Day: November 21, 2022

TORONTO- The First Filipino-Canadian Professionals’ Convention in Ontario was held on 27 October 2022 at the auditorium of the Improve Canada Mall, in Ontario.

 

The Convention was organized by the Philippine Consulate General in Ontario, in partnership with the Association of Filipino Canadian Accountants (AFCA); Association of Filipino Canadian Engineers (AFCE); Filipino Construction Professionals of Ontario (FilConPro); Integrated Filipino Canadian Nurses Association (IFCNA); Philippine Teachers Association of Canada (PTAC); United Architects of the Philippines (UAP), Ontario Canada Chapter; Society of Physiotherapists with Foreign Credentials (SPFC); The Filipino Canadian Dental Hygienists’ Society (FCDHS); Peace Officers Living in Canada Integrated Association (POLICIA); and Filipino Canadian Realtors Association (FILCREA).

 

With the theme “Integrating Filipino Professionals in Canada”, the Convention  intends to facilitate information dissemination and sharing of best practices on getting a license and to fully practice their respective professions in Canada.

 

Consul General Orontes V. Castro, Hon. Gino Rosati, Local and Regional Councillor, City of Vaughan; and Hon. Steven Del Duca, Mayor-elect, City of Vaughan gave welcome remarks during the opening program.

 

Among the Special Guests was Hon. David Smith, Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) and Parliamentary Assistant to the Ontario Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development. In his remarks, Hon. Smith highlighted the efforts of Ontario Province to have a clear path for accreditation for internationally-trained professionals, which included removal of the Canadian work experience requirement and reducing language testing requirements. He said that the Province will continue to work closely with the Philippines on the concerns of Filipino workers.

 

Hon. Charito A. Zamora, Chairperson, Professional Regulation Commission, gave a recorded message where she noted  that the Convention is in line with the thrust of the PRC to have the credentials of Filipino professionals be accredited in the global market. As such, she looks forward to the discussions and outcome of the Convention. Also present was Hon. J. Prospero de Vera III, Chairman, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) who noted that Canada has become a destination of choice for many Filipinos. As such, CHED, in line also with the instructions of President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr., is undertaking reforms on higher education to assist Filipinos working and living all over the world in the recognition of their educational credentials and qualifications.

 

The second part of the program was the breakout sessions of the different professional organizations to discuss issues and concerns on the accreditation of academic credentials and experience earned in the Philippines; and recommended forward actions. After the breakout sessions, the different groups reconvened for the plenary session during which the Presidents of the professional groups gave their reports.

 

The highlight of the Convention was the signing of a Resolution by the Presidents of the organization to continue coordination, especially in the implementation of the recommendations; and to hold the Convention on an annual basis to serve as a platform for discussion and policy formulation on the issues and concerns of Filipino professionals in Ontario.

 

Around 200 Filipino professionals, members of the Consular Corps of Toronto and students attended the event.

 

 

Source: Republic of Philippines Department Of Foreign Affairs

SHANGHAI– In observance of the upcoming 18-Day Campaign to End Violence against Women (VAW) the Philippine Consulate General organized and hosted a hybrid (online and in-person) event entitled “Forum on Chinese Law relating to VAW” on 12 November 2022.

 

Deputy Consul General Marlowe A. Miranda keynoted the event. Lawyers ZHANG Wenxian and XU Junjie of the Shanghai office of internationally renowned Beijing Yingke Law Firm served as guest resource persons.

 

Atty. ZHANG gave a presentation on VAW as addressed by the PRC’s Civil Code, Criminal Law, and the Law of the PRC on the Protection of the Rights of Women (1999, amended 2005).

 

She touched on legal definitions, relevant and relevant provisions of law on physical, sexual and domestic abuse, and notable cases. Crucially, she also explained mechanisms   for recourse to law and seeking financial compensation via civil litigation or “criminal incidental civil litigation”, application for a personal safety protection such as through restraining orders.

