Author: malaysiang

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on January 13 had a working session with Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) on implementing the group’s production and business plan for 2024.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: Germany expressed interest in hiring skilled workers from the Philippines after the official visit of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to Manila this week, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said on Saturday.

‘(N)agsabi ang Germany na hindi lamang nurses ang gusto namin kung hindi other skilled workers, including mga electricians, electrical engineer, mga iba’t iba pong trabaho, sa hospitality sector (Germany said they want to hire skilled workers other than nurses, including electricians, electrical engineers, and different kinds of workers in the hospitality sector),’ DMW Undersecretary Patricia Yvonne Caunan said during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

Caunan said Germany and the Philippines recently signed a ‘joint declaration of interest’ on the recruitment of overseas Filipino workers, which spells out that Manila wants a ‘win-win situation’ where recruitment is sustainable.

She said no less than President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. laid down the conditions to ensure that th
e Philippines would not suffer from labor shortage.

Germany and the Philippines’ increased interaction in the area of labor builds upon the 10-year-old Triple Win, a government-to-government program that allowed hundreds of Filipino nurses to work in the European nation.

Germany had also begun the phased implementation of its Skilled Migration Act in November, indicating its intention to welcome more skilled workers.

The German Embassy in Manila earlier said the new law creates even better incentives for Filipino skilled workers to consider working in Germany.

Marcos Jr. will also visit Germany on March 12, announced during Baerbock’s courtesy call at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Thursday.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Carlo Biado defeated rising star Bernie Regalario, 13-7, in the all-Filipino final of the 2024 Chinese Taipei 9-Ball Open at Hulk Billiards hall in in Ximending, Wanhua District on Friday night.

The 40-year-old Biado, the 2017 Poland World Games gold medalist, earned USD10,000 (about PHP558,000) for his title victory.

Regalario, 19, settled for USD5,000.

Biado defeated home bet Chang Yu-Lung, 11-9, to reach the championship round.

His other victories were over World No. 1 and world champion Francisco Sanchez Ruiz of Spain, 10-5 (quarterfinals), Liu Yun-Cheng of Chinese Taipei, 10-0 (last 16), and Bui Troung An of Vietnam, 9-3 (round of 32).

‘Thank you, God! It’s all yours,’ Biado posted on Facebook.

Regalario, on the other hand, nipped Aloysius Yapp of Singapore, 11-10, in the semifinal.

He also conquered compatriot and Marboys Billiards Club teammate Michael Feliciano, 10-8, in the quarterfinals; and prevailed over local bets Tang Ching-Ting, 10-5, in the Last 16, and Kuo Wei-Hsuan, 9-1, in th
e Round of 32.

‘I’m still very grateful for making it to the final. Congratulations, kuya (older brother)!’ Regalario posted on Facebook.

Johann Chua, James Aranas, Anton Raga, Jeffrey Ignacio, Kyle Amoroto, Marvin Asis and Jefrey Roda of the Marboys Billiards Club also joined the tournament.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The government would remain on guard, despite the successful dismantling of the guerilla fronts of the New People’s Army (NPA), President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Saturday.

While the NPA has ‘zero active guerilla fronts,’ Marcos acknowledged the need to continue the counterinsurgency efforts to enhance the country’s internal security.

‘Ngayon, maaari na nating ma-i-report na wala ng active NPA guerilla front as of December 2023. Kaya patuloy nating ipaglalaban ito (Now, we can report that there is no active NPA guerilla front as of December 2023. So we will continue to fight for it),’ Marcos said in a video message uploaded on his official Facebook page.

‘These accomplishments underscore our steadfast commitment to peace and stability,’ he added.

The President expressed elation over the government troops’ achievement in addressing the country’s insurgency problem by wiping out active NPA guerilla fronts.

He noted that in 2023, around 1,398 members of communist and local terrorist groups we
re neutralized and some 1,751 firearms were seized.

