House to pass a bill allowing non-governmental groups to participate in public hearings

The House of Representatives is set to approve on second reading a bill assuring the participation of civil society or private groups in congressional public hearings and local government units' (LGUs) budget deliberations upon resumption of sessions in January 2012.

House Bill 3773 shall be known as "An Act institutionalizing the participation of Bona Fide People's Organizations (CSOs) in budget hearings and deliberations in Congress, in National Government Agencies (NGAs), and Local Government Units (LGUs)."

Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III, principal author of the bill, said the proposed law would allow the exercise of the people's right to participate in public decision-making and in the process, enhance accountability on the use of taxpayers' money.

"This will institutionalize people's participation in budget deliberation in national and local levels of government," Tañada said.

Key provisions of the bill mandate that the application for accreditation shall be filed at the Office of the Secretary of the Senate or the Secretary General of the House of Representatives or the Local Sanggunian of Local Government Units.

It authorizes the Secretaries of both chambers of Congress and the respective local sanggunians to cancel the certificate of accreditation of any people's organization (PO) and non-government organization (NGO) which have been found guilty of having procured their certificates by fraud or deceit or through error.

Among the privileges granted to PO and NGO are the right to receive notices of hearings and consultations and/or call for written submissions; participate through duly authorized representatives in regular and consultative meetings or hearings concerning annual budget deliberations; submit its own alternative or position paper and alternative sources of financing on the projects, programs and activities; and present position papers or written proposals.

Likewise, they will be given access to copies of bills or budget proposals from the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the local Sanggunian.

Furthermore, the measure directs Congress and LGUs to post on the World Wide Web and on their local bulletin boards pertinent documents of the proposed budget, as enumerated in the measure.

The bill imposes a jail term of three months and a fine of not more than P50,000 to violators.

The co-authors of the bill are Reps. Cresente Paez (Partylist, COOP NATCCO) Benjamin Asilo (1st District, Manila), Cinchona Gonzales (Partylist, CIBAC), Raymond Democrito Mendoza (Partylist, TUCP), Edwin Olivares (1st District, Parañaque), Christopher Co (Partylist, AKO BICOL), Mark Aeron Sambar (Partylist, PBA) and Arnel Ty (Partylist, LPGMA). - Dionisio P. Tubianosa, MRS-PRIB

House approves proposed Sustainable Forest Management Act

The House of Representatives has approved on second reading a measure providing for the protection, rehabilitation and sustainable management of the country’s forests.

House Bill 5485, to be known as the Sustainable Forest Management Act of 2011, seeks to provide policy direction in the formulation of strategies and programs for the protection and sustainable management of forest lands to enhance forest ecosystems services.

"The use of our natural resources requires a balancing act between present and future consumption, especially amidst scarcity and depletion," Rep. Susan Yap (2nd District, Tarlac), a co-author of the bill, said. "The government must be mindful of the needs of future generations and must therefore practice conservation to ensure long-term sustainability."

Yap said the measure shall adopt the Sustainable Forest Ecosystems Management (SFEM) strategy as the overarching policy framework for all plans and programs in the forestry sector.

The bill prohibits the harvest of timber without authority, use of illegally cut timber in government projects, damage to residual trees during harvesting, grazing of livestock on forestlands, unlawful occupation of forestlands, illegal conversion of municipal parks, communal forests and tree parks, falsification of reports, inventory scaling and forest survey, unlawful operation of sawmills, unlawful possession of devices used by forest officers, unauthorized introduction of logging tools and equipment inside forestlands, and non-payment/non remittance of forest charges.

The bill also identifies the river basins and component watersheds as basic planning units in forest resource management and recognizes the administrative jurisdiction of the Local Government Unit (LGU) and owners of the ancestral domain as the basic management unit in forestry.

It likewise prioritizes the protection and rehabilitation of forest ecosystems; identifies as priority objectives the regeneration and/or restoration of natural forests through tree planting of indigenous species to expand forest cover; and underscores good governance as a necessary condition for effective, efficient, and sustainable forest ecosystems management, development and conservation.

Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro City), also an author of the bill, said the bill seeks "to restore our forests to its old grandeur and richness by implementing a plan for sustainable forest management."

According to Rodriguez, "as of year 2000, the leading cause of forest disturbance is illegal cutting, with a total of 4,920 hectares of land destroyed, the highest incidence since the 1990s."

"There were two major causes in the decline of stocks of forest resources during the period 1988 to 1994. The country lost resources worth P48.6 billion to harvesting and other logging activities, while the conversion of forestland to non-forest use accounted for P20.4 billion in losses," Rodriguez said.

"Also contributing to the decline in stocks were forest fires, accounting for P439.7 million, and the natural death of trees (stand mortality) which accounted for P5.9 billion. Demand for agricultural land is also one of the main reasons that forests continue to be erased at the rate of 13 million hectares a year. By 2005, forests were-estimated at 47% of the total land, from 51% in 1990. From 1990 until 2000, the rate of deforestation of the Philippines is 1.4%. The Philippines is the highest among the Southeast Asian Nations together with Myanmar with the same rate," Rodriguez added.

House Bill 5485 is a substitute of House Bills 45, 84, 487, 845, 2176, 3103, 3146, 3249, 3462, 3485, 3596, 3602, and 3638 of Rodriguez, Yap and Reps. Maximo Rodriguez, Jr. (Party-list, Abante Mindanao), Juan Edgardo Angara (Lone District, Aurora), Angelo Palmones (Party List, AGHAM), Danilo Ramon Fernandez (1st District, Laguna), Erico Aumentado (2ndDistrict, Bohol), Iggy Arroyo (5th District, Negros Occidental), Jesus Celeste (1st District, Pangasinan), Teddy Brawner-Baguilat Jr.(Lone District, Ifugao), Mel Senen Sarmiento (1st District, Eastern Samar), Diosdado Arroyo (2nd District, Camarines Sur), Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2nd District, Pampanga) and Arthur Defensor Jr. (3rd District, Iloilo).

Additional authors are Reps. Ma. Amelita A. Calimbas-Villarosa (Lone District, Occidental Mindoro), Marcelino Teodoro (1st District, Marikina City), Eduardo Gullas (1st District, Cebu), Ben Evardone (Lone District, Samar), Antonio Kho (2nd District, Masbate), Irvin Alcala (2nd District Quezon), Francisco Emmanuel Ortega III (Party-list, ABONO), Cesar Sarmiento (Lone District, Catanduanes), Christopher Co (Party-list, AKO BICOL), Daryl Grace Abayon (Party-list, AANGAT TAYO), Rodel Batocabe (Party-list, AKO BICOL), Alfredo Garbin Jr. (Party-list, AKO BICOL), Raymond Democrito Mendoza (Party-list, TUCP), Victor Yu (1st District, Zamboanga del Sur), Edgar San Luis (4th District, Laguna), Kaka Bag-ao (Party-list, Akbayan), Jim Hataman-Salliman (Lone District, Basilan), Bernardo Vergara (Lone District, Baguio City), Teddy Casiño (Party-list, Bayan Muna), Maximo Dalog (Lone District, Mountain Province), Francisco Matugas (1st District, Surigao del Norte), Deogracias Ramos Jr. (2nd District, Sorosogon), Peter “Sr. Pedro” Unabia (1st District, Misamis Oriental), Fernando Gonzales (3rd District, Albay), Joel Roy Duavit (1st District, Rizal), Nancy Catamco (2nd District, North Cotabato), Henedina Abad (Lone District, Batanes), Isidro Ungab (3rd District, Davao City), Ma. Jocelyn Bernos (Lone District, Abra), Napoleon Dy (3rd District, Isabela), Florencio Miraflores (Lone District, Aklan), Jesus Sacdalan (1st District, North Cotabato), Rodolfo Valencia (1st District, Oriental Mindoro), Jeci Lapus (3rd District, Tarlac), Bai Sandra Sema (1st District, Maguindanao and Cotabato City), Mylene Garcia-Albano (2nd District, Davao City), Elpidio Barzaga, Jr. (Lone District, Dasmariñas City), Sonny Collantes (3rd District, Batangas), Paolo Javier (Lone District, Antique), Elmer Panotes (2nd District, Camarines Norte), Antonio Del Rosario (1st District, Capiz), Eleanor Bulut-Begtang (Lone District, Apayao), Jesus Emmanuel Paras (1st District, Bukidnon), Herminia Roman (1st District, Bataan), Philip Pichay (1st District, Surigao del Sur), Joseph Emilio Abaya (1st District, Cavite) and Hermilando Mandanas (2nd District, Batangas). - Jazmin S. Camero, MRS-PRIB

