Detained Senator Leila De Lima files bill for mandatory

child seats
Manufacturer Press July 13, 2018 08:56

Senator Leila M. de Lima has filed Senate Bill 1862 which proposes to require every private vehicle to install a child car seat system for children
aged 0-6 years old.
Under her proposed measure, only children from six to 12 years old are allowed to sit in front of vehicles, except when the child is at least 150
centimeters in height and capable of properly fitting in the regular seat belt in the front seat.
The bill seeks to amend Republic Act (RA) No. 8750, also known as "Seat Belts Use Act of 1999," which only addresses adults and only prevents
children aged 6-12 from sitting on the front seat. The proposed measure hopes to address a legislative gap in the current law and reduce the
number of child fatalities.
"Infants and children need a more specific type of design to protect them during a collision because a seat belt will not prevent trajectory or
injuries," said Sen. de Lima.
She cited figures from a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report that showed an average of 667 children - ages 14 years old and below - died
in road accidents from 2006 to 2015.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), the use of child restraint systems can reduce deaths among infants by approximately 70
percent and among small children by between 54 percent and 80 percent.
SB 1862 also prescribed for higher penalties on violators ranging from minimum fine of PhP 100 to PhP 1, 000 for the first offense to PhP 500 to
PhP 2,000.
The senator has filed the measure despite being detained on drug charges for more than 400 days.
House Bill 1862 has a counterpart in Congress, known as House Bill 6938, or the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act. The bill has already
received a vote of 255-0 in February this year, and requires that the child seats used are compliant with international standards set by the
United Nations as part of the Global New Car Assessment Initiative.
The bill has yet to be voted on by the senators. It will then have to go through readings and approval processes. If it gets through all these, a
bicameral will be needed to consolidate both versions, before a final version is presented to the President to sign and pass into law or veto.

RA 8750- SEATBELT USE ACT OF 1999

https://www.autoindustriya.com/auto-industry-news/detained-sen-de-lima-files-bill-requiring-child-seats-for-infants-
children.html
Philippine educators underscore climate change on the
15th Nationa Assembly
November 15, 2010

Senior educators from all over the Philippines join the fight to secure a safer climate as officers and members of the Philippine Association of Tertiary
Level Educational Institutions in Environmental Protection and Management (PATLEPAM) tackle the climate change issue on their annual
assembly.

The annual meet which will be held today (Nov. 16) at the Bayview Park Hotel in Roxas Blvd., Manila, will gather key officials from concerned
government agencies tasked to address climate change.

Organized by the PATLEPAM with the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR), there will be three papers to be presented on topics such as the Climate Change Act of 2009 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations,
and the National Framework Strategy on Climate Change by Commissioner Heherson Alvarez of the Climate Change Commission; the Philippine
Strategy Framework on Climate Change Adaptation by DENR Asst. Secretary Analiza Teh; and the Financial Windows for Programs to Address
Climate Change in the Philippines by Ms. Martha Flores of the National Economic Development Authority and Ms. Joyceline Goco of the Clean
Development Mechanism Secretariat, EMB-DENR.

Expected to deliver their keynote messages are Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairperson, Dr. Patricia Licuanan and DENR
Undersecretary Demetrio Ignacio.

Likewise expected are Reports of the Status of Implementation of Tertiary Education Sector’s Action Commitments to the National Environmental
Education Action Plan: A Roadmap for the Implementation of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9512 for 2009 – 2014 and Regional Action Plans to Help Build
a Climate Change-Resilient Nation (November 2009 – November 2010) by the PATLEPAM Regional Coordinating Centers.

In 2009, PATLEPAM’s 14th National Senior Educators’ Assembly drew up action plans to support the implementation of R. A, No. 9512 (Environmental
Education and Awareness Act of 2008), and R.A.9729 (Climate Change Act of 2009). R.A. 9512 aims to integrate environmental education in the
school curricula in all levels, whether public and private, including barangay day care, pre-school, non-formal, technical, vocational, professional level,
indigenous learning, and out-of-school youth courses and programs.

R.A. 9729 also reiterates the policy of the State to adopt the principle of protecting the climate system for the benefit of humankind, on the basis of
climate justice or common but differentiated responsibilities and the precautionary principle to guide decision-making in climate risk management.

