CEBU: Grand prize winners, both for the free interpretation and Sinulog-based dance categories, of the Sinulog ritual showdown on Festival Sunday will win PHP3 million, Mayor Michael Rama said Wednesday.

During the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing, Rama said 20 contingents will also vie for the PHP2 million prize for the second placers, PHP1.5 million for the third placers, PHP1 million for the fourth prize winners, and PHP750,000 for the fifth placers.

Rama also urged devotees and visitors in Cebu City during the Sinulog Day to observe health protocols and avoid mixing with the crowd if they are sick.

He also advised people who will join local revelers to bring a survival kit, especially those who will witness the grand parade at the South Road Properties.

‘What is important, really, is that you must have water, umbrella (and) sunblock because we don’t know the heat index that day. You may also have power drinks to hydrate yourself and a battery-powered electric fan,’ he said, but warned the public again
st wearing jewelries.

The Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Philippine Coast Guard will deploy over 3,000 personnel to secure the Sinulog.

Rama said the city government has been continuously plotting measures to avoid a repeat of traffic jams in city streets during last year’s Sinulog day, when the ritual showdown and grand parade venue was transferred from the Cebu City Sports Center to the South Road Properties (SRP).

Clamping operations of the Cebu City Traffic Office and public road pay parking managed by a private firm have been suspended after receiving backlash last week when the traffic crew clamped hundreds of vehicles parked near the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nin~o, he said.

Meanwhile, representatives of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nin~o, the police and the military conducted on Wednesday a dry run for the Traslacion of the miraculous image of the Holy Child Jesus scheduled on Friday.

The Traslacion will be held prior to the fluvial proc
ession crossing the Mactan Channel and the Solemn Foot Procession on Saturday, and the vespers of the Fiesta Sen~or on Sunday.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Quang Ninh: Representatives from 25 Malaysian travel companies joined a FAM trip to Quang Ninh from January 16-21 to study tourism products in the northern coastal province, home to the World Heritage site of Ha Long Bay.

Nguyen Van Son, director general of Victoria Tourism Company which organised the trip together with Malaysia’s Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA), said this is an opportunity for Vietnamese tourism businesses in general and Quang Ninh in particular to expand cooperation with Malaysia.

In addition to tourism products and services on Ha Long Bay, the company also introduces tourism products on Bai Tu Long Bay to the guests, he said, adding that the results of the survey will help local travel businesses to build and update new products and services in line with the demand and post-pandemic trends of the Malaysian market.

At an exchange with leaders of the local tourism sector on January 17, the guests were briefed on the potential and strength of the province.

Michael Thein, MCTA’s vice ch
airman, highly appreciated the potential and connectivity of Quang Ninh tourism, saying the transport infrastructure system, accommodation, tourism products and services are invested synchronously.

On this occasion, Victoria Tourism and MCTA signed a memorandum of understanding, establishing a long-term cooperative relationship between the two sides to promote tourist destinations in Quang Ninh province to attract more tourists./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: A House of Representatives panel was asked Wednesday to investigate the power crisis now brewing in Palawan and seek relief for its citizens amid the skyrocketing prices of electricity in the province.

House Resolution No. 1544, introduced by Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and Palawan Reps. Jose C. Alvarez (2nd District) and Edgardo L. Salvame (1srt District), direct the House Committee on Energy to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the situation of the Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO) and the electricity supply in the province.

‘It has always been the responsibility of the State to provide the people with reliable, secure and affordable power sources. And what is happening in Palawan involving high power rates, low energization levels and inefficient power distribution, Congress needs to intervene,’ Romualdez said in a statement.

‘The dire situation in Palawan dampens our enthusiasm over the directives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to provide the people with low power r
ates and increase energization targets nationwide by 95 percent in 2025. I hope that with this probe, we can find a solution for all stakeholders in Palawan, especially our citizens,’ he added.

Romualdez, who assumed the role of caretaker of the 3rd legislative district following the death of former Rep. Edward Hagedorn in October last year, said the probe is expected to look into the circumstances behind the power rate hikes that began in November last year.

According to PALECO, the rate hikes were due to the removal of a national subsidy on the electricity produced by one of its main suppliers, Delta P Inc., under an emergency power supply agreement (EPSA).

The Department of Energy (DOE), through Circular 2023-06-0021, has said the EPSA between PALECO and Delta shall not be entitled to any subsidy.

Romualdez said all of these contentions will be clarified once the Committee on Energy commences its hearings on the resolution.

