FDCP Fully Vaccinates 5,000+ Film & Entertainment Workers through its #GoodJab Vax Program

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

A total of 5,102 film and audiovisual workers have been fully vaccinated under the Film Development Council of the Philippines’ (FDCP) #GoodJab Vaccination Program in partnership with the Quezon City (QC) and Manila City Government.

The third and last batch to complete the inoculation of 3,500 workers under the City of Manila’s “Vaccine Nation is the Solution” Program, received their second doses at Adamson University on October 18. The second dose vaccination program that started on September 29 is also part of the final activities of last month’s Philippine Film Industry Month.

In this collaboration with the City of Manila Health Department with Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, the FDCP National Registry (NR) successfully carried out the vaccination of 3,500 film and AV workers. FDCP’s #GoodJAB and Manila’s “Vaccine Nation is the Solution” are supported by SIP Purified Water.

Last June, the 1,500 FDCP-registered film workers were vaccinated in the “Bakuna Nights para sa Film at Entertainment Workers” of the FDCP and QC Government through the #QCProtekTODO program at the Quezon City Hall Vaccination Site.

“With the recent developments, including our fully vaccinated film workers, things are looking up for the local film industry. This will not be possible without the help of our stakeholders who believe in the importance of our film workers’ safety especially in these trying times. Many thanks to Mayor Isko Moreno, Mayor Joy Belmonte, and their vaccination teams, as well as FDCP’s National Registry team and FDCP employees who volunteered and provided full assistance,” said FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño.

The 5,102 vaccinated workers are all FDCP NR registrants. The national film agency compiled and submitted the list of National Registry for Audiovisual Workers (NRAW)  registrants with their information and required documents to the City of Manila and Quezon City.

 

For inquiries and other concerns, kindly email nationalregistry@fdcp.ph or visit nationalregistry.fdcp.ph.

Four Reminders for Returning University Students

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

When it comes to university, taking some time off can be beneficial. Some people may need to take a semester off to focus on home or work-related matters, while other people may choose to spend that time on other aspects of life. No matter what the reason may be for taking a break from university, there comes a time when a person has to return.

There are quite a few things that have to be done in order to fully prepare oneself for the return, ranging from making sure that a person has all of the necessary supplies to making sure that there are available resources to tackle extra work, such as essay writing services. Here are the four most important things to remember when returning to university.

1. Double Check the Necessary Supplies

One of the largest mistakes that people make when returning to university is that they may forget some of the necessary supplies. After all, when a person falls out of the habit of regular routine, such as going to class, it can be easy to begin misplacing supplies.

Most classes and courses will have a list of required items that can be checked off. Other times, a professor will be open to providing a list of required resources when asked. It is always best to be prepared for something that doesn’t happen than to be unprepared when something does happen, and this concept applies to having the supplies to do one’s best at university.

2. Review Goals and Programs

Depending on how much time has been taken off, it’s easy to forget what goals a person had in place for classes, majors, and scheduling. There’s a good chance that either an advisor knows what a person spoke about, or that there may be notes lying around with old coursework.

Whether people choose to stick with the same goals and programs that they started with in university or people choose to switch paths once a little bit more time has passed, it is always important to change the goalposts and plans as necessary. Nobody wants to get into a semester’s worth of classes only to feel as if they aren’t suited for the desired goal. A quick review of future plans can be incredibly helpful in this regard.

3. Review Resources to Rely on

Going back to university is a large undertaking for many people and as such, it is perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed at times. The best action that someone can take in regards to this is making sure that he or she has the right resources to rely on when courses get tough or begin throwing too much work for one person to handle.

Some examples of resources to rely on include study groups, tutoring sessions, or essay writing services like Homework Help Global. All of these can assist with helping people get the work done, understand what goes into the work, and know what to do for the course next.

4. Allow for Recreational Time

Last, but most certainly not least, it is important to make sure that people leave enough time for themselves. Recreational time can come in many forms depending on what people want to do with their spare time. Some people, particularly those who are more social, may find that hanging out with friends or family helps. Other people may find that going to gyms can fill their time nicely.

Plenty of people are content with sitting down and relaxing in their spare time. The point is that it is important to leave enough space for that time, as this will help people maintain their full focus for their courses.

