Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube
Home Blog Page 10898

Human rights experts push for UN probe on Philippine violations

By Gillian M. Cortez, Reporter

HUMAN RIGHTS experts on Friday called on the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council to launch an independent investigation on the alleged violations in the Philippines, which they said has been worsening with the government showing no signs of intent to address the situation.

“It is time for the Human Rights Council to take action against these sustained attacks on human rights defenders and independent watchdog institutions,” the 11 experts said in a statement issued from Geneva and posted on the site of the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner.

The 11 are: Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Meskerem Geset Techane, Chair of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice; Hilal Elver, Special Rapporteur on the right to food; Michel Forst, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Clément Nyaletsossi Voulé, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; José Antonio Guevara Bermúdez, Chair-Rapporteur, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Dainius Pῡras, Special Rapporteur on the right to health; Victoria Lucia Tauli-Corpuz, Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous people; Dubravka Šimonović, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences; and Diego García-Sayán, Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.

The UN Human Rights Council is composed of 47 UN member states elected by the UN General Assembly.

“The (Philippine) Government has shown no indication that they will step up to fulfill their obligation to conduct prompt and full investigations into these cases, and to hold perpetrators accountable in order to do justice for victims and to prevent reoccurrence of violations,” said the independent experts who “have raised their concerns with the Government of the Philippines on 33 occasions over the last three years.”

They also noted the country’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, which was initiated by President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

“This is the last of many actions demonstrating that the Government is seeking to evade scrutiny and reject accountability,” they said.

International group Human Rights Watch (HRW), in reaction to the experts’ call, said an independent probe “is long overdue.”

HRW Deputy Director Laila Matar, in a statement, said, “This collective expression of concern and call to action by 11 top UN experts only further highlights the responsibility of the Human Rights Council to address the situation in the Philippines.”

“(I)t is incumbent on Council members and observers to work together at the upcoming 41st session to ensure an investigation is finally put in place,” she said.

BSP chief ‘cautiously optimistic’ on Philippine economy

BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno is “cautiously optimistic about the current state of the Philippine economy,” amid lingering global headwinds.

“(We) recognize the uncertainty in the global economic environment, with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) further revising down its global growth prospects due to volatilities in commodity prices, uncertainty over advanced economies’ policy normalization, as well as ongoing trade tensions as a result of the US-China (trade) war,” Mr. Diokno said in a speech during the centennial anniversary of the Rotary Club of Manila on Thursday evening.

The IMF warned that rising trade tensions may contribute to a global economic slowdown. In April, it lowered its outlook for global growth to the lowest since the financial crisis, citing downside risks such as the collapse of US-China trade talks.

“But while the external environment is challenging, I am cautiously optimistic about the current state of the Philippine economy,” Mr. Diokno said, adding that the IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank growth expectations are in line with the government’s revised growth targets of 6-7% in 2019 and 6.5-7.5% in 2020.

However, Mr. Diokno said the government is ensuring there are “adequate buffers” to shield the economy from the possible negative effects of these external shocks, particularly “rising protectionist measures and heightened policy uncertainty.”

“‘Keeping our house in order’ remains the first and best line of defense,” the BSP chief said.

“We are improving economic openness through liberalization of trade and foreign direct investment, we are enhancing external competitiveness by strengthening domestic industries; we are diversifying products and markets to non-traditional growing economies; and we are sustaining domestic economic resilience by building adequate buffers.”

The on-going trade war between the United States and China has not had a significant impact on the Philippine economy so far.

“There was no direct imposition against the Philippines in terms of the country’s exposure to the products imposed with tit-for-tat measures between the US and China. But the extent of the impact would depend on the industries affected,” Mr. Diokno said.

He said the Philippines could increase exports of food and agricultural products to the US, taking advantage of the tariffs slapped by the US on similar Chinese goods.

The US-China trade war may also have a positive impact on the Philippine electronics sector, Mr. Diokno said.

“That is if companies on either or both of the countries use the Philippines as an alternative manufacturing site. This scenario, however, would take time and the Philippines would have to compete with other potential relocation sites like Vietnam and Indonesia,” he said.

However, Mr. Diokno noted this may not happen in the next few years as it takes time to shift production facilities to another country.

