Category: General

MANILA: The Department of Agriculture (DA)’s probe into the alleged improper sale of rice stocks of the National Food Authority (NFA) remains intact despite the dismissal of the official leading the investigation.

This came after the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the dismissal of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) director and probe panel head Demosthenes Escoto for grave misconduct in relation to the procurement of BFAR’s communications equipment in 2018.

“Siya ang head dito at may dalawang kasama, si Atty. (Willie Ann) Angsiy at si Assistant Secretary James Layug. Buo pa naman, nandun pa naman iyong majority ng team (He was the head and was accompanied by two others including Atty. Angsiy and Asec. James Layug. They’re still whole, majority of the team is still there),” Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing Friday.

“For the meantime, ay iyong dalawa na natitira doon sa panel ay tuloy pa rin ang isinasagawang pagsisiyasat dito sa iss
ues na ito (the two remaining officials in the panel will continue the ongoing investigation on these issues),” he added.

De Mesa said no remarkable delay is expected considering the actions of its panel are supported while awaiting the new head.

“Tuluy-tuloy iyong pag-uusap at any time magre-report at mag-a-announce si Secretary [Francisco] Tiu Laurel ng maghe-head (The talks are ongoing and anytime Secretary Tiu Laurel shall report and announce its [new] head),” he said.

Laurel, earlier, ordered the NFA to expedite the submission of necessary documents to the panel, alongside its compliance with the Ombudsman’s parallel investigation.

The DA intended to look back to procurement and rice quality assessment records of NFA as early as 2019.

The alleged improper sale includes around 75,000 bags of NFA rice worth more than PHP93.7 million, which was sold to select millers and traders, without bidding, at a price “disadvantageous” to the government.

Slight rice price hike

De Mesa, meanwhile, confirmed a sl
ight increase in retail prices of rice amid the tail-end of the harvest season.

“Iyong prevailing natin ay nasa (our prevailing price is around) PHP51, PHP52. So tumaas ng piso kada kilo iyong prevailing price ng bigas (So the prevailing price increased by PHP1 per kg),” he said.

Last week, the prevailing price was set at PHP50 to PHP51/kg., with some monitored prices pegged at PHP46/kg. to PHP49/kg.

“Dapat sa panahong ito, harvest season, nakikita natin na bumababa ang presyo ng bigas, kaya lamang dahil nagkaroon tayo ng pagtaas din ng presyo ng farm gate ng NFA (Supposedly during this time, harvest season, [we should be] seeing rice price dropping, but we also had a price hike in the farmgate price of NFA),” he said.

The NFA earlier increased its buying price equivalent to PHP23 to PHP30/kg. for dry and clean palay; and PHP17 to PHP23/kg. price range for fresh palay to ensure fair play with local traders.

These are higher than the NFA’s previous price range set at PHP19 to PHP23/kg. and PHP16 to PHP19/
kg for dry and fresh palay, respectively.

The NFA Council allowed the buying price tweak so it could secure supplies from local farmers and hit its target of 300,000 metric tons for national rice buffer stock.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Senator Grace Poe on Friday asked the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to invalidate the penalties and impounding of e-bikes and e-trikes before President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s order for a one-month grace period in the implementation of the ban on national roads.

“Dapat kasama ang mga na-unang nahuli (The first ones to be apprehended should be included). The intention of the President is to give them some breathing room and time to adjust,” Poe said in a statement.

“Tulad ng palugit na ibinigay ng Pangulo, marapat lamang na mabigyan din ng grace period ang mga naunang nahuli mula sa multa at (Like the grace period given by the President, it is only appropriate that the first ones to be apprehended should also be given grace period from fines and) impounding,” she said.

The senator agreed with President Marcos’ directive, citing confusions among e-vehicle drivers on what are prohibited roads or where are they allowed to pass.

“Huwag na sana nating pahirapan ang mga may-ari ng e-bikes a
t e-trikes na naghahanap lang ng maayos na alternatibong masasakyan (We should not make it harder for e-bike and e-trike owners who are just looking for an alternative transportation),” Poe said.

MMDA Regulation 24-022 took effect on Monday, prohibiting e-bikes, e-trikes, tricycles, pedicabs, pushcarts, and “kuliglig” (improvised motor vehicle) from plying national roads, circumferential roads, and radial roads in Metro Manila.

However, President Marcos directed the MMDA and local government units (LGUs) on Thursday to grant e-vehicle owners a one-month adjustment for a wider information dissemination about the new regulation.

With the President’s order, Poe said she expects the MMDA and other agencies concerned to consult the stakeholders and create balanced policies that take into consideration the plight of commuters without compromising safety.

Source: Philippines News Agency

JAKARTA: Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Padjaitan revealed that Apple is interested in investing in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in Indonesia’s new capital city Nusantara.

