Author: malaysiang

CALAMBA CITY: Two more individuals were scratched off Calabarzon’s ‘most wanted’ list after the arrest of a suspected child rapist and an armed robber in separate operations in San Pedro City, Laguna on Thursday night.

Col. Gauvin Unos, director of the Laguna Police Provincial Office (LPPO), told reporters on Friday that the alleged sex offender, identified only as ‘Elroque’ and a resident of San Pedro, was arrested in Barangay Estrella by officers armed with a warrant from the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 31.

The suspect is facing charges for multiple counts of qualified rape in relation to Republic Act 7610, otherwise known as the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.

No bail was recommended

Later the same night, a convicted robber identified only as ‘Dorongue’ was arrested in Barangay San Antonio through a warrant of arrest issued by RTC Branch 93 of the same city in order to compel him to serve out his sentence.

‘The success of the operations to arres
t the two most wanted individuals at the regional and provincial levels, shows our determination to enforce the law and keep Laguna safe,’ Unos said.

Both arrested persons are currently locked up at San Pedro City Police Station.

Source: Philippines News Agency

LEGAZPI CITY: The Department of Agriculture-Bicol (DA-5) is urging local government units (LGUs) in the region to set up more Kadiwa (Katuwang sa Diwa at Gawa para sa Masaganang Ani at Mataas na Kita) stores in their areas to provide low-cost, fresh, and healthy food products to the public.

In an interview on Friday, Lovella Guarin, DA -5 spokesperson, said they are coordinating with all municipalities, cities, provincial LGUs, and other government offices for the setting up of more Kadiwa stores.

“We have regular Kadiwa stores every 15th and 30th of the month. The general public can purchase NFA (National Food Authority) rice at PHP25 per kilo, fresh fruits, vegetables, and farm products,” she said.

Guarin said the Kadiwa store is an initiative of the government to help Filipinos meet their nutritional needs at a very affordable price.

“The Kadiwa stores not only provide healthy and affordable products to our consumers but also provide additional income to our farmers. They are able to promote their prod
ucts and ensure food supply in the locality,” she added.

To date, there are Kadiwa stores in Camalig, Albay; Vinzons and Sta. Elena in Camarines Norte; Pili and Libmanan in Camarines Sur; Masbate province; and Sorsogon City, Sorsogon.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga on Friday said the owner of the resort built within the vicinity of Chocolate Hills in Bohol was never issued an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB).

However, the owner of Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort still obtained a building permit and subsequently, a permit to operate, from the Sagbayan municipality.

‘We discovered that the building permit started to be issued in 2020, and definitely walang (there’s no) ECC at that point, and subsequently in 2022. So, tuloy tuloy ang construction nila (the construction was continuous) because they actually had a building permit from the local government habang wala pang ECC (even in the absence of an ECC),’ Loyzaga said during a virtual presser on Friday.

‘Secondly, they were also granted a business permit, and so what we need to do is to work very closely with the local government units kasi kung sino ang binibigyan ng bu
siness permit, then kailangan naman sana na i-confirm na may tamang permiso (because they should at least confirm first that they have proper permits before granting them a business permit), being in a protected area,’ she added.

DENR Undersecretary for Field Operations and Environment Juan Miguel Cuna explained that the resort owner obtained a resolution from the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) endorsing the project in 2020.

However, he said that one of the specific conditions given by PAMB to the resort owner was to obtain an ECC before any activity, which included the construction.

In 2022, the resort owner again sought the endorsement of the PAMB, through a resolution, because they had transferred the site of their proposed project.

Again, they were able to obtain a PAMB resolution endorsing the project, with the condition that they obtain an ECC before conducting any activity.

‘So clearly they were well aware of the requirement to get an ECC,’ Cuna said.

In September 2023, the Provincial Env
ironment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) found out the construction without an ECC and issued a notice of violation, including a request to stop operation.

Cuna said the owner then applied for an ECC, but was unable to submit the complete document.

‘They continued to operate and in fact, they actually wrote the PENRO requesting for the lifting of the order, since they had already applied for an ECC, which the PENRO denied, since the ECC itself had not been issued yet,’ Cuna said.

In January this year, the EMB Region 7 issued a notice of violation for the lack of ECC.

On Thursday, a joint cease and desist order was issued to ensure that the resort, which went viral through a social media post by a vlogger, no longer operating.

‘We are monitoring the Captain’s Peak to ensure that they remain closed and not open for operations,’ Cuna said.

Various violations

Meanwhile, Cuna said the owner of Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort may face multiple penalties for various violations.

He said that there is a
penalty for constructing without an ECC; failure to register as a hazardous waste generator if they discharge water without a discharge permit; failure to obtain a permit from the National Water Resources Board while putting up a well in the area, among others.

“And then under the [Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System] Law, ‘yun ang mabigat (this is heavier). For criminal liability, may mga penalty po siya (there are penalties) and it’s not small, minimum of PHP1 million to PHP5 million maximum for a criminal liability,’ he said.

