Category: General

MANILA: The leadership of the House of Representatives on Monday vowed to support the economic gains obtained by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during the recent historic trilateral summit among the Philippines, United States, and Japan by enacting the necessary legislation to facilitate the flow of investments into the country.

‘Let us be reminded of our collective responsibility and the opportunity at this moment. It is a time for bold actions and steadfast commitment. The House of Representatives of the 19th Congress is fully committed to this cause, ready to enact the necessary legislation that ensures a stable, prosperous, and resilient Philippines,’ Speaker Martin G. Romualdez told his colleagues during the resumption of the remaining days of the 2nd Regular Session of the 19th Congress.

Romualdez cited the USD100-billion (PHP5.77 trillion) in investments from the United States and Japan that may come to the Philippines in five to 10 years as a result of the historic trilateral summit, which may ne
ed legislation to ensure they come to fruition.

Among the major benefits the Philippines would derive from the trilateral summit include the following:

– The launch of the Luzon Economic Corridor, which will support connectivity between Subic Bay, Clark, Manila and Batangas;

– The pledge of the US and Japan to provide at least USD8 million for Open Radio Access Network (RAN) field trials and the Asia Open RAN Academy based in Manila;

– The establishment of the Chips and Science Act’s International Technology Security and Innovation Fund with the aid of the US;

– The expanded partnership on safe and secure civil-nuclear capacity building;

– The expanded trilateral cooperation on the deployment of clean energy technologies, including renewable energy projects; and

– Other areas of cooperation in the pipeline such as greater maritime domain awareness and coast guard cooperation, sustainable critical infrastructure, semiconductor supply chain resilience, digital transformation, and energy security through
harnessing renewable energy.

‘The Marcos administration is working hard to improve the lives of Filipinos, and the trilateral summit is the most recent proof of this objective,’ Romualdez said.

He noted that enhancing economic development is one of the two pressing needs that need the legislative focus of the House of Representatives, the other one being strengthening national security.

‘During this 19th Congress, we have put in place significant reforms that have reshaped the economic and social landscape of the Philippines. We enacted pivotal tax reforms designed to invigorate our economy by simplifying the tax code, encouraging investment, and ensuring a fairer system for all,’ he said during his speech.

‘These measures have laid the groundwork for a more robust economic framework, attracting foreign investments and stimulating local entrepreneurship,’ he added.

Together with the Marcos administration, the Speaker said the collective efforts of members of the House of Representatives to control inflat
ion and increase household income are bearing fruit, citing recent survey statistics.

Aside from legislation to improve the lives of Filipinos, Romualdez said the chamber’s development agenda initiatives are expansive, targeting pivotal areas such as healthcare, education, and digital infrastructure.

‘In healthcare, we are committed to expanding access and improving the quality of services, making healthcare affordable and accessible to every Filipino. In education, we aim to create a more liberalized system that not only meets global standards but also equips our youth with the necessary skills to thrive in a globalized economy,’ he said.

The House of Representatives also aims to enhance digital infrastructure to ensure that Filipinos can benefit from the digital revolution, ‘bridging digital divides and fostering economic inclusivity.’

‘We aim not only to continue our current path but to accelerate our efforts. We are exploring innovative legislative measures that promote technological advancement and e
nvironmental sustainability, to ensure that the Philippines not only keeps pace with global trends but also sets a benchmark for innovation and responsible governance,’ Romualdez said.

‘We invite all sectors to engage with us. Their insights, expertise, and participation are invaluable as we forge a path forward. Through collaborative efforts, we can build a future that reflects our highest aspirations and fulfills the promise of prosperity and peace for all Filipinos,’ he added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: An investigation by the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) into the deepfake of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is pointing at an individual source, not an attack from a foreign country.

Assistant Secretary Mary Rose Magsaysay, the CICC Deputy Executive Director, said Monday that the investigation is looking for a person and is not after China or any other country.

‘Bad people, they like to hit governments, because it makes them famous. ‘Yun ang nakikita ko diyan (that’s what I see here),’ Magsaysay said during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing over People’s Television Network.

The attack happening in time for the 39th Balikatan military exercises is likely a coincidence, she said.

‘Definitely not [involving Balikatan]. Because it’s an exercise you have been doing for so many years. And for the creation of this one, is nagkataon lang na nandito sila (they just happened to be here),’ she said.

She assured that the CICC is equipped to find whoever created the deepfake vide
os and audios of Marcos using digital forensic laboratories, adversarial AI (artificial intelligence), and other tools.