Pandjaitan, in his Instagram post at luhut.pandjaitan, posted on Thursday, stated that Apple is also interested in the AI Center development in Bali and Solo, Central Java.

In his Instagram post, he mentioned about the meeting between President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Apple CEO Tim Cook at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday (April 17), in which he was also present to accompany the head of state.

The minister stated that Cook is interested in the application of future technology in Nusantara.

“Regarding this matter, President Jokowi has also given me the mandate to coordinate all the processes required for Apple’s investment in building a smart city ecosystem in the new capital,” he remarked.

He assessed that stable economic growth with macroeconomic conditions and
a well-controlled inflation rate had drawn Apple to invest in Indonesia.

Moreover, he highlighted that Indonesia has a demographic dividend that will continue to grow until 2030.

‘(They) also saw the downstreaming industry that we have now. With the downstreaming and raw materials that we have, they saw that Indonesia is a really good country,’ he stated.

He noted that the government is ready to provide incentives, akin to those in India and Thailand, to attract investment from Apple.

He said one example of incentives that the government can give to Apple is the ease of import duties on Apple components.

He opined that Indonesia should follow what Thailand and India have done by making adjustments to domestic regulations.

“However, if the regulations hinder us, we have to change them,” he stressed.

So far, Apple has invested more than Rp1 trillion (around USD61.81 million) in the Apple Development Academy, which is a digital talent training program for developing Apple applications.

The program has al
ready been implemented at four locations, namely BSD City, Surabaya, Batam, and most recently in Bali.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MALASIQUI: The provincial government of La Union is set to distribute cash aid ranging from PHP8,000 to PHP10,000 to farmers and fisherfolk in the province affected by drought.

“Our agenda to promote the welfare of our agricultural workers is aligned with the province’s vision to become the Heart of Agri-Tourism in Northern Luzon by 2025,’ La Union Governor Raphaelle Veronica Ortega-David said in a statement on Friday.

She said the provision of cash assistance was mandated by Provincial Ordinance No. 425-2023, which aimed to provide cash assistance to farmers and fisherfolk who recorded partial and total crop damage, respectively.

Passed on July 28, 2023, the provincial ordinance aims to capacitate local farmers and fisherfolk whose livelihoods are usually impaired by natural calamities such as the current El Niño phenomenon.

Also known as the Agricultural Emergency Trust Fund, the ordinance has appropriated a total amount of PHP3 million, which is seen to benefit around 300 farmers.

‘The ordinance’s imp
lementing rules and regulations were recently approved, and hence we are now ready to implement it and provide timely assistance to affected agricultural workers,’ officer-in-charge Provincial Agriculturist Sharon Viloria said in a separate statement.

She said affected farmers or fisherfolk must send an application letter and duly accomplished application form to the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAG) to avail of the assistance.

“The applications shall then be endorsed to the respective city or municipal agriculture office which will facilitate the validation of the reported damage to assess actual cost and losses,” Viloria said.

The applicant must be a member of an accredited farmer or fisherfolk’s cooperative, she added.

OPAG continues to monitor and assess the farmers’ reported damage due to the dry spell for the provision of emergency trust fund, she said.

On Jan. 19, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order (EO) No. 53 to streamline, reactivate and reconstitute the old El
Niño task forces under EO No. 16 (s. 2001) and Memorandum Order No. 38 (s. 2019).

Under EO No. 53, the President instructed the task force to develop a comprehensive disaster preparedness and rehabilitation plan for El Niño and La Niña to provide ‘systematic, holistic, and results-driven interventions’ to help the public cope and minimize their devastating effects.

Source: Philippines News Agency

PUERTO PRINCESA: An elderly man in Barangay Inagawan in this city saved an adult male pangolin (Manis culionensis) from being mauled by a pack of dogs on Thursday evening.

In an online post on Friday, the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) reported that local resident Bonifacio Mariscal, 64, saved the pangolin, also called Philippine or Palawan Pangolin, who was then being chased by dogs near his home.

He then sought the assistance of Rustico Aparecho, 71, to bring the animal, which can weigh as much as 35 kilograms, to a police station in Barangay Luzviminda.

The two men were then accompanied by policemen in taking the endangered mammal to the offices of the PCSD, where it was given a check-up and now being cared for.

‘In my entire life, this is the first time I’ve seen a balintong (local name for pangolin). I’ve heard stories about this animal but it’s a different feeling seeing it in person. It was a pitiful sight to witness it being chased by dogs. That’s why we took it to the police,
because they would know where to take it so it would be safe,’ Mariscal said in Filipino.

The Palawan Pangolin holds critical ecological significance as an endemic species to Palawan and is currently designated as a “Critically Endangered” species, according to the PCSD.

Meanwhile, about 120 kilometers away from this city, in Roxas town, combined personnel of the Bantay Dagat Roxas and the Philippine National Police (PNP) intercepted a boat that yielded 13 ‘talking maynahs’ (common hill myna) that were apparently poached and intended to be sold.

