Tambuling Batangas Publication January 23-29, 2019 Issue | Page 6

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January 23-29, 2019
DSWD calls for stronger advocacy against human trafficking
QUEZON CITY -- “There is a need to intensify the advocacy
against human trafficking, especially in Mindanao, since the
region has now become prone to natural calamities and poverty
incidence is still high.”

This was the message of Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD) Undersecretary Luzviminda
C. Ilagan as she raised the need for community information
regarding trafficking during the observance of International
Day Against Trafficking (IDAT) held in December in Tagum
City, Davao Del Norte. The event’s theme was “Karapatan ng
Kabataan Pangalagaan, Human Trafficking ay Labanan”.

In 2018, DSWD served 2,318 victims-survivors of
human trafficking nationwide. Of this number, 569 came from
Regions IX, X, XI, and XII or the Mindanao regions. In 2017,
some 528 victims-survivors were assisted by the Department in
the four regions.

Usec. Ilagan emphasized, “Evacuation centers are
places to watch in the aftermath of man-made or natural disasters
because these are where trafficking happens”.

She noted that even when victims knew the danger,
they succumbed due to pressing needs.

There is a need to keep an eye on evacuation sites
where a number of women have been trafficked,” Usec Ilagan
stated.

“Because of their circumstances, even if they know
that something is wrong with illegal recruitment, but because
of the need,” she added, explaining further that poverty and the
desire to help their families lure victims, who are usually women,
to try their luck in major cities or abroad. Hence, they often fall
prey to illegal recruiters.

Usec. Ilagan added that families and communities
should be made aware of the dangers of trafficking or the
transport of people who are being exploited through deceptive
promises usually of good jobs.

She also pointed out the need for public information,
inter-agency cooperation, and strengthening of local trafficking
councils, which should be funded by local government units
because of some expenses that would be incurred in running the
affairs of such council.

It is important to sustain this campaign and this inter-
agency council but it has to be all of government approach
because one agency cannot do it alone,” Usec Ilagan added.

The Department, together with other national
government agencies comprising the Inter-Agency Council
Against Trafficking (IACAT), monitors the implementation of
Republic Act No. 10364 or The Expanded Anti-Trafficking in
Persons Act of 2012. It is an act expanding Republic Act No.
9208, entitled “An act to institute policies to eliminate trafficking
in persons especially women and children, establishing the
necessary institutional mechanisms for the protection and support
of trafficked persons, providing penalties for its violations and
for other purposes.”

The DSWD assists trafficked persons under the
Recovery and Reintegration Program for Trafficked Persons
(RRPTP) which ensures that they are extended with adequate
recovery and reintegration services. RRPTP utilizes a multi-
sectoral approach and delivers a complete package of services
to enhance the psychosocial, social, and economic needs of the
clients. This includes temporary shelter; skills training; psycho-
social counseling; transportation, financial, medical, educational,
and livelihood assistance; as well as, referral to other agencies
for additional needed interventions.

The beneficiaries of the program include the victims-
survivors of trafficking who are returning or have returned to the
Philippines, their families and relatives, and communities with a
high incidence of trafficking. (DSWD)
Senate approves 2019 National Budget on third reading
PASAY CITY -- The Senate today unanimously passed on third
and final reading the 2019 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

Senator Loren Legarda, Chair of the Senate
Committee on Finance, said that the Senate is now ready to
go to a bicameral meeting and will be waiting advice from the
House of Representatives for a proposed schedule to reconcile
the differences in their respective versions of the 2019 national
budget.

Legarda said that the 2019 national budget will
continue to prioritize education, healthcare, livelihood and
employment, and social services.

Among the Senate’s amendments include, additional
allocation for the Department of Education (DepEd) to increase
Quick Response Fund (QRF), School-based Feeding Program,
Quality Teacher and Development Program, Computerization
Program and Textbooks and Other Instructional Materials. It
also provided P800 Million for the allowance of teachers to be
given during the World Teachers’ Day.

For healthcare, included in the budget of the
Department of Health (DOH) is the restoration of P16.796
Billion for Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP)
and provision of P4.797 Billion of the P7 Billion requirement
for Human Resource for Health Development, which was
partially provided in the GAB in the amount of P2.6 Billion.

Allocation for Medical Assistance for Indigent
Patients (MAIP) is also provided. The increase in the allocation
of the four specialty hospitals—Philippine Children’s
Medical Center, Philippine Heart Center, Lung Center of the
Philippines, and National Kidney and Transplant Institute—is
for the MAIP.

Under the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD), the Senate provided additional funding
for Protective Services and for the implementation of the
enhanced program for children, families, indigenous peoples,
and other individual in difficult situation.

For support to livelihood and employment, there
is increased funding under the Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI).

Increase in the budget of DOLE will be used
for emergency repatriation of overseas Filipino workers
(OFWs), worker protection and welfare program, employment
facilitation program and government internship program.

The Senate provided additional fund for DTI Negosyo
Centers and Shared Service Facilities (SSF). It also increased
the allocation for TESDA’s Special Training for Employment
Program and Training for Work Scholarship Program.

