Author: malaysiang

MANILA: University of the East (UE) leveled the UAAP Season 86 boys volleyball best-of-three championship series at 1-1 after posting a 18-25, 17-25, 27-25, 26-24, 15-11 victory over National University Nazareth School (NUNS) at the FilOil EcoOil Center in San Juan City on Thursday.

UE, eyeing a league-best 14th title, and NUNS, seeking a fifth title, will meet in a rubber match at 1 p.m. on Monday in the same venue.

“Ang sabi ko lang sa mga bata, kung may mangyari sa ending ng high school, ito na ‘yun. Kailangan nating manalo kasi wala na ‘pag natalo kami ngayon. Sa second set, wala kong ginawa kundi aralin lang ‘yung laro at i-motivate sila (I just told the kids, if anything happens at the end of high school, this is it. We have to win because if we lose now, it’s gone. In the second set, I did nothing but just study the game and motivate them),” head coach Raffy Mosuela said after the match that lasted for two hours and 45 minutes.

The Junior Red Warriors, led by outside hitter Lance Babon and skipper J
an Macam, succeeded in fending off their opponents in the fifth set.

The Bullpups, who won Game 1 (39-37, 26-24, 22-25, 25-21), banked on Matthew Abut, Kart Lascuña, Miguel Egger and Dave Lardizabal to claim the first two sets.

Meanwhile, Jancriz Ayco of UST bagged the Most Valuable Player plum. He also took the Best Opposite Hitter award along with teammate Paolo Medino.

The other awardees were Sean Cruz (UST) and Miguel Egger (NUNS), Best Middle Blockers; Rhodson Du-ot (Far Eastern University-Diliman), Best Setter; and John Ian Guevarra (Adamson University), Best Libero.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Philippine government is planning to introduce a “layover tour” program for local and foreign tourists transiting through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco announced Thursday.

Frasco said the Department of Tourism (DOT) is in talks with relevant agencies, including airport authorities to push the launch as early as the second quarter of 2024.

‘For the very first time, mayroon tayong, in the works na ngayon, na layover tours para sa ating mga layover or transit passengers (we have, in the works already, layover tours for our layover or transit passengers),’ she said in an interview.

‘Imagine, just having a few hours but being able to get to know the Philippines through our Philippine Hop-on Hop-off (HOHO) bus tours,’ she added.

The Tourism chief said government agencies are currently negotiating the technicalities of the program, including the process for tourists who will temporarily exit the airport gates for side Manila trips.

‘We’re very hope
ful na isa na naman ito sa mga innovations na ma-introduce natin para mabigyan ang Pilipinas ng added competitive edge to become Asia’s tourism powerhouse (that this will be another innovative program to give the Philippines an added competitive edge to become Asia’s tourism powerhouse),’ she said.

The upcoming tourism program is expected to feature the newly-launched HOHO Pasay-Paranaque, also known as the Entertainment Hub Route.

‘HOHO Pasay-Paranaque’

The DOT rolled out the HOHO Pasay-Paranaque Route on Thursday, which features 13 bus stops to highlight the various ‘entertainment hotspots’ in the two cities.

This is the third of its kind following the HOHO Business and Cultural Hubs launch in Makati and Manila last year.

‘While these cities boast historical landmarks and commercial districts, their emergence as entertainment hubs has been a defining feature that attracts locals and tourists alike,’ the DOT said.

‘Further, their fusion of contemporary entertainment complexes, vibrant nightlife makes t
hem integral pillars in shaping Manila’s entertainment landscape,’ it added.

The 13 designated bus stops in Pasay and Paranaque are as follow:

–Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminals 1, 2, and 3

–Newport World Resorts

–City of Dreams

–Ayala Malls Manila Bay

–Parqal

–Okada Manila

–Solaire Resort

–Luxe Duty Free

–MOA Main Stop

–SMX Convention Center

–MOA Seaside

Both local and foreign tourists in the country may already avail of the new HOHO tour through a mobile application developed for HOHO, where they can book their tour, either guided or do-it-yourself (DIY).

The HOHO app can be downloaded in both the App Store and Google Play Store.

At least three more HOHO hubs are slated to be launched in 2024, namely the Heart Hub (San Juan, Pasig and Mandaluyong), the Lifestyle Hub (Taguig – The Bonifacio Global City), and the Mind Hub that focuses on popular educational institutions located in Quezon City.

