Category: General

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday turned over housing units to 216 informal settler families in Balanga, Bataan affected by the cleanup and relocation operations in hazard-prone areas.

The relocated settlers used to live along the Talisay River.

The Balanga City Low-Rise Housing Project of the National Housing Authority (NHA), located in Barangay Tenejero, features six condominium-style buildings.

Each unit, measuring 27 square meters, is equipped with two bedrooms, a kitchen, toilet, bath, and fully operational water and power supplies.

In his message, Marcos said the project is part of the government’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH) program, which aims to address the six million housing backlog by 2028.

‘Sa loob ng maraming taon, humarap kayo sa peligrong dala ng pagtira sa tabi ng ilog. Kaya narito tayo upang bigyan ng lunas ang kanilang suliranin (For years, you faced the dangers of living by the river. So, we are here to give a solution to their problem),’ Marco
s said in his speech.

‘Kayo ngayon ay maninirahan sa sariling bahay na ligtas, de-kalidad, at komportable. Ngayon pa lamang po ay binabati ko na ang ating mga benepisyaryo ng congratulation sa pagsisimula ng panibagong yugto ng inyong buhay (You can now live in your own house that is safe and comfortable. As early as now, I am extending my congratulations to our beneficiaries for starting this new phase of your life)!’ he added.

The President also assured that the government remains committed to building more safe, quality, and comfortable housing units.

The NHA also plans to build basic facilities in the housing community, such as a four-story school building with 20 classrooms, a multi-purpose building, and a covered basketball court.

A community center building has also been constructed within the housing project to ensure that beneficiaries will have access to basic commodities, educational facilities and other community needs.

It houses a health center, daycare center, barangay learning hub, offices
of the homeowners’ association and a local government unit housing satellite office.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Police officers apprehended a civilian clad in the athletic uniform of the Philippine National Police (PNP) while taking selfies in Parañaque City.

In a report Tuesday, Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Tupil of the Southern Police District (SPD) said he was aboard a bus when he saw the 38-year-old suspect, identified as alias “Jefferson,” along Coastal Road on Monday.

Tupas said the suspect was wearing the shirt of the PNP athletic uniform, jogging pants, and slippers and appeared to be taking selfies.

Upon reaching the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX), Tupil approached the suspect and requested him to present his PNP identification card, which the suspect failed to show.

Tupil promptly contacted Sub-Station 2 of the Parañaque City Police, which immediately sent officers who apprehended the suspect and took him to the station for documentation and proper disposition.

‘Unauthorized wearing of PNP uniforms is strictly prohibited and anyone caught will be criminally held liable for Usurpation of Auth
ority under RPC (Revised Penal Code) Art. 177 (Usurpation of Authority of Official Function) and Art. 179 (Illegal Use of Uniforms and Insignias),’ the SPD said in a statement. (PNA)

Under the RPC, usurpation of authority carries a penalty of two to 10 years imprisonment while the illegal use of uniforms and insignias can be meted with up to six months imprisonment.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has postponed indefinitely the awarding of an additional 10,000 transport network vehicle service (TNVS) units after opposition from transport groups due to fears of worsening traffic congestion in Metro Manila.

In a statement on Tuesday, LTFRB Chair Teofilo Guadiz III said the previously announced increase was meant to provide more jobs for Filipinos.

‘As of today, we have only 23,000. And because we feel the need for more players because there is a seeming deficiency in public transportation, nag-award po kami ng (we awarded) 10,000,’ Guadiz said.

However, he said, the additional units have been postponed until a study determines the sufficient number of TNVS vehicles needed in Metro Manila.

‘In deference again to the clamor of the transport sector, we are postponing indefinitely the awarding of the slots to other players,’ Guadiz said.

He noted that the previous administration calculated that the maximum capacity for TNVS in Metr
o Manila is 65,000 units.

On Monday, the LTFRB announced that the additional 8,000 slots for motorcycle taxis will be awarded outside the National Capital Region (NCR) after the Coalition of Transport Sectors appealed to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to stop the expansion of the MC taxi study in the NCR due to its adverse effects on traffic.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Tuesday it has implemented cybersecurity measures following a hacking attempt on its systems over the weekend.

“Upon discovering the incident, we immediately initiated security protocols to contain and address the situation by locking all compromised accounts and servers. The IT (information technology) team is working diligently to enhance our security measures and prevent future breaches,’ the bureau said in an advisory.

The BOC said it is now determining the extent of the April 7 incident, where some of its external cloud-based online applications were breached using compromised user login credentials.

Based on its initial investigation, the agency said the following information may have been affected by the April 7 incident –name, e-mail address, company name, contact details and tax identification number.

The BOC said the incident has been reported to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinat
ing Center (CICC).

It also sought the expertise of both departments in thoroughly investigating the incident.

At the same time, the BOC advised the transacting public to take necessary precautions, such as changing the passwords of their login credentials and reporting any suspicious activity on their accounts.

