Category: General

BUTUAN CITY: The Department of Public Works and Highways in the Caraga Region (DPWH-13) reported on Wednesday the completion of a PHP7.5 million access road to various tourist destinations in Cagdianao town, Dinagat Islands.

In a statement, DPWH-13 said the road project will specifically provide access to tourist sites and beaches in Barangays Del Pilar, Nueva Strella, and Hinabyan in Cagdianao.

‘The tourism road project is part of the multi-year program for the island province which was started in 2019 with a total cost of PHP262 million,’ DPWH-13 said.

As of last year, the agency said PHP42.5 million have been released to complete various projects in the province, which includes the tourism access road completed early this month.

‘The newly completed road project, consisting of 140 meters of concrete road with drainage and slope protection structure, is under the calendar year 2023 Infrastructure program of the Dinagat Islands District Engineering Office (DIDEO),’ the DPWH-13 said.

It added that the ne
w road is an addition to the overall accomplishments of the multi-year program for the island province, which has a target of 3.3 kilometers

continuing road project and the construction of a 70-meter bridge.

For this year, the agency said that PHP5 million was released for the start of the construction of another bridge.

MANILA: Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva on Wednesday said the newly signed Tatak Pinoy Act would bolster the government efforts to create more jobs for Filipinos.

‘We thank the President for always making jobs a priority goal of his administration. We also commend Senator Sonny Angara for relentlessly pushing for this measure to support our local industries and create employment opportunities for our kababayans’ Villanueva said in a news release.

He said Tatak Pinoy Act will complement the Trabaho Para Sa Bayan (TBP) Act which aims to create a national masterplan to address unemployment, underemployment and youth unemployment.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed both Tatak Pinoy Act or Republic Act (RA) 11981 last Monday and Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act on Sept. 27, 2023.

Villanueva, the principal sponsor of Tatak Pinoy and author of TBP law, said the new law will help fund the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of a comprehensive multi-year strategy.

RA 11981 encourages, supports and pro
motes production and offering by domestic enterprises of local products and services that are globally competitive.

It also harmonizes with RA 11962 in emphasizing the value of human resources by developing a roadmap that will ensure support for target sectors and activities; promote academe-industry linkage to develop program that will match the demands of the industry; and include different modalities of training, skills development, upskilling/reskilling and lifelong learning.

‘Tatak Pinoy will be a game-changer in opening up immense opportunities for our local industries and the much-needed jobs for our skilled and hardworking kababayans,’ Villanueva said.

It will also help to identify programs and requirements, such as innovation infrastructure and facilities for advanced research and incubation, and national and regional innovation hubs to feature relevant advanced and emerging technology centers.

A Tatak Pinoy Council will be created to ensure that the domestic preference under the law is extended
to locally produced, sourced or manufactured construction materials.

The Council is also tasked to identify and advance strategic, market-driven and customer-centric research and development activities and technology transfer initiatives that are critical to the implementation of the Tatak Pinoy Strategy.

The Council will ensure that Tatak Pinoy investment activities and projects are included in the list of priority activities that will be under the Strategic Investments Priority Plan.

Under the law, programs and projects for the enhancement of capabilities of domestic enterprises should be included in the expenditure priorities and national government fiscal program.

Ottawa: Canada’s decision to limit study visas starting from 2024 will not have a significant impact on Vietnamese students, said Vu Thi Hai Anh, an immigration consultant and Senior Regional Manager in Southeast Asia at Algonquin College of Canada.

According to Anh, this will not decrease the number of Vietnamese students in Canada but only help them adjust their study plans and choose programmes that better suit their demand, as well as meet labour requirements in the North American nation.

Statistics show that about 21,000 Vietnamese students are studying in various fields and at all levels across Canada. Algonquin College currently has approximately 200 Vietnamese students with their stay ranging from 2 – 4 years in such fields as information technology, health care, and communications.

Canada has introduced a series of changes in its student visa policies as the number of international students reached a record high of 1 million last year, including about 560,000 cases of newly-issued study permits.

The Canadian government explained that implementing restrictions on study visas is aimed at eliminating substandard educational institutions that exploit the international student programme to increase enrollment and charge high tuition fees while their infrastructure resources are limited.

It said restrictions on study visas will only apply to college and undergraduate levels, and will not affect high school students or those enrolled in graduate or doctoral programmes. It is expected that the number of new study permits issued this year will decrease by about 35%, down to 364,000.

Anh said this is an important decision aimed at improving the quality of international students in Canada while ensuring the quality of life for them in the country.

Canada and the US are the countries attracting the most international students in the world./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) on Wednesday said the department will streamline rules for developers, buyers and homeowners groups to better serve the public as the government seeks to address the housing backlog in the country.

This, as DHSUD Assistant Secretary Sharon Paquiz identified problems in the licensing and registration of real estate projects of condominiums and subdivisions during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview over PTV-4.

Paquiz said the checklist requirements and the rules governing these projects are ‘scattered’.

She noted that developers had difficulty ascertaining the standard requirements for compliance while buyers or stakeholders were unable to identify whether the developers were licensed.

