PRRD payag lumabas sa commercial campaign vs COVID-19
Manila, Philippines – Payag si Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte na lumabas sa isang commercial campaign para maibsan ang takot ng publiko sa COVID-19. Ito’y matapos na lumabas sa Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey na karamihan sa Filipino ay takot na magpunta sa kanilang trabaho at sa pamilihan habang may pandemya. Tinatayang 77 porsiyento ng mga […] The post PRRD payag lumabas sa commercial campaign vs COVID-19 appeared first on REMATE ONLINE......»»
P20/kilo rice aspiration
Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian made a clear admission that reducing the price of rice to P20 a kilo is not possible, but only to a lower price that is affordable. Grilled by House Deputy Minority Leader Mujiv Hataman during the deliberations on the Department of Agriculture’s 2024 budget early last week, Sebastian said, “To be honest, we [have] never discussed those things… with the President.” For ordinary Juans, the idea of cheap rice is enticing and an answered prayer but achieving the goal more than a year after it was promised is a challenge that even agriculture officials themselves find unachievable. DA Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and Regulations Mercedita Sombilla was quoted as saying, “Next two years? Baka mahirap po (It might be difficult).” Even retired University of the Philippines crop science professor, Dr. Teodoro Mendoza, shared the sentiment that the P20 per kilo rice isn’t possible “unless the government subsidizes 55 percent of the market price” given current pricey agricultural inputs. All told, officials of the Department of Agriculture defending the DA’s proposed budget of P167.5 billion for 2024, after being questioned and seared, acknowledged that fulfilling President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s campaign promise to reduce the price of rice to P20 per kilo would be improbable within the next two years. Mind you, reducing rice prices is included in the roadmap but not to P20 per kilo. There is no doubt that nothing tangible backs up the P20/kilo of rice goal. It was never tackled in the DA’s meetings with the President, therefore, there is no plan to trim rice prices. In fact, local commercial rice is sold at P54-P62 per kilo for special quality, P47-P60/kilo for premium quality, P46-P57/kilo for well-milled, and P41-P55/kilo for regular milled. Imported commercial rice is priced at P52-P65/kilo for special quality, P47-P57/kilo for premium quality, and P46/kilo for well-milled. Equally concerning is the fact that the department cannot say when the price will stabilize. The P20 per kilo rice is an “aspiration” of the DA, so says Undersecretary Sebastian. Noble as it may seem, he said the DA would like to make sure farmers will benefit from any agricultural development and have a good income, but cannot provide an assurance on alleviating consumers’ financial burden. Until that P20/kilo aspiration, which often represents an idealized version of the government’s desire and ambition, becomes a powerful driving force that will motivate the agriculture department to work hard and strive for success, arresting the soaring price of the Filipino staple will continue to drag on forever. Here is an instance where aspiration does not fully match the reality that 110 million Filipinos face; when aspiration clashes with reality leading to disappointment, frustration, and a sense of unfulfilled potential. Whatever the litany of reasons our officials present for the sorry state of the rice sector, it is important to strike a balance between aspiration and reality. While it is essential to have dreams and goals that inspire and motivate us, it is also crucial to maintain a realistic perspective. It may involve acknowledging the challenges and limitations of the real world, adapting to changing circumstances, and making necessary adjustments to our aspirations when needed. “I don’t know” is a lame excuse, and so are “I cannot answer that” and “We have not figured it out.” What is important to Filipinos, for now, is to at least feel that our elected and appointed officials explore factors such as market dynamics, production costs, and policy challenges that will realize the aspiration while striving for a sustainable and equitable agricultural system that supports both farmers and consumers. We cannot afford to see more than 10.4 percent, or a third, of Filipino families experiencing involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months, in the next Social Weather Stations survey. It’s not too much to ask from officials entrusted with the country’s future and the welfare of Filipinos. The post P20/kilo rice aspiration appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Pasig River rehab, priority advocacy of FL
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar on Sunday said the rehabilitation of Pasig River, by virtue of Executive Order (EO) 35, has the backing of First Lady Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos. In its August 2023 issue which features the First Lady, Tatler Asia magazine cited the Pasig River rehabilitation as among her three priority-advocacies, the other two being education and improved access to quality health care. Tatler Asia stated that the First Lady envisions Pasig River to become a lifestyle and commercial hub, and a major tourist attraction when fully rehabilitated. “As for the river initiative, she (First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos) hopes that revitalizing the Pasig will make it an attraction in its own right, in the same way, that the Thames or Seine or Bangkok’s Chao Phraya are: arteries of commerce, lifestyle, tourism and culture, drawing visitors from home and overseas,” Tatler Asia wrote. Acuzar welcomed the support of the First Couple as a huge boost to the efforts of IAC-PRUD for the massive rehabilitation of the Pasig River, which also covers the relocation of thousands of informal settler families. Amelita "Ming" Ramos is perhaps the most well-known former first lady, who made the rehabilitation of the Pasig River synonymous with her name with the alliterative "Piso Para Pasig" campaign during the Ramos administration. Under EO 35, which created the Inter-Agency Council for the Pasig River Urban Development (IAC-PRUD) was created with the DHSUD as lead, the MMDA will serve as vice chair and the secretaries of DPWH, DENR, DILG, DOT, DoTr, DOF, DBM; the chairpersons of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and the NCCA, the general manager of the PPA, commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, the general manager of the Laguna Lake Development Authority and the chief executive officer of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority were tapped as members. The National Housing Authority will serve as the secretariat. The IAC-PRUD was primarily tasked to “facilitate and ensure the full rehabilitation of the banks along the Pasig River water system and nearby water systems in order to provide alternative transportation, propel economic opportunities, and boost tourism activities.” The post Pasig River rehab, priority advocacy of FL appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Never too late’ to embrace eco-living
Michael Tantoco Huang, the vice president for store planning and expansions of Rustans Commercial Corporation, told Daily Tribune that it is never too late to start the eco-living lifestyle. “I know it’s been around for a while, but it is never too late to start,” Huang said. “It is about time to start doing something to push environmental-friendly and eco-living or sustainability,” he added. Rustan’s held its Eco-living Soiree with the theme Eco-living Elevated at the fifth floor of its Ayala Center Makati branch on Thursday, 6 July. [caption id="attachment_172264" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Malu Liu, Rustans Commercial Corporation home marketing consultant; Michael Huang, Rustans Commercial Corporation vice president for store planning and expansions; and Cecil Hermoso, Rustans Commercial Corporation division manager for home merchandising.