Category: General

MANILA: Japan stamped its class over China, 16-8, Friday to extend its winning run to five in the 11th Asian Age Group Championships women’s water polo competition at the New Clark City Aquatic Center here.

Skipper Shoka Fukuda delivered seven goals while Kaho Shironoshita chipped in six for the Japanese squad, which will face Uzbekistan on Saturday.

China, meanwhile, absorbed its second defeat in five games to share third place with Kazakhstan, a 16-9 win over Uzbekistan.

In the other game, Thailand improved to 4-1 for second place after demolishing Sri Lanka, 34-4.

Nattamon Khamma led the Thais with six goals, followed by Thanidakam Kwantongtanaree with five, and Pirchapa Teeramethakorn with four.

Rohansa Vidyarathne had two goals while Poojani Sankalpana and Tharuki Kalansooriya made one each for the Sri Lankans, who remained winless after six games.

Meanwhile, Japan leads Group A with four wins, followed by China (3-1), Uzbekistan (2-2), Saudi Arabia (1-3) and Thailand (0-4) in the men’s division of
the tournament organized by Philippine Aquatics, Inc. and supported by MVP Sports Foundation, Pinay In Action, Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Iran is also on top of Group B at 4-0, followed by Kazakhstan (3-1), Singapore (2-2), Malaysia (1-3) and Sri Lanka (0-4).

Source: Philippines News Agency

CALAMBA: The most notorious con artist in Calabarzon region has finally been put behind bars, the police chief of this province announced on Friday.

Col. Gauvin Unos, acting director of the Laguna Police Provincial Office (LPPO), told reporters that the suspect, identified only as ‘Ralph,’ was arrested by lawmen from his hiding place in Biñan City on Thursday.

The police operatives were armed with a warrant of arrest issued by Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 153 of Biñan City, Unos said.

The suspect was earlier listed by the Philippine National Police as Calabarzon’s ‘most wanted person for swindling,’ and has been the subject of a manhunt until his capture.

Unos attributed the suspect’s arrest to the efforts of the Barangay Intelligence Unit (BIU) and concerned citizens.

‘With the successful arrest of (the) suspect, justice will now be given to his victims,’ he said.

The accused is currently detained at the Biñan City Police Station custodial facility with no bail recommended.

Source: Philippines N
ews Agency

MANILA: The Juana Make a Mark (JMAM) Program of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) is proving to deliver on its promise of spurring inclusive development as women entrepreneurs in provinces emerged as the program’s biggest beneficiaries.

The JMAM is a trademark registration incentive program that allows eligible micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to register their trademarks at a reduced cost. Applicants can also avail of the incentive at various IP satellite offices (IPSO) nationwide where applicants are provided robust guidance up to registration.

Data from IPOPHL show that as of end-2023, around 92 percent of all 6,443 JMAM applicants since 2017 -when the program was first offered- were from regions outside Metro Manila.

‘Through the JMAM, IPOPHL’s trademark services are made more accessible and affordable to budding women entrepreneurs, especially those outside Metro Manila where much of the economic growth has been concentrated. This shows that the program is b
reaking not only gender barriers but also geographical boundaries for women,’ Deputy Director General Ann Claire Cabochan said in a statement.

‘In turn, we are empowering more women to own their brands and use them to make a mark in their communities,’ she added.

Cabochan said several studies have shown that enabling women’s economic participation can have significant multiplier effects, such as alleviating poverty, reducing inequalities and raising healthy children as women tend to invest more in their families and communities than men.

Of the 16 IPSOs that acted on JMAM requests, the IPSO for the Cordillera Administrative Region processed the most applications, booking 697 or 10.8 percent of the total trademark filings. The IPSOs in the Bicol Region and Soccsksargen followed with 617 (9.6 percent) and 538 (8.4 percent) applications, respectively.

