MANILA: The government raised PHP17 billion from the Treasury bills (T-bills) auction, higher than the initial PHP15-billion program as bids amounted to more than PHP40 billion.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said it fully awarded bids for T-bills during Monday’s auction.

The 91-, 182-, and 364-day T-bills fetched average rates of 5.506 percent, 5.879 percent and 6.064 percent, respectively.

The average rate of the 91-day and 182-day T-bills rose from last week’s 5.461 percent and 5.873 percent.

The average rate of the 364-day debt paper, however, slightly declined from last week’s 6.075 percent.

“The auction was 3.3 times oversubscribed, attracting PHP42.3 billion in total tenders and prompting the Committee to double the accepted non-competitive bids for the 364-day security,” the BTr said.

“With its decision, the Committee raised PHP17.0 billion through the auction from the initial program of PHP15.0 billion,” it added.

In a Viber message, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Micha
el Ricafort said the average auction yields were mostly higher ahead of the five-year Retail Treasury Bond (RTB) offering on Tuesday.

Ricafort said the RTB offering “could siphon off some of the excess peso liquidity from the financial system, especially before the PHP700 billion total RTB maturities in early March 2024.”

He added T-bill yields also continued to be slightly higher after the recent increase in global crude oil prices and ahead of the latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas rate-setting on Feb. 15.

Source: Philippines News Agency

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY: The Philippine Statistics Agency (PSA) on Monday started here a survey on information technology and post-coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the Northern Mindanao region.

In a statement, PSA Region 10 (Northern Mindanao) officer-in-charge, Dr. Janith Aves, said the effort forms part of the 2023 National Information and Communications Technology Household Survey (NICTHS) from Feb. 5 to March 6.

According to the PSA website, the survey will generate updated benchmarks for key Information and Communications Technology (ICT) indicators that have seen a surge during the pandemic, as accelerated use of ICTs has been widely observed by households, individuals, government, and the private sector.

Aves said 2,612 sample households will be interviewed by 20 statistical researchers for the household and individual questionnaires, while selected barangays in the region will be interviewed by seven team supervisors.

“The PSA is asking for the support of the public for the successful conduct of
the survey. The office also assures the respondents that the data which will be collected by the statistical researchers will be held strictly confidential,” she said.

PSA field personnel were trained on the concepts and administration of questionnaires through computer-aided personal interviewing, field operation guidelines, and the use of Android operating system tablets to ensure quality data collection, she added.

The NICTHS is commissioned by PSA and aims to provide data on household and individual indicators in the post-recovery period following the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

It is part of the Digital Philippines initiative of the Department of Information and Communications Technology that provides Filipinos with access to crucial ICT infrastructure and services.

Source: Philippines News Agency

COTABATO CITY: Health officials of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) signed contracts with at least 30 contractors to construct various health facilities worth PHP431.7 million in the region on Monday.

Dr. Rizaldy Piang, BARMM health minister, said contracts cover the construction and renovation of 23 hospitals, nine barangay health stations, and two rural health units throughout BARMM.

‘The signing marks a major milestone in the region’s efforts to improve access to quality healthcare services,’ Piang said.

The projects were appropriated from the Special Development Fund (SDF) for 2021 and 2022, Tiyakap 2022, the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for 2021, the Transition Development Impact Fund (TDIF) for 2023, and the General Appropriations Act for the Bangsamoro (GAAB) for 2023.

‘These projects are set to address the growing healthcare needs of the region’s most populated areas and are expected to make a huge impact on the
delivery of healthcare services,’ Piang said.

Engr. Imbran Bansilan, MOH-BARMM chief of the Health Facility and Development Division (HFDD), underscored the collaborations between the MOH and the construction companies in strengthening healthcare infrastructures, including construction firms from far-flung areas of Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, and Sulu.

During the contract signing, Piang also emphasized the significance of complying with the authorized agreements to prevent any delay or failure of the projects.

‘We need to help each other. This is a big responsibility. Whether we are building small or big infrastructure, the responsibility in the eyes of Allah is the same,’ he said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has appointed Maria Lourdes Doria-Velarde as acting member of the Board of Trustees of the Home Development Fund (Pag-IBIG).

In a statement on Monday, the Presidential Communications Office said Doria-Velarde will represent the private employers’ sector.

