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Senators call for probe on anti-communist task force’s performance, budget use

PHILSTAR

By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter

FIVE senators have jointly filed a resolution calling for an inquiry on the performance of the government’s anti-communist task force to determine whether it has been doing its job and using its budget efficiently.

The resolution filed Monday cites the various occasions that Gen. Antonio G. Parlade, Jr., spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), and the task force itself “came under fire for baselessly red-tagging individuals and entities.”

The senators said the probe will help determine if the task force’s allocation this year should be realigned to address more pressing needs amid the continuing coronavirus crisis.

“There is a need to review the performance of the NTF-ELCAC in fulfilling its mandate vis-a-vis the need for judicious use of scarce government resources, and whether its P19.1-billion appropriation for 2021 should be used instead to help address the needs of our citizens during this pandemic,” they said in the resolution.

The signatories are Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto, and Senators Nancy S. Binay, Grace Poe-Llamanzares, Sherwin T. Gatchalian, and Joel J. Villanueva.

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III on Sunday night asked lawmakers to assess the strength of the NTF-ELCAC, not its officials, before deciding to defund the institution.

“If the program is not working then we can assess that in the budget hearings,” he said in a Viber message to reporters.

Mr. Sotto also clarified that legislators are not authorized to defund the task force under the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA). “Let us set the records straight, how do we propose to defund a certain program of gov’t legitimately funded in the current law, the GAA? You cannot,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Palace welcomed the gag order imposed against Mr. Parlade and Undersecretary Lorraine Marie T. Badoy of the NTF-ELCAC over their unabashed red-tagging of community pantry organizers.

“We are asking all our officials to be careful with what they’re saying, they need to widen their perspectives,” he told a televised news briefing.

The two officials were barred on Sunday from making further statements on community pantries after linking the give-and-take hubs that have sprouted across the country to communist insurgency.

In a separate statement, Senator Panfilo M. Lacson maintained his position to recall Mr. Parlade back to the military.

Citing the 1987 Constitution, the senior legislator said Mr. Parlade, as an active member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, “cannot be appointed or designated in any capacity to a civilian position in the government.”

“He should be censured for dabbling in politics instead of just focusing on his inherent mission as commanding general of the Southern Luzon Command — that is, to fight threats such as terrorism and insurgency,” he said.

DoJ cybercrime group warns vs online lending firms’ unlawful debt collection practices

THE JUSTICE department’s cybercrime team has flagged the unlawful debt collection practices of online lending companies, citing the growing number of reports it has received.

In a public advisory on Monday, the Department of Justice–Office of Cybercrime (DoJ-OOC) said various laws prohibit these online firms from accessing the debtor’s phone contacts, posting their personal information, threatening them with death and physical injuries, and using profane language.

The advisory was issued “in response to the increasing number of reports received and endorsed to (the DoJ-OOC) involving unfair debt collection practices and cyber harassments by online lending companies.”

The pertinent laws include Republic Act (RA) 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, RA 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012, the Revised Penal Code, and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Memorandum Circular 18 series of 2019.

Aside from reporting to the DoJ-OOC, victims of unfair debt collection practices and cyber harassments may also report to the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group, National Bureau of Investigation Cybercrime Division, National Privacy Commission, and the SEC. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

Manila supports call to send ASEAN official to Myanmar to initiate peace talks

DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS — FACEBOOK/DFAPHIL

THE PHILIPPINES has joined the call of Southeast Asian leaders to hold talks with Myanmar’s military and other concerned parties to restore peace and democracy in the crisis-laden country, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Monday.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. supported the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) consensus to appoint one of the region’s top officials “to initiate talks among concerned parties, with the view to  improving the situation on the ground,” the agency said in a statement.

During the meeting of ASEAN leaders in Jakarta over the weekend, Mr. Locsin recalled how Manila’s Southeast Asian neighbors came together in support of Filipinos during a major street uprising in the country’s capital region and “called for all parties in Myanmar to restore national unity and resolve the crisis peacefully,” the DFA said.

In February, Myanmar’s military overthrew the country’s democratically installed government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, resulting in a massive uprising that triggered a violent crackdown on state dissenters.

More than 500 people in Myanmar have been killed by military forces since the popular revolt began, according to a report by human rights group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

The DFA said Myanmar’s Chairman of the State Administration Council, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, expressed that Nay Pyi Taw is “focused on restoring peace and stability to improve the current situation.”

It said Mr. Hlaing assured that Myanmar would consider “ASEAN’s positive and sound proposals,” taking into account their local situation.

The DFA earlier said the meeting would also address pandemic recovery efforts, community building programs and other regional and international issues. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Free WiFi sites now in 80 provinces — DICT

INFORMATION and Communications Technology Secretary Gregorio B. Honasan II said the government’s nationwide rollout of free WiFi sites has jumped 500% during the pandemic.

There are now “8,453 live sites in 17 regions, 80 provinces, 1,109 municipalities and 125 cities as of April 16, 2021,” Mr. Honasan said at the virtual Pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) Economic Development and Infrastructure Clusters Forum on Monday.

He also said the country’s fixed-broadband speed has improved from 8.40 megabits per second (Mbps) in 2016 to 46.25 Mbps in 2021.

Mobile internet speed is now at 25.43 Mbps, compared with the speed of 7.77 Mbps in 2016, Mr. Honasan noted.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) targets to establish a total of 67,233 WiFi sites by 2022 in public places and government buildings including schools and hospitals. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Bacolod City logs 20% positivity rate as it ramps up COVID-19 testing

BACOLOD CITY EOC
MEDICAL workers in Bacolod City take swab samples for coronavirus testing in this October 2020 photo. — BACOLOD CITY EOC

BACOLOD City has been ramping up coronavirus testing operations, with focus on individuals and sectors at high risk of infection, and immediately isolating those who test positive.

The “Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is maximizing its testing operations… the EOC is aggressively conducting surveillance testings in various areas, the recent of which was in the Bacolod City Police Office after some police officers tested positive for the virus,” the city government said in a statement released on Sunday evening.

“Those who test positive will immediately be placed under isolation, as ordered by Mayor Evelio Leonardia,” it added.

City Administrator Em L. Ang, who also sits as executive director of the EOC, said with the targeted testing, there was a 20% positivity rate among 441 individuals as of April 23.

Ms. Ang said the 20% positivity rate is “alarming” as a 5% rate is already considered “too high.” The city official again appealed to residents to follow minimum health protocols and avoid social gatherings among people from different households.

“It is important to avoid mixing people in one place at the same time because it is one key factor of spreading COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) infection,” she said.

As of April 25, Bacolod had 900 active COVID-19 cases out of the 7,192 total since the start of the pandemic. There were 6,087 recoveries and 205 deaths. Of the total cases, 6,766 are local transmissions.

A total of 74,886 individuals have undergone RT-PCR testing in the city as of April 24, according to data from the EOC.

Hog deliveries to Metro Manila nears 345,000

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS
PORK supply and prices in Metro Manila have been affected by the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

HOG shipments from various parts of the country to Metro Manila under the ongoing initiative to augment pork supply in the capital region is nearing 345,000 heads, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

In a report, the DA said an additional 5,592 hogs were delivered to Metro Manila on April 25, bringing the cumulative total to 343,435 hogs since the government’s implementation of price controls on Feb. 8.

From the new shipments, 3,826 hogs came from South Cotabato and General Santos City, followed by Batangas and Quezon at 1,208 hogs, and Oriental Mindoro at 440 hogs.

Other areas that sent supply were Davao City at 110 hogs and Tarlac at 8.

Since Feb. 8, CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) accounted for the highest share of total hog deliveries among provinces at 42.68%, followed by Western Visayas at 20.9%, and MIMAROPA (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan) at 12.44%.

Meanwhile, the DA said an additional 21,163 kilograms of pork in carcass form arrived in Metro Manila on April 25. The new shipments brought the total pork carcass deliveries to 2.372 million kilograms since Feb. 8.

The ongoing delivery of hogs from other provinces to Metro Manila is part of the government’s effort to augment supply and bring down retail prices amid the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak.

After the price controls ended on April 8, the DA replaced it with the implementation of a suggested retail price (SRP) for imported pork shoulder (kasim) at P270 per kilogram (/kg), and imported pork belly (liempo) at P350/kg.

Under the previous price cap, pork kasim was priced at P270/kg, pork liempo at P300/kg, and whole chicken at P160/kg.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte also signed Executive Order No. 128 on April 7 that lowered the tariff rates for pork imports within the minimum access volume (MAV) quota to 5% in the first three months, which will increase to 10% in the following nine months.

The tariff of out-quota pork imports were also lowered to 15% in the first three months, and up to 20% in the succeeding nine months.

Previously, pork imports within the MAV quota paid 30% tariff, while out-quota pork imports paid 40%.

