Batangas declared free of bird flu after Dec. outbreak

June 20, 2023 | 8:42 pm

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has declared Batangas as free from type H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), or bird flu.

The all-clear was issued via a memorandum circular signed by Senior Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban on June 16.

The province had one confirmed HPAI outbreak detected in Barangay Sabang, Ibaan on Dec. 14 following RT-PCR testing, affecting chickens and ducks.

According to the DA, the Batangas government and Ibaan municipality worked with DA Regional Field Office IV-A and the Bureau of Animal Industry to depopulate, clean, and disinfect the affected area, while conducting surveillance around nearby farms.

“Continued disease monitoring and surveillance in the 1-km and 7-km surveillance zones surrounding the affected farms yielded negative test results for influenza type A virus,” the DA said.

According to the guidelines of the World Organization for Animal Heath, a country or zone may be declared AI-free 28 days after the completion of depopulation, disinfection of the last affected establishment, and no signs of infection observed after surveillance.

According to the DA, more than 90 days have elapsed since the end of the cleaning and disinfection stage with negative results on all tests.

The province was the fifth-leading producer of chicken in 2022 at 98.81 thousand metric tons, accounting for 5.28% of national production, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The DA also declared Ilocos Sur, Rizal province, Quezon province and South Cotabato free of bird flu earlier this year. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

PHL moving to devolve EITI functions

June 20, 2023 | 8:42 pm

nickel-ore minerals-mining — Trucks load rocks and soil containing nickel ore minerals into a barge in the mining town of Sta Cruz in Zambales, Feb. 8, 2017. — REUTERS

THE Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is being devolved to sub-national government agencies in line with a broader effort to push the National Government (NG) functions out to local government units (LGUs), the Department of Finance (DoF) said.

“PH-EITI is in the process of sub-nationalizing the implementation of EITI processes, leveraging ongoing devolution efforts post-Mandanas, and strengthening mechanisms that will allow for a more responsive extractive governance,” the DoF said in a statement.

The Mandanas ruling was a Supreme Court decision expanding the LGU share of NG revenue, to which the NG responded by farming out more of its responsibilities to the local level, commensurate with LGUs’ enhanced resources.

“In the coming months, the PH-EITI will improve its online mainstreaming systems to integrate data from industry, National Government agencies, and local government agencies,” it said.

“On top of this, feedback and grievance mechanisms will also be established to address mining-related issues and inform multi-stakeholder actions moving forward,” it added.

EITI also recently launched new standards to enhance revenue collection, corruption deterrence, and mitigate the social and environmental impacts of the extractives industry.

“The EITI Standard has subsequently evolved to respond to stakeholder needs and a changing global context. Now in its fourth edition, the 2023 EITI Standard includes several new and refined provisions that enable countries to respond to the most pressing challenges that concern natural resource governance today,” it said on its website.

Counties conforming to the EITI seek to enhance the transparency of extractive industries like oil and gas companies and miners, by holding them to a standard of disclosure for their activities, the revenue they generate, and the community impact of their operations. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

RCEF finances distribution of 2 million bags of seed ahead of El Niño

June 20, 2023 | 8:42 pm

THE Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) said the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Seed Program has financed the distribution of about two million bags of seed, including early-maturing varieties, in anticipation of the El Niño dry spell.

PhilRice said the early-maturing varieties were tapped to help farmers harvest before any El Niño-induced droughts intensify.

“Early-maturing varieties have better probability of ‘escaping’ the drought that the El Niño may cause in the last quarter of the year,” said Flordeliza H. Bordey, director of the RCEF Program Management Office at PhilRice.

PhilRice said farmers received a variety of Green Super Rice known as National Seed Industry Council Registration Certificate 480, (NSIC Rc 480) which matures in 107 days and yields an average of 3.2-4.4 tons per hectare (t/ha) in a rain-fed ecosystem.

Meanwhile, certified seed NSIC Rc 27, known as Katihan 3, has been also delivered. The variety is considered optimized for upland areas.

