Author: ltadmin

LEGAZPI: Bicol’s Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC) will place all disaster units and their respective operation centers under “blue alert” status in preparation for the observance of the Holy Week.

In an interview on Tuesday, Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Regional Director and Bicol DRRMC chair Claudio Yucot said the blue alert status is part of the council’s measure to ensure the preparedness of the various disaster units and line agencies in the region.

“The Bicol RDRRMC Emergency Operation Center (EOC) added the Semana Santa (Holy Week) 2024 for our incident monitoring under blue alert status. The RDRRMC Bicol is also in blue alert status for the continuous monitoring of Mayon Volcano and Bulusan Volcano (both under alert level 1),” he said.

In a memorandum, Yucot directed all DRRMCs to closely monitor and report their actions during the blue alert period from March 21 to April 1.

The blue alert status is the second level of alert status for the RDRRMC Bicol EOC, which hei
ghtened operations, monitoring, coordination, and reporting.

Under such status, the RDRRMC response agencies shall place their respective emergency operations centers round-the-clock in case of incidents and other eventualities throughout the observance of Holy Week.

Local government units must have contingency plans for Holy Week 2024, and national government agencies should ensure their operational plans are implemented down to the local level.

Source: Philippines News Agency

LEGAZPI: Bicol’s Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC) will place all disaster units and their respective operation centers under “blue alert” status in preparation for the observance of the Holy Week.

In an interview on Tuesday, Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Regional Director and Bicol DRRMC chair Claudio Yucot said the blue alert status is part of the council’s measure to ensure the preparedness of the various disaster units and line agencies in the region.

“The Bicol RDRRMC Emergency Operation Center (EOC) added the Semana Santa (Holy Week) 2024 for our incident monitoring under blue alert status. The RDRRMC Bicol is also in blue alert status for the continuous monitoring of Mayon Volcano and Bulusan Volcano (both under alert level 1),” he said.

In a memorandum, Yucot directed all DRRMCs to closely monitor and report their actions during the blue alert period from March 21 to April 1.

The blue alert status is the second level of alert status for the RDRRMC Bicol EOC, which hei
ghtened operations, monitoring, coordination, and reporting.

Under such status, the RDRRMC response agencies shall place their respective emergency operations centers round-the-clock in case of incidents and other eventualities throughout the observance of Holy Week.

Local government units must have contingency plans for Holy Week 2024, and national government agencies should ensure their operational plans are implemented down to the local level.

Source: Philippines News Agency

ILOILO: The local government here is hoping to sustain its gains after placing fourth among the pilot highly urbanized cities (HUCs) outside of the National Capital Region (NCR) based on the results of the Provincial Product Accounts (PPA) for 2022.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in a special release on Monday, said Iloilo City’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP), or the average contribution of individuals to an economy’s output for a certain period, in the first-ever PPA stood at PHP306,444, higher than the national average of PHP178,751.

‘We worked very hard for that and it showed in the result. We are very happy that Iloilo City is gaining ground… Hopefully, this will continue because we have so many plans for Iloilo City,’ Mayor Jerry Treñas said in an interview Tuesday.

Iloilo City followed the cities of Baguio, Cagayan de Oro and Lapu-Lapu, which are the top one to three, respectively.

Velma Jane Lao, head of the Iloilo City Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion (LEDI
P) office, told the Philippine News Agency on Tuesday that the result of the PPA means that Iloilo City has a strong economy.

‘The strength of its economy is one of the elements investors look into. The high GDP per capita of Iloilo City indicates that the population is productive,’ she said in an interview.

Lao said the city’s aggressive promotion for investments has generated more employment and opportunities for entrepreneurship, thus increasing the productivity of the Ilonggos.

‘The output of each Ilonggo contributes to our GDP,’ she said, adding that investments have multiplier effects like job creation, boosting purchasing power, and increasing tax collection.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Czech Republic’s Ministry of Agriculture is in need of Filipino butchers and livestock personnel, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Tuesday.

The agriculture ministry announced its intention to tap the Philippines during the working visit of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in the Czech Republic on March 14.

In an interview with Radyo Pilipinas, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the workforce demand entails 20,000 positions.

“Nangangailangan ng maraming butchers atsaka trabahante sa livestock sector ng Czech Republic (There’s a great demand for butchers and workers in the livestock sector of the Czech Republic),” he said.

De Mesa added the DA will first coordinate with the Department of Labor and Employment and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to ensure proper recruitment procedures.

The DA, meanwhile, granted a three-year meat exporters’ accreditation to several countries including Brazil, Germany, Hungary and Poland.

The agency reported the ac
creditation in a separate statement after it had verified these countries’ compliance with the animal health code of the World Organization of Animal Health, as well as the Philippines’ quarantine and meat inspection standards.

“Exporter accreditation is necessary to ensure cattle, swine, and poultry meat sourced from abroad are free of pathogens and other diseases that could pose a risk to Filipinos and the multi-billion-peso domestic livestock and poultry industry,” the DA said.

This involves 36 meat firms in Germany, 48 in Brazil, 12 in Poland, and three in Hungary.

The accreditation is set to expire in February 2027.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday touted the ‘exciting new phase’ in the Philippine economy as he invited foreign business leaders to consider investing in the country.

Addressing global business leaders and decision makers who flew all the way to Manila to participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Country Roundtable on the Philippines, Marcos highlighted the stellar growth performance of the Philippine economy in 2023 ‘against great odds.’

‘In 2023, the Philippines capped the year off with the highest GDP (gross domestic product) growth in all of ASEAN, including China – meeting or even exceeding the expectations of major multilateral organizations such as the IMF, ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office and World Bank…. It comes as no surprise that investments, particularly in durable equipment and public construction, emerged as a key driver of our full-year growth,’ he said.

Marcos then cited the administration’s 185 flagship infrastructure projects amounting to over PHP9 trillion
or about $163 billion targeting strategically important sectors such as sustainable development, physical and digital connectivity, agriculture, energy, health, and climate-resilient infrastructure.

‘As of today, more than half of these projects are either already ongoing or approved for implementation, while around a quarter are seen to be financed through the public-private partnership (PPP) mechanism,’ he added.

Marcos also cited key regulatory reforms the government has enforced to provide ‘a stable and an enabling environment’ for public-private partnership (PPP) investments, such as the revisions in the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, signing of the landmark PPP (Public-Private Partnership) Code and various economic liberalization measures including the newly established Green Lanes for Strategic Investments, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises or CREATE ACT, and the Maharlika Investment Fund.

The Chief Executive capped off his message by extending an invitation to the WEF participa
nts to join one of the world’s fastest-growing economies as it enters a sustained period of robust economic expansion over the coming years by forging new and stronger partnerships with both the public and private sectors.

‘Clearly, the Philippines is in a prime position to enter into a sustained period of robust economic expansion over the next couple of years,’ Marcos said.

‘I extend an invitation to our partners and guests who are here today, to join us in this exciting new phase,’ he added.

‘PBBM puts PH on world stage’

Meanwhile, WEF President Børge Brende said Marcos’ participation in the annual WEF meeting in Switzerland in January last year created a lot of interest and optimism in the Philippines, with numerous companies wanting to know more about its investment prospects.

‘There is a lot of optimism in the Philippines but also around the Philippines globally. We had a dialogue there and it was very, very well-received and a lot of companies that are partners with the World Economic Forum said t
hat they would like to have a roundtable, to meet with the Filipino secretaries, [and] also to meet with President Marcos,’ Brende said in a press conference in Malacañang.

According to Brende, the Philippines could remain bullish if it continues its current policy reforms, upgrade infrastructure, as well as invest in renewables and other areas.

‘I think that this can be in the coming decade, USD2 trillion economy if there are foreign investments in education, in infrastructure, and also able to draw on the great [competence] of the people of the Philippines,’ he said.

In other development, the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) lauded the efforts of the Marcos government in promoting the country to foreign investors.

