Day: April 15, 2023

Top seed Robert Andrew Garcia and David William Peliño scored contrasting victories to arrange a semifinal showdown in the Philippine Satellite Series 2 at the National Squash Center at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate, Manila on Friday night. Garcia recovered from two sets down to beat Jonathan Reyes, 4-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-7. Peliño, on the other hand, coasted to an 11-4, 11-9, 11-9 victory over Anson Wong of Hong Kong. “My movement is better now. I had an injury in my last tournament. I couldn’t move properly, I couldn’t give my 100 percent on the court,” Peliño said in an interview on Saturday. He lost to Garcia at the National Open last month. Reymark Begornia also secured a semifinal berth after eliminating Wilson Chan of Hong Kong, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7, to advance against South Korean national player Yoo Jae-jin. Yoo survived top Filipino junior Christopher Buraga, 11-6, 11-5, 5-11, 4-11, 11-7. Buraga, No. 9 in the Asian Squash Federation Under-17 rankings, forced the deciding fifth set, but Yoo was the better player despite a hamstring strain in his right leg sustained in the second set. “He led 5-1 in the fifth set and then I caught up to 4-5 until his game got better again and he was up, 10-5. He’s very good at carrying the ball, so I had a hard time, too,” said the 16-year-old Buraga. Garcia, a quarterfinalist at the Professional Squash Association Challenger Cup in Hong Kong last March, bagged the first leg title last week. The third leg is scheduled April 20 to 23. Garcia and Peliño teamed up to rule the doubles at the 2019 Manila Southeast Asian Games. In February, they won the 23rd International Jumbo Doubles for the President’s Cup at Tanglin Club in Singapore and the Philippine Jumbo Doubles Championships

Source: Philippines News Agency

Military and police operatives arrested on Saturday morning a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) tagged by the Philippine National Police as the most wanted NPA rebel in Negros. A media release from the Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion (62IB) identified the suspect as 49-year-old Jerry Montefalcon (alias Ka Bulhot), married, and a member of the NPA’s Central Negros 1. He was arrested by 62IB troops and Canlaon City police in Sitio Anatuling, Barangay Budlasan, Canlaon City under a search warrant. Montefalcon is the subject of several warrants issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 64 in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental for murder and illegal possession of firearms, ammunition, and explosives, among others. No bail was recommended. He was also involved in various harassments and liquidations of CAFGU Active Auxiliary and civilians in Moises Padilla and La Castellana, both in Negros Occidental, and Guihulngan City and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental. Lt. Col. William Pesase, 62IB commanding officer, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that the arrest of Montefalcon indicates the battalion’s relentless efforts to ‘hunt down the remaining NPA members who have killed innocent and unarmed civilians in central Negros.’ ‘We are reiterating our call for them to surrender now and live a normal life again with their families. Otherwise, they will either die in an encounter or languish in jail for the crimes they have committed,’ Pesase said in an interview

Source: Philippines News Agency

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is hands-on in ensuring that the more than PHP3.48 trillion investment pledges Manila secured during his foreign trips would materialize and generate jobs as soon as possible, a Board of Investments (BOI) official said Saturday. At the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, BOI Executive Director for Investments Promotion Services Evariste Cagatan said the Chief Executive had been closely monitoring the leads to provide assistance to fast-track these investors’ entry into the country. ‘Investment leads pa lang iyan so marami pang kailangang gawin para tuluyang matuloy ‘yong mga pledges (These are only investment leads, so a lot still needs to be done before they materialize),’ she said. ‘Ang pangulo talagang binabantayan niya ‘yong pledges na ito na binigay sa kanya. So tinitingnan namin kung ano ‘yong mga balakid bakit hindi kaagad makapasok (The President is closely monitoring these pledges. So we are trying to identify the obstacles to the entry of these investments),’ she added. The challenges, she said, range from securing permits to the need for vast tracts of land and hiring employees with the right set of skills for their businesses. The Philippines has so far secured USD62 billion or approximately PHP3.48 trillion in investment pledges since Marcos’ first official foreign travel in 2022. ‘Most of these, for example, the US trip, marami nang pumasok at na-register na natin sa BOI at PEZA (many have entered and have been registered with the BOI and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority),’ Cagatan said. ‘But you must understand na ‘yong investment kapag ginawa ‘yong pledge ngayon, not necessarily bukas nandiyan na siya. Medyo mahaba ‘yong gestation (You must understand that if you make the pledge today, it does not mean that it would materialize instantly. The gestation period is quite long),’ she added. Cagatan noted that while monitoring these pledges, the government also continues to attract local and foreign investors by positioning the country as an ideal destination to achieve their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals. ‘(I)yong mga investors ngayon, hinahanap nila kung saan sila puwedeng mag-invest wherein masasagot nila iyong kanilang ESG goals. So iyon ‘yong offer ng Philippines na kung dito sila maglo-locate (Investors are checking where they could invest and achieve their ESG goals. That’s what we’re offering in the Philippines) we can help them and support their ESG goals because renewable energy is available here,’ she said. At the BOI alone, investment approvals from January to March reached PHP463.3 billion, up by 155 percent from the PHP181.7 billion recorded in the same period last year. Cagatan said a large chunk of these investments is in renewables. ‘(This) is 40 percent of our original target for approval for the year that is PHP1 trillion. And because we are already at that level, our target this year climbed to PHP1.5 trillion,’ she said

