Category Archives: government

DOH, DEPED LAUNCH HEALTHY LEARNING INSTITUTIONS TO STRENGTHEN SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMS

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The Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Health (DOH) vowed to strengthen school health and nutrition programs in the basic education sector by launching “Pinalakas na Oplan Kalasuguan sa DepEd, Pinatatag na Health Learning Institution” in Quirino High School in Quezon City.

The ceremony gathered Executive Committee leaders of both DepEd and DOH, local government representatives of the host city, and selected school health and nutrition personnel nationwide to highlight the importance of a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to strengthen school health programs.

https://www.deped.gov.ph/

Institutionalized in 2018, Oplan Kalusugan sa DepEd or OK sa
DepEd is the convergence of DepEd’s health and nutrition initiatives for effective and efficient implementation at the school level in partnership with various stakeholders.

“I look forward to receiving the results of your consultative workshop summarizing the issues, concerns, and recommendations from regional school health and nutrition personnel, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,” Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte said.

Early this year, DepEd established a partnership with the DOH, and other national government agencies through Joint Administrative Order (JAO) 2022-0001 or Guidelines on Healthy Settings Framework in Learning Institutions. It is to strengthen school health under the basic education sector as Healthy Learning Institutions (HLI) or Health Iskwela, via the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Legal Education Board (LEB), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

According to Section 30 of Republic Act 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act, JAO operationalizes the designation of schools as healthy settings based on standards set by the DOH and DepEd.

The DOH manifested its gratitude for the efforts of DepEd in prioritizing students’ health and well-being. The Department also expressed its commitment to support the DepEd in this endeavor.

“Through a whole of government and whole of society approach, the DOH commits to helping DepEd in ensuring students’ health and well-being through improving access to health care, creating and writing healthy school policies; creating conducive physical and social environments; strengthening links with the community on health, and reinforcing health skills and education. We are confident that this innovative strategy of deep cooperation between the sectors of health and education at the national, regional, and local levels will be fruitful in maximizing the positive impact of education on Filipino students,” said DOH OIC-Undersecretary Dr. Beverly Lorraine C. Ho

The Health Iskwela framework is being pilot-tested in 273 last-mile elementary schools in eight provinces and one city. The OK sa DepEd will adopt the program framework.

“The HLI Framework, based on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) six pillars of health-promoting school, serves as an effective guide as to how we can strengthen the implementation of our existing health and nutrition programs under OK sa DepEd,” Undersecretary Revsee Escobedo said.

Press Release

What is Economic Development, and Why is it Important?

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There are many benefits to economic development. Not only does it improve the quality of products, but it can also reduce the price, increasing the local economy. In addition, economic growth helps create social equality and protect local economies from economic downturns, just like one of the objectives of the Southeast Volusia Manufacturing and Technology Coalition. Economic development is worth your attention if you’re considering starting a business. 

Economic Development Results in Economic Growth

It is often argued that global development has sparked the recent financial crisis, which only highlighted the negative aspects of previous trends and shaped prospects. While this is undoubtedly true, economic development aims to keep a region sustainable and will study the symptoms of depletion of natural resources and make course corrections where appropriate.

It Promotes Social Equality

Equality of opportunity is one of the cornerstones of sustainable economic development. In developing countries, gender disparity is often the greatest, but the gap has narrowed rapidly between rich and developing nations. While the gap between males and females has decreased significantly over the past decade, it persists in poor communities. Economic development has long been the answer to social equality, but it must be done in the most sustainable way possible.

It Protects The Local Economy From Economic Downturns

The Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) mission is to promote community economic development. The agency works with urban and rural communities to promote the growth and prosperity of a region. Its work is critical to U.S. competitiveness and crucial to our national economic policy. Specifically, the agency assists local governments experiencing economic downturns and helps those regions regain their financial footing.

Many local leaders are taking a holistic approach to local economic development. Instead of focusing on incentives to attract businesses, they prioritize other measures to improve quality of life. One example is investing in public infrastructure and revitalization. 