“With 2.7-4.3t/ha yield in upland conditions, NSIC Rc 27 also matures in 107 days,” PhilRice said.

Eligible farmers — those listed in the Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture — will also receive other varieties with similar maturity characteristics, including NSIC Rc 222 (Tubigan 18), NSIC Rc 436 (Tubigan 47), and NSIC Rc 440 (Tubigan 39).

The PhilRice El Niño task force recommends the use of early-maturing varieties, water-saving technologies, the practice of crop diversification, and taking out crop insurance. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Marcos cites progress in ties with China as far as fishing activities go

June 20, 2023 | 8:33 pm

PBBM-Marcos — PHILIPPINE STAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Tuesday said the Philippines and China have made progress in coordinating fishing activities in the South China Sea.

“We are making some progress in that regard,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an Agriculture event, adding that the two countries have started coordinating on China’s yearly fishing ban.

He made the remarks after a Chinese Navy vessel reportedly tailed a multi-mission offshore civilian patrol vessel in a Philippine-claimed area of the waterway last week.

Mr. Marcos said the fact that the Chinese vessel did not block and only tailed the Philippine patrol vessel is an improvement in itself.

“These things do not come very quickly,” he said. “But we are slowly making progress because the key to that is the improved communication between the Philippine government and Chinese government.”

Mr. Marcos said he’s “continuing to talk” to the Chinese government and President Xi Jinping “in every way” to avoid a clash between Filipino fishermen and Chinese authorities in the area.

At the weekend, an official from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said Filipino fishermen could increase their catch if there were no aggressive Chinese activities.

BFAR spokesman Naz Briguera told a media forum the agency did not want to downplay the significance of the South China Sea in the country’s fish production and food security. Philippine-claimed areas contributed 6% to fishery output in 2022, he said.

Meanwhile, the presidential palace said Mr. Marcos had ordered the Agriculture department and BFAR to come up with studies on the rehabilitation and maintenance of the country’s marine habitats “to address illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.”

The president issued the order at a June 13 meeting, where he cited the need for the Philippines to comply with international commitments, particularly to the European Union on preventing illegal fishing.

“He also highlighted the importance of addressing the concerns of fishery stakeholders by using a science-based approach in managing marine resources,” the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement.

POLITICAL WEIGHT
Also on Tuesday, Senator Ana Theresia “Risa” N. Hontiveros-Baraquel said her proposal for a United Nations (UN) intervention to stop Chinese harassment of Philippine Coast Guard vessels could influence international norms and policies.

“A UN General Assembly resolution has the potential to hone international norms and influence even national policies of its member-nations, whether it’s the Philippines, China, or others,” she told an online news briefing.

She said a UN resolution could guide other UN specialized agencies and regional organizations like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on how it approaches the sea dispute.

“Although not legally binding, [the proposed UN resolution] has political weight and serves as an expression of the will and consensus of the international community,” she added.

The senator has filed a resolution urging the Philippine government through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to sponsor a resolution before the UN General Assembly asking China to stop harassing the Philippine Coast Guard in the disputed waterway.

Beijing’s “blunt refusal to accept its legal fate should have serious consequences,” Ms. Hontiveros said in Filipino.

China claims more than 80% of the South China Sea, which is believed to contain massive oil and gas deposits and through which billions of dollars in trade passes each year.

UN intervention would serve Philippine interests but “could harden the position of China,” Rommel C. Banlaoi, director of the Center for Intelligence and National Security Studies at the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, said in a Viber message.

The dispute could be resolved peacefully through direct consultations and negotiations, he added.

China has ignored the 2016 ruling by a United Nations-backed arbitration court that voided its claim based on a 1940s map.

The Philippines has been unable 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.

Last week, civilian vessel BRP Malapascua was shadowed by vessels of the Chinese Coast Guard.

The Philippines sent 262 note verbales to China from 2016 to 2021, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in January. It had filed 68 diplomatic protests under the government of Mr. Marcos.