‘We have about 10 [digital laboratories] already in the agency, ano pa lang iyon ha, in one agency pa lang (and that’s only for one agency),’ she said.

The CICC, she said, works with the Philippine National Police and the Department of Information of Communications Technology in the investigation.

Source: Philippines News Agency

ARAU, The innovative product called ‘INKIFLUX’, an ink made from used cooking oil by two students from Sabah, won the Best of the Best Award at the Perlis International Engineering Invention and Innovation Exhibition 2024 (Pi-ENVEX) held at Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) yesterday.

Invented by two Form Four students from Sekolah Menengah (SM) St. Michael, Penampang, the product earned the award through their convincing presentation to the professional jury, making it shine among the 206 competing products at the event.

Speaking to reporters after receiving the award, Dyna Anne Charles Tami and Germaine Amisha Alvin, both aged 16, said they were inspired to develop the product with the aim of reducing water and environmental pollution resulting from the improper disposal of used cooking oil.

‘To make this ink, we mix natural ingredients such as Arabic gum, alcohol, soy lecithin, water and pigmentation in a semi-manual tool that we built ourselves to produce two variants of ink, black and blue, which a
re safe for use on paper and canvas,’ said Dyna Anne.

According to her, it took them about two months to make INKIFLUX, ‘Turning Pollution Into Poetry’ with the guidance of three teachers.

‘With the help of our three teachers, we began the project in early November last year, with an estimated cost of RM85,’ she said.

The two talented young creative designers took home RM1,000 in cash prize, a plaque and certificates of appreciation.

Pi-ENVEX 2024, which was held for three days from April 26, saw participation from students representing 11 countries, such as Vietnam, Romania, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea.

Meanwhile, SM St. Michael teacher Cyprian Rian Jokinol said that programmes like Pi-ENVEX play a significant role in unearthing students’ talents, showcasing innovative products and producing quality researchers.

‘This programme is highly beneficial as it involves participants from foreign countries, providing our students with opportunities to cultivate ideas, establish networks, and exchang
e opinions, enhancing the quality of our products. I hope it will continue to be held in the future,’ he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

MANILA: Manila Electric Company (Meralco) chairman and chief executive officer Manuel V. Pangilinan said conventional power plants remain the dependable sources of power, especially as electricity demand surges due to higher temperature caused by El Niño.

In a media briefing at Meralco’s headquarters in Pasig City Monday, Pangilinan said the country needs to build more dependable capacities to avoid “black swan” events, like the current projected persistent yellow and red alerts in the grids due to the power demand.

‘What the country needs are conventional, dependable power plants so we don’t have this crazy situation now,’ Pangilinan said.

Conventional power plants include those that are fueled by coal or gas.

Four years ago, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a moratorium on greenfield coal-fired power plants since 2020 to ease the country’s dependence on coal.

Last week, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said liquefied natural gas (LNG) will remain an expensive fuel
option for power plants even if there will be an oversupply in the global market.

Pangilinan acknowledged that ‘coal is the cheapest but it’s probably the least sustainable,’ while gas is a “compromise choice” as it is cleaner than coal but more costly.

Even with the additional supply from renewable energy (RE) facilities, Pangilinan said REs’ dependable capacity is lower than its expected output.

For the past two weeks, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has been issuing red and yellow alert status in Luzon and Visayas grids, while it put the Mindanao grid under a yellow alert last week due to a number of power plants going on unplanned outages while electricity demand has been exceeding forecast due to the increasing temperature, an impact of El Niño.

In the same briefing, Meralco first vice president and head of networks Froilan Savet said the actual peak electricity demand in Meralco franchise areas this year is close to the level of the forecast peak demand in 2026 at 9,698 megaw
atts.

Current peak demand is at 9,301 MW, higher than the actual demand last year at 8,438 MW.

The distribution utility (DU) firm is also expecting higher energy sales for the second quarter of the year due to the surge in demand.

For the first quarter of 2024, DU’s energy sales already increased by 9 percent to 12,307 gigawatt-hour from 11,287 GWh in first quarter of 2023.

Meralco said around 2.5 GWh consumption per day is noted for every degree increase in temperature.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Senate Committee on Basic Education will be looking for ‘balanced’ solution as it sets to start discussions on the impacts of extreme heat and the shift to alternative delivery modes (ADMs) in the conduct of classes.

The public hearing will be conducted on April 30 amid the backdrop of in-person classes being suspended due to extreme heat, and the implementation of blended learning, modular distance learning and other ADMs.

In a statement, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the hearing will seek to identify the regions which were seen to have the highest adoption of ADMs among students, and what specific challenges each has experienced.