‘For further information regarding this incident or any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our dedicated support team at BOC-CERT@customs.gov.ph,’ it added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

KOTA KINABALU, The government will decide on mechanisms to stabilise sugar supply and pricing in the second quarter of this year, said Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali.

He said one mechanism under consideration is maintaining stockpiles to ensure an uninterrupted sugar supply. For instance, the government may hold one or two months’ worth of stock for Sabah, where the monthly demand averages around 4,700 tonnes.

He did not rule out the possibility that the mechanism would consider providing subsidies or raising the controlled price from the current RM2.85 per kilogramme. However, he said any decision made by the government will not burden the people.

“It’s not easy to make this decision; for example, if we want to raise the controlled price, it will affect the people’s cost of living. Having stockpiles is good because if the sugar supply arrives late, we still have stock, but this also involves a high allocation.

“Two manufacturers used to produce sugar stock at the contro
lled price of RM2.85 with 42,000 tonnes per month, but with the increase in global sugar prices by up to 100 per cent, these two companies have been incurring losses since 2021, leading to reduced production,” he said.

He said this during a press conference when inspecting the sugar supply at Gudang Sazarice Sdn Bhd in the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park here today.

Armizan said the world also faced a deficit of sugar supply of about one million tonnes last year, and this year the figure is projected to reach 5.4 million tonnes due to various factors, including production being affected by weather and geopolitics.

“Hence, the mechanism being evaluated by the government is crucial to ensure that the people always have access to sugar supply at reasonable prices,” he said.

He said Malaysia currently imports 100 per cent of its sugar supply, including from Brazil, India and the Philippines, as sugarcane production in Chuping, Perlis, was discontinued in 2012.

He said the government has also provided import re
laxations since June last year by issuing sugar import permits to 43 companies with the condition that 30 per cent of the imported sugar must be sold at the controlled price of RM2.85 per kilogramme to increase sugar supply in the country.

“However, until today, none of the companies have been able to import for sale at the controlled price of RM2.85. Only five per cent of the quota given has been able to be imported, but this is sold at the industrial price,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Binh Thuan: A conference was held April 9 to review the implementation of Directive No.30- CT/TU of the Party Committee of the south-central coastal province of Binh Thuan on urgent tasks to enhance the management of fishing vessels and fishermen and end fishing in foreign waters.

Delegates candidly assessed the results as well as mentioned challenges encountered in implement the tasks. They said efforts to raise awareness among fishermen have not yielded the desired results, and violations of legal regulations regarding the exploitation and protection of aquatic resources are still occurring.

Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Hoai Anh underlined the need to make combating illegal fishing as an urgent and regular task of the local political system.

He requested relevant sectors, and authorities of coastal localities to concentrate on measures to prevent local fishing ships and fishermen from fishing in foreign waters, and investigating and handling organizations and individuals involved in
brokering or facilitating fishing vessels and fishermen to engage in illegal fishing in foreign waters.

Relevant forces must concentrate all resources and urgently address limitations identified by the inspection team of the European Commission (EC) during their fourth inspection, he said, stressing the necessity to well prepare for the team’s upcoming 5th inspection.

He asked the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s local chapter and all-level political-social organiations to improve the effectiveness of communication activities to raise fishermen’s awareness of compliance with relevant law.

With over 7,800 fishing vessels and 44,500 labourers engaged directly in fishing activities, Binh Thuan is one of the leading localities nationwide in terms of fishing capacity and seafood output.

According to Nguyen Van Chien, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, thanks to the serious implementation of urgent measures along with the efforts of the entire political system, the loca
lity witnessed positive results in preventing IUU fishing.

Notably, since January 2023, no fishing vessels violating relevant regulations have been detected. Binh Thuan has so far completed the installation of vessel monitoring systems (VMS) equipment on all 5m-long fishing boats./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

IPOH, The operation to extinguish a forest fire at a 10-hectare hill area near the Anti-Smuggling Unit (UPP) post in Gerik is still ongoing, involving 70 firefighters from the Perak Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM).

Perak JBPM Assistant Director of Operations, Sabarodzi Nor Ahmad said currently about one hectare of the total area is still burning but the situation is under control.

“The fire has been ongoing since Sunday (April 7) and monitoring and operational actions are still ongoing today involving firefighters from the Fire and Rescue Stations in the Kinta, Kerian, Larut Matang and Selama (LMS), as well as Gerik districts.

“The remaining fire is estimated to cover approximately one hectare, involving several locations where there are still flames and smoke at the scene,” he said when contacted by Bernama here today.

Sabarodzi said the firefighting process takes some time due to the porous soil structure and many fallen trees blocking the passage.

“This makes it difficult for our four-wheel drive ve
hicles to access the burning areas, and assistance from air units (helicopters) cannot be used as they are involved in forest fire operations in Pahang,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency