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NTF-ELCAC gives Church a seat
The Catholic Church will play a more significant role in the anti-insurgency effort through a recalibrated National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, or NTF-ELCAC, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said yesterday. The task force will now have the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs as a member. “We welcome the CBCP through its Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs to the NTF-ELCAC Executive Committee and we look forward to working with them in pursuing peace and development in all parts of the country, especially in conflict-affected areas,” Año said. The task force indicated an openness to suggestions from the Church in adopting “moral and ethical approaches in addressing the communist insurgency,” as cited by CBCP president and Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David in a recent statement. “We are opening the door of NTF-ELCAC to the Church because it has an important role to play in ending violence and terrorism in the country,” Año said. “For more than 50 years, we have lived with the scourge of the communist armed conflict. With peace now in sight, the Church has an important role to play in ensuring peace and development in the long term,” he added. With the CBCP in the NTF-ELCAC, Año believes that concerns raised by the Church or by cause-oriented groups supported by them could be immediately addressed. “Because of this development, the Church will have more opportunity to relay its concerns, since its mandate is to act as a liaison of the CBCP to the government,” he said, citing the attendance of Fr. Jerome Secillano at the NTF-ELCAC executive committee meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Malacañang on Friday. Año reiterated that the task force’s main mandate is to formulate “whole-of-nation” policies to end armed conflict in the country. “CBCP’s membership in the task force ensures a whole-of-nation’s participation because the religious sector is an important component of the nation,” he said. Intervention in influenced areas Año sees the CBCP making significant contributions to the development of areas previously under the influence of the New People’s Army, as well as facilitating social inclusivity in the pursuit of peace. “Given that we are now on the road to total victory, it’s necessary that we recalibrate the way we do things and the entry of the CBCP to the NTF-ELCAC is one of the changes we have implemented under the Marcos administration,” he said. More rebels rejoin society NTF-ELCAC also expressed optimism the government can sustain its peace-building effort to encourage more rebels to reintegrate into mainstream society. At a forum on Saturday, NTF-ELCAC director Alexander Umpar said that in 2023, a total of 959 villages cleared of the insurgency were included in the Barangay Development Program or BDP, an initiative that aims to bring sustainable development programs to conflict-prone and conflict-affected communities. Under the BDP, each village recipient receives a package of programs, activities, and projects worth a maximum of P20 million. BDP beneficiaries in 2021 and 2022 numbered 822 and 1,406, respectively, he said. Umpar said the NTF-ELCAC is confident that by 2028, it would have attained its goal of achieving lasting peace and development in areas that are vulnerable to armed conflict. “‘By 2028, it is about sustaining the momentum of NTF-ELCAC gains with regard to the dismantling of guerrilla fronts, the reintegration of former rebels, and most of all, building resiliency for our communities under the ambit of good governance toward unity, peace and development,” he said. The government, he said, has dismantled 69 of 89 guerrilla fronts since the creation of the task force in 2018. One of the 20 remaining guerrilla fronts, he said, is active while 19 others had weakened. “‘When we say strategic victory, this (because) of the 19 weakened guerrilla fronts and only one is left to be confronted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he said. “There are still concerns about the armed groups but they are no longer able to initiate an armed struggle or to topple our government. So, that’s the strategic victory,” Umpar said. On the other hand, NTF-ELCAC director Jose Descallar urged rebels to give up and join the government in its goal of transforming the country into a “new Philippines.” He said the military could shift its focus to “external threats,” once the government is able to address the local insurgency. Meanwhile, Director Emmanuel Santos of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity said the conduct of localized peace engagements has been proven to be the “most effective” approach in addressing the communist insurgency. “We’re localizing the engagement so we will be closer to the people to make them feel that the government is really here,” Santos said. He added, however, that there should be “clear directions” to ensure the full reintegration of FRs into mainstream society. The post NTF-ELCAC gives Church a seat appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
SC: Efficiency not penalized