 

Recognizing the vulnerability of women migrants and the nexus between VAW and migration, Atty. XU delivered a presentation on China’s visa and immigration rules, and residence permit applications and renewal.

 

“In China as in the Philippines, there is a need to systematically address social and cultural norms that perpetuate VAW,” emphasized Deputy CG Miranda as he opened the event. Later, during the Open Forum, he assured the audience of the Consulate General’s readiness to extend assistance to Filipinos suffering from gender-based violence and seeking help, and to coordinate with local authorities as warranted.

 

The 18-Day Campaign takes place on 25 November to 12 December of every year, as mandated by Proclamation 1172 s. 2006 and Republic Act 10398.

 

Individuals seeking assistance from VAW and other forms of gender-based violence may dial hotline 021-962525; 110 for criminal act reporting/handling; 120 for injury or medical emergency; or 12345 (government services hotline)

 

The Consulate General, for its part, may be reached via its WeChat account (ID: PhinShanghai) or emergency hotline: (+86-21) 139-1747-7112.

 

Source: Republic of Philippines Department Of Foreign Affairs

SEOUL— Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan John E. Uy led the Philippine delegation to the First Asia Pacific Digital Ministerial Conference 2022 on 14 November 2022.

 

Co-hosted by the United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Information, Science and Technology (MIST), the Ministerial Conference agreed to strengthen cooperation in promoting connectivity and transformation towards a safe and inclusive digital society in the Asia-Pacific region. Aside from serving as the Philippine head of delegation, Secretary Uy was also nominated as the Vice-Chair of the First Asia Pacific Digital Ministerial Conference.

 

Emphasizing that no country should be lagging behind digital innovation, Secretary Uy underscored that the Philippine government under the Marcos administration recognizes that for the Philippines to fully and unconditionally benefit from digital transformation, access to its many opportunities and potential should be equally afforded to every Filipino citizen.

 

To this end, Secretary Uy announced that the Philippines is currently deploying digital connectivity across its various islands guided by the blueprint for the deployment of broadband connectivity across the nation. Aside from digital connectivity, the DICT also informed the body that it is working towards improving efficiency in the delivery of PH public services, focusing on the continuous digitalization and integration of government and business services online pursuant to the Ease of Doing Business Act of 2018. Secretary Uy likewise emphasized that the DICT is exploring ways to integrate and promote the adoption of new technologies, such as big data, Artificial Intelligence or AI, robotics, cloud computing, among others to improve national competitiveness.

 

ROK Minister Lee Jung-Ho also expressed the willingness of the Republic of Korea to share best policy practices for digital paradigm transformation that will propel the region to economic prosperity. Ambassador Theresa Dizon-De Vega was likewise present during the Ministerial meeting.

 

At the end of the Ministerial Conference, ESCAP member countries agreed to continue to work together harmoniously in achieving UN ESCAP’s goal of delivering quality digital services to the Asia-Pacific region.

 

Source: Republic of Philippines Department Of Foreign Affairs

GENEVA– The Philippines assured the international community of its continued contribution to multilateral efforts aimed at enhancing the capacity of countries to address future pandemics during the 1st Meeting of the Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (WGIHR) at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on 15 November 2022.

 

The Philippine delegation conveyed to other member states that the country is prepared to do its part in the historic task of amending the International Health Regulations (IHR) to make it more responsive to future pandemics and avoid a repeat of the tragic loss of lives resulting from COVID-19. The delegation also emphasized the need for an approach based on inclusivity and transparency as it welcomed the participation of relevant stakeholders to enrich the discussions of the working group.

 

The IHR is an instrument of international law that is legally-binding on 196 countries, including the Philippines. It was first adopted by WHO member states in 1969 and was last revised in 2005 following the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The IHR sets the rights and obligations of countries in relation to public health events.

 

The WGIHR composed of all member states of the WHO met for the first time on 14 and 15 November 2022 to agree on its timeline and method of work. The WGIHR is scheduled to meet five more times and aims to arrive at a consensus text of the IHR with targeted amendments by May 2024. The WGIHR will run parallel with the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) that aims to craft an international pandemic treaty also by May 2024.

