People's trust in Bad China Plunges to its lowest -36 and UP to Good USA

People' s trust to China has continue declining to its lowest phase of -36  in the wake of the Scarborough Shoal standoff in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea), the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in a new report as posted in the Business World Online.

A May 24-27 2012, survey found 55% of the respondents saying they had "little trust" in China, versus the 19% who said they had "much trust", for a "bad" net rating of -36.

The last time this level was hit was in June 1995 during the Mischief Reef incident, one of a number of spats in the country's long-running row with China over conflicting South China Sea claims.

A few months earlier, in March, China's net trust rating among Filipinos was at a "moderate" +10 (39% "much trust", 29% "little trust").

Nearly half, or 48%, of the respondents also claimed to be paying close attention to the row, which started early April when eight Chinese fishing boats were caught carrying fish, corals and other endangered species in the disputed area.

The SWS said China's net trust rating among Filipinos has been mostly negative -- ranging from a "neutral" -1 to the record -36 low -- since 1994. It was positive in only seven out of 24 quarters, peaking at a "moderate" +17 in June 2010.

Significant drops were recorded in June 1999 -- a "bad" -32 -- during another Mischief Reef incident and in December 2008 -- a "bad" -33 -- following news of melamine-contaminated milk from China.

The SWS said the Scarborough Shoal issue was the fourth most followed by respondents during the May poll period, behind the impeachment trial of then Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato C. Corona (54%), the Maguindanao massacre trial (50%) and the Supreme Court decision to distribute Hacienda Luisita to farmers (50%).

It said China's net trust rating was particularly low among those who were closely monitoring the dispute, at a "very bad" -52, compared to the "bad" -36, -34 and -34, respectively, among those who were following the news "somewhat closely," "just a little" and "not at all."

Representatives of the Chinese embassy in the Philippines could not be reached for comment.

Raul S. Hernandez, Foreign Affairs department spokesman, declined to comment on the SWS survey but said the government was committed to "pushing for a peaceful, diplomatic solution to issues on West Philippine Sea in accordance to international laws, particularly UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea)."

China was not the only Asian country distrusted by Filipinos, with the SWS saying North Korea also had a "bad" net rating of -34 (53% "little trust" and 19% "much trust").

High public trust, meanwhile, is enjoyed by the United States -- which has taken the side of the Philippines, Australia and Japan, at a "very good" +62, "good" +39 and "good" +32, respectively, in the latest poll.

The SWS considers net trust ratings of +70 and above as "excellent"; +50 to +69, "very good"; +30 to +49, "good"; +10 to +29, "moderate"; +9 to -9, "neutral"; -10 to -29, "poor"; -30 to -49, "bad"; -50 to -69, "very bad"; and -70 and below, "execrable."

The May 24-27 survey involved face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide. The error margins used were ±3% for national and ±6% for area percentages.

BusinessWorld Online

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Phil Govt Breast milk Bank Industry save Babies

[image from affordablecebu.com]

The Philippine government's state-run breast milk bank is intensifying collection efforts to boost breastfeeding among the poor and help women return to work immediately after giving birth if they want to do so.

Hundreds of women come to have their babies at the Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, the busiest maternity institution in Manila, the capital, where more than 12 million people live. Many women are barely able to afford even the minimal payment, and to help cover their costs some of them donate breast milk to the hospital's milk bank, which is used to feed babies whose mothers have lactation problems.

Esmeraldo Ilem, head of the hospital's family planning unit, said the milk is also sold at up to US$10 for four liters to other hospitals and individuals, with mothers as a first priority. "Even hospitals in far-flung areas or provinces come here to buy milk from us," Ilem told IRIN. "[For instance,] when a mother dies in a hospital [where there is no milk bank, the family] comes here to source the milk."

Nurses ask for donations to the hospital's breast milk bank, where it is pasteurized and refrigerated. Ilem said milk from the Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital also helps working mothers give their babies' breast milk after returning to work. The hospital started its bank in 2007, but since then at least two other facilities in the capital have opened milk banks.

