Day: March 1, 2024

MANILA: The Antique provincial government has allocated PHP14.79 million for its athletes to the Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association (WVRAA) meet that will be held in Negros Occidental on May 2 to 7.

Department of Education School Division of Antique chief of school governance and operations, Dr. Evelyn Remo, said in an interview Friday that the provincial government allocated an initial budget of PHP13,099,000.

Remo said they requested an additional PHP1.7 million during the recent provincial board meeting presided by Governor Rhodora Cadiao to cover the transportation expenses.

Around 400 athletes from elementary and secondary levels and 200 officials and members of the working committee will represent Antique at the WVRAA, she added.

In last year’s meet in Aklan, the province bagged 20 gold, 34 silver and 102 bronze medals.

The gold medals were from archery, kyurugi, taekwondo, pencak silat, billiards and basketball 3×3.

Gold medalists for individual sports received PHP5,000 each while silv
er and bronze medalists got PHP4,000 and PHP3,000 each, respectively.

For the group events, a gold was worth PHP15,000; silver, PHP10,000; and bronze, PHP8,000.

‘I hope that the support being given by the provincial government could serve as motivation for our athletes to excel in sports,’ Remo said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: On the first day of Women’s Month, a House leader on Friday said sustaining and improving higher education subsidies for college students can narrow the gender gap in employment.

Citing data from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Bohol 3rd District Rep. Kristine Alexie Tutor said the gender gap in wages is narrowest among women who are college graduates at 12 percent and for those with college education at 23 percent.

Tutor said in order to narrow the gender gaps, the government should sustain the Tertiary Education Subsidy for students in local colleges and universities and private colleges and universities, the Unified Student Financial Assistance System (UniFAST) education programs, and free college education in state universities and colleges.

“These higher education subsidies can keep more female college students in school to improve their employability and benefit households that are low-income, near-poor, and lower-middle-in
come,” the House Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation chairperson said in a statement.

She also pointed out that the hiring gap in the construction sector can be narrowed for women by increasing the number of positions available to them, particularly in technical, administrative, and support roles where physical strength should be “much less of a factor.’

She said the Department of Labor and Employment – Bureau of Working Conditions should look into how gender biases in the hiring and retention practices in the construction sector can be minimized.

“Workplaces in the construction sector should be safe spaces for women, as well as for the LGBTQIA+, to encourage gender diversity,” she said.

She also suggested that the Professional Regulation Commission and the different regulatory boards should spend the bulk of Gender and Development (GAD) funds on improving the numbers of women in every profession.

“There remains much room for improvement in the numbers of women among civil engineers, e
lectrical engineers, electronics engineers, master electricians, master plumbers, industrial engineers, sanitary engineers, and electronics technicians,” she said.

For the Commission on Higher Education and the state universities and colleges, she recommended spending their GAD funds on how to incentivize and encourage more women to enroll in engineering, legal education, public administration, and science programs.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: A magnitude 5.4 earthquake hit Surigao del Sur on Friday afternoon.

In a bulletin issued at 6:30 p.m., the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the tectonic quake struck 89 kilometers southeast of Cagwait at 5:28 p.m.

It was 16 km deep.

Intensity IV (moderately strong) was felt in Cagwait, and Intensity II (slightly felt) was reported in Bislig.

Phivolcs also logged the following instrumental intensities:

Intensity III (weak) – City of Tandag, Surigao del Sur

Intensity II – Nabunturan, Davao de Oro

Intensity I – San Francisco, Southern Leyte

Reported intensity is the traditional way of knowing the intensity based on reports of people who felt the earthquake. Instrumental intensity, on the other hand, is measured using an intensity meter that measures ground acceleration.

Meanwhile, Phivolcs said both aftershocks and damage are unlikely from the magnitude 5.4 quake.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: A total of PHP3.5 million worth of livelihood assistance in the form of materials, jigs, and equipment was released to 139 parents of profiled child laborers in the siomai capital village of Tisa here, a labor official said Friday.

Lilia Estillore, director of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 7 (Central Visayas), said the beneficiaries could now operate their livelihood projects after they received aid amounting to as much as PHP29,000 each.

The family beneficiaries could start their own businesses by selling various frozen food products, such as siomai, street food, puto, rice retailing, and buy-and-sell of ukay-ukay.

The local government of Tisa, being the DOLE-7’s accredited co-partner, will monitor the development and sustainability of the businesses of their constituents.

‘This initiative is in line with the DOLE’s advocacy of addressing the incidence of child labor in the country and the region in particular,’ Estillore said.

By providing parents or guardians of child laborers
with livelihood assistance, every child is assured of protection against child labor.

‘Through this program, we are hopeful that we can help provide and promote sustainable livelihood as a tool to combat child labor,’ she added.

Source: Philippines News Agency