We are sorry, the requested page does not exist
PDEA-7: No marijuana-flavored vapes in Central Visayas
CEBU CITY, Philippines – No marijuana-flavored vapes have been monitored so far in Central Visayas, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the region, said. This was according to Intelligence Agent IlI Jonar V. Cuayzon, chief of the Intelligence and Investigation Section of PDEA Regional Office 7. Cuayzon, however, said that they are not discounting the.....»»
DA chief orders transfer of suspended NFA supervisors’ authority
The transfer of authority of suspended warehouse supervisors of the National Food Authority has been ordered by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. yesterday as NFA facilities remain closed amid the suspension order of the Office of the Ombudsman......»»
LTO probes alleged road rage incident in Subic
LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II said he had directed the agency’s Central Luzon office to issue a show cause order to the registered owner of a Toyota Fortuner that hit a car driven by a male senior citizen. .....»»
Dela Rosa on Marcos’ inclusion in drug list: ‘No idea ako’
MANILA, Philippines — Former national police chief turned senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa did not give a categorical answer on whether or not President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was on the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s (PDEA) drug users list during the administration of then president Rodrigo Duterte. “No idea ako, no idea. Hindi ko sinabing.....»»
UN chief: Resume funding Gaza aid agency
UN chief: Resume funding Gaza aid agency.....»»
Crackdown on colorum PUJs begins February 1
Land Transportation Office chief Vigor Mendoza II met yesterday with the agency’s regional directors ahead of the crackdown against colorum public utility jeepneys starting on Feb. 1......»»
Seoul police chief indicted over Halloween crush
SEOUL — South Korean prosecutors have indicted the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency , charging him with contributing through negligence to the Halloween crowd crush in Seoul in 2022 that killed nearly 160 people, according to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors Office. The indictment of Seoul police chief Kim Kwang-ho came more than.....»»
Groups slam media security chief for red-tagging ahead of UN expert’s visit
Altermidya and the NUJP said Presidential Task Force on Media Security executive director Paulino Gutierrez’s attack against journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio also proves the absurdity of his agency’s continued existence. The post Groups slam media security chief for red-tagging ahead of UN expert’s visit appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
Diokno turns over DOF helm to Recto
Secretary Ralph Recto started the ball rolling as he formally took over the helm of the Department of Finance, with former DOF chief and now Monetary Board member Benjamin Diokno handing over the agency in a simple ceremony yesterday......»»
BI chief: International travel has bounced back
INTERNATIONAL travel and tourism has bounced back after the pandemic. Thus said Bureau of Immigration chief Norman Tansingco, as he cited that the agency has recorded 12.6 million arrivals from January to December 2023. The number is more than double the 6.1 million arrivals recorded in 2022, even as he projects the numbers to even […].....»»
Ex-DA chief, farmers’ groups back replacing Sebastian
Former Department of Agriculture secretary Leonardo Montemayor and other farmers’ groups yesterday backed the move of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. to implement a major revamp at the agency, after he replaced Undersecretary Leocardio Sebastian as undersecretary for rice industry development, the flagship program of the agency......»»
Bangsamoro chief minister retains another regional agency head
The chief minister of the Bangsamoro region has retained another head of a big agency, among the many he had asked to resign to pave the way for essential changes in the regional leadership structure......»»
Israel pulls negotiation team from Gaza truce talks in Doha
JERUSALEM, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Israel declared on Saturday that it was withdrawing its negotiating team from the Doha talks in Qatar on extending the ceasefire with Hamas, citing an "impasse." According to a statement issued by Mossad, Israel's spy agency, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the order to the team, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, to return to Israel. The Mossad team spent about a week.....»»
Israel pulls negotiation team from Gaza truce talks in Doha
JERUSALEM, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Israel declared on Saturday that it was withdrawing its negotiating team from the Doha talks in Qatar on extending the ceasefire with Hamas, citing an "impasse." According to a statement issued by Mossad, Israel's spy agency, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the order to the team, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, to return to Israel. The Mossad team spent about a week.....»»
