Category: General

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday expressed openness to possible amendments to the political provisions of the 1987 Constitution, particularly on term limits.

‘Let’s be practical. In terms of the term limits, look at what happened. When I was mayor for nine years, hindi na ko makatakbo, so patakbuhin ko ‘yung asawa ko, patakbuhin ko ‘yung anak ko, ako ‘yung magiging vice mayor (I can no longer run, so I will ask my wife or my son to run and I will run for vice mayor),’ he said in a taped interview aired over GMA News’ 24 Oras.

‘So, wala ring nagbago (nothing has changed). They are still running the show. We have a term in Ilocos. We call them mayor vice. Because they are the vice mayor but they are running the administration of the town. We have to think about that,’ he added.

Asked if he thinks term extension could work well, Marcos said he could not tell, adding that discussions for such proposal are needed to ‘see what’s the best thing we can do.’

Marcos also clarified that his prior
ity for now is to focus on amending the economic provisions of the constitution.

‘But in present day, we can have these discussions later on. But for the present day, my concern are the economic provisions, and I don’t want to confuse the issue any longer,’ he said. ‘I do not want to jeopardize the success of the amendments to the economic provisions by putting any other issues. Let’s keep the issue clear.’

In December last year, Marcos said the government is looking into the possibility of introducing economic reforms to attract more foreign investments.

Marcos reiterated the need for economic reforms to entice more foreign investors to explore or expand their business in the Philippines.

‘The 1987 Constitution was not written for a globalized world. And that’s the way that is where we are now. We have to adjust so that we can increase the economic activities in the Philippines. We can attract more foreign investors,’ he said.

However, Marcos said he is not in favor of foreign ownership of lands.

He al
so emphasized the need to identify ‘all the strategic areas that we cannot allow to be influenced by foreign entity, be it a corporation or another country.’

‘That’s what we have to decide [on], where we draw the line, and how much,’ he said.

‘Those who have resided in an area for so many years, papasok ang mga mayayaman na dayuhan (many rich foreigners will enter). They will pay big money to buy that land, the value of the land will go up, and the old residents cannot pay for the real estate tax, kasi nawala na sa market nila, tapos papaalisin natin iyang mga iyan (because it’s out of their market and they will be asked to leave). I don’t think I agree with that,’ Marcos added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Dien Bien: The Ban Flower Festival, a highlight of the National Tourism Year 2024, is set to open in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien on March 16.

Spanning from March 13 to 18, the festival boasts a diverse lineup of activities, including an incense offering ceremony at the Dien Bien Phu martyrs’ memorial temple, the launch of the National Tourism Year 2024 featuring a music extravaganza and a high-altitude fireworks display, a photo contest showcasing the resplendent Ban flower landscape, a show of traditional costumes of ethnic groups, an ethnic sports competition, an exhibition featuring cultural and tourism products, and activities to connect tours and travel routes.

Festival-goers can expect to immerse themselves in the rich cultural tapestry of the northwestern mountainous region, with offerings such as a market space spotlighting distinctive local agricultural products, a competition featuring traditional folk games like seesawing, con throwing, stilt walking, blindfolded tag, and sack
racing. Additionally, traditional folk songs, dances and music, including the unique art forms of Then and Xoe performed by ethnic groups like the Thai, Tay, Mong, Ha Nhi, Kho Mu, Xi La, Lao, and Xa Phang, will be performed.

Held for the first time in 2014, the annual event holds significance beyond celebrating the Ban flower, serving as a celeration of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, the 115th founding anniversary of Dien Bien province, and the 75th anniversary of the provincial Party Organisation.

The festival also stands as a testament to the symbolic importance of Ban flower that represents the identity of land and people of the northwest region and Dien Bien in particular, as well as contributing to popularising Dien Bien’s tourism brand in the foreseeable future./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: Vice President Sara Z. Duterte may be gauging public opinion when she announced her plan to run for public office ‘in the next elections,’ President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Tuesday.

This, after Duterte bared her political plan while in Davao City on Monday.

‘I think she’s also testing the waters to see what the reaction will be,’ Marcos said in a taped interview with GMA’s 24 Oras, when asked to react on Duterte’s pronouncement.

Marcos said he has yet to discuss the matter with Duterte.

