Category: General

KUANTAN, The Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) will be sending its pilots to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for simulated helicopter emergency training to enhance the skills of its personnel.

Its director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad said JBPM has been allocated RM800,000 to send all 17 of its pilots to that country.

He said the simulated training is important to reduce the risk of air accidents, and so far, four JBPM pilots have been sent for the training last year, with the rest expected to be completed by the end of this year.

“The simulated training has long been planned but was delayed due to COVID-19 issues, and it was further exacerbated by the crisis between Ukraine and Russia, which prevented us from using the helicopter simulation training facilities in Ukraine.

“However, starting last year, we found that similar facilities were developed in the UAE, and we began sending JBPM teams there, with four pilots sent in November last year,” he told reporters after the JBPM honorary rank awards ce
remony here today.

IPOH, Tourism Perak held a tourism seminar in Osaka, Japan yesterday as part of Visit Perak Year (TMP 2024), coinciding with Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad’s investment mission to the city.

In a statement today, Tourism Perak announced that the mission, from April 23 to 27, was aimed at aggressively promoting the tourism sector in new Japanese markets, aligning with the TMP 2024 campaign.

“This seminar aimed to tap into new markets in Osaka, a city with a population of 19 million, showcasing Perak’s abundance of eco-tourism offerings, heritage, and culture, as well as its gastronomic delights.

“Among the tourism products with the potential to attract Japanese tourists are the Lenggong Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Mirror Lake, Royal Belum, Lenggong Geopark, Kinta Geopark, and many more,” the statement read.

The statement also noted that the seminar, conducted in partnership with Tourism Malaysia Osaka, was attended by 70 stakeholders from the tourism industry and media.

It is an
ticipated that this effort will contribute to fulfilling the state government’s goal of attracting eight million tourists to Perak during TMP 2024.

Tourism Perak also launched the ‘Perak Guide Book,’ containing 68 pages of information about tourism products in the state, along with the official TMP 2024 Japanese version video.

“This promotional material will be distributed to all relevant locations such as the Tourism Malaysia Osaka Office, the Malaysia Investment Development Authority Osaka, Kansai International Airport, hotels, resorts, and tourism agency offices around the city.

“Tourism Perak has forged a strategic partnership with Japanese multinational company Canon, which specialises in imaging and optical products, to further enhance TMP 2024,” the statement added.

MANILA: The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking to include the money laundering case filed against its former chief Andres Bautista before a United States court in its motion for reconsideration (MR) on the Supreme Court’s ruling, voiding the disqualification of service provider Smartmatic International from bidding in its projects.

‘Definitely (we will include these) because this time it is out in the open. It is now public, officially admitted in court, we will definitely include that in the event that we file the motion for reconsideration,’ Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said in a media forum in Manila on Wednesday.

Garcia, however, refused to elaborate on the merits of the case.

He said the case against Bautista will prove that their decision to disqualify Smartmatic from participating in the poll automation project bidding for the 2025 polls has basis.

‘Iyon gusto namin patunayan (That is what we want to prove), when we issued the disqualification of the company, hindi yun hinulaan
lang namin. May basis kami. Yun basis namin (we did not just guess it. We have a basis and that is our basis). Ngayon lumabas (ang) case (Now, the case has surfaced). So we will have to watch. So I would like to confirm, that based on our communication with the US authorities, it was confirmed that the case is officially filed in a district court in the US,’ Garcia said.

In September last year, the US government filed money laundering charges against Bautista, in connection with the alleged money laundering activities involving executives from Smartmatic, which bagged the 2016 poll automation project of Comelec.

The allegation prompted Comelec to disqualify the Venezuelan company from participating in all election-related procurement projects for the 2025 polls.

The case was brought to the SC, which ruled that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion when it disqualified Smartmatic from bidding for the 2025 automated election system.

