Day: April 20, 2024

MANILA: Lyceum of the Philippines University rallied past Perpetual Help, 25-21, 24-26, 18-25, 25-22, 15-11, to gain a share of the lead in the NCAA Season 99 women’s volleyball tournament at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City on Saturday.

Janeth Tulang delivered 18 attacks and two aces for the Lady Pirates, who joined the College of Saint Benilde Lady Blazers and the Letran Lady Knights on top at 4-0.

Joan Doguna and Johna Denise Dolorito finished with 19 points; Hiromi Osada added eight points, three on blocks; and skipper Venice Puzon made 16 excellent digs and 20 sets for the Cromwell Garcia-mentored Lady Pirates.

Reigning Most Valuable Player Mary Rhose Dapol scored 35 points — 33 on attacks — but can’t give the win to Perpetual, which fell to 2-2.

In men’s play, Perpetual easily discarded Lyceum, 25-16, 25-17, 25-15, to stay unbeaten at 4-0 along with Emilio Aguinaldo College.

Action will continue on Sunday with San Sebastian College facing Arellano University at 9 a.m. (men’s) and 11:30 a.m.
(women’s).

Letran and Saint Benilde will square off at 2 p.m. (women’s), followed by the men’s tussle at 5 p.m.

Source: Philippines News Agency

BARAS: The Philippine Egg Board (PEB) assured that the apparent shrinking sizes of eggs will not contribute to food inflation as prices have always varied according to their sizes.

In an interview on Saturday, PEB chair Gregorio San Diego explained that eggs have always been classified as small, medium, large and extra-large, and are priced accordingly.

‘Of course, if they (eggs) are getting smaller they will be sold for less,’ he told the Philippine News Agency.

San Diego said that the exceptionally hot weather in egg-producing provinces today is causing layers to produce smaller eggs.

‘During the hottest part of the year, egg sizes are really affected and a little bit watery inside because hens drink a lot of water. This is especially true for conventional poultry houses,’ he explained.

He was referring to backyard and other smaller poultry farms that often lack the facilities to shield their layers from the ambient temperature.

Elias Jose Inciong, chair of the Union of Boiler Raisers’ Association, sa
id even broiler chickens grow at a slower pace during the dry season.

However, he pointed out that despite their smaller average size, the production of chicken and eggs has been particularly good lately.

‘Eggs at either the farm gate or wholesale level have been selling at only PHP3.60 apiece. They are being dumped in huge quantities at Blumentritt Market [in Manila] where excess eggs are traditionally sold at low prices,’ said Inciong.

The Philippine Statistics Authority’s March 2024 inflation report showed that inflation on the milk, other dairy products and eggs cluster decelerated to 2.3 percent compared to 3.5 percent in February and 5.6 percent in January.

Source: Philippines News Agency

ILOILO CITY: The city and its top delicacies, like batchoy, siopao and pancit molo, are gaining more international exposure after earning the Creative City of Gastronomy title from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

‘What we do is really to promote Iloilo, and it’s a good thing that we were tagged as one of the creative cities on gastronomy,’ Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said in an interview on Saturday on the sidelines of an anti-drug advocacy fun run. “It’s those exchanges that we do internationally that we will be able to bring visitors here.”

The city government, for the first time, will join the City of Gastronomy cluster meeting on May 9 to 13 in Phuket, Thailand.

Another delegation will attend the CityNet meeting on May 8 to 12 in Seoul, South Korea with a gastronomy expo as one of the highlights.

CityNet is an association of urban stakeholders committed to sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region.

This city hosted an executive committee meeting in Fe
bruary.

Chef Ariel Castañeda Jr. of Richmonde Hotel, along with the sous chefs in Iloilo, will then represent the city in the Gastronomy Showcase of all Gastronomy Cities in Macao from June 14 to 22.

The local government is also talking to several restaurants for participation in the gathering of Asian gastronomy cities in Macao.

Treñas will join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network annual general membership conference in Braga, Portugal from July 1 to 5.

