DOLE7 releases fund assistance to Maria Goretti’s Sacada project
By Jennifer Catan-Tilos
DUMAGUETE CITY Feb 17 (PIA) The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) here has released the sum of more than P 360,000 on Monday to St. Maria Goretti Educational Foundation, Inc. as the first tranche for I-SERVE Sacada Project Fund Assistance.
Goretti Foundation President Msgr Merlin Logronio received personally the amount for livelihood assistance for the 41 migratory sugar workers of Barangay Candana-ay, Ayungon. The assistance includes capacity building for the beneficiaries to empower and equip them to manage its organization and projects.
In a turn-over activity, DOLE7 Division Chief of Technical Support Division Maria Nancy Abad explained that the fund intends to alleviate the economic condition of migratory sugar workers by providing livelihood assistance and emergency employment.
Under the I-SERVE Sacada project, the families of the sugar workers in Brgy Canadana-ay will be organized to prepare for micro-enterprise development and improve farm production which also include farm-to market road repair in the barangay.
For his part, regional director Elias Cayanong of DOLE expressed confidence for the project to lessen abuses and exploitation experienced by seasonal sugar workers.
Dir Cayanong said with the support of local government of Ayungon this project will improve the standard of living of the local farmers.
According to Sr. Labor & Employment Officer Efren Vito of DOLE-7 the project I-SERVE or Integrated Services for Migratory Sugar Workers is guided by the President Aquino’s social contract and the 22-point labor and employment agenda to ensure the protection of vulnerable workers through capacity building and livelihood. (PIA/JCT)
BIR OK's tax exemption of Negros Oriental coop
By: Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, Feb. 17 (PIA) --- The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has finally granted the longtime request for income tax exemption of one of the biggest and most successful credit cooperatives in the province.
BIR issued a ruling on Jan. 31 granting the Perpetual Help Community Cooperative, Inc. (PHCCI) here exemption from income taxation, making PHCCI the first credit cooperative in the province to enjoy a tax exemption.
PHCCI General Manager Michael Hojas explained that prior to the ruling, PHCCI's income deposited in various financial institutions were subject to a 20% interest tax.
Hojas said the coop has pegged its investment income from member deposits this year at around P8 million. “But now that we are exempted from tax, it may be even higher,” he said, adding that the exemption will translate to a higher interest on share capital which PHCCI gives to its members every February.
PHCCI Internal Auditor Ramil Repe said the cooperative, which has 32,000 members, started the tedious process of applying for tax exemption since the creation of RA 6938 or the Cooperative Code of the Philippines in 1990, but it was only after RA 9520 or the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008 was enacted that things started looking up. “The RA9520 is largely responsible why we were finally granted a tax exemption,” he said.
RA 9520 amended RA 6938 wherein registered cooperatives under the Code “which do not transact any business with non-members or the geenral publich shall not be subject to any government taxes and fees imposed under the Internal Revenue Laws and other tax laws.”
Dr. Profetiza Lim of the Provincial Cooperative Development Council (PCDC) said that they are very happy with PHCCI's tax exemption and urged other cooperatives to also follow PHCCI's footsteps and work towards income tax exemption. “We at PCDC are willing to help them out if they have any problems with their application,” said Lim. (RMN/PIA-7 Negros Oriental)
By Jennifer Catan-Tilos
DUMAGUETE CITY Feb 17 (PIA) The Department of Health (DOH) region 7 has alerted the provinces of Siquijor, Negros Oriental and Cebu over an increase in number of measles cases.
Expanded Program Immunization (EPI) & Child Care Coordinator Dr. Naida Bautista of DOH-7 disclosed that Siquijor province has recorded 29 cases of measles as of last year. In January to first week of February this year, at least four children in provinces of Cebu and Negros Oriental had been reported to have measles.
With the increase number of cases of measles has prompted the DoH to conduct mass vaccinations in the whole month of April to prevent further spread of the disease.
In Negros Oriental, some 253,000 children aged 9 months to 7 years old are targeted to be given anti-measles vaccination regardless whether there were immunizations or shots previously administered.
The health department will intensify its campaign dubbed as “Ligtas sa Tigdas ang Batang Pinoy" as supplemental immunization activity for a measles-free Philippines.
Dr. Bautista said targeted children within the risk bracket in the province will be visited by the health worker to their respective houses to ensure that no eligible child is missed during the immunization.
This door-to-door immunization health strategy, a vaccination team member will give a dosage of 0.5 ml. measles-rubella vaccines to a child on his left upper arm, likewise the house shall be marked appropriately.
"Ligtas sa Tigdas" aims to reduce the number or pool of children at risk of getting measles or being susceptible to measles that have built up since 2008 and to achieve at least 95% measles immunization coverage of all targeted children.
This campaign also aims to immunize children against measles-rubella particularly those children who were missed by the routine measles immunization and give booster doses to those who have already received measles immunization to reduce the pool of susceptible to the disease
The health official said a population requires that 95% of children be vaccinated in order to confer 'herd immunity' to people in the general population who have not been vaccinated.
Measles is a contagious disease from the onset of infection up to 4 days after the appearance of the rashes caused by a virus found in discharges from a patient's nose and throat which is common among very young children.
The symptoms of this kind of disease include cold, cough, fever, eyes red & watery, sensitive to light, rash covers the face and spreads all over the body and as the rash goes away, skin often begins to peel. If no measles vaccination and not treated immediately, complications will occur like convulsion, pneumonia, dehydration and even death. (PIAJCT)