Be Nice☻ Newsletter (January 2018 Issue)

BE NICE

IN THIS ISSUE
New Year’s Message
Binay Family Traditions
Annual gift-giving at the PGH
Sharing Hope and Love for
Biliary Atresia Babies
Nancy appeals BSP to delay
release of new coins, boost
info drive further
Safety Issue: ‘Zero Casualty’
for the holidays
Christmas & New Year
Message
OFFICE OF SENATOR MARIA
LOURDES NANCY BINAY
WE ARE
ONLINE!
ON THE COVER
An advocate for Biliary
Atresia awareness, Sen.
Nancy regularly meets
patient members of LITRO.
Story on Page. 6—7.
BAGONG TAON:
Pagsalubong sa mga bagong
oportunidad at pagsubok
Kung mayroon kayong maaaring baguhin sa inyong mga
sarili, ano kaya ‘yun? ‘Di ba’t ito ang laging tema ng mga
usapan tuwing Bagong Taon? Dahil na rin siguro sa nasasaisip
natin na ang panibagong taon ay pagkakataon upang
magbagong buhay tayo.
‘Ika nga nila, Bagong Taon, Bagong Buhay.
Ito nga siguro ang maganda sa Bagong Taon, ‘yung mayroon
tayong closure sa nakaraang taon at pagkakaroon ng pag-asa
na mas magiging mabuti sa atin ang susunod na taon.
Paano ba natin mai-improve ang ating mga sarili
ngayong 2018?
Balikan nating maigi ang mga nagdaang taon sa ating buhay.
Ano kaya ang mga regret natin na sana pala ay iba ang ating
ginawa sa mga pangyayaring hindi natin nagustuhan ang
naging outcome ng ating napiling desisyon?
Maaaring sa pagbabalik-tanaw natin ay makita natin kung
ano ang dapat palang mas maganda nating ginawa upang
naging mas maayos ang outcome nito.
Minsan kasi, hinahayaan na lamang natin ang mga pangit na
alaalang maipon at maibaon sa limot kaysa sa pagnilayan ang
mga ito at isipin kung saan tayo maaaring nagkamali.
Marahil, ito ay dahil hindi rin natin matanggap sa ating mga
sarili na may dapat tayong baguhin.
Ngunit, ang pagkilala sa mga dapat nating baguhin at i-
improve sa ating mga sarili ang magdadala sa atin sa mas
maayos na estado ng buhay.
Kaya pag-isipan natin ang mga nais nating baguhin sa ating
mga sarili. Hindi kailangang marami, ‘yung bagay lamang na sa
tingin ninyo ay magpapabuti sa inyong pakikitungo sa inyong
kapwa at magbibigay sa inyo nang mas maayos na outlook
ngayong 2018.
Dalangin ng inyong lingkod na lahat tayo ay magkaroon ng
positibong outlook ngayong taon na ituring natin ang
hinaharap bilang isang pagkakataong mabago ang ating mga
buhay para sa mas ikabubuti ‘di lamang sa atin kundi maging
sa nakararami.
Para sa isang ina at may bahay na tulad ng inyong lingkod,
ang Bagong Taon ay hudyat ng bagong mga pagsubok at
oportunidad.
Sadyang parehong present ang pagsubok at oportunidad sa
bawat taon, ‘di ba? Sana, lagi lang nating isipin na hindi naman
ibibigay sa atin ng Panginoon ang isang pagsubok kung hindi
natin ito kakayanin.
Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay
(Nailathala ang Serbisyong Tunay column na ito ni Sen. Nancy sa
Bulgar noong January 3, 2018)

HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES
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HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES
Every year, on New Year’s Day,
former Vice President Jejomar Binay and
his family visit the Philippine General
Hospital (PGH) to give gifts to patients
of the hospital.
Sen. Nancy and her brother,
Junjun, joined their father in last
year’s family tradition. The Binay
grandchildren also joined in spreading
holiday cheer to the patients.
The Binays visited the pediatrics
and cancer wards of the hospital,
speaking to the patients and their
families. The family also met with
doctors, the hospital staff, and
medical personnel, thanking their
dedication in easing the pain of our
kababayans and making them well.