Marcos lauded the military, the police, the Defense department and all the intelligence agencies for their performance and coordination to ramp up the government’s efforts against insurgency.

‘Sila’y nagtutulungan kaya naman naging matagumpay ang ating kampanya kontra sa internal terrorism (They work together that’s why our campaign against internal terrorism was successful),’ he said.

In November 2023, the Philippines and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) political wing, the National Democratic Front (NDF), agreed to a ‘principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict.’

However, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), in a statement earlier this month, expressed skepticism over the CPP-NPA-NDF’s sincerity because of the communist group’s ‘history of failed negotiations, the continuing perpetration of violence, and inconsistent statements.’

The communist movement demanded for the resumption of peace
talks, even as it launched a ‘3rd Rectification Movement’ calling for its armed wing, the NPA, to intensify the ‘protracted people’s war’ against the government during its 55th anniversary on Dec. 26 last year.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The European Union (EU) and the Philippines commenced a year-long celebration to mark their 60 years of diplomatic relations.

The EU Delegation in Manila said the iconic globe at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City will be illuminated with the logo of the 60th year of the diplomatic ties between the EU and the Philippines on Jan. 12 to 19.

During the lighting ceremony on Friday, EU Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Véron said 2024 serves as a ‘celebration of the values that the EU and the Philippines share — democracy, human rights, equality, the rule of law, and support for multilateralism and international law.’

Throughout the year, the EU Delegation in Manila will host special events such as multimedia exhibition, inter-collegiate quiz (EU Whiz) and a choral competition.

‘Besides highlighting the many milestones and achievements of EU-Philippines cooperation over the past six decades, the celebration is also a testament to the enduring friendship and ever-stronger ties between the European Union and
the Philippines,’ the EU Delegation in Manila said.

The Philippines established de facto relations with 15 of the early EU members in 1948 and established formal ties with the European Community (formerly European Union) on May 12, 1964.

Ambassador Vicente Singian presented his letters of credence to the European Commission as the first head of the Philippine Mission to the EU in 1964.

The EU Delegation to the Philippines was officially opened on May 15, 1991.

Over the years, the delegation said political and diplomatic relations between the two have transitioned from being primarily focused on developmental goals to adopting a more collaborative and mutually beneficial approach.

In 2018, the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, a significant component of the EU-Philippines Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation, was enacted.

The EU Delegation in Manila said this deal signaled the initiation of collaboration across various areas of mutual interest, including politics, society, economics, c
ounterterrorism, transnational crime prevention, human rights, justice, peace efforts, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, trade, migration, maritime labor, employment, disaster risk management, and health.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Laguna: The provincial government here has launched a food security initiative to increase the output of local fishponds.

In an interview on Saturday, Provincial Agriculturist Marlon Tobias said they would continue distributing free tilapia fingerlings to small-scale aquaculturists to help them become more productive.

More than 30,000 tilapia fingerlings were distributed to 25 fish pond operators in December.

The office plans to sustain the program the entire year.

On top of this, the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) would also release fingerlings in suitable freshwater lakes and rivers in Laguna to ensure that fisherfolk have enough fishes to catch.

The fingerlings shall be deposited in the different waters of the province, including Laguna de Bay, Seven Lakes, and Caliraya Lake, to ensure that the types or species of tilapia of fish pond operators are of good breed and grow fast.

‘We aim to help raise the livelihood of the other fishing sectors, so that the time will come when they will no longer be
called small fishermen but good and prosperous fishermen because they themselves have the capacity to teach and share,’ he told the Philippine News Agency.

Tobias said operators have dwindled by almost half by the end of 2023, citing the high price of feeds and quality tilapia seed.

The provincial government is also planning to conduct techno-demo sessions in fishing and distribute starter packages for alternative fish feed production.

‘I hope that the cooperation of the members of the fishing industry will continue and be further intensified, so that we can realize that in Laguna, agriculture will flourish,’ Tobias said.

Source: Philippines News Agency