filipina: a caring hand

Loren unveils comprehensive socio-economic peace program

4urowneyesonly — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 12:37:28 +0000

Senator Loren Legarda laid down yesterday (July 16) a comprehensive socio-economic peace program which the next administration can implement in the next six years to address the country’s many problems like poverty, corruption and the peace problem in Mindanao.
Following her declaration of readiness to seek the presidency in the 2010 elections, Loren unveiled her agenda and plans for the country in her speech during the 10th FVR (RPDEV) Lecture at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium of RCBC Plaza in Makati City.
Loren said that a sustainable economic, social and political advancement for the country would start from investing heavily in agriculture and industries in order to create jobs locally stop the country’s reliance on overseas job markets, ensure food security and the global reach and competitiveness of Filipino products.
“Pursuing the thrust to modernize agriculture and the rural areas first and foremost would make agriculture an effective absorber of labor. Also, agriculture-based businesses must be connected to a network of micro, small, medium and even big corporate businesses so that they could create a synergy of cooperation that is mutually beneficial,” said Loren.
Loren said that agriculture and industries must also be freed from the clutches of corruption, especially those relating to public funds for irrigation, farmers’ support and the establishment of post-production facilities.
She stressed that the Philippines is rich in natural and human resources and that both must be better managed by the government hand-in-hand with the private sector.
“Credit and other programs that support domestic MSMEs should be revitalized… We must remove major constraints in the conduct of doing business in the Philippines. We must make it easier for business persons to acquire licenses.”
“Contracts must be enforced; credits must be extended to enterprising individuals and entities; corruption and smuggling must be stopped,” she said.
The senator pointed out that peace and order problems, including the long pestering one in Mindanao, also impede national development, stressing that “in fact, among the regions of the country with the highest incidence of poverty are in Mindanao.”
“By now, everyone but the government admits that aggression arises from frustration. The problem in Mindanao is brought about by the inaction of the government. Muslim Filipinos are deprived of access to facilities and services crucial for human development and have, for the longest time, remained unheeded by the Manila-centric government.”
The next administration, Loren said, must expand access to basic education and health care, increase the use of sustainable forms of energy, promote use of clean energies and make foreign relations a tool to serve long-term national development goals.
“For an issue close to my heart, the next administration must no longer tolerate the non-implementation of our environmental laws, such as the Ecological Solid Waste Management and the Clean Air Act,” she said.
If she becomes President, Loren said she would look for the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) by forging bilateral agreements with the foreign hosts of OFWs, strengthening the role of embassies and consulates in protecting overseas Filipinos, and in having government agencies like TESDA train them to become entrepreneurs.
“In the domestic front, low wages, non-regularization, and incomplete, if not altogether lack of, benefits are identified causes of poverty. The government must encourage companies to help workers cope with the rising cost of living and to retain stable employment without burdening companie’ capital and competitiveness.

SOURCE: http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1248088379.html

Loren wants hospitals protected against natural calamitiesSenator

4urowneyesonly — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:23:19 +0000

