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Only 10% of 1M housing units ready in 2024 

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. (2nd from left) looks at the model of a housing project in San Fernando City, Pampanga on July 3, 2023. — PHILIPPINE STAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES

THE MARCOS administration might be able to distribute only 100,000 housing units next year under the government’s housing program, which has a target of building a million units per year, according to the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).  

“I think we can already deliver more than a hundred thousand by next year because some are still being constructed,” DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar told reporters on the sidelines of an inspection of a housing project site in San Ferdinando City, Pampanga on Monday.  

He said construction work is taking more time as vertical housing units are more difficult to build than horizontal row houses. “Some are 12-storey, the others are 25-storey. If it’s 25-storey, the construction could last for almost two years and if it is 12-storey, it’s one year and a half.”  

President Marcos, Jr. has set a goal of building six million housing units during his six-year term under the so-called Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH) Project, listed as one of his government’s flagship programs.  

Mr. Acuzar said searching for idle lands is among the major difficulties facing the department in implementing the program.   

He also cited delays in the bidding process.  

“We could probably achieve one million [houses] in the pipeline,” he said. “It’s not that fast to accomplish projects. We will still plan it, look for lands, and there’s this bidding process especially if it is a local government property.”  

“If you bid that, it might take six months for the documentation,” he added. “That’s why our government is looking for ways to fast-track the bidding process.”  

Still, the goal of having six million houses by the end of Mr. Marcos’ six-year term is achievable, Mr. Acuzar said.

He said at least 20 housing projects are already being constructed in different parts of the country. “In a year’s time, we might construct 50 projects.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

CA affirms Ombudsman ruling vs immigration officials linked to scam

By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter  

THE COURT of Appeals (CA) has upheld an Ombudsman ruling that found immigration officers guilty of grave misconduct over their involvement in a scheme that extorted money from Chinese nationals in exchange for seamless entry to the country.  

In a 28-page decision dated June 29 and made public on July 3, the CA Fifth Division agreed with the Ombudsman’s findings of evidence that showed an elaborate plan to extort money from the Chinese citizens, and testimonies implicating four of the officers.  

The accused in the case are five of the 45 immigration officers who were dismissed due to grave neglect of duty and misconduct.  

“The testimonies that were based on the immigration officer’s personal knowledge and experience, to the court, constitute reasonable and substantial grounds to believe that they were part of and involved in the pastillas scheme,” the tribunal said. 

The rolls of money received by the agents were made to look like a Filipino treat called pastillas, from which the scheme got its name.  

One of the officers was found guilty of simple neglect of duty and was sentenced to a six-month suspension without pay.

The court said that while the officer’s participation was not directly mentioned in the testimonies, he failed to perform his duty as his “lackadaisical attitude fell short of the reasonable diligence, due care, and prudence required of him.” 

Last year, the Justice department dismissed 18 immigration officers based on its own investigation of the scam. 

In 2020, Senator Risa N. Hontiveros-Baraquel led a Senate investigation of the scam. A whistleblower from the Immigration bureau testified at a hearing that the Chinese nationals involved in the scheme had been blacklisted from the country and entered through a “special arrangement.”   

MRT-3 fare hike petition refiled

PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS

A FARE hike petition for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) has been refiled after a technical lapse in a previous filing, Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Cesar B. Chavez said on Monday.  

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) denied the previous proposal after the MRT-3 management failed to issue a notice of public hearing on time.  

“It can be recalled that MRT-3’s fare hike petition was deferred due to infirmities in complying with the requirements and procedure,” the DoTr said in a press release. 

According to DoTr Assistant Secretary for Railways and MRT-3 Officer-in-Charge Jorjette B. Aquino, the MRT-3 management petitioned for a P2.29 increase in boarding fare, or a 21-centavo increase per kilometer.  

The proposed fare hike is similar to what was approved for Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines 1 and 2.  

“Like the LRT-1 and LRT-2, no fare adjustment was approved for the MRT-3 for the last eight years,” Mr. Chavez said in a statement.  

The current boarding fare at the MRT is P11, while the distance fare is a peso per kilometer. If the proposal is approved, the boarding fare will become P13.29, while the distance fare will be P1.21 per kilometer.  

Last month, the DoTr approved a fare hike for LRT Lines 1 and 2, which will take effect by Aug. 2.    

Ms. Aquino previously said that the fare adjustment will go towards enhancing services, amenities, and technical capabilities of the two commuter lines.  

The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), operator of LRT lines 1 and 2, plans to allocate about P110 million, or about 97% of the projected P114 million in additional rail revenue, for maintenance, operating expenses, and repair and upkeep of crucial rail systems and facilities. — Justine Irish D. Tabile 

Bill seeks to create railway agency

JOHANNES PLENIO-UNSPLASH

A LAWMAKER has filed a bill that would create a regulating authority for railways nationwide.  

House Bill No. 8510 aims to “rationalize and streamline the regulatory functions over railways by creating a single and unified regulatory body,” Bagong Henerasyon Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy said in the bill’s explanatory note.  

The proposed agency will be called the Railways Industry Authority of the Philippines.  

Ms. Herrera-Dy cited the Philippine Development Plan, which identifies key challenges to transport connectivity and safety including poor infrastructure, inconsistent regulation, and inefficient operations.  

The bill also proposes to create the Railways Industry Board, with the Transportation secretary as chair. The board will also have a representative from the private sector.   

The proposed body will be in charge of issuing and revoking certificates and franchises for railway infrastructure.   

If enacted into law, the regulatory body would take in the powers and functions of the Light Rail Transit Authority and the Philippine National Railways. It will be an agency attached under the Transportation department.    

Funding will come from the national budget. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

UNDP launches 2nd digital center in Bangsamoro region 

DIRECTOR Fausiah K. Romancap-Abdula of the BARMM Ministry of the Interior and Local Government, Lanao del Sur Vice Governor Mohammad Khalid “Mujam” Raki-in Adiong, Piagapo Mayor Ali L. Sumandar, and UNDP Philippines Resident Representative Selva Ramachandran at the first #DigitalBangsamoro Center inauguration in June 2023. — UNDP.ORG

THE UNITED Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched its second digital center in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to help improve access to public services.   

This initiative is under the Localizing e-Governance for Accelerated Provision of Services (LeAPS) program, which is a partnership between the UNDP and the Bangsamoro government. 

It aims to “simplify business processes, thus improving the quality and speed of local public services and making these more accessible to the Bangsamoro people.”   

The digital center was established in Butig, Lanao del Sur. The first center was put up in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur.  

“The program also targets to overcome the reliance on outdated, paper-based, and manual processes within and among the local government units in the region,” the UNDP added.  

The project includes an interactive call center and web portal for public services, among others. 

“The digital center, powered by a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) and a dedicated generator, will accelerate the delivery of frontline services to the residents of Butig and improve their experience in making public service transactions. As an initial offering, the center will offer the processing of business permit applications and requests for certificates of live birth,” the UNDP said.   

Citizens will be able to “easily access public information or transact through the provision of various frontline services like birth certificate registration, business permit application, and others.”  

LeAPs aims to cover 116 municipalities, two cities, and all barangays in BARMM. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Alleged NPA fund raiser nabbed 

KORONADAL CITY — The police has caught a woman facing more than a dozen cases in different courts for allegedly helping raise funds for communist armed groups.  

The 41-year-old suspect, who is from Cagayan de Oro City and was an employee of a non-government organization, was arrested on Saturday in Kalamansig town in Sultan Kudarat by combined police units from the Northern Mindanao and Soccsksargen regions.   

Soccsksargen Regional Office Director Jimili L. Macaraeg told reporters Monday they did not immediately announce the arrest to give local tipsters who helped locate her in Kalamansig enough time to temporarily relocate to other areas for safety.  

Mr. Macaraeg said the suspect moved out of Cagayan de Oro and hid in Kalamansig after authorities filed criminal cases against her in different courts in Northern Mindanao.  

She was tagged as “bagwoman” or handler of funds for groups in the region of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the communist movement in the Philippines.   

Authorities said parts of the funds came from solicitations for their community projects for impoverished communities. 

The suspect is now detained in Cagayan de Oro while awaiting court proceedings. — John M. Unson

Workers continue to be harassed by state forces — Rights group 

A mural in Paco, Manila is seen on May 16, 2022. — PHILIPPINE STAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES

TRADE unions are still being harassed and baselessly tagged as communists by state forces during President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s first year in office, a human rights group said on Monday.  

