Category: General

MANILA: A Senate panel will consult the Civil Service Commission (CSC) regarding a memorandum circular it issued in 2016 that a person with dual citizenship would not be appointed in government unless the foreign citizenship is renounced.

This, after Commission on Higher Education chairperson J. Prospero de Vera III brought up the matter during the resumption of the discussions on Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 (RBH 6) on Tuesday, saying the policy also applies to professors seeking postings in state universities and colleges (SUCs).

“I’d like to inform the committee that even if you teach in a state university or college, dual citizenship is not allowed. The Civil Service [Commission] requires you that you have to give up your citizenship to be able to teach and to be appointed in a state university or college,” de Vera said.

Senator Sonny Angara, who presided over the hearing, said the panel should consult the CSC on the policy as it may affect the push to liberalize higher education.

“I understand the
spirit of this law but maybe medyo baka ma-hold tayo dito sa ganitong klaseng pag-iisip (we can be held up in this kind of mentality),” Angara said.

“I think the spirit is to ensure allegiance only to one country but that kind of thinking is I think a product of a different world, a world where nationality is very important,” he added.

The current setting, Angara said, finds more benefit from migration, citing renowned scientist Albert Einstein who migrated to the United States.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said that under the Philippine Constitution, a Filipino, even with a dual citizenship, is still a Filipino.

“Meron pa tayong Balik (Returning)-Scientist Program na most likely kunwari naka-10 to 20 years na sa ibang bansa yun, baka dual citizen na. Bumalik siya dito tapos ano? Di siya pwedeng magturo (We have the Balik-Scientist Program that most likely, for example, the Filipino has been abroad 10 to 20 years and maybe has a dual citizen. That Filipino comes back home and would not be
allowed to teach)?” Pimentel said.

After issuing Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 23 in 2016, the CSC issued MC 8 the following year clarifying that the previous MC covers only “natural-born Filipino citizens who were naturalized in another country, and later on reacquired their Filipino citizenship.”

“Therefore, Filipino citizens whose foreign citizenship was acquired by birth is not covered by CSC MC 23, s. 2016,” the memo stated.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The United States and the Philippines have partnered to provide Burmese youth with the opportunity to pursue quality higher education through a five-year initiative being funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

The US Embassy in Manila on Tuesday said the Philippines was selected as one of the Asian countries where these students can study under the USD45 million USAID Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship Program.

Through this, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) will provide full scholarships for students from Myanmar to enroll in various public and private universities in the Philippines and in online programs through the University of Arizona.

USAID will work closely with CHED to streamline the admission process for the students and provide support services to facilitate their transition to studying in Philippine universities.

The universities include Batangas State University, Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas, St. Louis University in Baguio, the Univers
ity of the Philippines-Diliman, and the University of the Philippines-Los Baños.

The Burmese scholars are expected to arrive in the Philippines by July 2024 to allow them to begin their studies in the coming academic year.

“Through our partnership with USAID, CHED is honored to support Burmese youth in higher education,’ CHED Chairman J. Prospero De Vera III said.

‘We continuously advocate for equitable, quality, and inclusive higher education, aiming to empower students from all backgrounds. Together, we’re breaking barriers, building bridges, and driving transformative change through higher education,” he added.

USAID’s Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship Program targets to benefit young community leaders in Myanmar, especially those from marginalized and vulnerable groups.

The program also offers grants to help higher education institutions in Asia strengthen their capacity to support international students by boosting institutional partnerships, growing regional networks, and expanding community serv
ice-oriented activities.

‘This scholarship program is a strategic investment in higher education institutions in the region,’ USAID Assistant Administrator for Asia Michael Schiffer said. ‘It recognizes our shared commitment to education as a catalyst for positive change in Burma and around the world.’

Source: Philippines News Agency

Hanoi: President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) Nguyen Dinh Khang shared VGCL’s outstanding activities at the second conference of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) Presidential Council held in Sao Paolo, Brazil from March 1-2 (local time).

Khang, who is also WFTU Vice President, said in his speech on March 1 that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the VGCL has reaped important achievements in its tasks of representing, caring for and protecting trade union members and workers. It also successfully held the 13th National Congress for the 2023-2028 tenure last year, which aligned with working orientations set at the 18th World Trade Union Congress.

He also outlined the VGCL’s 2024 action plan to realise the Resolution adopted at its 13th National Congress and continued efforts to follow orientations in the WTFU’s Rome Declaration 2022.

The VGCL is always an active and responsible member in WFTU’s activities, working closely with member organisations to p
rotect the workers’ rights and interests, he said.

The conference brought together nearly 100 delegates from 32 countries and territories representing 105 million workers worldwide.

Participants adopted the 2024 action plan and resolutions showing solidarity with the Cuban and Palestinian people.

On March 3 morning (local time), the Vietnamese delegation held talks with the WFTU’s leaders to discuss and reach consensus on scheduled cooperation contents.

WFTU Secretary General Pampis Kyritsis, once again, reaffirmed the VGCL’s important role and position within the organisation.

They also held talks with the Central of Workers of Brazil (CTB) and engaged in bilateral meetings to consolidate and expand relations with WFTU’s member trade union organisations, especially those in American region./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

LEGAZPI: The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Bicol (DSWD-5), through the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) program, assisted over 13,000 persons with disabilities (PWDs) across the region via its cash-for-work program in 2023.

In an interview on Tuesday, Ranelle Sertan, DSWD-Bicol social marketing officer, said the 13,621 PWDs from 59 local government units (LGUs) in the region received a total of PHP46.99 million cash assistance under the Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay Cash-for-Work (KKB-CFW) program.