‘Third, it’s hard for DHSUD because we’re composed of different regional offices and apparently our regional offices have their own set of standards, set of documentary requirements requested from developers,’ she said.

She added the establishment o
f homeowners associations (HOA) goes with the development of housing in subdivisions and condominiums as well. HOAs and their members must also be registered.

To address all these concerns, DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar issued Department Circular 2024-005 last Feb. 14, promoting ease of doing business for developers and homebuyers.

During the same interview, DHSUD Director Angelito Aguila said the codification of the department circular consists of three books.

The first book includes the codification of all documentary requirements from the application for a development permit to the application for a certificate of registration of the project; license to sell housing units; and certificate of completion.

The second book includes the rules on appeal while the third book includes the rules on execution.

‘Ang unang-unang pakinabang diyan, lalung-lalo na sa Pambansang Pabahay, ang ating 4PH, mapapabilis ang proseso to address our housing need – iyan talaga, talagang we have a backlog, nahuhuli ang p
roduksiyon ng mga pabahay as against sa pangangailangan ng tao – mapapabilis ang produksiyon (The first benefit from this, especially in national housing, our 4PH [Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing], processes in meeting housing needs become faster – that’s really the problem, we really have a backlog – the production of houses does not meet the people’s need – there’ll be quicker production),’ Aguila said.

He said the DHSUD would do its best to better the processes and listen to the complaints ‘to ensure the delivery’ of the housing requirements of the people.

‘We cut down the cost, it translates to cheaper houses for the intended beneficiaries,’ he said.

‘Para naman po sa mga stakeholders namin (For our stakeholders), developers and buyers of our residential units, we make sure that DHSUD is here to regulate, we make amends, we balance the interest of both parties,’ Paquiz, for her part, said.

Hanoi: Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism industry has recorded positive signs as many international travelers have chosen the metropolis as part of their journeys in early 2024.

The southern hub served 75,000 foreign visitors during the recent Lunar New Year (Tet), up 15.4% compared to the same period last year, according to statistics from the municipal Department of Tourism.

To achieve the goal of welcoming 6 million international visitors in 2024, the city’s tourism sector is stepping up promotion activities abroad, focusing on key markets.

Tourism businesses in HCM City predicted that Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, India, and the Middle East will be potential markets in 2024, and have deployed plans to welcome a wave of international visitors this year.

Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, Marketing Director of Vietravel, said that strengthening the promotion of Vietnamese tourism in target markets is one of the plans implemented by the business in 2024 to attract international visitors, apart from diversifying
tourism products.

In addition to cooperating with large travel partners with a stable source of tourists in potential markets, Vietravel has also expanded cooperation with reputable partners in key markets to promote the image of Vietnam’s tourism, Khanh said.

It has also accelerated digital transformation to develop multi-channel online sales to retail customers, towards increasing the number of young international tourists.

The municipal Department of Tourism will implement six tourism promotion programmes abroad in 2024, focusing in key markets such as the US, the UK, Germany, Singapore, and Australia, to support tourism businesses connect with foreign partners./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday afternoon (Manila time) arrived in Canberra where he is set to discuss the Philippines’ and Australia’s strategic partnership with the Australian Parliament.

The presidential plane landed at the Royal Australian Air Force Fairbairn in Canberra, Australia at about 4:11 p.m. (Manila time), the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement.

In his pre-departure speech delivered at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on Wednesday morning, Marcos said he would provide ‘greater’ detail on the commitments to enhance the two nations’ relations.

Marcos is in Canberra as a ‘guest’ of the Australian government at the invitation of Australian Governor-General David Hurley.

During his visit, at least three agreements aimed at improving Philippine-Australian relations are expected to be signed.

Marcos expressed optimism that he would be able to bring home with him a ‘more robust, warmer, and closer Philippine-Australian relations.’

His Canberra trip is t
he first leg of his visit to Australia. He will return home on Thursday and will be in Melbourne, Australia on March 4 to 6 to participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Australia Special Summit.

Australia is the Philippines’ second largest partner in defense and security, and one of only two bilateral partners with whom it maintains a status of Visiting Forces Agreement.

It is also home to about 408,000 Filipinos and Australians of Filipino descent.

MANILA: The Philippine Navy (PN) on Wednesday announced that one of its patrol ships intercepted and seized a motorized banca carrying contraband cigarettes off the waters of Balut Island, Davao Occidental.

In a statement, the PN said its offshore patrol vessel BRP Artemio Ricarte captured the M/B Mhufar-3 and its 25 crew members on Tuesday.

A subsequent search by Navy personnel led to the discovery of 1,846 “master cases of cigarettes” with an estimated value of PHP28.6 million in the motorized banca.

The BRP Artemio Ricarte, one of the Navy ships deployed at the Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao (NFEM) area of responsibility, has been conducting territorial defense operations in the waters surrounding Balut Island since Feb. 25.

“Upon conducting an inspection, the PS-37 boarding team discovered that the motorized watercraft originated from Tawi-Tawi and was carrying (a) large quantity of boxes of illegal and undocumented cigarettes bound for Malita, Davao Occidental,” the PN said.