Duterte did not divulge the particular position that she is eyeing.

Her term as vice president will end in 2028.

The next national (senators and Congress representatives) and local elections will be held in May 2025.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The ongoing post-qualification evaluation of the bid proposal of the Joint Venture of Miru Systems Co Ltd. for the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC) for the 2025 midterm elections is so far going smoothly.

“There are no such reports from the Technical Working Group (TWG) to the Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) So far, we haven’t seen any failure in the verification of documents,” Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said in an interview on Tuesday.

The poll body official added that they are currently conducting the post-qualification assessment for the bid proposal of the South Korean firm.

“We will be looking at all their contracts and performances, if there were any negative slippages or delays, or what are their performance ratings,” said Laudiangco.

On Tuesday, the Comelec-SBAC looked into the prototype automated counting machines (ACMs) of Miru.

“We are looking at all the machines, their components, from laptops to ballot boxes to the ACMs and their t
echnical specifications and see if they are fully compliant with their submissions,” he added.

Laudiangco said they aim to complete the post-qualification process in “around 30 days”, including the assessment of the “legal, technical, financial components”.

Present during the ACM demonstration are poll watchdogs Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE), Democracy Watch, National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) aims to continue attracting Japanese investors into ecozones by partnering with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC) and the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC).

PEZA Director General Tereso Panga, SMBC managing executive officer and co-head of Asia Pacific Yuichi Nishimura, and RCBC president and chief executive officer Eugene Acevedo signed in Pasay City Tuesday a memorandum of understanding (MOU), making the two banks as PEZA’s investment promotion partners (IPPs).

“This MOU is targeted to spur economic development -continuously positioning the country as an attractive investment destination characterized by agility and responsiveness to the needs and demands of our dynamic investors. The concerted efforts of our esteemed investment promotion partners will actively encourage and increase investments, especially those from Japanese companies,” Panga said.

Through the partnership, PEZA, SMBC and RCBC will host investment seminars for potential invest
ors, highlighting business opportunities in the ecozones across the country.

Panga said they will be holding an investment seminar for SMBC clients that could be potential locators in PEZA by March.

Japan remains PEZA’s top source of foreign investments. To date, there are 807 Japanese companies inside PEZA zones, with total investments of PHP797.83 billion.

These Japanese firms generated USD13.45 billion in exports and 336,442 direct jobs as of October 2023.

In an interview, Nishimura said the Philippines offers big opportunities for Japanese companies to invest into, and SMBC could help in financing the capital of these firms.

“We want to contribute to the Philippines as a country. So, whatever the government initiatives, for example to further enhance the high-tech areas, our capacity of high-tech areas, pharmaceutical, medical equipment, those more value-added areas could be the one,” Nishimura told reporters.

He said the electric vehicle manufacturing is an emerging sector in the Philippines where
Japanese companies can participate.

Acevedo said SMBC, as one of the world’s largest financing houses for renewable projects, could tap investment opportunities in the country’s renewable energy sector with the pipeline of renewable projects.

Positive outlook

Meanwhile, Acevedo has an optimistic outlook on bank borrowings this year as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is expected to ease its monetary policy.

After a slowdown in growth in 2023, Acevedo expects that bank loans will start to move up this year.

“We see that it is starting to move up this year, especially as inflation appears to be contained, and the industry expects (the central bank) to start cutting rates this year… which should encourage more borrowing,” he said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Hanoi: Seventeen provinces across the country will be provided with nearly 15,500 tonnes of rice to allocate for local residents during the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday and the between-crop period in early 2024, said Deputy Director of the General Department of State Reserves (GDSR) Nguyen Thi Pho Giang at a press conference held on January 22.

The volume includes 12,876 tonnes of rice for 17 provinces during Tet and 2,618 tonnes of rice for five provinces, namely Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Quang Binh, Dak Lak and Dak Nong, during the between-crop period.

As of January 18, over 3,545 tonnes of rice were handed over to Soc Trang province, the GDSR said, adding that the rice inventory is enough for localities in unexpected and urgent situations and during Tet.