[/caption] The event features brands that promote sustainability and environmentally-friendly products like Gourmet Farms, Linen & Homes, Aromabotanica, Inabel Fabric and Pili Ani. Initiative Huang acknowledges the ongoing conversation surrounding sustainability, eco-friendliness and the environment, which he considers to be a pressing concern. “I mean, all countries around the world right now are actually pushing for talks on helping in preserving the environment,” he said. Rustan’s, in response to this movement, has taken up the responsibility of advocating eco-living and sustainability. “This is our way of contributing, then pushing that effort forward,” he said. The Rustans VP for Development also highlighted the growing environmental consciousness among their customers. “We have a lot of customers that actually are very eco-conscious or environmentally conscious,” he said. Huang said that the ongoing campaign serves as Rustan’s way of supporting individuals who actively advocate for eco-living and sustainability. He emphasized that this initiative is just one of the small steps they are taking to promote these causes. Way of living Huang considers that the eco-living and sustainable kind of lifestyle is not going to be a trend but a part of people’s daily lives. “I wouldn’t say it’s just going to be a trend,” he said. He added that a lot of governments are also pushing for this advocacy by creating laws in helping and preserving the environment. “They’re even giving incentives — I don’t know if that’s the right word to use — to push that sustainability,” he said. According to him, governments are also giving tax breaks or tax deductibles to companies who are selling products in which they can prove that it came from sustainable sources. He also illustrated that brands right now are also promoting this kind of advocacy by putting the materials used in making the product through their tags. “You’ll see it on their tags, ‘this is made from 100 percent cotton.’ Before, you’d never see that. No one really paid attention to that,” he said. “Actually, it would be on the tag on the shirt, but now they are actually putting it on the tag that you’ll see it. It’s one of the first things you’d see. Before, you’d really have to look for it,” he added while recalling how people’s buying behavior changed. He also called to mind that one of their suppliers is also using sustainable methods in growing piña fibers in producing barongs. People nowadays, according to him, do not easily throw things away. He also saw a set of furniture that are made of recycled wood from the train tracks in one of the fairs he visited. [caption id="attachment_172266" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Eco-friendly women’s fashion brand Sorbet Island.[/caption] Brands For Huang, not all products can be a hundred-percent made of sustainable materials but he would not be surprised if it reaches a point where everything can be created from sustainable materials through technology. “I think we’re still at a point where there are certain methods or certain materials that cannot be yet hundred-percent sustainable,” he said. “I can’t predict that, but I think that sooner or later, a lot of the suppliers, a lot of the brands, will have, maybe right now there are somewhere at hundred, somewhere at 80, somewhere at 50, I think the percentages will end up growing later,” he said. Baby steps Rustan Commercial Corporation have more plans in the pipeline to continue this eco-living campaign. “Like I said, we are taking those baby steps right and this is one of those initiatives,” he added. “More to come,” he assured. The post Never too late’ to embrace eco-living appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Art you can carry’
This is what homegrown brand FINO Leatherware calls its first collaborative artist-led project featuring the works of Kara Pangilinan. [gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="172271,172272"] Kara Pangilinan at work. [gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="172270,172273"] FINO Leatherware has always grounded its brand philosophy on Filipino artistry. FINO x KARA is a one-off collection of bags that features the artist’s hand paintings, dated and signed, and accompanied by a certificate of authentication. The 30-piece series is an ode to heritage with Pangilinan expressing the themes of local flora and fauna alongside the Filipina’s evolved identity. Slender palm fronds, gumamela and sampaguita flowers emerge from the bags’ panels, the leather’s varying colors from bright red to pastel hues setting off Pangilinan’s black and white strokes. The artist’s portraits of womenin traditional garb bridge generations, with one in particular revealing the gaze of a strong, modern Filipina. Since its founding back in 1992, FINO Leatherware has always grounded its brand philosophy on Filipino artistry, from the craftsmen to the creatives who’ve conceptualized collections. Its most recent campaigns paid tribute to Filipino culture, to include a wrist purse called Sipa, which is inspired by a local game, the Vinta bags and clutches that evoke the sailing tradition of Mindanao, and the Puso bags which takes its shape from a staple of Cebu’s street food — rice wrapped in banana leaves. Pangilinan was a student of architecture at the University of the Philippines when she began to try her hand at art. After earning her degree, she worked in an architectural firm for a few months before deciding on becoming a full-time artist. Murals and commercial works for brands such as Heineken, Globe and YouTube defined the early phase of Pangilinan’s journey. Simultaneously, she was developing a more personal practice, exploring various thematic concepts and her favored medium at that time, ink on paper. In the years that followed, Pangilinan diversified into acrylic painting to exploit the full color spectrum of the medium. For her collaboration with FINO, however, the artist returns to the palette that has defined the early phase of her career. The collection is introduced by none other than Miss Philippines Universe 2020 first runner-up Bella Ysmael, who epitomizes FINO’s ideal Filipina. She graces the FINO x KARA campaign which announces the release of the collection, available by the end of September in FINO’s flagship store in Rockwell’s Power Plant Mall. [gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="172279,172280"] “Having Bella on board was important for us,” says FINO co-founder Rose Ann Bautista. “We wanted the right woman to represent not just the new collection, but our new direction as well.” The post ‘Art you can carry’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Tacloban intensifies plastic ordinance info drive
The local government of Tacloban City disclosed on Sunday that it has embarked on a massive education drive to inform the residents on an ordinance regulating the use of plastics and styrofoam on packaging that will take effect next year. Tacloban’s City Environment and Natural Resources Office chief Jonathan Hijada stressed that the information and education campaign has already started with establishments in the downtown area and will soon commence outside of the commercial center. He added that the CENRO and the city’s Business Permits and Licensing Division are set to conduct a joint seminar that will target large establishments such as malls and hardware stores to ensure their compliance of the ordinance. “As early as now, people should already start reducing their garbage to increase the lifespan of our sanitary landfill,” Hijada said. The CENRO chief revealed that at least 120 tons of garbage is generated in the city every day of which over 13 tons is composed of single-use plastics. “If this continues, the holding capacity of our sanitary landfill will soon be on a critical level and may only be able to accommodate until next year,” Hijada said. To recall, Tacloban’s sanitary landfill in Barangay San Roque opened in 2019 and there are already plans to expand it by 20 to 30 meters to increase its lifespan by two to three years. “We appeal for the cooperation of everybody to be responsible with their garbage. Households can start with waste segregation and not throw away those that can still be recycled and use eco-friendly alternatives such as reusable bags when they do their grocery or go to market,” Hijada said. The city ordinance bans the use of single-use plastics, plastic bags and styrofoam in groceries, fast food chains, food kiosks, sari-sari stores, markets and among ambulant vendors. The post Tacloban intensifies plastic ordinance info drive appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Liza Araneta- Marcos: A refreshing perspective on the First Lady’s role