RA 9512- NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL

AWARENESS AND EDUCATION ACT OF 2008
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2010/11/15/philippine-educators-underscore-climate-change-on-the-15th-national-
assembly/
PITAHC: Reshaping, rebuilding Pinoy’s
health-care system
By Eleanor Amarga Leyco-Chua
August 10, 2017

LONG before we learned about modern medicine, our ancestors have already designed tools and means to aid their sick people and have unlocked
and deciphered the healing powers of the plants and herbs that surround them.

From simple tapal (patch) using leaves of tuba to hilot (traditional massage), aromatherapy and chiropractic, among others, it cannot be denied that

Pinoys are accustomed to traditional and alternative medicine. In places where there are no doctors, most people rely on their alternative-medicine

healers for immediate health solutions.

Traditional medicine as defined by the World health Organization is “the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories,

beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention,

diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness.”

With these facts, former Health Secretary Juan Flavier in 1992, through the Department of Health, launched the alternative medicine program,

which was institutionalized two years after a traditional medicine law was drafted.

However, it was former President Fidel V. Ramos who integrated the alternative and traditional medicine in the government’s health care delivery

system when he signed into law Republic Act 8423, also known as the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act of 1997, an Act creating the

Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) to accelerate the development of traditional and alternative health-care in

the Philippines, providing for a traditional and alternative health care development fund and for other purposes.

As mandated in RA 8423, Pitahc will encourage scientific research on and develop traditional and alternative health-care systems that have direct

impact on public health care; promote and advocate the use of traditional, alternative, preventive and curative health-care modalities that have been

proven safe, effective, cost effective and consistent with government standards on medical practice; develop and coordinate skills-training courses

for various forms of traditional and alternative health-care modalities; formulate standards, guidelines and codes of ethical practice appropriate for

the practice of traditional and alternative health care, as well as in the manufacture, quality control and marketing of different traditional and

alternative health-care materials, natural and organic products, for approval and adoption by the appropriate government agencies; formulate

policies for the protection of indigenous and natural health resources and technology from unwarranted exploitation, for approval and adoption by

the appropriate government agencies; formulate policies to strengthen the role of traditional and alternative health-care delivery system; and

promote traditional and alternative health care in international and national conventions, seminars and meetings in coordination with the

Department of Tourism, Duty Free Philippines Inc., Philippine Convention and Visitors Corp. and other tourism-related agencies, as well as non-

governmental organizations and local government units.

The Philippines has several traditional health-care methods, and with more than 1,000 plants species that are believed to have medicinal properties,

the birth of the Pitahc opened many doors of opportunities.

Numerous seminars, trainings and other educational talks about alternative and traditional medicine were conducted. Research and development of

products made from herbs and plants were also carried out.

The institution is also successful in publishing books that collated all the medicinal plants that can be found in the Philippines. A number of

researches about the common medicinal herbs were also conducted to better identify their uses and the benefits they provide to users.
The herbal medicine is a $100-billion industry and is growing continually, as many people around the world are adapting natural medicines.

Nonchemical cosmetics, or those made from plants and other natural ingredients, are also currently in demand globally.
However, instead of contributing to the growth of the industry, Pitahc’s purpose was once accused of deviating from its original mandate. According

to reports, “Pitahc has been manufacturing and distributing products in direct competition with the private-sector producers.”

Going back to its original objectives and functions, the institute made a big change in their structure to focus on the works that it is directed to do.

A new face

A revered doctor from the Visayas recently joined the roster of Pitahc’s executives, with her 25 years of experience as a medical doctor and six years

as a hospital administrator, Dr. Annabelle Pabiona-De Guzman was recently appointed by President Duterte as Pitahc’s director general.

In taking over the institution, Pabiona-de Guzman brings with her not only the education, numerous citations and even her years of expertise, but a

heart with compassion to serve and be a channel of change and blessings to everyone who will come her way.

Pabiona-de Guzman maybe a petite woman but during an interview with the Health & Fitness, she bravely discussed the direction that the Pitahc

will take in order to deliver the assignments the institution is tasked to do.

According to her, to clear up all the issues concerning the role of the Pitahc, the agency hired some experts who will help them to really transform

the Pitahc as a research institution. To utilize the funds provided for them, Pabiona-de Guzman shared that this year they will commission their

own research.