 

 

Source: Republic of Philippines Department Of Foreign Affairs

Ms Chew Gek Kim, Deputy Chairman of Tan Chin Tuan Foundation

 

Mr Sebastian Tan, CEO and Director of D.S. Lee Foundation

 

Ms Paulin Koh, Chief Nursing Officer, Ministry of Health

 

Ms Samantha Ong, President of Singapore Nurses Association

 

Ms Lilian Yew, Chairperson of the award ceremony

 

Distinguished Guests

 

Award Recipients

 

Ladies and Gentlemen

 

It gives me great pleasure to be here at today’s ceremony to show our appreciation to all our award-receiving nurses. Congratulations to all recipients of this year’s Tan Chin Tuan Nursing Award for Enrolled Nurses.

 

2.    Today, about 16% of our nursing workforce are Enrolled Nurses. Enrolled nurses play a very critical role in our healthcare system, with varied and very heavy responsibilities. These include monitoring patients’ vital signs; providing dressing and hygiene assistance; and assisting with rehabilitation programmes. Some of you take on enhanced roles, such as administering medication and even subcutaneous insulin injections, venepuncture, intravenous cannulation, and performing complex wound dressings.

 

Enhancing manpower capacity

 

3.    I want to take this opportunity today to also provide an update on two issues close to the hearts of many of our nurses, including our Enrolled Nurses. Firstly, the crowded situation in our hospitals, especially the Emergency Departments (EDs), which has been a significant burden on our healthcare workers, especially our nurses, over the past year.

 

4.    I have explained in Parliament recently, the main public health responses to a pandemic crisis are (1) social restrictions; (2) vaccinations; and (3) the healthcare system, when all else fail. The COVID-19 pandemic is not over. However we are in a new phase of our fight against the virus. In this phase, wehave removed almost all Safe Management Measures (SMMs), adopted an endemic posture in the community, and life has largely reverted to pre-COVID-19 normalcy.

 

5.    At the same time, our vaccination coverage is very high, over 90% if you consider the basic first two shots of mRNA vaccine, or three shots of Sinovac vaccine. Whatever we administer today is to maintain our population resilience and strengthen it only at the margins, such as to infants and very young children, which means we are not going to make a huge difference in vaccination coverage and resilience of society against the virus.

 

6.    This means that the burden of endemicity and any new wave of COVID-19 will fall disproportionately on our healthcare system. Singaporeans are now able to resume normalcy in their daily lives because our healthcare workers are fully dedicated to taking on heavy caseloads, caring for patients, pulling long shifts, and rapidly adapting to the changing situations.

 

7.    But this pace of work in our hospitals is not sustainable either. It also affects the level of service to other business-as-usual (BAU) patients. The EDs are crowded, because in a pandemic, the supply of available hospital beds has become very tight, which has resulted in some patients at the EDs having to wait quite a long time for admission. We must therefore find ways to mitigate and resolve the problem.

 

8.    Fortunately, bed occupancies, ED attendances, and bed wait times have improved as the XBB wave has subsided. Hospitals have feedbacked to me that the number of non-urgent ED patients waiting for beds is now about half, compared to the peak of the XBB wave. Patients who require urgent care have always been admitted immediately. The median wait times at EDs have fallen from about 7 hours two weeks ago, to about 4 hours now. It has come down quite significantly.

 

9.    However, we are still working hard to further reduce bed occupancies by a couple of measures – first, is to expand Transitional Care Facilities (TCFs) and second is to remove the ringfencing of beds for COVID-19 patients.

 

10.    TCFs admit medically stable patients from public hospitals, while they wait for their transfers to intermediate and long-term care facilities or for their discharge plans to be finalised.