When Liza Araneta-Marcos’ husband, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, was elected President of the Philippines, many wondered how the incoming First Lady would play her role, given that the first Mrs. Marcos, First Lady from 31 December 1965 to 25 February 1986, had, for ages, loomed large on the Filipino consciousness. Imelda had been described as Ferdinand Marcos’ secret weapon whose popularity contributed immensely to his winning the presidential election. Whether true or not, Imelda Marcos went on to capture the hearts and imagination of the Filipino people as she wowed them with her numerous projects, including the mammoth Cultural Center of the Philippines, even as it also served as fodder for the critics of her husband’s administration. Fast forward to the presidential election of 2022 — what people saw was a Bongbong who chose to fight his detractors by ignoring them. He focused instead on rebuilding a nation that needed to be united if it must overcome the challenges brought by the recent pandemic, not yet totally eradicated despite the wonders of immunization at the time he was about to take his oath of office. It was the right campaign strategy, for it promised renewal and, more importantly, a break from the past. That Ferdinand Marcos Jr. won the presidency, despite losing in his bid for the vice presidency in the previous national elections, confirms that a large segment of the voting population saw in him the answer to the many ills of our nation. Beautiful and fragrant First Lady On the day of the inauguration, Imelda Marcos sat quietly, almost stoically, on the stage, her face showing hints of a smile, and obviously preferring to be a low-key mother, and not as the fabulous Imeldific that had been her trademark because, as she claimed in her heyday as a Human Settlements Minister, “The Filipinos want their First Lady to be beautiful,” which also meant fragrant and, well, bejeweled and dressed to the nines. [caption id="attachment_161345" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] MELDA Marcos, the quietly proud mother at her son Bongbong’s presidential inauguration. With them is First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos. | ted aljibe/agence france-presse[/caption] Her detractors would say there was so much hunger and poverty, and here she was as though oblivious to the realities of Filipino life. Imelda Marcos was a voice culture student and an education graduate, the president of the student council of her college, the Rose of Tacloban and a Miss Manila wannabe who, when she came crying to the swashbuckling mayor, was given the title of Muse of Manila. Imelda Marcos, from day one, was a great beauty and was fated to live her life in an aquarium for neighbors and the public to ogle. Interestingly, amidst the simplicity and humility of circumstances that she experienced in her childhood, she lived close to Malacañang, the stately presidential home which, she did not know then, would become her home for 20 years. In the meantime, her father, distraught by the loss of his second wife, Imelda’s mother, and financially strapped, brought his family home to Tacloban. Here, the young Meldy would blossom into such an attractive lass, one rich Chinese businessman wanted to marry the young girl who he thought was old enough to be his wife. Imelda, early on, could sing like a nightingale and, as she herself related, impressed General Douglas MacArthur with her voice. And because of her, Irving Berlin composed the song, “Heaven Watch the Philippines,” after he heard her sing “God Bless the Philippines” to the tune of his composition, “God Bless America.” Feisty and no-nonsense lawyer Now comes a feisty, no-nonsense lawyer, who is related to the very rich Aranetas, owners of the vast Cubao commercial center. The daughter of a handsome “crush ng bayan” basketball player known in his heyday as “twinkle toes” because he pranced around the court like a good dancer, she grew up sheltered, in a manner of speaking. She attended the Ateneo de Manila for both her undergraduate and law studies. Since she preferred to be low-key, she was not as well-known as her Araneta cousins, including the more famous Mar Roxas and Gaita Fores. Her mother being a Cacho makes her “royal” on both sides of her family and somehow related to the Cojuangcos, her mother’s sister, Sari, having married Pedro, the eldest brother of Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. How exactly does one regard Liza Marcos-Araneta? And how does she differ from Mrs. Marcos who impressed me while she was on the dance floor tripping the light fantastic and oh so gracefully and astoundingly, doing the tango and chacha with an equally magnificent Pepe Oledan, who later became our ambassador to Spain? [caption id="attachment_161347" align="aligncenter" width="1520"] ‘Liza knows how to put a group, a team together, find good people, put them in the right place, motivate them properly, and she’s always been good at that.’ | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESYOF FB.COM/LIZA MARCOS[/caption] Like an old friend The first time I met Imelda Marcos face to face, I had been sent to her Pacific Plaza home by my boss, socialite and future legislator Baby Arenas. As soon as I was ushered into Mrs. Marcos’ living room, she stood up and said, “Oh, Jojo, it’s nice of you to come.” It was all that she needed to say to make me glow and feel important. It was said that Imelda remembered names, but meeting her for the first time up close and here she was speaking like she had missed an old friend, wow, I felt like I was on top of the world. When I was a teenager, in 1973, Renata Tebaldi and Franco Correli, opera singers of world-renowned, had flown into the country to perform. I attended their concert at the Araneta Coliseum which shook to the rafters when their voices reached their highest crescendo. I was mesmerized by this electrifying performance when, all of a sudden, as I was seated in the back row of the orchestra, flashbulbs popped at my back, making everyone turn around, and lo, there was Imelda Marcos, radiant, beautiful and glowing, smiling charmingly and looking straight at the stage. She had the whole world at that moment to herself. How, tell me, could I forget my first sighting of the iron butterfly? [caption id="attachment_161344" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] THE First Family at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland held in January this year. | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF FB.COM/LIZA MARCOS[/caption] Voice of reason Fast forward to 2022, Bongbong Marcos took to the hustings and easily won over his opponent by an overwhelming majority of 58.77 percent or more than 31.6 million votes, and in the election that brought in the fastest result in all of the nation’s political history. How exactly did Liza contribute to her husband’s win, the victor himself shared, “Liza knows how to put a group, a team together, find good people, put them in the right place, motivate them properly, and she’s always been good at that.” Not surprisingly, given her credentials or qualifications, if that may be said of the First Lady of the land. A lawyer who took her post graduate studies in Criminal Procedure at New York University, a professor at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, St. Louis University and Mariano Marcos State University, media described her as “a significant voice of reason in the campaign.” If Ferdinand Marcos Sr. had a “secret weapon who sang and wept before crowds” in Imelda Romualdez Marcos, President BBM had an “expert lawyer with extraordinary skills in organization and logistics management” in Liza Araneta-Marcos. (More on Wednesday, 26 July) The post Liza Araneta- Marcos: A refreshing perspective on the First Lady’s role appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Phl cinema in the first year of BBM
Here, we look back at the state of the Philippine film industry since he took the seat of power 13 months ago. When President Marcos Jr. became the 17th leader of the nation, the country was on the brink of the “new normal.” The campaign elections even saw multitudes of crowds in the streets, the Filipinos’ political passion overpowering the fear of a Covid-19 infection. Covid-pandemic viewing By May 2022, the month of the presidential campaigns, the Department of Health said the country was at “minimal-risk case classification” with an average of only 159 cases per day. By June 2022, when the President took his oath, 69.4 million Filipinos had been fully vaccinated. Along with the country, the Philippine film industry started healing. On the same month, the country went under Covid-19 Alert Level 2, with 50-percent allowed capacity in indoor cinemas. Live film festivals The Marcos administration saw the return of Filipino film festivals in theaters. On Marcos’ fifth month as president, the QCinema International Film Festival, with the theme “in10City,” held hybdrid screenings — in-person and online. The Metro Manila Film Festival in December 2022, six months into the new presidency, went full force in cinemas for the second time during the pandemic. Earlier, in 2020, during the Duterte administration, the festival was held online for the first time, and the following year, in December 2021, after level alert measures in the Philippines were relaxed, the MMFF finally went back to the cinemas. However, only around 300 cinemas (down from the usual 900) were allowed to screen the MMFF entries. Meanwhile, the 18th edition of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival was held from 5 August to 31 October 2022 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, in select mall cinemas and online. But what made a mark during the Marcos administration’s first year was the inaugural edition of the 2023 Summer Metro Manila Film Festival. The SMMFF was held in Metro Manila and throughout the Philippines. Organized by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority in partnership with the Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines, the first MMFF was supposed to be held in 2020, but was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2023, held from 8 to 18 April 2023 with the theme “Tuloy-tuloy ang Saya,” the summer festival featured eight entries and, like its December counterpart, even held a Parade of Stars. About Us But Not About Us by Jun Lana, produced by The IdeaFirst Company, Octobertrain Films and Quantum Films, emerged as the first Best Picture of the summer festival. [caption id="attachment_161372" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] About Us But Not About Us by Jun Lana[/caption] The Film Development Council of the Philippines’ sixth edition of its own mini-film festival, held during the Marcos administration’s third month, headed back to cinemas, offering free access to award-winning classic films of the new National Artists for Film and Broadcast Arts at TriNoma Cinema in Quezon City and in all Cinematheque centers nationwide (Manila, Iloilo, Negros, Davao and Nabunturan). CCP closes for renovations On 1 September 2022, CCP president Margarita Moran-Floirendo announced during a hearing of the Senate committee on cultural communities, that The Cultural Center of the Philippines — home to the Cinemalaya festival — will close its doors starting January 2023 for renovation and structural retrofitting works, and will reopen in March 2025. This marks the first time that Cinemalaya, on its 19th year, which has the theme “ilumiNasyon,” will be held at various venues inside the adjacent Philippine International Convention Center, from 4 to 13 August 2023. The rise of political films With the country deeply driven by polarized political views, the Marcos administration saw a war between political commercial films. [caption id="attachment_161370" align="aligncenter" width="1800"] ‘MAID in Malacanang’ stars Cristine Reyes, Diego Loyzaga and Ella Cruz. | Photograph courtesy of viva[/caption] On 29 July 2022, Darryl Yap’s period drama Maid in Malacañang, touted as “the most controversial film of the year,” was released to packed cinemas. The movie, about the Marcos family’s last three days in Malacañang Palace before they were forced into exile, premiered at SM North EDSA and was released nationwide on 3 August 2022. Yap, who passionately campaigned for Marcos, became a controversial filmmaker with the release of his Marcos film. Leni Robredo supporters tried to boycott the film, with some Filipino movie critics exposing themselves as heavily political and non-neutral with their reviews, accusing the film of propaganda and historical revisionism. The attempt to quash the movie’s release failed and it became a box-office hit, with producer Viva Films releasing a statement that it earned a whopping P21 million on its opening day and P63 million three days after its release. It was the first time in Philippine cinema history that local theaters nationwide saw a deluge of moviegoers lining up to watch a movie on the big screen, mostly driven by political affiliation. Another unsuccessful political attempt to diminish the film’s release was Vince Tañada’s re-release of his Martial Law film Katips to counter Maid in Malacañang. Tañada’s film eventually won Best Picture at the Famas Awards. MIM actress Ella Cruz’s remark during a press conference, that “history is like tsismis,” further fanned the flames of political debate online. Eight months later, in March 2022, Viva released Yap’s second installment in his Marcos trilogy, Martyr or Murderer, which now focused on Ferdinand Marcos and the assassination of Ninoy Aquino. Two anti-Marcos movies rose to combat the film — Joel Lamangan’s Oras de Peligro, released on the same day, and Tañada’s movie adaptation of his musical play Ako Si Ninoy, released one week earlier. Movie buffs, political analysts, film critics, the press and social media influencers dove into feverish commentaries on the three films, and Philippine cinemas were ignited and, for a while, became alive with social discourse. New FDCP head On 21 July 2022, Tirso S. Cruz III officially assumed his position as the head of the country’s national film agency, the Film Development Council of the Philippines. He replaced Liza Diño, who was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte as FDCP chairperson on 12 August 2016. [caption id="attachment_161368" align="aligncenter" width="736"] FDCP chair Tirso Cruz III. | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF FDCP[/caption] Cruz, a veteran actor, said that the target of the FDCP under the Marcos administration was to support local films, not just in Metro Manila, but also from regional filmmakers. He also professed support for film students and highlighted archiving as part of the FDCP’s agenda, with 42,000 materials in its archives to be salvaged. MTRCB In September 2022, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board released a statement addressing the controversy about its proposal to expand its jurisdiction to online streaming services like Netflix, Vivamax, Amazon Prime and other streaming platforms. The MTRCB said it was responding to multitudes of complaints from parents and other concerned groups demanding that the agency regulate movie and TV online platforms to protect children from harmful viewing. The Marcos administration has seen a continuous boom in streamers, which began during the pandemic, with Vivamax becoming one of the leading local streamers due to the popularity of Filipino sexploitation films. On 23 February 2023, MTRCB chairperson Lala Sotto-Antonio expressed her gratitude to Senators Francis “Tol” Tolentino, Grace Poe and Sherwin Gatchalian for the separate bills they filed that would amend and expand the board’s mandate. “We welcome the move to amend the charter of the MTRCB as it will allow the agency to adequately adapt to changes in technology and the ever-evolving needs of the viewing public and our other stakeholders,” Sotto-Antonio said before the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media chaired by Senator Robinhood C. Padilla. Eddie Garcia Act In January 2023, the chamber passed through voice voting House Bill 1270, or the proposed Eddie Garcia Act, at the House plenary session. [caption id="attachment_161367" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] HOUSE Bill 1270 has been proposed in honor of the late actor Eddie Garcia. | Photograph courtesy of gma-7[/caption] Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte authored the bill, which aims to provide workers in the movie, television and radio entertainment industry opportunities for well-paid employment and protect them from economic exploitation, abuse and harassment, as well as hazardous working conditions. The bill was named after the late veteran actor Eddie Garcia, who died in 2019 after suffering a neck injury while shooting the television series Rosang Agimat, produced by GMA Network. According to Villafuerte, productions would go from 16 to 24 continuous work hours per set and would rush productions to save costs. The proposed law mandates that normal work hours of the worker or talent shall be eight hours a day; overtime work should not exceed more than 12 hours in a 24-hour period; and the total number of work hours shall not exceed 60 hours in a week. Paul Soriano Relatively unknown to most Pinoy moviegoers, filmmaker Paul Soriano was put on the limelight as the man behind the President’s advertisements — way back from campaigns since Marcos started out as vice governor, and then, governor of Ilocos Norte, up until his senatorial campaign, and eventually his campaign for the vice presidency and presidency. [caption id="attachment_161371" align="aligncenter" width="781"] PRESIDENTIAL Adviser on Creative Communications Paul Soriano. | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ig/PAUL SORIANO[/caption] Of course, the opposition in the film industry predictably canceled Soriano, the blood nephew of First Lady Liza Cacho Araneta-Marcos. Dolly de Leon It was also during the BBM era that Filipina actress Dolly de Leon gained international fame for her performance in the 2022 Cannes Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness. [caption id="attachment_161366" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Dolly de Leon gained international fame for her performance in the 2022 Cannes Palme d’Or winner ‘Triangle of Sadness.’ | Photograph courtesy ofig/dolly de leon[/caption] The 54-year old film, television and theater actress made history by becoming the first Filipino actor to be nominated at the British Academy Film Awards and Golden Globe Awards. Filipino movie fans and critics, having been exposed to global content since the rise of the streamers, plus the proliferation of self-published movie reviews, are generally still disappointed with the output and system of the Philippine film industry, but filled with hope that, with full support from the government, Philippine cinema will finally become truly internationally competitive, sustainable and recognized. The post Phl cinema in the first year of BBM appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
IACAT-11 reopens at Davao airport
DAVAO CITY — To intensify its campaign at eliminating trafficking in person and other diverse types of exploitation, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking-11 reopened its office at the Davao City International Airport on 14 July. The reopening of the office is a result of a joint endeavor aimed at eliminating TIP and diverse types of exploitation — including sexual exploitation, prostitution, pornography/online sexual abuse or exploitation of children, illegal recruitment and forced labor. It will also serve as a vital hub for coordination, information sharing, and implementing strategies to protect vulnerable individuals. In a presentation, Barbara Mae Flores, the deputy regional prosecutor of the Regional Prosecution Office 11 and the chief of operations IACAT-11 Anti-TIP Task Force said they established the office at the DIA since traffickers use commercial planes in transporting victims. “Airports may be our last chance of visibility and protection. Knowing where and/or how to report suspected TIP incidents is one step in eliminating TIP,” said Flores, adding that they will also be putting up a help desk as an effective prevention of TIP through the improvement of intelligence, surveillance and monitoring activities. “For a timely apprehension of traffickers and interception/rescue of victims and as an immediate assistance to victims or potential victims as well as create and maintain a database and advocate against TIP inside airports,” Flores said. The post IACAT-11 reopens at Davao airport appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Beyond slogans
The talk of the town remains to be the DoT fiasco where a lackluster slogan, “Love the Philippines”, was unveiled and which appeared to be a safe bet since it brought up similarities to previous slogans, i.e. “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” and “Wow Philippines.” What made things worse for the anticipated, and expensive, commercial was its use of stock footage that featured tourist sites that were not found in the Philippines. We can all admit that this was indeed a shortcoming on the part of the DoT, and Secretary Cristina Frasco has acknowledged this. Certain senators were talking at length about this, even suggesting that the new slogan be scrapped. Secretary Frasco took the high road and stood firm on the “Love the Philippines” slogan, signifying the need to move on from this fiasco, onward to more important matters, such as the implementation of tourism projects and legislation to bring in more tourists. If we compare the tourism revenues of the Philippines to our neighboring countries, we are clearly lagging behind. I was able to visit Thailand recently. From the moment you set foot at the airport, you could see that we are decades behind. The service accorded tourists is topnotch – you have a sense that the locals would not rip you off just because you are a tourist. Instead, you feel that you are a guest in their country, and guests are accorded respect in Thailand. How can the DoT address this? The DoT can identify tourism hotspots and educate the service industry on how to properly treat guests. This is a grassroots-level approach to help improve tourism, instead of an expensive and grandiose advertising campaign that is bound to be changed by the next administration in 2028. Another way the DoT can help is through national and local legislation. By offering incentives to businesses in the tourism sector, more companies would be keen to invest in Philippine tourism and set up businesses in areas that have yet to be capitalized. If you visit Boracay or Cebu, you would see a saturated tourism area, but in places like Siargao Island and San Vicente, Palawan, there may be a need for government to further support the economic development of these high-potential tourist areas. DoT can highlight activities and experiences unique to the Philippines that can be found in almost every corner. Rep. Joey Salceda was correct in pointing out that Mayon Volcano, one of the most picturesque volcanos in the entire world, was not even shown in the advertising campaign of the DoT. I have visited Mayon and it was a treat to walk around it and ride an ATV in the surrounding beautiful landscape. The Philippines can boast of its surfing and dive spots to a global audience. We can offer packages to bring in more surfers and divers who would spend months in the Philippines, longer than the ordinary tourist. As a passionate (not talented) golfer, we can promote golf tourism just like Vietnam and Thailand. Clark, by far, is the best place to promote golf with the presence of an international airport and world-class golfers just minutes away. Tourist areas such as Boracay, Palawan, Siargao and Bohol, would be riddled with golf tourists with spending power, if there were three to four golf courses in these areas. All in all, tourism is more than a slogan. It is the by-product of an entire government policy and ethos to make Filipinos more proactive in bringing in tourists. Perhaps, this is what the DoT and the Filipino public should focus on. *** For comments, email him at darren.dejesus@gmail.com The post Beyond slogans appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Araneta City displays different colors
Araneta City, a commercial, mixed-use development area in Cubao, Quezon City, became more colorful with celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride Month last June, with its #EveryHueInYou campaign, aimed at celebrating the diversity of human sexuality and gender, and love and life in all its beautiful colors. Starting on 1 June, the #PRIDEstrian crossing at the intersection of General Aguinaldo Street and General Malvar Street (near Gateway Tower and New Frontier Theater) has been “yassified” to reflect the colors of the Pride flag, becoming Instagram-worthy. The Araneta City management also put up the #ForestOfHue, an art installation filled with colorful trees that people can come to and take their photos or TikTok videos at. The #ForestOfHue was installed at the Ali Mall Activity Area from 5 to 9 June; the Farmers Plaza Bazaar from 10 to 18 June; Gateway Mall Activity Area from 19 to 22 June; and the Farmers Plaza Activity Area from 24 to 30 June. [caption id="attachment_152998" align="aligncenter" width="1152"] Binibining Pilipinas queens at the #PRIDEstrian.[/caption] The City of Firsts also promoted HIV awareness by hosting the exhibit Tanggulan of photographer Niccolo Cosme. The exhibit showcased advocates like Miss Universe 2015 Universe Pia Wurtzbach-Jauncey, Binibining Pilipinas Intercontinental 2022 Gabrielle Basiano and Binibining Pilipinas International 2022 Nicole Borromeo in portraits that are painted using HIV+ blood. It was at the Gateway Gallery Studio from 8 to 18 June; Ali Mall Activity Area from 19 to 22 June; and Gateway Mall Activity Area from 23 to 30 June. “We support all members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Through installations like these, we are encouraging them to proudly show their true colors to the world. We know how important it is for members of the community to live their truth as authentically as possible, and we here at the City of Firsts are behind them all the way,” Marjorie Go, AVP for Marketing of Araneta City, said. Araneta City also challenged netizens to show their fierce side by joining the #RampaSaAraneta contest. They were encouraged to pose and sashay on the #PRIDEstrian and #ForestOfHue, upload entries on TikTok, tag Araneta City and use the hashtags #AranetaCity #RampaSaAraneta #CityOfFirsts for a chance to win exciting prizes, such as an overnight stay at Novotel Manila Araneta City and P5,000. The competition ran from 5 to 30 June. To help foster a more inclusive space for everyone at Araneta City, agency personnel underwent a special learning session on gender and sexuality led by Ameerah Milano, faculty member and coordinator of the Gender and Development Desk of the Academic Affairs Office of the Far Eastern University. The session aimed to educate participants on matters of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. “At Araneta City, we aim to foster a safe community where anyone can feel free and comfortable to be their true selves. This Pride Month, we express our solidarity and unwavering support for all members of the LGBTQIA+ community. They are always welcome to be who they are here in the City of Firsts,” Go said. The post Araneta City displays different colors appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Neglected elephant touches down in Thai homeland after flight
A Thai elephant gifted to Sri Lanka two decades ago arrived back in its birth country Sunday, following a diplomatic spat over the animal's alleged mistreatment. Thai authorities had gifted the 29-year-old Muthu Raja -- also known back in its birthplace as Sak Surin -- to Sri Lanka in 2001. But they demanded the elephant back last year after allegations that it was tortured and neglected while kept at a Buddhist temple. The 4,000-kilogram (8,800-pound) mammal arrived in Thailand just after 2 pm (0800 GMT), having been transported inside a specially constructed giant steel crate onboard an Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane. "He arrived in Chiang Mai perfectly," Thai environment minister Varawut Silpa-Archa said at the airport. "He traveled five hours and nothing is wrong, his condition is normal." "If everything goes well, we will move him," he added, referring to plans to quarantine the elephant at a nearby nature reserve. Varawut helped give the elephant a drink after Muthu Raja's decorated crate was removed from the plane, with the thirsty animal eagerly reached his trunk through a hole to accept the water. The elephant could be seen when officials briefly opened the crate's rear doors and it was sprayed. Muthu Raja was moved from its temporary home at a zoo in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo before dawn, accompanied by four Thai handlers and a Sri Lankan keeper, with two CCTV cameras monitoring its health in transit. It left Colombo at 7:40 am (0210 GMT) on a commercial reparation flight that Thai officials said cost $700,000. Muthu Raja was in pain and covered in abscesses when it was rescued from the Buddhist temple last year, the zoo's chief veterinarian, Madusha Perera, told AFP. Animal welfare groups said the elephant had been forced to work with a logging crew and that its wounds, some allegedly inflicted by its handler, had been neglected. The elephant will undergo hydrotherapy in Thailand to treat a remaining injury on its front left leg, Perera said. Return opposed Elephants are considered sacred in Sri Lanka and are protected by law. The organization Rally for Animal Rights and Environment, which led a campaign to rescue Muthu Raja from the temple, expressed its unhappiness over the animal's departure. RARE organized a Buddhist blessing for the elephant on Friday ahead of its journey and has petitioned authorities to prosecute those it says are responsible for neglecting the animal. Sri Lanka's wildlife minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said Thailand was "adamant" in its demands for the elephant's return. Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told parliament in June he had personally conveyed Sri Lanka's regrets to the Thai king over the elephant's condition. Thailand has stopped sending elephants abroad, Thai environment minister Varawut said, adding that Bangkok's diplomatic missions are checking the conditions of elephants already sent overseas. The post Neglected elephant touches down in Thai homeland after flight appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Geopolitical implications of NATO-Plus
It is hard, even next to impossible, to remain neutral in our global war-prone situation today. This article is an attempt, as much as possible, to present a neutral geopolitical analysis. Events are cited here not to support one side or the other but as facts with deep geopolitical implications. As mentioned often in this column, the polarization of nations into two opposing sides always precedes a world war. The formation of the Allies and the Axis was the precursor for both World Wars I and II. Today, rapid polarization in both economic and military areas is happening at a dizzying pace — a preview of World War III which will be five- to ten-fold as big and intense as the previous world wars due to the advent of new sophisticated weapons that make the old weapons obsolete. All of a sudden, invincible carrier fleets will be vulnerable to multiple hypersonic missile attacks. Powerful lasers can now take out satellites, paralyzing entire military and commercial systems. There are dozens of game-changers, some of them still secret. The rise of NATO-Plus has increased the chances of World War III. Right now, it is germinating rapidly. The US Congress wants India in NATO-Plus. India is what Ukraine is to Russia, namely, the enemy in the backyard, threatening the nation’s “existential existence.” India, the ancient arch-enemy of China, welcomes this move. It will be effortless for the US to court India into NATO-Plus. India is forging a deal with the US to buy 30 killer drones. The proximity of India to China is of extreme geopolitical concern to both US-NATO-Plus and China and even Russia. Ironically, India is a major importer of Russian energy, which may be preempted if it joins NATO-Plus. In fact, Russia is in a predicament. It is being paid in Indian currency which is piling up unused in Indian banks, due to sanctions. Right now, the US is taking inventory of “non-NATO allies,” whom they can court into NATO-Plus. The campaign for NATO-Plus is gathering momentum with five members as of this writing — Japan, Australia, South Korea, Israel and New Zealand. Remember that more than half of NATO’s power lies with the US. NATO-Plus is a US initiative. China is rattled by this turn of events, warning that it would plunge the Indo-Pacific into war. This is true, but remember, this was partly in reaction to China’s earlier belligerence and aggressive moves in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. NATO-Plus will naturally intensify the ongoing cooperation between China and Russia, exchanging more armaments and high-level talks on cooperation and mutual defense protocols. China and Russia are part of a multinational bloc similar to NATO. Since early 2022, Putin and Xi have been forging “a sweeping long-term agreement that challenges the United States as a global power” (The New Yorker, Feb. 2022). The possibility of the Philippines joining NATO-Plus cannot be discounted. The catalyst may be a US-China war in Taiwan and/or the South China Sea. If China retaliates against US killer drones emanating from the EDCA bases, this will enhance the chances of the Philippines joining NATO-Plus. However, massive collateral damage to Filipino civilians around the EDCA bases, when push comes to shove, may derail present mutual defense agreements with the US. To stay neutral is the dilemma of PBBM, the Philippines being the rope in a US-China tug-of-war. If he leans heavily toward the US, especially in a US-China war in Taiwan and/or the SCS, China can stop its much-needed trade with the Philippines. On the side of economic alliances, the US is worried about the current expansion of the China-Russia-led BRICS economic bloc “which received membership applications from 19 countries ahead of a June summit, potentially expanding the group’s influence throughout the Middle East and Africa.” (Fox News, undated). Their primary goal is to destroy the US dollar. In the interest of peace in the Asia Pacific, it is better if NATO-Plus fails because otherwise, it would result in a frenzy of purchases of deadly new state-of-the-art weapons by eager warriors that would plunge the region into war — which is happening now in Europe and the Middle East. eastwindreplyctr@gmail.com The post Geopolitical implications of NATO-Plus appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Exemplar: One company’s purpose-led transformation for social change