There are a number of research proposals on her table, but Pabiona-de Guzman is excited to announce their first commissioned research, which is

very controversial due to the fact that it is included in the prohibited drugs.

“Our first commissioned research will be about medical cannabis [marijuana] used for cancer. The Pitahc allotted P10 million for this endeavor,” she

shared, adding “If we are successful with the research about medical cannabis, the Pitahc will have the intellectual property rights.”

The soft-spoken doctor also shared with us the vision that she and PITAHC executives have for the traditional and alternative medicine industry in

the country is to grow bigger, better and recognized as an effective and safe health-care solution.

She envisioned the country’s alternative-medicine healers to be on a par with their counterparts from Thailand and Malaysia, where they are

recognized as doctors of alternative medicine. She said that in Thailand there are educational institutions for alternative-medicine healers.

“After several years of schooling, there will be an examination they need to pass and those who will qualify will have a license to practice alternative

medicine. Some of our neighboring Asian nations that have been advocating traditional medicine are very advanced, thus, giving their people more

health-care options.”

Aside from the researches the Pitahc will commission, Pabiona-de Guzman wants the Pinoy traditional healers to have know-how and skills

upgrading, where they will be aware of the development and trends in the industry.
She said the agency is looking into more ways and channels where they can help the traditional healers to learn the other techniques that are

effective and popular in other countries, such as Malaysia and Vietnam.

“Many Filipinos don’t have access to western medicines and technologies, with alternative-medicine methods, drugs made from herbal plants—

which are known for their medicinal use are more affordable and also effective, we are giving the poor, the indigenous people a health-care option

that they are accustomed to but, this time, improved and backed by science.”

Pabiona-de Guzman, together with her people in her agency, vowed to make traditional and alternative medicine a part of our national health-care

delivery system, for real.

RA 8423- TRADITIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE

MEDICINE ACT OF 1997
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2017/08/10/pitahc-reshaping-rebuilding-pinoys-health-care-system/
Cagayan Police drive vs wanted persons yields 44
By Mark Djeron C. Tumabao

Published on September 12, 2019

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan, Sept. 12 (PIA) - - The local police's POPB Enhanced Police Operation - ‘One Time, Big Time’ peace and order
operation Wednesday resulted in the arrest of 44 wanted persons in this province.
Cagayan Police Provincial Office (CPPO) Director PCol Ignacio Cumigad said CPPO will not stop on chasing after these criminals including erring
COPs amidst internal cleansing of PNP.
The operation resulted to the arrest of four individuals listed in the Top 10 most wanted persons for the crime of attempted homicide. The arrested
wanted persons were Gener Invierno y Agluba (Top 5) through Lal-lo PS; Alejandro Canillo y Iranga (Top 6) through Camalaniugan PS; Antonio Villacete y
Lacuban (Top 7) through Piat PS; and Jayson Soriano y Marcos (Top 10) through Tuao PS.
For the crime of Estafa, Calayan PS arrested Thelma Dican y Bal (Top 8); Pamplona PS arrested Rafael Parallag y Viloria (Top 10); and Lasam PS Joint with
Sto. Nino PS arrested Clarence Mariano y Garan (Top10).
For other crimes, Piat PS arrested Christopher De Dios y Sergan (Top 6) for the crime of Attempted Murder; CPPO PIB Joint with Ballesteros PS
arrested Sonny Tapiru y Ignacio (Top 9) for the crime of Homicide; Gattaran PS arrested Frederick Vicerra y Estellana (Top 9) for the crime of violation of
Section 261 (Q) Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 Amended and violation of PD 1866 as Amended; Iguig PS arrested Jun Medrano y Closa (Top 10) for the crime
of Acts of Lasciviousness in Relation to RA 7610; Claveria PS joint with Sta Praxedes PS arrested Danilo Pineda y Galano (Top 10); Allacapan PS
arrested Sandy Roman y Almazan (Top 10) for the crime of Violation of RA 9262 (2 counts) or Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of
2004; and Solana PS arrested Elizabeth Dela Cruz y Narag (Top 10) for the crime of Grave Oral Defamation.
Other wanted persons arrested were Leo Arellano y Troncoso for the crime of Theft through Baggao PS; Lenie Ann Paalan y Tabag for the crime of RIR in
Less Serious Physical Injuries through Buguey PS; Robert Jay Bagain y Ladera for the crime of Act of Lasciviousness through Rizal PS ; Elvis Millan y
Mariano for the crime RIR to Homicide through Tuao PS; Gelmark Fernando y Pascua for the crime of Direct Assault through Camalaniugan PS; Joselito
Calpito y Laguimon for the crime of Frustrated Murder through Ballesteros PS; Nandy Talosig y Dayag for the crime of Violation of RA 7610 through
Peñablanca PS; Rodolfo Tumbaga y Armisis for the crime of Estafa through Tuao PS; Lorenzo Andal y Zinampan for the crime of RIR in Less Serious Physical
Injury and Damage to property through Enrile PS; and Reynold Napoles y Abinoja for the crime of Violation of RA 9262 through Buguey PS.
On violations of special laws, the following were arrested of RA 9165 or Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972: Jose Daquioag y Ronquillo through Gattaran
PS; Ernesto Cadelina Cadiz through Santa Ana PS; Mark Jhon Paul Pascual y Concepcion through Lal-lo PS; and Estephen Cera y Mabunga and John Christopher
Tumaliuan y Narag through Tuguegarao City PS.
Other suspects who were arrested under special laws were Nixon Mingming y Tagoc for violation of PD 1602 or Illegal Gambling through Abulug
PS; Danilo Caraang for Violation of RA 10591 or Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition through Alcala PS; Jose Daquioag y Ronquillo for
violation of RA 9165 and RA 10591; and Rolly Romero y Bartolome and Angelo Ochoa y Andres for Violation of RA 9175 or Chain Saw Act of 2002, both through
Gattaran PS.