“We also recognize the continued trade friction could negatively affect overall investment sentiment and increase caution and uncertainty in the global growth prospects. This could take a toll on the country’s external sector. Nevertheless, given that the economy’s growth is mainly driven by domestic demand, the trade friction would have limited negative impact on Philippine exports,” he said. — R.J.N.Ignacio

PHL dollar reserves climb for 7th straight month

GROSS international reserves (GIR) climbed for the seventh straight month in May, the central bank said on Friday.

Preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed the GIR level stood at $85.02 billion in May, 1.3% up from the $83.88 billion logged in April, and 7.3% up from the $79.202 billion recorded in May 2018.

This is the highest reserve level since October 2016 when the GIR stood at $85.106 billion.

“The month-on-month increase in the GIR level was due mainly to inflows arising from the National Government’s (NG) net foreign currency deposits, BSP’s foreign exchange operations and income from investments abroad, and revaluation gains from the BSP’s gold holdings, resulting from the increase in the price of gold in the international market,” the BSP said in a statement on Friday.

“However, the increase in reserves was tempered partially by payments made by the NG for servicing its foreign exchange obligations,” it added.

The BSP’s foreign investments generated $72.149 billion in May, rising 0.4% from $71.847 billion in April and $63.92 billion in May 2018. This accounted for bulk of the reserves.

Meanwhile, the country’s foreign currency stash increased to $2.837 billion last month from $2.201 billion in April. However, the May figure was still 48% lower than the $5.460 billion recorded in May 2018. A stronger peso usually means losses for the BSP, while a weaker peso pads the GIR.

The central bank uses the reserve money to temper sharp swings in the exchange rate.

The BSP’s gold holdings stood at $8.332 billion in May, up 2.5% from $8.124 billion in April, and up 1.6% from $8.197 billion in the same month last year, reflecting improved gold valuations in the international market.

Reserves maintained under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dropped 0.6% to $520.8 billion in May from $524.3 billion in April. Special drawing rights — or the amount which the Philippines can tap under the IMF’s reserve currency basket inched up 0.08% to $1.183 billion from April’s $1.182 billion.

The end-May GIR settled well above the BSP’s $77 billion projection for the year and the end-2018 level of $79.193 billion.

The current level, which the BSP said “serves as an ample liquidity buffer” can cover up to 7.5 months’ worth of import duties and is equivalent to 5.1 times of the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity, and 3.6 times based on residual maturity.

International reserves are composed of gold, the BSP’s assets held in foreign currencies, country quotas with the IMF, and foreign currency deposits held by government and state agencies.

It is a key measure of a country’s macroeconomic footing, as it stands as the country’s buffer versus external financial shocks. International debt watchers have cited the Philippines’ ample reserves as a credit strength. — R.J.N.Ignacio

Veterans office says no payments made to dead pensioners

THE PHILIPPINES Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) on Friday clarified that there were no payments made to dead pensioners last year, which was flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA).

In its 2018 annual audit report, COA said that a total of P70.25 million were given in monthly pensions to deceased beneficiaries.

“There is no truth that dead pensioners were paid. The truth is there were over remittances made because in the payroll, it is unavoidable by the time you put a payroll, may namamatay (someone dies) and at the time na (that) you remit the funds, may namamatay [rin] (someone also dies),” said PVAO Administrator Ernesto G. Carolina in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo.

Mr. Carolina noted that PVAO has a partnership with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Philippine Postal Corporation for validating and updating the list of pensioners.

“We pay the Philippine Statistics office P40,000 a month…. PSA gives us a monthly death list and we pay them because they cross-reference with our monthly pension payroll. Kaya pag may namatay, immediately alam namin (That is why when someone dies, we are immediately informed of it),” he said.

He added, “We also have a contract with Philpost… pinupuntahan ng (There are visits by the) postman all over the country, once a quarter… kukunan ka ng picture, kukunin yung finger print mo, papapirmahan ka ng update form (He take pictures of them, get their finger print, and let them sign the update form).”

Of the P70.25 million, COA said only P33.795 million was recovered as of year-end, while the remaining 51.89% or P36.454 million has yet to be refunded.

Mr. Carolina explained that they have a system wherein the pension amount is first placed in a PVAO account if there is an indication that the receiver could have already died.

