Statement of Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda:
On the suspension of work in government and private offices
[August 7, 2012]
Last night and today, in the interest of public safety, Memorandum Circular No. 33 and 33-A were issued, suspending work in the public and private sectors as well as college in NCR and surrounding provinces. For government, essential personnel involved in search and rescue and relief, public health, and safety are required to remain on duty. For the private sector, if your employer requires you to go to work, they must be able: (1) to ensure and be responsible for your safety; and (2) to give premium pay. In both instances, subject to existing labor standards: this covers all firms, including BPO and call centers. This MC 33-A only applies to today, August 7, 2012.
The President has been intensively overseeing operations since this emergency began a few days ago, ensuring that predeployment of rescue and relief takes place and that government agencies are proactively serving the people. The President ensured the refinement of weather and other alerts to make them more clear and accessible to the public. Today, he presided over the NDRRMC meeting in Camp Aguinaldo, and he continues to ensure resources are efficiently allocated to ensure maximum relief and assistance to our fellow countrymen.
We thank the media and civil society for their coming together to work with government to ensure all relevant information is immediately cascaded across all channels, traditional and new, to ensure our countrymen receive timely, useful, accurate information.
The authorities on the national and local levels are working together to assist affected communities. PAGASA is issuing regular updates, as is the NDRRMC. Please help us get information out by monitoring official channels and sharing information with friends, coworkers, and family.
Times like these call for the highest levels of compassion and cooperation. As a people, we have always risen to the challenge; we are doing