RA 9165- COMPREHENSIVE DANGEROUS DRUGS

ACT OF 2002
https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1027232
Anti-marketplace fraud measure gets House OK
Published August 19, 2018, 1:17 PM

By Ellson Quismorio

A House measure principally authored by former President and now Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the purpose of establishing a “Timbangan
ng Bayan Center” in all public and private markets all over the country has moved one step closer to enactment.

Approved on second reading just before the current recess was House Bill (HB) No. 7857, which also seeks to penalize those who tamper with
weighing instruments after these are officially sealed.

Speaker Arroyo said the establishment of Timbangan ng Bayan Centers will provide the buying public with an effective means of checking the
accuracy of the weight and the quantity of the goods that they are buying.

It will also discourage dishonest vendors to commit any irregularity because of the imminence of getting caught in flagrante delicto, said Speaker
Arroyo.

Other authors of the bill are Representatives Estrellita Suansing (1st District, Nueva Ecija), Leo Rafael Cueva (2nd District, Negros Occidental),
Ferjenel Biron (4th District, Iloilo), Karlo Alexei Nograles (1st District, Davao City), Manuel Zubiri (3rd District, Bukidnon), and Rosanna “Ria”
Vergara (3rd District, Nueva Ecija).

The bill seeks to amend Republic Act (RA) 7394, otherwise known as the “Consumer Act of the Philippines,” to protect the public against
fraudulent practices relative to the use of weighing instruments in public and private markets.

For one, the bill seeks to insert a new Article 62-A in Chapter 11 of RA 7394 which mandates all local government units (LGUs), through their
provincial, city or municipal treasurers, to establish Timbangan ng Bayan Centers in all markets nationwide, public or private, including flea
markets or “tiangges.”

Instruments for determining weights and measures shall be open for and accessible to anyone who needs to verify the accuracy of the quantity and
measurement of the products they purchase.

The safekeeping and maintenance of said instruments shall be under the control and supervision of the market supervisor who shall likewise be in
charge of keeping a record of every product found to be wanting in quantity or substandard in dimension, as well as the establishment where the
product was bought, including the name of the proprietor or manager thereof.

A certification duly issued by the market supervisor or an authorized representative reflecting the contents of such record shall be prima facie
evidence of a violation of Article 64 (Fraudulent Practices Relative to Weights and Measures) of RA 7394.

The prohibited acts relative to weights and measures provided under Article 64 of RA 7394 shall likewise apply to Timbangan ng Bayan
instruments.

Second, the measure seeks to amend Section (h) of Article 64 of RA 7394 so that it shall be prohibited for any person “to fraudulently alter, tamper,
vandalize or destroy any scale, balance, Timbangan ng Bayan, weight or measure after it is officially sealed.”

