MEDIA UPDATES 

Black Nazarene procession to pass through new routes

By Pat C. Santos
01/08/2009


The City of Manila is ready for the holding of the Black Nazarene festivities tomorrow (Jan. 9) which will begin with praise and worship at 12:30 a.m. followed by the continuation of the Seven Last Stations of the Cross at 2 a.m. and a Concelebrated Mass by His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales at the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta at 7 a.m. 

The entire route to be used by the Callejeron or procession of the image of the Black Nazarene will be adequately secured and ambulances will be made available for devotees who might suffer from headaches and other ailments. 

The procession will immediately follow the Mass at Luneta passing through 10 major thoroughfares before reaching its final site in Quiapo Church by 3 p.m. 

The procession route is as follows: Luneta, Burgos Street, MacArthur Bridge, Rizal Avenue, Recto Avenue, Legarda Street, Arlegui Street, Quezon Boulevard, Carlos Palanca Street, Villalobos Street, Plaza Miranda and Quiapo Church/Basilica. 

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim is the Hermano Mayor in this year’s feast of the Black Nazarene. 

On the eve of the Nazarene fiesta, a healing Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Teodoro Bacani at 5 p.m. and the kissing of the Nazarene image will be held at 7 p.m. at the Quirino Grandstand.

A similar procession of the Black Nazarene that was airlifted to Cagayan de Oro City will be held for the sake of Nazarene devotees in Mindanao. 

Meanwhile, Lim ordered yesterday Manila Police District boss Chief Supt. Roberto Rosales to deploy 100 more men and 38 motorcycle cops in the major intersections during rush hours of 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

The mayor, during the annual command conference he called at his Oval Office, directed Col. De la Rosa to rectify a previous negative news report about the worsening traffic condition in the city under the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau and the need to bring back traffic aides of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, saying “the sole authority in maintaining peace and order, including traffic, is the Philippine National Police.” 

Lim concurred with the observation of his consultant on police affairs Col. Lazaro that “daily formations (flag ceremonies) are important in briefing the cops on the cases filed the previous day and what they have to work on during their duties and the need to revive the beat patrols in deterring the commission of crimes in the city.” 

Lim also ordered the immediate adoption of three shifts (of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) so that the cops will have time for their families. But he said that policemen must make sure to be on standby in cases of emergency. 

He also ordered the immediate removal of the police community precincts (PCPs), particularly beside Quiapo Church and the assignment of its 16 men to the Barbosa substation where their services are more needed. 

The mayor emphasized his no-vendor policy in all parts of the city on recommendation of ret. Col. Carlos Baltazar. 

He also reminisced that during the time of Manila’s Finest, the cops were not just involved in maintaining peace and order but were also on hand to render service to the people. 

“If you see a pregnant woman needing to be taken to the hospital, the mobile policemen must make sure the woman gets to the hospital fast,” the mayor stressed. 



Taxpayers reminded of Jan. 20 deadline 
Manila Standard
7 January 2009 | 11:00 PM

By Tony Macapagal 

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim yesterday appealed to taxpayers to settle their obligations ahead of the Jan. 20 deadline to avoid frayed nerves. 

He also called on city hall employees, especially those assigned in assisting the taxpaying public, to exert all efforts to make their stay here while clearing their tax papers and remitting their dues cool, safe, and pleasant, and worthwhile. 

Lim warned tellers and other revenue-taking personnel against improper issuance of official receipts, or worse, diverting payments for personal gain. 

Forwarned is forearmed: Any government worker discovered directing tax money into his or her personal account will be severely dealt with accordingly. 

Aside from honesty in dealing with taxpayers including the right computation of what they have to remit employees in the frontline should render service with a smile, winked Lim. 

The tax-paying period is from Jan. 5 to Jan. 20 unless the city council approves a resolution to extend the schedule. 

Remitting ones dues after deadline will be slapped additional interests and/or surcharges. 

Taxpayers would include owners of business establishments operating in Manila, and owners of real properties and operators of heavy machineries and equipment. 

City treasurer Erlinda Marteja announced that employees of her department and other revenue-collecting offices, including the bureau of permits and assessors office, will be reporting for work on weekends, attending to taxpayers 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays. On weekdays, they will stay up to 8 p.m. 

Ospital ng Maynila AIDS Clinic to reopen
12/08/2008 | 06:05 PM 

MANILA, Philippines –The AIDS Clinic at the Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center will be reopened in 2009, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim announced on Monday, a week after World AIDS Day.

The AIDS Clinic was first opened 1994 but had to be closed in 1998 for lack of funds.

"By next year, it will have a reopening because the house and other facilities for the said clinic are still there," Lim said.

He stressed the importance of reopening the clinic as part of his advocacy to promote good health among his constituency, especially in the light of escalating prices of medicines and the high cost of medical treatment.

Lim and social hygiene chief Dr. Dianne Mendoza led the distribution of red ribbons to city employees during flag ceremony at Freedom Triangle at City Hall.

Lim reminded everyone that AIDS threatens millions of people around the world and he stressed the need for vigorous efforts to prevent it from spreading.

Among the countries that currently face the huge task of facing escalating numbers of AIDS cases are Thailand and some countries in Africa.

”It's time about time we focus on this kind of ailments as there are no medicines discovered yet to treat the diseases and this cause a lot of pain to the person inflicted it and their love ones," Lim said. - GMANews.TV 

Choose quality and safety over cheap price, Lim reminds shoppers

KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMANews.TV
12/06/2008 | 12:48 PM 

MANILA, Philippines - With the season for Christmas shopping at hand, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim on Saturday reminded shoppers to think of quality and safety above everything, especially when buying products that could cause fire.

At the same time, Lim warned vendors against peddling substandard products, saying he won’t hesitate to suspend their licenses when caught violating the law.

"Our fellow Filipinos should test the products being sold to them to find out its quality. This is for their own sake and safety; they should look for the DTI marking to make sure that they wouldn't be endangered," he said in Filipino during a radio interview.

He told consumers that quality, not price, should be the primary consideration when buying a product.

"Paalala lang sa ating mga kababayan na wag silang matutukso kung mura ang halaga kung ang kapalit naman eh masasaktan sila o masusunog ang bahay nila, eh mas malaki ang kanilang gagastusin (I am reminding our fellow Filipinos not be tempted by the cheap prices if in the end it will only hurt them or burn their house, they'll end up incurring more expenses)," he said.

He issued the statement in connection with the campaign of the city government and the Manila Police District against defective or substandard Christmas decorations being sold in the city, particularly in Quiapo and Divisoria, which prompted the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to issue a new seal for approved products.

Lim said that suspension of vendors' licenses would serve as a warning for all violators of DTI regulations. 

" I hope this would serve as a warning or notice for shop owners to be careful because they might sacrifice operating their businesses for one whole year. We will not hesitate to close down their shops," he said. " We will cancel the permit and licenses of those who continue to sell dangerous products; they will not be able to sell anymore." 

"Dapat ho managot din sila, meron naman silang mga personnel, meron naman silang mga tauhan, ipainspeksyon nila sa ahensya ng pamahalaan na ang hangarin lang eh ang kaligtasan ng ating mga mamimili (They should be accountable, they have personnel, they have people, they can have their products inspected by government agencies concerned with the consumer safety)," he said.

Lim suggested that a special team be formed by the DTI and the Manila local government to further strengthen the campaign.

He also said that he will coordinate with the Bureau of Immigration on Monday to find out the status of the owners of the shops selling products suspected to be substandard.

"Kung turista lang pala sila dito, hindi sila pwede magbenta dito sa atin, siguro maging miyembro ngating inspection team ang immigration para coordinated lahat ng ating gagawin (If they are tourists, they can't do business here, maybe we can recruit immigration personnel into our inspection team so that we will be coordinated)," he said.

Lim also promised to keep Manila streets "vendor-free" during the day.

"'Yan nga ang ginagawa natin na ang kalsada ay kinakailangan zero vendors para yung mga turista naman at ang mga mamimili na gustong pumunta ng Divisoria, ay makapunta doon ng walang sagabal at obstruction (That's what we're doing – keeping the streets with zero vendors so that tourists and shoppers who want to go to Divisoria can come without obstruction)," he said. 

Vendors will still be allotted enough space, specifically one by one square meter.

" From 7 p.m., vendors are allowed to sell on the streets for the night market because people have already gone home by then, they wouldn't be bothering anyone)," he said.- GMANews.TV 

Manila offers free Dream Match viewing 

By Tina Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:27:00 12/05/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- Residents of Manila will have the chance to watch the free live telecast of Manny Pacquiao's fight against Oscar dela Hoya on giant screens to be set up by the local government around the city.

Residents in District I can see Pacquiao slug it out with De la Hoya at the Tondo Sports Complex; District II residents at the Sentro ng Malikhaing Manileño (formerly Patricia Sports Complex); District III residents at the Rasac Covered Court; District IV, Arturo Tolentino Sports Complex (formerly Dapitan Sports Complex); District V, San Andres Sports and Civic Center and District VI, Teresa Covered Court.

Projectors and LCD screens will be used for the no commercial-break showing, which was what Mayor Alfredo Lim's predecessor, now Environment Secretary Jose Atienza, did every time Pacquiao had a match.

The city government said a total of 20,000 people will get the chance to watch the fight live and for free, with the sites ready for admission as early as 8 a.m.

Lim said residents with tickets previously distributed by the city government will have priority admission into the complexes. Those without tickets may be accommodated later, subject to seat availability.

Marshals will be assigned to the sports complexes to ensure there is no overcrowding or shoving.

