PIA journalism seminar 

empowers AFI-Panglao 

PANGLAO, Bohol, August 10 (PIA)—Right at the time when people think the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) is wasting government funds for doing nothing, the office in Bohol did not get distracted and continued on its mandates: spread government information and empower communities for them to make smarter decisions. 

Here, for three days, the PIA along with Bohol journalist Ric Obedencio brought the office’s community outreach program called Student Campus Organ Operation and Production Seminar (SCOOPS), an all school newspaper operation and production training module for young writers of Arbasto Foundation Incorporated (AFI). 

A private school sitting at the end of the runway of the new Panglao Bohol Airport, AFI through Marilou Arbasto, a secondary school teacher who heard of the PIA Bohol outreach writing workshops, requested for the in-campus three-day training for their Grade VII to Grade 12 campus writers. 

“We have been looking for competent resource persons, and the PIA was a stand-out,” Arbasto said. 

While commercial groups conducting similar training for student writers ask for over P3,000 per head in registration, the PIA workshops only ask organizers to serve snacks to student writer participants to save on time, and everything else is free. 

Another school beneficiary of the PIA training, Alicia Technical Vocational High School said they used to send their writers to a three-day workshop and paid much only to find out that a more substantive training is there and from then on, they tap the government’s free service. 

The campus journalists had news writing, photo journalism, feature writing, copy reading and headline writing, editorial cartooning, junior broadcasting and newspaper layout. 

Other than these modules which are all incorporated with writing workshops, the PIA has sports writing, science and technology writing, editorial writing, editorial columns and creative literary writing in the training module. 

The same writers’ capacity training also includes Newspaper Organization and Administration, as well as technical assistance packages to get a school paper out of the printing press. 

Joining the training were the school’s practice teachers, school paper advisers, and about 50 student writers cramped inside the second floor classroom inside the school campus. 

The PIA believes that empowering the kids to be responsible news writers and readers could be a huge help in their being able to segregate that which is true and fake and help the government counter false information. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol) 

PIA journalism workshops attempt to empower student writers of Arbasto Foundation Incorporated in Panglao. Students, along with student teachers and school papers advisers participated in the free writing workshops. (PIABohol)

SSS asks LGUS to include 

‘social security’ coverage 

Prior to biz permit release 

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, August 8 (PIA)—Assuring social security and protection can also be a job of the community, and the local government units own this pivotal role in making sure workers in the private sector can have something to lean on in unfortunate times. 

Just as Social Security Law makes it mandatory for employers to register their workers in the government’s Social Security System (SSS), the [employers] counterpart in monthly contributions dissuade many employers from ensuring the benefit of an assured social security for their workers. 

Along this line, Bohol SSS Officer in Charge Alita Basubas pleads to LGUs and the community to help them do the tasks the law mandated for them. 

According to the SS Law, with the membership, a worker in the private sector, a self-employed or a voluntary member or an Overseas Filipino Worker can be assured of social protection, you can be assured of social protection. 

SSS is committed to provide you and your beneficiaries with prompt, convenient, reliable and meaningful social protection services now and in the future so that you shall receive the benefits due in times of death, disability, old-age, sickness and maternity, shares Basubas during a recent Kapihan sa PIA. 

The SSS said there are two types of coverages under the SS Program: Compulsory Coverage which covers employers, employees, self-employed persons and Voluntary coverage for Separated members or formers members who are now covered by the government insurance, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and non-working spouse of SSS Members. 

And to assure that no worker in the private sector is left behind, the SSS signed a joint circular with Department of Interior and Local Government, to direct LGUs to strictly demand for the SSS registration of workers as the employers renew their business licenses and mayor’s permits. 

But, local government units accordingly see this as an additional requirement and some even call this an added level of bureaucracy and this, allegedly goes against the ease of doing business law. 

That is precisely why we have the Memorandum of Agreement with the DILG, so LGUS can be forced to explain this to business investors. 

The MOA, states that before business licenses and mayor’s permits are issued, authorities at the Business Permits and Licensing Offices can check if the SSS registration is already complied. 

The Revised Standards in Business Registration under the joint Circular with DILG, Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Information and Communications Technology did not explicitly mention the mandatory SSS registration of the employer and its employees among the requirements for business permits and licenses. 

Over this, the DILG has forcefully appealed to businessmen and investors to make the mandatory SSS compliance among the first documentary requirements to submit. 

Under the streamlined procedures for the issuance of local business license and clearances, permits, authorizations and certifications, some LGUs opted to cut their processes to only three steps to facilitate the speedy issuance of licenses. 

The SSS compliance however is not explicitly stated in any of the three steps. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol) 

SSS Bohol OIC Alita Basubas shares that some LGUs think requiring businessmen to include the SSS Coverage compliance in their business permit processing is an added bureaucratic layer and runs counter to ease of doing business law. She said a joint memorandum circular with government agencies about this has not been completely implemented. (PIABohol)