Third, the bill intends to amend Article 65 (Penalties) of RA 7394, so that any person who shall violate the provisions of paragraphs (a) to (f) and
paragraph (l) of Article 64 or its implementing rules and regulations shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of P50,000 to P300,000 or by
imprisonment of one year to five years, or both upon the discretion of the court.

The present penalty consists of a fine of P200 to P1,000 or by imprisonment of one year, or both, upon the discretion of the court.

Moreover, any person who shall violate the provisions of paragraph (g) of Article 64 of RA 7394, shall be subject to a fine P50,000 to P300,000 or by
imprisonment of one year to five years, or both, upon the discretion of the court.

RA 7394- CONSUMER ACT OF THE PHILIPPINES

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/19/anti-marketplace-fraud-measure-gets-house-ok/
More teeth for RH Law
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:12 AM March 31, 2019

The latest numbers surrounding the Reproductive Health (RH) Law are far from encouraging. Signed into law in December 2012 by President Benigno

Aquino III, Republic Act No. 10354, the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, met much resistance and did not get enacted

until 2014, after which it still faced legal challenges and protests.

The RH Law set a target contraceptive prevalence rate (incidence of Filipinos using contraceptives) of 65 percent by 2022. The prevalence rate at this

time is a middling 40 percent. It’s even 10 percentage points lower than the 2019 target of 50 percent, according to the Commission on Population and

Development (Popcom).

This reality is problematic, as the RH Law’s contraceptive prevalence target is crucial to the drive to manage the country’s population growth as part of

measures to address widespread poverty.

As pointed out by Lydio Español, National Capital Region Popcom director: “Filipinos growing by about 2 million annually remains a critical challenge

to socioeconomic development. The higher the fertility rate, the higher the poverty incidence.” Teenage pregnancies, noted Español, represented some

200,000 of the 2 million annual births.

The sought-after 65 percent would mean that 11.3 million women are using contraceptives and effective family planning methods, and preventing over 4.1

million unintended pregnancies and 2.4 million abortions over four years.

Why is this important?

Popcom has estimated that the Philippines would have a population of 108,885,096 by Dec. 31, 2019. Based on data from the last population census by the

Philippine Statistics Authority in 2015, the Philippine population increased by 1.8 million in 2018 alone.

That means almost 5,000 Filipinos are born every day, or over 200 every hour. Some projections say the population will reach 142 million in 2045.

While it’s true that the national fertility rate has been dropping steadily — a 1.8-percent decline from 2016 to 2017 — the drop has not translated into a

decline in poverty. That’s partly because, despite a projected workforce of 70 million, a sizable 18 percent are either unemployed or underemployed.

The implementation of the RH Law, on the other hand, has been spotty, to say the least. The Department of Health estimates that some six million

couples need contraceptives, but have no realistic access to them.

There are numerous reasons for this, not least the Catholic Church’s continuing opposition to the RH Law. The constraints present an especially

challenging scenario for how women are able to live their lives.

ojo Guan, executive director of the Center for Women’s Resources, said that despite the existence of 35 laws meant to support women’s causes—

marking the Philippines as supposedly among the most progressive countries for women in Asia—there remain many impediments in Philippine society.

“Calls for women’s empowerment will only be concrete if they also have economic security,” she said, identifying education, health, food and housing as

primary concerns. “On the one hand,” she added, “we have a reproductive health law, but on the other, public hospitals are being privatized and access to

birthing centers and facilities especially in the barrios has remained poor.”

Genuine access to contraceptives thus remains a major concern. Earlier this month, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo announced that President

Duterte had approved “the full and intensified implementation plan for the national program on family planning” — a key feature of the RH Law rollout.

Panelo touted the plan’s 65-percent contraceptive prevalence target, which would reduce poverty incidence from 20 to 14 percent in 2022 when Mr.

Duterte steps down, he said — a direction the administration will vigorously pursue: “We understand that a great majority of Filipinos favor family

planning, but not all of them have access to contraceptives due to various reasons. Accordingly, the government is here to respond and help those who

wish to undergo family planning.”

The following months and years should see whether that promise pans out, because, as always, plans are only as good as their execution.

