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Cebu Daily Newscast: Call center agent in Cebu nabbed for threatening to display tarpaulins with naked photos of ex-girlfriend
Listen to Cebu Daily Newscast and get the latest stories in and around Cebu. Here’s what you need to know on Wednesday, November 22. Call center agent in Cebu nabbed for threatening to display tarpaulins with naked photos of ex-girlfriend Authorities in Cebu City arrested a man who works as a call center agent for.....»»
Male call center agent nabbed for threatening ex live-in partner
Male call center agent nabbed for threatening ex live-in partner.....»»
Call center agent, 2 others nabbed in Bohol buy-bust
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Because of reports from concerned citizens, a 23-year-old call center agent, who is accused of being a drug den maintainer, and two others were arrested during a buy-bust operation in Tagbilaran City, Bohol on Monday afternoon, November 20, 2023. According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7), the.....»»
Call center agent dies after modern PUJ, crashes into car, falls on its side in Mandaue
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — A 31-year-old call center agent from Compostela died on Tuesday night, November 14, after the modern jeepney she was riding fell on its side along M.C Briones Street, Labogon Road in Barangay Basak, Mandaue City. Initial investigation by the Mandaue City Police Office showed that the modern jeepney from Cebu City.....»»
Cebu Daily Newscast: Call center agent dies after modern PUJ, crashes into car, falls on its side in Mandaue
Listen to Cebu Daily Newscast and get the latest stories in and around Cebu. Here’s what you need to know on Wednesday, November 15, 2023. Call center agent dies after modern PUJ, crashes into car, falls on its side in Mandaue A 31-year-old call center agent from Compostela died on Tuesday night, November.....»»
Equal employment opportunity
Dear Atty. Joji, My brother applied as a call center agent here in Manila. Lately, he was diagnosed with a chronic illness which incapacitated him to walk. Upon receiving the job offer, he was notified that due to his disability, his wage would amount to 75 percent of the wage earned by non-disabled employees in the same position. Dismayed, he did not accept the job offer. Is the employer’s contention correct, Atty.? Anthony *** Dear Anthony, No, the employer is not correct. Under Section 5 of RA 7277, as amended by RA 10524, a qualified disabled employee shall be subject to the same terms and conditions and the same compensation, privileges, benefits, fringe benefits, incentives or allowances as a qualified able-bodied person. Under Section 6 of the IRR of RA 10524: “Section 6. Equal Employment Opportunity Opportunity for suitable employment shall be open to all qualified PWDs. Efforts shall be exerted to provide qualified PWDs equal opportunity in the selection process based on qualification standards prescribed for an appointment to a position in government and requirements set by the employers in private corporations. No PWD shall be denied access to opportunities for suitable employment. A qualified employee with disability shall be subject to the same terms and conditions of employment and the same compensation, privileges, benefits, fringe benefits, incentives, or allowances as an employed able-bodied person. A person with disability shall not be discriminated on the basis of disability with regard to all matters concerning all forms of employment, including conditions of recruitment, hiring and employment, continuance of employment, career advancement, and safe and healthy working conditions.” A qualified disabled person is an employee who can perform, with or without reasonable accommodations, the essential functions of her employment. In this case, your officemate is a qualified disabled person. There was no allegation that she cannot perform the essential functions of her employment. The employer should not have had her wage cut below minimum wage and should have provided the same compensation received by able-bodied employees, since the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability effectively amended Article 80 of the Labor Code with regard to minimum age of such workers. Hope to have enlightened you with your query. Atty. Joji Alonso The post Equal employment opportunity appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
AI to stay relevant in BPO, group claims
As artificial intelligence is causing global worry over the loss of jobs for humans, executives of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines maintain that AI would bring more benefits than harm, particularly to their industry. CCAP president Mickey Ocampo said artificial intelligence would be more helpful, than detrimental, to the BPO industry. He said the country’s contact center and business process management sector continues to evolve amid the emergence of new technologies, particularly Generative AI, which is quickly being incorporated into various tasks across the information technology and business process management or IT-BPM industry. “The impact of a generative AI will come within the next, maybe, two to four years. This will allow our country to develop using upskilling our people. Generative AI will increase productivity as at a certain level we will be able to handle more calls or more non-voice inquiries. AI will also generate additional jobs,” he said during Daily Tribune’s Straight Talk program last Tuesday. Ocampo said their group is confident the sector