DOT chief apologizes over attached agency exec’s behavior
Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco yesterday apologized to senators over the inappropriate behavior of an official who texted the senators to ask for VIP treatment for the Department of Tourism in the budget deliberations......»»
Neda, Jica ink pact for Metro Davao s dev’t master plan
The National Economic Development Authority (Neda) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) have signed an agreement to develop a master plan for the development of Metropolitan Davao. The signing ceremony, attended by Neda Secretary Arsenio Balisacan and Jica Chief Representative Sakamoto Takema, marks the beginning of the Comprehensive and Sustainable Urban Development Master Plan for Metropolitan Davao. Vice President Sara Duterte expressed her gratitude to the government of Japan and Jica for their assistance in the development projects for Metropolitan Davao. The master plan aims to achieve sustainable and balanced urban planning and development in the region, covering various aspects such as agriculture, commerce, climate resilience, technology, education, transportation, and healthcare. The plan will be formulated by the TCP with the assistance of urban development experts from Japan. The master plan will serve as a roadmap for long-term work and will support the mobilization of resources and the delivery of key services in the region. The plan will ensure sustainable urban development in areas such as land use planning, agri-ecotourism, coastal resource management, and joint service delivery. Jica has been a partner in the development and peace process in Mindanao and will expand its cooperation with the new master plan project for Metropolitan.....»»
1 million plastic license cards left — LTO
LTO Chief Vigor Mendoza said that the remaining plastic cards will only cover the April, May, and June backlogs of the agency......»»
LTO innovates responses to backlogs
The Land Transportation Office, or LTO, now under the leadership of Atty. Vigor Mendoza II, has committed to implementing innovative solutions to immediately address the piles of problems “inherited” from the previous leaderships. Mendoza, whom Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista tasked to help the agency improve its current state, expressed confidence that he could turn the LTO around and make it more efficient and effective. He said this aligns with the Marcos administration’s marching orders to digitalize and bring government services closer to the people seamlessly. Mendoza has already begun to execute some changes, such as streamlining the driver’s license application process, implementing a new online vehicle registration system, and reducing the number of fixers at LTO offices, among others. Speaking in a recent interview on DAILY TRIBUNE’s Straight Talk, Mendoza disclosed that his agency is studying cost-effective ways to produce license plates. Presently, the LTO has a manufacturing plant with eight machines working to produce license plates, but as recently directed by Bautista, the agency is looking at outsourcing them instead of producing them. “We make the plates ourselves, although we are studying if maybe it is high time to review whether the LTO should produce or outsource the plates. I told Secretary Bautista that in terms of efficiency, it might be less costly and faster if we outsource it,” Mendoza said. “We are thoroughly studying those options to weigh which will be less costly to the government. Thus, finally, we could resolve all the backlogs,” he added. Million plates a month Mendoza added that the agency’s plate-making plant could produce a million monthly plates to replace all the backlogs — from the old green plates to the new white ones. He said before the end of November, the license plate backlog will hopefully be fully addressed. With production in full swing, a motorist with a newly acquired four-wheel vehicle can claim his license plates within 10 days. In the meantime, new motorcycle owners can now get their plates immediately. This significantly improved from the previous year when motorists took years to get their plates. To recall, in March, ex-LTO chief Jay Art Tugade issued a memo suspending the production of license plates due to a shortage of materials. Online portal needs full utilization Mendoza said the LTO is also working on finally utilizing the Land Transportation Management System, or LTMS, a P3.14-billion portal created to address Filipinos’ motoring concerns. He lamented that the underutilization of the online portal, which he described as just one of the many inherited problems of the agency, was a misuse of government funds. “The system design is incomplete, and you know that as much as possible, we want to be fully digital as instructed by the President. We want motorists to be able to apply for a license and register their vehicles through that platform,” Mendoza said. “We supposedly have all the facilities. There will be no need to go to LTO offices as it will also address the issues of fixers. However, we cannot do all these until we fully resolve the website’s functionalities,” he said, adding that the LTO would need the developers to provide them with some missing source and application codes. The LTMS was jointly developed by German technology firm Dermalog and its local partners, Holy Family Printing Corp., Microgenesis, and Verzontal Builders