Marinduque may soon be formally closed off to ore extraction activities after a measure banning mining in the province secured approval from the House of Representatives.

The chamber recently approved House Bill 5846 on second reading, bringing the province a step closer to becoming a mining-free zone.

In a statement yesterday, legislators acknowledged that the province is still reeling from the effects of the Marcopper toxic spill nearly two decades ago.

Marinduque, an island province in the northern Philippines that was once the site of U.S. concentration camps (during the 1899-1902 U.S. conquest), will not get help from Nevada in its battle with Canada’s Barrick Gold Corporation.

Marinduque, a farming and fishing area, is also known for the March 24, 1996, Marcopper mining disaster. A break in a mine tailings pit drainage outlet caused toxic mine waste to wash into the Makulapnit-Boac river system, covering one entire village and causing the evacuation of 20 others. The Boac became unusable, destroying the livelihood of most of the population, which was also afflicted by zinc and copper bodily residues. A 2005 lawsuit against the company, Placer Dome, has lingered on for a decade. Placer Dome is now owned by Barrick, which has operated in Nevada for decades. Mining operations in Marinduque have ended. The case came to Nevada with Marinduque arguing that “jurisdiction is proper in Nevada through piercing Barrick's and PDI's corporate veils.”

The corporation sought dismissal of the suit in Nevada, saying that it should be heard in Canada. Marinduque asked that if the case was dismissed in Nevada, the dismissal should be conditioned on the case being heard in the Philippines. Neither the district nor the Nevada Supreme Court agreed, and the case was dismissed.

“The Province contends that some Marinduquenos living in Nevada may be interested in this litigation, but that does not mean that Nevada … as a whole has an interest in this lawsuit,” the Supreme Court held. “Barrick is incorporated and headquartered in Ontario, Barrick and PDI claim that only their subsidiaries have conducted business activities in Nevada, and no events related to this litigation occurred in Nevada. Thus, this case lacks any genuine connection to this state.”

The stakes for Marinduque were illustrated by one sentence in the ruling: “Several participants in medical missions to the Province also reside across the United States.”

Source and courtesy: Dennis Myers, News and Review

Minimum wage workers from the MIMAROPA region will soon enjoy a small increase in daily pay after securing approvals from the local wage board.

The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board governing the provinces of Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan approved on April 29 incremental hikes in daily salaries for minimum wage workers and was published in a newspaper yesterday.

Wage Order No. IV-B-07 increases the salaries of minimum wage earners in the region by increments of at least P5 to be implemented in two to four tranches.

The wage hike stems from a Jan. 21 petition filed by the Association of Minimum Wage Earners and Advocates to increase the basic daily pay by P185.

However, the six-member wage board said that this amount was “unrealistically high” for employers, and could instead bring business decline and worker displacement.

But the same wage order also states that the wage board has decided to “provide workers with immediate relief” to cope with rising commodity costs “without impairing the viability of business and industry.”

As approved, the daily pay for minimum wage earners in the following areas would be increased by P5 by July 3, or 15 days after the publication date.

In select areas in the region, minimum wages will again be raised by another P5 or P7 starting Nov. 1; by another P5-P10 on May 1, 2016; and by P5-P10 in Nov. 1, 2016.

The final adjusted minimum wages by November 2016 would be:

• for those working in companies under the non-agriculture sector with more than 10 employees: P285, from the current P255-P275 depending on the area;

• for those working in companies under the non-agriculture sector? with less than 10 employees: P235, from the current P205-P215 range;

• for those employed under the agriculture sector: P235, from the current P215 or P225 rates;

• and for those working in mining firms: P285, from the current P280.

The wage adjustments will also allow the region to do away with the two-tiered wage system that is currently in place, with the end rates leading up to equal basic pay in every sector in all areas within Mimaropa.

Currently, daily minimum wages in the region vary depending on the industry and location. Wages are highest in Puerto Princesa, slightly higher in the tourist islands of Calapan, Puerto Galera, El Nido and Coron, and lower in the rest of the region.

Though the wage board approved the incremental hike, two members dissented with the decision.

Employers’ representative Osias C. Navarro and Trade representative Joel B. Valera said the approved increase is “not justified” and the tranches assigned were “too short” for firms to adjust the wages.

Firms may choose to file an appeal or exemption to the local wage board and will be subject to evaluation.

Source and courtesy: Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Business World

Hiniling ng mga state prosecutor sa Sandiganbayan Second Division na suspendihin si Marinduque Governor Carmencita Reyes na nahaharap sa kasong katiwalian.