SOURCE: http://lorenlegarda.com.ph
Loren Legarda yesterday urged the government to use part of its
economic stimulus package to reinforce public and private hospitals
against earthquakes and other natural calamities to minimize
casualties and provide emergency aid.
Speaking in the Senate in commemoration of World Health Day, Loren
recalled the earthquake that hit Italy last week and the Baguio
earthquake years ago which caused extensive damage to lives and
property, including hospitals.
“Hospitals and other health facilities are critical public
infrastructures, especially in times of disaster when victims need
emergency services and medical care. Therefore, hospitals should be
disaster-proof and disaster resilient. This is a must which cannot be
compromised,” declared Loren, who is currently the chairperson of the
Senate committee on demography and health.
“Climate change is another driver of vulnerability that will impact on
our health care system and compound this risk. Hospitals should
therefore be structurally and organizationally resilient to any
disasters. Health facilities and all health workers should be able to
function fully, efficiently, and effectively during emergencies,” she
asserted.
“This is essentially the message of the United Nations International
Strategy for Disaster Reduction and the World Health Organization in
this year’s continuing bi-annual campaign for hospitals safe from
disasters,” declared Loren, who is the UN “champion” for disaster risk
reduction in the Asia-Pacific region.
Loren disclosed that based on international studies, the cost of
disaster-proofing a hospital or health facility would add only 4
percent to the cost of construction. “This cost is nothing compared to
the risk of destruction and death of patients and staff during a
disaster, and the equally high health, economic and development
impacts in the aftermath,” she stressed.
“This lends truth to the saying that an ounce of prevention is better
than a pound of cure,” she stressed.
“Overall, building the resilience of the health sector to disasters is
a worthy investment. It brings the double benefit of saving lives and
achieving our development goals. This fact should be appreciated by
the national and local governments and the private sector who have
invested much in the country’s health care system and share
common responsibilities in running it.”
“At the fiscal level,” Loren urged Congress “to push the executive
branch into using part of the giant economic stimulus package to
fortify and enhance the structural integrity of major government-run
hospitals, regional hospitals, provincial hospitals and emergency
clinics in the towns. The private health sector should be encouraged
to do the same.
“The training and retraining of doctors, nurses, medical technologists
and allied health care workers is another mandatory and critical
spending item that truly deserves a share in the stimulus package.
“The fiscal policies of government can also be used to help
private-run hospitals improve on their structural integrity and their
facilities. The government can grant tax incentives to hospitals that
invest on risk reduction-related structures, equipment, facilities,”
she averred.
“It can allow them to import equipment and facilities at reduced
levies and fines. Or, tax-free.”
Loren also suggested that Congress can also revisit the National
Building code to find out whether or not there is a need to update the
provisions of the Code to fulfill the requirements of disaster risk
reduction.
“Finally, Congress should speed up the passage of the pending draft
law that seeks to create the Climate Change Commission. This draft law
has several provisions that further the cause of disaster risk
reduction,” Loren further stressed.

Loren Legarda: Automated Polling

4urowneyesonly — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:02:59 +0000

The experience at Iran where the recent presidential elections were
allegedly manipulated to favor the incumbent, causing riots and
deaths, should be a lesson to us that automated polls can be rigged.
The results of the Iran elections were known within two days because
of automation but the results were still questioned by millions of
voters.
The Commission on Elections has sworn to keep the polls honest. But
there is a need for strict oversight by non-partisan and
non-government organizations. While automated polling, is definitely
an improvement over manual canvassing, no human-made system can be
absolutely free from rigging. Vigilance is the price of liberty. We
must prevent chaos and revolution resulting from another fraudulent
election.

SOURCE:http://lorenlegarda.com.ph

Loren Legarda : Unemployment

4urowneyesonly — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:47:53 +0000

The layoff by Triumph International of 1,662 local employees highlight
the need for the government to concentrate on efforts for job
creation. Government tinkering with employment statistics will not
convince our people that enough jobs are being created to provide
employment to those who have lost their jobs and those who are just
entering the labor force, like the new graduates.
The government has been trumpeting that it has created 1.5 million
jobs last year. However, it turns out most of these jobs are in
agriculture and self-employed sectors, meaning vendors and household
helpers.In fact, according to reputable economists, the number of wage
and salaried workers have gone done one percentage point last year.
It’s time the President should cut down on her foreign travels. She
should use the money saved to boost the stimulus package that would
create more jobs. Less travels abroad would also enable her to
concentrate with her advisers on the complex task of job creation.

SOURCE:http://lorenlegarda.com.ph

Loren Legarda: Torture

4urowneyesonly — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:26:42 +0000

The torture of a Fil-American activist in the Philippines while on a
vacation from the United States as revealed by the victim herself is
but another confirmation of various United Nations reports condemning
human rights violations in our country, including the widespread use
of torture. Melissa Roxas was just lucky she escaped with her life to
the US to be able to tell the ordeal.
In our country, hundreds of activists have been tortured, murdered and
disappeared after having been allegedly abducted by military agents.
Philip Ralston, UN rapporteur, has denounced those guilty of
perpetrating these crimes as acting with “impunity”. Government
officials have denied these human rights but they kept on recurring
with appalling regularity.
So long as these cases of torture, killings and disappearances of
activists continue, no citizen of this country is safe in the exercise
of his civil, political and human rights. It must stop. The government
must stop it and bring the guilty to justice.