Inc. The project went through competitive bidding in May 2018. The LTO’s online portal is a one-stop shop that will integrate all LTO services in a single contactless database system and digital platform. “We are waiting for their reply. I have been open since my first day in office, and I’ve been very open to them. There is a problem, let us talk about it. However, they have not replied to my letters on the source code and application code issue. We have to protect the government’s interest, and the government’s interest is to get the source and application codes so we can do the enhancements ourselves,” Mendoza said. According to the new LTO chief, hiring another third-party team to resolve the LTMS issues might cost the government at least another billion pesos. Mendoza asked why the government does not just find another software developer, saying: “We already paid for the contract.” “If we do it, maybe they will spend another billion just to complete everything, so the government will save a lot if we do it ourselves. We have DICT with us, and LTO is also hiring technical people for us to be able to do it ourselves. So, we can do it, we don’t need foreigners to teach us.” The post LTO innovates responses to backlogs appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Phl looking for railways funds
The Philippines will have to find other funding sources to bankroll big-ticket transport infrastructure projects after the Department of Transportation or DoTr decided to drop China as its partner for the Mindanao Railway Project. Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista on Thursday confirmed the DoTr is currently “looking for other lending sources.” “We will look for another funding source. We are working on that now,” Bautista said on the sidelines of the German–Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry luncheon meeting. The transport chief said three DoTr projects – the South Long Haul Project, Mindanao Railway Project, and Subic-Clark Railway—were dropped as Chinese Official Development Assistance projects or ODA as the latter’s interest had “waned.” “Those are what we are going to look for additional funding or replacement for,” he said in English and Filipino, adding that the DoTr has requested assistance from the Department of Finance. Bautista said he was unfazed as other funding sources are available, including the Japan International Cooperation Agency or JICA, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. “Our options are we can still go for other ODA. There’s the JICA, the ADB, the World Bank,” he said. “There are other governments talking to us on the possibility of financing these projects,” he added. The post Phl looking for railways funds appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
LTO chief seeks full gov’t takeover of IT system from German contractor
Land Transportation Office Chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II on Thursday said he is seeking a full takeover of the IT system which the government contracted with the German company Dermalog to handle all the transactions in the agency in 2019. This is in line with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.'s order to Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista to digitalize all government transactions as part of giving faster and more convenient services to the public. Mendoza said the LTO's takeover of the Land Transportation Management System will address the technical issues raised by the Commission on Audit and the Department of Information and Communications Technology. The assessment and evaluation of the DICT disclosed 14 deficiencies in the LTMS system and 166 needed enhancements to further improve the system. “Our IT experts are capable of operating and maintaining the system. In fact, sila po ang talagang nagtrabaho at patuloy na nagta-trabaho para ayusin ang sistema para maging madali at komportable sa ating mga end-users, and eventually maging fully utilized na ang ating online platform,” Mendoza said. The issuance of driver’s license is now 10 percent under LTMS, while the renewal of motor vehicle registration is now at 95 percent under the LTMS system from 70 percent when he assumed the top LTO post late July this year, said Mendoza. The focus right now, he added, is to further improve the registration of newly-registered units or NRUs, which is currently at 60 percent under the LTMS system. The LTO is pushing for full digital transactions before the end of November this year. “Magiging mas madali ang pag-maintain ng system at mas makakatipid ang gobyerno na maayos ang lahat ng deficiencies na nakita ng DICT because we are moving towards 100-percent utilization of the computer system na nabayaran ng goyerno ng mahigit P3 billion,” said Mendoza. “Kayang-kaya nating i-take over ito. In fact, this was the reason why I created a Technical Working Group and right now, we are in the final phase of review and assessment for full implementation by next month,” said Mendoza. Mendoza also belied the statement attributed to the representative of Dermalog that LTO personnel have been resisting the use of LTMS. “This is not true, Nakita ko mismo ang ginagawa ng ating mga frontline employees so it is unfair to issue inaccurate statements like that,” Mendoza said. The post LTO chief seeks full gov’t takeover of IT system from German contractor appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»