Councilor wants ordinance to help boost employability of Dabawenyos Councilor

kung puwede ang isa ka cave for tourism activities. Sa DOT naa tay mga caves na recommended that are also recommended by the LGU kasi these are under the jurisdiction of the LGUs,” she said. She cited the caves in Davao del Norte and Davao del Sur that are being promoted by DOT. She said in promoting caves, DOT 11 ensures that the guidelines are in place to protect and preserve them.

“Ang cave once na i-promote nimo for tourism activities dapat in-place ang guidelines para ma protect and ma-sustain nato ang caves. Kung ang cave allowed for tourism use as recommended by RTC and DENR and gina recommend pud siya sa LGU na i-promote mao na ang among ginatabangan na i-promote as part of the activities sa area nila like spelunking pero dapat naay guidelines,” she said.

By Maya M. Padillo

The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Davao Region (DSWD11) has disbursed some PHP21.7 million in financial aid to victims affected by earthquakes in Davao de Oro last March, an official said Tuesday.

DSWD-11 Director Vanessa Goc-ong said the agency has conducted emergency cash transfer payouts in the towns of Maragu- san, Mawab, Monkayo, Compostela, New Bataan and Nabunturan from April 20 to 28.

A total of PHP6.8 million was released in New Bataan, Nabunturan (PHP5.4 million), Compostela (PHP4.6 million), Maragusan (PHP3.1 million) Monkayo (PHP1.1 million), and Mawab (PHP468,120).

“The ECT payout will help them recover back to their feet af- prevailing minimum wage in the locality. ter what they experienced during the earthquake. The government is always there to help and make sure no one is left behind,” Gocong said in a statement.

Bernie Al-ag bared on Wednesday his plan to file an ordinance that will boost the employability of Dabawenyos through skills training.

The ordinance aims to institutionalize the JobStart Philippines Program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). He said the city wants to adopt the said program.

“I will file an ordinance institutionalizing the JobStart Program that will provide training funds sa mga Dabawenyo nga make sure nga equip sila sa industry. Pasabot ana sweldohan sila sa gobyerno habang nag training sila, paghuman sa training i-absorb sila sa company. This was ongoing na five years sa DOLE nga program and we want to adopt this program in Davao City,” Al-ag, chair of the Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Industry of the City Council, said in an interview.

Al-ag said the city government will give allowance while the trainees are undergoing training. He also said that the city will make sure that it has an agreement signed with an employer that they will hire the trainees.

“Very important provision sa ordinance is i-train sila sa company, kay daghan man empleyado ron na dili madawat kay dili sila haum sa skill so ang kompanya i-train sila, one month or two months but habang ga training sila, kinsa man mu-sweldo sa ilaha? Ang city government ang maghatag ug allowance sa ilaha ug during the time nga ga-training sila,” he said.

Davao de Oro was hit by a series of earthquakes in March 2023. At least 41,700 families were affected while 10,938 houses were damaged during the calamity.

DOLE’s JobStart enhances the employability of youth by reducing their job-search period and increasing their employability through training (life skills and technical skills required by industries), paid internships, and full-cycle employment facilitation services. The program is also designed to increase the capacity of the Public Employment Service Office (PESOs) in providing full-cycle employment facilitation services.

The trainees shall receive an allowance for the duration of life skills training and technical skills training and shall undertake an internship with establishments for a maximum of three months with a stipend not less than 75% of the

He said it is the goal of the city and DOLE 11 that every Dabawenyo has a job.

He also cited as an example the more than 3,000 call center agent aspirants in Davao City that are unemployed because they do not match the skills that call centers are looking for.

“That is the goal of the city government of Davao, DOLE 11 and me as councilor na in-charge sa labor ang gusto nato matag Dabawenyo naay trabaho. Dili ta musugot na ang mga taga Davao mahimong tambay ug magsalig lang sa ayuda sa gobyerno. We want na matanggal ning ayuda mentality, we want every Dabawenyo to be productive by going to work everyday,” he said.