A recent study by the government's Food and Nutrition Research Institute showed that exclusive breastfeeding - giving babies only breast milk for the first six months of life, which boosts their immunity to childhood diseases - has risen from 36 percent in 2008 to 47 percent in 2011 in the Philippines. Breastfeeding a baby within one hour of being born, which has also been proven to reduce infant deaths, increased from 32 percent in 2008 to 52 percent in 2011.

However, there are "disparities in exclusive breastfeeding rates" in different parts of the country and further effort is needed to increase breastfeeding so as to reduce infant mortality. "Human milk or breast milk is the best way to make babies healthy in the early stages of life," said Ilem. "Sadly... there are many mothers who need to go back to work or do not lactate very well, so this is where our milk comes in."

Milk codes

A 2009 law on breastfeeding protects a woman's right to breastfeed publicly, and requires private as well as public companies to allot time for breastfeeding. All public institutions have to provide lactation stations separate from bathrooms.

Since 1986, Executive Order 51, known locally as the "Milk Code", has prohibited the advertising of infant formula for infants under two years old.

But these gains are at risk, according to the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), one of the country's largest labor associations, which has warned that the infant formula lobby may have persuaded lawmakers to promote legislation seeking to reverse the breastfeeding law.

"If this happens then we may end up with more unhealthy babies," warned TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay, who said his group is prepared to fight the proposed legislation. "This is where the importance of milk banks also comes in - they provide alternatives for sourcing human milk for all our babies."

IRINEWS 

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DFA revoked PPP accreditation for Travel Agencies

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) defended on its recent decision to remove the accreditation requirements for travel agencies offering passport services to the public.

The DFA denied the decision discriminates against travel agencies, saying it is part of a whole range of measures being undertaken to further improve the delivery of consular services.

"We would like to make it clear that the directive we issued in May as well as the latest guidelines allowing accredited travel agencies to transact with us only until the end of the year are not intended to drive travel agencies out of business," Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Administration Rafael E. Seguis said in a statement.

"In fact, the guidelines do not prevent travel agencies from assisting those who are willing and have the means to avail themselves of the services they offer. The guidelines are intended to allow ordinary passport applicants to enjoy the same special treatment travel agency clients enjoy but at no extra cost to them."

Seguis explained that travel agencies have long benefitted from special privileges that allowed them to accept, pre-process and, until the recent introduction of the electronic passport, even file applications on behalf of their clients.

These privileges, he said, include guaranteed same-day processing and dedicated express lanes for applicants who come to them for assistance.

While travel agency-assisted applicants shell out anywhere from ₱1,800 to ₱7,000 for these privileges, Seguis said the DFA only collects from them ₱1,200 for expedited processing -- the same amount paid by ordinary passport applicants for the same expedited processing --and the ₱500 accreditation annual fee collected from each of the 551 accredited travel agencies.

"Unfortunately, unlike travel agency clients who can breeze through the application process, ordinary applicants have to come to our offices as early as midnight and wait in line for hours before they could be served," the DFA official said.

"We strongly felt there was a need to correct this situation as it is inconsistent with the steps that we have been taking to improve the delivery of our consular services, such as the transfer of our offices to better facilities inside shopping malls, that we hope would finally eliminate the long lines that have been associated with the passport application process," he added.

In addition to the transfer of passport offices to shopping malls, Seguis said the other measures being undertaken by the DFA include: the acceptance of passport applications in these mall-based offices from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays; releasing of passports half-days during Sundays; and the activation before the end of the year of a dedicated call center for applicants to schedule their appointments at their preferred location and schedule.

John Doe Passport Holder

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) did not mention about the John Doe Passport Holder rumor as spread in the online forums that foreign nationals could easily obtain a Philippine Passports by bribing Travel Agencies or directly to the DFA officials but this move of the DFA is the most appropriate way to correct the previous mistakes not just the consistency of service to all Filipinos, Saving the Passport processing cost but also of the illegal monkey business by the private agencies dealing with Philippines Passports.

3 years past, a Romanian National commented that he managed to obtain Philippine passport without any requirements and without any proof that he is a Philippine national by bribing an agency with a direct access to the DFA.

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