could easily keep its position as the world’s top provider of voice and business process outsourcing services and it’s being the “heart of customer experience (CX)” with the adoption of Generative AI, which critics say could either be a boon or a bane to the BPO industry. “Generative AI can be used to automate and enhance various aspects of customer interactions. Some examples are chatbots and virtual assistants. There are automated email responses for faster adaptability. To illustrate, in the past, when an agent needed to respond to a customer’s call, he had to look at the CRM and backtrack or even go to the knowledge base. Now, these things are automated, further enhancing agent productivity,” Ocampo said. CCAP managing director Rosario Cajucom-Bradbury said Generative AI will have an impact on client business, in the way services are delivered and in the corporate services of providers, namely, human resource and finance, among others. She said the use of Generative AI Assist working alongside agents when handling calls will increase their efficiency, productivity, and resolution in delivering customer service. “Thus, the call agent is provided the opportunity to have more focused active listening and genuine empathy rather than being preoccupied with navigating the system for resolution. Filipinos’ innate trait of service orientation combined with the power of Generative AI will enhance the employee’s experience at work which would translate to an even more satisfying customer experience — therefore helping the Philippines retain being the ‘heart of CX’ and at the same time meeting or even exceeding growth targets,” Bradbury explained. Additional 1.1M jobs Ocampo said with the use of Generative AI by CCAP members, they can generate an additional 1.1 million jobs for Filipinos until 2028, covering all types of BPO services, namely, finance, insurance, medical, and health, and overall cost-based customer service for fast moving and consumer goods. “And if we go back to the generative AI, new job roles are created. Generative AI will be useful to the end users and the consumers and the business. We will continue to upskill our workforce to cope with AI,” Ocampo said. The aggressive target is part of the 2028 IT-BPM Roadmap, which was launched in the third quarter of 2022, coinciding with the start of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. It also sets a target of 2.5 million full-time employees (2.3 million to be accounted for by CCAP-member firms) and a 40-percent countryside expansion. In 2022, the contact center sector employed 1.4 million individuals, which was 87 percent of the 1.6 million total employment in the local IT-BPM industry. Ocampo said the impact of Generative AI would be reflected in the sector’s figures in two to four years, clarifying that the emerging technology was not factored in when the IT-BPM Roadmap was set “because it surfaced just about seven months ago although AI had already been widely used across the industry.” These and more interesting issues and developments would take center stage in the upcoming Contact Islands Conference 2023. With the theme “The Philippines, the Heart of CX,” the conference is set to once again facilitate a world-class delegate experience and an excellent venue for the exchange of views, coaching, networking, and benchmarking for the sector’s leaders and decision-makers. The conference is set for 26 to 28 July at the Dusit Thani Mactan in Lapu-Lapu City Cebu. The post AI to stay relevant in BPO, group claims appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
First Panambal Festival promotes Siquijor’s folk healing practices
[caption id="attachment_123658" align="aligncenter" width="558"] Photographs by Roel Hoang Manipon for the daily tribune | Common healing oils, concoctions, haplas and tambal used in Siquijor.[/caption] At the junction of Tañon Strait, Cebu Strait and Bohol Sea, in Central Visayas, the island of Siquijor has been inspiring fascination and curiosity mainly because of its reputation of being a home to many practitioners of sorcery, witchcraft and folk medicine, and its often being described as “mystic.” Whenever I was in Dumaguete City, in the neighboring province of Negros Oriental, I could see the island from the coastal boulevard, a fuzzy landscape floating on the sea, shrouded in mystery. My only images about it were culled from television shows featuring sorcery practices, particularly of a man who made paper dolls dance. Last Holy Week, through the very first Panambal Festival, I was able to step foot on the island province, which is about an hour’s ferry ride from Dumaguete City, and know more about the culture, particularly the folk and traditional healing practices, of one of the smallest provinces of the Philippines. [caption id="attachment_123661" align="aligncenter" width="747"] photographs by Roel Hoang Manipon for the daily tribune | Olang Arts Park in Maria was the venue for the first Panambal Festival.[/caption] We arrived at night in the town of Maria, in the southeast portion of the island, and during late dinner, we heard the story of Maria Nico, the resident engkanto of the town, together with his sisters Maria Nica and Maria Luisa, told by the town’s tourism officer, the loquacious and always flamboyantly dressed Aldrin “Aldrina Braxton” Daguman. Said to be tall, handsome and fair-complexioned, Maria Nico seemed to be a benevolent character, often granting wishes of people. Aldrina said that once millions of pesos worth of furniture was delivered to Maria but the recipient was unknown. People attributed this to Maria Nico. Stories about him bear some similar details to stories of Maria Kakaw of Cebu, Olayra of Antique and other engkanto characters in other parts of the Visayas. Local lore of mystical beings before we got to see the island was a very apt introduction. [caption id="attachment_123664" align="aligncenter" width="742"] The opening of the Panambal Festival led by Maria mayor Roselyn Asok.