Cebu City holds summer jobs fair for youths

Cebu City (02 March) - Cebu City Councilor Sisinio Andales, Committee Chair on Labor and Employment, announced that summer jobs will be available to the youths this coming weekend.

The summer jobs fair will be held this coming weekend March 5 and 6 at the Pit-os Elementary School aimed at providing temporary jobs to youths ages18 to 24 years old.

Andales said the main objective of the summer jobs fair for the youths is to help them earn money this summer period to augment for their enrolment for college tuition.

Just last weekend, almost 200 Cebuanos were hired during a two-day local jobs fair also initiated by the Cebu City Government through the Department of Manpower and Placement Services (DMPS).

The recent jobs fair last February 26 and 27 was conducted in Barangays Mabolo and Pardo where 125 individuals were hired on the spot in Mabolo and 58 applicants found employment in Pardo after being interviewed by private companies in search for additional personnel.

Cebu City - Department of Manpower and Placement Services Chief Fidel Magno said the jobs fair will be conducted weekly as part of the local government’s thrust to assist and facilitate employment to Cebuanos looking for work.

“Usually, around 15 to 20 percent of applicants are hired on the spot during jobs fair,” according to Magno.

With the conduct of weekly jobs fair, an undertaking of the Cebu City Government through the DMPS it is hoped that the employment rate will also increase, Magno said. (PIA-Cebu/Fayette C. Riñen)

Container vans as temporary shelters to families in Cebu affected by demolition

By: Hazel F. Gloria

Cebu City, March 2 (PIA) – The Cebu City government provided container vans as temporary shelter to about 50 families living near Mahiga River whose houses were recently demolished to give way to a massive dredging and river clean-up in the city.

The vans were located at the North Reclamation Area and each of them can accommodate two families.

The Aboitiz Group of Companies lends the vans to the Cebu City government and will allow the use of the container vans for only one month due to a lot of shipments and other needs of the company.

However, Mayor Rama will request the Aboitiz group to extend the use of the vans to give more time to the families and the local government to find new resettlement sites for them.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama with Councilors Roberto Cabarrubias and Edgardo Labella joined Fr. Joseph Yntig during the opening and blessing of the van cum shelter yesterday.

A ‘cloudburst’ that hit Metro Cebu on Jan. 25 and flooded portions of Cebu and Mandaue Cities prompted the clearing of the Mahiga riverbanks that are mostly occupied by informal settlers.

On the other hand, there are over 236 houses along the Bulacao River in Cebu City’s south district are also up for demolition.

The Cebu City ’s Squatter Prevention Encroachment Elimination Division (SPEED) already gave demolition notices to the residents in those sites. (PIA-7/HFG)

Imported meat should be handled properly: NMIS

By: Hazel F. Gloria

Cebu City, March 2 (PIA) -- The National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) officials informed the public that imported meat should be handled properly based on the standards set by the agency.

Dr. Alvin Leal of the NMIS assured the public though that the imported meat products are still good for human consumption if it will be cooked right away once thawed.

In Cebu City, imported meat products are confiscated if caught being displayed openly and not inside the cold storage.

Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries Chief Dr. Alice Utlang said imported meat arrives in the country are frozen or chilled in order to keep its freshness
but there some unscrupulous meat vendors that  thaw the frozen product by using boiling water.

Bacteria increases the moment the meat is thawed and not cooked right away, Utlang continued.

NMIS is now implementing the new AO-22-2010 or the rules and regulations in handling frozen or chilled meat and meat products.

Utlang said one provision in the AO is that frozen meat should be re-packed, since it comes in at least 20 kilos by an establishment accredited by the NMIS.

The product should be transported to the market through a vehicle with a refrigerator and stored in the appropriate storage facility in the market with a temperature of not more than four degrees Celsius, she added.

Last year, NMIS inspected 29,450 tons of imported meat that arrived and distributed to various places in Central Visayas but only 154 metric tons were sold in various department stores in Cebu City.

NMIS-7 Regional Director Romeo Capa explained that imported meat products that are sold in groceries of department stores are safe for human consumption because these are placed inside the cold storage.

Imported meat products are not totally banned in the wet markets, but the vendors should see to it that they have freezers for these. (PIA-Cebu/HFG) 

BIR-13 aims for higher collection in 2011

By: Hazel F. Gloria

Cebu City, March 1(PIA) -- The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) – 13 aims to increase tax collection this year as it starts its tax information campaign with the theme, “Buwis Mo para sa Bagong Pilipinas.”    

In the AGIO-7 Forum today, BIR-13 Information Officer Isabelo Suelto, Jr said with the theme, BIR’s desire is to collect the correct amount of taxes that is sufficient enough to support nation- building.

Taxpayers must also do their part of paying the correct amount of taxes where every centavo of the rightful tax due to the government is paid to adequately fund the various public services the administration envisions and wants to deliver, Suelto added.

This change of attitude or values in both the tax collector and the taxpayer will ensure solid governance anchored on improved and timely delivery of public goods and services, he continued.

BIR-13 Assistant Regional Director Conrad Lee said they are now intensifying the tax campaign against tax evaders in order to increase their tax collections this year.

Last year’s collection increased to 12.33 percent compared to 2009 which is 9.5 percent and the Bureau is given the initial increase of target goal from 15 percent – 20 percent this year, Lee continued.

The bureau is also using the benchmarking method in order to monitor taxpayers and it works well in keeping track of the tax system, Lee added.

Through tax benchmarking, Lee said they are able to monitor tax payments and business accounts through the graphs and data that become very useful to the job of tax collecting.

Lee said that tax evasion is a serious crime punishable by the law. “We always advise everybody to pay up remittances accordingly and Cebuanos are good taxpayers,” Lee concluded.(pia7/Hazel Gloria)