‘I have been with the President in his two trips abroad China and Malaysia. The President is working hard to promote the Philippines and he is inviting investors to come in,’ FFCCCII president Dr. Cecilio Pedro said in a media forum in Manila on
Tuesday.

”Yan ang legacy na gusto nya ma-establish (That’s the legacy he wanted to establish) over his term — to bring in more people to help this country move forward and I give it to him,’ he added.

He said the foreign trips of the President are good for the country as he enticed more foreign investors to come in to create more jobs.

‘How many Presidents are traveling like him? Everywhere he goes, he brings in investments,’ Pedro said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday touted the ‘exciting new phase’ in the Philippine economy as he invited foreign business leaders to consider investing in the country.

Addressing global business leaders and decision makers who flew all the way to Manila to participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Country Roundtable on the Philippines, Marcos highlighted the stellar growth performance of the Philippine economy in 2023 ‘against great odds.’

‘In 2023, the Philippines capped the year off with the highest GDP (gross domestic product) growth in all of ASEAN, including China – meeting or even exceeding the expectations of major multilateral organizations such as the IMF, ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office and World Bank…. It comes as no surprise that investments, particularly in durable equipment and public construction, emerged as a key driver of our full-year growth,’ he said.

Marcos then cited the administration’s 185 flagship infrastructure projects amounting to over PHP9 trillion
or about $163 billion targeting strategically important sectors such as sustainable development, physical and digital connectivity, agriculture, energy, health, and climate-resilient infrastructure.

‘As of today, more than half of these projects are either already ongoing or approved for implementation, while around a quarter are seen to be financed through the public-private partnership (PPP) mechanism,’ he added.

Marcos also cited key regulatory reforms the government has enforced to provide ‘a stable and an enabling environment’ for public-private partnership (PPP) investments, such as the revisions in the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, signing of the landmark PPP (Public-Private Partnership) Code and various economic liberalization measures including the newly established Green Lanes for Strategic Investments, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises or CREATE ACT, and the Maharlika Investment Fund.

The Chief Executive capped off his message by extending an invitation to the WEF participa
nts to join one of the world’s fastest-growing economies as it enters a sustained period of robust economic expansion over the coming years by forging new and stronger partnerships with both the public and private sectors.

‘Clearly, the Philippines is in a prime position to enter into a sustained period of robust economic expansion over the next couple of years,’ Marcos said.

‘I extend an invitation to our partners and guests who are here today, to join us in this exciting new phase,’ he added.

‘PBBM puts PH on world stage’

Meanwhile, WEF President Børge Brende said Marcos’ participation in the annual WEF meeting in Switzerland in January last year created a lot of interest and optimism in the Philippines, with numerous companies wanting to know more about its investment prospects.

‘There is a lot of optimism in the Philippines but also around the Philippines globally. We had a dialogue there and it was very, very well-received and a lot of companies that are partners with the World Economic Forum said t
hat they would like to have a roundtable, to meet with the Filipino secretaries, [and] also to meet with President Marcos,’ Brende said in a press conference in Malacañang.

According to Brende, the Philippines could remain bullish if it continues its current policy reforms, upgrade infrastructure, as well as invest in renewables and other areas.

‘I think that this can be in the coming decade, USD2 trillion economy if there are foreign investments in education, in infrastructure, and also able to draw on the great [competence] of the people of the Philippines,’ he said.

In other development, the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) lauded the efforts of the Marcos government in promoting the country to foreign investors.

‘I have been with the President in his two trips abroad China and Malaysia. The President is working hard to promote the Philippines and he is inviting investors to come in,’ FFCCCII president Dr. Cecilio Pedro said in a media forum in Manila on
Tuesday.

”Yan ang legacy na gusto nya ma-establish (That’s the legacy he wanted to establish) over his term — to bring in more people to help this country move forward and I give it to him,’ he added.

He said the foreign trips of the President are good for the country as he enticed more foreign investors to come in to create more jobs.

‘How many Presidents are traveling like him? Everywhere he goes, he brings in investments,’ Pedro said.

Source: Philippines News Agency