2,263CLworkersget P15-Mmoneyclaims

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional Office No. 3, as of October, has already posted a 94 percent settlement rate of P15,865,395.38, benefiting 2,263 workers from all over the regionthrough its Single Entry Approach (SEnA) scorecard.

DOLE Regional Director Ana C. Dione reported to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz that the 94 percent rating is attributed to the settlement of 1,070 of the 1,138 requests for assistance (RFAs) handled by the regional and field offices. This figure likewise represents the biggest portion of the 1,134 total RFAs disposed, recording an astonishing 100 percent overall disposition rate for the period in review.

By province, monetary claims paid to workers were distributed as follows: Zambales (P5,031,144.72 – 415 workers), Pampanga (P3,292,299.93 – 429 workers), Bulacan (P3,013,572.28 – 341 workers), Bataan (P2,074,874.18 – 547 workers), Tarlac (P1,095,218.36 – 420 workers), Nueva Ecija (P665,934.37 - 57 workers), and Aurora (P635,688.47 – 47 workers). Meanwhile, the regional office also settled monetary claims amounting to P56,663.07 benefiting seven workers.

Like in the past, the strategic efforts of the regional and field offices, through the DOLE’s SENA, were able to settle RFAs with the least amount of time, some less thana week or evenat times withinthe dayor hour, thus, the SENA maintains its reputation as a speedy and inexpensive meansinresolving labor disputes.

Highlights of the SENA include far-based Aurora, where it only took one day for three hotel and resort workers toreceive their back wages amounting to P105,976.55 from their employer through the SENA’s intervention.

In Bataan, it also only took one day for accidentvictim construction worker Fabir Fadriquela to receive his claims amounting to a hefty P170,000, representing unpaid salaries and various medical and therapeutic expenses, from Yuan Tech Philippines, the company which he works for.

“Napakalaking tulong po ng SENA sa akin. Dahil po dito, meron na po akong pantustos sa mga gastusin ng aking gamutan at therapy para

With the plans and investment programs presented to CDC, the state-owned corporation also approved the extension of their lease agreement for another 25 years, Laigo added.

The capital investment for the whole concession term ending in 2040will be usedfor various improvements of the company’s water and used water facilities in order to promote the Freeport Zone as an ideal business hub for multinational companies, Laigo said.

For thisyear,ClarkWater hascompletedthree new deep wells that will go fully operational by the first quarter of 2015, upgraded three major booster pumps, and installed generator sets on its old water sources to improve and strengthen supply reliability, he added.

The construction, reinforcement and replacementofnewsewerlinesforusedwaterareamong Clark Water’s utmost priorities in the succeeding ten years.

Otherusedwater servicestargetedbythebusinessplanincludestheupgradingofthecompany’s wastewater treatment plant scheduled intermittently until the end of concession term, as well as the construction and improvement of lift stations, which is expectedto materialize inthe next four years.