Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 6657

Dining In/Out (05/20/21)

SaladStop! offers Cauli-fornia Dreamin’ Salad

SALADSTOP!’S latest for the summer is the new Cauli-fornia Dreamin, a mix of romaine lettuce, red and white cabbage, cauliflower cheese patty, baked mushrooms, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, carrots, avocado, and peanuts, all tossed with a Lemongrass Turmeric dressing. Unique to this seasonal salad is the cauliflower cheese patty made with three types of cheese: parmesan, cheddar, and feta. The Cauli-Fornia Dreamin’ Salad is available at all SaladStop! branches in Metro Manila and Cebu. This limited offering is available in both wrap and salad variants for P365 until June 28. Learn more about SaladStop! and the nutritional information of its salad bowls and wraps by visiting www.SaladStop.ph. Updates are also up on @SaladStopPH on Instagram. There are SaladStop! branches at Central Square, Power Plant Mall, Greenhills, Glorietta 2, Burgos Circle, Alabang Town Center, Salcedo Village, Ayala Center Cebu, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, U.P. Town Center, Robinsons Cyberscape Gamma, Oakridge Business Park Cebu, TriNoma, and Ayala North Exchange.

Kenny Rogers Roasters launches online delivery website

KENNY Rogers Roasters  launched an online delivery website —  https://kennyrogersdelivery.com.ph —  this week, that can be accessed via desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile phone. One can order from any Kenny Rogers store near you, and skip queues and waiting times by placing your order days in advance. The website also offers a wide range of payment options — pay with online wallets like PayMaya or GCash, with a credit or debit card, or with cash upon delivery. To celebrate the launch, Kenny Rogers Roasters has a Buy 1 Take 1 Half-Dozen Promo on its Kenny’s Corn Muffins. The promo is exclusively available for online orders until May 23. For details on other promos, follow Kenny Rogers Roasters on Facebook and Instagram to be notified.

Marvin Agustin tries Singaporean cooking on YouTube

SINGAPORE is a top-of-mind destination for its melting pot of flavours and unique dining experiences. From fine dining restaurants helmed by multi-awarded celebrity chefs, to family owned heritage restaurants serving local fare, Singapore is always a hit among Filipino foodies. And while people wait for borders to open, they make up for the wanderlust by satisfying the craving with different recipes from around the world. So here comes celebrity and restaurateur Marvin Agustin set to whet the appetites of Filipinos with the flavors of Singapore through a YouTube series, Singapore Reimagined. Done in collaboration with the Singapore Tourism Board, Mr. Agustin is joined on the show by Singaporean chef Bjorn Shen, where the two discuss the Lion City’s popular cooking style, zi char (it directly translates to “cook and fry”). As part of Singapore’s tourism campaign, the web series will have Mr. Agustin and Mr. Shen reimagining zi char recipes such as Cereal Prawns, Coffee Pork Ribs, and Seafood White Bee Hoon. Mr. Agustin will make the Singapore Reimagined-featured zi char dishes available in his restaurant, Secret Kitchen, starting this May. Singapore Reimagined series can be found on VisitSingapore’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/a7k0zFczMiM.

Philippines ranks 68th in internet inclusivity list, lags behind Asian peers

Philippines ranks 68<sup>th</sup> in internet inclusivity list, lags behind Asian peers

How PSEi member stocks performed — May 19, 2021

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.

Philippines rejects 3-month Chinese fishing ban

DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS — FACEBOOK/DFAPHIL

THE PHILIPPINES on Tuesday rejected China’s fishing ban in parts of the South China Sea and asked it to stop violating the Southeast Asian nation’s sovereignty.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said China’s three-month fishing moratorium that started on May 1 covers areas over which the Philippines controls.

“These waters include areas over which the Philippines exercises sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction,” the agency said.

“The Philippines strongly urges China to desist from any action and activity that infringes on Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction, in contravention of international law,” it added.

