Day: May 12, 2023

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Vietnam have to work hard to beat Cambodia in semifinal: head coach

Head coach of the Vietnamese women’s football team Mai Duc Chung expressed his appreciation for hosts Cambodia, who will play Vietnam in the 32nd SEA Games women’s football semi-final match on May 12 in Phnom Penh.

Speaking at a press conference on May 11, Chung congratulated Cambodia for reaching the final-four round of the SEA Games for the first time.

“In Southeast Asia, women’s football has been strongly developed. Countries including Cambodia have supported women’s football,” said Chung. “It is our honour to play against the host team. We have seen their remarkable progress. They play well and we respect them.”

Chung said his coaching team watched them and saw that it was a team of equal quality and fitness level.

Chung appreciated Cambodia as being as strong as Thailand, the Philippines and Myanmar.

“Cambodia has big defenders while also having proactive midfielders with several playmakers. Many supporters will come to encourage their team. Vietnam therefore has to be on high alert,” said Chung.

Captain Huynh Nhu of Vietnam also took part in the briefing.

“After knowing our semi-final rival, we sat down and discussed our plan,” said Nhu.

“In our latest match at the 2019 Southeast Asian Championship, we won big (10-0). But it was four years ago. Now, Cambodia have made big steps to develop. They played well against Thailand and other rivals. It is not easy to beat them. In the semis, we have to be focused and strictly follow tactics. We will have a determined match and win,” Nhu said.

Adding to his captain’s opinion, coach Chung said: “The match Nhu talked about was before Chinese coach Gao Fulin took charge. Now he is here and he helped the team improve. In the semi-finals, all teams are strong. We will have to work hard to beat them”.

On the other side, Gao praised defending champions Vietnam’s power.

“Playing against Vietnam is our honour. We will do our best and hope that players will deliver a good game,” he said. “Together, with the support of local fans and officials, we will make a competitive semi-final match.”

The Vietnam and Cambodia match will be held at the Olympic Stadium while in the other semi-final game, Thailand will play Myanmar at the Army Stadium./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

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BARMM extends financial aid to 667 PWDs

Some 667 indigent Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) received financial assistance from the Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) government, the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) said Friday. In a statement, MSSD-BARMM said the beneficiaries included 449 indigent PWDs in Wao, Lanao del Sur; and another 168 in Parang, Maguindanao del Norte. ‘The beneficiaries received PHP1,500 each. This assistance covers the first quarter of their PHP500 monthly subsidy for this year,’ the agency said. In Wao town, the PWDs received their share during the distribution of assistance held Thursday at the municipal covered court. ‘I now have money to buy medicine and food,’ a visibly elated PWD, identified only as ‘Kuya,’ said at the sidelines of the distribution activity. In Parang town, 168 indigent PWDs also received financial assistance in a separate distribution on the same day. The assistance was implemented under the ‘Kalinga para sa may Kapansanan Program,’ a social protection program pioneered by MSSD aiming to uplift the living conditions of indigent PWDs through monthly financial support. Recipients were identified upon assessment and validation administered by field social workers. ‘The program’s assistance to the PWDs reflects one of the BARMM’s sincere efforts through MSSD to support and promote the rights and welfare of PWDs across the region,’ MSSD-BARMM Minister Raissa Jajurie said. In the next few days, the MSSD will also distribute the monthly rice subsidies for household beneficiaries of the ‘Unlad Pamilyang Bangsamoro Program’ in various municipalities.