‘We will also explore the regional adoption of ADMs in education; the impact of climate change on educational disparities; interventions for preventing heat-related health issues; and the current ADMs employed by the Department of Education (DepEd) and their accessibility, effectiveness, and inclusivity; the effects of ADMs on various stakeholders,’ Gatchalian, the
Basic Education panel chairperson, said.

He said the timeline for resuming face-to-face classes will also be discussed.

Gatchalian said comprehensive discussions on ADMs are necessary as they pose different sets of challenges, including the lack of internet access in some households, and the difficulties hounding parents in supporting their children in a remote learning setup.

‘May mga magulang na hindi masyadong sang-ayon sa online or blended learning dahil hindi natututo ang kanilang anak at mismong mga magulang din ang sumasagot sa mga textbook o workbook nila (There are parents who do not quite agree to online or blended learning because their children are not learning, and the parents tend to answer their textbooks or workbooks),” he said.

“Gayunpaman, maraming mga [eskwelahan] nag-suspend ng klase nitong mga nakaraang araw dahil sa sobrang init ng panahon. Ang lahat ng ‘yan ay babalansehin natin (Still, several schools suspended classes these past few days due to extreme heat. We will balance all of
these),’ he added.

Invited to the public hearing are Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Minister of Basic, Higher and Technical Education Mohagher Iqbal, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Executive Director Undersecretary Ariel Nepumoceno, and Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) chief Nathaniel Servando.

Representatives from various basic education stakeholders are also expected to attend.

Source: Philippines News Agency

GEORGE TOWN, The construction of the Guar Kepah Archaeological Gallery is on schedule and has now reached 94 per cent completion, according to Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.

Speaking to reporters after the presentation of mock cheques to recipients of heritage building repair incentives here today, he said that the gallery is expected to be completed in June.

Chow said once completed, the gallery would be a notable addition to the archaeological tourism network in the northern region of the peninsula, including the Lembah Bujang Archaeological Museum in Kedah and the Lenggong Valley archaeological site in Perak. He added that the gallery, which received an allocation of RM10 million from the federal government through the 12th Malaysia Plan, would house artefacts and skeletons, including the ‘Penang Woman’ found during an excavation in Guar Kepah.

‘Also, efforts are being actively carried out to bring home skeletons found in Guar Kepah which are now kept in the Netherlands.

‘This process involves a lot of
paperwork between Malaysia and the Netherlands, as well as a presentation to the Cabinet before the skeletons can be brought back for display at the Guar Kepah Archaeological Gallery,’ he said.

The existing gallery, established in 2017, is a temporary facility featuring only a semi-permanent, open-covered layout.

On today’s event, Chow said 47 applications for repair incentives, totaling RM6.5 million, had been approved for Category One heritage buildings.

‘In addition, a total of 437 applications for Category Two heritage building incentives were received from Jan 8 to March 8,’ he said.

Chow said that the significant number of applications received demonstrates the community’s high level of awareness regarding heritage building conservation in George Town.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

MANILA: The weather bureau on Monday cautioned the public against heat-related symptoms and the dangers of heat indices categories.

This, after the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said high temperatures will continue over parts of the country in May, with Northern Luzon forecast to reach up to 40.8°C.

“It’s important that we know the symptoms — excessive sweating heat exhaustion, tiredness, dizziness, blurred vision until you vomit. It’s a bit alarming when you throw up. That would need immediate actions,” PAGASA weather specialist John Manalo said during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing over People’s Television Network.

Manalo also pointed out that some even lose consciousness.

“As such, it is also important to be aware of heat indices categories,” he added.

Heat indices of 41 °C to 51 °C are in the danger category.

Under this level, heat cramps and heat exhaustion are possible, while continued exposure could also cause heat stroke.

On the oth
er hand, heat indices of 52 °C and above are considered “extreme danger” wherein direct sun exposure could cause heat stroke.

Zambales registered a 53 °C heat index on Sunday, the highest so far this year.

On Saturday, the temperature in Metro Manila reached 38.8 °C.

“We observed that in Metro Manila, one of the hottest years is 2024 because of El Niño. Although it is weakening, its effects continue to persist,” Manalo said.

Meanwhile, he said there were usually 10 to 15 areas per day that fall under the danger level heat indices in early April.

Currently, there are about 36 areas under the danger level heat indices category. He said there could be more.

“The magnitude of heat index could also increase in the first two weeks of May. So, let’s continue to monitor locations that could reach the extreme danger category,” he said.

Source: Philippines News Agency