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US military aid won’t provoke China, says Senate president

FILIPINO and American soldiers participate in war games at a recent Balikatan (shoulder to shoulder) military exercise. — PHILIPPINE STAR/WALTER BOLLOZOS

By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter

A $500-MILLION (P29.3 billion) aid from the United States to boost the Philippines’ military capabilities is unlikely to provoke China and worsen tensions in the South China Sea, according to the Philippine Senate president.

“I do not think this will provoke or agitate China because strengthening one’s own military… to keep the peace is the right and obligation of every country,” Senate President Francis G. Escudero said in a statement on Wednesday.

“This shows that we (the US and Philippines) are indeed friends and, more importantly, equal partners in maintaining peace and a rules-based approach to differences and disagreements,” he added.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III announced the new military funding on Tuesday in Manila after their 2 + 2 ministerial dialogue with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo and Defense Secretary Gilberto Eduardo C. Teodoro, Jr.

US President Joseph R. Biden, who signed the National Security Supplemental bill into law in April, had said it would help American allies “defend themselves against threats to their sovereignty and to the lives and freedom of their citizens.”

In April, Republican Senator Bill Hagerty and Democrat Senator Tim Kaine pushed a bill that increased US military aid for the Philippines to $500 million from $40 million over five fiscal years through 2029.

Mr. Escudero said boosting Philippine military forces would help secure peace in the region and would not ignite conflict.

US Senator Christopher Coons told Philippine media in May that he did not sign the bill as a co-sponsor due to “some debate about the absorption capacity of the Philippine military.”

The Philippines, one of the weakest in the world in terms of military capability, is important to Washington’s efforts to push back against China, which claims the South China Sea almost in its entirety.

In a separate statement, Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said the country’s outdated military equipment has held it back from establishing a “credible defense posture.”

“We gladly welcome all military assistance from our close allies and like-minded countries such as the US, Japan and the European Union,” he said.

The Senate in December passed a bill that seeks to boost the country’s defense program through investments in local defense equipment manufacturing. The measure will give the Department of National Defense P1 billion in seed funding.

China claims more than 80% of the South China Sea based on a 1940s map, which a United Nations-backed arbitration court voided in 2016 for being illegal.

The Philippines has failed to enforce the ruling and has since filed hundreds of protests over what it calls encroachment and harassment by China’s coast guard and its vast fishing fleet.

Both countries during a meeting in Manila on July 2 reached a “provisional arrangement” for Philippine resupply missions to Second Thomas Shoal.

They resumed talks to ease tensions in the waterway after accusing each other of raising tensions in disputed shoals and reefs in the South China Sea.

But Senate Minority Floor Leader Aquilino D. Pimentel III said the government should focus on getting investments in agriculture instead of military hardware.

“Why doesn’t America make an unprecedented investment in our agriculture sector?” he said in a statement. “Why [is it] always military hardware? And for all we know, they are giving us their surplus military hardware for already being obsolete.”

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in his third address to Congress on July 22 said the Philippines would continue to find ways to deescalate tensions in contested areas in the waterway “without compromising our position and our principles.”

Senate seeks halt to state’s jeepney modernization plan

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

PHILIPPINE senators have filed a resolution that seeks to suspend the government’s jeepney modernization program to avoid jeopardizing the livelihood of jeepney drivers and operators.

“There is an urgent need to thoroughly review and reassess the impact of the program to alleviate the fears of the drivers and transport operators who will be directly burdened by its implementation,” according to Senate Resolution No. 1096.

“More consideration and clarifications are needed to be made by the Department of Transportation in order to address the concerns voiced by affected stakeholders, especially the drivers.”

It is a sense of the Senate resolution, which expresses the chamber’s stance on the modernization issue.

Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel did not sign the resolution. Her office did not immediately reply to a Viber message asking why she did not sign it.

“The error of the Department of Transportation was to focus on consolidation and vehicle replacement rather than on route restructuring first,” Rene S. Santiago, a founding member of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines, told BusinessWorld in a Viber message.

Senate President Francis G. Escudero earlier sought to suspend the program since operators are finding it difficult to buy expensive modern jeepneys, which cost at least P2.6 million.

The deadline for jeepneys to consolidate into cooperatives lapsed on Dec. 31, but public utility vehicles had been allowed to keep operating until Jan 31 this year. The President later extended the deadline to April 30.

The modernization program started in 2017, aiming to replace traditional jeepneys with units that have at least a Euro 4-compliant engine to cut pollution.

Transport groups have asked the Supreme Court to halt the modernization program, which they said is illegal.

“These small stakeholders, particularly the drivers who remain unconsolidated are effectively forced out of their livelihoods, with most of them expressing that the only skill they have is driving,” the senators said in the resolution. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

NGCP raises yellow alert over Luzon

CAIQUE NASCIMENTO-UNSPLASH

THE NATIONAL Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) on Wednesday placed the Luzon grid under yellow alert after turbine failures at two coal-fired power plants.

The alert level was from 2-4 p.m. and from 5-10 p.m., according to a 1p.m. advisory.

Available capacity was 12,969 megawatts (MW), while peak demand hit 11,768 MW.