‘What is important is we address all matters at the soonest possible time to u
nburden Palaweños of the power woes of PALECO. Hindi po nila ito kasalanan pero sila po ang nagdudusa sa malaking binabayaran sa kuryente (It is not their fault, but they are the ones suffering from paying high electricity rates),’ Romualdez said.

As for PALECO, he said the House of Representatives will do everything in its power to assist the cooperative in its current situation.

The electric cooperative has the lowest collection efficiency (91 percent) and the highest non-momentary power interruptions in all of Region 4-B (Mimaropa) during the second quarter of 2023.

PALECO was also assessed by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to have the lowest energization level at 73.67 percent in Mimaropa, contrary to President Marcos’ directive for increased energization of 95 percent nationwide by 2025.

‘We will also look for ways to help PALECO address its shortcomings and reduce its deficiencies. The sooner we resolve its problems, the sooner we get Palaweños out of this dire situation. As I hav
e said, we aim to help all stakeholders in Palawan, and that includes PALECO,’ Romualdez said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Dong Nai: Lilama 2 Technology International College in the southern province of Dong Nai on January 17 signed a contract with the UK’s BTEC Pearson on the transfer of training programmes in semiconductor technology and carbon credits.

With this transfer, the college becomes the first educational establishment in Vietnam to offer a training programme in carbon credits and the second to provide training in semiconductor technology.

The college principal Nguyen Khanh Cuong said that the first semiconductor technology and carbon credit training courses will be offered in 2024, enrolling 25-50 students in each class.

BTEC Pearson has transferred to the school the curriculum and supported the school in training teachers. In recent years, the college has received equipment from the German Government to facilitate semiconductor technology and carbon credit teaching and learning.

According to Cuong, the value of Vietnam’s semiconductor market will increase by around 6.5% a year from now to 2025 but the sector is f
acing a serious shortage of human resources, with local supply can meet only about 20% of demand.

Le Tuan Dung, Director of BTEC Pearson in Vietnam, said that to develop a green economy and circular economy and realise its climate change commitments, Vietnam needs a big, professional, and competent workforce, and a mandatory carbon credit market.

The cooperation between BTEC Pearson and Lilama 2 Technology International College will help supply quality personnel for the semiconductor and carbon credit industries, he said./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: There is nothing unconstitutional with the inclusion of unprogrammed funds in the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA), Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said Wednesday.

‘Our definition, hindi po siya unconstitutional kasi nga po hindi po siya kasama doon sa talagang budget (it is not unconstitutional because it is not included in the actual budget),’ Pangandaman said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay Forum, when asked about the constitutionality of the unprogrammed appropriations.

Reps. Edcel Lagman (Albay 1st District), Gabriel Bordado (Camarines Sur 3rd District), and Mujiv Hataman (Basilan) on Tuesday filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) questioning the legality of the PHP449.5-billion increase in unprogrammed funds under the 2024 national budget.

The opposition lawmakers asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction to prevent the release of the unprogrammed funds.

Congress raised the unprogrammed appropriations under the 2024 GAA by PHP449.
5 billion from the proposed to PHP281.9 billion to PHP731.5 billion.

Pangandaman, however, noted that there was also an increase in the unprogrammed funds in the past years.

She said the unprogrammed appropriations would only be released if there are ‘certain triggers.’

‘Meron din po noong previous years. Nagkaroon din po ng increase (It was also done in previous years. There was also an increase),’ Pangandaman said.

‘Hindi naman po siya automatically released just like noong sinasabi ko kanina na day one nilalabas namin agad ang budget para magastos. Ito po, hindi kasi hihintayin pa po natin kung merong additional revenue kasi kung walang cover, wala po tayong pagkukuhanan (It is not automatically released just like what I said earlier that we immediately release the budget on day one to spend it. This is not applicable to this one because we will wait if there is additional revenue because if there is no cover, we will have nothing),’ she added.

Pangandaman earlier said should there be new or excess re
venues that may trigger the availability of unprogrammed funds, government agencies are required to submit necessary documents because they could have access to the standby funds.

Lagman, Bordado, and Hataman argued that the ‘unconstitutional act’ to insert the PHP449.5 billion on top of the PHP281.9 billion originally requested by the Executive branch is ‘tainted with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of congressional jurisdiction.’

Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil on Tuesday said the Executive branch is ready to defend the constitutionality of the unprogrammed funds, in case the SC asks for its position on the matter.