DFA said China’s annual fishing moratorium extends far beyond its legitimate maritime entitlements under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea “and is without basis under international law,” DFA said.

“China cannot legally impose nor legally enforce such a moratorium in the West Philippine Sea,” it added, referring to areas of the sea within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

A United Nations arbitration court in 2016 rejected China’s claim to more than 80% of the South China Sea. The Philippines under President Benigno S.C. Aquino III filed the lawsuit that critics said Mr. Duterte had failed to pursue.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. on May 13 ordered his agency to file another diplomatic protest against China for the continued presence of almost 300 ships in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday night barred his Cabinet from talking in public about the country’s sea dispute with China, which some of his ministers had rebuked for its actions in the disputed waterway.

He said only his spokesman could talk about the issue publicly.

Mr. Locsin this month minced no words in telling the Chinese to get out of Philippine waters in the South China Sea, cussing at its neighbor for failing to reciprocate its goodwill.

The presidential palace later distanced itself from Mr. Locsin. Presidential spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. said Mr. Duterte is against the use of profanities in the field of diplomacy.

Mr. Locsin later apologized to his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, after his expletive-laden tweet.

Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana had also told Chinese ships in the disputed sea to leave.

Mr. Roque on Tuesday said only he and Mr. Locsin could talk about the sea dispute in public.

He said a Philippine task force on border patrols had also been barred from commenting on the issue.

The task force earlier said 287 Chinese ships were still in Philippine waters, many of them spotted near artificial islands built by China, while some were near islands occupied by Manila, based on patrols made on May 9.

Two Houbei class missile warships were also near Mischief Reef, while two Vietnamese logistics ships and a VN Coast Guard vessel were at Grierson Reef, it said.

Thirty-four Chinese ships also remained at Whitsun Reef, which the Philippines also claims.

The government would continue to defend its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the “West Philippine Sea,” the task force said, referring to areas of the waterway within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

Mr. Roque said the Philippines would continue to “patrol relevant areas to assert what is ours.” “Our principled position and stand on the West Philippine Sea remains. Our vessels will continue.”

Aside from the Philippines and China, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also claim parts of the waterway.

Mr. Duterte had said the Philippines and China could settle the dispute peacefully. He also said China was a benefactor, citing vaccine donations and investments from its neighbor.

The tough-talking leader also said he never promised during his presidential campaign to retake the country’s territories in the South China Sea.

He rebuked retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio T. Carpio and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, who have spoken against his foreign policy on China, for forcing him to quarrel with his neighbor.

But Mr. Carpio belied the President’s claim, noting that during the campaign, he had promised to fight for Philippine sovereignty over the South China Sea.

He said Mr. Duterte had promised to ride a jet ski to Scarborough Shoal and plant the Philippine flag there.

Mr. Duterte earlier said he was just joking. — V.M.M. Villegas

Taiwan urges gov’t to scrap ownership limits on foreigners

THE GOVERNMENT should scrap its 40% foreign ownership limit in certain industries to encourage more investments particularly from Taiwan, according to its ambassador in the Philippines. 

“Please try your best to abolish the 40% restriction for foreigners in the Philippine Constitution,” Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines (TECO) Representative Michael Peiyung Hsu told an online forum on Wednesday. 

“It’s very painful for many because we’ve lost a lot of money,” he said at the forum hosted by the University of Asia and the Pacific School of Law and Governance and BusinessWorld. 

A Taiwanese science and technology university had considered opening a branch in Batangas province, but would not do so because of the limit, he added. 

The 1987 Constitution prescribes a 40-60% ownership ratio in favor of Filipinos for many sectors. Foreigners are also barred from owning land and media enterprises, among other limits. 

Philippine congressmen are debating on a proposal to ease economic restrictions of the Charter. 

Taiwanese investments in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reached $2.66 billion (P127 billion) last year, $133 million of which went to the Philippines, Mr. Hsu said. 