Manila has placed navigational buoys within its exclusive economic zone to assert sovereignty over the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea, a coast guard spokesperson said on Sunday.

The step comes amid China’s increased assertiveness in the South China Sea as the Philippines pursues warmer ties with treaty ally the United States.

The Philippine Coast Guard set up five buoys carrying the national flag on May 10 to 12 in five areas within the 200-mile (322-km) zone, including Whitsun Reef, where hundreds of Chinese maritime vessels moored in 2021.

In May 2022, the Philippine Coast Guard installed five navigational buoys on four islands in the Spratlys.

In February, it released a video showing the Chinese Coast Guard’s use of a military-grade laser to harass a Philippine ship supporting resupply mission at the Second Thomas Shoal, which is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

The coast guard has called China’s use of laser “a clear violation of Philippine sovereign rights.” China has rejected the claim, saying the use of laser was meant to “ensure navigation safety.”

Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the Spratlys, where China has dredged sand to build islands on reefs and equipped them with missiles and runways.

DFA has not replied to an e-mail seeking comment. — with Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Philippine court blocks testimony in Marcos ill-gotten wealth case

June 20, 2023 | 8:32 pm

Ferdinand_Marcos — SPEC. 4 DINO BARTOMUCCI

THE PHILIPPINES’ anti-graft court has rejected a government plea to allow it to present a new witness in an ill-gotten wealth case against business associates of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr. and his wife Imelda.

In a seven-page resolution dated June 13, the Sandiganbayan Third Division barred state prosecutors from having a stenographer identify stenographic notes from a 2019 case, which is based on a similar set of facts, since it violated the defendant’s right to due process.

“To permit the plaintiff now to introduce the testimonies… through mere identification of their transcript of stenographic notes by an officer of the Third Division would unduly deprive herein defendants their right to be confronted at the trial by and to cross-examine the witnesses against them,” Associate Justice Lorifel Lacap Pahumna said, citing the 2019 Sandiganbayan case.

The Marcos family’s business associates were accused of buying shares of Eastern Telecommunications Philippines, Inc. so they could serve as dummies to acquire ill-gotten wealth.

In 2019, the anti-graft court ordered a different set of Marcos associates to return their shares in the telecommunication company and in other investment firms to the government, saying these were ill-gotten.
State prosecutors filed the motion since they could not get the nine witnesses to testify in court since they have either passed away, have gone abroad or were unwilling to testify.

“Needles to state, the instant case and Civil Case No. 009 are closely related or interwoven as they both seek the ill-gotten nature of the shares,” the court said. “Yet, the defendants herein were not impleaded nor involved in the proceedings in Civil Case No. 009.”

In February, the Sandiganbayan junked an ill-gotten wealth case against other business associates of the Marcos family for insufficient evidence.

The Presidential Commission on good government (PCGG) had accused them of illegally accumulating funds and properties.

A popular street uprising toppled the dictator’s regime in February 1986, forcing him and his family to flee into exile in the United States.

That same year, his successor, the late Corazon C. Aquino set up the PCGG to go after ill-gotten assets of the elder Marcos, his family and cronies that were amassed during his two-decade rule.
His son and namesake is now the Philippine president.

The Sandiganbayan last month denied the Marcos family’s appeal to regain control of some frozen bank accounts and properties seized by the government.

Experts have said an unfavorable judgment against the Marcoses could lead to a constitutional crisis since law enforcers are under the president.

In 2003, the Philippine Supreme Court awarded the Philippine government $658 million (P37 billion) of the dictator’s frozen Swiss bank deposits. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

New Omicron form may cause severe infection in seniors

June 20, 2023 | 8:31 pm

THE OMICRON subvariant FE.1 might severe infection among the Philippines’ vulnerable population including the elderly, an infectious disease expert said on Tuesday.

The FE.1 subvariant, which was first detected in the Philippines recently, is likely similar to the XBB lineage, Rontgene M. Solante, a member of the Health department’s technical advisory group, told a news briefing.

