Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 5764

DILG talking to its lawyers on ‘rogue’ LGUs that violate pandemic rules

SHOPPERS are seen in Divisoria, Manila. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ RUSSELL PALMA

THE DEPARTMENT of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday said it was consulting with its lawyers on how to stop local governments from going against the National Government’s pandemic policies.

“We are consulting our legal team about our next move to ensure this practice would end since this should really not be the case,”  Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año told ABS-CBN Teleradyo.

The agency on Monday said it would consider asking Cebu Governor Gwendolyn F. Garcia to explain her policy of making face masks optional outdoors, which contradicts the guidelines of the country’s pandemic task force.

Mr. Año said police would arrest people who violate health protocols approved by President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

“The most important thing here is the health and well-being of our citizens,” he said. “We are still under a state of calamity, which will remain in effect until September 2022.”

DILG earlier said it would not recognize the optional face mask policy and would follow the national guidelines set by Mr. Duterte.

Ms. Garcia told the ABS-CBN News Channel on Monday there was no legal basis to arrest people who did not wear face masks outdoors.

She said the country’s pandemic task force should respect the autonomy of local governments, adding that forcing people to wear face masks outside is unimplementable.

“We do not want to set a precedent for other local government units,” Mr. Año said in a separate statement. “We are still in a pandemic and more transmissible variants are still arising, hence, we must abide by the minimum public health protocols, including wearing face masks in order to finally defeat this pandemic.”

Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra earlier said guidelines and resolutions issued by the national pandemic task force and approved by Mr. Duterte should prevail.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the president exercises general supervision over local government units. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

Quality of life of 3 of 10 Filipinos worsened — SWS

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THREE of 10 Filipinos said their quality of life had worsened in the past 12 months, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll.

In a statement posted on its website, SWS said 34% of adult Filipinos said they were worse off (losers), 32% said it got better (gainers), while another 34% said it was the same (unchanged).

This resulted in a net gainer score of -2% (gainers minus losers) in the April poll that SWS classified as fair.

The April net gainer score was 14 points up from the mediocre -16 in December, but still 20 points below the pre-pandemic level of the very high +18 in December 2019.

The poll question has been fielded 144 times since April 1983. The net gainer score was generally negative until 2015, when it rose to positive numbers until the coronavirus pandemic started, SWS said.

“It has since trended back upwards but still has not reached the positive range,” it added.

SWS interviewed 1,440 adults on April 19 to 27  for the poll, which had an error margin of ±2.6 points. — Norman P. Aquino

PHL wins seat in UN continental shelf commission with NAMRIA’s Carandang as rep

NAMRIA.GOV.PH

THE PHILIPPINES has won a seat in an international commission tasked to facilitate the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) concerning the outer limits of a state’s continental shelf.  

The country will hold the position in the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) from 2023 to 2028, according to a tweet by the Philippine Mission to the UN.  

With 113 votes from 164 state parties, the Philippines reached the required majority after four rounds of voting during the 32nd UNCLOS meeting held in New York on Wednesday.  

The Philippines competed with eight other candidates under the Asia-Pacific Group. 

“To the countries that voted for the candidate of the Philippines which is the only one that studies to fight and win, on the merits, the rights of countries with continental shelfs, I thank you,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. said in a tweet on Thursday.  

He said this was “yet another victory” as it was “the end of cartelized choices in a universal institution.”   

“This is not a job but a mission.” 

Efren P. Carandang, deputy administrator of the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), will be representing the Philippines at the CLCS.   

Mr. Locsin described Mr. Carandang as “the Philippines’ foremost authority on the technical intricacies of the law of the sea, which is to say that he is one of the very best in the world.”  

He has served in NAMRIA and its precursor agency for 38 years.  

He was also part of the Philippine delegation that successfully submitted the relevant charts and coordinates of the outer limits of the Philippines’ continental shelf with the International Seabed Authority. 

This is the first time that the Philippines, an archipelagic state, will serve in the commission.   

Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the UN Enrique A. Manalo has said that “the Philippine candidature to the CLCS is a demonstration of our consistent adherence to international law-based regime in maritime governance and the peaceful use of the world’s seas and oceans.”   

“The outer limits established through this process become the fixed boundaries between the seabed areas within national jurisdictions and the international seabed areas, which are reserved for common heritage,” the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the UN said in an earlier statement. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

Justice chief, anti-communist task force lock horns over red-tagging practices 

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THE GOVERNMENT’S anti-communist task force on Thursday hit Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevara for standing up against communist tagging practices in the Philippines.   

Lorraine Marie T. Badoy, the task force’s spokesperson, said they “do not agree” with Mr. Guevarra’s statement that identifying members of the Maoist movement would endanger people’s lives.  

“What has grievously endangered our people is all those decades the government [has] reneged on its sacred duty, looked the other way, and refused to identify” supposed members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed and political wings, Ms. Badoy said in a statement. 

Several complaints have been filed before the Ombudsman against Ms. Badoy for allegedly using her position to spread fake news and tagging groups and personalities as reds or terrorists without basis.    

“There is nothing — nothing — that can stop us from ending what ought to have ended a very long time ago had we had a President like Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” she said, citing Mr. Duterte’s creation of the anti-communist task force. 

Mr. Guevara, who sits as a member of the task force chaired by Mr. Duterte, said complaints should be filed instead of tagging activists as communists  

“If you have evidence against them, follow the necessary legal action,” he told a virtual forum. “Stop labeling them, do whatever is necessary to prosecute them.”  

“You are endangering certain people if you do not have sufficient evidence,” he added. 

“It is possible that these individuals will become targets when they are just being vocal about their political views.” 

The Philippine government decriminalized membership in the CPP and similar associations through a law signed by former President Fidel V. Ramos in 1992. 

Mr. Duterte, however, issued a proclamation in December 2017 declaring the CPP and its armed unit, the New People’s Army, as terrorist groups.  

After signing the proclamation, he directed then Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II through a memorandum to file a petition with the appropriate regional trial court to legally classify the CPP and the NPA as terrorist groups under a human security act that has been updated in 2020, based on a report published by state-run Philippine News Agency. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza 

Legarda eyes expansion of MSME support programs to remote areas, indigenous communities 

DTI.GOV.PH

SENATOR-ELECT Lorna Regina “Loren” B. Legarda wants to expand the delivery of support programs for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to remote areas and communities that create indigenous products.     

“I have witnessed the untapped possibilities of millions of Filipinos: weavers, entrepreneurs, indigenous communities, and cultural creatives. There is so much potential for growth in our rural areas,” Ms. Legarda said during a Policy Research Office’s webinar on Thursday. 

“Seeing that MSMEs are the lifeblood of our local economy, we need to broaden its reach: extend its benefits to the countryside, and spur economic activity in other sectors, especially those sectors that can preserve culture and the environment,” she said  

She cited that 99.5% of all businesses in the country are MSMEs. According to data from the Department of Trade and Industry, 21% of these businesses are located in the capital region. 

The top five industries in the country are wholesale and retail trade, food service, automotive parts, manufacturing, service industries and insurance, which account for about 83.8% of the total number of MSME establishments.  

“We need to expand our reach to include local entrepreneurs and indigenous communities, and ensure that everyone benefits from government programs such as the MSME Law,” she said. 

Local authorities should also delve deeper on the needs of local entrepreneurs and indigenous communities so that the right kind of assistance can be provided, she added. 

“Let us continue to expand the scope of our assistance, especially those in areas with high poverty incidence,” she said. “Our laws and regulations should make access easier and not more tedious or burdensome for them.” 

Ms. Legarda also called for the promotion of more “green skills” and enterprises.  