Reflecting its long-standing commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Globe Group is participating in the UN’s Vision 2045, a campaign that features documentary films about how businesses from around the world are taking collective action for a better global future. In its documentary, the Globe Group’s senior leaders talk about the company’s purpose-led transformation — innovating with compassion, care and kindness to deliver life-enabling services to Filipinos. Globe Group president and CEO Ernest Cu looked back at how Globe transformed from telco to techno, turning the business around from a far-second player when he came in 2008 to an industry leader and game-changer. Behind this success is Globe’s mission to serve. “Key to every telecom company is the quality of its network infrastructure. A good network spells a good service experience for our customers. We brought the Filipinos and introduced to the Filipino the concept of what a smartphone was. This brought about a new age of data, which in turn spelled partners and new life-changing experiences. We then asked ourselves ‘what was next?’ We decided that we would become a purpose-led company,” Cu said. Globe chief commercial officer Issa Guevarra-Cabreira shared how Globe’s expansion is rooted in the company’s desire to help enrich and enable the digital life of its prepaid users, the bulk of Globe’s customer base, through greater access. “Speaking to customers, I realized that prepaid users — the vast majority of whom come from the lowest socio-economic brackets — had the same desire for innovation as everyone else and, arguably, an even greater need for digital enablement. Thus we began to explore how we could make it financially feasible for Filipinos to access the benefits of the Internet,” Guevarra-Cabreira said. Globe’s transformation was further accelerated by the pandemic when many day-to-day transactions and activities swiftly shifted to online platforms. During the crisis, Globe’s platforms shone through as life savers. There’s GCash, the country’s number-one financial services app, which enabled convenient digital payments and fund transfers, and even provided options for a savings account, investments and a credit line to those in need. KonsultaMD, the Globe Group’s telehealth app, meanwhile, provided accessible doctor consultations when Philippine hospitals and their personnel were stretched beyond capacity. As it continues to grow, the Globe Group is on the constant lookout for startups from around the world with an aligned vision for the future and a mission to make positive change. Through its venture capital firm Kickstart Ventures, Globe has been supporting companies that tackle some of the world’s biggest problems, from food security to pollution, among others. The bedrock of Globe’s expansion and transformation is its core telco business, where it continues to operate sustainably. Globe was the first publicly-listed Philippine-based company to commit to setting science-based targets and was recently recognized by Standard Insights as the Most Sustainability-Driven Network Operator in the Philippines. The company was also included as one of Asia Pacific’s Climate Leaders in a list developed by the Financial Times and Global Market Research Firm, Statista. Key to this is its efforts to green its network and supply chain and push for greater energy efficiency across its operations. As Guevarra-Cabreira said: “We are working on taking our network beyond reliability to sustainability. We continue to green our network operations as part of our net zero strategy.” Even as it expands to new business horizons, Globe is committed to creating a positive societal impact. Through its flagship campaign, The Hapag Movement, Globe aims to address involuntary hunger through supplemental feeding and livelihood programs, leveraging a network of partners and the power of digital platforms. The post Exemplar: One company’s purpose-led transformation for social change appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Globe’s five-month nationwide food festival series targets hunger
Standing firm against hunger, Globe recently launched the Longest Hapag — a five-month nationwide food festival series. The campaign kicked off in time for the commemoration of World Hunger Day on 28 May, amplifying the global call to eradicate chronic hunger. This initiative is part of the Globe-led Hapag Movement, which aims to help address the staggering problem of involuntary hunger among 13.5 million Filipinos. The advocacy raises funds and spreads awareness about the problem while empowering communities to create sustainable livelihoods. "Involuntary hunger is one of the critical societal challenges of our time. With the Longest Hapag, we are leveraging strategic partnerships and collective effort to confront the hunger problem that continues to affect our nation,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe group chief sustainability and corporate communications officer. The campaign calls on restaurants, food chains, chefs, commercial centers, brands and civic organizations to mount fundraising efforts through their food offerings to support the Hapag Movement. This united front will create a ripple effect of change, reflecting the campaign's core message: Be part of the Longest Hapag and help make a difference. The Longest Hapag will also align with local food festivals across the country, ultimately culminating on World Food Day on 16 October 2023. Chef Jessie Sincioco is the first culinary expert-turned-advocate who supported the Hapag Movement. She launched a special Hapag menu where half of the proceeds will go to the implementing partners and their family beneficiaries. The Longest Hapag campaign was inspired by Sincioco’s project Chefs Unite, which seeks to encourage chefs from around the world to support the Hapag Movement. Chefs Sau del Rosario and Kay Carreon have also signed up to support the movement. With successful fundraising activities such as the recent Hapag ni LuzViMinda fund-raising dinner, and Chef Kay's generous contribution of her book proceeds, Chefs Unite exemplifies the profound impact that the culinary industry can have on the cause. Despite a slight decrease in food insecurity to 9.8 percent, hunger remains higher than pre-pandemic levels in the Philippines. It ranks 67th out of 113 countries in the 2022 Global Food Security Index, falling below the global average. As such, Globe’s efforts aim not just to alleviate immediate hunger but also to address these long-term challenges. "We invite everyone to be a part of the Longest Hapag and make a tangible difference. By working together, we can help families conquer the problem of involuntary hunger and help uplift the lives of our fellow Filipinos,” Crisanto added. The Hapag Movement brings life-enabling support through supplemental feeding and livelihood opportunities to hunger-afflicted communities through its mobilization partners Ayala Foundation Inc., Caritas Philippines, Scholar of Sustenance, Tzu Chi Foundation and World Vision. For more information about the Longest Hapag movement and how to get involved, email globeofgood@globe.com.ph or visit the Hapag Movement website. The post Globe’s five-month nationwide food festival series targets hunger appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Morocco protesters demand end to ‘massacre’ of strays
Animal rights activists in Morocco protested in the capital Rabat Saturday to demand a ban on what one demonstrator called the "pitiless" killing of stray animals, an AFP journalist reported. On Friday, ahead of the protest, the interior ministry told local media it had already taken measures to encourage municipalities to avoid using firearms and poisons to kill stray dogs. But some activists remained unconvinced. Sacha, from the North African country's commercial capital Casablanca, said he was against "the pitiless extermination of cats and dogs in Morocco". "Dogs are maltreated and put in cages with nothing to eat or drink, they are massacred -- poisoned or burned alive -- and their young are drowned," the activist told AFP. The demonstration outside parliament in Rabat was called by the country's society for the protection of animals (SPAM), as part of an international campaign. "We want an immediate end to the killing of street dogs," SPAM chief Ali Izzidine said. "We also want parliament to pass a law protecting animals." He said his organization was also calling for the application of a TNVR (Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return) program. In 2019 Morocco signed an agreement "to sterilize, vaccinate and identify stray dogs", but activists say it has not been implemented. The post Morocco protesters demand end to ‘massacre’ of strays appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Acuzar: House all-out behind 4PH housing