ASEAN is Taiwan’s second-biggest trading partner after mainland China, with a total trading volume of $890 billion last year. 

Mr. Hsu said the Philippines is not efficiently linked to the global supply chain, which is a disincentive to Taiwanese investors. “Big companies have big concerns like how they are going to export their products overseas.” 

Another concern is high electricity costs, he said. 

Mr. Hsu said the Philippines has a “very good labor force.” Filipinos, he said, have the advantage of being able to speak English well, which is why companies still come to the Philippines. 

He said Taiwan wants to boost cooperation with ASEAN countries including the Philippines especially in agriculture, health, higher education, the environment and tourism as part of its New Southbound Policy under President Tsai Ing-wen. 

Mr. Hsu said the move is in response to geopolitical factors, regional integration and US-China trade wars, among other things.  

He said the Philippines is important to Taiwan not only because they are near each other, but also given that more than 150,000 migrant Filipinos are working there, mostly in Taiwan’s semiconductor industry.  

Taiwan is inviting more Filipinos and other Southeast Asians to work there given its aging population.  

Mr. Hsu said the first stage of a technological park for Taiwanese companies in Batangas had been completed. The first Taiwanese techno-park in the country — the Subic Bay Gateway Park in Olongapo City — now has 155 companies that have hired 16,000 Filipinos. 

Other main Taiwanese investments in the country are in Clark, Bataan, Cavite and Manila. 

Bernardo M. Villegas, an economics professor at UA&P, said lawmakers should change the Charter by lifting economic restrictions. 

He said the Philippines needs Taiwan’s support for its agriculture sector, especially in the entire agribusiness value chain all the way to retailing, where two-thirds of Filipinos work. 

The Philippines should boost its agribusiness sector once it comes out of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Mr. Hsu said Taiwan “will do its best to help improve (Philippine) agribusiness,” adding that Taiwanese agriculture experts were in Manila to see if they can stay here for three years to share their skills and knowledge with Filipinos. 

He added that 49 young Filipino farmers would be trained in Taiwan for 11 months in fruit and vegetable farming, livestock and aquaculture.  

Taiwan is also training Filipino doctors and nurses to help improve the Philippines’ national health insurance system.   

The Philippines in 2019 approved Taiwanese investments worth P2.81 billion, which more than doubled in 2020 to P6.41 billion. Most of the investments were in real estate.  

Philippine exports to Taiwan fell by 8.78% to $2.06 billion last year after a 20.58% decline in the sales of semiconductor devices and a 44.17% fall in the export of other digital monolithic integrated circuits.  

Philippine imports from Taiwan also fell by 3.89% to $4.57 billion in 2020 from a year earlier. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago 

Senate OK’s tax amnesty extension bill  

PHILIPPINE STAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES

THE Senate on Wednesday approved on second reading a bill extending estate tax amnesty for two years. 

Senate Bill 2208 will amend Republic Act 11213 or the Tax Amnesty Act by extending the availment period to June 14, 2023. 

Senator Pilar Juliana S. Cayetano, who sponsored the bill, earlier said travel restrictions amid a coronavirus pandemic affected applications for tax amnesty. 

RA 11213, which took effect on June 15, 2019 and will expire on June 15, gives a one-time opportunity for taxpayers to settle their unpaid estate taxes as of Dec. 31, 2017.  

The ways and means committee removed the requirement for heirs to submit a “proof of settlement,” which had been a major stumbling block to amnesty applications. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas 

Filipinos scramble to get coronavirus shots from Pfizer

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

ALMOST half of almost 200,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer, Inc. have been given out, the Health department said on Tuesday, almost two weeks after the government received the shipment under a global initiative for equal access.

About 30,115 Filipinos have received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, Health Undersecretary Myrna C. Cabotaje told an online news briefing.

Ms. Cabotaje, who heads the National Vaccination Operations Center, said the Philippines targets to finish the rollout of the country’s initial Pfizer vials by next week at the earliest.