The Philippines Hop-On-Hop-Off Travel by the Hubs operates through desig
nated hubs, where tourists have the freedom to choose their preferred destination and duration of stay.

Source: Philippines News Agency

LINGAYEN: Declaration of long weekends and added holidays, which the Marcos administration hopes to boost tourism growth, have been significant in the 23.53 percent increase in tourist arrivals in Pangasinan in 2023, a local official said.

Pangasinan Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office head Maria Luisa Amor-Elduayan, in a statement on Thursday, said tourist arrivals rose to 8.4 million in 2023 from year-ago’s 6.8 million due to ‘opportunity, cost-effectiveness, and availability of destinations.’

‘It (declaration of long weekends) favors cost effectiveness of traveling – notwithstanding the viability of traveling expenses, and the increase in the number of facilities and enterprises in destination areas that provide added values, and activities in the destinations,’ she said.

Among the top five destinations in the province are Manaoag with 5.2 million tourist arrivals, followed by Bolinao town, 644,572 arrivals; Alaminos City, 519,907; capital town of Lingayen, 378,051 arrivals; and Binalonan tow
n, 377,159 visitors.

Elduayan said the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Manaoag remains the top drawer since it is a well-established pilgrimage site and because of the availability of multiple access roads such as the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX).

She said most of the visitors of the church are from the National Capital Region and Central Luzon, who are bound further to the western part of the province or further north to other Ilocos Region destinations and Baguio City.

Bolinao, in turn, is famous for its white sand beach, falls, clean Balingasay River, world-class resorts, and giant clam sanctuary; and Alaminos City for the Hundred Islands National Park.

Lingayen hosts many big events such as the Pista’y Dayat on May 1 and various tourism fairs and the provincial museum, while Binalonan has established itself as a family-oriented destinations that have myriad of small businesses like food and souvenir shops.

‘The availability of spacious and secure parking areas all within
the town center is a huge factor in promoting the town as a preferred nightly destination for those looking for places to relax and socialize without having to put so much time into traveling,’ she added.

The other destinations in the province that recorded over 100,000 arrivals include Dasol, Burgos, San Fabian, Natividad, Sta. Maria, and Asingan towns, which are combinations of beach, festivals, agri-tourism attractions.

Elduayan said projects and activities in Tourism Product Development Program of the province this year include bike tourism, bird watching, Marian Pilgrimage, farm tourism, culinary tourism, new and emerging destinations programs while the activities in the Tourism Promotions Program are Tourism and Travel Fairs, Digital and Social Media Utilization, Tours and Benchmarking, and Special Events, Projects and Activities in Culture and Arts Program.

The province still targets to reach its pre-pandemic tourist arrivals of 10 million achieved in 2019.

Source: Philippines News Agency

SULTAN KUDARAT: Police arrested two drug suspects and seized suspected shabu with an estimated street value of PHP2.4 million during a buy-bust in Barangay Crossing Simuay here Thursday morning.

Lt. Col. Esmael Madin, municipal police chief, said the two suspects, whose identities were withheld due to a follow-up operation, yielded 365 grams of suspected shabu, a black pick-up truck, firearms, mobile phones, and the boodle money.

‘During the 11:20 a.m. operation, the two yielded about six huge sachets of suspected shabu and two loaded .45-caliber pistols after transacting with an undercover police agent,’ Madin said of the suspects, who are residents of Datu Saudi Ampatuan town, Maguindanao del Sur.

He said the suspects were locked up in the municipal police detention facility while charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 were being prepared against them.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has begun the distribution of electronic titles (e-titles) to 2,500 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) in the Davao Region.

In a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview Thursday, DAR Undersecretary Kazel Celeste said region-wide mass distribution of the e-titles covered an aggregate of 3,000 hectares, providing each farmer at least 1 hectare of land.

‘Electronic titles na po ang aming ibibigay para sa mga ARBs na makikinabang sa Project SPLIT (We are giving electronic titles to ARBs benefiting from Project Support to Parcelization of Land and Individual Titling [SPLIT]) although we do provide them with the actual and physical title,’ she said.

Project SPLIT is a project of the DAR and the World Bank wherein collective Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) are parcelized.

The project is partially funded by the World Bank and the Philippine government.