Bulk of trademark applications were related to local food and beverages. Particularly, 26 percent were local pastries, delicacies, coffee, tea, sugar, etc.; 19
percent, restaurant services offering local cuisines; 17 percent, processed food from fruits and vegetables indigenous to the areas; 10 percent, local food outlets, kiosks selling local delicacies ‘pasalubong’; and 4 percent, manufacturing services.

‘We will continue to sustain the gains achieved by the JMAM program. We will strive to reach more MSMEs, especially those situated in far-flung areas, calamity and crisis-stricken places and areas where peace and order is a challenge,’ Director General Rowel Barba said.

The JMAM is currently on its seventh cycle and is still open to over 900 applicants.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The number of unemployed Filipinos went down to 2.15 million in January this year from the 2.38 million recorded in the same month last year, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said.

In a briefing on Friday, Mapa said the unemployment rate during the month was at 4.5 percent, down from the 4.8 percent reported in January last year.

The Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR), meanwhile, was at 61.6 percent or about 48.09 million Filipinos aged 15 years and above who were either employed or unemployed.

This is lower than the reported LFPR in January 2023 at 64.5 percent.

Most of the contraction was recorded among women (-1.3 million), the youth cohort (-1.0 million), and junior high school graduates (-652,000).

In a separate statement, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said household duties, age-related restrictions, such as being too young or old or having a permanent disability, and schooling were the top reasons cited for not joining the labor force.

The NEDA said the return
to onsite work has also limited women’s participation to 49.3 percent from 53.7 percent in January 2023, while the completely on-site schooling brought the youth LFPR down to 29.6 percent from 34.8 percent in the same period last year.

‘We will remain responsive to the needs of vulnerable groups, including women, youth, older individuals, and those with disabilities. Our existing policy framework governing alternative work arrangements will be revisited,’ NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

‘Our pursuit of policies will be adaptive to the responsibilities of female workers and the evolving work landscape, with a focus on supporting the vulnerable, including those in the creative sector.’

As a percentage of the total 48.09 million people in the labor force, the employment rate was at 45.94 million in January 2024, compared to 47.35 million in January 2023.

The country’s employment rate settled at 95.5 percent.

Major industries with the largest drop in employment were wholesale and retail trade (-1.51 m
illion), agriculture and forestry (-854,000), public administration and defense (-226,000), and manufacturing (-151,000).

Underemployed persons – or those who expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their current job or to have an additional job or to have a new job with longer hours of work – numbered 6.39 million, down from last year’s 6.65 million.

The NEDA said the government would continue to create a favorable business environment to attract both local and foreign investments in the country, aiming to generate more high-quality employment opportunities.

“The government sustains its push to attract more job-generating investments by creating an enabling policy and regulatory environment. At the same time, linkages between industry, the academe, and the public sector will be strengthened to address skill mismatches in the labor market,’ Balisacan said.

He said he is looking forward to the implementation of more positive and transformative employment programs after the approval of the
implementing rules and regulations or IRR of the ‘Trabaho Para sa Bayan’ (TPB) Act on March 5, 2024.

The law aims to promote the employability, competitiveness, and productivity of workers, and to address issues, such as unemployment and underemployment.

Under the TPB Act, an Inter-Agency Council will be created, with NEDA as the chair, the departments of labor and trade as co-chair, and the departments of finance, budget, and the interior and local government, as well as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority as members.

It will also include representatives of employers’ organizations, labor organizations, marginalized or vulnerable groups, and informal sectors.

‘The diverse perspectives from council members will expedite decision-making regarding improving working conditions across industries, promoting upskilling and reskilling, and creating high-paying employment opportunities for all,’ Balisacan said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), through the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns, assured the implementation of social and economic benefits for sugar industry workers during an orientation on the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) on Thursday.

With the creation of a District Tripartite Council (DTC) in the southern part of the province, sugar workers are seen to benefit from SAP which outlines several programs taken from the social amelioration lien collected from a sugar mill, Sandra Delfin, DOLE-Negros Oriental SAP focal person, told the Philippine News Agency.

