MANILA, Philippines — A weak earthquake with a magnitude of 4.4 on the Richter scale jolted Leyte province on New Year's Day.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the tremor, which was tectonic in origin, was felt at 7:40 a.m. on Saturday.

The quake's epicenter was located 9 kilometers north-west of Capoocan, Leyte.

Intensity III was recorded in Leyte, Leyte.

Phivolcs defined a magnitude 4.0 earthquake as "feeble shock" where damages are not usually reported.

It does not expect any aftershock due to the earthquake. (Ellalyn B. De Vera)

Judicious use of public funds vowed
To make the best out of the 19 percent increase in the 2011 budget of the Department of Education (DepEd), Secretary Armin Luistro vowed more judicious use of public funds by not renewing the contracts of a number of its consultants effective next year.

Luistro said that this is part of DepEd’s thrust to streamline operations while maintaining the contracts of those whose services are in line with the priority projects of the department.

“We need to further simplify operations of the whole bureaucracy for a more efficient spending of public funds and optimize use of the Department's limited resources,” Luistro explained.

The 19 percent increase in the DepEd budget, said Luistro, is the biggest in years and will enable the agency to address the major concerns confronting the country’s public education system and raise the achievement levels of learners.

“Certainly, the bigger allocation — from P175 billion in 2010 to P207 billion in 2011— means that we can now start to plug shortages and provide for basic learning resources,” he said. (Ina Hernando-Malipot)

300 OFWs still stranded in Madagascar
Over 300 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who recently lost their jobs in Madagascar after weeks of strike against their employer which they had accused of labor malpractices, remain stranded in a hotel with no scheduled flight to the Philippines.
 
After expecting to be repatriated by their former employer Kentz Engineers and Contractors under their terminated employment contract, the 300 OFWs remained stranded even though they were promised to be repatriated for the holidays, Reynaldo Ubasa, one of the leaders of the OFWs, said.

“Our fellow workers had been promised that they would be home for the holidays. But until today, they remain practically hostaged in a hotel where food and necessities are being reduced by the day,” Ubasa said in a statement.

Ubasa said that the entire Filipino workforce, numbering 2500 construction workers participated in a series of labor strikes in their construction site in November and December.

“We were being bled dry by the company. We had to fight, we had to strike. The entire workplace was paralyzed during those strike days.” Ubasa said.

Roger Gonzales, officer-in-charge of the Philippine Embassy in Kenya, which has jurisdiction over Filipinos in Madagascar, however had assured the workers that he is constantly in touch with their former employer to ensure the resolution of their complaints. (JC Bello Ruiz)