“Despite the calls for livable wages and lower prices of basic commodities, the state’s answer has been terror-tagging against human rights defenders and harassment and dismissal of the calls of unionists,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) – Timog Katagalugan spokesperson Kyle Salgado said in a livestreamed press briefing.  

“It is as if the state is penalizing freedom of association — counter to its commitments to the International Labor Association and the United Nations.” 

Carol Claudio, the executive assistant of Presidential Communications Office chief Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil, did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.  

Mr. Salgado cited cases of military officers allegedly taking the personal information of union members based in the Calabarzon region, which were tactics supposedly used to tag them as terrorists and communists.  

This comes after International Labor Organization (ILO) Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo’s visit to the Philippines last week, where he met with labor groups, employers’ representatives, Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma and Migrant Workers Secretary Maria Susanna V. Ople.  

He met with Mr. Marcos Jr. the following day, with the two agreeing to collaborate to address labor issues. 

Labor groups have called on the government to amend Executive Order 23, which created an inter-agency body to investigate incidents targeting trade unionists.  

In February, a team of ILO representatives met with trade unions and government officials to discuss human rights violations against workers and union organizers.  

That month, trade unions submitted a joint report to the ILO mission on labor rights violations, saying the government has consistently failed to comply with ILO conventions on freedom of association and the right to organize. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

Coronavirus cases drop 20%; DoH to use 4-month TB treatment 

Commuters pass through an overpass connecting the LRT Lines 1 and 2 in Manila. — PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

THE PHILIPPINES posted 2,747 COVID-19 infections in the previous week with a daily average of 392, according to health authorities. 

The daily average from June 19 to 25 was 20% lower than the average cases per day from a week earlier, the Department of Health (DoH) said in a bulletin.  

It said there were 32 severe and critical cases, accounting for 1.17% of the cases during the same period. 

The DoH also reported two new deaths but said these did not occur from June 19 to July 2.   

It said 273 out of 1,998 intensive care unit (ICU) beds had been used as of July 2, while 3,010 out 17,026 of non-ICU beds had been occupied.   

There were 442 severe and critical admissions, it added.  

TB TREATMENT
Meanwhile, the Health department said it will shorten the treatment plan for tuberculosis (TB) to four months from six months by the third quarter of the year.  

“We want to implement this short course of four-month therapy by the 3rd quarter of 2023,” Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa said at a news conference streamed live on Facebook, citing the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation.  

“WHO has recommended us to adopt the four-month treatment for regimen–which is two months of a certain list of drugs, and another two months of another set of drugs,” he said. 

The high number of tuberculosis cases in the Philippines was largely due to social determinants, Mr. Herbosa said, citing the refusal to avail services under the government’s TB-DOTS program, stigma, and lack of decent housing which quickens transmissions.   

The DoH chief said several technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), will be used by the department in addressing the tuberculosis problem.  

“We will use artificial intelligence in TB detection by radiographs that can be read by AI.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Enhanced healthcare for Filipinos

Atty Alloysius R. Yebra, Executive Vice President and Head of Healthcare Division

Cocolife Healthcare’s new leader envisions improved health insurance accessibility for families

A new leadership will take on Cocolife Healthcare, who will maintain the values and service of the insurance company in reaching more Filipinos and attending to their health insurance needs.

Atty. Alloysius R. Yebra, executive vice-president and head of Healthcare Division, is looking forward to fulfilling the leadership role to the best of his abilities.

Considering that a leader should lead by example, Atty. Yebra said that he would “remain committed to fulfilling Cocolife’s mission, which is to bring the best possible product and service to each and every Filipino.”

“Cocolife prides itself on taking care of its people, from our valued clients, their loved ones, to our very own members and employees. Guided by Cocolife’s core values of reliability, excellence, teamwork, integrity, and empathy, I will strive to continue to be of service as best I can,” he said.

Atty. Yebra’s vision is for health insurance to be part of every Filipino family, especially the insurance solutions of Cocolife Healthcare.

“I want every Filipino to associate reliable and accessible health insurance with Cocolife. In order to achieve this, I will work hard to ensure that our clients receive the best possible service. I will work on coordinating regarding customer feedback, analysis of market trends, and implementation of solutions,” he shared.