“Kapag may indicator na baka namatay, nandun siya sa payroll at ire-remit namin yung pension (If there is an indicator that the pensioner might be dead but still in the payroll and we are due to remit the pension), the pension goes to our PVAO account. Hindi muna iki-credit sa kanyang (It will not yet be credited to the) individual account.”

“We want to make sure that eligible beneficiaries get pension. So hindi ka talaga makapag-pensyon at makapag-withdraw kapag patay ka na (You really will not be able to get your pension and withdraw if you are already dead),” said Mr. Carolina. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

Duterte orders detailed report on PhilHealth irregularities

PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte has directed the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to file criminal charges against its officials involved in the funding of “bogus” kidney dialysis treatments.

In a statement on Friday, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said Malacañang is “deeply concerned” about the allegations of “irregularities… particularly those with regard to the reported anomalies in connection with bogus kidney dialysis treatments.”

Mr. Panelo noted that the agency has already initiated “several actions” on the allegations.

He said PhilHealth has filed “several administrative complaints” against those suspected to be involved in the anomaly.

“The President directs the management of the PhilHealth to institute criminal actions against those officials and employees who wittingly or unwittingly allowed such misuse of funds to take place for years,” he added.

He further said that Mr. Duterte has instructed the institution’s acting President “to submit a detailed report on these irregularities.”

“We will put a stop to this corruption and we will make sure that the law on universal health care is strictly enforced,” Mr. Panelo said.

On Thursday, Senator Risa N. Hontiveros-Baraquel, vice-chair of the Senate committee on health and demography, called for an “urgent and comprehensive investigation” on the matter.

“The gravity of the recent allegations should prompt government to check if every peso under the PhilHealth is indeed being used in a manner compliant with laws and the PhilHealth’s mandate. We cannot allow fraud and greed to impede the effective delivery of health services to the people,” she said in a statement.

“This scheme not only steals funds from government, but may have also led to the deaths of people who would have otherwise benefited from PhilHealth’s programs. A response from government is needed,” she added. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Bautista accepts Tulfo apology with conditions

DEPARTMENT OF Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando D. Bautista on Friday said he is willing to accept the apology of media personality Erwin T. Tulfo, who berated him on national radio, but with several conditions, including a public apology on various platforms and a donation of at least P300,000 each to 19 organizations and institutions.

In a statement written in Filipino, Mr. Bautista, a retired military general, said Mr. Tulfo should comply with these conditions immediately to prove his sincerity.

“Tinatanggap ko ang paghingi ng paumanhin ni Ginoong Erwin T. Tulfo alinsunod sa mga nakatakda na kailangan niyang gampanan sa lalong madaling panahon upang mapatunayan ang kanyang katapatan.”

Mr. Bautista said Mr. Tulfo should publish his public apology in major newspapers and social media platforms, and air this over radio stations DZBB, DZMM, Radyo Singko NEWS FM 92.3, DZRH, and DZRB.

The donations, meanwhile, would be in place of payments for damages “sa pagkawasak ng aking pagkatao, reputasyon at pati na rin ng mga institusyon na aking kinakatawan o naging kaanib (for ruining my personality, reputation and the reputation of the institution I represent and previously affiliated with,” he added.

Mr. Baustista said the amount should be deposited to the Land Bank of the Philippines accounts of the following:

  1. Philippine Military Academy;
  2. Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association Inc.;
  3. Association of Generals and Flag Officers;
  4. First Scout Ranger Regiment, Philippine Army;
  5. Special Forces Regiment (Airborne), Philippine Army;
  6. Light Reaction Regiment, Philippine Army;
  7. Philippine National Police Special Action Force;
  8. Philippine Naval Special Operations Group, Philippine Navy;
  9. Philippine Marines Special Operations Group, Philippine Navy;
  10. Philippine National Police Maritime Group;
  11. Trust Fund for the City of Marawi’s Internally Displaced Persons;
  12. Philippine Veterans Hospital;
  13. AFP Victoriano Luna Medical Center;
  14. Philippine National Police Camp Crame General Hospital;
  15. Philippine Army General Hospital;
  16. Philippine Navy General Hospital;
  17. Philippine Air Force General Hospital;
  18. Philippine Coast Guard General Hospital; and
  19. Educational trust fund for the deserving children of DSWD employees.