The grid operator said Sual coal-fired power plant unit 2 had tripped, due to a possible boiler tube leak.

GNPower Dinginin unit 2 started to ramp down at 11 a.m. and was targeted for emergency shutdown at 1 p.m. due to a boiler tube leak. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

P9.3M of substandard items seized

THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Wednesday said it had seized 9,428 noncompliant products, mostly household appliances, worth P9.3 million during an inspection of two warehouses in Plaridel, Bulacan on July 3.

Authorities seized 656 units of unbranded and uncertified items worth P638,852 from the first warehouse including helmets and visors, electric rice cookers, self-ballasted LED lamps, extension cord sets and electric food mixers, it said in a statement.

The larger haul valued at P8.7 million came from the second warehouse with 8,772 units of confiscated noncompliant electric rice cookers, induction cookers, electric ovens, electric blenders, washing machines, electric fans and electric multi-cookers. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

BoC told to fix tobacco smuggling

BW FILE PHOTO

A SENATOR on Wednesday urged the Bureau of Customs (BoC) to cut revenue leakages by boosting efforts against tobacco smuggling.

“The government needs to tackle illegal trade of cigarettes and other tobacco products as this weakens the government’s revenue collection goal and undermines the profitability of those who are legitimately doing business,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said in a statement.

The Philippine Supreme Court has upheld a 2021 decision that said the Food and Drug Administration has the power to regulate the health aspect of tobacco products. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

Repeal of POGO law pushed

SENATOR Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva on Wednesday said he would ask Congress and President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to prioritize a bill that seeks to repeal a law that legalized Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) by taxing these.

“If I’d be given a chance to talk to the President, I would appeal to him to make this a priority,” he told a news briefing.

He said he would ask the Senate president to fast-track the approval of the measure.

Mr. Marcos on July 22 ordered a total ban on POGOs, citing their links to crimes. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

Report POGO workers, public urged

PHILIPPINE STAR/RYAN BALDEMOR

FILIPINOS should help state efforts to apprehend illegal workers in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) by reporting them, a congressman said on Wednesday.

In a statement, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace S. Barbers also urged all POGO workers to surrender to authorities after a presidential ban imposed last week.

“The public… may use various social media platforms or report directly to concerned local government units, immigration and law enforcement agents about the presence of underground POGO offices and workers in their respective localities,” he said. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Typhoon Carina death toll hits 39

PAGASA.DOST.GOV.PH

THE DEATH toll from Super Typhoon Carina (Gaemi) has reached 39, the local disaster agency said on Wednesday.

Infrastructure and farm damage has exceeded P5 billion, it said in a report.

Agricultural losses hit P1.082 billion in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the Cordillera Administrative Region, the agency said.

Infrastructure damage reached P4.09 billion with more than 2,000 houses in 15 regions damaged, it said.

About 5.3 million people from 1.4 million families had been affected, it added. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

DepEd, partners to boost literacy

PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

THE DEPARTMENT of Education (DepEd) aims to end a learning crisis in the Philippines through a partnership with several advocacy groups.

DepEd is working with World Vision Development Foundation, Angat Buhay Foundation, Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) and Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) to reach a goal of using over a million literacy advocates by 2040 to ensure at least 10 million Filipino students achieve appropriate reading levels.

“It is critical that we prioritize literacy, as it is the gateway for learning and success,” PBEd Chairman Ramon R. Del Rosario said in a statement on Wednesday. “If we do not address this fundamental issue, we risk having future generations of Filipinos facing illiteracy and incompetence, which would have far-reaching and detrimental effects on our nation’s progress.” — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

Flood control project pushed

Residents wade through the flood caused by Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon on July 24, 2024. — PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

THE GOVERNMENT should build flood water infrastructure that would divert water from the Sierra Madre Mountain range away from Metro Manila, Public Works Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan told congressmen on Wednesday.

“The main component [of the flood management project]… is how we can mitigate the flow of floodwaters from the watershed of Sierra Madre that would go through Metro Manila,” he said at a House of Representatives hearing.

The project would cost about P351.2 billion, according to a presentation by Mr. Bonoan. Of the amount, P198.44 billion will fund the construction and improvement of flood infrastructure along the Pasig River and Marikina River. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Teachers’ groups under guardianship

THE INSURANCE Commission (IC) has placed the Teachers Association of Pangasinan, Dagupan City and San Carlos City Mutual Benefit Association, Inc. and Pangasinan Public School Teachers Mutual Benefit Association, Inc. under conservatorship.

Both had failed to submit their annual statements for the first quarter, the regulator said in separate notices on July 30.

The first group also failed to set up a guaranty fund by depositing with the commissioner an initial minimum amount of P5 million, the IC said. — Aaron Michael C. Sy

Motorcycle riders die in accident

COTABATO CITY — Three women riding separate motorcycles died instantly while five others were hurt in a road accident in Saravia village in Koronadal City late Tuesday.

In a report, the Koronadal City Police Office said the victims were hit by a pick-up truck of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources while they were driving through a stretch of the Koronadal-General Santos Highway in Purok Ilang-ilang in Saravia. — John Feix M. Unson