Source: Philippines News Agency

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PBBM elated over US-based equity firm’s investment pledges

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday expressed excitement over the commitment of United States (US)-based private equity firm Cerberus Global Investment LLC to pursue more investments in the Philippines. Cerberus’ investment pledges were discussed when its top executives led by former US vice president and company chairperson James Danforth Quayle made a courtesy call on Marcos at Malacañan Palace in Manila, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement. Garafil said Marcos is optimistic that the Philippines would regain its footing in the global shipbuilding industry, given the ‘aggressive’ investment and expansion of Cerberus, a global alternative investment firm with assets across credit, private equity and real estate strategies. ‘We’re all very excited about this project and… we have always tried to find a way to regain our position in the shipbuilding. We were already number 2 for a while and then when Hanjin closed,’ Marcos, as quoted by the PCO, told Cerberus’ top officials. In 2022, Cerberus acquired the debt-laden Hanjin shipyard at the Subic Bay Freeport. Currently, the Philippine Navy has around 800 personnel at a naval operating base in Subic, Zambales. Quayle told Marcos that Cerberus is also ‘excited’ to be a part of the Philippine economic growth story and has been planning to bring ‘more and bigger’ investments to the Philippines. Hyundai, one of the most prestigious shipbuilding firms, expressed interest in using two drydocks in Subic for shipbuilding and move to the facility by yearend. Hyundai’s plan is seen to create around 5,000 to 15,000 job opportunities in the country. Employing different approach to investment, Cerberus wants to ensure diverse economic activity by having multiple companies engaged in various businesses, Garafil said. Garafil noted that Cerberus subsidiary Subcomm, engaged in building and installing submarine cables, will also move to the facility in August this year, an initiative which could generate additional employment in the area. ‘The entry of Hyundai and Subcomm in Subic is seen create much-needed economic activity in Subic that could also benefit downstream industries in the area,’ she said. Cerberus, Garafil said, also sees value and potential in improving the Subic airport for logistics or cargo and plans to propose to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to convert the airport into a cargo and logistics hub. Garafil said Cerberus is also eyeing investments in the country’s semiconductors and energy sectors. Apart from Quayle, company officials who met Marcos at Malacañan were Cerberus Co-Chief Executive Frank Bruno and Co-head Alexander Benard. Cerberus, founded in 1992, manages up to USD60 billion in assets globally. The company has experience in direct investments, private equity, growth and venture transactions in various region and maintains 27 sites around the world.

Source: Philippines News Agency

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Lao students perform Sieng Khaen Lao dance at 16th Int’l Cultural Festival

Lao students performed Sieng Khaen Lao dance at the 16th International Culture and Custom Exhibition at Shanghai University (SHU), Shanghai, China on May 10.

Sieng Khaen Lao dance is one of the highlights at the special event, festivals and other local celebrations. The khaen music is regarded by people of all ages as a beautiful and sweet sound that creates happiness.

In 2017, the UNESCO inscribed Khaen music of the Lao PDR on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The exhibition drew almost 30 booths showcasing rich culture of China and civilizations of Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan, R. Korea, France, Mongolia and Latin America.

“The International Culture and Custom Exhibition has changed the campus of SHU into a wonderful stage for the presentation of international culture and cuisines from difference countries,” said Wang Lina, a secretary of the Party Committee of the International Department of Shanghai University.

The 16th International Culture and Custom Exhibition, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China – May 10, 2023

At the event, a fashion show also allowed international and Chinese students to present their national costumes.

Mr Anousack Sengkhuen, a Lao year-two master student said, “This year we introduce Lao traditional culture, handicrafts, national flag, souvenirs, and sell Lao food and drinks, especially papaya salad, sticky rice and coconut jelly.”

“I am happy to present my culture to the world and share love with others. The International Culture and Custom Exhibition promotes multicultural understanding among different countries in the world. At this event, we showed posters of our tourist sites, food and souvenirs. I’d like to invite people from other countries to travel and explore the beautiful places in Pakistan, experience Pakistani food and hospitability, culture, sports and much more,” said a Pakistani PhD student Salah Ud Din.

Launched in 2007, the International Culture and Custom Exhibition aims to promote cultural exchange and understanding between Chinese students and their foreign fellows.

More than 4,000 international students from over 100 countries in Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and America are studying at Shanghai University. These include twenty-three students from the Lao PDR.