There is also an additional minimum of six years to a maximum of 12 years imprisonment for putting up structures without the appropriate permits within the protected area, Cuna said.

He noted that these are still aside from the administrative fines, which start at a minimum of PHP15,000 and a maximum of PHP5 million.

Loyzaga said that right now, it is unclear whether or not the resort will be able to open again as they are still investigating and studying the matte
r.

She said the DENR has begun using aerial surveillance, particularly the use of space imagery.

‘These areas are quite large in terms of the areas that are affected, and if you notice, they’re quite remote, some kilometers away from the main road and they are practically hidden in between the Chocolate Hills. It is very likely that there are some others that do not have the proper permits,’ Loyzaga said.

Chocolate Hills is a world heritage site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and was declared a protected area through Proclamation No. 1037 issued by the late President Fidel V. Ramos on July 1, 1997.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Philippines and Czech Republic have agreed to deepen their cooperation in various areas such as agriculture and trade and investment, Malacañang said Friday.

The commitment was made during President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s meeting with Czech Republic Prime Minister Petr Fiala in Prague, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement.

During his meeting with Fiala at the Prime Minister’s office, Marcos said he looks forward to strengthening the bilateral ties between the two nations by pursuing and exploring priority sectors like agriculture, trade and investment, defense and security, labor space, and technology.

‘We continue to pursue and explore the areas that we spoke about before. We, of course, talked about the defense and security and in that vein, we have just, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, as you know, is in the process of modernization of our capabilities and capacities,’ Marcos told Fiala, as quoted by the PCO.

‘We continue to explore a
lso in terms of agriculture, cybersecurity, which is something that we spoke about very briefly, but now we put a little bit more, put a bit more meat on the bones of that initial discussion that we have had,’ Marcos added.

President Marcos also encouraged Czech companies to participate in the Philippines’ infrastructure development, especially the constructions of the country’s gateways, to improve its global competitiveness.

Fiala, on the other hand, expressed the Czech Republic’s readiness to support the Philippines in several fields such as agriculture, energy technology, transportation, civil aviation and aeronautics, and space technology.

He also assured Marcos of the Central European nation’s strong commitment for the economic development of the Philippines which serves as its ‘key partner in the Indo-Pacific region.”

‘We are interested in (a) stronger economic and trade nation with your country. We can assist this diversification of your country’s economic model,’ Fiala said.

‘And I saw in Manila
many possibilities for our future cooperation. We discussed cooperation, agriculture, defense, aviation, and energy,’ he added, as he extended his gratitude for Marcos’ efforts to reciprocate his state visit in April last year.

Fiala visited Manila from April 16 to 18, 2023 and met with Marcos where they launched the book Kaibigan-Prátelé: Czech-Philippine Cultural and Diplomatic Dialogue at Malacañan Palace.

PH tourist spots

Marcos, during his bilateral meeting with Fiala, also extended his invitation for Czech nationals to visit the Philippines to experience the country’s tourist destinations and Filipino hospitality.

This, as he informed Fiala of the ongoing modernization efforts to transform the Philippines’ regional airports into international airports to increase the accessibility to domestic tourist destinations.

‘Hopefully, we will see more of your citizens coming to the Philippines. And I can see that this is an area that will continue to increase for us. It’s very happy to welcome friends, come
, visit the Philippines,’ Marcos said.

‘We take pride in the Filipino hospitality, and we take pride in our beautiful country, as in, of course, you do. But that’s why I think that this is a third time, an area of third time development,’ he added.

Marcos said it is very timely for the two nations to discuss people-to-people exchanges, as the Philippines considers its tourism sector as an important part in reviving the economy after the pandemic and sees Czech Republic as a significant tourist destination for the Filipinos.

Czech leaders

Apart from Fiala, Marcos also met with Czech President Petr Pavel, Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrcil, and Czech Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová to discuss the two countries’ bilateral relations.

Marcos was accompanied by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez in his meetings with the four officials.

Before flying back to Manila on early Saturday morning (Manila time), Marcos would deliver a speech at th
e Philippine-Czech Republic Business Forum in Prague.

Marcos is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with a local firm and meet with the Filipino community in Prague.

The diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the Czech Republic were officially established on Oct. 5, 1973.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the country’s overall balance of payments (BOP) is projected to post a higher surplus for this year but will likely revert to a deficit in 2025.

In a virtual briefing on Friday, BSP Department of Economic Research Director Sittie Hannisha Butocan said the overall BOP position for this year is expected to settle at USD700 million, higher than the earlier estimate of USD400 million.

“This development is driven mainly by the estimated narrower current account gap for the year and modest inflows of non-resident investments. The lower current account deficit amounting to USD6.1 billion largely reflects the downward revision of both goods imports and exports growth forecast relative to the previous forecast round,” Butocan said.

The projection for the growth of exports of goods was revised downward to 3 percent from the earlier 5 percent, while the forecast for imports growth was likewise slashed to 4 percent from 7 percent.

Butocan said the lower growth projec
tion for exports is already factored in the latest insights by major export industry associations.