"We want to give [poor city residents] access, so they would be able to watch the event live, as it happens in Las Vegas," Lim said, explaining the tickets were equally distributed among the residents of the city's six districts.

The mayor said he directed his secretary, Rafaelito Garayblas, to coordinate with Solar Sports Entertainment so the bout may be shown at no cost to the city.

City government officials are also eyeing the use of the Ninoy Aquino stadium for the same purpose, since it can accommodate a larger crowd of approximately 5,000 people.

There, no tickets will be needed as the accommodation will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Security measures, meanwhile, will be coordinated with the Manila Police District.



Manila to file charges vs 3 ‘dishonest’ market employees
12/04/2008 | 08:54 PM 

MANILA, Philippines - Three market employees in Manila will be slapped with grave dishonesty charges for their alleged failure to remit to the city government some P100,000 collected from stallholders for their mayor’s permit and other registration papers.

To be charged are Eugenio Guerrero, Presisima Gonzales and Edgar Suarez, assigned at the Wagas, Asuncion and Padre Rada markets in Tondo.

Mayor Alfredo Lim ordered the filing of charges following a complaint filed by stallholders Wilfredo Villalobos, Rosario Alcaras, Ramon San Agustin, Maria Oreta and others before the Manila Barangay Bureau.

During the investigation conducted by Dir. Roland Lim, head of the Manila Barangay Bureau, Gonzales said she had remitted the collection for mayor’s and business permits for January to March 2008 to Suarez, but Suarez allegedly did not remit the collection to the city treasurer’s office.

Gonzales said Guerrero had given her the permission to conduct the collection.

Guerrero, in a memorandum to his superior, Efleda Castro, denied his involvement in the alleged illegal collection. He also denied authorizing Gonzales to collect for the permits of the vendors.

Suarez did not submit any motion to dismiss or any bill of particulars, and opted to be silent in the investigation. - GMANews.TV 


Manila's women leaders learn to be GEMs 


By Tin F. Garcia
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:18:00 12/01/2008


MANILA, Philippines—When the fog rolled in to blanket Tagaytay City's Estancia Hotel in a translucent mist recently last month, 30 woman officials and barangay chairpersons from the City of Manila were getting ready to broaden their horizons on Gender and Development (GAD) and the issue of Violence Against Women And Children (VAWC).

It was the group's first time to undergo intensive training on these topics as local executives.

Anna Leah Sarabia of Kababaihan Laban Sa Karahasan was aware that developing gender-sensitivity within three days, even among women leaders, was an uphill battle.

With the help of Mayor Alfredo S. Lim, and with funding from the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives, the "kapitanas" were selected from more than 900 barangays (villages) in Manila to participate in the course on GAD planning and budgeting.

It would be just the first step in a yearlong project to nurture Gender Equality Models (GEMs) in Manila.

The urgency for this type of training became immediately clear after the first lecture on "Sex, Gender and Discrimination" given by Sarabia. Initially, the participants thought that as leaders of their community, the problem of gender bias was minimal. That was until they started comparing the number of hours they and their male partners spent on their family, their work and themselves.

On the average, men spend 3.5 hours more than women on themselves, recreation and sleep (some women sleep only four hours a day); and four hours less on family and home matters, even if women and men spend almost the same amount of time on their work or profession. With the time management exercise, it was easy to see the difference.

Despite the women's multiple responsibilities—family, work, community, household chores and spousal duties—their contributions and status are not given equal importance. Worse, they are often victims of stereotyping, abuse and violence.

During a talk on gender-responsive governance given by Dr. Ruby Palma of the Quezon City Gender and Development Office, she presented the aspects of transparency, accountability and gender-responsiveness, among other elements, as basic to the definition of good governance in local governments.

Dr. Palma encouraged the kapitanas to find ways to implement these in their local government units as well as to help organize other women in forming support groups. At the same time, she stressed that "women have perspectives and talents that could significantly enhance the quality of governance."

Dr. Florence Dorotan of the Women's Action Network for Development then lectured on how to formulate a GAD plan. Most of the participants argued about how their traditional barangay development council planning depended entirely on the figures handed to them "from above" annually by city and DILG executives.

She emphasized that there must be a paradigm shift toward learning what gender issues need to be addressed first, before the projected expenses can be indicated. A GAD plan without a GAD budget is a joke, she said, "while a GAD budget without a GAD plan is a disaster."

Towards the end of the seminar, the kapitanas, armed with a new-found awareness of gender issues, were able to come up with their respective GAD plan and budget tables for the following year.

A review to be conducted early this month will show if any of their plans are realistic. Draft resolutions for the passage of a Gender Equality Code are waiting to be written.

Soon enough, Sarabia hopes the GEMs of the country's capital city will join the ranks of other LGUs that have started to work for gender equality in the home, community and the nation.

These GEMs are expected to be champions of gender-responsive communities in Manila, polished by a keen awareness of the key concepts of gender and development, and bearing the patina of leaders who know they can make a difference.