Thousands of Filipinos reportedly flocked to vaccination sites in Manila, the capital and a nearby city on Tuesday morning to get the Pfizer shot. 

Ms. Cabotaje said the government might order local governments not to announce the brand of vaccines being given out at vaccination centers. “People should avail themselves of whatever vaccine is available,” she said in Filipino.  

Noreen Sapalo, a college lecturer on culture and politics at the University of the Philippines, said the long queues for Pfizer shots in the capital region showed the public’s “low trust” in other brands particularly Chinese-made CoronaVac.

People have relied on social media for vaccine information given the state’s ineffective communication campaign, she said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

The Philippines recently received about 1.5 million doses of CoronaVac. The country is set to take delivery of about 500,000 more CoronaVac doses on May 20.

A 2019 poll by the Social Weather Stations showed that most Filipinos do not trust China, which had a “bad” net trust score of minus 36.

The Department of Health (DoH) reported 4,700 coronavirus infections on Wednesday, bringing the total to 1.16 million.

The death toll rose by 136 to 19,507, while recoveries increased by 6,986 to 1.09 million, it said in a bulletin.

There were 49,951 active cases, 1.5% of which were critical, 92.8% were mild, 2.2% did not show symptoms, 2.1% were severe and 1.36% were moderate.

It said 17 duplicates had been removed from the tally, 10 of which were tagged as recoveries and one as death. Eighty-eight recoveries were reclassified as deaths. Seven laboratories failed to submit data on May 17.

About 11.9 million Filipinos have been tested for the coronavirus as of May 17, according to DoH’s tracker website.

The coronavirus has sickened about 164.9 million and killed 3.4 million people worldwide, according to the Worldometers website, citing various sources including data from the World Health Organization.

About 143.9 million people have recovered, it said.

About 3.3 million vaccine doses had been given as of May 18 — 2.5 million for the first dose and 786,528 for the second dose, according to the Health department. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Hospitals in tight financial spot due to unpaid PhilHealth claims, says group

THE PHILIPPINE Hospital Association on Wednesday said members are in a tight financial spot due to unpaid claims from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) for coronavirus patients since the start of the pandemic.

“This is now causing severe financial distress to private hospitals as well as the government hospitals,” the association’s president, Jaime A. Almora, told a Senate economic affairs committee hearing on the status of government measures for industries hit hard by the pandemic.

Mr. Almora did not give an estimated total amount of the receivables from PhilHealth, but he cited one hospital with a P1.2 billion claim, while others ranging between P50 million to P700 million.

The group has 1,986 member hospitals, both government-run and private.

He said PhilHealth has only been paying for claims on non-coronavirus cases.

He noted that the number of non-coronavirus patients has decreased by as much as 50% to 70%, which means a reduction in the income of hospitals.

“They (hospitals) have to dig into their savings, and they have to borrow from the bank. Some hospitals who have called already informed me that they have borrowed from the bank for their operating budget,” Mr. Almora said.

Following a meeting with PhilHealth President Dante A. Gierran on April 5, the hospital group’s head said the agency came out with a circular on the debit-credit payment mechanism, which covers 60% of claims under evaluation.

The scheme covers private hospitals in Metro Manila and the surrounding provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, which were placed under stricter lockdown due to a surge in coronavirus cases.

Mr. Almora said some hospitals have already applied for the scheme and received some amount “which they consider small.”

Senator Maria Imelda Josefa R. Marcos, chair of the committee, said they can ask PhilHealth officials to attend in upcoming hearings. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

UNFPA report highlights Filipino women’s need for better access to reproductive health services 

POPCOM.GOV.PH

FILIPINO women and girls are among the world’s female population with restricted power, rights, and choices over their own body, the 2021 State of the World Population report of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) showed.

