DFA: 75 PINOYS IN CHILE SAFE
MANILA, MARCH 3, 2010
(STAR) By Pia Lee Brago - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
reported yesterday that Filipinos in Chile are safe after an 8.8 magnitude
earthquake hit the country on Saturday.
Philippine Ambassador to Chile Consuelo Puyat-Reyes said except for an ankle injury sustained by the husband of a Philippine embassy staff member, no Filipino was injured.
“There are 75 Filipinos in Chile, mostly priests, nuns, engineers, businessmen and spouses of Chilean nationals. There are no Filipino workers deployed in the country,” she said. There are seven officers and staff members in the embassy, including the ambassador.
Puyat-Reyes said that Chile is still feeling some aftershocks. There is little flooding due to the tsunami, while electricity, water and communications facilities are still down in the capital city of Santiago, where the embassy is located.
On Saturday, the DFA was able to contact by phone Minister Narciso Castañeda, who initially reported that the members of the embassy staff were safe.
The main quake in Chile lasted about 15 seconds, causing much damage to interiors of apartments and toppling household fixtures and other items. Smaller aftershocks were immediately felt after the main tremor hit.
Emergency services of the Chilean government have gone into full gear to attend to those affected and to restore basic services.
Meanwhile, the Philippine embassy in Argentina reported that the quake in Chile was also felt in Buenos Aires and in other Argentinean provinces, especially those along the border with Chile.
Philippine Ambassador to Argentina Rey Carandang said no victims or damage to structures had so far been reported, despite the strong aftershocks which continue to be felt.
“The only recorded Filipinos in the provinces near the Chilean border are in Mendoza, notably four Society of the Divine Word priests and a Filipina married to an Argentinean national. We have spoken to Fr. Rupert Solis who assured us that he and his companions are all right. He was particularly appreciative of our phone call. The Filipina married to an Argentinean is on holiday in the Philippines with her husband and children, according to her in-laws,” Carandang said.
He added that the embassy advised the Filipino community through its coordinator and email network to take the necessary precautions and communicate with the embassy should further emergency situations arise.
Most Filipinos in Argentina are concentrated in the capital city of Buenos Aires.
Filipinos in Hawaii also took precautions following a tsunami warning.
Earlier, the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu reported to the DFA that Consul General Leoncio Cardenas coordinated with state authorities and the leaders of the Filipino community in ensuring that their members have evacuated to high ground in anticipation of tsunami waves triggered by the Chile quakes.
Consul Paul Cortez said a number of consulate personnel and their families evacuated to the consulate premises, which are further inland and on high ground.
Hawaii state officials later rescinded the advisory after the tsunami waves turned out to be not immediately threatening to lives and properties.
P75 across-the-board wage hike sought in Metro Manila By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) Updated March 02, 2010 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) yesterday filed a petition at the National Capital Region (NCR) wage board for a P75 across-the-board wage increase for workers in Metro Manila.
The petition, filed by TUCP party-list Rep. Raymond Mendoza before the NCR Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, seeks to increase by P75 the current P382 minimum wage of workers in the metropolis, which he said was last increased in June 2008.
He said the TUCP has also sought the integration of the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) into the basic wage.
“Wage increase for private sector employees in the NCR is urgent in the midst of skyrocketing prices of basic goods and services,” Mendoza said.
“Power and water utilities and oil firms are also planning to increase their charges and that would further erode the purchasing power of a worker’s salary,” he added.
The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) previously said that incomes must rise faster than inflation to hold poverty in check, Mendoza said.
He said consumer prices in Metro Manila rose by five percent from June 2008 to January 2010, and are expected to increase by nine percent from January to December 2010.
“If wages would remain stagnant, then more workers will slide into poverty and those who are in the middle class will become the newly poor,” Mendoza stressed.
“According to the Monetary Board and the NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority), the country was not as badly hit by the international financial crisis,” the congressman noted.
He said latest NSCB statistics showed that 2009 GDP (gross domestic product) still grew by 1.8 percent while GNP (gross national product) rose by three percent.
“Although 2009 figures are lower than previous years, the Philippine economy showed resiliency in the face of economic turmoil,” Mendoza said.
“The economists of NEDA are saying that the global recession has ended. I believe that the economy can afford a new round of wage hikes and I appeal to our private sector partners to be more considerate this time,” Mendoza said.
“Regional figures support the P75 increase appeal of TUCP. NCR Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) in constant prices increased from P221 million in 1991 to P468 million in 2008, averaging an amazing yearly 6.6 percent growth,” Mendoza said, adding that workers have largely contributed to the growth of the regional economy and therefore deserve to have a modest share of the fruits of economic development.
Of the P75 minimum wage increase, P19 reflects the actual increase in prices from June 2008 to January 2010, P35 reflects the projected rise in consumer price index (CPI) from January to December 2010, and P21 indicates the 21 years that there have been no increases in the real wage. TUCP calls this “equity supplement” to workers who have created new wealth but have not shared in the benefits.
“The quality of life of workers must improve as the economy grows. That is the real meaning of equitable development,” said Mendoza.
TUCP party-list is also pushing for the amendment of Republic Act 6727, which created the regional wage boards and the system of regional determination and fixing of minimum wages.
“Regional wage boards must really be pro-active in favor of workers so that our working people will not be left behind,” Mendoza said.
The TUCP is likewise pushing for the provision of emergency allowance for workers during economic crises and calamities as well as unemployment insurance for retrenched workers.
Mendoza said unemployment insurance can help unemployed workers get by while they are looking for a new job.
Employers buck P75 wage hike By Ma. Elisa Osorio (The Philippine Star) Updated March 03, 2010 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) yesterday said a P75 across-the-board wage increase in Metro Manila will hamper the job creation process and will only help a small fraction of the population.
ECOP issued the statement after the labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) filed with the National Capital Region (NCR) wage board a petition for a wage increase of P75 across the board for workers in Metro Manila.
“If we increase the minimum wage, the beneficiary is only 16 percent of the population – those who are fully employed,” ECOP president Sergio Ortiz Luis told The STAR in a telephone interview.
He explained that instead of hiring more workers, companies will merely be forced to increase the wages of current employees.
“This will be at the expense of the remaining 84 percent of the population,” he said. “We have issues now on unemployment. That is why this is not the best time to tinker with wages.”
Ortiz-Luis warned that forcing companies to raise wages may even lead to retrenchments. He said wages may increase if companies increase their efficiency and productivity.
He said if companies will earn the same in the future as they are earning now but will be burdened with additional costs for the payment of wages, they will look for ways to recover the cost.
“We are taking away the opportunity for others to be employed,” Ortiz-Luis said.
He said only two-income households are expected to benefit from the proposed wage hike.
On Monday, TUCP party-list Rep. Raymond Mendoza filed the petition to increase the P382 minimum wage in Metro Manila by P75 to help workers cope with increasing consumer prices in Metro Manila.
He said consumer prices rose by five percent from June 2008 to January 2010 and are expected to go up by nine percent until the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) is already reviewing the wage hike petition.
“While the policy of minimum wage fixing is to protect the purchasing power of low-income workers, it is also aimed at preserving existing jobs,” Roque said in a statement.
Roque said that they also have to consider if businesses are capable of increasing workers’ salaries.
“It is critical that the minimum wage determination strikes a balance between providing a decent standard of living for workers and ensuring the capacity of the economy to absorb the wage adjustments and viability of business, especially small and medium enterprises,” Roque said. — With Helen Flores