SOURCE:http://lorenlegarda.com.ph

Loren Legarda: Regional Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation for the Asia

4urowneyesonly — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:56:39 +0000

Pacific Third Asian Ministerial Conference on
Disaster Risk Reduction “Now is the Time”
Thank you so much.
To Salvano Briceno, Director of UNISDR, who I had the pleasure to work
with during the two global meetings in Manila last October, and to the
capable and diligent staff of the secretariat, who for more than a
year now have helped me advance my advocacy to even higher levels, I
express my deepest thanks.
It is with profound gratitude and great humility that I accept this
appointment as Regional Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and
Climate Change Adaptation for the Asia-Pacific. I am truly honored. I
deeply appreciate this appointment.
This appointment inspires me to work harder and to do more – to
advocate on a regional level the issues close to my heart and of deep
concern for my country, the Philippines, one of the most
disaster-prone countries in the world.
Climate change is the defining issue of our time.
In the Philippines, the trend of rising temperature, rainfall
variability and sea level, associated with climate change, has been
observed and has matched global trends. One poverty assessment showed
that the El Nino occurrence in the country had raised poverty level to
28 per cent.Â Another study noted the dramatic rise in economic
losses and damages caused by disasters in recent years, which were
suffered most heavily by the rural areas where poverty is most
prevalent.
The scenario in our region — the Asia and the Pacific – is grim. We
will suffer stronger storms, more heavy rains, more flashfloods, and
more devastating droughts. Water will become scarce. Food supply will
be disrupted. Families and livelihoods will be displaced. Incidence of
vector-borne diseases will increase.
Our nations, our people, our poorest of the poor, are most vulnerable
to disasters in the world. According to the Center for Research on the
Epidemiology of Disasters, 90% of disaster events, 70% of the
casualties, and 65% of the economic losses have been climate and
water-related.
There is no more fitting time to say that reducing disaster risks is a
moral imperative, a social responsibility, than these times of growing
vulnerabilities and persistent poverty – these times when pain and
suffering caused by disasters overwhelm the lives of the weakest and
the poorest – these times when having less in life is to lose life.
There is no more urgent time to act – for the survival and future of
our people – than now.
Now is the time – to use our disaster risk reduction tools that are
available, ready and tested. Adapting to climate change begins with
reducing disaster risks, nothing is more basic.
Now is the time – to translate political commitments into more
concrete actions and measureable gains at national and local
government levels, for we are still far from achieving the goals of
the Hyogo Framework for Action. And, there is no more opportune time
to show political will, good governance, and exemplary leadership than
these trying times.
Now is the time – to change old mindsets and reform ineffective
policies so we can disaster-proof our development efforts and
mainstream disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation more
efficiently and more effectively into sustainable development agenda
and strategies at all levels.
Now is the time – to invest more in prevention and adaptation in order
to save not only human lives but also livelihoods and prospects for
development. Adaptation through disaster risk reduction is proven to
be cost-effective and to bring immediate benefits to our people. It is
important that disaster risk reduction is made an essential element of
all funding allocations.
Now is the time – to make known to each and every country of our
region the many good practices on reducing disaster risks and to share
lessons and solutions that work in our regional and local contexts.
Now is the time – to unite on these issues, transcending territorial
boundaries, political persuasions, and institutional affiliations.
Disaster risk reduction for climate change adaptation is undeniably
everybody’s business.
Now is the time.
And today, in this ministerial meeting, as great minds and persons of
power meet, as we confront the many pressing issues at hand, we can
express and show altogether our strong resolve in taking the bold step
forward – to accelerate the implementation of the HFA and to raise
awareness in all sectors and at all levels.
I have taken the bold step to advocate for disaster risk reduction and
climate change adaptation at higher levels, particularly among world
parliamentarians.Â The challenge at the legislative front is
clear: We need to legislate for a greater emphasis on disaster risk
reduction at national levels; we need to strike meaningful agreements
at the regional level.
Last October, Salvano Briceno and I convened in Manila the
consultative meeting for parliamentarians on linking disaster risk
reduction and climate change adaptation, where I had also the pleasure
of meeting dedicated parliamentarians from Cambodia and China. The
outcome of that meeting – a statement of consensus called the Manila
Call for Action – urges parliamentarians to work towards making the
HFA legally binding as well as establishing regional hubs of
parliamentarians to advance disaster risk reduction policy agenda.
It is heartening to know of the encouraging response of world
parliamentarians to the call.
In a few weeks since the Manila meeting, more parliamentarians from
different regions have hailed the Manila Call for Action and have
offered to champion the cause and to support the work of UNISDR. I was
informed that the Manila Call for Action will be discussed at the next
meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Sustainable Development
Committee in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in April 2009.
The World Bank Parliamentary Network that met in Paris about a week
ago built on the foundation laid by the Manila Call for Action which I
had the privilege to present.Â There I met with fellow
parliamentarians from Asia and was encouraged by the lawmaker from
Japan and the vice chair of the budget committee of the Indonesian
Parliament who called for increased investment in disaster risk
reduction.
Next week, I shall advocate the issue in Hanoi as I speak at the 9th
General Assembly of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population
and Development which will address climate change and food security.
It is indeed high time for unity on the issue – to develop common
approaches among Asian
legislators and political leaders for disaster risk reduction and
adaptation.
While the scenario for our future is grim, the road ahead is not
entirely dim. With courage of spirit and strength of will, with the
force of our unity, and with the guide of HFA, we can certainly make a
difference today and tomorrow.
I earnestly hope that the Ministers gathered here today will heed our
call and take concrete action to protect future generations from the
dreadful consequences of increasing disaster risks and a changing
global climate.
Thank you and Mabuhay.