Labor subject to be integrated into college curriculum

The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill integrating a labor education subject into the college curriculum.

Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara (Lone District, Aurora), Chairman of the House Committee on Higher Education, said the education of college students on labor issues will give them knowledge of the labor situation in the country given the current employment problem.

"As they will eventually become a member of the labor force, they should be aware of their rights and privileges as workers as well as their responsibilities to society," Angara said.

To be known as the Labor Education Act of 2011, House Bill 4210 authored principally by Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza (Party-list, TUCP) mandates the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to integrate labor education into the social science subjects being taught in the general education curriculum in the tertiary level of education.

"It is imperative that college students who will eventually join the labor force as workers and employees have knowledge about labor rights, worker's welfare and benefits, core labor standards, labor laws and regulations," Mendoza said.

Mendoza said other topics including the national and global labor situation, labor market concerns, labor issues, overseas work and related problems will also become part of the subject that will be taught in college.

Mendoza said the Philippines have a college student population with a total of 2,619,795 students as of Academic Year 2008-2009.

Mendoza said the number of students enrolled in private universities and colleges are more than 1.6 million, while more than 820,000 are from state universities and colleges. Local universities and colleges have 96,000 while the rest come from other government higher education institutions.

Meanwhile, Rafael Mapalo, spokesperson of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), said their group fully supports the bill since it will be of great help to the labor sector. - Fidel C. Gumawid, MRS-PRIB

Cultural communities will be given a seat in policy-making bodies

Representatives of indigenous cultural communities will now be given a seat in policy-making bodies or local legislative councils all across the country.

Rep. Nancy Catamco (2nd District, North Cotabato), one of the main authors of House Resolution 916, lauded Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo for issuing a memorandum circular mandating the right to representation of indigenous cultural communities or indigenous peoples (ICC/IPs) in policy-making bodies and other local legislative councils.

The House of Representative has adopted HR 916 as House Resolution 1373 on June 7, 2011. The measure was submitted for approval by the House Committee on National Cultural Communities headed by Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat Jr. (Lone District, Ifugao).

DILG Secretary Robredo issued on October 20, 2010 Memorandum Circular MC2010-119 entitled "Mandatory Representation of Indigenous Cultural Communities or Indigenous Peoples in Policy-Making Bodies and Other Local Legislative Councils."

Catamco said the circular directs all local chief executives to strictly observe the ICC/IP mandatory representation in the local Sanggunian. Robredo also directed all DILG Regional Directors and the ARMM Regional Governor to disseminate the circular and provide technical assistance to LGUs, if necessary.

"The DILG Secretary's directive is highly praiseworthy and is in congruence with State advocacy and the policy of recognizing, protecting and promoting the rights and welfare of ICCs and IPs throughout the country," Catamco said.

Catamco said the State recognizes and promotes the rights of indigenous cultural communities under the constitution.

"One of these rights is to participate in policy and decision-making, for which reason Republic Act 8371, or the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997, was enacted," Catamco said.

"If ICCs and IPs may participate fully at all levels of decision-making on matters which may affect their rights, lives and destinies through procedures, they themselves have determined, as well as maintain and develop their own indigenous political structures," Catamco said.

