Category: General

The approved 2023 Revenue Code of Antique would mean additional funds to construct more schools, better health facilities and other needed infrastructures in the province.

The provincial board approved the ordinance, expected to generate an additional PHP119.86 million annually, during its regular session on Monday.

‘We are finally able to approve the 2023 Revenue Code after a long and tedious process of holding public consultation and debate,’ ordinance author Board Member Victor Condez said in an interview.

The revenue could provide funds for the construction of schools, especially in the hinterland areas where there are no educational facilities, procurement of medicines and upgrading of medical facilities and equipment of the seven district hospitals, and the needed infrastructures based on the Annual Investment Plan of the province.

‘Let us help the provincial government by paying our obligations, for in that way we could also access better services,’ he said.

In a related interview, Antique Go
vernor Rhodora Cadiao said the passage of the 2023 Revenue Code is already long overdue since the enactment of the first code 18 years ago.

‘Thank you to Antique Provincial Board for we now have the newest revenue code,’ she said.

Cadiao said other provinces in Western Visayas have already amended their revenue code.

‘The increase in the taxes in the revenue code is mainly on the business permits, quarry, and other tax sources,’ she added.

Cadiao further said although the revenue code will take effect after a month’s publication, the Antique provincial government remains open to comments and suggestions from those who will be affected by the increase in taxes.

Source: Philippines News Agency

They may be the crème de la crème among combat operatives of the Philippine National Police (PNP), but behind the uniform are soft-hearted individuals who want to give students a chance for better lives.

Patrolwoman Guadalyn Lagua of the 2nd Abra Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC) shared in an interview Monday that they join trade fairs to raise money for their scholars.

“We prepare etag (smoked meat). We also make dishwashing liquid and fabric conditioners, and conceptualized printed shirts,” Lagua said. “All the proceeds will go to the scholarship fund of the students.”

The Abra police send to school a 24-year-old female civil engineering student, who is set to graduate this year, from the municipality of Tubo and a senior high school student.

“Our troops met them during an anti-insurgency internal security operation of the PMFC in the villages of Abra,” Lagua recalled.

Through the tungtungan (dialogues), the police decide how to help through Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict initiatives.

The
officers’ contributions cover the scholar’s boarding house rent, subsistence allowances, school supplies and other extra expenses, like attending field trips.

Once the scholars graduate, Lagua said it will complete the first step toward a brighter future.

“We hope she graduates in a few months and passes the board exam to help her family and her younger sibling in senior high school. If she is willing to become a police officer, we will help her also,” she said, referring to the graduating engineering student.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Singapore: The outcomes of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Australia, especially the upgrade of the Vietnam-Australia to a comprehensive strategic partnership, have opened up a new chapter in the bilateral relationship that is growing deeper, more effective and substantial, commented scholars.

Dr. Le Hong Hiep, an expert at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute of Singapore described the upgrade as a new step forward in the ties between the two countries, affirming the importance of the relations to the external policy of each country.

The scholar noted that the upgrade was made only six years after Vietnam and Australia established their strategic partnership in 2018, reflecting the strong growth of bilateral relations, and the two countries’ awareness of the significance of elevating their relations to better respond to strong geo-political changes in the region.

The lifting of relationship to the highest level will allow the two sides to further strengthen their cooperation in
the future, said Dr. Hiep, adding that the Vietnamese PM’s visit also affirmed Vietnam’s rising role and position, while showing the increasing importance of Vietnam in Australia’s external policy.

Meanwhile, Dr. Tran Thi Bich from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of Singapore said that among the areas of cooperation stated in the joint statement on Vietnam-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership, political, defence, security and judicial collaboration are listed first, demonstrating increasing bilateral strategic trust in the context that the two countries share many strategic interest and visions.

Regarding the cooperation prospects between Vietnam and Australia after the upgrade of relations, Dr. Hiep held that there is plenty of room for the two sides to promote cooperation, especially in economy.

He predicted that two-way trade will continue to rise, along with their investment relations due to higher capacity of Vietnamese firms in investing abroad and Australian enterprises’ efforts to
seek favourable investment destinations. Besides, bilateral cooperation in politics-diplomacy, security-defence will also expand within the newly-established comprehensive strategic partnership, he said.

Meanwhile, collaboration in traditional areas such as education-training, labour and tourism will continue to be strengthened. Australia has provided a large number of scholarships to Vietnamese students and officials, he noted, advising Vietnam to strengthen partnership with Australia in this field to enhance its human resources quality.

Dr. Bich asserted that other areas included in the joint statement announcing the Vietnam-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership such as economic cooperation, knowledge building and people-to-people connection, especially human resources training, energy and technology collaboration, are areas of Australia’s strength and Vietnam’s interest. In her opinion, cooperation with Australia will significantly contribute to Vietnam’s economic development, clean energy transi
tion and digital economy expansion.