Under the Department of the Interior and Local
Government (DILG), the Senate provided for the construction
of building for Emergency 911 Command Center and also
augmented the Philippine National Police’s Maintenance and
Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) to improve its delivery of
services. It also allocated an additional funding to provide the
per capita cost of additional policemen and for the procurement
of a brand new fixed wing airplane.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) received additional
funding for the creation of a special task force, as well as victims
assistance program for OFWs and also for the programs geared
toward child protection. The Senate also provided funding for
the construction of prison facilities in 5 regions to decongest
the existing prison facilities and to bring the prisoners near
their families.
Under the Department of Defense (DND) budget, an additional
amount of P48.766 Million was provided for its Task Force and
Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP)
for the rebel/insurgent returnees. The Philippine Veterans
Affairs Office will have additional funding for veterans
hospitalization and additional capital outlays and medical care
program.

“The 2019 national budget supports the infrastructure
program of the government while also taking care of the
human capital so that economic growth addresses the needs of
the people, especially the poorest sector. It will also continue
to fund programs to build our resilience to natural hazards and
climate change and promote environmental integrity,” said
Legarda.

“We hope to be able to immediately reconcile the
differences between the House and Senate version so that we
may approve the budget within the remaining session days that
we have. This is very important because the passage of our
national budget every year comes with the hope of achieving
real lasting growth for Filipinos, especially the poor and the
most vulnerable,” Legarda concluded. (OSLL)
DBM launches new gov’t financial mgmt system for
better transparency, accountability
MANILA -- The Department of Budget and Management
(DBM), in partnership with Globe Telecom and FreeBalance,
Inc., announces the implementation of a secure and reliable
modern financial management information system to
achieve better transparency, accountability, and efficiency
among national government agencies.

The new Budget and Treasury Management
System (BTMS) is an integrated and fully-automated
platform for a sustainable Government Resource Planning
(GRP) solution that is extensible, flexible and adaptable to
reforms as well as suits a wide range of public financial
requirements.

BTMS was piloted in DBM and the Bureau of
Treasury (BTr) as both oversight and spending agencies
while the Commission on Audit will have special access to
support auditing functions. The system will be rolled out to
all national government agencies within the next year.

“With the implementation of BTMS, we will
revolutionize the way we do things and will further improve
our ability to deliver public service. The effective use of
modern technology will strengthen our fiscal responsibility
as it would allow us to keep an eye on the government
financial status real time. We also believe that an improved
and harmonized government financial process will provide
more reliable and timely financial information leading to
sound policy decision-making for executives, managers
and staff in the line and oversight agencies,” said Budget
and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

Albert de Larrazabal, Globe Chief Commercial
Officer, on the other hand said: “As a company committed
to helping the Philippines become a digital nation, we
are happy to be part of the government’s journey towards
digital transformation. Through our information and
communications technology arm, Globe Business, we
will continue to explore ways on how organizations can
best use ICT to promote process efficiencies and enhance
delivery of services.”

The BTMS project was awarded to the joint venture
of Globe through its subsidiary, Innove Communications,
and FreeBalance, Inc., a Canadian developer of software
solutions for public financial management. For the project,
Globe provided the infrastructure while FreeBalance
developed the software based on globally-accepted
solutions but configured and customized for the Philippine
government.

Manuel Schiappa Pietra, President and CEO of
FreeBalance, also encouraged the government to capitalize
on the optimal value of BTMS. “Tapping the full features
of BTMS, under the FreeBalance GRP platform, will help
the government ensure a more responsive, transparent and
accountable public expenditure management system. Dare
I say that it will support improvement to PEFA assessment
scorecards, reinforce the performance-informed budgeting,
and drive for macroeconomic management,” he said.

BTMS supports DBM in the maintenance and
complete trail of budget appropriations and balances
for each national agency as well as supports high-level
aggregation of processes relating to the collection,
handling, and usage of cash resources undertaken by the
Bureau of Treasury.

For years, the government has been dealing with
processing financial transactions manually while fiscal
agencies utilize numerous stand-alone systems to generate
financial information. This situation resulted in lack of
budget credibility, lack of funding predictability, weak
cash management system, and absence of a common
budgetary and accounting classification, according to the
2016 Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability
(PEFA) Assessment.

The World Bank, meanwhile, noted that the
country’s public financial management would be more
efficient with the existence of an integrated financial
management system that will provide a more accurate
view of the government’s financial performance and
management of public funds. (DBM)
EXTRA-JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT WITH WAIVER OF
RIGHTS
Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late ROGELIO
PASAMIC ALEJO who died on AUGUST 11, 2017, at
Batangas Regional Hospital, Batangas City, Leaving a
parcel of Land located at Brgy. Canlubang, Municipality
of Calamba, Province of Laguna with an area of NINETY
FIVE (95 sq.m.) SQUARE METERS covered by
TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. T-149159
Mortgaged at National Housing Authority, Quezon City
has been extrajudicially settled by his heir, as per Doc.
No. 456; Page No. 093; Book No. CXXIV; Series of 2018;
Notary Public Atty. ALEXANDER F.E.G. FAUSTINO.
Tambuling Batangas
January 16, 23 & 30, 2019