Sidewalk vendors and other small livelihood operators, classified as members of the informal sector (IS), will soon benefit from a support package government and non-government institutions have prepared for them.

The inter-agency Social Development Committee (SDC) of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board has approved the creation of a sub-committee that would oversee policy matters affecting the IS.

The IS composed of about 45 percent of the country’s 80-million population. It contributes 45 to 50 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

In a report to Malacaņang, NEDA said this would assure that the welfare and rights of sidewalk vendors and other IS members are protected and promoted.

The sub-committee is tasked to ensure the formulation and implementation of policies and programs for the IS through the institutionalization of support from various state agencies, the civil society and social partners.

It will also recommend policies, programs and projects to the SDC; provide venues for discussion on policy and program issues and concerns; advise the SDC on strategies and other imperatives for action; and coordinate, monitor and act as oversight body in carrying out programs and policies for the sector.

NEDA said the government is undertaking programs to enable the sector to have access to social and legal protection as well as productive resources.

These include the protection of street vendors’ interest thru lobbying and advocacy with relevant institutions like the Metro Manila Development Authority, the tapping of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Philippine Savings Bank to put up insurance plans linked with the Social Security System (SSS); inclusion of the IS in livelihood and skills training; and the setting up of one-stop-shop windows of information services at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Other programs being undertaken are the extension of occupational health and safety services; the empowerment of IS micro-enterprises and livelihood projects; and the institutionalization of data collection on IS in national and local surveys.

Policy matters affecting the IS in the regions would be handled by the Regional Development Councils, NEDA said.

The IS sub-committee will include the Department of Labor and Employment as chairman, NEDA as co-chairman, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government providing secretariat services.

The Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) placement efforts have helped 40,905 people get jobs in the National Capital Region (NCR) from January to June this year.

More than half of the number or 28,344 were placed through the employment assistance services of the DOLE-NCR and the DOLE-supervised public employment service offices (PESO) in the region.

A DOLE report reaching Malacaņang said the other 12,561 persons who landed jobs were either hired on the spot (3,611) or placed in local jobs (8,950) through various job fairs conducted during the period in review.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in most of her visits and speaking engagements in the metropolis and in different parts of the Philippines, acknowledged the conduct of job fairs as an effective way to promote employment and open windows for economic improvement.

DOLE-NCR Director Alex E. Maraan cited the cooperation of the private sector and the PESOs in opening up and increasing job opportunities in the region.

Maranan said 17 PESOs based in local government units (LGU) and non-government organizations in Metro Manila helped potential workers and the disadvantaged to get jobs suited to their skills or in acquiring needed training through counseling sessions.

Metro Manila is composed of the cities and towns of Caloocan, Las Pinas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Manila, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Paranaque, Pasay, Pasig, Pateros, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela.

Maraan said the latest NGO-based PESO, facilitated by Rep. Allan Peter Cayetano, was set up in Taguig to complement efforts of an existing LGU PESO.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today acknowledged the growing enthusiasm and cooperation communities nationwide have shown to weed out criminal and terrorist groups and other threats to national socio-economic growth.

In a radio message aired nationwide, the President said "Ito naman talaga ang gusto nating mangyari sa ating kampanya: Ang makipagtulungan ang buong komunidad sa pagsugpo sa mga salot sa lipunan. (This was what we have always wanted to happen in our anti-crime, anti-terrorist and anti-graft campaign: That communities will help in eliminating society’s menaces)."

She said many citizens have been calling up the police and telling on criminal activities in their areas, as she urged peace-loving persons to continue dialing Hotline 117 to report on crimes.

An invigorated police-community relations program, she added, has strengthened the anti-crime drive as the people have started looking at the military and police forces as their partners in law and order enforcement.

"We are restoring the faith of our people in our law enforcers, which is the most important driving force of our campaign against crime and terrorism," the President said.

She said anti-crime advocate Tessie Ang-Sy had informed her that many big-time kidnappers wanted to give up to authorities, through Ang-Sy, because they feared that lawmen would eventually catch them.

"Maganda na ang ating set-up kontra sa mga (We have put up an effective set-up against) kidnapping syndicates," she noted, as she lauded the police force for recovering, in a matter of hours, victims of a recent kidnapping case perpetrated by the Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang.

The President vowed to continue leading the drive to bring about a safer and more secured environment for the people.

She reiterated her appeal to newly-elected barangay officials to help government speedily deliver social services to their constituencies and to immediately execute anti-poverty programs.

"Kailangan ko ang inyong tulong upang ipaliwanag sa ating mga kababayan ang mga patakaran ng pamahalaan at maglinaw ng mga isyu (I need your help in explaining government policies and to clarify issues)," she said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today announced that she had ordered the confiscation of all firearms and explosives in Mt. Diwalwal in Monkayo, Compostela Valley following recent violent incidents at the gold-rush site.

"Ipinag-utos ko na rin na kumpiskahin ang lahat ng firearms at explosives doon para matiyak ang kaligtasan ng publiko at umiral ang batas at kaayusan sa nasabing lugar (I have also ordered the confiscation of all firearms and explosives in Mt. Diwalwal to ensure the safety of the public and that law and order would prevail in the area)," the President said in an address over radio this afternoon.