Dr. Hiep said that the elevation of ties between Vietnam and Australia will also create favourable conditions for the growth of the ASEAN-Australia ties in the time to come. Vietnam and Australia should increase exchange and coordination to effectively resolve regional issues of mutual concern in ASEAN-led forums, including the East Sea issue and matters related to the Mekong River, supply chains, climate change response, and non-traditional security issues such as maritime security and epidemics.

Sharing Dr. Hiep’s opinions, Dr. Bich said that Vietnam has played a rising role in ASEAN. From a member that joined the grouping late and lagged behind in some aspects, Vietnam has become an active member and with significant contributions to ASEAN activities, she said, stressing that stronger bilateral relations with Vietnam will help Australia strengthen relations with ASEAN./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hong Kong: The Overseas Vietnamese Association in Macau (China) held a gathering on March 10 to celebrate the Lunar New Year 2024 and International Women’s Day (March 8).

Representatives from Macau authorities, the Vietnamese Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau, and overseas Vietnamese people in Macau attended the event.

Consul Nguyen Tuan Anh from the Vietnamese Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau extended best wishes to the Vietnamese community here, particularly women.

He applauded the Overseas Vietnamese Association for its good performance during the past time and expected that the association members will actively take part in activities to promote the image of Vietnam and Vietnamese people in the host locality.

He hoped that the association will work with the Consulate General to call on Macau authorities to lift visa restrictions for Vietnamese tourists and workers.

He asked the associations in Hong Kong and Macau to continue to strengthen their connections and solidarity to further dev
elop the Vietnamese communities in the two localities.

Duong Trung Duc, President of the Overseas Vietnamese Association in Macau said that this year, the association will continue promoting Vietnamese culture and cuisine as well as consolidating solidarity in the Vietnamese community.

On this occasion, Consult Nguyen Tuan Anh awarded the certificates of merit to Vietnamese individuals and collectives in Macau for their contributions to the association and their homeland.

About 7,800 Vietnamese workers are in Macau, most of them are female domestic helpers or staff at restaurants and hotels. As Macau’s economy is recovering from the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Vietnamese workers in Macau is expected to rise gradually./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Oppenheimer was the big winner at the 96th Academy Awards in Los Angeles late Sunday.

The Christopher Nolan film won the Best Picture and Best Director awards.

It also bagged two acting awards, with Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., named Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.

It also won for best film editing, best cinematography and best original score.

Oppenheimer, a dramatic biographical film released in 2023, delves into the life and impact of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American physicist pivotal in the creation of the atomic bomb.

The movie also achieved commercial success, grossing over $900 million in box office receipts within the initial four months following its premiere.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said it would beef up coordination with foreign counterparts and conduct more patrols to curb drug trafficking within the country’s waters.

In a press briefing at Camp Crame, Quezon City, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said they are not ruling out the possibility that drug syndicates from South America are using the Philippines as a transshipment point for cocaine smuggling.

This came after fisherfolk found 20 bricks of cocaine worth PHP111.8 million in the territorial waters of Barangay Tangbo, Arteche, Eastern Samar on March 8.

‘Based on the previous interviews with the units that investigated this matter, it’s possible that these drugs may have come from the South America area, and they are using the Philippines as transshipment points. These are not intended for local distribution because the market of cocaine here in the Philippines is still small. The top abused drug here is still shabu,” Fajardo added.

She said the PNP Maritime Group is patrollin
g municipal waters while the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Navy continue to beef up their capabilities in seaborne operations to guard the country’s coastline against intrusions by international drug smugglers and poachers.

The latest recovery has brought the number of cocaine bricks in the country’s territorial waters seized by the PNP to 255, following the seizure of 226 bricks in 2009 and nine bricks in 2010.

‘But we are not 100 percent sure whether the source of the cocaine bricks recovered particularly in 2009 and 2010 is the same source of the recovered drugs that we have now. Drug smuggling or trafficking entails an elaborate funding from a drug syndicate and there is a possibility that foreign drug traffickers have infiltrated the Philippine market,” Fajardo.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Authorities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) seized PHP13.6 million worth of shabu during a buy-bust in Indanan, Sulu, over the weekend, an official said Monday.

Director Gil Cesario Castro of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA-BARMM) said Saturday’s operation in Barangay Tagbak, Indanan town, turned violent when one of the suspects resisted arrest and fired at government forces.

He said the suspect, Sakura Badih Astung, is now detained at the Indanan municipal police station, awaiting inquest proceedings for violation of RA 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

‘Astung was transacting business with an undercover agent when his companion sensed the presence of government troops, pulled a pistol, and opened fire toward a soldier, injuring him,’ Castro said in a statement.

A cohort quickly fled while firing his gun and managed to escape, he added.

PDEA said the injured soldier was rushed to a hospital.

Recovered from Astung two sachets of suspec
ted shabu, weighing 2,000 grams, buy-bust money, a mobile phone, and a motorcycle.

Source: Philippines News Agency