Mr. Bautista — who retired as head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and was the overall commander of military operations during the 2017 siege in Marawi — also thanked individuals who supported him, saying, “Taos-puso po akong nagpapasalamat sa bawa’t isa po sa inyo na nagpaabot at nagpakita ng simpatya, pagkabahala at suporta para sa akin nitong nakaraang buwan ng aking matinding pagsubok dahil sa paninirang-puri at insulto na naidulot ng programang Tutok Erwin Tulfo (I sincerely thank each of you who sent and demonstrated sympathy, concern, and support over the defamation and insults brought by the program Tutok Erwin Tulfo.” – Arjay L. Balinbin

Angara assures tobacco farmers of benefits from new cigarette taxes

SENATOR EDGARDO “Sonny” M. Angara has assured tobacco farmers that they will benefit from the incremental increase in cigarette taxes starting next year following the recent passage of the bill that will increase excise taxes on tobacco products.

Mr. Angara, chair of the Senate ways and means committee, said the new tobacco excise tax bill approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives provides that up to 20% of the incremental revenues from the additional duties will go directly to 23 tobacco-producing provinces to finance programs for farmers.

“Under the measure, 15 percent of excise tax on locally manufactured Virginia-type cigarettes but not exceeding P17 billion will go to Virginia tobacco producing provinces, while 5 percent but not exceeding P4 billion will be allocated to burley and native tobacco producing provinces,” said Mr. Angara in a statement on Friday.

The approved proposal increases the excise tax on tobacco products to P45 in 2020 and by P5 every year until it reaches P60 per pack in 2023, then by 5% annually thereafter.

Mr. Angara said the support for tobacco farmers can be in the form of farm inputs, trainings, safety nets, infrastructure, livelihood and agri-industrial projects.

“Mahirap din naman po ang kalagayan ng mga kababayan nating tobacco farmers. Mula raw po nang ipinatupad ang sin tax law noong 2013, mahigit 20 milyong kilo ng tobacco ang ibinaba sa produksyon (Our tobacco farmers are in a difficult state. They say that since the sin tax law was implemented in 2013, tobacco production has gone down by 20 million kilos),” Mr. Angara said.

The additional sin tax collections on tobacco and alcohol products are intended to help finance the rollout of Republic Act No. 11223, or the Universal Health Care Act (UHC), which is expected to have a P63-billion funding gap in its first year of implementation. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

Fish kill in Taal Lake should not affect tilapia market price, says BFAR

DEPLETED LEVEL of dissolved oxygen caused the recent fish kill in Taal Lake, the Bureau of Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said, but assured consumers that the volume affected is minimal and should not affect the market price of tilapia.

“Depleted level of dissolved oxygen in waters of Barangay Buso-buso and Gulod in Laurel and Barangay Bañaga in Agoncillo, Batangas triggered a fish kill reported on May 29. The total allowable number of fish cages in Taal Lake is 6,000 units. Of this, only 121 units or 2% were affected by the fish kill,” BFAR, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA), said in a statement.

“The DA-BFAR, while expresses regrets over the economic losses of those who are affected, is confident that the incident which hit only 2% of the total number of fish cages will not cause general surging of tilapia market price. The agency assures the public that supply of tilapia will not be severely disrupted,” it said.

The tilapia stock lost was over 600 metric ton (MT), amounting to a total of P43.13 million, according to the bureau.

Aside from the effect of heavy rain, sudden change of wind direction, and intense heat, overstocking of fish cages in the affected areas contributed to the incident.

BFAR has advised fish cage operators where dissolved oxygen level is down to start emergency harvest for tilapias that can still be sold and to use oxygen pumps or aerators to alleviate the extent of the fish kill.

“The DA-BFAR will continue to conduct water quality monitoring and will ensure that fish cage operators are properly advised and provided with the necessary technical assistance,” it said.

Meanwhile, militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) noted that this was the third fish kill to hit the area due to the same factors.

“Fish kill is becoming the norm in Taal Lake courtesy of unsustainable aquaculture practices, which includes the incessant drive of fishpen operators to increase the number and size of aquaculture structures beyond the carrying capacity of the lake,” Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA National Chairperson said in a statement.

“And its adverse effects are getting worse day by day, which can be seen on the increasing volume of fish killed every time this phenomenon occurs,” he added.