Meanwhile, for the people working at Cocolife Healthcare, Atty. Yebra looks to develop a culture of innovation by tapping the talents in the division.

A provider of various insurance products related to health, Cocolife Healthcare offers life, accident, and health insurance plans; hospitalization plans; and medical reimbursement programs, among others.

“Cocolife Healthcare should be the choice of clients due to its versatility in terms of our portfolio of offerings and our vast network of accredited service providers and facilities nationwide. We are committed to providing the best health insurance service to every Filipino,” Atty. Yebra said.

Seeing the accelerated shift towards e-commerce during the new normal, Cocolife Healthcare, along with the entire Cocolife Group, underwent digitalization to address customers’ changing needs. Going digital is also among the company’s initiatives to make insurance, including healthcare, more accessible to Filipinos.

Also, Cocolife made improvements in its Healthcare Call Center and is focused on fostering good relationships with its brokers and agents.

In terms of creating new insurance offerings, one can be assured that Cocolife is constantly monitoring the markets when it innovates products, in order to respond effectively to its clients’ needs.

“The entire Cocolife Group is continually studying and monitoring the market’s needs to come up with innovative solutions to best address our clients’ preferences,” Atty. Yebra said.

Atty. Yebra also expects a significant growth for the country’s healthcare sector in the following years. He is optimistic that Cocolife Healthcare will play a part in making this expansion happen through adapting to the people’s needs and enhancing their processes for better efficiency of their service.

“With our vast network of accredited service providers and facilities nationwide, we will continue to make healthcare more accessible to Filipinos from all walks of life,” Atty. Yebra emphasized.

“We, at Cocolife, will remain committed to providing quality insurance products and services that each Filipino deserves. We will continue to build a better nation and empower as many people as possible to achieve a more healthy and financially secure future.”

Learn more about Cocolife Healthcare’s reliable services by visiting www.cocolife.com/products/healthcare/.

 

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Improving business mood signals Japan on track for steady economic recovery

A STAFF MEMBER works at the Uniqlo flagship store in Tokyo in this April 9, 2015 file photo. — REUTERS

TOKYO — Japanese business sentiment improved in the second quarter as raw material costs peaked and removal of pandemic curbs lifted consumption, a central bank survey showed, a sign the economy was on course for a steady recovery.

Companies expect to increase capital expenditure and project inflation to stay above the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) 2% target five years ahead, the quarterly “tankan” showed on Monday, offering policymakers hope that conditions for phasing out their massive monetary stimulus may be gradually falling into place.

“The tankan confirmed our view that Japan’s economy is on track for a moderate recovery,” said Atsushi Takeda, chief economist at Itochu Economic Research Institute.

“While input prices have declined, output prices continue to rise in a sign that companies are being able to pass on costs. That’s a good sign for the BoJ’s inflation outlook and may prod the bank to tweak its yield control policy later this year.”

The headline index measuring big manufacturers’ mood stood at plus 5 in June, bouncing back from a two-year low of plus 1 hit in March in a sign that firms were recovering from the hit from rising raw material costs and supply disruptions.

The reading, which compared with a median market forecast for plus 3, was the highest since December 2022.

Non-manufacturers’ sentiment index improved to plus 23 in June from plus 20 three months ago, increasing for the fifth straight quarter and hitting the highest level since June 2019.

An index gauging the mood among hotels and restaurants hit the highest level on record as removal of COVID curbs boosted tourism demand, the survey showed.

The results helped push up Japan’s Nikkei share average on optimism over the economic outlook.

Large firms plan to ramp up capital expenditure by 13.4% in the current fiscal year ending in March 2024, exceeding a median market forecast for a 10.1% rise.

Companies expect the dollar to average 132.43 yen during the current fiscal year ending in March 2024, the survey showed, far lower than recent levels around 144.50 yen.

While the weak yen boosts exporters’ profits, it may hurt retailers and service-sector firms vulnerable to the rising cost of food and energy imports.

Big manufacturers expect business conditions to improve three months ahead, while non-manufacturers project a deterioration on worries over high costs, the tankan showed.

The tankan is among data closely watched by the BoJ, which will release fresh quarterly growth and inflation forecasts after a policy meeting on July 27-28.

