Catholic bishops back Senate probe on mining, quarrying

Caritas Philippines, the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), is supporting Sen. Risa Hontiveros’ call for a Senate investigation on the environmental and social impact of mining and quarrying activities nationwide ahead of the observance of Earth Day on April 22. San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, vice president of Caritas Philippines, pointed to the critical need to address the detrimental effects of such activities on communities and ecosystems. “As stewards of the Earth, we have a moral imperative to protect our environment for future generations. Recent tragedies and environmental disruptions linked to mining and quarrying underscore the need for a thorough investigation,” he said in a statement on Wednesday. According to Alminaza, the Senate resolution aligns with the CBCP position on climate change in 2015, which stresses Christians’ intergenerational responsibility to safeguard the environment and echoing Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si.” — DEXTER CABALZA

Flexible work setups pushed to ease Metro traffic

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva has urged government agencies and private companies to continuously consider the work-from-home arrangement for their employees to help ease vehicular traffic congestion in Metro Manila and other urban areas. “The Civil Service Commission’s (CSC) Memorandum Circular No. 6, series of 2022. on flexible working arrangement is still in place. We continue to encourage all government agencies to adapt, either work from home, compressed workweek, skeleton workforce, shifting, flexitime or a combination of these as contained in the memo of the CSC,” he said at the Kapihan sa Senado forum on Tuesday. “We also encourage our employers in the private sector to adapt telecommuting,” Villanueva added, referring to Republic Act No. 11165 or the Telecommuting Act, which provides a work arrangement that allows private employers to work from an alternative workplace with the use of telecommunication and/or computer technologies. He noted the soon-to-be implemented new 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. work schedule for Metro local governments may not be enough to address the traffic problem. The new work schedule is set to take effect on May 2. While Villanueva acknowledged the alternative working arrangements may not be applicable to all industries, he said there were some that could actually benefit from it. —TINA G. SANTOS