The group said this is an “ecological disturbance caused by the monopolization of aquaculture industry in Taal Lake without consideration of its limit” and called for the dismantling of a number of fish pens in the area owned by private individuals and big fishing companies.

PAMALAKAYA further said that priority should be given to the rights of the small fisherfolk who have been deprived of their traditional fishing grounds due to privatization. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Duterte asks CoA to allow P5M Marawi fund used for Hajj pilgrimage

PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte has asked the Commission on Audit (CoA) to “reconsider” its decision questioning the use of Marawi rehabilitation funds by the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) to sponsor the Hajj trip of some displaced residents of the war-torn city.

In his speech during the 2019 Eid’l Fitr Celebration in Davao City on Thursday night, Mr. Duterte said: “So I am asking CoA to reconsider. Ano ba naman ‘yang (What is) 5 million [pesos]? Actually that P5 million is worth billions in terms of your kind, I said generosity, to finance the poor people na (who are) Muslim para makapag-Hajj.”

He added that he himself does not have that amount should the CoA ask for a reimbursement and he would just have to go to jail.

“Over the years, it’s not a financing of a religious journey. Do not take it in that sense, that there is a separation of Church and State. Take it as a pacification campaign for, after all, natives man tayo dito (we are all natives here) and we were subjugated,” Mr. Duterte said.

In a statement on Friday, HUDCC Chairman Eduardo D. del Rosario said: “I am very grateful for the President’s expression of full support to TFBM’s (Task Force Bangon Marawi) sponsorship of 27 IDPs (internally displaced persons) to Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. This bespeaks well of the President’s deep understanding of the Islamic culture and its implications.”

“The President’s sterling leadership truly inspires and drives us to bring about more positive changes in public service,” he also said.

Mr. Duterte, in his speech, also vowed to “preserve the fragile peace” in Mindanao.

“Allow me to take this moment to assure you that this administration will endeavor to preserve the fragile peace that we have built in this region that I call home,” said the country’s first President to come from the southern islands.

“Allow me to take this moment to assure you that through the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, we will consistently uphold the rights and welfare of all Muslim Filipinos and, for that matter, for all Filipinos.” – Arjay L. Balinbin

6 Chinese arrested for kidnapping, bribery

THE NATIONAL Bureau of Investigation (NBI) reported on Friday that they nabbed six Chinese nationals for kidnapping fellow Chinese and bribing local agents.

The NBI-Cybercrime Division (CCD) reported that they “arrested three Chinese nationals on May 31, 2019 for Kidnapping and violation of Access Device Law.”

The suspects were identified as Junrong Jia, Xuejian Li, and Quijin Tian, who detained fellow Chinese nationals who were unable to pay debt incurred from gambling.

“These guys were apprehended by our Cybercrime Division based on the complaint of the relatives of the victims whom they abducted,” said NBI Deputy Director for Investigation Vicente A. De Guzman III in a press briefing.

“The ransom was ongoing when this was reported to our agents. Acting with dispatch, the agents proceeded to the casino and they coordinated with the officers. True enough, they saw in one of the rooms the victims,” said NBI Spokesman and Deputy Director Ferdinand M. Lavin.

In relation to the arrest, NBI said three other Chinese nationals tried to bribe the NBI-CCD agents for the release of the three kidnapping suspects.

“(W)hen the arrest process was being documented, the (other) three surfaced and tried to facilitate the release of the three others and bribed our agents for P1 million and our agents immediately hatched another operation to retract the givers,” said Mr. De Guzman.

The NBI arrested on June 1 Peter Lim Santos, Wang Liping, and Au Pang Liang on charges of Bribery and Corruption of Public Officials inside the NBI headquarters in Manila.

The NBI said the six will face the criminal charges here and will not be subject for deportation. — Gillian M. Cortez

Policies needed to boost ASEAN’s digital economy

DESPITE high participation in digitally-enhanced services trade among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) between 2010 and 2016, policies to improve broadband penetration are needed to boost economic growth, especially in the Philippines and Indonesia, according to the World Bank.

The World Bank’s “The Digital Economy in Southeast Asia — Strengthening the Foundations for Future Growth” report released on late Thursday said the Philippines was the one of the largest participants in digitally-enhanced services trade in the ASEAN in 2010-2016.