“These include, in particular, the semiconductors and electronics industries, which project a flat growth in electronics exports for 2024. We note that electronics exports account for 60 percent of total Philippine exports,” she said.

Butocan said the lower current account deficit also considers the waning pent up demand and the impact of the monetary policy tightening on overall economic activity.

“The narrower current account gap is also on account of the positive prospects for business process outsourcing revenues, travel receipts, and overseas Filipino remittances as demand for high-contact services continue to rebound,” she added.

Foreign direct investments as well as foreign portfolio investments, meanwhile, are projected to register moderate net gains, supported by the government’s thrust to fully implement key amendatory laws that eased rules on foreign investor participation in key industries as wel
l as its plan to keep infrastructure spending at above 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

For 2025, the BSP expects the overall BOP position to reverse to a deficit of USD500 million, attributed to the foreseen widening of the trade-in-goods gap and further reduction in the projected financial account inflows.

The larger shortfall in goods trade is primarily due to the faster increase in goods imports due to the strong growth in public infrastructure investments.

“Given that merchandise trade is about a little over twice the level of services trade, the estimated sustained positive performance of both travel and BPO (business process outsourcing) sectors, managed to only partially offset the trade-in-goods deficit,” Butocan said.

“Meanwhile, capital inflows are expected to moderate further in 2025 on the back of more subdued inflows of non-resident investments, as next year will be a transition year for many major economies, particularly the US and the UK, with their conduct of elections in the la
tter part of this year,” she added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

TACLOBAN CITY: The national government has released PHP337.34 million in cash aid to families affected by the devastating flood in Northern Samar late last year, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional office reported Friday.

The emergency cash transfer (ECT) has benefited 110,968 shearline-affected families in the province as of March 13, DSWD regional information officer Jonalyndie Chua said in a phone interview.

Each family received PHP3,040 under the DSWD’s ECT program.

‘ECT is unconditional cash support for early recovery. The payout to the affected families in Northern Samar will continue as directed by DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian to ensure the early recovery and rehabilitation of those affected,’ Chua said.

The latest to receive the financial aid are 16,235 families in Catarman, the capital town of Northern Samar.

Earlier, the DSWD distributed cash aid in Lavezares, San Jose, Gamay, Lapinig, Mapanas, Palapag, Allen, Bobon, Lope de Vega, Rosario, Catubig, Laoang, Pambujan
, San Vicente, Mondragon, San Roque, Las Navas, Silvino Lobos, Capul, and San Isidro towns.

The DSWD hoped to finish the cash distribution to the remaining recipients within the month.

The national government is pouring in PHP374.32 million to help 123,133 families affected by the devastating flood in Northern Samar.

Local government units provided the list of recipients, which was validated by DSWD personnel.

ECT is an unconditional cash grant that may be used by the beneficiary for any purpose that would aid in their day-to-day needs for the repair of their damaged house.

Cash aid is seen as an adaptive strategy for bridging the gaps between immediate disaster relief, humanitarian response, and early recovery support through the provision of unconditional cash to victims of disasters and emergency situations requiring interventions.

Massive floods last November affected 609,870 people in 691 villages in Northern Samar, Samar, Eastern Samar, Biliran, and Southern Leyte.

It destroyed some 57 houses and
partially damaged 249 others.

Northern Samar’s heavy floods were caused by an unprecedented 618 millimeters of rainfall in 24 hours, or the equivalent of nearly six weeks’ volume of rainfall in a single day.

The DSWD has yet to announce if there will be an ECT payout in other affected provinces.

Source: Philippines News Agency

COTABATO CITY: Rice and corn production of 27 farmers’ cooperatives in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Special Geographic Area (BARMM-SGA) is expected to increase after the regional government’s aid of PHP11.9 million worth of various agricultural inputs on Friday.

SGA Development Authority (SGADA) Administrator Butch Malang said the farmer recipients were from the Midsayap cluster.

“The inputs included fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, ‘palay’ certified seeds, hybrid corn seeds, and support for the livestock industry,” he said in a statement Friday.

A total of 63 villages in six municipalities of North Cotabato province opted to join BARMM during the 2019 two-part regional plebiscite and are now grouped under SGA.

The villages were originally part of the towns of Aleosan, Carmen, Kabacan, Midsayap, Pigcawayan, and Pikit in North Cotabato.

The aid forms part of the livelihood support program, “Oplan Bangsamoro Rapid Assistance (OBRA),” under the “Tulong Alay sa Bangsamorong Nanga
ngailangan” (Tabang) project, a flagship project of BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim.

It aims to increase rice and corn production of Bangsamoro-SGA farmers, who faced challenges in protecting their crops from pests and floods.

Tabang is scheduled to distribute the same agricultural interventions to 41 cooperatives in Maguindanao del Sur, 41 in Maguindanao del Norte, and 30 in Lanao del Sur.

Karim Mando, one of the recipients, said it was his first time receiving agricultural intervention from the regional government.

“Thank you so much. It feels good to receive aid from BARMM, especially during Ramadan,” the 35-year-old corn farmer said in the vernacular.

Source: Philippines News Agency