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HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES
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ADVOCACIES
Sharing
Hope & Love
for
Biliary Atresia Babies
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ADVOCACIES
Caring for children, especially the sick,
has always been an advocacy of Sen. Nancy.
This is why in 2014, she personally sought
out for specific group of children to help
babies with biliary atresia (BA). She
partnered with LIver TRansplant Operation
Babies Phils. (LITRO), a support group for
biliary atresia, to better help these children.
Because this illness is congenital and lifethreatening,
BA families often have a hard
time seeking medical and financial support to
fund the treatment. The medical and
diagnostic expenses may reach up to P5-6
million. There are instances that families opt
to the have the treatment and operations
abroad.
Once a year, the partnership holds a
Christmas party for LITRO members. They
have games, contests, and raffles for the
families. This year’s celebrations were made
more special as more people are aware of
biliary atresia. Today, more advocates,
sponsors and support groups are extending
their help to these BA families.
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FEATURES
Nancy asks BSP to temporarily stops new P5 coins in circulation
To avoid further public confusion, Sen.
Nancy Binay today said that the Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas (BSP) might consider to
temporarily stop the issuance of new generation
coins that it plans to release in January 2018.
According to Binay, the new five-peso coins
---which the BSP rolled-out this December---
have already created much confusion as they
now co-exist with the current BSP series coins.
"It is best to keep an eye on those new fivepeso
coins. Lalo na doon sa mga nanunukli ng
barya sa tricycle, jeep, tindahan at mga maliliit
na negosyo. Sobrang nakakalito ang bagong
limang-piso na halos magkasing hawig at laki
lang ito ng piso," she pointed out.
According to Binay, consumers have expressed
confusion at being handed the recently released fivepeso
silver coins which are closely similar in shape and
in size to the one-peso BSP coins.
The new silver minted five-peso coin now
has Andres Bonifacio in its front replacing Gen.
Emilio Aguinaldo who is featured in the old
and pale gold five-peso coin still in circulation.
However, the new generation coins (NGC)
are clearly smaller than their counterparts in the
old BSP series.
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...says new generation coins confuse public, impact small businesses
As a matter of fact, the silver five-peso
Bonifacio coin closely resembles the onepeso
coin featuring Dr. Jose Rizal.
"We welcome the new and fresh
designs of the NGC. But did the Numismatic
Photo Credits: Office of the Senate President
Committee ever consider the behavioral
change it will create, and the possibility of
confusion between merchants and the
public? Sa totoo lang, meron impact sa
ordinaryong Pinoy sa araw-araw na
transaksyon ang mga bagong coin na
ilalabas ng BSP," she explained.
Binay further explained that majority of
the public who commute and even those in
the transport sector are the ones to be
inconvenienced by the circulation of the
NGC series.
"Sana po ay merong maayos na info
drive, media campaign or advisories na
ginawa ang BSP bago ilabas ang mga
bagong barya. We welcome the change if it's
an issue of security but the problem lies on
the circulation where the new coins will coexist
with the P1, P5, and P10 coins that are
now more widely used by the public," the
senator noted.

FEATURES
Senator Nancy Binay today reiterated her call to
the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to delay the
issuance of new coins for at least four months, or until
April 2018.
According to Binay, the deferment of the release of
new generation coins will give BSP enough time to
conduct an extensive nationwide information
campaign about the New Generation Currency
(NGC) coins, and for the public and merchants to be
aware of the differences.
BSP is set to release other coin denominations of
the NGC series on January 18, 2018.
"The concerns raised over the NGCs, especially the
new P5-coin, are all legitimate. What we're asking the
BSP is to first elevate the level of awareness of the
public through mass media and to use all information
channels until April. This would give everyone
enough time to prepare for the changes," Binay noted.
In December last year, the senator called on the
BSP to stop the release of the new P5-coin to quell
further public confusion since it has an uncanny
resemblance to the old P5-coin.
"Wag naman sanang maging unreasonable ang
BSP. The P5 coins directly impact commuters, MRT/
LRT riders, sari-sari stores, senior citizens and much
more on people who have low-vision issues because
of their confusing appearance," she added.
Incompatibility with coin-operated machines
particularly ticket vending machines (TVMs) for the
"Beep" cards of the MRT/LRT is seen to affect a
significant number of riders.