The GDSR is developing a plan to purchase 240,000 tonnes of rice for State reserves in 2024. After receiving approval from the Prime Minister, it will direct units to implement the plan, ensuring enough resources to carry out tasks in line with the obj
ectives prescribed in the Law on National Reserve, as well as proactively and effectively respond to every unexpected and urgent circumstances and prevent food shortages during between-crop periods, natural disasters and epidemics./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: The centuries-old National Shrine of La Virgen Divina Pastora, more popularly known as the Three Kings Parish in Gapan City, Nueva Ecija has been declared as a minor basilica.

Cabanatuan Bishop Sofronio Bancud reported that Pope Francis has bestowed the title of minor basilica to the parish, the first in the province.

“It is with great joy to announce to you that the National Shrine of La Virgen Divina Pastora in Gapan City, Nueva Ecija, has been honored by our Holy Father, Pope Francis, with the title of Minor Basilica, making this centuries-old church the first minor basilica in the province of Nueva Ecija,” read a pastoral statement Tuesday.

The Catholic prelate announced that the solemn celebration of the granting of the title of Minor Basilica will be held on April 26.

The Mass during the event will be celebrated by the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Charles John Brown, with bishops, clergy, consecrated persons, pilgrims, with devotees of La Virgen Divina Pastora and the fait
hful of the Diocese of Cabanatuan expected to attend.

The title minor basilica is bestowed on churches that have been given a special designation by the Pope for reasons like architectural beauty, historical significance, liturgical renown, or for any combination of the said attributes.

Founded in 1589, the Three Kings Parish is acknowledged as the oldest and biggest Spanish colonial church in Nueva Ecija.

The earthquake baroque church has brick-and-adobe features, and a mural of the Holy Trinity on the ceiling above the altar, while its belfry houses four huge bells.

It was declared as a national shrine by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines on April 26, 1986.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Tuesday urged Congress to pass crucial bills as the 19th Congress resumed its second regular session on Monday.

In a statement, the NEDA said these measures include the bills on the Department of Water Resources, Open Access in Data Transmission, and the various fiscal reforms that seek to strengthen tax administration and broaden the tax base.??

“It has been one year since the launch of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028. While we saw some of our headline indicators improve, much remains to be done,” said NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

“To ensure that we remain on track to meet our goals by 2028, and in anticipation of future challenges and scenarios, we must pass key legislative measures aimed at strengthening the country’s economic governance and addressing the structural weaknesses of our production sectors,” he added.

The proposed Department of Water Resources will serve as the primary agency responsible for the comprehensive
and integrated water resources development and management in the Philippines.

NEDA said that at present, there are more than 30 agencies with overlapping functions over the country’s water resources, which leads to uncoordinated planning efforts and inconsistent implementation of policies that adversely affect the country’s water supply.

This affects more than 12 million people who obtain water from unsafe sources, with some areas needing more water service providers.?

The proposed Open Access in Data Transmission Act on the other hand, aims to narrow the digital divide in the country by encouraging the development of data transmission infrastructure, removing barriers to competition in data transmission services, and enabling the full potential of e-commerce, digital trade, and applications in the fields of education, health, and agriculture, among others.

The proposed measure seeks to further liberalize the telecommunications sector by removing the requirement of a legislative franchise for players seek
ing to build their networks, rationalizing access and use of the country’s scarce spectrum resources, and making it easier for entrants to provide better services for consumers at more competitive prices.

Aside from these, the NEDA also cited the importance of passing the critical fiscal reforms and ensuring the speedy rollout of improvements to the country’s tax administration systems as enabled by the recently passed Ease of Paying Taxes Act.

These measures include the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform and the VAT on Digital Services, and the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy which aims to improve tax administration for enterprises, encourage investments, and promote the ease of business in the country.

The NEDA is also supporting the passage of the Economy, Planning, and Development Bill which aims to institutionalize the NEDA into the Department of Economic Planning and Development to strengthen the government’s ab
ility to formulate and coordinate medium- and long-term economic and development roadmaps.

The bill also aims to enhance the coherence of national and sub-national policies, plans, and programs towards the optimal use of financial resources through the country’s public investment program.?

‘Sa NEDA, sentro ang tao sa plano (At NEDA, our plans are people-centered). The passage of the NEDA Bill will allow us to better leverage our expertise in people-centered development planning across all national and local sectors and ensure that all Filipinos feel the benefits of such exercises,” Balisacan said.?

Source: Philippines News Agency