While inflation has exceeded its 2% goal for more than a year, BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda has repeatedly stressed the need to keep monetary policy ultra-loose until wages increase enough to keep price growth sustainably around the target.

The tankan showed corporate inflation expectations moderate in June from three months ago, but remaining above the BoJ’s target five years down the road.

Companies expect inflation to hit 2.6% a year from now, down from a 2.8% projection made in March, and 2.2% in three years, also lower than 2.3% in March. They see inflation at 2.1% five years from now, unchanged from the projection in March. 

Japan’s economy grew an annualized 2.7% in the first quarter and analysts expect it to continue expanding, as a post-pandemic pickup in domestic spending offset headwinds to exports from slowing global growth. — Reuters

Thailand sees 12.5M visitors so far in 2023 as tourism recovers

REUTERS

BANGKOK — Thailand has welcomed 12.46 million foreign tourists so far this year, with Malaysia, China and Russia the top three source markets, according to the latest government figures.

Thailand is targeting 25 million foreign tourists for the whole year, with Chinese visitors seen at 5 million, it said in a statement released on Sunday, which cited figures from Jan. 1 to June 25.

The Southeast Asian country, for years one of Asia’s most popular travel destinations, received a record of nearly 40 million foreign tourists in pre-pandemic 2019 before authorities imposed two years of crippling COVID-19 curbs.

The tourism sector, a key source of Thailand’s jobs and growth, picked up in 2022 with 11.15 million visitors, after most restrictions were removed in the second half of the year. — Reuters

Musk’s Twitter rate limits could undermine new CEO, ad experts say

AKSHAR DAVE-UNSPLASH

ELON Musk’s move to temporarily cap how many posts Twitter users can read on the social media site could undermine efforts by the company’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Linda Yaccarino to attract advertisers, marketing industry professionals said.

Mr. Musk announced Saturday that Twitter would limit how many tweets per day various accounts can read, to discourage “extreme levels” of data scraping and system manipulation.

Users posted screenshots in reply, showing they were unable to see any tweets, including tweets on the pages of corporate advertisers, after hitting the limit.

Ad industry veterans said the move creates an obstacle for Ms. Yaccarino, the former NBCUniversal advertising chief who started last month as Twitter’s chief executive officer.

Ms. Yaccarino has sought to repair relationships with advertisers who pulled away from the site after Mr. Musk bought it last year, the Financial Times reported last week.

The limits are “remarkably bad” for users and advertisers already shaken by the “chaos” Mr. Musk has brought to the platform, Mike Proulx, research director at Forrester, said on Sunday.

“The advertiser trust deficit that Linda Yaccarino needs to reverse just got even bigger. And it cannot be reversed based on her industry credibility alone,” he said.

Lou Paskalis, the founder of advertising consultancy AJL Advisory and former marketing boss at Bank of America, said Ms. Yaccarino is Mr. Musk’s “last best hope” to salvage ad revenue and the company’s value.

“This move signals to the marketplace that he’s not capable of empowering her to save him from himself,” he said.

Under the new cap, unverified accounts were initially limited to 600 posts a day with new unverified accounts limited to 300. Verified accounts could read 6,000 posts a day, Mr. Musk said in a post on the site.

Hours later, he said the cap was raised to 10,000 posts per day for verified users, 1,000 per day for unverified and 500 posts per day for new unverified users.

A Twitter spokesperson did not reply to requests for comment and inquiries about how long the restrictions will last on Sunday.

Capping how much users can view could be “catastrophic” for the platform’s ad business, said Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence.

“This certainly isn’t going to make it any easier to convince advertisers to return. It’s a hard sell already to bring advertisers back,” she said.

The limit came soon after Twitter began requiring users to log into an account on the social media platform to view tweets, which Mr. Musk called a “temporary emergency measure” to combat data scraping.

Mr. Musk had earlier expressed displeasure with artificial intelligence (AI) firms like OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, for using Twitter’s data to train their large language models.

Platforms including Reddit and major news media organizations have complained about AI companies using their information to train AI models as some have sought fees.

Kai-Cheng Yang, researcher at Indiana University in Bloomington, said that the limits appeared to be effective in blocking third parties, including search engines, from scraping Twitter data like before.

“It might still be possible, but the methods would be much more sophisticated and much less efficient,” he said. — Reuters

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