DOTr ready to defend it's recommendation to.increase passenger capacity in public transportation

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is ready to defend its recommendation to increase passenger capacity in public transportation, road, and rail, with pilot implementation in Metro Manila, before the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Thursday, 28 October 2021.

During the Public hearing of the Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Finance on the Proposed 2022 Budget of the DOTr and its attached agencies yesterday, 26 October 2021, Assistant Secretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Steve Pastor said the Department has submitted to the IATF its formal position paper on the increase in passenger capacity for public transport.

The recommendation to increase passenger capacity in public transport is one of the measures being considered by the DOTr to help drivers and operators amid the pandemic and the continued increase of fuel prices. Pilot implementation will be in Metro Manila.

“Nakapag-submit na po ang road sector ng formal position paper na i-increase ang seating capacity from 50% na para po sa amin, kung masusunod ang Kagawaran, ay pwedeng maging 100% based on medical literature that is available. At the same time, we are ready to defend our position to IATF this Thursday. Alam naman natin na mayroon pa rin tayong dapat idulog sa IATF dahil this is not only a matter of public transportation but also a matter of public health,” Asec. Pastor said.

The DOTr's proposed passenger capacity increase in public transport, with a pilot run in Metro Manila, is anchored on the following arguments:

1. Metro Manila is now under Alert Level 3, which allows for more businesses to open, and more people going out, which resulted to greater demand for public transport. Studies have shown that reliance on complete face mask use and partial hand sanitizer use were proven enough to contain three very modest COVID-19 waves while preserving normal bus services. Other studies have also revealed that passengers in the high-risk zones (seats in the same row with an infected passenger and within 3 rows) had moderate but not significantly higher risk, and that “rigid” safe distancing rules are an oversimplification based on outdated science and experiences of past viruses.

2. The livelihood of public transport drivers and operators were severely affected with passenger capacity in public transport maintained at 50%. Increasing passenger capacity will mean a higher revenue for the public transport sector. This will be a welcome development considering the increase in expenses brought by increasing fuel prices.

3. Metro Manila is the ideal place to test the proposal considering that 81.4% of its population is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In addition, public utility jeepneys and buses operating in Metro Manila are well-ventilated.

4. The DOTr had also conducted a rapid analysis of available data on COVID-19 cases (7-day average cases per 1 million population) and public transport capacity, which covered 10 countries (Philippine, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, China, Australia, Vietnam, and Malaysia). It was found out that public transport capacity has no significant correlation with the number of COVID-19 cases

5. Evidence also suggest that high vaccination rate prompts an increase in allowed PUV capacity.

Provision of Fuel Subsidy, Service Contracting instead of Fare Hike

In line with the position of DOTr, led by Sec. Tugade, against any fare increase as well as to balance the need of drivers and operators and the commuting public, Asec. Pastor also emphasized that hikes in fuel prices should not be shouldered by the passengers.

“Ayaw po namin sa Kagawaran na tumaas ang pamasahe dahil para po sa amin walang kinalaman ang commuting public sa pagtaas ng presyo ng krudo kaya ayaw namin na sila ang pumasan dito,” Asec. Pastor said.

Earlier this month, the DOTr requested the Department of Energy (DOE) to grant fuel subsidy to public transport drivers. The Department likewise welcomes the announcement of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) for the release of P1.0 billion to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) as fuel subsidies.

Meanwhile, the DOTr previously implemented the Service Contracting Program where drivers and operators of public utility vehicles (PUVs) are paid on a per kilometer run basis. As of the latest data, the (LTFRB) has P4.7 billion of payouts and incentives to PUV drivers and operators for the Service Contracting under Republic Act 11494 or Bayanihan to Recover as One Act and the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

“Noong June 30, 2021, umabot sa P1,907,192,708, ang naipamahagi natin sa mga tsuper at operator under Service Contracting. P2,289,506,007 naman ang naibahagi natin mula September 13 hanggang October 23 mula sa Bayanihan 2, habang P539,672,859 naman mula September 13 hanggang October 23 sa ilalim ng GAA,” LTFRB Chairman Delgra said.

In line with Service Contracting, a 53,226,651 total ridership was already recorded for the “Libreng Sakay” Program for medical frontliners, APOR, and essential workers.