Meanwhile, Garcia said the special investigating panel is reviewi
ng the procurement proceedings in 2016, on the possible charges against Smartmatic in relation to the awarding of the poll automation contract.

“We want to know who are the others involved if indeed the 2016 bidding was rigged. It cannot be just one person. But the US case only has jurisdiction against one person, not the others involved,” Garcia said.

“Who are the conspirators? This is why we created this panel. And the US DOJ (Department of Justice) provided us with some documents that are now being reviewed by our panel,” he said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Taisei Corp., one of the largest contractors in Japan, is buying a 25-percent share in a subsidiary of Yuchengco-led PetroGreen Energy Corp. (PGEC) as part of its investment in renewable energy (RE) here.

In a statement Wednesday, PGEC said it signed an investment framework and shareholders agreements with Taisei on April 23.

Under the deal, Taisei will acquire a 25-percent equity stake in PGEC’s unit Rizal Green Energy Corporation (RGEC).

‘The investment covers the funding, construction, and operation of an initial portfolio of four solar power facilities,’ PGEC said.

These solar power projects include the 41-megawatt direct current (MWdc) Limbauan project in Isabela, the 25-MWdc Bugallon project in Pangasinan, the 19.6-MWdc San Jose project in Nueva Ecija, and the 27-MWdc Dagohoy solar project in Bohol.

‘We are very pleased to be able to contribute to renewable energy in the Philippines, which is experiencing remarkable development, and more importantly, to participate in this project as a busi
ness partner with PGEC,’ Taisei executive vice president Jiro Taniyama said.

Taisei has been operating in the Philippines since 1982 as a general contractor for infrastructure projects under Official Development Assistance (ODA).

However, its partnership with PGEC is Taisei’s first equity investment in renewable energy outside Japan.

‘We are honored that Taisei Corp. has chosen the Philippines to make its first overseas equity investment in RE. Following on the 2022 partnership we forged with Kyuden International Corp. (KIC), Taisei’s entry not only validates PGEC’s performance and integrity as an RE developer and partner but also testifies to the vastly improved energy investment climate in the country under the present administration,’ PGEC chairperson Milagros Reyes said.

PGEC board director and KIC Asia Division managing director Keichi Niinuma also said that Taisei’s expertise in engineering and construction coupled with PGEC’s and Kyuden’s experience in the local energy market and regulatory environ
ment will help in exploring other RE opportunities in the country, including hydropower, floating solar, energy storage and efficiency.

These will help the Philippines achieve its goal of a net-zero future, he added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Wednesday said it would maintain the highest level of professionalism in delivering public services, free from politics and other ill motivations, the agency’s spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Irene Dumlao, assistant secretary for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG), said the DSWD always adheres to the proper guidelines when it comes to implementation of the government programs.

‘May mga guidelines kami na sinusunod, may verification system kami in the identification of beneficiaries, may assessment na isinasagawa ang aming mga social workers sa ground, nagkakaroon din ng analysis or assessment ang ating butihing secretary (We have guidelines that we follow, we have verification system in the identification of our beneficiaries, our social workers conduct assessment on the ground, and our Secretary also conducts analysis or assessment),’ she said in a media release.

She said if there are politicians and local officials attending DSWD a
ctivities, ‘we respect their oversight functions as legislators.

‘Pero ang ahensya pa rin ang nag-implement (but the DSWD is still the one implementing [the programs]),’ she added.

Dumlao made the remarks after the alleged selective and delayed payout activities under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program were raised in a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

She said DSWD regional directors always coordinate with the concerned local government units (LGUs) during the implementation of social protection programs such as cash aid payout activities under the AICS.

According to the DSWD website, AICS provides medical assistance, burial, transportation, education, food, or financial assistance for other support services or needs of a person or family while Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) is an adaptive strategy of the DSWD in bridging the gap between immediate disaster relief, humanitarian response and early recovery support in disasters and emergency by providing unconditional cash assistance t
o disaster-affected families.

