Noy to lead Independence Day rites

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino will lead today’s celebration of the 115th anniversary of Philippine Independence at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila, which will highlight the need for Filipinos to unite to achieve progress.

The President will be accorded full military honors and will join the flag-raising and wreath-laying ceremonies.

Joining the President are Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, outgoing Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, National Historical Commission of the Philippines chair Maria Serena Diokno, NHCP executive director Ludovico Badoy, Philippine Postal Corp. board chairman Cesar Sarino, Postmaster and chief executive officer Josefina de la Cruz, and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino, among others.

With the theme “Kalayaan 2013: Ambagan Tungo sa Malawakang Kaunlaran,” the celebration will also be marked by simultaneous flag-raising and wreath-laying ceremonies in other historical sites.

Vice President Jejomar Binay will lead the ceremonies at the Rizal National Monument in Rizal Park, Manila; Sen. Franklin Drilon in General Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite; and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. in Barasoain Church in Malolos City, Bulacan.

House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzalez II will lead the ceremonies in Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine, San Juan; Philippine Veterans Affairs Office Administrator retired Lt. Gen. Ernesto Carolina in Mausoleo de los Veteranos de la Revolucion in Manila North Cemetery; Caloocan City Mayor Enrico Echiverri in Bonifacio National Monument; and NHCP commissioner Ferdinand Llanes in Pamintuan House in Angeles City, Pampanga.

After the program at the Liwasang Bonifacio, President Aquino will proceed to Malacañang for the vin d’ honneur with members of the diplomatic corps, Cabinet secretaries, government officials, congressional representatives of various districts, Lim and city officials, representatives of local government units, non-government organizations and other sectors.

The holiday commemorates the declaration of Philippine Independence from Spanish colonization on June 12, 1898 by General Emilio Aguinaldo and the Filipino revolutionary forces.

Independence Day was officially observed every July 4 until Republic Act 4166 mandated June 12 as the country’s Independence Day. The law was signed by the late President Diosdado Macapagal on Aug. 4, 1964.

‘Freedom from poverty’

In observance of Independence Day, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, Sen. Loren Legarda and Senator-elect Cynthia Villar echoed the need for the government to address poverty to fully liberate Filipinos.

Legarda said the nation should have a shared vision on eradicating poverty. She also called for conservation of the environment and heavy investments in the countryside.

Cayetano also urged the government to step up its efforts to free Filipinos from poverty, noting the importance of involving local government units in implementing the national government’s social and economic programs.

For her part, Villar urged Filipinos to strive to become “financially independent.”

With the high unemployment rate in the country, Villar said that entrepreneurship is the way to economic freedom and progress.

“Nowadays, poverty is what keeps people from becoming really independent. This is the reason why we have been promoting entrepreneurship as a way out of poverty for young and old people alike because it creates jobs,” she added.

Job fair today

Jobseekers will have a chance to be free from the chains of unemployment this Independence Day.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is mounting today a job fair at the Rizal Park from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said that over 65,000 local and overseas jobs await jobseekers who will visit the job fair.

“We are exhausting all means to provide a vast array of productive and matched job opportunities for everyone,” Baldoz said, noting that the celebration of Independence Day is a timely event for the government to unchain the unemployment problem in Metro Manila.

Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz said that the DOLE expects 20 percent of the job applicants to be hired on the spot.

“It may really depend on the weather if many jobseekers will be coming, but we are hopeful that we will be able to maintain our hired-on-the-spot rate of 20 percent of total applicants,” Cruz said.

DOLE has partnered with other government agencies and the private sector in an effort to generate more jobs in the National Capital Region (NCR). About 85 local employers and 25 licensed recruitment agencies will take part in the job fair.

The DOLE, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will accept job applications for vacancies in their respective offices.

The PNP will offer 9,000 jobs, while the AFP will welcome job applicants for posts in the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Marines.

In the private sector, Baldoz said, the job opportunities include those from cyber services, hotel and restaurant and tourism, health and wellness, wholesale and retail trade, construction, automotive, banking, insurance, logistics, and finance and real estate.

DOLE will also bring pre-employment facilitation services to the Rizal Park to make it easier and faster for jobseekers to apply for jobs.

The government has set up a one-stop shop composed of officers and representatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (for clearance documents); National Statistics Office (for birth and marriage certificates); Social Security System (for social security membership); PhilHealth (for medical security membership); Pag-IBIG (for shelter security membership); Professional Regulation Commission (for profession licenses); and Bureau of Internal Revenue (for income tax purposes). –With Christina Mendez, Mayen Jaymalin, Rey Galupo