The Supreme Court absolved officials of the Social Security System clearing them of administrative liability in the approval of the purchase of 25 million Philippine Commercial International Bank shares worth P7.5 billion in 1999. The high bench explained there was no undue haste in the purchase since they were able to justify the transactions. Edgar Solilapsi, who was then senior vice president for Investment; Horacio Templo, then chief actuary of the SSS Executive Management Committee; and Lilia Marquez, then head of the Institutional Loans Department were the ones cleared of the charges in the multi-billion purchase of PCIB shares. The court said they should be paid salaries and other emoluments that they did not receive during a six-month suspension of the purchase. The SC First Division in its 29 March 2023 decision, said the officials’ expeditious actions in relation to the transaction are not evidence of wrongdoing. Incentivize, instead “On the contrary, efficiency is a virtue that all branches of government should nurture and incentivize. Paralyzing indecision should be suppressed. Once all legal requirements are complied with, government personnel should be confident to act as required by the exigencies of the service,” it said. The case stemmed from a complaint filed by SSS officers and members who alleged that the purchase of PCIB shares was overpriced by P1.165 billion which was based on the supposed P245 market price of PCIB shares, and the purchase price of P290.075 per share. SSS officials named in the complaint said the alleged overprice was a premium which is normal in negotiated purchases of blocks of shares. The SC said the expeditious purchase of the shares was due to a change in how the SSS’ Securities Trading and Management Department worked. The court noted that in an earlier meeting, Solilapsi was directed to fast track share purchase recommendations because the SSS had missed out on an earlier opportunity to buy Metro Pacific Corporation shares at a lower price. Preparations could not keep up with market changes, it said. The post SC: Efficiency not penalized appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Musk’s Neuralink says cleared for human test of brain implants
Elon Musk's start-up Neuralink on Thursday said it has gotten approval from US regulators to test its brain implants in people. Neuralink said clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its first-in-human clinical study is "an important first step" for its technology, which is intended to let brains interface directly with computers. "We are excited to share that we have received the FDA's approval to launch our first-in-human clinical study," Neuralink said in a post on Musk-run Twitter. "This is the result of incredible work by the Neuralink team in close collaboration with the FDA." Recruitment for a clinical trial is not yet open, according to Neuralink. The aim of Neuralink implants is to enable human brains to communicate directly with computers, Musk said during a presentation by the start-up in December. "We've been working hard to be ready for our first human (implant), and obviously we want to be extremely careful and certain that it will work well before putting a device in a human," he said at the time. Musk -- who bought Twitter late last year and also owns SpaceX, Tesla and several other companies -- has been known to make ambitious predictions about his companies, with several such forecasts ultimately failing to pan out. In July 2019, he vowed that Neuralink would be able to perform its first tests on humans in 2020. Product prototypes, which are the size of a coin, have been implanted in the skulls of monkeys, demonstrations by the startup showed. At the Neuralink presentation, the company showed several monkeys "playing" basic video games or moving a cursor on a screen through their Neuralink implant. Musk said the company would try to use the implants to restore vision and mobility in humans who had lost such abilities. "We would initially enable someone who has almost no ability to operate their muscles... and enable them to operate their phone faster than someone who has working hands," he said. "As miraculous as it may sound, we are confident that it is possible to restore full body functionality to someone who has a severed spinal cord," he said. Beyond the potential to treat neurological diseases, Musk's ultimate goal is to ensure that humans are not intellectually overwhelmed by artificial intelligence, he said. Other companies working on similar systems include Synchron, which announced in July that it had implanted the first brain-machine interface in the United States. The post Musk’s Neuralink says cleared for human test of brain implants appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Ombudsman junks case vs ex-DOTC chief Abaya
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NBI nabs 8 bogus DBM officials
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Boxing trainer Domingo is confident Jerusalem will upset Shigeoka
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Ministry helping improve BARMM’s business climate names 10 new officials
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Fully independent PHI-NADO pushed
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Davao LGU to meet with vendors after video of goods’ confiscation went viral
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Davao City Council moves hearing on traffic-causing road construction works
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Saintfiet confident, hopes for ‘miracle’ as PH men’s football team hosts Iraq
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Remove the chaff from the grains
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Marcial confident of dooming Thai foe with uppercut
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3 dead, 592 others afflicted with measles in BARMM since January
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Cillian Murphy definitely returning for Peaky Blinders film, says creator
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Balamban site is for road project, not Capitol bldg – Gwen
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Philippines, Japan, US foreign officials prepare for tri-summit
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Philippine wrestling chief confident of return to Olympics
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EDITORIAL - Under lock and key
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SC: LGU lawyers cannot represent local execs
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