The CLOA is a document showing ownership of the land granted or awarded to the beneficiary by the DAR. It
also contains the restrictions and conditions provided for in Republic Act 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and other applicable laws.

‘Before, nagkakaroon ng isang titulo tayo, pero maraming agrarian reform beneficiaries ang nag-mamay-ari (there was one title but many agrarian reform beneficiaries owned the land), then this project, so that our ARBs will have their own individualized titles with their names,’ Celeste said.

‘Initiallly, we started with a balance of 1.3 million hectares and nasa 1,100,000 po ang mga ARBs na makikinabang dito sa (1.1 million ARBs would benefit from) Project SPLIT,’ she added.

The DAR is set to distribute e-titles and regular titles under CARP to ARBs in the Caraga region next week.

These ARBs were the ones given notice of coverage before the expiration of CARP.

Celeste noted that Project SPLIT expires in 2024.

‘But we’re working it out to have it extended for another two years, because of the pandemic, many of our operations were halted,’ she said.

‘In so far, of lands that already have notice of coverages, meron pa po tayong balanse na (we still have a balance of) more or less 160,000 hectares.’

She added that the DAR is working on problematic land holdings to finish or cover all the CARP balance.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday urged the Muslim community to be ‘agents of transformation’ to make the country into a ‘more peaceful, inclusive, and progressive for all Filipinos.’

Marcos made the call as he joined the observance of the Isra Wal Mi’raj, The Night Journey and Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad.

‘As one of the most celebrated events in Islam, The Night journey and Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gives a perfect picture of the rewards that our Muslim brothers and sisters may reap by having faith in the All-Hearing and All-Seeing Allah,’ he said in his message.

‘Through these, we are forged to become not only living witnesses of our faith but also Allah’s agents of transformation a n d renewal here on Earth,’ Marcos added.

Marcos hoped that the event would serve as Muslim Filipinos’ source of strength and inspiration for reinvigoration in times of despair.

He said the narrative of the Isra Wal Mi’raj ‘also magnifies the glory and might of Allah who
revealed, during this difficult and perilous journey, the virtue of pursuing righteousness and the incomparable prize that awaits us when we remain true and devoted to our faith and our convictions.’

‘Let this occasion imbue us with increased courage and optimism as we collectively face and transform the future of our nation to be more peaceful, inclusive, and progressive for all Filipinos to enjoy,’ Marcos said.

In Islam, Isra Wal Mi’raj is the night that Prophet Muhammad ascended to the seven stages of heaven and began a miraculous trip from Mecca to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Vice President Sara Z. Duterte sees the celebration of Isra Wal Mi’raj of Muslims as a reminder that faith and dedication unite Filipinos despite the country’s diverse population.

The journey of Prophet Muhammad, she said in a statement, is an invaluable lesson on the virtues of humility and trust which “remains timeless and relevant in our present times.”

“Our unwavering belief in the one God, Allah, and His div
ine message serves as the ultimate bond that unifies us,” Duterte said.

She sad it is also a reminder to strive in attaining peace.

“As we commemorate this special occasion with our loved ones, let us offer our night prayers, seeking happiness and tranquility.”

Duterte urged Muslim Filipinos to pray for those who seek blessings from Allah, and bring peace and prosperity for all.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has again hiked the power rate in its franchise areas for February.

Meralco announced Thursday that electricity charges for the month increased by PHP0.5738 per kilowatt hour to PHP11.9168 per kWh from PHP11.3430 per kWh in January.

‘For residential customers consuming 200 kWh, the adjustment is equivalent to an increase of around PHP115 in their total electricity bill,’ it said in a statement.

Meralco attributed the rate increase to higher fuel prices and peso depreciation, driving the upward adjustments on generation charges.

Generation charges for February increased by PHP0.4552 to PHP7.1020 per kWh from PHP6,648 per kWh in the previous month.

Rates from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) went up by PHP1.4764 per kWh, while charges from Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) increased by PHP0.1558 per kWh.

On the other hand, Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) charges tempered the rate hike as it decreased power charges by PHP0.4071 per kWh for February.

Me
ralco sources 46.8 percent of its power requirement from PSAs, 32.8 percent from IPPs, and 20.4 percent from WESM last month.

Meanwhile, transmission and other charges registered a net increase of PHP0.1186 per kWh, reflecting the resumption of Feed-In Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) starting this month as ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Source: Philippines News Agency