SOURCE:http://lorenlegarda.com.ph

Worsening MM air pollution

4urowneyesonly — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:21:51 +0000

The worsening air pollution in Metro Manila – with the number of total
suspended particulates (TSPs) increasing to 138 micrograms per normal
cubic meter in 2008 – shows that not enough is being done to solve the
problem.
There must be a strict implementation of the Clean Air Act by the
government, a more massive effort to plant pollution-buffering trees
by the private and public sectors, as well as a conscious effort by
all people to fight pollution.
Pollution in general results to increased mortality rates due to
associated diseases like respiratory ailments in the case of high
TSPs, takes a toll on the economy on money spent to treat people and
on man-hours lost, while generally diminishing the quality of life in
affected communities.

SOURCE:http://lorenlegarda.com.ph

Loren hails Senate’s passage of Climate Change bill

4urowneyesonly — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:16:41 +0000

The Senate yesterday passed on third and final reading the proposed Climate Change Act of 2009 (Senate Bill 2583) authored and sponsored by Senator Loren Legarda.
Loren welcomed the Senate’s passage of the bill as a “step in the right direction” in mainstreaming into government’s policy formulation and development planning the various measures needed to help address the problem of climate change.
The bill highlights the synergistic action needed in dealing with the climate crisis and in reducing the risk of disasters associated with global climate change.
Under the proposed measures, a Climate Change Commission would be created to oversee the implementation of government policies that would be formulated to mitigate and adapt to the threats posed by climate change.
Climate change is blamed on global warming which, in turn, is partly due to the continuing increase in the global greenhouse gas emission by man. Climate change takes varied forms, including very strong typhoons, out-of-season rains and droughts.
Loren arrives today (June 2) from Bhutan where she spoke as the United Nations Regional Champion for Disaster Risaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in the Asia and the Pacific.
SB 2583 incorporates the amendments of Loren’s committee, as well as the individual amendments of Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Pia Cayetano.
The President heads the Climate Change Commission envisioned in the bill, with the secretaries of various
government agencies, the presidents of the leagues of cities, municipalities and barangay and the representatives from the academe, business sector, NGOs and civil society serving as ex-officio members.
The commission has the following tasks:
. Ensure the mainstreaming of climate change and disaster risk reduction into development plans and programs at all levels;
. Coordinate and synchronize climate change programs of national government agencies;
. Formulate a Framework Strategy and Program on Climate Change and exercise policy oversight to ensure that the goals set are attained; and
. Strengthen LGUs to effectively address climate change issues
The commission may also recommend legislation, policies, strategies, programs on and appropriations for climate change adaptation; review and recommend the approval of major development investments in climate-sensitive sectors; create an enabling environment for the design of relevant and appropriate risk-sharing and risk-transfer instruments; create an enabling environment for the promotion of linkages between and encourage broader multi-stakeholder participation in climate change mitigation and adaptation; and formulate strategies on greenhouse gas mitigation.
To aid the Commission in the discharge of its duties, a Climate Change Office shall serve as its secretariat which will be headed by an Executive Director.
The Framework Strategy and Program on Climate Change shall serve as the basis for planning, research and development, extension and monitoring of climate change activities, Loren said.