Mr. Duterte also recommended to increase the volume of pork imports within the MAV quota by 350,000 metric tons (MT), to go with the current allocation of 54,210 MT, after the DA projected a pork supply deficit of around 400,000 MT after the country’s hog inventory was affected by African Swine Fever (ASF). — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

House panel approves bills creating multiple ecozones

ANFLOINDUSTRIALESTATE.COM

THE HOUSE Ways and Means Committee approved bills that proposed new economic zones in various parts of the country, including Mindoro, Sangley Point, Cavite, and Bacolod City.

In a hearing on Monday, the committee made an omnibus approval on the tax provisions of unnumbered substitute bills to House Bills 263, 264, 655, 3239, 5440, 5538, and 5794 subject to amendments.

The seven bills called for special economic zones to be created in Paluan, Occidental Mindoro; Sangley, Cavite; Cebu’s 4th District, Bacolod, Northern Bohol, and Metro Iloilo.

Representative and House Committee on Economic Affairs Chairman Teodorico T. Haresco, Jr. said at the hearing that each of the bills will help boost local economies, which he called a timely response to the pandemic.

“The ecozone house bills today will seek to establish economic zones in strategic locations (which have) great potential of promoting economic development in their respective provinces and nearby provinces as well,” he said in sponsoring the measures during the hearing.

Albay Rep. and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda said his panel supports the bills, noting that the incentives to be offered to registered enterprises in the proposed economic zones are in line with the intent of Title XIII of the National Internal Revenue Code.

Rules on taxes paid for raw materials will be drafted by the economic zones in collaboration with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), the Bureau of Customs, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the Department of Trade and Industry.

Enterprises engaged in industries classified in PEZA’s negative list are not allowed to engage in the domestic sale of their output. — Gillian M. Cortez

First-quarter rice tariff collections top P4 billion

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARVCAS

THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) collected P4.29 billion worth of rice tariffs in the first quarter on imported volume of 606,000 kilograms (kg), Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said at a forum Monday.

The quarter’s tally puts the BoC ahead of the pace to collect P10 billion a year from rice tariffs, which is to support the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) as authorized by Republic Act 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Law.

In 2020, the government collected P15.47 billion in tariffs from 2.38 million kg of imports. The total was up 27.43% from collections posted in 2019 beginning in March, when the tariffication law came into force.

Total collections amounted to P31.9 billion since the law became effective.

The law removed restrictions on rice imports by private entities, which must pay a tariff of 35% on shipments of Southeast Asian grain.

RCEF will support farm mechanization and other programs to enable farmers to better compete against imports.

“The Rice Tariffication Law was finally achieved after more than thirty years of failed attempts under previous administrations. The law opened up the Philippine rice market and, in turn, lowered the price of our country’s staple for more than 100 million Filipinos, who spend about a fifth of their total budget on rice alone,” Mr. Dominguez said.

He said the law helped temper inflation, with its share of the overall consumer price index falling to 0.1 percentage point compared to its one-percentage point share at the height of the inflation crisis of 2018.

“The law ensures that farmers benefit directly from import tariffs by providing at least 10 billion pesos each year for mechanization, high quality seed, access to credit, and training,” he added. — Beatrice M. Laforga

LGU rate of business permit automation lagging at under 40%

BW FILE PHOTO

LESS THAN 40% of local government units (LGUs) have so far automated their business permit systems with smaller municipalities falling behind, the Department of Trade and Industry said.

Citing an April 14 compliance report from the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said only 39% of 1,516 LGUs have automated their business permit and licensing systems.

Some 91% of the 33 highly-urbanized cities have automated their systems, compared to 52% of first-class municipalities, 41% of second-class municipalities, and 30% of third to sixth-class municipalities.

The third to sixth class municipalities represent 884 of the country’s LGUs. The classifications of municipalities are based on their income, with sixth-class municipalities representing the smallest average annual income of less than five million pesos.

“The cities in NCR (National Capital Region) have set up their own online registration systems and payment systems. Outside of Metro Manila, we also have cities like San Fernando, Cagayan de Oro, and Mandaue City that have end-to-end systems just like Valenzuela and Parañaque in NCR,” Mr. Lopez said at the Sulong Pilipinas 2021 economic forum on Monday.

Smaller municipalities, he said, are being assisted by various government agencies to shift their processing online.

“We expect these numbers to increase by June 2021,” Mr. Lopez said.