“There are specific mutations in FE.1, they call it mutations of interest that are very similar to XBB,” he said in mixed English and Filipino, noting that XBB variants have caused a rise in coronavirus infections in recent months.

Since FE.1 is not totally different from XBB variants, it will most likely cause severe infection “but only for those who are highly vulnerable like the elderly population,” Mr. Solante said.

He said FE.1 might only cause mild symptoms since the new Omicron subvariants, unlike the Delta variant, “attack the upper respiratory tract, not the lower respiratory tract.”

“We would expect the same clinical manifestation as that of the Omicron — cough, fever, sore throat, body pain,” he said. “And mostly these are very mild, especially among the younger population.”

Mr. Solante said people who are seriously ill, and seniors should always wear face masks and update their vaccination based on existing rules because their immunity weakens four to six months after vaccination.

Citing results of genome sequencing tests from May 29 to June 12, the Department of Health said on Monday it had detected the country’s first case of the Omicron subvariant FE.1.

The agency said “currently available evidence for the variant does not suggest any differences in disease severity and/or clinical manifestations compared with the original Omicron variant.”

“Limited information is available for the variant and researchers are currently characterizing FE.1 in terms of transmissibility, immune evasion and ability to cause more severe disease,” it added.

FE.1 has been detected in 35 territories across six continents, the agency said, citing sequencing submissions from the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data.

The European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) classified the new subvariant was as a variant under monitoring on June 1, which means “there is some indication that they could have properties similar to those of a variant of concern, but the evidence is weak or has not yet been assessed by ECDC.”

The Health department said 82.91% or 1,940 of 2,340 samples tested were XBB sublineages. — KATA

CoA cites non-revocation of 2 POGOs’ licenses

June 20, 2023 | 8:31 pm

casino-online gambling — JAGODA KONDRATIUK-UNSPLASH

STATE AUDITORS flagged the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) for not revoking the licenses of two Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) despite failure to pay financial obligations for two consecutive months.

According to its 2022 audit report posted online on June 19, 2023, the Commission on Audit (CoA) said that “two POGOs were still allowed to operate despite continued non-payment of their financial obligation for more than two months totaling to P34.65 million.”

Under PAGCOR regulations, an operator’s failure to pay its dues to the government is grounds for license revocation.

In response to CoA, the PAGCOR management said the two POGOs requested an extension to settle their financial obligations. “POGO A” was given until June 8 while “POGO B” was granted its “request for reconsideration” on February 27.

PAGCOR and CoA have yet to reply to e-mails seeking updates on the status of the two gaming operators.

CoA also noted that PAGCOR’s accounts receivable from POGOs denominated in foreign currency worth P2.33 billion were not revalued as of Dec. 31, 2022, resulting to an understatement.

It noted that the conversion of the accounts receivable from POGOs “would amount to P2.57 billion instead of P2.33 billion” based on prevailing exchange rates.

CoA recommended that PAGCOR develop or update its guidelines to properly monitor its accounts receivable denominated in foreign currencies.

Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, who heads the ways and means committee, earlier this month pushed to end POGO operations in the country following a human trafficking case in a POGO hub in Clark, Pampanga.

PAGCOR said last week that it will impose heavier penalties on licensed offshore gaming operators and accredited service providers committing illegal activities.

Measures seeking to ban online gambling are pending in Congress.

At the local level, the Valenzuela City government has recently approved the banning of offshore gaming operators within its jurisdiction, the second to do so after Pasig City in December last year. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

SC fines former Davao City judge for disregarding CA order favoring Pilipinas Shell

June 20, 2023 | 8:30 pm

THE SUPREME COURT (SC) has ordered a previously dismissed Davao City trial court judge to pay a fine of P700,000 over a settlement order he issued against Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and subsidiaries of Shell Oil Company despite an appellate court ruling barring him to do so.

