Category: General

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has urged Philippine security forces to develop skills and knowledge to combat new forms of warfare, particularly with the digital space serving as a new battlefield.

In his ‘Talk to Troops’ during his visit to Camp Edilberto Evangelista in Cagayan de Oro City on Thursday, Marcos told members of the 4th Infantry Division (4ID) that they must be prepared to fight false narratives, disinformation, and digital operations that seek “to sow conflict against us and amongst us.’

‘Times are changing and we are facing new threats now to our nation’s security. The battlefield is changing, it will go beyond traditional warfighting as we have known it,’ he said.

‘I call on you to develop the skills that are going to be required to combat these new forms of warfare, including those that extend up to the digital realm.’

The President warned that the country’s enemies would discretely infiltrate the very communities and institutions the government and security institutions seek
to protect.

He, however, emphasized that the government would be “ready to fight back and implement countermeasures to thwart any of their nefarious schemes and attempts.’

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the intensifying geopolitical tension in the Indo Pacific has resulted in hostile efforts by or with the substantial support of a foreign government to influence the domestic narrative and discourse, including the use of disinformation and propaganda spread by nefarious actors.

Meanwhile, on the domestic front, Marcos urged the military to ‘keep up the momentum’ of their operations until their jurisdictions are completely free of terrorist influence.

He noted that the government programs aimed at defeating insurgency in the countryside offer “greener pastures and a better life that they can be part of.”

900 candidate soldiers begin training

In Capas, Tarlac, the Philippine Army announced Friday that 900 new male recruits formally started their basic military training during the opening
ceremony for Candidate Soldier Course (CSC) Class 793-2024 at Camp O’Donnell.

In a statement, Army spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala said the recruits are part of the second cycle of training for candidate soldiers.

The four-month CSC is facilitated by the School for Candidate Soldier.

The Army is also implementing for the first time the Centralized Recruitment Program for candidate soldiers, which is designed to make recruitment systematic.

Source: Philippines News Agency

BUTUAN CITY: The Philippine Statistics Authority in the Caraga (PSA-13) reported a slight increase in headline inflation in the region in April.

In a report on Friday, PSA-13 said the region’s inflation rate was 3.4 percent last month, compared to 3.0 percent in March.

However, the April 2024 inflation rate was lower than the 6.2 percent rate in the same period last year.

“Among the 13 commodity groups, the main driver to the uptrend of the overall inflation in April 2024 was primarily influenced by the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 7.4 percent from 6.3 percent in March 2024,” the PSA-13 report said.

The fast annual growth rate of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, at minus 3.6 percent in April 2024 from minus 4.1 percent in the previous month, also contributed to the rise of overall inflation in the region.

“In addition, a higher inflation rate was also noted in the information and communication index at 1.7 percent during the month from 1.6 percent in March 2024,”
the PSA-13 said.

Lower inflation rates were reported in other commodities, which include alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 3.8 percent from 5.9 percent in the previous month; clothing and footwear at 3.1 percent from 4.0 percent; and furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance at 2.5 percent from 2.7 percent.

Similarly, reduced inflation rates in April this year were recorded in recreation, sport, and culture at 4.9 percent from 6.0 percent in March; restaurants and accommodation services at 2.3 percent from 2.8 percent; and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services at 4.6 percent from 4.7 percent.

“The indices of the rest of the commodity groups retained their respective previous month’s annual growth rates, including health at 1.3 percent, transport at 0.2 percent, education services at 1.7 percent, and financial Services at -0.3 percent,” PSA-13 said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang and Under-Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See Monsignor Miroslaw Wachowski co-chaired the 11th annual meeting of the Vietnam-Holy See Joint Working Group in Hanoi on May 17.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A high-ranking delegation from Hanoi led by Deputy Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Phong is paying a working visit to China from May 15-24. At a meeting with Liu Wei, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Beijing and President of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee School, on May 16, Phong said that Hanoi has always paid great attention to developing friendship and cooperation with all localities of China, especially Beijing.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

BAGUIO CITY: Leaders in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) on Friday expressed support to the proposed amendments on some economic provisions of the Constitution as long as they will benefit even those from small towns.

During the first out-of-town public hearing in a hotel here to discuss Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 6, which seeks to amend portions of the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, Baguio Rep. Mark Go urged members of the sub-committee of both Houses of Congress ‘to carefully consider the implications of the proposed amendments to our constitution.’

‘By embracing foreign investments in key sectors while ensuring adequate safeguards and regulatory oversight, we have the opportunity to unlock the full economic potential of our nation and chart a course toward prosperity and progress for generations to come,’ he said.

The chair of the House Committee on Higher Education, Go said education is evolving rapidly and the country’s constitution must adapt to accommodate the chang
es.

Under RBH 6 and 7 that lift restrictions on foreign ownership, the proposed changes are on the grant of legislative franchises to and ownership (60-40) of public utilities, ownership of basic educational facilities (60-40) in Article XlV, and ownership of advertising firms (70-30) in Article XVl.

On concerns of the potential dilution of Filipino identity and values if foreign investment is allowed in the country’s education sector, Go, who also owns a private school in this city, said it is essential to recognize that international collaborations can enrich rather than erode cultural diversity.

‘By implementing robust regulatory frameworks and promoting cultural exchange programs, we can ensure that foreign-owned institutions uphold Filipino values while embracing a global perspective,’ he said.

Kalinga Governor James Edduba said the amendments should likewise look into the plight of local governments on tax-related issues concerning big companies.

‘We support more participation in investments,’ he s
aid.

Benguet province Mayors Clarita Sal-ongan of Tuba, Armando Lauro of Tublay, and Afredo Dacumos of Sablan also support the proposed amendments as long as they are for the benefit of the majority of the Filipinos, especially those in small towns like theirs.

Members of the Regional Development Council (RDC) were also present during the public hearing and expressed the support of their national agencies.

Also in attendance were academic institution heads from La Union, Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan provinces.

‘We are here to listen to those from the ground. We came here to know your opinion on the proposed RBH and we hope you will be open to tell us,’ Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said during the public hearing.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Philippine shares ended the week in the red due to last-minute profit taking, while the peso depreciated on Friday.

The Philippine Stocks Exchange index (PSEi) declined by 9.51 points, closing at 6,618.69, while the broader All Shares also slightly declined by 0.37 points to 3,524.15.

“The local bourse dropped by 9.51 points (0.14%) to 6,618.69 due to last-minute profit-taking. The market mostly traded in the green during the session as the sentiment was lifted following Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) signal to cut interest rates as early as August,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. assistant research manager Claire Alviar said.

“However, negative cues from abroad weighed on the market, prompting investors to sell shares at the last minute,” Alviar added.

Sector indices were mixed, with the Services having the biggest loss, declining by 1.60 percent.

On the other hand, the Property sector led the gainers, increasing by 1.39 percent.

Advancers led decliners at 93 to 91 while 67 shares were unchange
d.

The peso, meanwhile, depreciated, closing at 57.62, weaker than Thursday’s 57.46 finish.

It opened at 57.53 and traded between 57.53 and 57.75.

The weighted average for the day stood at 57.643.

Total volume of trade slightly declined to USD1.75 billion from USD1.76 on Thursday.

Source: Philippines News Agency

On the third day of his official visit to the Republic of Korea since May 15, Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet met today with different Korean businessmen.

Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet held separate talks with Mr. Woo Jong Jeon, CEO of SK Securities; Mr. Park Sungjin, representative of SM Entertainment; Mr. Jihoon Lim, Chief of Strategy of Dunamu; Mr. Jung Wonju, Chairman of Daewoo EandC; Mr. Choi Yong-Sun, Chairman of Hanshin EandC; Mr. Joo-Bong Park, Chairman of Daejoo KC Group; Mr. Lee Joong Keun, Founder and Chairman of Booyoung Group; Mr. Yun Seog-dae, President and Chief Executive Officer of Korea Water Resource Corporation (K-Water) and President of Asia Water Council (AWC); Mr. Cho Hyungsang, Vice Chairman of Hyosung Group Ltd., and so on.

In the meetings, the companies briefed Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet on their respective activities, and expressed their interest to favourable investment environment in Cambodia and their intention to seek investment opportunities in the Kingdom’
s potentiel sectors.

Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet spoke highly of the Korean private investment companies, which have played an important role in contributing to the socio-economic development of Cambodia.

The Cambodian Premier welcomed their intention and recommended the companies to work with Cambodian relevant institutions to seek investment potential and opportunities in the Kingdom.

Addressing the opening ceremony of Cambodia-Korea Business Forum held in Seoul yesterday, the Cambodian Premier encouraged more Korean businessmen to start up their investment in Cambodia as the governments of both nations had agreed to jointly boost Korean investment in the Kingdom.

ROK is one of Cambodia’s largest trade and investment partners with a total bilateral trade volume of approximately US$751 million, ranking 11th in 2023. In addition, direct investment from the ROK totaled more than US$5 billion, ranking 9th in 2023.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse