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Local courts could have helped in Duterte arrest, Remulla says

RODRIGO DUTERTE — PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO/ ROBINSON NIÑAL

THE Department of Justice on Thursday said that the local court could have intervened in the arrest of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte if the Philippines remained a member state of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In a Senate Committee Hearing, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said that local courts could have stepped in on the arrest of Mr. Duterte under Section 17 of Republic Act 9851, the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law.

The law states the government has jurisdiction over persons suspected or accused of crimes against humanity. Authorities may also surrender or extradite suspected or accused persons in the Philippines to the appropriate international court,

“Under Section 17, there is a treaty on extradition, if we were a member of the ICC then (extradition) would need judicial proceedings,” Mr. Remulla added.

“If we were still members of the ICC then it could have helped President Duterte from being flown out.”

In 2018, the ex-President withdrew the Philippines from the international tribunal’s founding treaty when it started looking into extrajudicial killings from his war on drugs campaign. It took effect in 2019.

“It is clear that a treaty is needed to undergo an extradition…but we don’t have a treaty with the ICC because we were withdrawn by Mr. Duterte,” the Justice chief said.

He added that the government had no other option than to surrender the ex-President as extradition was no longer possible.

“There is no extradition route, only the surrender route is left,” he said.

Local police arrested Mr. Duterte on March 11, upon his arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, acting on a warrant issued by the ICC. He was flown to the Netherlands hours later.

Mr. Remulla added that the surrender of the ex-President was the government’s “best judgement under the circumstances for our country.” — Adrian H. Halili

Customs intercepts P28.7-M misdeclared sugar products from Vietnam

The Bureau of Customs seized P28.7 million worth of misdeclared sugar from Vietnam at the Port of Subic

THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) said P28.73 million worth of misdeclared refined sugar was seized inside fourteen 20-foot container vans at the Port of Subic.

In a statement on Thursday, BoC said the shipment, declared as “sweet mixed powder,” came from the Dong Nai Province in Vietnam.

“It was flagged by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) – Port of Subic for possible misdeclaration and regulatory non-compliance,” it said.

The inspection was conducted on April 10, led by Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio.

“Laboratory analysis conducted after a physical inspection, in collaboration with the Sugar Regulatory Administration, determined that the sucrose content of the samples exceeded 65%, thereby reclassifying the shipment as refined sugar contrary to their declared description,” the BoC said.

In the first three months of 2025, the total value of smuggled goods confiscated by the BoC amounted to P25.581 billion. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

SC asked to compel disclosure of COVID-19 vaccine supply deals

FREEPIK

A GROUP of private lawyers led by a former top government legal official asked the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday to compel several state agencies to disclose critical information regarding COVID-19 vaccine procurement, citing constitutional guarantees of transparency and public accountability.

In a petition, former Solicitor General and past Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) President Jose Anselmo I. Cadiz, along with fellow lawyers Randall C. Tabayoyong, Jeffrey B. Constantino, and Nizzane P. Vico, asked the high tribunal to issue a writ of certiorari and mandamus against the departments of Health, Finance, and Budget, and the Commission on Audit.

The petition sought to overturn the government’s continued refusal to release copies of supply agreements for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.

The petition also asked the top court to declare the non-disclosure a grave abuse of discretion and to compel the agencies to produce the contracts.

The lawyers argued withholding information about the vaccine procurement violates the constitutional right to information on matters of public concern, under Article III, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution.

The 50-page petition added that from 2020 to 2022, the Philippine government earmarked P113.5 billion for vaccine procurement, sourced from national budgets and loans from the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The petitioners said the sheer scale of public funds involved demands transparency and public scrutiny to let Filipinos know how much of the P113.5 billion was spent on vaccine procurement and what the government did with the excess, if any.

“The public has the right to know how their funds were utilized, especially in matters as critical as the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines,” Mr. Cadiz said in a separate statement.

“Our petition seeks to uphold this fundamental right and ensure that government agencies fulfill their ministerial duties under the Constitution,” he added.

Despite filing multiple requests under the agencies’ respective Freedom of Information (FOI) manuals, the petitioners said the documents remain undisclosed.

In particular, the Department of Health failed to respond to any of the inquiries, they noted. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

Feedback on SHS curriculum sought

Students walk inside the campus of a high school in Quezon City, April 18, 2024. — REUTERS

A PHILIPPINE Senator on Thursday called on the public to comment on the Department of Education‘s (DepEd) proposed curriculum for senior high school.