Reduces Inequality

The pattern of taxes and ownership of property determines income distribution, and policies that provide public goods positively affect overall economic inequality. These policies can increase a country’s income while leaving more revenue to invest in other goods. 

One of the critical ways that economic development reduces inequality is by increasing social mobility. Therefore, economic development policies should be broadly universal and pay special attention to the needs of the most disadvantaged groups. Such policies include increased duty-free treatment for exports from developing countries and a more significant vote for developing nations in the IMF. 

Promotes Resiliency to Disasters

By investing in resilience, countries can reduce their vulnerability to disasters and maximize the benefits of recovery efforts. Resiliency is the capacity to anticipate, absorb and recover from adverse events. This enhanced ability allows for better planning and anticipation of disasters, which reduces disaster losses. 

In addition to addressing specific hazard risks, government agencies can facilitate economic resilience by promoting the development of resiliency infrastructure. For example, these agencies can provide resources for disaster risk financing and other development activities. These agencies can also assist in identifying climate assessments, floodplain risks, and hazardous materials facilities. 

Improves the Well-being of People

There are four pillars of the economy of well-being. Education is one of these pillars and is a crucial driver of long-term economic growth. More education means more money and the return on investment from additional education doubles when health and employment benefits are considered. Furthermore, economic growth will lead to improved health, social inclusion, and environmental health. In addition, a well-developed society has less poverty and inequality.

While economists have long argued that economic development improves the well-being of people, this theory has been challenged by other research.

Allow Only Fully Vaccinated in Malls, Restaurants, and Others Establishments in NCR After ECQ

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With the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila, where the transmission rate has exceeded the average countrywide rate of COVID-19 infections, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said that it is time for both the government and the private sector to consider implementing stronger measures in the National Capital Region (NCR) to effectively mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the region.

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion

“We are pushing for establishments in NCR, such as malls, restaurants, and others, to allow only fully vaccinated individuals so we can create safer bubbles. For example, dining areas with fully vaccinated restaurant crew serving fully vaccinated dine-in customers. This is of course upon having enough fully vaccinated residents in a certain city in Metro Manila,” Concepcion said.

He cited data from the Philippine General Hospital which found 187 individuals out of the total of 265 COVID-19 patients admitted as of August 15 were unvaccinated. The San Lazaro Hospital, meanwhile, reported that 82 percent of the total severe and critical cases of COVID-19 were also unvaccinated individuals.

“Implementing stronger measures during the ECQ in NCR, even if it is extended, will preserve the benefits of the lockdown. It will prevent us from compromising what we have already achieved so far, and what we can achieve in the future. We’ll finally reap the benefits of our sacrifices,” he said.

Concepcion added that the Philippines must benchmark against similar measures in other countries. In Jakarta, malls reopened at 25 percent capacity, but only to fully vaccinated individuals. Singapore, which has vaccinated 75 percent of its population, is allowing the fully vaccinated to resume activities that require the removal of masks and even gather in groups of no more than five people.

“We have seen in France under President Macron’s leadership that restricting the mobility of unvaccinated individuals is not only effective in preventing the spread of the virus, but also in encouraging people to get vaccinated,” he said.

Concepcion said that limiting the mobility of unvaccinated individuals, especially in Metro Manila, is not impossible given the aggressive inoculation rollouts already in effect during the ECQ.

“It will not be imposed unreasonably. That’s why there is a milestone in terms of the percentage of vaccinated individuals. We are aware that we need to vaccinate more people before we drastically do this. That is why we are aggressively rolling out our vaccination program in the country especially here in NCR even during the current lockdown,” Concepcion said.

“In the end, these measures will also encourage people to do their civic duty and take the vaccines. There may be more variants to come, but we have to realize that vaccination is the only key. The private sector wants to see an end to these lockdowns. A ‘close open’ type of economy is something we cannot afford to have.”