[/caption] The folk and traditional practices are what many people in Siquijor want to highlight and promote, and a cultural and touristic festival was created for that. Using the Cebuano word for “to heal” or “healing,” “tambal,” the Panambal Festival was held in the town of Maria, spearheaded by the local government, led by its mayor Roselyn Tancio Asok and co-organized with Eufemia “Minnie” Solomon Crouse and Anna Lacpao Tabujara Cornelia of the Olang Arts Park, the main venue of the festival in the barangay of Olang. The festival was conceptualized by veteran events organizer and tourism planner Nilo Agustin, who lives in Metro Manila but considers Siquijor a home, with the crucial help of 43-year-old folk healer and visual artist Junel Tomaroy. [caption id="attachment_123660" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Junel Tomaroy, one Siquijor’s traditional healers.[/caption] The Panambal Festival is not Siquijor’s first festival highlighting local pananambal. The province has been holding the Pahi-uli Festival since 2010 in Mount Bandilaan, a 212-hectare forest reserve in Maria. The mountain is the highest point of the island and is an important source of plants used in folk medicine and concoctions. According to Agustin, the event has become too commercialized, and Panambal Festival aims to present more authentic practices and spotlight the traditional healers. Both festivals are held on Holy Week, particularly from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday, which is a very important time for local folk healing. During this time, haplas or healing oil, tambal or remedy and other potions are concocted. According to Tomaroy, considered one of the most reputable mananambal or practitioner of folk and traditional medicine, in Siquijor, they start gathering ingredients on Friday after Ash Wednesday and continue only every Friday, culminating on Good Friday. They can only gather ingredients and make concoctions during this time of the year, the Lenten season, on seven Fridays. [caption id="attachment_123665" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Traditional healer Ricardo Oyog doing the haplas.[/caption] Folk healing in Siquijor is a blend of practices that appear old, animistic and of pre-Christianization and Catholic religiosity, with the use primarily of concoctions, prayers and rituals and faith. The people of Siquijor are predominantly of Cebuano ethnicity as much of Central Visayas which includes Cebu, Negros Oriental and Bohol. Catholicism is a strong presence in the island, which has a number of old churches, as in most parts of the country. The neighboring Cebu is where Christianity first gain foothold. But remnants of native Visayan Cebuano culture survive. The Panambal Festival opened on 7 April with a short program at the three-and-half-hectare Olang Arts Park, which was established in 2005 by Crouse, who hails from Pangasinan. According to organizers, the festival aims to feature the arts as well as traditional healing. A visual arts exhibit was also opened, showcasing works, mostly depicting healing practices, by Siquijodnon artists of the Pahiuli Artists Collective—Tomaroy, Joven Y. Ansing, Vicente C. Looc, Jr., Peter G. Agan, Dubonga Jorom, Louie Gabucan, Malvin E. Lomosad and Dondon dela Victoria. Performances of the young Olang Arts Park Orchestra were also featured. The next day, Good Friday, healers demonstrated steps in making concoctions and oils, and conduction healing sessions in a cluster of huts surrounded by mahogany trees. One common healing practice is the tuob or suob, a kind of body fumigation, for a variety of ailments and to drive away general bad vibes or spirits. The minasa, a black dry concoction, is burned inside a dry coconut husk to create palina or healing smoke and is place under the patient who is wrapped with a blanket or malong. [caption id="attachment_123666" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Tuob using fumigation is a common healing practice.[/caption] In one corner, Ricardo “Ricky” Oyog doing the haplas, application of healing oil on the feet and legs, massaging them with their version of reflexology. The 55-year-old mananambal, a former radio operator from Caitican, Siquijor, Siquijor, also had common oils and remedies for sale. These concoctions include himughat, a dry mixture of wood chips and bark of different plants believed to be medicinal. At P250 per bag, the himughat is mixed into vino or wine or any alcoholic drink, letting it steep. A shot or a tablespoon or two is recommended for fatigue or general tiredness, for headache, dysmenorrhea and kidney ailments. The haplas sa panuhot is an oil concoction for lamig or bodily aches. It is also used for buntis (pregnancy), pamanhod (numbness), pamaol (muscle ache), and arthritis. The tambal sa hilo ug daot is a treatment for as well as panagang or defense against poisoning and paninira (slander, defamation) and jealousy and envy, which is a kind of poisoning. It is also used to treat pangatol or itching. There were also concoctions in small vials, to be placed in the cash box to bring luck in business, and in amulets, a general charm. Other participating healers were Daniela