The President directed Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, chairman of the Peace and Order Council of Southern Mindanao or Region 11, to oversee the seizure of the firearms and explosives.

Earlier, she had ordered the temporary cessation of mining activities in the site after violence sparked anew, aggravating an already tense situation that had stirred the area in the last 19 years.

She said that for the meantime, the government would take complete control of the area to ensure the peace.

"Ipinag-utos ko sa Department of Natural Resources at sa Department of Interior and Local Government na itigil na muna ang pagmimina habang inaayos natin ang mga problema, kabilang na ang tungkol sa environment at ang kapakanan ng small-scale miners (I have ordered DENR and the DILG to stop for the meantime the mining operations in the area while we are solving issues pertaining to the environment and the welfare of small-scale miners)," she said.

"Sa ganitong paraan lamang natin mapapangalagaan ang kapakanan ng mga taga-Mount Diwalwal at nang sa gayon ay maipagpatuloy nila ang kanilang mga gawaing pangkabuhayan nang walang sagabal (Only in this way can we protect the security of those living in Mt. Diwalwal and they can continue their livelihood without disturbance)," the President said.

She noted that the mining issue in Mt. Diwalwal has dragged on for 19 years and that many people have died from mining hazards.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today cited the governments of the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom for their decision to freeze CPP-NPA assets.

In a radio address this afternoon, the President also agreed with the US declaration of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) as a foreign terrorist group.

"Maliwanag, ipinagbabawal ng ating batas ang armadong pagkilos laban sa pamahalaan, lalo na ang terrorismo tulad ng ginagawa ng CPP-NPA (It is clear that our laws prohibit armed movements against government, particularly the terrorism perpetrated by the CPP-NPA)," the President said.

She said the CPP maintained an armed component – the NPA, an armed group whose primary objective is to bring down the government and the democratic system through force and violence.

She noted that the NPA had been involved in countless acts of violence, not only against soldiers but also against unarmed and innocent civilians.

They have committed crimes such as arson, extortion and the assassination of political leaders, "including (the torture and killing of) common people they happen not to fancy," she said. They have also continued to engage in the destruction of public utilities and public transport utilities, she added.

"Ang mga pagkilos na ito ay itinuturing nating acts of terrorism (We consider these as acts of terrorism)," she said.

"Hanggang mayroong armed component ang CPP, itinuturing natin silang lumalabag sa ating Saligang Batas (Until there exists an armed component of the CPP, we will consider them as violating the Constitution)," she said.

Meanwhile, Presidential Management Staff Head Silvestre Afable and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita said the reported plan of Jose Ma. Sison to retire from the National Democratic Front (NDF) had no bearing in the peace talks between the government and the NDF, the political arm of the CPP.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today visited the family-beneficiaries of a 500-unit government housing project at the Baseco Compound at the Port Area, Manila, seeing to it that victims of a recent big fire that hit the area have started rebuilding their lives.

"Those who became victims of the fire and lost their shelters are happier because they now have their respective houses and a community to boot with," the President said.

The temporary houses, made of bamboo and nipa, cost some P15,000 each. These were considered as temporary shelters inasmuch as the family-beneficiary have the option to later relocate to low-cost government housing projects.

"While the houses are temporary, these are much better than the previous structures here, so the residents are much happier now," the President said.

She said the Eight Thousand Foundation, one of the private institutions assisting the government in the project, would donate 250 lavatory units for the housing area.

In response to the request of the residents, the President said there would also be a donation of materials to be used for the construction of septic tanks and a drainage system in the community.

The lavatories and bathrooms would be put up in between every two houses.

The President said the housing project has given livelihood to beneficiaries of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) since they were the ones tapped to build the housing units.

Several Baseco residents have opted to build concrete houses with the help of the City Government of Manila which provided them with P15,000 worth of construction materials.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today gave due stress on the important role being played by barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials in strengthening national institutions and in building a strong Republic.

Speaking before the Barangay Orientation Session and Pledge of Commitment ceremony at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, the President also congratulated the newly-elected officials in Metro Manila.

Metro Manila, which has more than 1,700 barangays, is composed of the cities of Manila, Caloocan, Quezon, Pasig, Marikina, Mandaluyong, Malabon, Valenzuela, Makati, Muntinlupa, Pasay, Las Pinas, Paranaque, and the municipalities of San Juan, Pateros, Navotas and Taguig.

In her speech, the President said that as proof of her recognition of the role of the barangays in the country, she had personally removed from her power the signing of travel authority for the village officials.

She said the power was now vested on the secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government.

Since she assumed the presidency in January 2001, the President said that one of the initial steps that she took was to hasten the release of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of local government units and the different barangays in the country.

During the occasion, the Chief Executive witnessed the pledging of commitment of Metro Manila’s barangay and SK officials who vowed to pursue the President’s vision for a strong Republic.

In their pledge, the barangay officials and youth representatives also committed themselves to promote good governance and provide dedicated and sincere services to their respective communities.