“The CFW program aims to provide temporary employment opportunities to persons with disabilities as well as low income or no income households who have family members with disabilities,” she said.

For 2024, a total of 13,230 PWDs from at least 58 cities and municipalities in the region will benefit from the CFW program with a total of PHP47.2 million allocated funds.

DSWD-Bicol Regional Director Norman Laurio said t
he beneficiaries were selected based on the assessment results of the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction or Listahanan, while the validations were conducted by the LGUs to establish the list of qualified beneficiaries which was endorsed to the regional office.

“After being identified, the beneficiaries worked for 10 days and received the regional daily wage rate. The community tasks assigned to them were determined through assessments conducted by the LGU, consultations with the project beneficiaries, the Persons with Disabilities Affairs Office (PDAO), and other relevant stakeholders,” he said in a statement.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Australian-based global financial services firm Macquarie Group Ltd. has expressed interest in investing in renewable energy, value-added mining, and digitalization efforts in the Philippines, Malacañang said Tuesday.

The commitment was made during President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s meeting with Macquarie Group executives on the sidelines of his participation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne on Tuesday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement.

During the meeting, Macquarie Group managing director and chief executive officer Shemara Wikramanayake said the company is keen on operating in the Philippines because of its demographic profile, particularly the ‘young and growing population’ which gives the firm ‘a bigger opportunity in terms of growth and organization.’

Wikramanayake discussed with Marcos the Macquarie Group’s interests in energy transition, mining and digitalization process, noting t
hat the company provides sufficient funds not only in the United States and Europe but also in Southeast Asia.

‘I am excited to talk about what more we can be doing in the Philippines because at the moment we do advisory work in investment bank, we bring our balance sheet to invest in,’ she told Marcos, as quoted by the PCO.

‘The whole digitization process, we’re excited about. Also, the energy transition we’re excited about… we certainly invest in digitization and we invest in energy transition and in mining and building bigger advisory business,’ she added.

Marcos welcomed the Australian company’s investment plan, saying it would be a big help for the Philippines’ development, especially in terms of digitalization process which would benefit both investors and the locals.

‘We somehow have fallen behind in that regard, and we’re trying to catch up,’ he said, referring to the digitalization efforts in the Philippines.

‘Digitization is a very important part of ease of doing business not just for investors
, but for locals in their dealings with the government.’

Marcos said the Macquarie Group may also consider exploring other sectors in the Philippines.

‘I don’t see any part of what we’ve discussed so far that is not applicable to what our ground plan for the economy of the Philippines. So, again, we’re very open to any insights you might have to improve investment terrain in the Philippines,’ he said.

The Macquarie Group is a global financial services group operating in 34 markets, specializing in areas such as resources, agriculture and commodities, energy and infrastructure, with particular knowledge of the Asia-Pacific region.

It has been operating in the Philippines for over 15 years already, with more than 1,000 direct employees through Macquarie Offshore Services, which supports the company’s global business across operations, finance, technology and risk management.

In 2012, Macquarie won a bid to manage the first and largest-ever infrastructure fund for the Philippines at PHP25 billion through th
e Philippines Investment Alliance for Infrastructure in partnership with the Government Service Insurance System.

A Macquarie Asset Management-led consortium acquired a majority stake in Energy Development Corporation (EDC), the Philippines’ largest renewable energy company, from 2017 to 2018.

The EDC manages 1.5 gigawatts of renewable energy generation capacity across geothermal, solar, hydropower, and wind, representing approximately 20 percent of total installed renewable energy in the Philippines.

Source: Philippines News Agency

PAGADIAN: To help promote peace initiatives in Zamboanga del Sur’s 71-year-old Labangan town, local leaders hold the Kalilintad Festival annually every first week of March.

“Kalilintad” is a Meranaw word for “Peace,” and Labangan Mayor Eduardo Relacion passed a municipal ordinance institutionalizing the celebration of peace and unity of the tri-people in the area – the indigenous people Subanens, the ethnic Moro people who embraced Islam, and the local settlers.

Because of its religious ethnocultural and religious makeup, Labangan does not celebrate the more common Christian-inspired annual fiesta, and the “Kalilintad” Festival is the town’s version of an inclusive cultural festivity. Relacion said on Tuesday.

The celebration aims to promote peace, unity, and harmony among its residents, while providing a platform for fostering understanding, tolerance, and cooperation within the community, he said.

In the past two decades, he said, their town had the image of unstable peace and order, “where people felt
unsecured, particularly the travelers passing the Labangan road at night as the town was then known for killings and illegal drugs.”

The unstable peace and order had negatively impacted the town’s development, he said, adding that “Labangan was a drug capital in the province in the past two decades, where rampant transactions on illegal drugs happen in the municipality.”

“If there are illegal drugs, there is stealing, there is abuse of women and children,” the mayor added.

Among the worst incidents that shaded the image of the town was the killing of then-mayor Ukol Talumpa, who was shot dead at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on Dec. 20, 2013.

Talumpa was a political rival of former mayor Wilson Nandang, and one of the causes of their dispute was illegal drugs, a police official said.

Talumpa defeated Nandang in the 2013 local elections. Before his murder, Talumpa survived two attempts on his life.

Recently, the town developed the image of a rising community after investors beg
an coming in to build stores and warehouses, Relacion said.

Local leaders have also managed to settle several two “rido” cases or clan feuds, and currently, there is zero “rido” within the municipality.

Unity of the tri-people: the Moro, Subanens, and settlers helped much in sweeping away Labangan’s bad image, with the understanding of how development could help improve every family’s status, he said.

Source: Philippines News Agency