“Family planning plays a crucial role in reducing poverty as it enables couples to plan and invest in their children better,” reminded Socioeconomic

Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia.

In that case, the DOH and other related agencies have their work cut out for them in educating many more Filipinos, widening their access to family-

planning tools and achieving the ideal reproductive health targets. The law is there, but much remains to be done.\

RA 10354- RESPONSIBLE PARENTHOOD AND

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ACT OF 2012
https://opinion.inquirer.net/120464/more-teeth-for-rh-law
Ten years since smoking regulation, farmers still stuck
with tobacco
Maria Feona Imperial, Lucille Sodipe and Jake Soriano VERA Files
Posted at Aug 12 2018 04:25 PM
CABUGAO, Ilocos Sur — Shirley Pichay, 38, is a wife and mother of two. But around here, she is known as a “cowboy”. That’s what intermediaries
in the tobacco industry are called. She buys tobacco from farmers and sells these to her “boss,” who owns a truck and transports the product in bulk
to tobacco companies.

Cabugao, the nearby Candon City, Santa Cruz and Balaoan in La Union are the biggest producers of tobacco in the country. Since 2016, they have
received more than a billion pesos each in excise tax shares purportedly earmarked by law to improve the lives of farmers and shift them away from
tobacco.

But the continuing presence of “cowboys” like Pichay illustrates that the planned shift is not working, and the Tobacco Regulation Act has been
counter-productive, if not a failure, in curbing tobacco production.

If the smoking regulation law were to be followed, tobacco farmers should have switched to other crops and livelihood as early as 2008, the deadline
imposed by Republic Act 9211 on agencies such as the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) to assist farmers who will have been displaced by
efforts to curb tobacco production and smoking.

Yet 10 years past the cutoff date, the Philippine tobacco industry only keeps on growing, with the NTA reporting a spike in tobacco production and
more farmers registered under its contract growing system, while local governments are keen to continue their support for tobacco farming for the
billions of revenues it brings.

Meanwhile, farmers are forced to stay because of loans from multimillion companies and piecemeal government subsidies unique to tobacco
farming.

“If the NTA was true to its mandate to protect the welfare of tobacco farmers, it would be doing much more to help farmers shift to alternative
livelihoods instead of promoting the tobacco industry,” Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) told VERA
Files.

“Why? Tobacco farming is harmful to farmers as it harms their health, is not economically lucrative, harms the soil, and exposes farmers to
exploitation by the tobacco industry, keeping them in a cycle of debt,” he added.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, in an interview with VERA Files, said excise taxes are a form of indirect subsidy to the tobacco industry.

Excise taxes, collected from the sale of tobacco products, are divided among tobacco-producing local governments under RA 7171. Later, it was
amended by RA 10351 or the sin tax law, which raised cigarette taxes and required that 15 percent be channeled to developing alternative farming
systems.

“The motivation there is to move away from tobacco farming, but it perpetuates instead,” Diokno pointed out.

“What is the objective of the sharing? As I said, the objective is for them to go to alternative crops. But based on that evidence, are they successful?”
he added.

A previous investigation by VERA Files shows bulk of excise tax shares is spent on infrastructure projects that may not have necessarily benefited
farmers. In Ilocos Sur, for instance, a monstrous structure intended to be a trading center sits padlocked to the ground.

“Tobacco is the lifeblood of our province that is why we should sustain and improve this industry,” Ilocos Sur Governor Ryan Singson was quoted in
the province’s official website.

If it were not for tobacco, Ilocos Sur would not have been a first class province, Singson said, adding that farm-to-market roads and farm implements
were funded by excise taxes.

Yet stories told by farmers and farm workers reflect continuing hardships not eased by the funds that keep flowing year after year.

In Candon City, which received P1.04 billion since 2016, the local government holds a festival every March to celebrate gains from tobacco. People
participate in street parades, pageants, trivia quizzes and even tobacco-rolling contests.

But farmers like Manuel Ramos, 63, would rather spend the day paying close attention to his crops.

“Kung talagang tatawagin nilang tobacco festival, lahat ng nagtatanim ng tabako nakangiti (If that’s a real tobacco festival, then every planter of
tobacco should be smiling),” he said. “Pero hindi naman, wala naming kita iyong iba (But that is not the case, because many still do not earn).”
Ramos, who chairs the recently-formed association of farmers in Barangay Tablac, has been planting tobacco and other crops since he was four, but
says it was only last year that he received a one-time government assistance of fertilizers, pesticides and cash worth P30,000 for his two-hectare
tobacco farm.

