PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte will explore trade and investment opportunities when he visits Russia next month, according to the Foreign Affairs department.
The president will sign cooperation agreements in the areas of research, health and culture during his second visit to Moscow from Oct. 1 to 5, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Ma. Amelita C. Aquino told reporters at the presidential palace on Friday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had invited Mr. Duterte, she said.
Mr. Duterte will hold a bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart to discuss “how both sides can further enhance and expand our cooperation in various areas,” she said.
The two leaders will also witness the signing of several bilateral agreements covering culture, health and basic research.
Mr. Duterte will visit the cities of Sochi and Moscow. He will attend a forum in Sochi on Oct. 3 along with Mr. Putin, Ms. Aquino said.
In Moscow, the president will attend a business Forum to promote trade and investment opportunities between the two countries. It will also serve as a venue for networking between Russian and Filipino businessmen, according to Ms. Aquino.
Mr. Duterte is also scheduled to meet with the Filipino community there.
Mr. Duterte first visited Russia in May 2017 but this was cut short after terrorists attacked Marawi City in southern Philippines.
His meeting with Mr. Putin will be the fourth time, Ms. Aquino said. — Arjay L. Balinbin
POLICE chief General Oscar D. Albayalde on Friday said he was ready to answer allegations at the Senate that he belonged to a group of rogue police officers connected to the illegal drug trade inside jails.
Mr. Albyalde would clarify the issue of so-called “ninja cops” — high-ranking police officers allegedly involved in the recycling or illegal drugs retrieved from legitimate operations, the Philippine National Police said in a statement on Friday.
Former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief and now Baguio City Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong earlier told senators top police and jail officials were involved in the recycling of illegal drugs.
“The PNP’s internal cleansing will be relentless and will continue until all rogue cops especially those involved in illegal drugs will be weeded out from the service and charged in court,” Mr. Albayalde said in the statement.
The Senate justice and blue ribbon committees invited Mr. Albayalde and 15 other police officers allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade at the next committee hearing on Oct 1.
Meanwhile, the Justice department has issued a lookout bulletin order against the alleged drug queen involved in the recycling illegal drugs with rogue cops.
The order would allow authorities to monitor her flight itineraries and whereabouts overseas, according to a copy of a memo issued by Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra to the Immigration bureau.
The Philippine National Police has said it was conducting a case build-up against the drug queen so it can file appropriate charges. — Marc Wyxzel C. Dela PazandGillian M. Cortez
GOVERNMENT prosecutors summoned former Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV after he was charged with kidnapping of a woman back in 2016.
The former lawmaker was ordered to appear at a preliminary investigation at the Justice department next month, according to a copy of the summons.
Prosecutors also asked Mr. Trillanes to submit his answer and other supporting documents.
“Failure on your part to comply with the subpoena shall be considered as a waiver of your right for investigation and confirm the allegations of the complaint,” according to a copy of the order signed by Assistant State Prosecutor Gino Paolo S. Santiago.
A woman filed a complaint against Mr. Trillanes in August accusing him of kidnapping and detaining her for two weeks. The complainant claimed she had been forced to agree to slander the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
Mr. Trillanes has denied any wrongdoing. He said it was highly suspicious that the case was filed three years after it allegedly happened. — Gillian M. Cortez
A MANILA trial court has rejected online news website Rappler’s plea to void testimonies given by a businessman who had accused it of cyberlibel damages.
In an order dated Sept. 27, Judge Rainelda H. Estacio-Montesa overruled most of Rappler’s objections to the judicial affidavit of businessman Wilfredo D. Keng. Rappler had objected to his answers for being irrelevant.
One of the objections included Mr. Keng’s claim that a 2012 Rapple article about Mr. Keng lending a vehicle to former Chief Justice Renato Corona had taken a toll on his family. Mr. Keng had also noted that since the article came out, his image as a businessman had been tarnished.
On the other hand, the court sustained Rappler’s objection to the businessman’s statement about Rappler founder Maria Ressa posting a 2002 Philippine Star article that alleged Mr. Keng’s involvement in the murder of a former Manila councilor. Rappler said this was irrelevant to the cyberlibel case. — Gillian M. Cortez
MORE than 2.6 million voters have been added to the list, the Commission on Elections said on Friday, two days before the registration deadline.
Election officials expect more registrants on Saturday and Monday to add to the existing 61 million voters, Comelec said in a statement.
“Comelec has anticipated this, and we are confident that our employees in the field are prepared to handle the last-day registration scenario,” spokesperson James B. Jimenez said.
The Philippines will hold village and youth elections in May next year, unless lawmakers pass a pending bill that seeks to defer it to December 2022. — Gillian M. Cortez
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has signed an order creating a council that will prevent, reduce and eliminate child labor.
Mr. Duterte signed Executive Order 92 on Sept. 17 creating the National Council Against Child Labor. Copies of the order, which reorganizes the National Child Labor Committee, were released to media on Friday.
The agency will be headed by the Labor secretary, with the Social Welfare department acting as a co-chairman.
The secretaries of the Education, Health, Interior and Local Government, Justice and Agriculture departments will act as members.
The council will formulate a national action plan and programs to protect children against abuse, exploitation and discrimination, and set up appropriate mechanisms for child laborers, their families and communities.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles said Mr. Duterte “wants to increase and tighten the penalties for offenses related to child trafficking.”
“He wants these classes of crimes to be elevated to non-bailable offenses,” he said in a statement.
Under the law, violators face 15 years in jail plus a fine of P500,000 to P 1 million.
“The palace sees the urgent need to increase the penalties, both jail time and fines to be paid,” Mr. Nograles said.
“Legal safeguards to protect our children must be strengthened,” he said, adding that lawmakers should prioritize these measures. — Arjay L. Balinbin
THE Interior department has ordered local government units to hasten road-clearing operations.
The agency will send out starting on Monday teams composed of police, firemen and jail officials to check cities’ compliance with the road-clearing order it had issued earlier, Interior Undersecretary Jonathan E. Malaya said in a statement.
“Those found to be noncompliant will be issued show cause orders by DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año and will be submitted to President Rodrigo R. Duterte,” he said.
Mr. Año earlier said he would not extend the 60-day deadline for cities to clear their main roads. — Marc Wyxzel C. Dela Paz
Kezar3D Printing Services, currently the largest 3D printing startup in the Philippines, opened the first 3D printing kiosk in the Philippines in Robinsons Place Lipa on September 12, 2019.
CEO and General Manager Edward Solicito said that this event is a milestone, not just for the young technology startup but to the Philippine innovation ecosystem as a whole.
“Imagine a future where Filipino inventors or students or innovators just have to save their design in a flash drive, go to any Ayala, SM or Robinsons mall and have their prototype done in a couple of days. That is the future that we are building towards” Solicito said.
The Kezar3D kiosk which is a 2-meter by 2-meter kiosk has a built in 3D printing system that can receive, evaluate, quote and print 3D models, all within the premises of a mall. Its open design that puts an operating 3D printer in an aquarium-like enclosure allows Filipino mall-goers to see how 3D printing technology works. Multiple finished prints are also displayed and is allowed to be touched by anyone.
“Majority of Filipinos have never seen or touched a 3D printed product” said CEO and co-founder Edward Solicito. “We take it upon ourselves to make sure that this changes. We see Kezar3D as the startup who will make 3D printing accessible to all Filipinos.”
Kezar3D’s opening ceremonies was led by Lipa City Mayor Eric Africa and Lipa City Councilor Mikee Morada, together with the employees of Kezar3D and Kezar Innovations.
Kezar3D is set to open kiosks in Manila, Pampanga, Cebu and Davao from November to September next year.