In an 18-page decision dated March 28 and made public on June 19, the tribunal said the former judge was guilty of gross ignorance of the law and gross misconduct when he went against the Court of Appeals (CA) order.

“Despite this, he refused to obey and justified such refusal with an inapplicable legal provision and an erroneous interpretation of a basic concept of law,” Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando said in the ruling.

The case stemmed from a 1996 damages complaint filed by 1,843 Filipino banana plantation workers in the United States who claimed to have been exposed to a Dibromochloropropane (DBCP) during the 1980s up to the 1990s, which resulted in permanent injuries to their reproductive systems.

The chemical is a pesticide used against roundworms and threadworms that thrive in banana and pineapple plantations. It is known to have mutagenic properties.

Chiquita Brands, Inc., Shell Oil Company, Dow Chemical Company, Occidental Chemical Company, Del Monte Fresh Produce, N.A. and Del Monte Tropical Fruit Co. entered into a worldwide compromise settlement agreement with the plantation workers in the United States.

The agreement involved the firms depositing settlement amounts in an escrow account, which would then be distributed to the banana plantation workers.

In 2002, a Panabo City trial court in Davao del Norte approved the deal and granted a motion to collect the settlement payments the following year after it found that the firms did not show proof of their compliance with the compromise agreement.

The complaint was originally filed before a Panabo court but was transferred to the Davao City trial court due to security concerns, the SC said.

The Davao City trial court issued a seizure order in the amount of $17 million (P948.7 million) against the subsidiaries and affiliates of Shell.

Pilipinas Shell argued that it was not afforded due process since the former Davao City judge included the company in the order to pay the settlement amount despite not being a signatory to the agreement.

In 2009, the CA sided with Pilipinas Shell, saying it was not liable to pay the settlement amount.

The former judge then issued a resolution on the same day of the appellate court’s decision saying the injunction was not official since only two members of the court’s division signed the injunction.

The Davao City court also ordered the arrest of bank officials due to indirect contempt of court for refusing to release Pilipinas Shell’s funds.

“The court condemns and would never countenance any conduct, act or omission on the part of all those involved in the administration of justice which would violate the norm of public accountability or tend to diminish the faith of the people in the Judiciary,” the High Court said.

In the separate expulsion case, the Supreme Court in a 2013 ruling ordered the judge’s dismissal from service and the forfeiture of his retirement benefits after continuing to handle two different contempt cases even after he agreed to inhibit. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

DMW, Saudi firm discuss use of e-platform for worker recruitment

June 20, 2023 | 8:30 pm

THE DEPARTMENT of Migrant Workers (DMW) and representatives from Saudi Arabia’s Takamol Musaned on Monday discussed measures on how new technologies can be adopted to make it more convenient for Filipinos to seek work in the Middle Eastern country.

Takamol, a company under Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, has developed an electronic platform called the Musaned, which aims to provide a streamlined recruitment system for migrant workers.

“The Takamol Musaned Company met with Secretary Ople and other senior officials to discuss strengthening their partnership and to explore opportunities for collaboration on the use of technology for ease of doing business to improve service delivery to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families,” the DMW said in a statement on Tuesday,

Migrant Workers Secretary Maria Susan V. Ople and senior agency officials held a dialogue earlier this week with a delegation led by Takamol Executive President Fawzan Almuhaidib.

Last month, Ms. Ople said Saudi Arabia plans to hire about one million skilled Filipino workers in the next 18 to 24 months through a special employment program.

The key sectors in Saudi Arabia in need of workers include the hospitality industry, construction, and information and technology.

The Saudi government had also promised President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in November that it would settle the unpaid wages and other benefits of Filipino workers who were laid off by private Saudi employers in 2015-2016, according to Ms. Ople. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

ERC says it has remitted most of the taxes cited in CoA report

June 20, 2023 | 8:30 pm

THE ENERGY Regulatory Commission (ERC) said on Tuesday that it has remitted more than half of its collected taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) early this year, updating a 2022 report by state auditors.

ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Monalisa C. Dimalanta said that out of the 18.79 million cited in the Commission on Audit (CoA) report, P11.49 million worth of taxes withheld as of December last year have already been remitted to the BIR in January 2023.

“This amount was yet to be remitted to the BIR as of the cut-off date of the said CoA audit report,” Ms. Dimalanta said in an e-mail.

She said that an amount of P180,461.63 remained unremitted “since this was assessed as not forming part of the amount due to BIR.”

Ms. Dimalanta added that the balance of P6.22 million worth of taxes withheld in prior years have been “confirmed as previously remitted to the BIR” after further review.

She said the ERC’s remaining unreconciled unremitted amount to the BIR stood at P885,893.53, coming from taxes from payments to various suppliers contracted in previous years but have incomplete supporting documents as well as unclaimed salaries of resigned, retired, or newly-hired ERC employees as of January this year.

ERC said it can only remit the remaining due taxes once corresponding transactions are complete.

She noted that the commission is still reconciling balances in the audit report and will submit its final analysis to CoA by June 30.

In its 2022 audit report made available on June 8, 2023, CoA said the ERC had a remaining balance of P18.79 million of unremitted withheld taxes from the current year and prior years as of late last year. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

Bangsamoro capitol’s relocation to Parang gets Parliament nod

June 20, 2023 | 8:30 pm

THE PROPOSED relocation of the Bangsamoro capitol to Parang, Maguindanao del Norte was approved on final reading late Monday by the region’s Parliament, a move cheered by local leaders and the business community.

“We welcome the approval of that enabling measure with gladness. Transferring the seat of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to Parang is like opening a new investment corridor for regional and foreign investors,” lawyer-entrepreneur Ronald Hallid Dimacisil Torres, chairman of the Bangsamoro Business Council, said on Tuesday.

The BARMM government center is currently located in Cotabato City.

Parang town, which started as an enclave of the Spaniards in the 16th century, is the center of commerce and trade for the adjoining Buldon, Barira and Matanog towns in what is now Maguindanao del Norte and the municipality of Kapatagan in Lanao del Sur.

“Learning that the BTA (Bangsamoro Transition Authority) Bill 43 had been approved is like music to our ears,” Mohammad Omar Pasigan, chairman of the Bangsamoro Regional Board of Investments, told reporters via Messenger Tuesday.

Mr. Pasigan said Parang is surrounded by towns that have vast swaths of arable lands suitable for fruit farms as well as soya and corn plantations.

The largest seaport in the BARMM territory is located in Parang, home to mixed Moro Iranuns and Christians, mostly of Ilonggo and Cebuano descent.

The town once had fuel depots along its coastlines owned by different petroleum companies, but were closed down one after another in the early 1990s due to security concerns.

Maguindanao del Norte Gov. Abdulrauf A. Macacua said the expected expansion of businesses by wealthy traders in Cotabato City to Parang will generate employment for local residents.

“Providing our people with employment, as part of the BARMM government’s socio-economic agenda, is parallel with the socio-economic objectives of the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front,” said Mr. Macacua, also a senior official of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. — John M. Unson

Agents seize P350K worth of drugs shipped inside wireless speaker

June 20, 2023 | 8:30 pm

ANTI-NARCOTICS agents in Baguio City intercepted on Tuesday 50.9 grams of methamphetamine valued at around P350,000, which was shipped inside a Bluetooth speaker and sent through a fast mail forwarding service.

Cordillera Police Regional Drug Enforcement Unit head Nicomedes Olarte II said the use of parcel forwarding service has recently become the new means for syndicates to transport illegal drugs into the city.

Operatives staked out the courier hub for three days before catching the parcel’s claimant.

According to the police, the suspect said he was just asked to pick up the package for his brother-in-law and was unaware that it contained illegal substance locally known as shabu.

The suspect will be facing drug charges, but has vowed to cooperate with authorities. — Artemio A. Dumlao