Catamco said although the processes for the qualification and selection of ICC/IP representatives in local legislative bodies have already been provided for in the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2009, there is still minimal compliance on the part of local government legislative bodies.

"There is still inadequate representation of indigenous cultural communities in policy-making bodies in LGUs, to which they belong," Catamco said.

The co-authors of the measure are Reps. Mylene J. Garcia-Albano (2nd District, Davao City), Eric G. Singson Jr. (2nd District, Ilocos Sur), Dakila Carlo E. Cua (Lone District, Quirino), Ma. Carmen Zamora-Apsay (1st District, Compostela Valley);

Reps. Reynaldo V. Umali (2nd District, Oriental Mindoro), Bernardo M. Vergara (Lone District, Baguio City), Teddy A. Casiño (Party-list Bayan Muna), Arlene J. Bag-Ao (Party-list Akbayan), Eleandro Jesus F. Madrona (Lone District, Romblon), Walden F. Bello (Party-list Akbayan), Angelo B. Palmones (Party-list Agham);

Reps. Victorino Dennis M. Socrates (2nd District, Palawan), Randolph S. Ting (3rd District, Cagayan), Eleanor C. Bulut-Begtang (Lone District, Apayao), Maximo B. Dalog (Lone District, Mt. Province), Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza (Party-list TUCP), Jesus N. Sacdalan (1st District, North Cotabato) and Pedro Acharon 1st District, South Cotabato). - Melissa M. Reyes, MRS-PRIB

Include labor education in college curriculum - TUCP Partylist

The TUCP Party-list is batting for the inclusion of labor education in the curriculum for tertiary education to increase the awareness of college students on labor laws, labor rights and privileges and other related concerns.

TUCP Party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza introduced House Bill 3205, also known as "Labor Education Act of 2010," to prepare the college students for their eventual entry into the labor force.

"It is imperative for college students who will eventually join the labor force as workers and employees to have knowledge about labor rights, worker's welfare and benefits, core labor standards, labor laws and regulations, the national and global labor situation, labor market concerns, labor issues, overseas work and related concerns," Mendoza said.

Mendoza sought the immediate approval of the bill saying "it is the policy of the State to protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare."

"CHED should develop a course on labor education to be integrated in the tertiary education curriculum. The college students should be well informed of their labor rights, workers welfare and benefits," Mendoza said.

The course on labor education that will be separately offered together with existing subjects in the college curricula shall increase the awareness of the graduates and instill labor awareness, Mendoza stressed.

"The integration of labor education in the tertiary education system shall not only increase labor laws and related concern awareness but also the citizens' responsibility to the society," Mendoza added. - Jazmin S. Camero, MRS-PRIB

Employees' protection in merger or consolidation of businesses sought

Employees who will be affected by mergers, consolidations and acquisition of businesses need not worry about losing their jobs if a bill filed in Congress is approved.

TUCP Party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza authored House Bill No. 1557, which seeks to protect the rights of the employees to security of tenure and other terms and conditions of employment in the event of mergers, consolidations and acquisitions.

Mendoza said because of globalization and the need to become bigger and better, competition among businesses has become tremendously intense.

"Mergers, consolidations and acquisitions, including the sale or transfer of all substantial assets, business enterprise have become very rampant," Mendoza said.

Employers use these devises and schemes to obtain competitiveness in the business, according to Mendoza. However, some employers utilize the same corporate mechanism to violate the rights of their employees to security of tenure, among others, he lamented.

To prevent such unscrupulous practices and to safeguard the employees concerned, the proposed measure directs the acquiring or transferee employer to continue the employment of the transferor employer's employees without loss of seniority rights and privileges.

Furthermore, it mandates that such merger, consolidation or transfer of business should not diminish the wages, benefits and other terms and conditions of employment of the affected employees.

In case of differences in the employment levels, wage and benefit scales and other employment terms or conditions, the superior or most favorable to the employees shall prevail. - Jennifer Arteche-Valenton, MRS-PRIB