 

11.    A few days ago, I visited our latest TCF – Crawfurd Hospital – which opened earlier this month on 4 November. It has 43 beds for transitional patients, of which about 15 are now occupied. While it is not a big number, it has helped relieve the inpatient load for its partner public healthcare institution, namely Tan Tock Seng Hospital. At the same time, we are actively working with Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan Hospital to be a partner TCF in the north for Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

 

12.    Let me now talk about the second measure, which is the ringfencing of beds just for COVID-19 patients. Hospitals are progressively standing down ringfencing of COVID-19 beds. The concept of treating COVID-19 as an endemic disease should rightfully be extended to hospitals, as it is applied in the community. Hospitals have various precautionary and isolation measures for patients with infectious diseases, and there is no longer a need for separate premises and separate hospital wards just for COVID-19 patients, and holding them to a different standard. These practices of segregation and ringfencing are adding significant work burden to healthcare workers, and sub-optimises the use of hospital bed resources in our hospitals.

 

13.    The transition will be done progressively. All hospitals are working on it, and I hope that in time, their full impact will be felt in mitigating the crowded situation in our hospitals, especially in our EDs.

 

14.    In the meantime, we are constantly looking to lighten our nurses’ very heavy workload, by tackling the problem of manpower shortage. During the pandemic, the competition for nurses by different countries has been intense, and we lost many of our good and experienced foreign nurses to other countries.

 

15.    We will need to replace the nurses we lost, and further expand our nursing workforce by building up both local and foreign manpower pipelines. Over the past months, we have been working on various efforts. We expect to progressively bring on board close to 4,000 new nurses by the end of next year. This is a significant number, about 10% of our current nursing workforce, and if you compare to 2021, it is 700 more additional nurses. The increase is somewhat backloaded, starting from around the middle of next year. You will see the ramp-up in the middle of next year, and all the way to the end of next year, to an estimated additional 4,000 local and foreign nurses.

 

16.    Of this number, there will be a higher proportion of foreign to local nurses, a split of about 60:40, to make up for the slowdown in foreign nurse recruitment due to COVID-19 border restrictions over the past two years, so there is some catching up to do. Even whilst we ramp up foreign recruitment to bolster our nursing workforce, the large majority of our nursing workforce, let me assure everyone, will continue to be local and contributed through our nursing school intakes and mid-career training programmes.Many thanks to Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic, the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), as well as our NUS Nursing School and Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT).

 

The role of nurses in Healthier SG

 

17.    The second issue is a longer term one, and has to do with the future roles of Enrolled Nurses. With Singapore’s ageing population and transformation of the healthcare system brought about by the Healthier SG initiative, we are shifting the focus of healthcare from curative to preventive, from hospitals to the community. This means that the role of Enrolled Nurses will evolvefurther, with new opportunities in preventive and primary care.

 

18.    Enrolled Nurses can play a key role in supporting patients to improve and maintain their mental, physical, and behavioural health in the community. You can educate patients on their recommended health screenings and lifestyle adjustments prescribed within care protocols. These are changes currently under deliberation and discussion. We will engage you in our conversations, and look forward to your continued contribution in transforming our healthcare system.

 

19.    This also means that we need to enhance the skills of our Enrolled Nurses to better prepare you for future healthcare needs. Your responsibilities will expand to be more fulfilling and exciting. For new nurses, as announced by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and ITE in April last year, ITE is enhancing its curriculum structure to enable all students to attain a Higher Nitec qualification directly. This will equip ITE students with deeper industry-relevant skills for employment and provide a stronger foundation for their future skills upgrading.

 

20.    The Nitec in Nursing programme will also be reviewed as part of this wider shift. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is working with ITE, the Singapore Nursing Board and MOE to review the Enrolled Nurse training, along with enhancements to the Enrolled Nurses’ scope of practice.

 

21.    As for existing nurses, we will work with the hospitals, training providers and also the Union, to enhance training support for you. That way, you will have the skills and confidence to take up new and meaningful roles and responsibilities under Healthier SG.