“The annual report documents the realities of issues and concerns surrounding ways and means of upholding bodily autonomy. Here in the country, the probability of bodily autonomy being compromised is more pronounced among our teenagers, especially those who have undergone pregnancies at a very young age,” said Undersecretary Juan Antonio Perez III, executive director of the Philippine Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM).   

The report, titled My Body Is My Own: Claiming the Right to Autonomy and Self-Determination, underscores the link between women’s power to control their own bodies and other dimensions of their lives.

“Data shows that in recent years, Filipino women, on average, give birth to one child more than they intend,” and that “there has been an increasing trend in the number of adolescent pregnancies, particularly among women aged 10 to 14 years old,” said National Economic and Development Authority Undersecretary Jose Miguel R. De La Rosa.

POPCOM reported that the Philippines has one of the highest adolescent birth rates within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), “with 47 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 per year.”

This number is higher than the 33.5 average annual adolescent birth rates in the ASEAN region and the global average of 44.

“Adolescent pregnancies are often not a result of a deliberate choice but a result of restrictive policies, sex without consent, harmful social norms, and lack of information,” POPCOM said in a statement.

Mr. De La Rosa acknowledged that government agencies must strengthen policies and programs for Filipino women’s rights to bodily autonomy and ensure access to reproductive health services.

“Our goal is to provide every Filipino with full access to sexual and reproductive health care services and comprehensive sexuality education, so that they can make informed decisions and exercise their freedom over their own bodies,” he said. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

Charter changes could hurdle House by next week 

@REPRUFUS

THE PROPOSED amendments to certain provisions of the Constitution could be approved by the House of Representatives by next week, according to Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez.

In a virtual briefing on Wednesday, he said lawmakers are committed to speedy deliberations of Resolution of Both Houses No. 2 in the plenary and “wrap it up by next week.”

The resolution seeks to insert the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” in what are deemed “restrictive” economic provisions of the Constitution to open more sectors to foreign investments.

“When we go back to normalcy, we would want the business sector to be really up and about and be able to receive foreign investments. When we have more foreign investments then we have more employment to our people and more taxes to our government,” he said.

Mr. Rodriguez also said that even with just nine days left before the Congress’ sine die adjournment, the House will ensure the passage of the third Bayanihan bill, which will provide for a P405.6-billion economic stimulus fund if legislated.

“I am willing to stay on until midnight for the deliberation of this bill. We have to have additional support to our people especially because the pandemic is still ongoing and raging,” he said. — Gillian M. Cortez

P5.2B spent so far for COVID-19 facilities

PHILSTAR

THE GOVERNMENT has so far spent P5.2 billion for the construction of modular hospitals and isolation facilities in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar said.

Mr. Villar said they have established about 25,000 beds for COVID-19 patients and healthcare workers.

“At the latest, by next month we will have an additional 300 beds…mostly in the National Capital Region,” he told ABS-CBN News Channel.

The government is aiming to set up a total of 27,300 beds by the end of the year.

“In terms of quarantine facilities, there is a significant improvement from last month, but nevertheless we still continue to aggressively build so that we have sufficient buffer in case there is another surge,” he said.

The Palace earlier said the use rates of facilities for COVID-19 patients in the Philippines were now below critical levels.

Occupancy was at 57% for intensive care unit beds and about 44% for isolation beds as of May 18, according to the Health department. About 48% of ward beds were in use. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Ban on light trucks along EDSA, Shaw Boulevard resumes May 24

MMDA FILE PHOTO

LIGHT trucks, or those with a gross capacity of up to 4,500 kilograms, will again be banned from traversing EDSA and Shaw Boulevard starting May 24, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

The ban along EDSA will be in effect from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily except Sundays. It covers the stretch between Magallanes in Makati City and North Avenue in Quezon City.

Along Shaw Boulevard, the ban is from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., also from Monday to Saturday.

The ban is automatically lifted on declared holidays.

MMDA said violators will face a fine of P2,000.

1...6,6566,6576,658...12,834Page 6,657 of 12,834
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube