Day: May 10, 2024

The labour market is gradually returning to normal development trends seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA). However, the department noted that there are still issues to address, in particular the high youth unemployment rate. The youth unemployment rate remains notably high. Nationwide, there are approximately 1.4 million unemployed (aged 15 to 24) who are neither employed nor engaged in education or training, which is 11% of the total youth population. This rate is higher in rural areas compared to urban areas, standing at 12.8% versus 8.3%, respectively.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Cadets of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) who will become junior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines by May 18 vowed to defend the country anytime.

Cadet Miguel Ponce Abesamis from Olongapo City said the moment he joined the institution in 2020, he had already instilled in his mind to be prepared for anything.

‘The mere fact that I decided to join this prestigious institution, I should be prepared for anything,’ he said on the sidelines of the formal announcement of PMA’s top graduating cadets of “Bagong Sinag” Class of 2024.

He said the academy taught and equipped him not just with physical and mental capabilities but also with skills and strategies in defense of the country.

‘Because of how PMA developed me, and the future officer that I would be, whatever happens in my area of specialization, I should be prepared to defend the people, country, territory,’ he said during a press conference.

Cadet Kim Harold Gilo, the Class’ No. 3 who is joining Abesamis in the Philippine Navy, vowed
to perform his best while asserting the country’s sovereignty and freedom.

‘We will do our best to hone ourselves and continuously develop ourselves to be ready anytime where the sovereignty of our country will be on the line,’ Gilo said.

PMA Superintendent Lt. Gen. Rowen Tolentino said part of the curriculum of the cadets is to expose them to the field and provide them with skills in territorial defense.

”Yung role nila as a platoon leader, ensign, pilots sa Air Force, kanya-kanyang role na sila for external defense, ‘yun na ‘yung nagiging focus ng mga scenario ng mga (Their roles as platoon leaders, ensign, pilots of the Air Force, they have their own roles for external defense and that is the focus of the scenarios during their) Joint Field Training Program Exercises,’ Tolentino said.

The graduation on May 18 will be composed of 224 males and 54 females.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is looking to shorten the processing of permits for the mining industry to entice more investors to do business in the Philippines.

Speaking during Friday’s mining conference in Makati City organized by think-tank Stratbase ADR, Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said they are now in the process of digitalizing the permitting process.

‘We are still in the work-in-progress stage. We hope we’ll be in the shortening of the permitting process. Right now we are believed to be at around six years in terms of permitting and some say it is longer than that. We are attempting to actually reach two to three years processing time,’ Loyzaga said, referring to the long processing time.

Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go agreed with Loyzaga on the need to improve the ease of doing business in the mining sector, especially in the processing of the Environmental Compliance Certificate
.

Apart from the digitalization, Go said the permitting process could be shortened by doing simultaneous processing, rather than doing it sequentially.

‘In the bureaucratic process when A is required for B, and B is required for C, and C is required for D, and so on, that could really stretch the whole process. With the realization that a lot of them are actually unnecessary to be sequential, I think that will really be a lightbulb moment that can radically improve the speed of processing permits,’ Go said.

During her opening speech, Loyzaga mentioned that several countries including the United States, China, Australia, United Kingdom and the European Union, have expressed intent to collaborate with the Philippines in terms of mining.

Loyzaga said the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. aims to revitalize the mining sector and leverage its status as one of the world’s most mineral-rich nations to drive economic growth.

Citing data from the Department of Finance, she said the country gener
ated PHP160 billion in the production of copper, gold, and nickel in 2023.

Oceana Gold recently turned over to the DENR the government share of more than PHP1 billion as part of its Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) agreement, Loyzaga said.

The FTAA is essentially a production-sharing agreement between the Philippine government and a large-scale mining company.

‘The social development and management plan or SDMP for 2023 exceeded PHP1.35 billion of direct expenditures of mining operations to benefit their host and neighboring communities. The contributions from the mining sector are bound to significantly increase in the years to come,’ Loyzaga said.

For the period 2020-2022, the DENR issued 34 Exploration Permits (EPs) and Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSAs), increasing the efficiency of processing time by 29 percent.

This includes the MPSA of a gold mine and an aggregates project in the north, and a nickel mine in the Visayas as well as EPs for nickel and gold exploration in
other parts of Luzon.

“We hope to further streamline the process moving forward starting with the full digitalization of EP and MPSA processes this year,” she added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

DUMAGUETE CITY: The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ (NGCP) Amlan-Siaton 69-kilovolt (kV) transmission line in Negros Oriental has now reached a critical level, an official said Friday.

Michelle Visera, NGCP-Negros public relations officer, said that due to the current overloading of the power line, the ongoing construction of the Amlan-Dumaguete 138 kV line needs to be expedited to prevent any potential power outages.

“We are asking stakeholders and government officials in Negros Oriental to help us fast-track the acquisition of permits and the Certificate of No Objection from concerned local governments and private individuals,” Visera said in an interview.

“The Amlan-Dumaguete 138 kV line was started last year and is seen to be completed by September this year, but some local resistance to the project compelled the grid operator to file a motion to extend the completion date to January 2026,” she added.

Visera said the Amlan-Siaton 69-kV line is carrying a load of 69 megawatts (MW) as of A
pril 25 this year, which is beyond the normal capacity of 58 MW.

Last weekend, many parts of Negros Oriental experienced a 12-hour brownout after NGCP announced it would be undertaking preventive maintenance of the Amlan-Siaton 69-kV line to ensure stability.

Visera said the ongoing project for the new Amlan-Dumaguete 138-kV line must be expedited to meet the power demands while minimizing recurring and prolonged power interruptions in Negros Oriental.

Source: Philippines News Agency

BACOLOD CITY: The Provincial Health Office (PHO) in Negros Occidental is awaiting the arrival of its procured pentavalent vaccines to conduct catch-up vaccination among children less than 5 years old to curb pertussis.

Provincial health officer Dr. Ma. Girlie Pinongan said they expect the 10,000 vials purchased by the province to arrive within the month.

‘There are local government units which still have remaining vaccine supply, but there is none available for the others,’ she said in an interview on Friday.

Pentavalent vaccines protect against pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenza type B.

Pinongan said previously, the PHO vaccinated 62 percent of the target population.

She noted, however, that they still need to reach out during the catch-up vaccination more than 20,000 of about 54,000 children needed to be covered.

Latest data of the PHO showed 74 cases of pertussis in 20 out of 31 local government units in Negros Occidental.

Based on the test results from the Resear
ch Institute for Tropical Medicine, 14 are confirmed cases, including one death.

Further, 40 turned out negative, while 20 were probable cases.

The patients were all infants aged 0 to 9 months, Pinongan said.

Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory disease, with a cough that may last two or more weeks, mild fever, and a runny nose as among its early symptoms.

Others, particularly infants and toddlers, experience cyanosis or turning blue or purple, and apnea or life-threatening pauses in breathing.

In an earlier advisory, Pinongan said those who are unvaccinated or have not completed their vaccination series are at increased risk of severe illness. They should avoid or limit contact with individuals with known or probable pertussis.

‘For unvaccinated parents or caretakers of children showing the symptoms, masking, and religious practice of good hygiene is heavily encouraged,’ she added.

Source: Philippines News Agency