Kezar3D currently have 41 remote sites all over Luzon and is valued at over 61 million pesos.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, affecting millions of people, old or young. Dr. Lim Choon Pin, who is a practicing cardiologist at Mount Elizabeth Hospitals in Singapore, talks about how factors such as obesity and smoking are associated with the disease, and what you can do to prevent it.
Dr. Lim Choon Pin of Mount Elizabeth Hospitals in Singapore shares truths about cardiovascular diseases
Dr. Lim Choon Pin of Mount Elizabeth Hospitals in Singapore
Our heart is one of the most vital organs that keep us alive, constantly working beat by beat throughout the day. Many people, however, neglect to take care of their heart, and develop certain cardiovascular diseases that can be prevented by addressing behavioural risk factors and making healthy lifestyle choices.
“According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. There’s about 17.9 million people deaths each year as a result of cardiovascular diseases,” Dr. Lim Choon Pin, consultant cardiologist at Mount Elizabeth Hospitals in Singapore, told BusinessWorld in an interview.
Some of the most common heart problems and conditions affecting many people across the world, according to Dr. Lim, include coronary heart disease, heart failure, and heart rhythm problems. Coronary heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease, is a condition where the blood vessels of the heart are blocked as a result of cholesterol buildup. This heart condition can cause chest pain or breathlessness and can lead to heart attack, Dr. Lim said.
Heart failure, on the other hand, is a condition when the heart cannot keep up with its workload. According to Dr. Lim, this condition affects close to 30 million people worldwide and accounts for about one million hospitalizations each year in Europe. Despite these, he noted that heart failure remains as a misunderstood disease.
Heart rhythm problems, meanwhile, occur when there is a problem with the rhythm of the heart. One of the most common types of this condition is atrial fibrillation. According to Dr. Lim, nearly a quarter of people above 40 years old will develop this condition in their lifetime.
There are numerous factors associated with the development of heart conditions, which Dr. Lim classified into two categories: modifiable and non-modifiable factors. The first category relates to factors within our control, such as maintaining blood pressure and sugar intake and reducing cholesterol. The non-modifiable, on the other hand, refers to factors beyond our control, such as age, ethnicity, and genetics.
“That means that in spite of doing whatever we can to control diabetes, high blood pressure, and all the other modifiable risk factors, there is still this residual risk that is beyond our control,” Dr. Lim said.
Over the past decade, there had been a significant improvement in the field of cardiology when it comes to advances in technology. Dr. Lim said that these developments have allowed patients with heart diseases to undergo successful treatment.
At Mount Elizabeth Hospitals in Singapore, utmost patient care is guaranteed with its first-class medical talents and facilities. “We have a lot of skilled doctors [and] experienced consultants in Mount Elizabeth… The hospital is also equipped with advanced technologies,” Dr. Lim said.
Besides delivering top-class medical care, Dr. Lim assured that patients in Mount Elizabeth Hospitals will expect an excellent quality of service not only from its doctors and nurses, but also from service staff, cooks, and other workers. As he noted, “everybody is very committed to delivering a good quality service.”
Meanwhile, to reduce the risk of developing heart diseases, Dr. Lim advised individuals to embrace an active and healthy lifestyle. These include having a moderate intensity of exercise about five times per week and adopting a diet that is low in fats, salt, and sugar and rich in vegetables, fruits, and omega-3 fatty acids.
In addition to these, Dr. Lim underscored the importance of regular screenings to monitor the main risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, such as blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. Moreover, Dr. Lim advised smokers and other tobacco users to quit from their habit.
“Once you stop smoking, after about 10 years of stopping smoking, the risk of developing heart diseases drops back to that level of a non-smoker. So it’s never too late to stop smoking,” Dr. Lim said.
For more information about the digestive cancer and other condition, visit https://www.mountelizabeth.com.sg/healthplus.
Health Plus is an online health and wellness resource developed by Mount Elizabeth Hospitals, Singapore.