In saying he was bypassed by the Police Regional Office (PRO 11) which relieved Tagum City Police chief Lieutenant Colonel Edgardo Bernardo:

“Unsay rason nga pulihan man ang atong COP? Doing good man si Bernardo. Pila ka buy bust na dinagko diri sa Tagum, ga roving na siya, gasuroy sa mga barangay ug gapanawag sa mga kapitan. Mao na ang mahina?

Wala man silay koordinasyon sa akoa, ila kong gi bypass, sa akong hunahuna kaya na nilang mubarog. Wala lang tan-awa sa provincial director ug regional director ang ayuda sa city sa police station sama sa sakyanan, krudo, bugas, office supplies, ug sibilyan na mga empleyado.”

Consultant

I was still a kid when I tasted durian the first time. My father bought durian fruit from the public market. My mother said I was afraid upon seeing the fruit since it was thorny.

When my parents started eating the fruit, I was hesitant to try it because of the smell, according to my mother. But she insisted that I would try it, so I did. And it was the start of my love affair with durian.

The fruit was expensive then because it was scarce. Today, a lot of farmers are growing the fruit. It’s good that durian grows well in our place. So, we can have durian once it is in season. Although it is no longer expensive like it used to be, I still cannot eat much of it since I was afraid my blood pressure would skyrocket.

There was a time when durian was so cheap that people didn’t buy them anymore. These days, if ever they buy, they become choosy. They want a certain variety; otherwise, if the variety is not available, they won’t buy any.

Because of this, some durian growers are discouraged to plant more. But the good news is: Last

January 4, the Philippines joined Thailand and Vietnam signed a protocol on exports of fresh durian to China.

A Global Times report said that the durian exportation “is expected to generate at least 10,000 jobs.”

The said news item quoted the Department of Agriculture stating: “We expect more than 5.739 million kilograms of fresh durian to be exported to China per season.”

China, one of the world’s largest populated countries, imported 821,500 tons of fresh durian fruit in 2021, according to Chinese customs data.

As the country observed Holy Week this year, the first batch of fresh durian fruits was sent to China through the Davao International Airport, the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement.

The fruits, which passed the stringent requirements of the General Administration Customs of China, were obtained from producers and processors in Mindanao, particularly Davao region.

Davao is the largest grower of durian in the country. It accounts for about 80% of the total production.

Despite the good news, the durian industry is still beset with problems. Losses in durian harvest continue to happen as a result of low farm mechanization and postharvest facilities. Other causes were inconsistencies in fruit grading due to manual inspection and the inadequate number of skilled workers in durian processing.

In order to help this problem, researchers of the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin) are developing a non-invasive grading system and maturity estimation model for durian. They will use Artificial Intelligence and Imaging through a project with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Science for Change Program (S4CP).

The project is called AI-based Non-Invasive Grading System for Durian or AIDurian.

“UP-Min hopes to address the problem by developing a system that is capable of classifying durian based on ripeness, quality, and variety, providing a more accurate and efficient postharvest classification process,” said a press release.

“The new AI-based system will offer significant advantages over traditional methods of durian grading, which are often subjective and time-consuming,” it added.

Durian is one of the most controversial fruits because of its smell. You either love this fruit or hate it. The New York Times calls it the “world’s smelliest fruit.” Although it is “the world’s stinkiest fruit,” foreign journalist Celeste Brash considered it as “better than wine, cheese or chocolate.”

Indeed, its unusual flavor and odor have prompted many people to express diverse and passionate views. Writing in 1856, the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace described the flavor of durian in the words:

“A rich custard highly flavoured with almonds gives the best general idea of it, but there are occasional wafts of flavour that call to mind cream-cheese, onion-sauce, sherry-wine, and other incongruous dishes. Then there is a rich glutinous smoothness in the pulp which nothing else possesses, but which adds to

“He who has less in life should have more in law” is the wisdom popularized by the late President Ramon Magsaysay as far as the constitutional social justice principle is concerned.

The pending Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers should be the translation into reality of President Magsaysay’s wisdom.

The original Magna Carta is one of the most famous documents in the world, short for Magna Carta Libertatum, the Medieval Latin for “the Great Charter of the Liberties.”