All LGUs are required to move their entire business permit application processes online by mid-June, according to a joint memorandum circular from the Anti-Red Tape Authority and other agencies.

Local governments that have fully put up an online business registration service must cut the number of steps to one. Those transitioning to a fully-automated system must have a maximum of four steps under a hybrid manual and digital process.

Business registration must be processed within three business days, while the number of signatories on permits must be reduced to three people. — Jenina P. Ibañez

LANDBANK farm loans exceed P229 billion

OUTSTANDING LOANS made to the agriculture sector totaled P229.70 billion at the end of March, the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) said.

LANDBANK said in a statement Monday that small, medium and large agribusiness enterprises accounted for P143.11 billion of the total; followed by agri-aqua related projects of local government units and government-owned and-controlled corporations at P50.32 billion; loans to small farmers and fishers, cooperatives, and rural financial institutions amounted to P36.27 billion.

Relative to the overall banking industry, LANDBANK cited a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas estimate that total loans extended by universal and commercial banks to agriculture, forestry, and fishing borrowers fell 6.1% year on year in February, LANDBANK said.

“LANDBANK has assisted cumulatively 2.70 million farmers and fishers nationwide as of end-March, recording increases of 14,147 beneficiaries from February and 25,990 for the first three months of the year,” it added.

Recently, LANDBANK increased its loan facility to hog raisers and feed millers to P30 billion, from P15 billion previously. The funds will be used to boost hog repopulation initiatives and address the impact of the African Swine Fever outbreak.

The loans will be available to commercial hog raisers registered as cooperatives or farmer associations, small and medium enterprises, and large enterprises or corporations.

LANDBANK President and Chief Executive Officer Cecilia C. Borromeo told stakeholders during a consultation session on April 22 that the bank will continue to address credit-access issues faced by its clients during the pandemic. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Industry lobby to draft policy proposals to improve education

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

THE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) is putting together an education task force to draft policy recommendations to the government to address gaps in the education system that were exposed during the pandemic.

The country’s largest business group said in a statement Monday that the task force will hold its first meeting this week to review the state of the education sector.

The task force’s policy paper will describe the state of education and will make recommendations on qualifications, curricula, teacher competency, and institutional reform.

Task force members will include 12 “recognized experts,” PCCI said, along with the industry group’s representatives. Members include representatives from universities and education groups like the Association of Local Colleges and Universities, Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations, and the Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the challenges, gaps, and deficiencies of our educational system.  Now is the best time that we sit down and seriously discuss these gaps and provide solutions that would make the system at par with other countries,” PCCI President Benedicto V. Yujuico said.

The Philippines last year inched up one spot to 48th out of 63 economies in the IMD World Competitiveness Center’s World Talent Ranking 2020 report, an annual league table seeking to gauge countries’ ability to attract and retain a skilled workforce.

The Program for International Students Assessment report released in 2019 showed the Philippines ranked last in reading comprehension and second-lowest in science and mathematics among 79 countries. — Jenina P. Ibañez

DoTr targets inauguration of LRT-2 East Extension by June

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

THE Transportation department said Monday that the LRT-2 (Light Rail Transit Line 2) East Extension Project is set to be inaugurated by June, while the Common Station project will begin partial operations by the end of the year.

“This year, we will finally be witnessing the completion and the start of operations of two big-ticket projects. First, the LRT-2 East Extension Project, with two additional stations in Marikina and Antipolo, is set for inauguration in June,” Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said at the virtual Pre-State of the Nation Address Economic Development and Infrastructure Clusters Forum Monday.

He added: “The second one is the Common Station… After nine years of delay, the construction for the Common Station is now ongoing, and will be partially operable in December 2021.”

The East Extension Project adds four kilometers to the 13.8-kilometer LRT-2 train line, connecting it to Antipolo City.

It aims to reduce the travel time between Manila and Antipolo from three hours to 40 minutes.

The East Extension is expected to add 80,000 passengers to the current 240,000 daily ridership of the LRT-2, which currently connects Recto Avenue in Manila to Santolan station in Marikina.

Meanwhile, the Common Station Project features a 3,700-square meter concourse area, which will interconnect LRT-1, Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3, MRT-7, and Metro Manila Subway.

The Common Station, once operational, is expected to serve about 478,000 commuters daily.

“Please note that the investment poured by this administration in the railways sector under the Build, Build, Build Program is significantly larger than the total railway investments in the last 50 years combined,” Mr. Tugade said. — Arjay L. Balinbin

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