“I urge the public to give their feedback to the proposed senior high school curriculum,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said in a statement.

Among the proposed changes to the curriculum is the reduction of educational tracks to two, Academic and TechPro, from the previous four (Academic, Technical-Vocational-Livelihood, Sports, and Arts & Design).

It also reduces core subjects offered per school year to five from 15. The five proposed core subjects are: Effective Communication, Life Skills, General Mathematics, General Science, and Pag-aaral ng Kasaysayan at Lipunang Pilipino (Study of Philippine History and Society).

DepEd has opened the proposed new curriculum for senior high school, calling on the general public, including teachers, learners, parents, and industry representatives to comment.

“It is time for us to fulfill the promise of the senior high school program that our graduates will be ready for the job,” Mr. Gatchalian who heads the Senate Committee on Education said.

“It is also time for us to fulfill the promise of reducing the number of years in college by adding two years of high school,” he added.

The K-12 (Kindergarten to Grade 12) curriculum was implemented following the passage of Republic Act (RA) No. 10533, The Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, adding two more years to basic education with the intent of making graduates employable and globally competitive. — Adrian H. Halili

Group hits CSC memo barring gov’t workers from political discourse

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

A POLITICAL GROUP on Thursday criticized a Civil Service Commission (CSC) order prohibiting government workers from participating in online political discourse, calling it a violation of free expression.

Bayan Muna and the Confederation for Unity Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE), a union of government employees, will campaign for the order’s revocation, said Ferdinand R. Gaite, the union’s adviser and Bayan Muna’s party-list candidate for the midterm elections.

“Preventing government employees from expressing their views on political issues in social media, especially on policies and politicians affecting their rights and welfare as government workers, is curtailing their rights to freedom of expression as workers and as citizens,” he said in a statement.

The CSC in late March barred government workers from engaging in “partisan political activities,” including liking or following political candidates’ online content.

“This recent issuance of the CSC… about political matters is too much! It tramples upon the very rights that civil servants are supposed to uphold and defend,” said Mr. Gaite. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Philippine, US troops hold seaside war drills in BARMM

DATU BLAH SINSUAT, Maguindanao del Norte — Filipino and American soldiers held in a seaside village where an amphibious sea-to-shore anti-terror assault drill and an artillery fire exercise on Wednesday, in the presence of local officials from Bangsamoro towns around.

The activity was part of the Marine Exercise 2025, organized by the Philippine Marine Corps and its US counterpart, which was launched in the upland Barira town in Maguindanao del Norte almost two weeks ago.

It also involved the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, the Philippine Coast Guard, and the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PRO-BARMM).

American and Filipino soldiers used small, but high-speed watercraft in their beachfront combat drill, capped off with a simulated presence of terrorists at the shores of Barangay Penansaran, which is home to mixed Maguindanaon and ethnic non-Muslim Teduray villagers.

Also present in the event at Barangay Penansaran were ranking officials of the Western Mindanao Command led by its commander, Army Lt. Gen. Antonio G. Nafarrete, and representatives from the Naval Forces Western Mindanao and the Philippine Army Artillery Regiment.

“We are grateful to the municipal government of Datu Blah Sinsuat and its local chief executive for helping push this activity forward,” Mr. Nafarrete said, referring to Mayor Marshall I. Sinsuat, the chairperson of their multi-sector Municipal Peace and Order Council.

Mr. Nafarrete said the commander of the Philippine Navy’s 1st Marine Brigade, Brig. Gen. Romulo Quemado, and Army Major Gen. Donald Gumiran of the 6th Infantry Division, cooperated in helping oversee the exercise. — John Felix M. Unson

Up to four-year delay seen for North-South rail project

JICA

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) said full operations for the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) will likely be four years delayed after hitting a 50% completion rate to date for the Manila-Clark segment.

“The estimate of our Japanese partners is a four-year delay. Our initial target completion date is 2027 for the full line to be operational,” Transportation Secretary Vivencio B. Dizon said in a radio interview Thursday.

In a separate briefing, Mr. Dizon said the DoTr is hoping that a segment of the NSCR will be operational by 2027.

“The NSCR is roughly at a little over 50% complete from Manila to Clark but we are confident that we can still run the Manila to Malolos by the end of 2026 or maybe early 2027… We will see these trains start to operate within the term of the President, not the full line but I think the line from Manila to Malolos,” he said.

The 147-kilometer NSCR will connect Malolos, Bulacan with Clark International Airport, and Tutuban, Manila with Calamba, Laguna. The P873-billion project is co-financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Asian Development Bank. It will have 35 stations and three depots.

“In fact, the trains are ready for delivery this year. However, the delays are due to civil works, and construction,” Mr. Dizon noted.

Once fully operational, the NSCR is projected to reduce travel time between Clark and Calamba to two hours, against the current four to 4.5 hours.

The DoTr has said that big-ticket railway projects will face major right-of-way acquisition issues.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) has issued a legal opinion that compensation rules set by development partners for persons displaced by foreign-funded projects apply only if the loan agreement was signed prior to the effectivity of the Right-of-Way Act (Republic Act No. 10752).

The opinion was issued to clarify the compensation rules governing projects entered into by the DoTr and entities like the JICA. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Palay floor price scheme under study after farmers propose P20 per kilo

A farmer threshes newly harvested palay grains at a ricefield in Mogpog, Marinduque in central Philippines, March 22, 2016. — REUTERS

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) signaled its openness to a proposal for a minimum buying price for palay (unmilled rice) to be set at P20 per kilogram.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel V. de Mesa said the DA is open to and studying a floor price mechanism, and described the floor price of P20 per kilo for dry palay proposed by the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) as reasonable.

The FFF on Thursday said a minimum palay buying price will shield producers from “severe” drops in farmgate prices as domestic rice faces competition from imports.

Buying prices for freshly harvested palay have dropped to as little as P12-14 per kilo in parts of the country. “At this rate, many farmers will end up with losses, while more efficient producers will net only about P16,000 per hectare, or P2,700 per month for six months’ work,” the FFF said.

The FFF said the maximum suggested retail price for consumers should be accompanied by protections for farmers, calling for traders to be required to buy palay at a minimum price.

A floor price scheme is needed because the National Food Authority (NFA) can absorb only 4-5% of the harvests due to funding, storage and other constraints, the FFF said.

It said many farmers are forced to sell to private traders because they cannot comply with the NFA’s drying and quality standards.

The NFA’s buying price is P24 per kilo for dry and clean palay and at P18 per kilo for fresh palay, the DA said in mid-March.

The FFF said the floor price scheme could complement a proposed seasonal tariff arrangement, under which duties on rice imports are temporarily raised during the harvest and returned to normal afterwards.

Rice imports fell 46% year on year to 641,000 metric tons (MT) in the year to date ending March 13.

The DA said 96,260 MT of the shipments arrived in March, 267,114 in February, and 277,540 in January. The equivalent year-earlier volumes are 429,260 MT in January, 341,585 in February, and 415,764 in March.

In 2024, rice imports hit a record 4.68 million MT (MMT), against 3.6 MMT a year earlier. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Soybean meal imports rising on hog recovery

REUTERS

PHILIPPINE soybean meal imports will likely increase 3.1% to 3.35 million metric tons (MMT), according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), to accompany an expected rebound in the hog industry.

The increase in imports for marketing year 2025/26 is also driven by increasing demand from the broiler, layer,aquaculture, and pet food segments, the USDA said in a report, citing its Foreign Agriculture Service.

It also noted expectations of a “gradual rebound in the swine industry.”

The US accounts for 80% of the Philippines’ soybean meal imports.

BusinessWorld has reported that the Philippine poultry industry is expecting feed prices to fall as US producers seek new markets after being shut out of China by retaliatory tariffs.

China, which is now facing a 104% charge on its exports to the US, has announced retaliatory tariffs of 84% on all US goods.

Soybean meal makes up between 5% and 30% of the composition of feed sold in the Philippines, the report noted, with demand from the broilers and aquaculture industries accounting for 25-30%.

The USDA report said domestic soybean production will likely remain under 1,000 MT in 2025/26.

The USDA said Philippine imports of soybean will increase 2.1% year on year to 147,000 MT in MY 2025/26 to meet the increasing demand from food and beverage processors, specifically for soy sauce and soy drinks.

It said soybean crushing demand for MY 2025/26 will remain flat, noting that the Philippines has only one crushing facility for processing imported soybeans into oil and meal.

Meanwhile, demand for soybeans for food use will rise 2.9% to 71,000 MT in MY 2025/26 due to increase in population, rising household incomes, and healthy eating trends.