Housing czar Jose Rizalino Acuzar has assured the public that the House of Representatives intends to bankroll the Marcos administration’s campaign to wipe out the country’s 6.5 million housing backlog. Secretary Acuzar, who heads the Department of Human Settlement and Urban Development, revealed that Speaker Martin Romualdez guaranteed his support for the government’s “Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino program” or 4PH. Acuzar guested in this week’s Straight Talk, Daily Tribune’s digital show, where he laid down the government’s socialized housing program being implemented by DHSUD. “Speaker Romualdez is very supportive of providing interest subsidies. He said he will even file a bill to make 4PH sustainable,” he said. The House gets the first crack at combing through the projects under the Executive Department’s National Expenditures Program, thus it is considered to hold the “power of the purse.” “We are also in constant communication with the Department of Budget and Management for them to release the budget, so that next year, we will have the allocation for the interest subsidy,” he said. Last April, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that a total of 30,000 units would be built in six sites in Bulacan, namely in San Jose Del Monte City and the municipalities of San Rafael and Pulilan. A total of 1,890 residential vertical housing units to be named Aria Estate Housing Development will be built on a 4.5-hectare land at Heroesville in Barangay Gaya-Gaya, city of San Jose Del Monte. The project will be comprised of nine residential towers and eight-story buildings with commercial areas on the ground floor. Acuzar said all edifices and houses that will be built will be resilient against earthquakes and other natural calamities. He said local government units will play a role in ensuring the units constructed are of high quality in terms of materials used and workmanship. “They (the LGU) are the ones who will make sure that all buildings are strong. The DHSUD cannot check all those construction permits. From there, these LGUs can check if the construction of the buildings is sub-standard or not,” Acuzar said. He also urged the private sector to help the government realize the dream to provide decent homes to underprivileged families. On bringing back war-torn Marawi City to its feet, Acuzar said reconstruction works there are nearly done. He said all sectors of the government were tapped in rebuilding Marawi. “Roads will be handled by the Department of Public Works and Highways, schools are for the Department of Education, and the resident’s health problems, they’re for the Department of Health to handle it. It’s a multi-agency approach,” he added. All concerns about issues on salaries of the Task Force Bangon Marawi had been addressed and resolved, he averred. This March, Task Force Bangon Marawi officer-in-charge and DHSUD assistant secretary Melissa Aradanas said many projects have been achieved and are now enjoyed by the residents. The post Acuzar: House all-out behind 4PH housing appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Expensive errand boy
When confronted in a recent forum about the misdeals in his term primarily the Joint Maritime Seismic Undertaking among three oil companies of West Philippine Sea claimants, former Philippine National Oil Co. president Eduardo Mañalac reasoned that he was just taking orders from the top. In his potshots against the landmark Malampaya deal, who is he now taking orders from? Mañalac came out of the woodwork in an obvious well-funded attempt to torpedo the extension of Service Contract 38 that will allow 15 years more for the Malampaya consortium to operate and explore the natural gas field, which has so far generated at least $10 billion in government revenue. Due to the priorities of its parent company, the former operator, Shell Philippines Exploration, did not infuse money in the search for new wells since 2017. The tripartite Joint Maritime Seismic Understanding or JSMU which Mañalac brokered and packaged would have allowed state-owned oil company China National Offshore Oil Corp. and government-operated PetroVietnam to survey for oil or gas deposits on a 142,886 square kilometer area in the West Philippine Sea inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. During a forum on the West Philippine Sea dispute, Mañalac’s excuse for spearheading the deal that the Supreme Court found unconstitutional in a recent ruling was that it was part of the “government’s effort to acquire or reach energy independence for the people.” JMSU, he said, came at a time of “high dependence on imported petroleum and rising oil prices in 2004.” It was, he said, part of an “ambitious” five-point plan to reach energy independence. In short, Mañalac wanted the people to believe that he was merely following instructions. “It is not my idea. It is the idea of the government as part of its energy independence strategy,” he said. Since he is used to taking orders, the former PNOC chief must be making his move as part of a demolition campaign which should be a reprisal of his role in the previous regime when he was instrumental in the PNOC-Exploration Corp.’s withholding of its consent on the sale of the Spex shares. As a 10 percent partner in the consortium, the approvals of PNOC-EC were necessary for any sell-out of the partners in the energy project. The illegal JMSU has Mañalac as a signatory for the Philippines which makes him liable for the unconstitutional deal. JMSU, the former energy official insisted, did not allow exploration but “data gathering.” The deal isn’t a treaty but simply a “commercial and operative agreement between three national oil companies to jointly acquire seismic data.” Still, the SC did not share the appreciation of Mañalac on the deal. The Tribunal voted 12-2-1 in voiding the agreement. The SC debunked the argument of Mañalac as it ruled that the JSMU is unconstitutional for allowing wholly-owned foreign corporations to participate in the exploration of the country’s natural resources without observing the safeguards provided in Section 2, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution. The term “exploration” pertains to a search or discovery of something in both its ordinary or technical sense and the JMSU involves the exploration of the country’s natural resources, particularly petroleum, according to the ruling. “That the Parties designated the joint research as a ‘pre-exploration activity’ is of no moment,” the Court added. A Constitution offender’s motive would hardly be in line with the interest of the public such as in Mañalac’s case. The post Expensive errand boy appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
RCBC DiskarTech records 3-digit growth in deposits for January
Users of DiskarTech, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation’s (RCBC) digital savings account, more than doubled their daily deposits in January or a 146-percent increase versus its 2020 average, following its “Ipon Galing” national savings campaign......»»
2 super sikat na personalidad dineadma ng isang kumpanya sa bagong commercial
May binubuong bagong ad campaign ang kilalang produkto at bilin ng ahensya sa production na gagawa ay kailangang malaking artista para pasabog sa mga kakumpetensiyang produkto. In fairness nasunod naman ang mga malalaking artistang inilista ng produksyon at pasado rin ang pinitch nila sa client na tuwang-tuwa dahil ang ganda nga naman talaga. Naloka lang […] The post 2 super sikat na personalidad dineadma ng isang kumpanya sa bagong commercial appeared first on Bandera......»»
PRRD payag lumabas sa commercial campaign vs COVID-19
Manila, Philippines – Payag si Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte na lumabas sa isang commercial campaign para maibsan ang takot ng publiko sa COVID-19. Ito’y matapos na lumabas sa Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey na karamihan sa Filipino ay takot na magpunta sa kanilang trabaho at sa pamilihan habang may pandemya. Tinatayang 77 porsiyento ng mga […] The post PRRD payag lumabas sa commercial campaign vs COVID-19 appeared first on REMATE ONLINE......»»