Merchants claim that it will take a minimum of
three months to update the firmware of TVMs and
other vending machines which are usually
reconfigured overseas.
"May malaking epekto ang mga bagong barya lalo
na sa bus at jeep. Dahil nga sa mas malamang
magkakalituhan sa panunukli, pwede silang malugi o
yung mga pasahero nila ang maperwisyo. Takawaksidente
din dahil prone to distractive driving. The
drivers' eyes should be on the road because it's their
job to convey their passengers safely---di nila trabaho
ang mag-sort out ng coins," she stressed.
Binay further explained that majority of the public
who commute and those in the transport sector are
the ones to be inconvenienced by the circulation of
the NGC series.
"The likely scenario will either be that you are
shortchanged or paid extra---masakit sa bulsa yun
because the difference in the value between the P5
coin and P1 is big," Binay pointed out.
Binay even asked the BSP if the Numismatic
Committee ever considered the behavioral change
the new coins will create, and if there was any
study on coinage circulation.
And since the old coins and the new coins will
co-exist together for an interminable period, it will
definitely be a hassle and costly to those who rely
heavily on coins.
"Dapat magkaroon ng posters sa lahat ng tindahan,
tricycle at bus terminals, palengke, supermarkets,
karinderya, loob ng jeep, mga canteen,
vending machines at lahat ng mga establishments.
What we're asking is only four months of public
information drive to avoid that head-spinning
head-scratching Measures ordeal vs for Bird consumers Flu and merchants.
Let's attend to the small change to hold off
a big headache," Binay added.
According to the BSP, there are 28 billion assorted
coins currently in circulation.
SMALL
CHANGE.
In the picture
is the old fivepeso
BSP coin
together with
the "Bagong
Bayani" and
the "70th
Anniversary
Leyte
Landing"
commemorative
coins of
the same
color and size
that were
released in
Dec 2014.
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FEATURES
NANCY SEEKS FULL REVIEW OF DRRM
PROTOCOLS, 'ZERO-CASUALTY' GOAL
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Senator Nancy Binay called on the police
and local government units to make sure that
there will be no firecracker-related casualties
and injuries in the traditional merrymaking to
start the New Year.
‚Nanawagan po ako sa ating Philippine
National Police (PNP) at mga local
government units (LGUs) na gawing reyalidad
ang ‘zero casualties at injuries’ sa pagsalubong
ng Bagong Taon,‛ Binay said.
There were 630 fireworks-related injuries and
zero deaths during the celebration of New Year 2017,
Department of Health (DOH) data showed.
The solon added that the police and local
executives should strictly implement Executive
Order (EO) 28, which bans the use of
firecrackers by private citizens.
The use of firecrackers will be confined to
community fireworks displays ‚to minimize
the risk of injuries and casualties‛, the EO said.
Binay also called on the citizenry and
other government agencies to help the police
and local government in monitoring the
manufacture, distribution, and sale of
prohibited firecrackers and fireworks.
‚Ang safety po nating lahat, lalo na ng
mga kabataan, ay isang shared responsibility
ng lahat ng mamamayan, local government
units, at mga sangay ng executive
department,‛ she said.
The senator also said that the police
should be vigilant in preventing the entry and
use of illegal firecrackers and fireworks.
‚Magtulungan po tayo, sa pangunguna ng
kapulisan at ng mga LGUs, sa pagmonitor at
pagreport ng paggawa, pagdistribute, at
pagbenta ng mga iligal at ipinagbabawal na
paputok,‛ Binay said.
‚‚Madalas po mga bata ang biktima ng
mga illegal na paputok, lalo ng piccolo, dahil
sa madaling itago at ibenta ito. Dapat pong
bantayang maigi ang pagpasok at paggamit
nito sa merkado,‛ she added.
FEATURES
Binay has filed in the last two
Congresses a bill to ‚reduce the number
of injuries sustained by children by
prohibiting the selling, giving, or in any
way sharing of firecrackers.‛
Senate Bill 367 carries with it a
penalty of a prison term of a minimum of
six months and one day to a maximum of
six years or a fine not less than
P50,000.00 but not exceeding
P250,000.00, or both, at the discretion of
the Court for any person caught selling,
giving, or any way share any type of
fireworks or firecrackers to children 15
years old and below.
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