Soybeans are processed into various food products such as soymilk, soy sauce, soy oil, tofu, bean curd, and fermented soybean.

“There is rising awareness among the consumers in the Philippines on the health benefits of soy products, specifically soymilk, that appeals to the health-conscious consumers,” the report said.

The US remains the largest soybean supplier, with 85% of the market in MY 2023/24, followed by Canada (7%) and Argentina (8%). The remaining suppliers in MY 2023/24 were China, Malaysia, and Singapore (with a combined 1% market share). — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

High prices dampen mom-and-pop store sales of alcohol, cigarettes

BW FILE PHOTO

CIGARETTES and liquor sales by mom-and-pop neighborhood outlets, also known as sari-sari stores, declined last year due to increasing prices, according to tech startup Packworks, which makes applications helping micro-retailers manage their businesses.

Citing sales transactions from its network of 300,000 sari-sari stores, Packworks said sales dropped last year of cigarette brands Marlboro, Mighty, and Winston, as well as Tanduay rum and Emperador brandy.

“Combined sales of the three cigarette brands fell approximately 22% in 2024 at over P392 million in gross merchandise value (GMV),” Packworks said.

“Mighty recorded a marked decrease of 25%, followed by Marlboro at 24% and Winston at 8%,” it added.

According to Packworks, sari-sari stores saw a decline in cigarette sales even after the floor price of cigarette packs fell to P78.58 in 2024 from P114.6 in 2023.

“Consumers’ purchasing power was weakened by high inflation,” it added, noting inflation was 3.2% at the end of 2024.

Sales of Tanduay rum declined 17% to P102 million last year. Emperador brandy sales were down 22% at P49 million.

Packworks Chief Data Officer Andoy Montiel said  the decrease in cigarette and liquor sales point to signal impending changes in consumer preferences.

He cited “various external factors such as rising prices and supply issues” which “might also be a precursor to changing internal consumer behaviors and preferences.” — Justine Irish D. Tabile

PHL banking on halal to cushion US tariff blow

FREEPIK

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said new markets for Philippine farm exports, including halal-certified products, will help mitigate the uncertainty generated by the US tariffs.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. has been pursuing negotiations to widen the access of Philippines farm exports, DA spokesman and Assistant Secretary Arnel V. de Mesa said at a briefing.

Currently, the Philippines is working to boost its halal exports to the Middle East, he said, while targeting Italy and Spain among European markets.

Mr. De Mesa noted that Mr. Laurel has also visited Japan and South Korea to seek lower tariffs for Philippine agriculture products.

He said the Japanese government has agreed to review — and potentially lower —tariffs imposed on Philippine bananas, which are charged an 18% duty between April 1 and Sept. 30 and 8% between Oct. 1 and March 31 under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).

Mr. De Mesa reitared that the 17% tariff to be imposed by the US on Philippine goods will not have a major impact on domestic agriculture.

After the US, Japan and China are the next largest markets for Philippine exports, he noted

“Also, our goods are exported to many Asian markets,” he said in Filipino.

The US, which accounts for about 17% of total Philippine agricultural trade, has paused its plan to impose additional tariffs on most countries except China.

In Southeast Asia, Cambodia faces the steepest tariff at 49%, followed by Laos (48%), Vietnam (46%), Myanmar (44%), Thailand (36%), Indonesia (32%), Malaysia (24%) and Brunei (24%). Singapore will be imposed a baseline tariff of 10%. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Budget releases nearly 81% at end of March

BW FILE PHOTO

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said 80.7% of the 2025 national budget has been disbursed as of the end of March.

According to its Status of Allotment Releases report, the DBM said it released P5.11 trillion of the P6.326-trillion budget, with a P1.22-trillion balance.

The release rate was behind the 83.2% pace at the end of March 2024.

Of the released funds, P3.43 trillion went to government agencies and departments, leaving P540 billion still undisbursed.

The Department of Public Works and Highways received P1.11 trillion or 96.6% of its P1.09 trillion allotted funds.

Meanwhile, Special Purpose funds releases amounted to P246.76 billion.

Automatic appropriations release totaled P1.39 trillion, with a P719.79 billion balance.

These included P1.03 trillion for the National Tax Allotment, P152.88 billion for interest payments, P83.42 billion for the Block Grant, and P75.59 billion for government agencies’ retirement and life insurance premiums.

Unprogrammed appropriations (UA) worth P7.51 billion were also released.— Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

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