Sartin, Gibrint Edd D. Reyes, Dodong Amboludto, Jomar Enanor, Dean Mark Enanor, Tessie Calimpon and Delia Bajo. On Good Friday, the mananambals performed the adlip on the gathered woods, stems and branches of different plants and trees, which they have gathered during the season. There were several kinds and the healers know by their local names such as tagnipas, duguan, tabun-hangin, etc. There are kinds they call pahiuli or restoration plants. According to Josel B. Mansueto, a professor at the Siquijor State College who have conducted studies on the island’s folk healing practices, mananambals use 377 varieties or kinds of plants. The forests and mountains are sources of these. Other sources of other ingredients are caves (stalactite, earth, etc.), the sea (anything that causes itching or irritation, bearing toxins, etc.), the church (holy water, flowers offered on funerals, candles, etc.). Pag-aadlip involves chopping the woods and stems into smaller pieces. On this day, they also do the pag-uuling, the burning of collected materials to be used as ingredients in the making of minasa. On Black Saturday, Tomaroy led in pagmamasa, the preparation of the minasa. A large kawali was placed over fire and ingredients were put in, which included beeswax, candles, incense, tawas, kamanyang, tuba, honey, soil from the floor of a langub (cave), lana or coconut oil, pahi-uli wood, uling and many others. [caption id="attachment_123662" align="aligncenter" width="728"] Preparing the minasa to used to make palina for the tuob.[/caption] The black mixture was frequently stirred until the healer deemed it ready. Aside from tuob, the minasa is also used in producing anting-anting or amulet or charm. On Easter Sunday, the paglalana was done. It is the process extracting coconut oil. They scraped off the meat out of coconuts using the kudkuran. The most potent coconut comes from the “bugtong na niyog na nakaharap sa silangan,” or a lone coconut facing the east. Every batch must contain at least one. If more, they must be in odd numbers, such three or five. Lana made with coconuts facing the west and used in even numbers (two, four, etc) is for pangkukulam/pambabarang or witchcraft. They squeezed the milk out of the grated coconut meat. Only kakang-gata, the milk of the first squeezing or extraction, is used. The milk was boiled over fire until the oil came out after about two hours and was then separated from other particles. The lana or coconut oil is an attracting agent as well as a vehicle to deliver the efficacy of the herbs and other ingredients. The popular lumay is also concocted during Easter Sunday. It is also known as gayuma or love potion but lumay gererally is meant to attract positive vibes and good fortune not only in love and romance but also in business, career and even marital and family life. [caption id="attachment_123657" align="aligncenter" width="752"] Flowers, seeds, twigs and other ingredients for making lumay, popularly known as gayuma.[/caption] Lumay is concocted during Easter Sunday because many ingredients are gathered from materials used in salubong and other Easter events and practices of the church such as leaves and flower decors. It can be concocted by anyone if one knows the ingredients. Some of the ingredients in making lumay include tawa-tawa, amorseko, buhok sa hangin, lagay-lagay, makahiya or mimosa, rosary pea seeds, sampinit, kadena de amor, and likup-likup. These are gathered and put in a bottle together with perfume or honey. Dab some perfume on the skin or smear a little honey on the lips, the healer advised. Tawa-tawa is used maybe because the fruits are phallic, and the likup-likup, maybe because they cling to the trees. The plants’ perceived characteristics as well as their names indicate what powers they can add to the potion. One ingredient is the curious, bag-shaped plant called lagay-lagay sa amo, the Hydnophytum plant that grows on tree branches and trunks, and is structured like an ant colony, thus it is called the ant plant. The mananambal includes it their healing oil concoctions to treat bukol or swellings or tumor-like symptoms as well as goiter, and certain types of cancer. The name means testicles and it is also included in the concoction of lumay because of its sexual connotation. While the lumay making was going on, an Easter egg hunt was organized for the children, a seemingly incongruent inclusion in the festival. But the hunt is also a practice with old, paganistic roots, with eggs and bunnies as symbols of fertility, like the healing practices, an amalgam of native and Catholic beliefs. Agustin has been planning for the next holding of the Panambal Festival. He has invited the Aralan ng Gamutang Pilipino, led by Dr. Isidro C. Sia, convenor and executive director of Integrative Medicine for Alternative Healthcare Systems Philippines, to hold its national convention during the festival. Organizers also envisioned having traditional healers from different parts of the country, such as mumbaki of the Ifugao and healers of the Ati of Negros Island, as guest participants. An herbarium has been started, with an ambition of growing all the plant ingredients used in pananambal. All these are for the vision of making Siquijor the healing center of the country. The post First Panambal Festival promotes Siquijor’s folk healing practices appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Call center agent probed for P7 million theft
A call center agent is under investigation after she was accused of embezzling P7 million from a woman in Quezon City, police reported yesterday......»»
Cebu City cops focus on tracing source of P7.4M shabu seized in drug bust
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police continue to find the possible source of illegal drugs of a man, who was nabbed with P7.4 million ‘shabu’ during a buy-bust operation in Barangay Pahina San Nicolas on Saturday evening, March 4. Police identified the suspect as Billy Joe Georpe Chan, 34, a former call center agent. Chan’s arrest […] The post Cebu City cops focus on tracing source of P7.4M shabu seized in drug bust appeared first on Cebu Daily News......»»
2 women killed, big bike driver in critical condition in Mandaue accident
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Two women were killed while a big bike driver remains in critical condition in a vehicular accident that happened past 3 a.m. on Friday, February 24, 2023, in Barangay Banilad, Mandaue City. Rena Rose Fuego, a call center agent, who came from work and was on her way to her house […] The post 2 women killed, big bike driver in critical condition in Mandaue accident appeared first on Cebu Daily News......»»
P3.5M ‘shabu’ seized from call center agent in Lapu-Lapu City buy-bust
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Call center agent Francis Valendez, 35, was released from jail in October 2022 after he posted bail for a drug-related offense. But he was again arrested in a buy-bust operation Monday night, Jan 2, 2023, for the possession of P3.5 million worth of suspected shabu. And he is now in deep […] The post P3.5M ‘shabu’ seized from call center agent in Lapu-Lapu City buy-bust appeared first on Cebu Daily News......»»
Call center agent killed by fallen tree
A call center agent was declared dead on arrival at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center after the taxi in which she was riding was hit by a fallen tree along Kennon Road on Friday......»»
City gets more complaints on contact tracing methods, swabbing
A three-story apartment in this city was placed under lockdown recently after one of the boarders, a call center agent,........»»
P2.4-M ‘shabu’ kumpiskado sa empleyado
Dinakma ng mga pulis ang isang call center agent makaraang masamsaman umano ng aabot sa P2.4 milyon halaga ng hinihinalang shabu sa buy-bust operation sa Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, madaling-araw ngayong Linggo. Ayon kay Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office (NEPPO) Director Police Col. Jaime Santos, nagsanib-puwersa ang Cabanatuan City Police at Sto. Domingo Municipal Police […] The post P2.4-M ‘shabu’ kumpiskado sa empleyado appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Curfew violator argues with tanod
A 21-year-old call center agent in Barangay Payatas, Quezon City was arrested on Friday morning for violating the curfew. However, Jhan Elmer Tejada, 21, the suspect, instead of submitting to barangay officials who accosted him, had a heated exchange with them and resisted arrest. Tejada was walking along Mangga Street at 2 a.m. on 30 […] The post Curfew violator argues with tanod appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Call center agent caught with P.5 million shabu
A call center agent was arrested by Quezon City policemen after he was caught with P510,000 worth of shabu in Sampaloc, Manila on Wednesday......»»
Probe continues to determine fault in Cotabato van-truck collision
Investigators are still trying to establish who between two drivers was at fault in Monday’s collision of a van and a dump truck that both burst into flames in an accident in Antipas, Cotabato that resulted in the death of 17 individuals......»»
Mayor orders probe on alleged consumption of confiscated fish by CLO Enforcement Team
Mayor orders probe on alleged consumption of confiscated fish by CLO Enforcement Team.....»»
Angeles toddlers’ death inside car prompts probe into parental accountability
Autopsy results show the two toddlers died of asphyxia by suffocation.....»»