She will replace Mylah Roque, the wife of former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

Doria-Velarde served as a deputy general manager for administration of Duty Free Philippines.

She was also a member of the Board of Trustees of Nayong Pilipino Foundation and Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: A prelate on Monday called on the faithful to have a ‘meaningful date with God’, as Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday both fall on Feb. 14 this year.

‘It is a nice day to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Why? Because it is a day of prayer, it is a day of penance, that we are trying to mix, (with) it is a day of love,’ Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) assistant secretary general Fr. Bryand Restituto said in an interview.

Restituto said the faithful must remember God’s love, who offered his only son Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of the world.

‘It’s a day of penance, charity, abstinence (as we) start to remember, in preparation for the passion and death and resurrection of Christ, that the whole Lenten Season is the celebration of love,’ he said.

‘That is why I said in a recent mass I celebrated that ‘I am sorry but the best date that we could have on that day, is a date with the Lord,’ that is how it should be,’ Restituto added.

Aside from observing fasting and abstinence, he ask
ed the people to hear Mass and have their forehead daubed with ashes on Wednesday.

Restituto, however, said the faithful can also choose to celebrate these occasions separately.

‘Some would want to make Ash Wednesday, as a day of penance, a day of forgiveness and mercy. They could schedule the celebration of Valentine’s Day with their families and loved ones the next day,’ he said.

He also said love should be celebrated every day and not only during Valentine’s Day.

Meanwhile, a recent Church-based survey revealed that a little over half of the faithful in the country are able to fulfill their spiritual obligation of going to confession at least once a year.

The Veritas Truth Survey (VTS) said only 51 percent of the Catholic Filipinos go to the sacrament of confession at least once a year.

Majority of the 1,200 respondents responded ‘yes’ to the survey question ‘Do you fulfill your spiritual obligation of going to confession at least once a year”, 17 percent said ‘no’, and 32 percent answered ‘sometimes
‘.

‘As such only about five out of 10 Filipinos after having reached the age of discretion have fulfilled his/her obligation to confess faithfully his or her grave sins at least once a year pursuant to Canon Law 989,’ it said.

The survey was conducted from Jan. 1 to Feb. 9, in connection with the coming observance of Ash Wednesday, the start of the 40-day Lenten season.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The National University (NU) and De La Salle University (DLSU) are both determined to keep their respective titles in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 collegiate volleyball tournament which will start on Feb. 17 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

NU is eyeing its fifth consecutive men’s crown and coach Dante Alinsunurin knows his players are eager to achieve that goal.

“We just have to continue our good performance last year. I always remind my players to do their best,” Alinsunurin said during the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 collegiate volleyball press conference at the Coral Way Lobby of the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Monday.

The DLSU Lady Spikers, on the other hand, are gunning for their 13th title overall.

“We’ll try to keep the title,” La Salle assistant coach Noel Orcullo said. “We’re the defending champion so all the teams are after us.”

Also present were Ateneo women’s head coach Sergio Veloso, Far Easte
rn University coach Manolo Refugia, Adamson assistant coach Bang Pineda, NU team manager Gelina Luceño, University of Santo Tomas assistant coach Yani Fernandez, University of the Philippines coach Oliver Almadro and University of the East coach Jerry Yee.

Other sports calendared in the league’s second semester are collegiate football, baseball, softball, fencing, tennis, 3×3 basketball, exhibition events in esports, and a demonstration event for junior high school basketball.

“The UAAP continues to evolve, and we are thrilled to present a dynamic second-semester sports lineup. These events showcase the talent, determination, and sportsmanship of our student-athletes. We invite fans to join us on this exciting journey and witness the incredible feats that our universities bring to the playing field,” UAAP President Rodrigo Roque of UE said.

Games will be held on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays — two in the men’s division (starting at 10 a.m.) and two in the women’s division (commencing at 2 p.m.) per p
laydate.

All matches will be shown live and exclusively on the UAAP Varsity Channel, One Sports, and Pilipinas Live.

“We are excited to continue our commitment to bringing top-notch sports entertainment to Filipino homes. Following the unprecedented coverage of the High School Volleyball and Basketball tournaments, we are thrilled to extend our partnership with the UAAP to deliver the collegiate volleyball excitement to a wider audience on multiple platforms,” Cignal TV and MediaQuest President and CEO Jane Basas said.

Source: Philippines News Agency