By exposing the city’s gastronomy, they would be able to elevate the level of food in Iloilo when they return.

To ensure sustainability at the local level, the mayor created a team at the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions (LEDIP) office to focus on gastronomy.

The LEDIP office trains public vendors on food handling and financial literacy through the Uswag Negosyo Academy while SM City allows the display of local delicacies.

The city has also been tagged the Museum Capital of the Philippines, Most Beautiful City, Flower/Garden City and
Most Liveable.

‘Everyone wants to have a taste of Iloilo,’ Treñas said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

ILOILO CITY: This city manifested its strong support for the government’s anti-drug program as it gathered over 8,500 participants in the local government-led Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan (BIDA) Rise and Run on Saturday.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. led the five-kilometer advocacy run that started 6 a.m. outside the city hall.

He said local government units play an important role in the government’s effort against illegal drugs, particularly local executives from the mayors down to village chairpersons.

“We are doing a whole-of-nation approach. What is important is that with all the support, you make use of this to look at the gaps,” he said in an interview.

Mayor Jerry Treñas assured Abalos that the city and all its villages are supportive of the government’s anti-drug campaign.

“The problem with drugs is multi-faceted, that is why we support the police but at the same time, we work with the barangays because the real problem is with the barangays. And it is only through
a community effort that we will be able to stop this,” Treñas said.

He said random drug testing is conducted at the city hall.

If there is an ordinance and legally feasible, all employees in the city will be tested.

“We will sustain the campaign, not necessarily BIDA-run, but other efforts to keep our people away from drugs,” he said.

BIDA data from Jan. 1, 2023, to Jan. 31, 2024 showed the conduct of illegal drugs awareness and prevention campaigns across 129,662 schools, 367,177 villages, and 156,009 workplaces, reaching 10,613,793 participants nationwide.

Over 6.2 million anti-illegal drugs informative materials were disseminated; 46,901 visitations made in Uncleared Barangays and houses of 287,611 Persons Who Use Drugs nationwide; and 779,353 BIDA advocates championed the program’s cause.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Several countries are willing to assist the Philippines in enhancing its defense capabilities through a visIting forces agreement (VFA) or military exercises.

National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said at least 14 nations have expressed intentions to join “Balikatan” (literally shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises in the country.

The “Balikatan” with the United States military demonstrates and refines tactics, techniques, and procedures related to security and conflicts.

There are also humanitarian civic assistance projects to improve infrastructure and enhance medical response, including trainings in advanced emergency rescue and lifesaving techniques.

‘Dati po iyong Balikatan, ilang libo lang iyan kasama, iyong Amerika. Ngayon libu-libo na at ang observer natin, 14. Ganoon kadami iyong mga bansa na hindi lang salita, gawa na ngayon. Nagpapadala sila ng tropa mula sa bansa nila (The previous Balikatan only had America but now there are thousand others and we have 1
4 observers. They actually join, not just talk about it. They send troops) and they are asking permission to join,’ he said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

He said even New Zealand wants to strengthen its defenses alongside the Philippines, as expressed by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in his meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at Malacañang Palace in Manila on Thursday.

The 39th iteration of the “Balikatan” on April 22 to May 10 will have observers from Brunei, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

Malaya said the support of various countries is mainly due to the clear stand of the Philippines on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue.

‘Wala pong ni isang bansa ang nagpapahayag ng suporta sa posisyon ng Tsina sa (Not one country supports the stand of China on the) West Philippine Sea,” Malaya said.

In contrast, he said the Philippines is always visited by prime ministers, foreign mi
nisters, defense ministers and the like.

“They understand that our position is important. We stand for the rule of law. We stand for a free and open Indo-Pacific and we stand for international law,’ Malaya said.

He clarified though that the Philippines is accepting alliances with other nations not to create war.

‘We are exhausting all diplomatic options to resolve this issue. We wish a constructive dialogue with the People’s Republic of China. But defending, improving our defenses and improving the capacity of our forces through exercises and joint patrols do not mean that we are going to war,’ he said.

‘We have no intention of precipitating any form of war with anyone,’ he added.

All VFA announcements will have to come from the Department of Foreign Affairs, he said.

‘All I can say right now are the countries that have expressed interest to us publicly, like Japan,’ he said.

The Philippines’ tough stand against China is one of the reasons why the President was named one of the world’s 100 most influen
tial people by Time Magazine.

“Hindi po ako nagtataka doon (I’m not surprised with that) because the respect for the Philippines has increased. And I agree with the assessment of Time Magazine that President Bongbong Marcos has brought the Philippines back to the world stage,’ he said.

Meanwhile, professor Don Mclain Gill, geopolitical analyst and lecturer of the International Studies Department of De La Salle University, noted that the country is on the right track as it handles with “clarity, transparency and consistency’ the WPS issues.

‘The government of the Philippines particularly under President Marcos Jr. has emphasized that we uphold the 2016 Arbitral Ruling and UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), which are enough to let us know our legitimacy in terms of the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

He urged Filipinos to continue to support the government.

‘What we should now be focused on are its long-term implications and this is where we should show our unity in order to ensure th
at the efforts of civil society also align with the efforts that our government is putting in and that is basically the whole-of-the nation approach that we are trying to pursue,’ he said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the nearly PHP1.2 billion billing it received from the construction company that built the Masungi Georeserve resort in Rizal province for supposed unrealized delivery of commitments has no legal basis

In a news release on Saturday, the DENR said the Blue Star Construction and Development Corporation (BSCDC) sent a statement of account dated April 11, 2024 amounting to PHP1,186,097,554.63 and incurred starting June 2018, as signed by accountant Ma. Lorena C. Dingle.

The billing covers legal fees, security expenses and damages resulting from delayed land delivery, among others.

‘This is to advise you of the following expenses incurred by Blue Star in connection with the unrealized delivery by DENR of Lot 10 OCT No 3556 pursuant to Clause 3.2 of the Joint Venture Agreement,’ the statement of account read.

The letter stated that it was agreed upon that costs associated with the land are chargeable to DENR and applied against the agency’s
share of the project proceeds.

‘Questionable survey plans approved by DENR Calabarzon, such as the plan used by the Lot 10 September 2022 invaders, are making matters worse. We look forward to the immediate and satisfactory clearing of Lot 10 by DENR to stop this unnecessary loss of private and public funds,’ the Blue Star letter read.

However, the DENR Investigation Committee formed in 2019 to look into the contracts said the billing is without legal basis.

‘The contracts entered into by BSCDC (Blue Star) had legal infirmities ranging from unlawful excise of land for housing purposes in a National Park to award of contracts without bidding,’ the Investigation Committee said.

Blue Star’s disclosures with the Securities and Exchange Commission show that among the key officers and stockholders of Blue Star are Ben Dumaliang, Ann Adeline Dumaliang, and Billy Crystal Dumaliang.

The Department of Justice had previously ruled that the government’s “perpetual land trust for conservation” agreement with the Masu
ngi Georeserve Foundation, Inc. (MGFI) in 2017 runs afoul with the limitations set by the constitution.

The legal opinion, through Undersecretary Raul Vasquez, explained that Article XII, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution provides that agreements over all lands, waters, and minerals of the public domain shall be for a period not exceeding 25 years and renewable for another 25 years.

The area covers 2,700 hectares in the city of Antipolo and the towns of Baras, Tanay, Rodriguez, and San Mateo, all in Rizal.

‘The Masungi Georeserve resort collects entrance fees from tourists (PHP1,500 per person on weekdays and PHP1,800 on weekends). It offers accommodations starting at PHP5,000 a night and hosts events like weddings and company events with rates starting at PHP120,000. The resort has a restaurant,’ the DENR said.

Among the georeserve’s attractions are a tourist trek to caves, stone formations and trails, rope bridges, and a spider web-like elevated platform with a 360-degree view of the Sierra Madre mount
ain range.

The DENR added that MGFI has no accreditation from the Department of Tourism.

Source: Philippines News Agency