“Wherefore, premises considered, it is most respectfully prayed of this Honorable Court that after due notice and hearing, an Order be issued suspending accused Carmencita O. Reyes from her office pending trial,” nakasaad sa mosyon ng prosekusyon na isinumite sa Second Division.

MANILA, Philippines - An electronic health information support system developed to help local government officials make informed decisions on health concerns has arrived in the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) region.

The ceremonial turnover of the eHATID (eHealth TABLET for Informed Decision-making), tablets that contain health-related information, particularly patient records, was one of the highlight of the recent Mimarop leg of the Science Nation Tour: Agham na Ramdam, which concided with the 51st regional development council meeting in Marinduque, the Department of Science and Technology said in a statement.

The eHATID LGU project is funded by the DOST’s Philippine Council for Health Research and Development in partnership with Ateneo de Manila University.

The project provides local government officials with an electronic medical record mobile application that generates reports for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and Department of Health and also ensures a more efficient patient record system that will save time and effort for both health workers and patients, the DOST said.

eHATID is a spin-off from the eHealth Tablet piloted in 10 sites two years ago and integrates the PhilHealth’s outpatient benefit package and claims system in the software.

Ateneo’s Dr. Dennis Batangan, the project leader, said eHATID LGU features a dashboard for real-time visualization through charts and graphs of the aggregated patient information in the locality for the decision-making of local government units.

It also features a mayor-doctor communication system as a channel for decision-making and sharing of health information.

In case Internet service is unavailable or intermittent, health workers can use the tablet offline to input patient records and then synch the encoded information to a government cloud facility later, Batangan added.

Marinduque was the first province in Mimaropa to adopt the eHATID LGU.

The eHATID LGU will be among PCHRD initiatives to be tackled at the eHealth Summit on July 28 as part of DOST’s National Science and Technology Week from July 24-28 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Source and courtesy: InterAksyon

Gov. Carmencita O. Reyes (Center)

Government prosecutors have moved for the suspension of Marinduque governor Carmencita Reyes in connection with her graft and technical malversation cases pending before the Second Division of the anti-graft court, Sandiganbayan.

In a motion submitted to the Second Division on June 10, the prosecution team pointed out that it has been more than a year since Reyes was arraigned for the charges, and yet the court has yet to impose against her the mandatory preventive suspension as provided under Section 13 of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

“Considering the nature of the indictment and validity of the information against the accused Reyes and the mandatory nature of Section 13 of Republic Act 3019 being invoked, the Honorable Court, with all due respect has no other recourse but to issue the preventive suspension being prayed for,” the prosecution team said in its motion.

Section 13 of RA 3019, states that “Any incumbent public officer against whom any criminal prosecution under a valid information under this Act or under Title 7, Book II the Revised Penal Code or for any offense involving fraud upon government or public funds or property, whether simple or as complex offense in whatever state of execution and mode of participation is pending in court, shall be suspended from office,”

The graft and technical malversation charges against Reyes stemmed from her alleged involvement in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, wherein funds supposedly for agricultural assistance for poor farmers were allegedly diverted as campaign kitty of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for 2004 elections.

Under the cases filed against her by the Office of the Ombudsman in June 2011, Reyes approved the purchase of P5 million-worth of equipment and fertilizers under the Arroyo administration's “Ginintuang Masaganang Ani Program” from a private supplier without holding a public bidding.

The prosecution further pointed out that in previous Supreme Court rulings the high tribunal was clear “clear and explicit” in stating that “it is a ministerial duty of the court to issue an order of suspension upon determination of the validity of the information filed before it”.

The Second Division has set the hearing of the prosecution's motion on June 25 at 1:30 p.m.

Source and courtesy: ELR, GMA News

USAID Logo and Marinduque Seal

BOAC, Marinduque - The province's first Programmatic Management of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (TB) Satellite Treatment Center (PMDRT-STC) was recently launched at the Boac Rural Health Unit.

The treatment center was funded by the USAid in coordination with the Philippine Business for Social Progress and in partnership with the Department of Health- MIMAROPA.

With the launching of the center, persons with drug-resistent TB will have a better chance of improving their conditions.

One of reasons of the drug resistance is the failure of patients to complete their first round of treatment.

Government established centers nationwide where TB, a curable disease when given early attention and detection,  is treated for free.

Source and courtesy: Mayda N. Lagran (LP/MN/PIA4B/Marinduque)