Originally issued by King John of England as a practical solution to the political crisis he faced in 1215, Magna Carta established for the first time the principle that everybody, including the king, was subject to the law. It dealt with specific grievances relating to his rule.

Some of Magna Carta’s core principles are echoed in the United States Bill of Rights (1791) and in many other constitutional documents around the world, as well as in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the European Convention on Human Rights its delicacy. It is neither acid nor sweet nor juicy; yet it wants neither of these qualities, for it is in itself perfect. It produces no nausea or other bad effects, and the more you eat of it the less you feel inclined to stop.”

For his part, British novelist Anthony Burgess compared eating durian to “like eating sweet raspberry blancmange in the lavatory.” “Completely rotten, mushy onions” was how Chef Andrew Zimmern described the taste of durian.

“If Davao can be compared to a fruit, then durian would be more likely it,” said Harold Ray Watson, the 1985 Ramon Magsaysay recipient for peace and international understanding. The American agriculturist considered durian as one of his favorite fruits when he was still living in the country; now, he is retired and is back in Mississippi.

Travelers, both local and foreign, who come to Davao City for a visit usually bring with them durian delicacies – candy bars, cubes, sticks, and preserves –when they return home as pasalubong.

Durian, anyone?

(1950).

Lord Alfred Thompson Denning, a famous English lawyer and judge, described it as “the greatest constitutional document of all times – the foundation of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot.”

The first version of the Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers was the by-product of the first National Seafarers Conference held in 2002 at the Manila Hotel that was organized by the Stella Maris Philippines in coordination with the Office of Senator Ramon Magsaysay, Jr.

Years later, several versions were filed by legislators that considered legal developments both locally and internationally which include the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006 (MLC 2006) also known as the Seafarers’ Bill of Rights and the fourth pillar of international maritime law.

The MLC2006 establishes minimum working and living standards for all seafarers working on ships flying the flags of ratifying countries. The Philippines was the 30th state that deposited its instrument of ratification on August 20, 2012.

The proposed Magna Carta seeks to implement the standards set by MLC2006 to ensure protection of the rights and welfare of Filipino seafarers by recognizing their rights, instituting mechanisms for its enforcement. Nowhere in MLC is any mention of an escrow.

Legislative bodies are called upon to be vigilant in their time-honored duty to protect labor.

The Magna Carta should be for the Filipino Seafarers, not for those whom the law sought to protect them from abuses and violations of their rights.

Through restrictive provisions of the seafarers employment contract, claims for disability and death compensation became a legal battleground, especially in instances when seafarers do not receive full compensation that are legally entitled to have.

Such emergence of cases is attributable to the fact that the seafarer’s employer does not hesitate to harness its immense resources to limit its liability.

Manning agencies argued that the “proliferation of labor cases pose a threat to international employment of Filipino seafarers” linked with ambulance chasing.

In Vir-Jen Shipping vs NLRC, (G.R. No. L-58011 November 18, 1983), the Supreme Court downplayed the employers’ position that labor cases “would be killing the hen which lays the golden eggs” which it noted as the “same argument that have greeted every major advance in the rights of the workingman.”

They had consistently used the phrase “balancing the interest of the seafarer and the company”.

But they are throwing off-balance the already imbalanced legal battle on seafarers claims.

Every labor dispute is a David and Goliath battle : the worker on one side and the management on the other.

The “balance of scale” will tilt more to capital as this will protect the business interest of the manning agencies and their principal rather than the seafarers themselves.

“Seafarers’ claims for disability benefits should not be considered unreasonable and impelled by nothing but greed but rather, justified by their health considerations and a natural desire of every person to preserve his life for as long as possible. For being human, seafarers should not be penalized (UPL v. Beseril , GR 165934, April 12, 2006).

The magna carta should expand, and not limit, the seafarers rights.

A provision that will adversely affect a seafarer’s cause in whatever manner or nature has no place in a legal document that should be for their protection in the first place.

The escrow provision is repugnant to the Constitution since it undermines the mandate to protect the rights of overseas workers and to promote their welfare when it prejudices them the speedy avenue to receive the fruits of his legal battle.

(Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786.)