Oledan: Sex trade
HUMAN trafficking is a serious crime but perpetrators are able to get away with it due to lack of a support system for survivors to come out in the open and file cases against their recruiters. In many ways, it is a hidden crime with families also unwilling to speak in the open and with...
Oledan: Vulnerabilites
IN ANY disaster, the hardest hit remains those who are unable to prepare and cope not only due to lack of resources but also information that will enable them to respond proactively. We have seen this is the recent devastation of communities not only in Mindanao but also in other parts of the...
Oledan: Transit points
PROMISE the good life ahead, and more often than not, families would push their own children to leave their war-torn community or impoverished area to find a more exciting, brighter and better opportunity in the foreign shores or in the urban centres.
Oledan: Reproductive rights
GENDER equality, equity and sexual and reproductive rights are central and integral to sustainable development. Women and youth comprise more than 60 percent of the population but are unable to make informed decisions on their own body.
Oledan: Disparity levels
HUNGER levels have reached a record high with an estimated 4.8 million Filipino families who have experienced involuntary hunger or those who have nothing to eat, reflecting a dire situation of the majority who are confronted with poverty.
The latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey...
Oledan: Slump
IT IS not new for government and business groups to create a doomsday scenario by raising the specter of an imbalance and loss of jobs. In response to the repeated demands of the labor sector, it warns workers of losing their job whenever there is an appeal for a wage increase.
Government...
Oledan: Shortchanging workers
LABOR groups were disappointed when the President thumbed down the proposal for a P125 wage hike, saying it would be too costly for the employers. Instead, he ordered the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board to expedite rulings on petitions for salary increase.
The President...
Oledan: Just pay
CRACKDOWNS on labor union, low protection mechanism for workers, loopholes in the implementation of the labor code and wage that falls short of providing decent living. As labor groups observe the International Labor Day, workers are confronted with the widening gap between the needs of their...
Oledan: Basic protection
LEN-LEN, 14-year-old barrio lass, dreams of a better life outside the small community in which she grew up. She was recruited to work as a household help and was in high hopes that things would turn out well for her and the family she left behind.
Oledan: Reproductive health
THERE is an increase in the number of Aids cases in the country. In March alone, the Department of Health (DOH) reported three hundred thirteen (313) Filipinos acquired the virus, which is 82 percent more compared to last year, the highest ever recorded on a monthly basis since 1984.
...
Oledan: Supportive Environment
NOTHING could replace public education and empowering women and men to ask questions, challenge the health care system and demand a supportive environment for breastfeeding. In an environment where there is low subscription to breastfeeding due to the lack of support from family and workplace,...
Oledan: Optimal benefit
IN MANY ways, there is a need to revive and reinforce the breastfeeding culture against the incursion of the bottle feeding culture. Despite benefits, many mothers neither exclusively breastfeed for the first six months nor continue breastfeeding for the recommended two years or more, and...
Oledan: Infomercials
AMONG the Millennium Development Goals, breastfeeding may be the single most important intervention that can save the lives of both mothers and infants. It can drastically reduce stunting and prevent child deaths.
Oledan: Dismal state
THE more and better educated a people, the greater the chances of economic development.
It is not only the perennial lack of classrooms, textbooks, desks and other facilities which make quality education seems farfetched. “The degree of efficacy is also hindered by the situation of...
Oledan: Perennial lack
EVERY year, school openings are hounded by shortages in the number of teachers, classrooms, chairs, desks and textbooks. With a twist, state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the Davao region are bracing for the Regional State University System that will reduce by 10 percent the number of SUCs...
Oledan: Monopoly
WHY not increase the electricity rates in Mindanao if this means solving the power problem?
Oledan: Market play
SEVERAL sectors are asking for the repeal of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) which passes on to consumers the burden of paying stranded costs resulting from onerous contracts negotiated by Napocor and Meralco with independent power producers (IPPs).
Oledan: Cost recovery
THE proposal to privatize the power sector was to force private firms to compete and provide electricity at less cost to consumers. The Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 put in place the Energy Regulation Commission (ERC) to regulate power rates and penalize generators engaging in anti-...
Oledan: Beyond short-term gains
LAST weekend saw establishments, households and industries participating in the Earth Hour by voluntarily putting off any activity that requires energy for 60 minutes.
The goal is to generate electricity savings in megawatts and to increase public awareness on the effects of climate...
Oledan: Aggregates
RECENTLY, the United Nations made a major announcement: The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target on access to safe drinking water worldwide has been met.
The MDG target for access to safe drinking water was to halve the proportion of the population living without access to safe water...
Oledan: Marginal effect
HIS eyes wandered in the horizon as he talked about the family he lost to the war and how he got involved in assisting a paramilitary unit. Celso (not his real name) is a former child combatant who has been under the care of social workers.
But the memories are still fresh, he said....
Oledan: Retribution
NORMS have to be changed most especially when it involves physical punishment in homes, schools and other settings.
Corporal discipline has not been found to be an effective means of achieving positive long-term developmental outcomes, such as moral internalization or social problem...
Oledan: Blackout
EIGHT to 12 hours daily blackout. In various parts of Mindanao, blackouts have become common occurrence, which pose a threat to a sharp decline in economic activities that may affect jobs and livelihoods especially those with the small and medium enterprises.
The National Power...
Oledan: Managing risks
EACH day, about 11 mothers or 4,500 each year, die because of hypertensive disorder, severe hemorrhage or other labor related problems. This means that the lifetime risk of maternal death in the country is 1 in every 140, according to the UNICEF.
This makes the country a part of a group...
Oledan: Domains
"DIRI mi nagadula, nindot man diri kay bug-naw," Ireen, then eight years old, told a team of researchers on upland development during an area visit on 2005. She was with her mother who was washing clothes in the river along with other residents in the area.
Seven years later, the Lipadas...