SOURCE:http://lorenlegarda.com.ph

Loren leads diplomatic corps in celebrating World Environment Day

4urowneyesonly — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:30:28 +0000

Senator Loren Legarda and members of the diplomatic corps braved inclement weather yesterday morning (June 4) in celebrating World Environment Day by planting trees at the Pook Kagitingan of the Rizal Park in Manila.
The tree-planting activity was led by Loren and members of the environmental group Luntiang Pilipinas (Green Philippines). Luntiang has so far planted over two million trees nationwide since its founding by the senator in 1998.
Neither the rains nor the cold wind stopped Loren from extending a warm welcome to the ambassadors and other embassy officials whom she praised for showing their respective countries′ concern for the environment.
“I can sense a common motivation in us, which is to protect the environment for all of humanity. I can also sense an urgent willingness to act,” said Loren.
She described this year′s theme of the World Environment Day – Your Planet needs you; Unite to Combat Climate Change – as “a tall order” for all the people of all nations.
“This year, the stage is set in Mexico for the worldwide effort of dealing with what Mexican President Felipe Calderon recognized as the most demanding challenge of the 21st century – climate change,” Loren said.
Among the diplomats who participated in Luntiang Pilipinas′ tree-planting activity were:
Ambassadors Therry Borja De Mozota (France), Malai Halimah Yussof (Brunei), In May (Cambodia), Liu Jianchao (China), Rajeet Mitter (India), Ali Mojtaba Rouzbehani (Iran), Choi Joong-Kyung (Korea), Leuane Sombounkhan (Lao), A. Selverajah (Singapore), Pieter Andries Vermeulen (South Africa), Luis Arias Romero (Spain), Francisco Cepede (East Timor), Mario Schuff (Argentina), Roderick Richard Campbell Smith (Australia), and Manuel Perez Iturbe (Venezuela); and
Embassy representatives Charon De Mares and Meghan Mercier (USA), Angela Ibay (UK), Shisehiro Matsuda (Japan), Mohammed Abdullah Adli (Malaysia), Sirimewan Dawulagala (Sri Lanka), Lavilin Nikolax Counbblour (Russia), and Jan Janda (Czech Republic).
While nations may not share beliefs or strategies in addressing climate change, Loren stressed that “common to our varying views, though, is that climate change ranks high in our priorities.”
She warned that climate change threatens the very life of the planet and humanity as a whole, citing the United Nations′ 2009 Global Assessment Report on “the grim realities that the international community has to deal with decisively and concertedly because lives of entire populations are at stake.”
Climate change, Loren pointed out, raises varied challenges, including the capacity of leaders to craft, legislate and implement laws related to the environmental phenomenon blamed for many natural disasters.
She proposed a two-pronged formula to address climate change, the first involving the creation of effective policies on climate change and their concerted implementation by all government agencies involved.
The second, added Loren, entails leaders of the world transcending boundaries and reaching out to one another to address climate change as one.
“It is therefore clear that the great question of the future will be whether or not different peoples from different nations are capable of uniting.”

SOURCE:http://lorenlegarda.com.ph

Loren cites private sector’s climate change initiative

4urowneyesonly — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:01:00 +0000

Senator Loren Legarda yesterday lauded the efforts of the private sector in helping the government address climate change-–induced problems that tend to worsen the lives of the poor.
“While traditionally, the government has the burden of uplifting its people out of poverty, our long experience with massive poverty has shown that components of the private sector are able and willing to contribute much-needed help,” Loren said in her message to the FCCCI.
She said the FCCCI is “one that stands out in the private sector.”
Loren led the tree planting activity held at the Chinese Garden in the Luneta Park, Manila which was attended by relatives and family members of those belonging to the FCCCI.
“I thank you all for being here today with me in our celebration of the World Environment Day. Today, I can see your eagerness and willingness to spare a portion of your very busy schedule in order to support this year’s World Environment Day,” she said.
This year’s theme for the World Environment Day is “Your Planet Needs You – Unite to Combat Climate Change.”
Loren also took the occasion to inform the FCCCI of the Philippines being one of the countries which have been actively participating in the movement for climate change awareness and action.
She said that the Climate Change Act bill which has been passed by the Senate would create a Climate Change Commission that would be the government’s policy–making body that will coordinate, monitor, and evaluate the programs and action plans relating to climate change. The bill was introduced by the Senate climate change committee headed by Senator Legarda.
In the international level, the Philippines is a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, among other international agreements on climate change, she added.
“But the government,” she said, “cannot take full credit for the milestones we have reached in our advocacy of the environment.”
“The private sector, including business and entrepreneurs, has been the government’s active partner in environmental protection,” she stressed.

SOURCE:http://lorenlegarda.com.ph