Philippine President Messed Up Filipino Holidays. Again.

If you move a historical date to another date, then such holiday has lost its meaning.

Two Mondays have been declared holidays this August.

By virtue of Presidential Proclamation No 1463, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has declared August 18 a special non-working holiday and the following Monday as regular holiday. 

The proclamation was signed February 18, 2008. 

An earlier law, Republic Act 9492 provides that holidays, except those, which are religious in nature, are moved to the nearest Monday.   

August 18th is the nearest Monday to the 21st, the day the country celebrates Ninoy Aquino Day. But, by operation of law, the celebration is moved to the 18th, which in turn becomes a holiday this year.

And since the day is a special working holiday, the law mandates that workers who serve in the day get 30% of more of their daily rate. Working in excess of 8 hours, they can get 30% of the hourly rate of the day. 

Meanwhile, by the same law, National Heroes Day, which ordinarily a celebrated every last Sunday of the month has been moved to August 25.

August 25 is the last Monday of August.

Bohol Anti-Rabies Ordinance

Governor Erico Aumentado vowed Thursday to send a memorandum to all local executives in an attempt to unify all municipal ordinances to the newly passed Bohol Anti-Rabies Ordinance.

Aumentado's action came as the Bohol Rabies Prevention and Eradication Council (BRPEC) met at the Mansion to resolve issues that hinder the province-wide implementation of anti-rabies prevention and eradication program. 

BRPEC has initially sought the governor's help to resolve the issue non-uniformity of applicable laws in the dog registration and vaccination in the towns. 

The program calls for massive dog registration and vaccination, dog-population control, elimination after impounding, bite management, public education as well as putting up local mechanisms to bring the campaign to the communities with barangay workers as front-liners. 

With different enforceable local laws legislated in the towns, the council members has asked the governor for help to guide local program implementers as to which law would assure sustainability to the program which aims to make the province rabies free by 2010.

Sustainability can be assured if barangays are allowed to get shares in the implementation as well as in the collection of dog registration and vaccination fees.

The fees would assure a revolving fund for vaccine and dog-tag acquisition as proof of vaccination.

The provincial ordinance mandates that dog registration would be P50 for a female and P100 for a male dog. It also states that 50% of the money collected goes to the provincial government as anti-rabies program revolving fund while 30% goes to the frontline barangay government while the remaining 20% goes to the municipal government.

The registration also goes with a subsequent vaccination and dog-tagging.

Some towns however collect minimal amounts for dog-registration and do not require dog-tagging, further complicating possible rabies infection and dog population control. - Rey Anthony Chiu - PIA

Bohol Town Reviews Healthcare Programs

Catigbian highlighted local initiatives of improving people's nutrition and its health service delivery in an attempt to stake its investment on its people: the town's largest economic asset.

Now set to implement priority programs for another year, local leaders met with sector stakeholders to review and analyze its past health program priorities.

In a workshop facilitated by Department of Health Regional and Provincial authorities, the Service Delivery Implementation Review also gathered key sector representatives and town key officials July 30-31.    

Health programs reviewed and analyzed include the past local priorities on water and sanitation inlucded in the town's over-all health appropriation, household level toilets, potable water supply provision, local response to the general agenda of rabies prevention and eradication, home deliveries and the local health service unit's PhilHealth accreditation.  

In a statement, Mayor Roberto Salinas stressed that review would allow local planners to come up with remedies to issues that need immediate attention while it would tell town leaders signals to continue if not enhance services that have been working properly.

Moreover, he hoped that the review analysis would capacitate local health and legislative workers including key town officials to craft and operational budget that could allow them to expand its services to its people. He also added that the town would soon single-handedly operate a multi-million health establishment.

Attending the workshop were local health workers led by Dr. Allan Evangelista and nurse May Madrangca, the town budget officer, accountant, treasurer, social welfare worker, planning and development coordinator, Sangguniang Bayan Appropriations chair Virgilio Lurot, barangay chairmen's association head Teofredo Tongco, DepEd supervisor Ellen Ejoc.

Workshop participants committed to support the towns health service programs, according to Salinas. - Rey Anthony Chiu - PIA