Day: April 23, 2024

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. does not see any reason to replace Vice President Sara Duterte as Education Secretary amid her reported rift with First Lady Liza Marcos.

In an interview in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro on Tuesday, Marcos said Cabinet members will be replaced based solely on their performance.

‘Any of the Cabinet secretaries will be replaced kapag hindi nila ginagawa yung trabaho nila (if they don’t do their jobs properly). All the other things are not part of the discussion,’ Marcos told reporters.

‘Kapag hindi na kaya, nagkasakit, sabihin mo lang, papalitan ka namin. Kapag hindi talaga marunong o kurap, tatanggalin ka talaga namin. Hindi naman ganun si Inday (When you can’t do it anymore, if you’re sick, just tell us and we’ll replace you. If you really can’t do the job or you’re corrupt, we will definitely fire you. Inday is not like that),’ he added.

The President said this in response to calls for Duterte’s resignation from the Cabinet following the First Lady’s recent admiss
ion that she was no longer on good terms with Duterte after the latter attended a rally in Davao City where the chief executive was heavily criticized.

Marcos said the First Lady was just being protective of him but he assured the public that his relationship with Duterte will not be affected by the issue.

‘My first reaction is what a lucky husband I am that I have a wife na very protective sa akin (that is very protective of me). Kapag may nakitang hindi magandang sinabi tungkol sa akin (when she heard other people speak ill of me), she gets very upset. We cannot blame her,’ Marcos said.

‘It will not affect our working relationship with the Vice President (and) Secretary of Education. I think that she also understands, as a wife, how the First Lady feels when you have to sit there and listen to these attacks that are being made against your husband,’ he added.

Nonetheless, Marcos said he will speak with Duterte about the issue.

‘Mag-uusap kami ni VP Sara tungkol diyan. ‘Wag lang masyadong dibdibin dahil
hindi naman siya yung nagsabi dun sa kung anu-anong (kritisismo at paratang). Kaya madali naman sigurong plantsahin lahat ng naging issue (The Vice President and I will talk about his. Just don’t take to heart because she wasn’t the one who say those criticisms. I think we can iron out all those issues),’ he said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday said two Chinese nationals recently arrested in Cebu province and Parañaque City are now awaiting deportation.

Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified them as Zhu Yuanjiang, 25; and Ma MIngjie, 51, who were arrested last week in separate operations of the BI’s fugitive search unit (FSU).

Both are now detained at the BI detention facility at Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City while awaiting deportation.

Zhu was arrested on April 17 in Barangay Umapad, Mandaue City after the BI board of commissioners issued a warrant of deportation against him last year.

He was ordered deported for overstaying and for working in the country without proper permits.

Investigation showed that Zhu previously worked in Xinchuang Network Technology Inc., an online gaming hub in Pasay City that was raided by authorities in June last year for alleged engagement in various criminal activities such as human trafficking and cyber fraud.

Meanwhile, Ma was nabbed on April 19 at his residen
ce in a subdivision in Parañaque City. He is wanted by Chinese authorities for contract fraud.

Ma has a warrant of arrest from the Jiangbei district sub-bureau of the Public Security Bureau in Chongqing, China issued on Dec. 6, 2017.

Chinese authorities alleged that Ma and his cohorts deliberately tampered with bank accounts and account names of a point of sale machine merchant which resulted in the unauthorized transfer of over 58 million yuan (more than USD8 million) from China Minsheng Banking Corporation to his altered bank account.

Human trafficking foiled

Meanwhile, the BI’s immigration protection and border enforcement section (I-PROBES) intercepted a 29-year-old male trafficking victim on Monday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 after attempting to depart for Thailand to work illegally.

It reported that the man initially claimed to be traveling alone as a tourist for a short vacation in Thailand.

He presented a Cebu Pacific round-trip ticket and showed identification ca
rds, claiming that he is employed in a manpower agency in the Philippines.

However, the primary inspection officer noted inconsistencies in his statement and referred him for secondary inspection.

Verification showed that he presented a fake return ticket, which prompted him to admit that he has no plans of returning and will instead proceed to Chiang Rai, Thailand to illegally work in an online gaming company.

He added that he was contacted through Telegram by a female recruiter, who enticed him to depart under such circumstances.

The victim admitted that he paid PHP30,000 and was promised a job with a monthly salary of USD1,200 (around PHP69,000).

I-PROBES Chief Bienvenido Castillo III said this incident might be another case of ‘catphishing’, where victims are promised work in online gaming companies but end up as online scammers.

He said one common modus they have noted is that victims are made to pretend to be working locally for the manpower agencies that recruited them.

Source: Philippines News
Agency

MANILA: The International Labor Organization (ILO) on Tuesday cautioned workers against the effects of intense heat in the workplace on their mental health.

In a statement, it said aside from the threat of heat stroke and heat stress, sweltering heat index levels may trigger “stress, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), and suicide”.

“Indeed, experiences from a number of regions across the world, including the Philippines, demonstrate how extreme climate events are linked with an increased burden of PTSD, depression, anxiety, stress, and suicide in people of all ages,” it added.

The ILO also noted that the extreme heat felt by the employees could cause tension among them.

“In the workplace, this can lead to increased job tension, higher turnover intentions, workplace hostility, and stress about extreme weather, which could impede the ability to make essential work-related decisions,” it said.

The ILO issued the advisory amid the extreme heat being felt in different
parts of the globe amid the El Niño phenomenon.

It estimates that more than half of the 3.4 billion global workforce or 2.4 billion workers are possibly exposed to excessive heat at some point while at work.

Earlier, the Department of Labor and Employment advised employers to come up with policies that will help lessen the adverse effects of hot weather in their workplaces.

Among them are the provision of adequate ventilation and heat insulation in workplaces, adjusting rest breaks or work locations, and the use of temperature-appropriate uniforms and personal protective equipment.

Consider PDL conditions

Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines – Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (CBCP-ECPPC) urged the government to do more in decongesting prison facilities as extreme heat takes a toll on the health of persons deprived of liberty.

‘While we appreciate the efforts of the current administration in alleviating their plight, we believe that the best and long-lasting solution
to this problem is to work towards decongesting the jails and prisons through the immediate and proper implementation of the laws on bail and release on recognizance, the pretrial release program, as well as the recent Supreme Court decision on extending the good conduct time allowance privilege even to those who have committed heinous crimes,’ ECPPC chairperson Bishop Oscar Jaime Florencio said in a statement.

Florencio, meanwhile, said volunteers from the prison service units of Catholic dioceses across the country have been extending assistance to jail facilities by providing basic needs such as electric and exhaust fans in some jails.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration reported that a high heat index of 42 °C to 46 °C is expected in 24 areas in the country on Tuesday.

Source: Philippines News Agency