Vanguard 4 Dec . 19 - 24 , 2016
Tabango : Using sports
to boost local tourism
By Ronnie Roa
No to ENDO proposal
It ’ s dead on arrival for the proposed new Department Order ( DO ) on endo of the Department of Labor and Employment ( DOLE ) as far as labor groups are concerned .
The draft DO , the country ’ s major labor groups under the labor coalition Nagkaisa declared , will not lead to the ultimate end but rather to the further strengthening of the legal standing of contractualization in the country .
“ DOLE intends to adopt what all labor groups unanimously rejected during the labor summit – the ‘ win-win solution ’ of DTI . This could signal the end of President Duterte ’ s campaign promise to end endo ,” declared Danny Edralin , Vice-Chair for the Private Sector of the Sentro ng Nagkakaisang Manggagawa or SENTRO .
For Partido Manggagawa ( PM ): “ The draft new DO may seem to restrict labor contracting to seasonal and project employment but these employment schemes may however be extended to cover jobs , work or services which are directly related to the business operations of a company . As such , contractualization of labor would still proliferate in the guise of describing the job , work or service as seasonal or project employment ,” said PM Chair Renato Magtubo .
The working draft of the new DO was presented during the Tripartite Executive Committee ( TEC ) of the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council ( TIPC ) last week . Said DO recognizes trilateral employment relationship which has long been opposed by organized labor as it undermines workers ’ rights to security of tenure , to organize and collectively bargain .
For TUCP , the proposed DO is unacceptable . “ It is a mere rehash of what current laws already provide . It gives nothing new to workers . Change requires a DO that further restricts contractualization while a new law is needed to end contractualization ,” said Luis Corral , Executive Director of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines ( TUCP ).
‘ Win-win ’, for Nagkaisa , is DTI doublespeak roundly rejected as ‘ lose-lose ’ by workers . Thus , it is pushing for the passage of HB 4444 ( Rep . Raymond Mendoza . TUCP Partylist ) which prohibits contractualization and calls on Sec . Bello to endorse it for certification by President Duterte as an urgent Presidential measure . HB 4444 prohibits all fixed term contracts and criminalizes violations .
The Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino ( BMP ) on the other hand wanted to directly challenge President Duterte to completely prohibit endo by means of an executive order .
“ The new draft DO is a mere attempt to rehash DO 18-A with sophisticated words to continue justifying contractualization under the Duterte regime . Thus , BMP now directly challenges President Duterte to immediately issue an Executive Order to strictly prohibit all forms of contractualization by urgently signing a draft EO which BMP crafted and submitted to the Office of the President last November 10 , 2016 for instant Presidential executive action ,” said its President Leody De Guzman .
Even public sector unions are disappointed on the way the end endo agenda of the Duterte administration regresses .
“ The proposed DO officialises contractualization and bastardizes Duterte ’ s campaign platform to end contractualization ,” said Annie Geron , President of the Public Services Independent Labor Confederation ( PSLINK ).
The government is being accused by labor groups as the single biggest practitioner of contractualization in the forms of job order ( JO ) and contracts of service ( CS ). ###
Tabango , Leyte - More tourists are expected to visit this northwestern town after its second triathlon event held here recently .
Aptly called as “ Tabango 515 ,” it stands for the 51.5 kilometers that participants were expected to race that included a 1.5-km swim , 40km bike and 10km run . Athletes from different parts of Leyte and from other regions such as Cebu , Bohol and Cagayan De Oro were present and would surely share with others what they experienced in Tabango .
Ironman challenge finisher , Jenefer B . Paloma of Cagayan de Oro , finished the 51.5 kilometers in just 1:36:22 . She conquered the women ’ s category on sprint distance and the 2nd to overall finisher Marjun Montealto from Palompon Leyte , with a time of 1:22:30 in open category .
Paloma said that the Tabango 515 was one of her best races . She was amazed at the crystal clear sea water that she swam , the up-anddownhill of bike race and the cheering folks during the run . She promised to bring more participants in the next event .
More local athletes
Since most of the participants came from different places , Mayor Benjamin Jonathan “ Benjo ” Remandaban wanted to entice the youth in Tabango to handle the the triathlon . He wanted the youth to participate in sports , and said he preferred them to develop their curiosity to ( positive ) addiction in sports rather than into illegal drugs .
Remandaban believed in the famous economic principle “ supply and demand ” saying that if there were no youth interested using illegal drugs no one will supply it .
The local government unit is already campaigning in schools in their town and would bring triathlon coaches to develop enthusiasts and probably getting college scholarship in the future . To sustain this activity , the LGU will have to allocate funds from their annual budget , the mayor said .
Other tourism activities
Mayor Benjo narrated that eco-tourism would be most attractive to tourists , such as scenic spots in the town , sports tourism and religious tourism . But in Tabango they have the so-called “ social tourism ”, wherein they invite friends from other countries who stay in poor houses , giving gifts and experiencing the life of Tabango folks .
Another plan of the mayor is to establish tourist spots or activity on every barangay . Just like the existing Dawahon Island , Boho Beach , Dagkutanan sa
This small northwestern town not only boasts of scenic spots and beautiful beaches , but it has access to a dive site near the island of Malapascua where divers can see thresher sharks and devil rays and an occasional hammerhead in a site called Kemod shoal .
Tabango Mayor Benjo Remandaban : A Strong belief in tourism
Pangpang a religious tourism site , a hike to Mount Kan Tur-aw , and hopefully the cruise on a floating restaurant in Palaypay River , among others .
But Remandaban said their biggest attraction would be the putting up of an ecopark in Manlawaan , a garbage disposal facility converted to an eco-park .
There would be a flower garden , ATV terrain , horse & carabao back riding and zip line . The P3 million incentive earned from the seal of local good governance award would be used to develop this eco-park . Diving in Kemod Shoal
This shoal lies close to the island of Leyte , east of Malapascua , and you can reach it in about 45 minutes .
Besides sightings of thresher sharks and devil rays , there is a good chance to encounter hammerhead sharks here .
The top of the shoal is about 10-12 m deep and is covered in sponges , hard and soft corals . The south side of Kemod shoal forms a slope which goes as deep as 30m before it turns into a great drop-off . The rest of the shoal have stunning walls , covered with sea fans and corals .
The mayor showed his fighting stance in their claim of Kemod shoal . When asked by the Weekly Vanguard . Remandaban said the dive spot in Kemod is part of Tabango Leyte .
“ That ’ s our jurisdiction ,” he said .
He has plans to discuss the matter with the officials of Logon , Daanbantayan Cebu and is hoping to get a “ win-win ” agreement in order to collect dues from the divers in the island .
It would be a great help to the town if they can collect fees from the divers , Remandaban said . #