“I would like to encourage our people to engage in agriculture, forestry, horticulture, environmental information technology, creative industries and other careers that contribute to environmental preservation,” she said. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan 

Baguio City gov’t to purchase private properties for economic projects, housing 

DOT.GOV.PH

THE BAGUIO local government is preparing to purchase several private properties within the city and neighboring towns for its socialized housing program and economic development projects.   

In a statement on Thursday, the city government said it is eyeing 19 properties within Baguio, and the municipalities of La Trinidad, Tuba and Sablan.   

These towns are part of the Metro Baguio area, which also includes Itogon and Tublay. A proposed law creating the MBLISTTDA — or Metropolitan Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay Development Authority — was recently ratified by Congress and is now up for the President’s signature.   

Baguio City City Assessor Maria Almaya Addawe said the price range of the properties under consideration range between P13 million up to P348 million. 

She said the local finance committee has until the first week of July to submit a report on which among the available properties will be recommended for purchase. 

The MBLISTTDA will be tasked to coordinate and regulate the medium- and long-term urban development plans for the mountain area north of the capital Manila. The agency will be built on the work of the governing council for the six localities that was set up in 2014.       

Earlier this year, the National Economic and Development Authority’s Cordillera Administrative Region office conducted a series of spatial mapping workshops for the BLISTT’s planned expansion areas for settlements, production, environmental protection, and infrastructure development. — MSJ 

Magnitude 5.1 earthquake rocks Vigan, but no damage expected

A MAGNITUDE 5.1 earthquake shook Vigan City in northern Philippines on Thursday afternoon, but no damage was expected from the offshore tremor, according to the state seismology agency.   

The earthquake, initially reported at a magnitude of 5.3, was recorded at 2:21 p.m., located 53 kilometers west of Candon City, Ilocos Sur, where intensity 4 in a 10-level system was reported.   

Based on the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology’s (Phivolcs) earthquake scale, intensity 4 is considered “moderately strong” and generally felt by people indoors.   

Intensity 3 was felt in Vigan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its well-preserved Spanish colonial era architecture. The same level was reported in Pinili, Ilocos Norte; Sudipen and Bangar, La Union; and Bolinao and Alaminos City, Pangasinan  

Intensity 2 was reported in Sinait, Ilocos Sur; San Antonio, Zambales; and Bolinao and Dagupan City in Pangasinan.   

A weaker intensity of 1 was felt in the mountain areas of Baguio City and Benguet province as well as several coastal areas along the western side of Luzon mainland.   

Phivolcs said aftershocks were expected.

P4M worth of smuggled carrots seized in Manila 

BOC
BOC

SMUGGLED carrots worth P4 million were seized at the Manila International Container Port, the Bureau of Customs reported on Thursday.   

The bureau said the shipment, consigned to Silverpop Dry Good Trading, was seized after an on-site examination conducted by port authorities on June 14.  

The port district collector, Romeo Allan R. Rosales, issued an alert order against the 2×40 containers, which were declared to contain steamed buns, upon recommendation by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service.  

A warrant of seizure was issued against the shipment for violations of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act. — Tobias Jared Tomas 

Golden State Warriors zero in on another NBA title in Game 6 versus Boston Celtics

THE Golden State Warriors enter Game 6 of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals in Boston on Thursday (Friday, Manila time) with an enhanced edge of determination as a fourth title in eight seasons hangs in the balance.

Most of that edge, while facing the host Celtics, belongs to Warriors star Stephen Curry. The long-range shooting extraordinaire failed to make a 3-point basket in Golden State’s 104-94 victory in Game 5 on Monday at home in San Francisco.

The Warriors still moved one victory away from a championship with a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series, despite shooting nine of 40 (22.5%) from distance as a team. Curry went 0 of nine.

“Of course, it bothers me as a shooter,” Curry said. “You want to impact the game that way. But thankfully, that’s not the only thing that you do out there on the court.”

Instead, the Warriors played high-level defense in Game 5, holding the Celtics to 39 first-half points and 41.3% shooting in the game. They shared the ball with 23 assists and had just seven turnovers to 18 for Boston. Just don’t expect that to be the new way forward.