 

Recognising the efforts of nurses

 

22.    Our nurses deserve recognition for the tireless effort they have put in for their patients. I thank the D.S. Lee Foundation and Tan Chin Tuan Foundation for supporting this Award for the past 16 years. The award is the pinnacle of recognition for Enrolled Nurses who have displayed excellence and dedication in patient care and contributed to raising the profile of the nursing profession.

 

23.    Beyond serving as a tangible recognition of the excellent work of our Enrolled Nurses, it reaffirms our regard and appreciation towards our nurses and the work that you do. It is important to do so in a pandemic, especially at this phase of the pandemic when our three levers are down to one, and it really depends on our healthcare workers and healthcare system to carry us through the pandemic. You are the one who have earned the rest of society our freedom and our ability to lead normal lives again.

 

24.    Today, we recognise 10 outstanding nurses from both public and private healthcare institutions, including those in the community care sector. They are truly passionate about their work, always seeking to improve their work, always learning for tomorrow, and making a difference in their patients’ lives. They are also representative of the larger contribution and sense of purpose of the Enrolled Nursing workforce.

 

25.    To all recipients, my heartiest congratulations to you. May your stories continue to inspire many others. I wish you all the best for your future endeavours. And to the Foundations that have supported this award, I know you are supporting many worthy philanthropic causes, but I want to assure you that this one means a lot to the Ministry and our healthcare workers. Thank you very much.

 

 

Source: Ministry of Health, Singapore

Concluding a six-day official visit to the Republic of Korea (ROK), a UN-appointed independent human rights expert urged the country to help reverse the international community’s failure to address the crisis in Myanmar by taking the regional lead in ending violence against civilians there.

 

“The Republic of Korea can play a vital leadership role in denying the Myanmar junta the means to continue holding 54 million people hostage while becoming a leader in providing humanitarian support to those in desperate need’’, said Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar,  in a statement on Monday.

 

‘Lead by example’

He urged the Government of South Korea to build on the positive steps it has taken, including publicly denouncing the coup, imposing an arms embargo, and issuing a moratorium on forced returns of Myanmar nationals back to their country.

“The ROK can lead by example to prevent Myanmar nationals from being forcibly returned to Myanmar from other countries”, said the Special Rapporteur, adding that given the brutal violence perpetrated by the junta, “no country should force anyone back to Myanmar”.

 

“The ROK has established an unambiguous policy that protects people from being forced back to Myanmar. It should be considered as a model for all countries in the region.”

 

People under siege

Mr. Andrews highlighted ROK’s unique position to positively impact the situation in Myanmar.

 

“Not only is the ROK a strong regional power with a vibrant economy and a member of ASEAN+3, but as I learned in my travels here, the people of the ROK can identify deeply with a people who are under siege and yet are also defiant and committed to undoing the shackles of a military dictatorship”, he said.

 

“Now it is time for the ROK to build upon the positive steps it has taken and transform its political support and empathy for Myanmar into even stronger action’’.

 

Stepping up support

The Special Rapporteur also made several suggestions, including that ROK “denounce the fraudulent elections” that the junta is planning for next year, impose economic sanctions on key economic targets associated with the junta, and expand upon its humane treatment of Myanmar nationals residing in the ROK while encouraging Myanmar’s neighbours to “do the same”.

 

While the humanitarian visa programme allows Myanmar nationals with valid visas in the ROK to legally extend their stay and have access to employment, he urged the Government to “deepen these efforts by ensuring that all persons from Myanmar residing in the ROK, including irregular migrants, can regularize their status, to avoid exploitation and abuse”.

 

Travels within

During his visit, Andrews met government officials, civil society and human rights representatives, major Korean business leaders with operations in Myanmar and ethnic groups in the country.

 

The independent expert travelled to the city of Gwangju, where he visited memorial sites of the May 18 Revolution and met with members of the Gwangju Myanmar solidarity movement.

 

Mr. Andrews, like all Special Rapporteurs, was appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or country situation. His position is honorary and he is not paid for his work.

 

 

 

Source: United Nations