Bong Libiran, head of Bantay Dagat Roxas, said lawmen tried to flag the boat down to check the crews’ licenses but instead of slowing down they tried to make a getaway.

The boat was eventually caught, leading to the discovery of the birds, most of which had already died.

Only four of the birds were still alive, the rest had died while being transported, Libiran recounted.

Two more birds expired despite the best efforts of authorities to save them, he added.

The
boat’s four crew members are now facing criminal charges for violation of Republic Act 9147 or Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.

Source: Philippines News Agency

DUMAGUETE CITY: Three members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in southern Negros Oriental have surrendered to authorities to be reunited with their families.

One of the rebels has an infanticipating wife while another is a new father.

Both wives were also former NPA members, 1Lt. Bernadith Campeon, acting Civil-Military Operations chief of the Philippine Army’s 11th Infantry Battalion, said in a report Friday.

Campeon identified the three as alias Ann, the platoon medical officer of the dismantled South East Front (SEF); alias Ensoy/Renzo, vice squad leader of Squad 2 of SEF; and alias Clifford, the platoon finance logistic officer of SEF.

Ensoy/Renzo turned over an M-16 rifle, a magazine, and 12 rounds of ammunition while Clifford handed over a caliber .45 handgun with seven rounds of ammunition.

The wives of Ensoy/Renzo and Clifford, identified only by their aliases, Maine and Aubrey, surrendered in December 2023 and January 2024, respectively.

One of the wives ga
ve birth earlier this year at Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital in this capital city.

Campeon told the Philippine News Agency in an interview that the husbands were convinced to surrender peacefully through repeated appeals by their wives via social media.

After debriefing, they were presented to Governor Manuel Sagarbarria, head of the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, on Friday afternoon.

Campeon said they are now processing the enrolment of the former rebels to the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) so they can receive assistance.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Philippine Pavilion’s 60th International Art Exhibition-La Biennale di Venezia in Artiglierie, Arsenale, Venice, Italy was unveiled on Friday with the enduring legacy of mystical Mt. Banahaw in full display through evocative artworks.

With the theme ‘Sa kabila ng tabing lamang sa panahong ito / Waiting just behind the curtain of this age,’ the art exhibit explores the cultural and spiritual significance of Mount Banahaw in shaping Filipino consciousness and cultural landscape.

During the exhibit’s vernissage (a private viewing before a public exhibition), Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda said the Philippine ‘protected natural wonder and sacred site’ stands as a sanctuary for both nature and culture, nurturing diverse ecosystems and serving as a beacon for spiritual seekers and pilgrims alike.

‘Its slopes bear witness to the ebb and flow of history, as it delves into the intricate relationship between mysticism and modernity, exploring the themes of tradition, faith, and resilience,’ s
he said.

“Mount Banahaw, a majestic natural wonder located just a few hours away from the bustling city of Metro Manila, holds within its embrace not only breathtaking vistas but also a rich tapestry of cultural and spiritual heritage deeply ingrained in the Filipino consciousness.”

Legarda was joined by National Commission for Culture and the Arts Chairperson and Philippine Pavilion Commissioner Victorino Manalo, Philippine Consul General of Milan Elmer Cato, and Philippine Ambassador to Italy Nathaniel Imperial in leading the vernissage.

Curated by Carlos Quijon Jr., it features the works by intermedia artist Mark Salvatus who has drawn inspiration from the culture and mythologies of Mount Banahaw and its surrounding communities.

Legarda said Salvatus’s evocative artwork and Quijon’s perceptive curation will encourage everyone ‘to explore the intricate relationship between nature, spirituality, and art.’

She urged everyone to ponder on the artworks, reflect on the people’s interconnectedness with natur
e, and celebrate Mount Banahaw’s enduring spirit and the boundless creativity of the Filipino people.

‘From the revolutionary fervor of Hermano Puli to the vibrant rhythms of Lucban’s marching bands, from the timeless traditions of pilgrimage to the contemporary expressions of local artists, the exhibition offers a glimpse into the multifaceted soul of Mount Banahaw and its surrounding region,’ Legarda said.

‘As we marvel at the pulchritude and complexity of the artworks on display, let us also reflect on the broader implications of our interconnectedness with the natural world. Mount Banahaw reminds us that we are not mere spectators but we are also active participants in the web of life, entrusted with the stewardship of our planet and the preservation of its sacred landscapes.’

The Philippine Pavilion will be open to the public from April 20 to November 24, 2024.

Legarda also invites the public to visit the main exhibition, “Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere,” curated by Adriano Pedrosa and fea
turing the works of five Filipino artists: Pacita Abad, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Nena Saguil, Joshua Serafin, and Maria Taniguchi.

Source: Philippines News Agency