www.nordis.nethttp://www.nordis.net/?p=21176
(Posted here is an article I wrote which was published by the Northern Dispatch Weekly. )
By ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
The on-going war that is destabilizing the oil-rich nation forced her
to get out of Libya. And her well paying job as a nurse for more than
one-year in a privately-owned hospital in the nation’s capital city of
Tripoli. With heavy heart, she chose to leave Tripoli and will, like
thousands of other licensed nurses, face the problem of joblessness or unemployment in the Philippines.
Regina Hombrebueno, in her mid-20s, is a nursing graduate from one of
the tertiary schools in Baguio City in 2010. Like other nurses who were
armed with their professional licenses, she applied for the Middle East
in a company job-fair sponsored by a placement agency in the Baguio
City hall in 2013.
She and the company agreed to a two-year contract but she believes
she was actually “tricked” to accept a one-year contract. As allegedly,
it was “rushed” by the company for her to leave the country and a plane
ticket was already acquired for her. Thinking of the absence of
employment for nurses here, she agreed to the one-year contract to begin
with and she even agreed to pay for her placement’ fee an amount of PhP
45,000, the equivalent of her one month salary abroad.
Fortunately, she landed as a nurse at Tripoli’s Al Fardus Clinic, a
part of a privately-owned hospital.It had a bed capacity for 100
patients. She was enjoying what she claimed was a satisfactory salary
and liberal privileges. She was with 29 Filipino health workers and one
Ukranian, they were housed in a dormitory where all were well provided
for, including transport service to and from the hospital.
Tripoli is populated by more than one million. It lies at the western
extremity of Libya near the Tunisian border of the African continent.
It is one of the leading centers of Libya’s economy where businesses
flourish like oil, in banking, communications, finance, and
manufacturing. It is also where the largest international airport of the
country is located.
Regine, as she is fondly called, was just more than a year in her job
at Al Fardus Clinic when violence heightened in the newly-established
government against the militias, which controlled most of Tripoli, and
the Islamist groups which controlled most of Benghazi.
“Because of the chaotic situation, the Philippine government declared
level 3 which means voluntary repatriation for Filipinos,” explained
Regine. But few decided to go home as they believed the violence can be
contained.
The situation abruptly turned to worst. A Filipina was reportedly
gang-raped in Tripoli. There were reports of foreigners robbed off their
hard earned salaries (particularly those working in state-owned
institutions who receive salaries after six months) when they go to the
banks to send their (salaries) home. Other criminal activities became
un-controlled in that period of conflict. And she, personally, shared
that the Libyan situation was better during the time of Pres. Moamar
Kadhafi, who was toppled three years ago.
The situation at that time made the Philippine government declare a level 4 for Filipinos, who were forced to leave Libya.
Regine related their experiences in that war: combatants bombed
Tripoli’s sources of water, oil mines, and food processing-institutions.
They felt the hunger, including the absence of social services due to
the destruction of various industries. Even their hospital lacked
oxygen, electricity, water, medical supplies.
In the early part of August, 27 Filipino workers from Al Fardus
Clinic were among the Filipinos who, unfortunately and forcedly left
Tripoli and traveled to Libya’s border with Tunisia. From August 8 when
they left under heightened war conditions, they reached Tunisia City on
August 12. They able to rest in a hotel and got to the airport in the
morning of the 20th where they caught the Philippine Airline plane home
on the 21st.
Regine was among the 103 Cordillerans who were able to get home from
the 307 Cordillerans working in Libya. She narrated that she was not
considered a memberof the OWWA and therefore did not receive the OFW
financial relief of P11,000. She lamented that she was registere for the
first year with OWWA but only failed to register her 2nd year which was
but a few months before she was evecuated from Libya to come home.
While she is happy being home alive, she sees a dim future for her as
a nurse. “The job opportunities for nurses here is very slim,” she
said. From the thousands of licensed Filipino nurses, they are either
jobless or into other jobs, like in the call centers where job security
is also a big problem.
Still, going abroad is an open option for her – the government’s declared Bagong Bayani. # nordis.net
Monday, October 20, 2014
Friday, October 10, 2014
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/92940/cop-mauled-after-questioning-presence-of-minor-in-bar-shoots-2-dead
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/92940/cop-mauled-after-questioning-presence-of-minor-in-bar-shoots-2-dead
Monday, September 15, 2014
Ifugao folk hit DOE's SN Aboitez contract without consent
Ifugao folk hit DOE's SN Aboitiz contract without consent
Villagers from the Ifugao towns of Lagawe and Lamut gather t form a unified position on the proposed 350 MW Alimit River dam project. Photo by Arthur L. Allad-iw
LAMUT, IFUGAO – Can a Department of Energy-approved hydro-power contract be valid without the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) of the affected indigenous communities?