Source: Lao News Agency

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PH wins ‘surprise’ gold in SEAG 4×400 relay

The Philippines’ 4×400 meter team, backstopped by the son of an athletic legend and a new Filipino American recruit, concluded the team’s campaign with a surprise gold at the close of the athletics competitions in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games at the Morodok Techno National Stadium here on Friday night. The Philippines last won the 4×400 in the Myanmar 2013 SEA Games, with Isidro del Prado Jr., son of athletic icon Isidro Sr., spearheading the team. This time, it was his younger brother Michael del Prado, who led the assault to get it back, as he, together with Frederick Ramirez and Joyme Sequita built a comfortable lead going into the last runner, Fil-heritage athlete Umajesty Williams. Suiting up in his first and biggest multi-nation competition ever, the 23-year-old Williams held the fort as the team’s last runner and had enough gas in the tank to fend off a fast-charging Thawatchai Khongjeam as the Philippines pulled off the stunning win by .1 of a second with its total of 3:02.22. Thailand, the defending champion, clocked 3:07.23, with Myanmar placing third at 3:08.82 ‘I knew he was coming, I know my competition, he’s a very strong athlete. I knew I wasn’t get away with it easily. But I’m happy and blessed, that we won the gold for the Philippines,’ said Williams, who made his national team debut two months ago in the National Open in Ilagan, Isabela. ‘Unexpected na mananalo kami ngayon, kasi last SEA Games, 4th lang kami. Sulit ang 6 months na training (that we won know because in the last SEA Games, we finished fourth. Six months of training paid off),’ Ramirez said. Half an hour earlier, the Philippine women’s 4×400 squad, led by Robyn Brown and Maureen Schrijvers, settled for the silver at 3:37.70 behind a Vietnamese team, bannered by Thi Anh Thuc Hoang. The most surprising result, however, came in the women’s pole vault, where a 16-year-old Palarong Pambansa standout in Gennah Malapitan, led a 2-3 finish for the Filipinos. The 5’9′ Malapitan, who joined the SEA Games to gain experience, ended up bagging the silver as she hurled the spear to a stunning 49.55 meters, four meters better than her personal best, and some three behind the 52.6 of Thailand’s Jariya Wichaidit, last year’s silver medalist. Veteran Evalyn Palabrica made 48.31 meters for the bronze. Meanwhile, Kristina Knott, who finished 4th in the women’s 200-meters on Monday, did not start the 100-m finals due to a hamstring injury. “Her coaches may have decided not to take the risk, malapit na kasi ang Asian championships (Because Asian championships is forthcoming),” said national team coach Jojo Posadas of the 27-year-old Knott, the 200-meter queen in 2019.

Source: Philippines News Agency

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Reforms in real property valuation to empower LGUs – ULAP chief

Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) national president, Quirino Governor Dax Cua, has called for reforms in the country’s real property valuation to empower local government units (LGUs) and improve their service delivery. During the memorandum of agreement signing for the Local Governance Reform Project of the Department of Finance Bureau of Local Government Finance (DOF-BLGF) on Thursday, Cua emphasized the importance of legislating a Valuation Reform Act to enhance local governments’ revenue generation capabilities and resource mobilization. Cua said ULAP supports real property tax reform, emphasizing that the heavy reliance of LGUs on national tax allocation hinders their ability to operate independently and deliver efficient services to citizens. “By improving local own-source revenues, particularly through real property tax reform, true local fiscal autonomy can be achieved,” Cua said. Drawing attention to the current state of real property tax revenues in the Philippines, Cua said local business tax collections have exceeded real property tax revenues since 2011. He further highlighted the pressing need to update the outdated Schedule of Market Value Profiles (SMVs), which has resulted in significant revenue losses amounting to billions. ‘Outdated SMVs have caused missed opportunities for revenue collection across various levels of LGUs,’ he said. To address this issue, Cua advocated for the adoption of a single valuation base for all LGUs, the establishment of a valuation standard, the creation of an independent valuation authority, and the improvement of Real Property Tax (RPT) collection. Cua said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has identified the bill as urgent. “ULAP is prepared to collaborate with national leaders to ensure the passage of a comprehensive Valuation Reform Act,” Cua said.

Source: Philippines News Agency