Manila Bulletin
Measures aim to help poor
By MADEL R. SABATER
June 21, 2011, 7:26pm
MANILA, Philippines —President Benigno S. Aquino III signed into law several measures legislators believe will greatly benefit the lives of the poor and the marginalized sector of society.
Signed were the following:
1. Republic Act (R. A.) 10151, An Act Allowing the Employment of Night Workers, repealing articles 130 and 131 of Presidential Decree (P. D.) No. 442, the Labor Code of the Philippines.
2. RA No. 10152, the Mandatory Infants and Children Health Immunization act which requires that all children under five years old should be given basic immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases.
3. RA No. 10150, An Act Extending the Implementation of the Lifeline Rate for electricity.
4. Extension of the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC) for another 10 years.
In signing RA 10152, which aims to provide all infants a dose against Hepatitis-B vaccine within 24 hours of birth, the President said: “It is not fair that the vaccine against Hepatitis-B can only be afforded by a privileged few.”
The President said that RA 10151 removes regulations that can be seen as sexual discrimination in the work force.
“Right now, industries, specially our BPOs (business process outsourcing), who are hiring women workers to perform night work are first required to secure an exemption from the Department of Labor and Employment -- and the strange thing is that this is not necessary in hiring male workers for the same assignment,” he said. “We cannot have this type of legal technicality giving rise to sexual discrimination, especially in this day and age.”
“The signing of this act is also an economic measure because many women in the BPO sector have been unduly prejudiced by this legal accident; and we must also do everything we can to protect our position as industry leaders,” he said.
On RA 10150, Aquino said: “Extending this lifeline rate allows those shackled by poverty to focus more of their resources into keeping themselves and their families alive, while also giving them access to electricity.”
The President said that extending the term of the JCPC, established 10 years ago with the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, would ensure reforms in the energy sector are in place.
“These may be small steps forward, but they embody our intention to stay true to what we promised the Filipino people,” Aquino said.
In a statement, Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said Republic Act 10151 “eliminates administrative requests for exemption from the DoLE.”
“The repeal of Articles 130 and 131 of P.D. 774, or the Philippine Labor Code, paves the way for the elimination of gender bias and gives men and women equal access to employment opportunities,” she said.
RA 10151 will also provide women laborers, except those in the agriculture and maritime sector, with equal flexible work period and night shift pay with their male counterparts as mandated by international standards.
“The bill further increases health protection for night workers. It also facilitates alignment of Philippine laws with international standards on night work for women, including the ratification of International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 171 on the elimination of night work for women, and our denunciation of ILO Convention 89,” Baldoz said.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile hailed the Aquino administration for signing into law the significant pieces of legislation which he believes would greatly benefit the poor.
Enrile commended the President for signing into law the bill seeking to amend Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 to extend the implementation of the lifeline rate by another 10 years.
He also lauded the Chief Executive for extending the life of the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC) for another 10 years.
Likewise, the Senate leader thanked the President for enacting into law the bill requiring a mandatory basic immunization for children under five years old against vaccine-preventable diseases and the measure amending the Labor Code and seeks to allow women employees to work at night.
With the extension of the electricity lifeline rate subsidy, “consumers would have been faced with paying the exorbitant cost of electricity once they receive their electric bills come July,” Enrile said.
The EPIRA initially packaged the discounted rates for the marginalized end-users for 10 years or until June 26, 2011. Under the lifeline subsidy scheme, residential consumers in the higher consumption bracket would have to pay extra cost as subsidy to their poorer counterparts.
Enrile also stressed the need to extend the term of the JCPC for another 10 years "to ensure that the goals and objectives of the EPIRA of 2001 and the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 are fully achieved.”
Also called the PowerCom (Power Commission), the JCPC is tasked to oversee implementation of the EPIRA through which it was created, as well as initiate reforms in the country’s electric power industry.
But Sen. Edgardo Angara, who voted against the bill in the Senate, reiterated his objection to the measure extending the term of the JCPC.
Angara maintained enacting the extension of the JCPC into law is an “encroachment on the powers of the executive and is unconstitutional.”
“The JCPC does not merely act as an oversight committee, contrary to its legislative mandate. Its functions are matters of implementation, and therefore executive in nature,” Angara said.
Over the years, Angara said the PowerCom had failed to carve up the power industry and make electricity more affordable to consumers.
According to Angara, one possible reason why the JCPC has failed to accomplish its duties under EPIRA in the last 10 years is because it is ill-equipped to do so because these concern the execution of the law itself – a power which properly belongs to the Executive.
“There is absolutely no good reason or satisfactory justification for extending the term of the Powercom,” Angara said. (With reports from Samuel Medenilla and Hannah Torregoza)
No comments:
Post a Comment