“Of the region’s larger middle-income countries, the Philippines grew to become the largest participant in this type of services trade, growing by 149% to overtake Malaysia, whose total trade grew by a more modest 36%,” it said.

“Levels of economic development partially explain the disparity among the ASEAN economies, but regulatory factors are quite significant. In particular, the broadband penetration level of countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines is below the expected level of countries at their comparable per capita income,” the report said.

The report said 90% of the internet users in the region are from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

It said the number of internet users in ASEAN increased to 390 million by end-2017 from 127 million in 2011.

“The Philippines ranks 126 out of the 182 countries measured by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) with entry-level fixed broadband prices at 7.53% level of GNI (gross national income) per capita. Indonesia ranks even lower at 133rd and its fixed broadband costs nearly 10% of GNI per capita despite offering a low speed of 0.25 mbps,” it said.

The World Bank said cooperation is needed as an integrated regional market will be more competitive than individual economies with overlapping or unclear regulations.

“From a wider perspective, no individual country is large enough to shape the direction of regulation on the digital economy, for example in areas such as taxation or data policy but collective and coordinated action based on a principle of openness would put the region in a much stronger position,” it said. — RJNI

Israeli envoy explores cooperation opportunities in tech, agri during Iloilo visit

ILOILO CITY — Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Rafael Harpaz visited Iloilo earlier this week to explore cooperation opportunities in line with its goal to strengthen ties with the Philippine through local partnerships in the regions.

In an interview following his meeting with Iloilo City Mayor Jose S. Espinosa III, Mr. Harpaz said they want to “widen their relations with the organizations and cities across the nation”.

“Our purpose is to deepen and widen our relations with Iloilo. We also want to explore and learn first what you have to offer as well as bring more Israelis here and also bring more Filipinos to Israel,” Mr. Harpaz added.

He cited technology, agriculture, and fisheries as the potential sectors for partnerships.

“There are a lot of areas that we can discuss… We can deepen our cooperation in technologies… It’s something that we want to widen and share our experiences with you,” he said.

Mr. Espinosa, for his part, said he wants the barangays to learn from Israel’s kibbutz, a collective community traditionally rooted in agriculture.

“I want the barangays to become self-sustaining. In Israel, they have this area called kibbutz… They have their system to make their villages self-sustaining. Imagine if we can get insights from them. For one, their hydroponics system promote agriculture without using soil. They have perfected it already,” the mayor said.

“Imagine if we can do something similar here in Iloilo City and develop some sort of independence and ingenuity, then barangays don’t need to depend on the city government and their internal revenue allotment (from the national government),” he added.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
The Israeli envoy also said there are employment opportunities for Filipino caregivers and tourism sector workers in their country.

“We need more caregivers. You have wonderful people or Ilonggos as you call them. We need them to come,” he said, noting that there are already a significant number of Filipinos caregivers in Israel.

“I would also like to thank the Philippines because we have so many caregivers from the Philippines, including from Iloilo, that takes care of our beloved parents and grandparents… We treat them well, they have their restaurants, churches, they get paid well and it’s something very important to us,” Mr. Harpaz said.

In the tourism sector, he said, “We are soon going to open opportunities for Filipinos… We signed a government-to-government agreement after President Rodrigo Duterte went to Israel, but I think it is still in the process of ratification,” he added.

Mr. Duterte went on a four-day state visit to Israel in September 2018.

With a population of just nine million, Mr. Harpaz said Israel needs more people who willhandle tourists in the Holy Land sites.

“We had 4.2 million tourists last year but we have only nine million people so who will take care of the tourists? … Our agreement is still in the process of ratification but I think the first 2,000 Filipinos can work in tourism and they can also visit as tourists,” he said.

On his impression of Iloilo City, the Israeli ambassador said he was impressed by the heritage buildings and wants to come back in January for the Dinagyang, Iloilo’s biggest annual festival.

“When I first came, I saw the architecture. I am inspired to come back here in January to witness your fiesta. The city has an amazing culture and it is something that we want to get more in Israel. It’s also a smoke-free city, which is very important,” he said. — Emme Rose S. Santiagudo

1...10,89710,89810,899...14,238Page 10,898 of 14,238
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube