he said does not include the first in the province-hybrid coconut demo farm, which the DA put up, the ubi-tissue culture and demo farm and the revitalization of the mango industry.

As to fisheries, DA’s Bureau of Fisheries has given the town free tilapia fingerlings and feeds as well as seasonal bangus in fish pens, P3 million lambaklad project and P8M repair for the Bunga Mar fishport.

From the Department of Labor and Employment, Rañola, who was hailing the labor agency for the implementation of its Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa mga Displaced at Disadvantaged Workers and the Government Internship Program, announced something that not many towns get from the government.

He said Jagna got some P11 million funds for livelihood assistance to 23 community based people’s organization and one person with disability.

From the Department of Education, Mayor Rañola said his town received some P48,674,490.00 in funds for the repair and rehabilitation of some 23 elementary and high schools in the town.

For the Department of Social welfare and Development (DSWD), the mayor who prepared a multimedia presentation of these projects said 779 Jagnaanons have received a total of P4.6 million in Unconditional Cash Transfer, 1,257 members of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) got a total of P55 million, 4,259 local residents benefitted in the P25.5 million in Special Amelioration Program, 241 received a total of P1.5 million in Livelihood Assistance Grants.

During the pandemic, the DSWD did not stop, in fact extended its help to 842 front liners in the town who received a total of P378K, 350 Locally Stranded Individuals got P157K, 597 Persons with Disabilities got P268K and another 1,515 affected families got P681K in different kinds of assistance.

Meanwhile, Mayors Hilario Ayuban of Loay, Atty. Arturo Jed Piollo of Lila, Tita Baja or Garcia Hernandez, Constantino Reyes of Ubay, Judith Cajes of Trinidad, Atty Virgilio Mendez of San Miguel, Engr. William Jao of Tubigon, Leonila Montero of Panglao and John Geesnell Yap of Tagbilaran have hailed the Duterte Administration for strong political will to lower crimes by leading in the fight against drugs, and in bringing key impact infrastructure projects in Bohol.

Ordinary citizens who benefitted from DSWD 4Ps, Sustainable Livelihood Program, DOLE’s Special Program for the Employment of Students, Government Internship Program, TUPAD, Technical education and Skills development Authority’s technical vocational training programs, Department of Public Works and Highway’s Build, Build, Build and other key projects also poured in their appreciation to what they called as the Administration that restored their dignity as human persons. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

POLITICAL WILL. Jagna Mayor Joseph Rañola details the legacies of the Duterte Administration to his town and came up with a comprehensive presentation to do so. Jagna was among the 10 towns the PCOO visited for the Duterte Legacy Caravan November 8-11 all over Bohol. (PIABOHOL)

DOLE OIC Angelie Salgados hands a check to a beneficiary during the Duterte Legacy caravan in Jagna as PCOO Asec Jusan Vincent Arcena, Mayor Rañola and Jagna Coucilor Anthony Aniscal witness the ceremony. (PIABohol)

4 families in Balik Probinsya

Now back in Bohol for good

PANGLAO AIRPORT, Bohol Nov 12 (PIA) –Four Boholano families comprised of 15 individuals along with local and international tourists stepped out of the Philippine Airlines flight from Manila and to the tarmac in Panglao for good.

Ran out of luck and better opportunities in the metropolis especially during the pandemic, the four families have decided to permanently come home to Bohol, and availed of the government’s Balik Probinsya Bagong Pag-asa (BP2).

BP2 is geared towards addressing Metro Manila’s congested urban areas by encouraging people, especially informal settlers to return to their home provinces and the government can assist them in this transition through support and incentives on transportation, family, livelihood, housing, subsistence and education, and still a package of assistance, so they can make a good restart here.

Apart from direct assistance and subsistence allowances to families, government agencies have been in convergence to ensure continuous improvement of economies and quality of life in the provinces, so these re-settlers can benefit some more.

This, it does with the program’s long term plans on various investments in infrastructure, agriculture, business, transportation and access to a responsive healthcare system.

On the other hand, local governments are empowered to effectively manage crises to come and build resilient communities to provide hope for a better future to Filipinos and boost countryside development.

At the short welcome program held at the airport airside nook, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer Carmelita Tecson, for the Provincial Government of Bohol handed out food packs, snacks, and hygiene packs to the arriving families and cash assistance of P5,000 per family.

Also at the welcome ceremonies were BP2 technical working group agencies: Department of Social Welfare and Development, National Housing Authority, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Education, Department of Labor and Employment, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority as well as Mayor Conrada Amparo and local government units representatives.

The returning families include Nestor Baja Calderon and family of 6 returning to Abijilan Garcia Hernandez, Nerisa Dabon and family of 3 from Poblacion Sur Carmen, Janice Beronio Danlog and family of 4 from Duero and Vevencio Serinas Mabalhin Jr. and a family of two from Tubigon.

Nestor Calderon, who finished his high school at Tabuan High School said he worked as a gardener in Taguig until the pandemic laid him off. He brought his family to Caloocan to help in selling vegetables until he realized he could give a much better future to his family in Bohol.

“I was a gardener, and if that is the work that I do in Bohol, it’s still the same, and cost of living there is not as much as in the metropolis,” he said.

Calderon’s wife Deliza also comes from Abijilan, said her parents have idle lands while her husband’s family also have some spare lots they can cultivate.

Duero Mayor Amparo, who took it as her responsibility as mother of the town to personally meet the arrivals, urged Boholanos who still have relatives in Manila and willing to come home to take the chance to avail of the BP2, adding that Bohol will be doing its best to accommodate the returning residents and help them transition and adapt to their new environment. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

BP2 Bohol Task Force pose for posterity with the arriving families during a simple welcome ceremony held at the Panglao Airport International Arrivals lobby, Nov 12. 4 Boholano families consisting of 15 individuals arrived in Bohol after getting assistance from the government’s Balik Probinsya program. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

DUERO MAYOR CONRADA AMPARO welcomes Janice Beronio Danlog who came home from Manila along with three more family members. Mayor Amparo takes it as her responsibility to meet her constituent as a mother would. (rahc/PIA_7/Bohol)

MOA SIGNING. BP2 beneficiaries sign the MOA with DILG to allow the government to offer them all the assistance needed for them to comfortably settle in Bohol. (rahc/PIA_7/Bohol)