‘Our regional directors coordinate with local officials kasi nanghihiram tayo ng venue [we request for venue], we request for law enforcers to ensure the orderly conduct of payouts,’ she said.

She said there is no delayed cash aid distribution contrary to such claims in some areas in Mindanao.

‘I think the payout being referred to is for the ECT. Kapag po nagkaroon ng disaster (Whenever there is a disaster), DSWD would come to provide family food packs and non-food items. But there is also relief assistance that is being provided by the DSWD, ito yong ECT (this is ECT),’ she said.

Under the ECT, an LGU declares a ‘state of calamity’ and the DSWD will come in to distribute the additional relief assistance equivalent to 75 percent of the daily regional minimum wage rate multiplied by the number of days based on the assessment of the regional director or field workers.

The DSWD is continuously reviewing its guidelines to make it more responsive to the needs of its beneficiaries
while emphasizing that program implementation will always be based on the provisions of these policies.

Source: Philippines News Agency

BACOLOD CITY: The Negros Occidental provincial government has distributed a total of PHP1 million in cash incentives to local government units (LGUs) and barangays that have achieved zero open defecation (ZOD) status.

Data from the Provincial Health Office (PHO) on Wednesday showed the province has two ZOD-declared LGUs, including La Carlota City and Municipality of San Enrique, while at least 114 villages are already practicing ZOD as of the first quarter of 2024.

During the ceremonial turnover of cash incentives led by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson at the Provincial Capitol on Tuesday, representatives of the two LGUs received PHP100,000 each.

Each of the 40 ZOD-declared barangays from 12 cities and municipalities were given PHP20,000 each, or a total of PHP800,000.

A particular city, municipality, or barangay is ZOD-declared when all its households have access to sanitary toilet facilities and have stopped the practice of open defecation.

Provincial Sanitary Inspector Marilyn Ostan said in an interview
on Wednesday that to encourage the declaration of ZOD, they give awards to sanitary inspectors and provide incentives in the villages as well.

‘We hope more barangays will be ZOD-declared this year,’ she added.

The granting of incentives to LGUs and the barangays is part of the continued campaign of the PHO to promote ZOD in all of the province’s 601 barangays in line with the Department of Health’s aim to achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation.

Source: Philippines News Agency

BACOLOD CITY: The city government here on Tuesday called for entries to the first Bacolod Film Festival with the theme ‘Stories with a Smile’ and set in September this year.

Bacolod, known as the ‘City of Smiles’, is looking for short films with the ‘potential to inspire laughter, warmth, and a renewed appreciation for the brighter side of life’.

‘Bacolod should be proud of its creatives. We have very artistic directors, and actors,’ Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, who chairs the Bacolod Film Festival Council, said.

The competition is part of the city’s initiative in line with the implementation of the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act, with additional funding from the Department of Trade and Industry.

Qualified to join are producers, directors, or scriptwriters who are registered voters and residents of Bacolod City.

The film, which can be of any genre such as romance, drama, comedy or horror in any Filipino language with English subtitles, must have a total running time of 15 to 20 minutes
.

Scripts must be submitted on or before May 18, afterwhich the 10 finalists will be selected.

Finalists will be given a production grant of PHP300,000 each, to be released in two tranches, of which the first is worth PHP200,000. The remaining PHP100,000 will be released once the picture lock version of the short film is submitted.

Deadline for submission of films is on Aug. 15, but prior to that, trailers and posters must be submitted by Aug. 1 for promotional and marketing purposes.

In February this year, the City Council passed City Ordinance 1061, or the Bacolod Film Festival Ordinance, authored by Councilor Em Ang, chairperson of the committee on history, culture and arts, with Councilors Cindy Rojas and Celia Matea Flor.

The Bacolod Film Festival aims to further develop the city’s film production scene and create a venue where local filmmakers and producers can showcase their talents.

Source: Philippines News Agency