“Obviously, track record says I shoot the ball better the next game,” said Curry, whose record streak of 132 consecutive playoff games with a 3-pointer came to an end. “Looking forward to that bounce back.”

A determined mindset won’t be exclusive to the Warriors, of course. Boston heads home keen on extending the series to a Game 7 back on the West Coast. A championship would give Boston an 18th banner to hang in the rafters, which would be the most all-time. They are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers at 17 championships apiece, but they have not won one since 2008.

While the Warriors tilt heavily toward Curry, the Celtics lean on Jayson Tatum, who had 27 points and 10 rebounds in the Game 5 defeat.

Behind Tatum’s 26.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game average in the playoffs, the Celtics have been on a wild ride. Since a sweep over the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, they haven’t won consecutive home games over the next three rounds and are 2-3 at home since the start of the conference finals.

Boston did protect its home court to win Game 7 of the conference semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks but lost at home with a chance to eliminate the Miami Heat in the conference finals. They advanced by winning Game 7 on the road.

“You know, I’ve said it before: You better be confident, right?” Tatum said. “We ain’t got to win two in one day. We just got to win one game on Thursday. We’ve been in this situation before. So it’s not over. Got to win on Thursday. That’s all we got to worry about right now.”

The Celtics switched up their coverage on Curry out of Warriors pick-and-rolls, but now they’ve lost that element of defensive surprise going into Game 6.

While it kept Curry in check, Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins had a team-high 26 points to go with 13 rebounds. Klay Thompson had 21 points for the Warriors and was 5 of 11 from 3-point range.

“Yeah, better job on him; a little more physical there,” Celtics head coach Ime Udoka said of the defense on Curry. “Overall, it’s a solid job on him, but again, I don’t know if it was our defense as much as offensive struggles that hurt us (in Game 5).” — Reuters

LaLiga files complaints against PSG, Man City to UEFA

MADRID — LaLiga has filed a complaint to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Manchester City over alleged Financial Fair Play violations, the Spanish professional soccer league announced on Wednesday.

The organization said it would take “further legal action to the European Union, France and Switzerland” justice systems as it understands that “these clubs are continually breaching the current regulations” of financial fair play.

LaLiga said it lodged the complaint against Manchester City to UEFA in April before filing the one against PSG last week.

The Spanish league also said it was “contemplating expanding that complaint” against City due to “new data” that has come to light. Although the statement did not give any specific details, the English champions signed Norway striker Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund on a contract that reportedly could cost them over €300 million ($313 million), including his salary, agent fees and bonuses.

LaLiga president Javier Tebas said last month the organization would take legal action against the French club after Kylian Mbappé snubbed a move to Real Madrid at the 11th hour and renewed his contract with PSG until 2025.

LaLiga reacted angrily to Mbappé’s contract extension, saying PSG’s new offer to Mbappé “attacks the economic stability” of European football.

“It is scandalous that a club like PSG, which last season reported losses of more than €220 million ($232.32 million) after accumulating losses of more than €700 million in prior seasons… with a squad cost around 650 million for this season, can close such an agreement,” LaLiga said at the time.

After months of negotiations with Real Madrid, France international Mbappé ended up staying with the Ligue 1 champions for a reported annual salary of €50 million until 2025.

This is not the first time that LaLiga has filed complaints against “state-owned clubs” PSG and Manchester City.

PSG is owned by the state-run Qatar Sports Investments, while City is under Abu Dhabi ownership.

In 2017 and 2018, it had also filed complaints against the two clubs over breach of financial fair play rules, leading to sanctions by UEFA. However, City and PSG lodged appeals with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), who ruled in the two clubs’ favor, a decision the Spanish league called “strange.”