Meanwhile, Bordado has vehemently denied being one of the outright signatories of the petition seeking to nullify the additional unprogrammed funds.

He disclosed that while he was still reviewing the petition, a senior staff member sent his e-signature to the office of Lagman without his approval, leading the latter to presume he fully supported the petition.

Bo
rdado said he was still scrutinizing the entire petition, wanting to raise key points, particularly on safeguarding the unprogrammed funds to ensure they benefit economic growth and do not derail the momentum of post-Covid recovery programs.

“I am definitely for upholding the Constitution, and I ask my fellow representatives to protect our Constitution at all times,” he said on Wednesday.

As members of Congress, he said, each one of them has the duty to preserve the integrity of the institution they represent.

Bordado agreed in questioning the constitutional soundness of the additional unprogrammed funds.

He, however, said they should let the Supreme Court decide whether or not it is within the bounds of the Constitution.

He added that unprogrammed funds might be necessary to sustain the momentum of the country’s economic activities.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Hanoi: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City need to complete their urban railway networks within the next more than 10 years to catch up with other urban areas in Southeast Asia, heard a seminar in the capital city on January 17.

Dang Huy Dong, Director of Hanoi’s Planning and Development Research Institute, emphasised the target of completing the urban railway networks in the two cities by 2035 in accordance with the Politburo’s Conclusion No. 49 – KL/TW, which, however, is a hard task.

To remove obstacles to these efforts, he suggested relevant agencies tailor new, specific legal frameworks for the two cities, which should be implemented through special mechanisms.

Dong proposed the National Assembly allow them to identify urban railway projects associated with the transit-oriented development (TOD) areas adjacent to stations as public investment ones; issue local and project bonds or apply other legal forms of capital mobilisation; and earmark 1 billion USD, of which half comes from the local coffer and the remai
nder from the central budget, to implement pilot projects under the a controlled testing mechanism (sandbox).

Besides, the two cities should be permitted to manage contractors under International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) contracts fully to ease legal risks for state management agencies and investors and accelerate project progress; and select and issue a framework of standards and general technical regulations applicable to urban railway projects based on the most popular standards and regulations in the world, he continued.

With such specific mechanism, it would take the two cities only about 10 years to perfect their urban railway systems, Dong said.

Sanaki Shigeyuki, World Bank transport programme coordinator for Vietnam, stressed that it is time to start TOD urban railway development in Vietnam.

The bank recommended Vietnam to issue resolutions or decisions to establish institutions, identifying TOD as the basic policy orientation, and build laws, decrees and circulars on tools that
facilitate TOD implementation and the exploitation of added value from land./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

TACLOBAN: The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) intensified its inspection of private establishments in Eastern Visayas to check their compliance with the new wage order.

The 17 DOLE inspectors from the regional office and six provincial offices have been visiting workplaces to see if employers are paying the right compensation, said DOLE Eastern Visayas regional director Dax Villaruel in a press briefing Wednesday.

Villaruel, the chair of the seven-member Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB), said that although the new wage order took effect on November 30, 2023, there was no monitoring in December due to the Christmas season.

‘We intend to inspect all establishments but we prioritize those with complaints. Anyone can send us a message through text or social media. We assure complainants that we will not leak their personal information,’ Villaruel told reporters.

Under Wage Order No. 23, approved on November 6, 2023, minimum wage earners are entitled to a PHP30 increase in the
ir daily pay.

From a minimum daily pay of PHP375 under the old wage order, employers in the non-agriculture sector, including sugar mills, are directed to pay a PHP405 daily wage to each worker under the new order.

The board ruled to increase the pay for those employed in retail services (with 11 workers and above) to PHP405 from PHP375. For workers in smaller retail businesses (with ten employees and below), the new minimum daily pay is PHP375 from PHP345.

Those employers in the farm, cottage, and handicraft industries are entitled to a daily pay of PHP375.

‘The wage increase applies to all minimum wage earners in the private sector within the region, regardless of their position, designation, or status, and irrespective of the method by which their wages are paid,’ Villaruel added.

The RTWPB also reminded employers of the increase in monthly pay for domestic workers from PHP5,000 to PHP5,000 in chartered cities and first-class municipalities.

Domestic workers in other municipalities are entitled to PH
P5,000 monthly, up from PHP4,500 under the previous order.

Domestic workers include house helpers, babysitters, cooks, gardeners, laundry people, and anyone who regularly performs domestic duties in one household on an occupational basis.

Source: Philippines News Agency