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The Business Continuity Managers Association of the Philippines (BCMAP) held their second Business Continuity Summit with the theme “Business As Usual” on September 10, 2019 at the Auditorium of SM MAAX in MOA Complex, Pasay City. The Summit was a premier learning event for Business Continuity Practitioners, Disaster Recovery Professionals, Security Officers and other related Professions from the various business sectors in the Philippines. Over 200 representatives from both the private and public sectors participated in the event. This year’s summit focused on the MSME segment.
The summit was graced by the presence of Mr. Hans T. Sy, Director of ARISE International, who has been at the forefront of private sector-led DRRM initiatives in the Philippines because of the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters.
The successful conference was brought about by the concerted efforts of BCMAP’s board of directors led by the association’s President, Mr. Ramil Cabodil.
THE MONETARY BOARD (MB) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Thursday trimmed benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points for the third time this year, in the face of continued easing of price pressures and amid the need to spur economic growth.
The latest monetary policy move slashed rates for overnight reverse repurchase (RRP), as well as overnight deposit and lending to four percent, 3.5% and 4.5%, respectively.
Banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR), however, was left at 16% for big banks, six percent for thrift banks and four percent for rural and cooperative banks, although BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno had said earlier this month that these rates could be cut further — after 200 bp reductions this year and in 2018 — by another 100 bp in any of the central bank’s weekly meetings towards yearend.
“The Monetary Board’s decision is based on its assessment that price pressures have eased further since the previous meeting… Inflation expectations also remain well-anchored within the inflation range based on the BSP’s survey of private sector economists,” Mr. Diokno told reporters in a briefing after the meeting.
He added that “[t]he Monetary Board also noted that the balance of risks to the inflation outlook has shifted toward the upside for 2020, while it is seen to tilt to the downside for 2021.”
“Upside risks to inflation over the near term emanate mainly from volatility in oil prices due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and from the potential impact of the African Swine Fever outbreak on food prices,” Mr. Diokno said.
“Meanwhile, the subdued pace of global economic activity continues to temper the inflation outlook.”
The third rate cut for the year comes as the government moves to rev up the economy, which expanded by a disappointing 5.5% last month — against an already tempered 6-7% official target for 2019 and last year’s actual 6.2% — due to a three-and-a-half delay in national budget enactment that left new projects unfunded.
Asked whether this could be the last adjustment in benchmark interest rates for 2019, BSP Assistant Governor Edna S. Villa replied that the central bank “looks at evolving developments” and “never pre-commits to a particular response or policy action.”
Monetary authorities on Thursday also trimmed their forecast inflation average to 2.5% from an already-downward-revised 2.6%, Ms. Villa said, adding that the forecasts for 2020 and 2021 have been retained at 2.9%.
Those forecasts fall within the BSP’s 2-4% full-year target.
“In the near term, inflation could continue to decelerate and reach the low end of the target until November 2019 due primarily to base effects as oil and rice peaked at the same period in 2018,” she explained.
Last year saw successive multi-year-high inflation rates that hit a nine-year-high 6.7% in September and October, fueling a decade-high 5.2% average for 2018.
“… [T]here is indeed room for more [rate cuts],” UnionBank of the Philippines Inc. chief economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said via text, noting that there are still 100 bps left “to unwind” from last year’s cumulative 175 bp hike.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael L. Ricafort said via e-mail that “Further cuts in local policy rates remains possible especially if the US Federal Reserve cuts its key short-term interest rates further and if local GDP growth data remain relatively soft, moving forward.”
“With the latest cut, BSP still has a significant policy space due to a 175 bps total rate hike from last year, giving the central bank enough policy leeway to support the economy for the rest of 2019 and beyond, should government spending fail to revive growth,” Mr. Robert Dan J. Roces said in an e-mail, while J.P.Morgan’s Nur Raisah Rasid said in a quick note to journalists that “[a]mid ongoing growth concerns and weaker inflation momentum, we continue to look for further monetary easing at the Dec. 12 monetary board meeting, bringing the policy rate to 3.75% by end-2019.”