The DOLE-Negros Oriental Field Office spearheaded the orientation and consultation in Bayawan City, in preparation for the creation of a DTC in the HDJ Agri-Venture Sugar Milling District, Delfin said.

Eduardo Orendain Jr., Senior Labor Employment Officer, who gave the SAP orientation, stressed the need for its full mandate implementation to come up with programs and policies to protect the sugar workers.

Delfin said the
creation of a DTC for every sugar mill district is mandated under Republic Act 6982, otherwise known as An Act Strengthening the Social Amelioration Program in the Sugar Industry, Providing the Mechanisms for its Implementation and for other Purposes.

‘All voices from the labor and management sectors and government will also be heard in the tripartite council,’ she said.

The proposed creation of a new DTC came after a new ownership of a company that runs two sugar mills in Bayawan City, the HDJ Agri-Venture, Inc. or HDJ-Tolong, Delfin said.

The company was previously owned by United Robina Corporation-Tolong, which also had its own DTC.

Operations by the new ownership started sometime in the 2018-2019 crop year for the Bugay mill and in 2020-2021 crop year for the Tolong mill.

However, the collections during the past years from these sugar mills were not yet enough to come up with programs and to require a new DTC creation, Delfin explained.

Participants in the orientation/consultation were from the man
agement sector (HDJ Tolong and Bugay), labor sector (field and mill workers of HDJ Tolong and Bugay), sugarcane planters, farmers’ groups/cooperatives, and other stakeholders such as the Department of Agrarian Reform, Municipal Agriculture Office, and Public Employment Service Office, among others.

Delfin said that orientation outputs and the DOLE’s recommendation will be submitted to the Sugar Tripartite Council, the national advisory group on the SAP implementation, to decide on the proposed creation of the DTC in south Negros Oriental.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Bank lending of universal and commercial banks (U/KBs) grew at a faster rate in January this year while domestic liquidity growth slowed.

Data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Friday showed that banks’ outstanding loans, excluding those placed in the central bank’s reverse repurchase facility, expanded by 7.8 percent, up from the 7.1 percent increase in December 2023.

Oustanding loans issued by U/KBs amounted to PHP11.5 trillion from PHP10.70 trillion in the same month last year.

The BSP said outstanding loans to residents, net of RRPs, went up by 7.8 percent in January, while outstanding loans to non-residents grew by 9.8 percent.

Loans for production activities increased by 5.9 percent in January.

The central bank said the growth was mainly due to the increase in loans to major industries such as real estate activities (11.4 percent); wholesale and retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (7.4 percent); electricity, gas, steam, and airconditioning supply (7
.3 percent); transportation and storage (18.2 percent); and construction (13.6 percent).

Consumer loans to residents, likewise, rose by 25.2 percent driven by the sustained increase in credit card and motor vehicle loans as well as salary-based general purpose consumption loans.

“Looking ahead, the BSP will ensure that liquidity and bank lending conditions remain in line with its price and financial stability objectives,” the BSP said.

Meawnhile, domestic liquidity grew by 6.0 percent year-on-year to PHP17.0 trillion in January 2024, slightly slower than the 6.2 percent expansion in December 2023.

Domestic claims expanded by 9.8 percent from 9.2 percent in the previous month.

Claims on the private sector grew by 8.8 percent, the same rate of growth in December, with the sustained expansion in bank lending to non-financial private corporations and households.

The BSP said net claims on the central government also rose by 15.9 percent from 14.3 percent due in part to the decline in the deposits of the nat
ional government with the BSP.

Net foreign assets (NFA) in peso terms rose by 4.4 percent from 4.6 percent in December.

The BSP said its NFA grew by 5.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the NFA of banks contracted on account of higher bills payable.

“Looking ahead, the BSP will continue to ensure that domestic liquidity conditions remain consistent with the prevailing stance of monetary policy, in line with the BSP’s price and financial stability objectives,” it said.

Source: Philippines News Agency