“Kung hindi gumawa ng pakanang ganun, walang magtatanim ng tabako (If they don’t make such gimmicks, no one will plant tobacco),” he said.

Ramos once tried switching to tomatoes but yielded very little, forcing him to return to tobacco.

Tobacco always has a market, he says. Even if his tobacco products are low-grade, the companies buy it, compared to vegetables, where no one
wants to buy even the good ones.

In Balaoan, La Union, which received P1.12 billion since 2016, 55-year-old farmer Susan Ferreras says she doesn’t see herself leaving the fields anytime
soon. Tobacco has become her family’s lifeline.

She recalls renting in her teenage years a small parcel of land where she and her husband can plant tobacco and earn enough to raise a family and
send their children to school. She says compared with other crops, tobacco needs more patience, attention and care.

“Mas mahalaga pa iyong tabako kaysa iyong asawa mo (Tobacco is more important than one’s spouse sometimes),” she said.

Tobacco planting season starts in December and runs until June. Ferreras says during harvest time, she and other workers would stitch tobacco
leaves by hand and load each bundle into a curing barn, where freshly cut wood are kept on fire for a week or so until the leaves turn yellow, slightly
charred and with brown spots.

Then, she would sell her product to the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. (PMFTC), where factory workers would segregate and assign prices
— what they deem poor quality or burnt tobacco leaves don’t usually make the cut.

Sometimes, what she thinks are good leaves get rejected, says Ferreras.

“Kahit umiyak ka, lumuhod ka. Wala kang magawa (Even if you bawl and beg, you can’t do anything),” she says. “Kasi may utang ka doon. ‘Doon ka
kumukuha ng panggastos mo sa tabako, kaya binibigay mo na rin (Because you owe them money. They loan you money for tobacco farming, so you
give in),” she added.

In Santa Cruz, which received some P1.17 billion since 2016, tobacco farmer Nedzpar Rosal also relies on PMFTC for fertilizers and other farm
inputs.

But none of these are free as Nedzpar has to pay the company back for everything it gives, says his brother, Romeo, who helps out in the fields.

Ramos, Ferreras and Rosal belong to the 4,617 farmers registered under the NTA, which acts as an arbiter between farmers and tobacco
manufacturing companies — a scheme called “contract farming.”

Compared to other crops, tobacco farming has a unique system that draws farmers to it, NTA Administrator Robert Seares told VERA Files.

“(Farmers) shift to corn production, but later on, after two years, they will go back to tobacco,” he said. “Because they don’t have a market for corn.
They don’t have a floor price for corn. No market, no assistance, that’s why they will come back to tobacco.”

RA 9211 mandated the NTA to promote cooperative programs that would assist farmers in developing alternative farming systems, planting
alternative crops and other livelihood projects.

On the one hand, the NTA implements programs such as hog production, rice production and beef cattle dispersal and established training schools
in meat processing, noodle, bread and pastry making.

On the other, it continues to allocate millions into its tobacco growing contract system, and the number of tobacco farmers and land planted with
tobacco increased by 21 and 27 percent, respectively in 2017.

The same year, it reported a spending of P 114.89 million in cash assistance, fertilizers and pesticides, 20 percent of which were subsidized for
farmers under its tobacco growing contract system.

“(Farmers) have to tie up with the other tobacco manufacturing companies and the tobacco buyers because if they are not going to tie up with these
tobacco manufacturers, they might not be able to sell their wares,” Seares said.

Yet SEATCA’s Dorotheo argues that “greater revenues” await tobacco farmers when they start switching to other crops, which demand less time and
farming costs.

But the NTA, citing its “farmers first policy,” said it is looking into expanding subsidies for its contract growing system—from raising the present
partial subsidy of 20 to 40 percent, and eventually 100 percent if revenues from sin taxes in 2019 permit.

“Alam mo itong mga present na farmers, wala napalagay kong papalit diyan. Wala na. Wala na iyong mga generation na susunod (These farmers of
today are the last generation of farmers, I think. No one will replace them),” Seares said.
More, a contract-growing system, he said, would eventually eliminate “cowboys” like Pichay.