This is one of the questions that representatives of the six villages of Lagawe and two villages of this town raised when they gathered in a forum that tackled the plan to build a hydro-electric power dam at Alimit River that traverses various towns of the province.
Recently, the DOE approved and signed the renewable energy service contract with SN Aboitiz Power Group (SNAP) for an integrated hydropower complex comprised of three facilities that will produce 350 megawatt (MW) of electricity.
The facilities are the 100-MW Alimit plant, the 240-MW pumped storage facility, and the 10-MW Olilicon plant where the facilities will be developed and called SNAP-Ifugao.
After various speakers discussed the energy situation in the country, the rights of indigenous peoples, and the FPIC processes as mandated by the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) law, the villagers raised their concerns that the issuance of the contract by DOE to SNAP failed to follow the IPRA-mandated processes to acquire the consent of the affected indigenous communities.
"The IPRA calls for free, prior and informed consent of the affected indigenous people that should be sought first," explained lawyer Kissack Gabaen, chairman of the Baguio chapter of the National Union of Peoples Lawyers, who spoke at the forum last week at the Lamut Training Center here.
An elder said in Ilocano that the DOE issued contract to SNAP is like putting the cart before the horse. "Kasano nga ada kontrata ket awan met pamalubos me (How can there be a contract when we did not give our consent)?" he asked.
The community said that they are confused, as, aside from the DOE issued contract, the SNAP also showed letters from the local government officials allegedly allowing the company to conduct preliminary activities, including surveys, in the area.
"I confronted the company workers on why they were proceeding with activities despite the absence of consultations," Lagawe’s Olilicon Barangay Captain Fernando Tuguing said in the forum.
Aside from Olilicon, the other barangays of Lagawe that are affected by the project include Tupaya, Dulala, Buyabuyan, Banga, and Apinuan. The Lamut barangays affected are Hapit and Dimpal.
Mayor Mariano Buyagawan clarified that he did not issue an order allowing the preliminary activities of SNAP. Unless the Sangguniang Bayan passes a resolution, he cannot issue an order related to the project, he stressed.
Also, Lagawe Mayor Ceasario Cabbigat urged the affected communities to be united on the issue, that they can come up with a collective decision in their favor.
As the participants of the affected barangays of Lagawe and Lamut learned more about the appropriate moves that must be observed before they can issue their consent, they decided to conduct an information drive about the project in all the affected barangays.
Elder Gregorio Umli, the head of the Ancestral Domain Council of Eastern Lagawe, an indigenous people’s organization of elders, supported the move for the information drive.
SNAP earlier said that SNAP-Ifugao is its first major project under its Greenfield Development Program, which aims to grow the company's renewable energy portfolio by looking at potential small and large hydro projects in the Philippines, primarily within host communities in northern Luzon.
It added that the original Certificate of Registration signed by DOE Secretary Jericho Petilla will be released upon the posting of the required performance bond. The contract term provides for 25 years from effective date on July 24, 2014, renewable for another 25 years.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
It’s ‘ice month’ in Benguet—so cold, it’s frosting
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet—In the highly elevated areas of the Cordillera region, the temperature is freezing at night ‘til early morning. As a consequence, frosts, locally called andap, are seen forming from the dew on the ground during night time and before sunrise. This andap will be experienced during the “ice months” of December, January and February.
Atok, Benguet is characterized by high mountains, where the highest point in the entire country’s highway system is at 2,255 meters or 7,400 feet. With its elevation characterized by cloudy and freezing temperature, there are areas of this town where ‘andap‘ or frost occurs. Weather experts claim that the freezing point, when andap usually occurs in higher areas is when the temperature drops below 10°C. As there is no barometer in various areas of the Cordillera, these experts claimed that these higher areas in the region may experience colder temperature lower by two to three degrees from that recorded by the PAGASA in Baguio City.
Despite its terrain, at least 6,000 hectares are utilized for vegetable farming from Atok town’s 21,499
hectares land area. Farming is the main livelihood of the locals in all the eight barangays of the town, according to Mayor Peter B. Alos. Like in Barangay Paoay of this town, various kinds of temperate vegetables are produced, which include cabbage, wongbook, potatoes, sweat peas, carrots, broccoli, among others. At freezing temperature, however, andap occurs in Sitio Englandad, Paoay. Though farmers had learned how to mitigate the effects of andap, it still poses as a problem for them during the “ice months.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)