Source: Philippines News Agency

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Saturday said the government is committed to the long-term rehabilitation of oil-spill affected Oriental Mindoro, starting with livelihood projects. Marcos said the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Social Welfare and Development are among the lead agencies providing aid, livelihood assistance, as well as seed money and training for owners of small businesses. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), has numerous plans for the province under its recovery initiatives, Marcos assured. ‘[A]ng TESDA under DOLE nagbibigay ng training para ito ay hindi naman mapatid ‘yong kinikita ng ating mga kababayan (The TESDA under DOLE gives trainings so that the flow of the residents’ income is continuous),’ Marcos told Pola residents. ‘Kaya’t asahan po ninyo, hindi namin kayo iiwanan. Asahan ninyo na hangga’t matapos ito ay nandito ang national government para tulungan kayo, para maibalik kayo sa dati ninyong gawi (Rest assured that we will leave no one behind. You can be sure that the national government will be with you to help you all the way until life is back to normal)” he added. Marcos also vowed to address the problems that cropped up during the crisis, such as the source of potable water. The Marcos administration, he said, will seize the opportunity to develop the province’s infrastructures, businesses and industries. The President went to Pola to inspect the damage of the oil spill as well as to ensure that rehabilitation efforts are continuing. The Philippines continues to address the oil spill with the help of its foreign partners from Japan, the United States, and South Korea, as well as international disaster agencies and organizations

Source: Philippines News Agency

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will sit down with local chief executives in four Calabarzon and Mimaropa provinces to allow oil spill-affected fisherfolk in Mindoro in their waters. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued the order to DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. on Saturday during a situation briefing with national government agency heads and local chief executives in Pola town, Oriental Mindoro. The four alternative fishing sites are the Mindoro Strait in Mindoro Oriental; Cuyo Pass in Batangas; Tablas Strait in Romblon; and Tayabas Bay in Quezon. Marcos likewise assured that the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), would continue monitoring the situation. ‘DENR will continue to monitor the situation. BFAR will continue to monitor the situation. As soon as ma-clear na, makabalik na tayo sa dating normal, back to the old normal, papunta na sa (we will return to normal heading to a) new normal,’ he said. In addition, the Department of Labor and Employment is continuously looking for livelihoods to augment the daily income of affected residents, Marcos said. The Chief Executive, meanwhile, said the livelihood program must be sustainable, which fisherfolk could continue even if the sea fully recovers. ‘(H)uwag nating iniisip para ngayon lang, gawin na natin para kahit na bumalik na ‘yung isda, tuloy pa rin ‘yung kanilang hanapbuhay, may livelihood, may karagdagang livelihood. ‘Yun ang importante (Let’s make it sustainable so that they have a livelihood even after the fish return. That’s what’s important),’ he said. The livelihood program is contained in the five-year recovery plan prepared by the local chief executives in the spill-affected areas. Marcos added that cleanup operations, led by the Philippine Coast Guard, would continue as the national and local government units shift focus on the recovery of economic activity in the region. ‘The immediate danger, the immediate situation has already been attended to. At kailangan na ngayon ay tama naman ‘yung sinasabi ninyo, take advantage na tayo. Lagyan nga natin ng bagong water system, bagong livelihood na pwedeng gawin (It is correct that we now need to learn from the situation and put up a new water system and create new livelihood),’ he said. Aside from Abalos, Marcos was accompanied by Special Assistant Anton Lagdameo, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian, DENR Secretary Toni Loyzaga, Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual, and Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil.

Source: Philippines News Agency

A New People’s Army (NPA) rebel was killed and assorted war materiel was recovered as government troops clashed with NPA rebels in Zamboanga del Norte on Saturday. In a statement, the 97th Infantry Battalion (97IB), said the clash took place in Barangay Linabo, Polanco, Zamboanga del Norte at about 7:50 a.m. The 97IB said the troops were checking the reported presence of a group of NPA rebels in the village when the clash ensued. The firefight lasted for 15 minutes after which the NPA rebels fled, leaving behind the body of their fallen comrade. There was no reported casualty on the government side, the 97IB said. The troops recovered an M-16 Armalite rifle, assorted war materiel, and personal belongings abandoned by the fleeing rebels being pursued by the 97IB troops

Source: Philippines News Agency