P1.16B for Dengvaxia vaccinees welcomed

CIBAC Party-List supports the passage of the P1.16B supplemental budget for Dengvaxia vaccinees.

This budget comes not from the people’s taxes but from the refund of Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur from unused vials of the said vaccines. It is but right that this total budget be used for assistance to Dengvaxia recipients who were most affected by the effects of these vaccines.

Almost 82 percent of the total amount shall fund the medical assistance for admitted patients. The remaining 18 percent is divided into monitoring of the vaccinees, purchase of supplies and medicines, and human resource deployment.

Kami po sa Cibac Party-List ay nakikiisa sa pagtitiyak na ang nabakunahan ng Dengvaxia ay mabibigyan ng sapat na atensyon at tulong medikal upang sila ay makaiwas sa anumang kapahamakan. Ito ang tama, maagap at matalinong pagharap sa suliraning naidulot ng bakunang Dengvaxia. - Cibac Party-List Rep. Sherwin Tugna

Irony of ironies

WHERE in the world is Chito E. Germino getting his ideas? He claims to be an expert on the Bible, but his thoughts are not only contrary to Scripture, but is totally ludicrous and out of line with reality.

For his latest rant, Germino says that the church has been infiltrated by Satan and all organized religion are under his spell. Seriously? He must have missed several key verses in the Bible which prove that the Church is solid and cannot be overcome by the devil.

Clearly, Jesus Christ built the Church and since He is its’ founder, he promised that it will never be defeated. “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18b)

Now, does that mean that it the people in the Church can’t go wrong? Of course not, because we are all human. But the Church is holy because of the supreme holiness of Christ its founder.

Furthermore, the Bible says, “This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:15b) The Church itself (the whole, not individual members) cannot be deceived by Satan as it is the foundation of the truth given by God.

Maybe Germino is planning to make his own religion, because he thinks he can interpret everything himself. He would be wise to listen to an old adage which says, “If you read the Bible and only pick out the verses you like, then you are not listening to God but yourself.” -Gerard Biagan

Wage hike for gov’t workers

WE bewail the present economic plight of government employees and call for a national minimum wage increase of P16,000/month from the current P10,510/month received by an employee with salary grade 1.

Earlier, labor groups in the private sector called for a wage increase citing the inflationary impact of the tax reform law. Based from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announcement last May 4, 2018, prices of basic goods and services rose to a 5 year high of 4.5 percent this April, higher than the January 2018 figures when the tax reform law was passed and higher than the government’s inflation target range for 2018 of 2-4 percent.

While we completely support the demand of private sector workers for a national minimum wage hike, we also call on government to give attention to the worsening economic condition of its workers especially lower ranked civilian employees at the local level.

The lowest ranked government worker gets lower income of P477.20/ day as compared to a minimum wage private sector worker in the National Capital Region who receives an income of P475 - P512 /day.

The situation of local government workers is even worse. An SG1 employee of the local government of Cuenca, Batangas (4th class municipality), for example, receives P358. 29/day as compared to a private sector minimum wage earner who receives P317 - P400/day as set by the regional wage board of Calabarzon.

This is among the many reasons we are calling for the implementation of a national minimum wage of P16,000/ month for government workers to give justice to lower ranked and local government workers instead of the salary standardization law which shall implement its last tranche of increase next year.

- Ferdinand Gaite, COURAGE