“Sila ang nagpapababa ng presyo ng tobacco. Lalo na kung gipit iyong tao (They are the ones who buy tobacco at cheap prices, especially when the
farmer is desperate),” Seares said.

“Pagka ginipit, pumupunta (ang farmer) sa cowboy, umuutang. Itong cowboy naman, pupunta sa boss niya na tobacco trader, doon pinapautangan,”
he added, explaining how farmers have become dependent on traders for loans.

“They’re taking advantage of the people’s dire situations,” Seares said. “This is what we want to eliminate.”

Yet, life goes on for Pichay, even as the government thinks “cowboys” like her must be weeded out. They too, live with deep uncertainty, she says, as
with any farmer who has gambled but failed to leave tobacco farming. It is the only game in town that they know.

“Yung pagbebenta ng tobacco, walang kasiguraduhan iyan, may kita ka o wala. Meron iyong minsan, nalulugi ka (There is no guarantee in selling
tobacco. Sometimes you earn, sometimes you don’t.),” said Pichay.

(This story was produced under the “Mga Nagbababang Kuwento: Reporting on Tobacco and Six Tax Media Training and Fellowship Program” by Probe Media Foundation
with the support of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. VERA Files is put out by senior journalists taking a deeper look at current issues. VERA is Latin for true.)

RA 9211- TOBACCO REGULATION ACT OF 2003

https://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/08/12/18/ten-years-since-smoking-regulation-farmers-still-stuck-with-tobacco
New law allows minors to get HIV test without parents'
consent
A key provision of the new law allows minors from 15 to 17 years old to undergo HIV testing even without parental consent

Janella Paris
Published 12:09 PM, July 12, 2019

Updated 5:46 PM, July 12, 2019

MANILA, Philippines – Minors from 15 to 17 years old may now undergo HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) testing even without parental
consent.

Meanwhile, if they are younger than 15 and are pregnant or engaged in high-risk behavior, they are also eligible for HIV testing and counselling,
given the assistance of a licensed social or health worker. (WATCH: What can you do to encourage HIV testing?)

These are key provisions under the Philippine HIV and AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) Policy
Act of 2018 or Republic Act (RA) No. 11166, a new law that repeals RA No. 8504 or the Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998, to take
into consideration more current knowledge on dealing with HIV/AIDS.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III signed the new law's implementing rules and regulations (IRR) on Friday, July 12, nearly 7 months after
President Rodrigo Duterte signed the policy into law in December 20, 2018.

Other provisions

Under RA No. 11166, the Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC) is reconstituted and put in charge of overseeing the overall implementation of
the AIDS Medium Term Plan, a 6-year blueprint for the prevention and control of the spread of HIV and AIDS in the country.

The law has also been hailed by lawmakers for having human rights as one of its central principles. It states that the PNAC, with the Department of
Justice and the Commission on Human Rights, must ensure that there is no discrimination in the delivery of HIV and AIDS services by public and
private service providers. (READ: Denying health, life insurance to people with HIV illegal – lawmaker)

RA No. 11166 is also tasked to strengthen HIV/AIDS education, mandating schools to focus not just on the right to information but also on ways to
reduce stigma and discrimination. Stigma often discourages people from getting tested for HIV, according to health secretary Duque.

The new law also imposes stiffer penalties on those who breach patients’ right to confidentiality. It could mean 5 to 7 years imprisonment and/or a
fine of P350,000 to P500,000 for health professionals, medical instructors, insurance companies, among others, who breach confidentiality.

RA No. 11166 also specifies bullying as a discriminatory act with a corresponding penalty. This was a provision that the 1998 law did not have.

“Laboratory science has reduced HIV from a death sentence to a manageable health condition. [Our task is to] perfect the science of delivering these
technologies,” said Duque.

DOH statistics show that the Philippines had the fastest growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Asia-Pacific region from 2010 to 2016. There have been
66,303 confirmed cases of HIV infection in the Philippines from January 1984 to April 2019. From January to April 2019, a total of 281 deaths due to
HIV infection were reported. Rappler.com

RA 8504- PHILIPPINE AIDS PREVENTION AND

CONTROL ACT OF 2003
https://www.rappler.com/nation/235219-irr-new-hiv-aids-law-signed-july-2019