LaLiga also announced it was “studying different legal options in Switzerland” against PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi for “possible conflicts of interest” derived from his different roles running the French club, and his different roles in UEFA, European Club Association (ECA) and BeIN Sports. — Reuters

PSC’s Rise Up! Shape Up! shares physical fitness tips for the elderly

THE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) in line with its mandate, encourages people of all ages to be active, get fit and have fun through sports and other physical activities. Following the previous episode focused on kids, PSC’s web series Rise Up! Shape Up! dedicates its June 18 episode to seniors and the elderly to help them achieve a healthy and active lifestyle.

Featured in the episode are four-time World Champion Filipino Bowler Bong Coo and Philippine Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion. Both will share tips on aging gracefully, staying fit, and living a healthy lifestyle.

UP Diliman Associate Professor Dr. Maria Luisa Guinto will also be discussing the psychological aspects of aging, while Adventist Hospital-Santiago City Geriatrician Dr. Florosita Reyes will share tips on health care for the elderly.

PSC Women in Sports Oversight Commissioner Celia H. Kiram stresses the importance of a fit and healthy lifestyle especially when one gets older. “As we age, our bodies change. But we can help our bodies ease into aging through exercise and a healthy diet.”

She adds that the elderly must also ensure their overall well-being and take into consideration mental and emotional wellness.

The Rise Up! Shape Up! episode will be hosted by Bam Mogato, a certified fitness instructor of the American Council on Exercise. Mogato also joined the board of jurors during the Zumbarangay Dance Challenge organized by the PSC-Women in Sports last year.

PSC’s Rise Up! Shape Up! is a weekly web series streamed via Facebook and YouTube every Saturday and Sunday at 7 PM. For more information on Rise Up! Shape Up!, visit its official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/riseupshapeup  and YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/riseupshapeup.

#AtletangAyala: Olympian Jasmine Alkhaldi hopes to make waves at World Championships in Budapest

MANILA — Fresh from her Southeast Asian (SEA) Games success in Hanoi, Vietnam, #AtletangAyala and Olympian Jasmine Alkhaldi will once again plunge into action at the 19th FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary on June 18 to July 3.

According to Ms. Alkhaldi, she commenced training for the world meet as soon as she arrived from Hanoi. “The World Championships is important to me because it is part of my pathway towards hopefully making it to the Olympics in 2024,” she said. The 29-year-old swimmer, who also represented the Philippines in the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics, bagged a silver and a bronze medal in women’s 4x100m medley relay and women’s 100m butterfly, respectively, from the recent SEA Games.

During the Games, Ms. Alkhaldi also earned a “B” Standard Entry Time (women’s 50m freestyle) in a FINA qualifying event, enabling her to clinch a spot with Miranda Renner and Jonathan Cook.

“I have been working on carrying my physical performance from the recently concluded SEA Games toward my performances at Worlds. I have not stopped my training since I have returned from Hanoi to best prepare myself,” she said. Ms. Alkhaldi is one of eight national athletes that compose the pioneering batch of #AtletangAyala. Each athlete underwent a rigorous screening process that lasted for a month. “Swimming at the recently concluded SEA Games, as a national athlete and an #AtletangAyala, was truly an honor,” she said.

“The #AtletangAyala program gave me the support and the boost of confidence that I needed, knowing that there is a program that will support me and also root for me, not only before or during the Games, but also even after.”

As part of her #AtletangAyala benefits, Ms. Alkhaldi was hired by Ayala Center for Excellence in Sports (ACES) as a program associate, where she will receive full-time salary for part-time work.

Ms. Alkhaldi will also have free access to the world-class training facilities of the Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub, which features a FINA-standard Olympic size swimming pool.

“The structure and program set forth only inspires me to do better as an athlete with all these tools and resources outside of sport given to me. I definitely am encouraged to train harder to hopefully make the Ayala community and the whole country proud,” she said.

Ayala believes that sports can inspire and bring together a nation. Hence, through ACES, Ayala hopes to enable Filipino athletes achieve their full potential. #AyalaForTheGreaterGood

1...5,7635,7645,765...13,724Page 5,764 of 13,724
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube