Workshops, agreements lined up for MSME Week
THE PHILIPPINE Trade Training Center (PTTC) announced on Monday that it will hold a series of workshops for local entrepreneurs during the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Week in July and ink agreements to further strengthen some local markets. In a statement, PTTC’s Global MSME Academy (PTTC-GMEA) said it will offer free training to more than 500 entrepreneurs who will attend the event. “The Free Training, to be conducted at the PTTC-GMEA Center from July 8–12, 2019, cover enterprises in the sectors of Processed Food; Lifestyle that covers Wearables, Home styles; and Services that include Animation, Game Development, Software Development and providers of IT Services to various companies; and set of trainings for the students participating in the Youth Entrepreneurship Boot Camp,” PTTC said. The agency will also sign partnerships with foreign organizations to expand export markets for clothing and furniture and the local halal tourism industry, among others. — Gillian M. Cortez
PNP proposes P14.8B infra projects for police facilities
THE PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) has proposed P14.8 billion worth of infrastructure projects to the Department of Public Works and Highways for the improvement of police facilities. “At the PNP-DPWH Convergence Program Meeting over the weekend, Police Major General Edwin Roque, PNP Director for Logistics said all pertinent documents and requirements are already submitted to the DPWH for final validation for 2020 prioritization program,” said PNP in a statement on Monday. The proposal covers various infrastructure projects in all the 17 Police Regional Offices nationwide. These include police station buildings, combat simulation facility, and firing ranges, among others. “The PNP has proposed 117 projects in Luzon worth P11.018-billion; 70 projects in the Visayas worth P1.96-billion; and 104 projects in Mindanao worth P1.85-billion,” the PNP said. PNP noted that DPWH Undersecretary for Planning and Public-Private Partnership Maria Catalina Cabral acknowledged the urgency of these projects. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras
Duque faces complaint over lease deal with PhilHealth
PARENTS of children who allegedly died due to the Dengvaxia vaccine have filed a complaint against Department of Health (DoH) Secretary Francisco T. Duque III before of the Office of the Ombudsman for plunder, graft and administrative charges for allegedly allowing his family to transact business with the state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth). Mr. Duque is also an ex-officio officer of PhilHealth. “Respondent Dr. Duque III, with manifest conflict of interest, allowed their family corporation, in which he is also a substantial stockholder, to transact business with the PhilHealth of which he is also the ex-oficio chairman,” the complaint-affidavit said. The case stemmed from PhilHealth’s lease of an office space in the building of Educational and Medical Development Corporation (EMDC) in Dagupan City for a monthly rent of P529,261.20. “In the business transaction between EMDC and Philhealth, a manifest conflict of interest arises, considering that respondent Dr. Duque III is a substantial stockholder of the said private corporation and at the same time the head of the government corporation in which his family corporation had transacted,” the complaint-affidavit stated. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras
BI vows continued anti-human trafficking campaign as it maintains ‘Tier 1’ rating
THE BUREAU of Immigration (BI) said there will be no “let up” in its drive against trafficking in persons, following the apprehension of more than 10,000 travelers from January to April who had incomplete travel papers and questionable purposes. The pronouncement made yesterday came as the BI announced that it retained its “Tier 1” rating for the fourth consecutive year in the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report of the US Department of State. A “Tier 1” rating is given to countries that meet the minimum standards for eradicating trafficking and sustained efforts in combating the scheme. BI Commissioner Jaime H. Morente called on BI personnel assigned in ports to “remain vigilant as there is no sign that these human trafficking syndicates who prey on the poor, including minors, will stop their nefarious activities.” “The Tier 1 status was given to only 33 countries all over the world,” Mr. Morente said in a statement. The BI said the report also noted the bureau’s accomplishment in deferring the departure of 24,753 passengers due to incomplete or missing travel documents or misrepresentation, 286 potential trafficking cases referred for investigation, and nine suspected traffickers arrested. The report also cited that the BI stopped 199 foreign-registered sex offenders from entering the country in 2018. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
