MARCOS JR. SUBMITS HIS FIRST BUDGET PROPOSAL TO CONGRESS

MANILA — The Marcos Jr. administration on Monday submitted to Congress its first ever budget proposal for 2023 that, government officials said, was “designed to withstand future risks, challenges and shocks”.

The new spending plan amounting to P5.268 trillion for next year is 4.9% higher than this year’s outlay, the Department of Budget and Management said in a statement. The amount was unchanged from the proposal that was prepared by the previous Duterte administration, which said the new government should stick to that budget ceiling “for prudent fiscal management.”

The submission of next year’s national budget comes at a critical time for a country looking to break ground on its recovery from the pandemic while managing high levels of debt and a large fiscal deficit. That said, passing the proposed budget on time is of paramount importance as the government could not afford to operate on a re-enacted outlay next year.

If the proposed budget would be passed on its current form, education would still get the biggest funding at P852.8 billion, larger by 8.2% compared to this year. The education budget, mandated by the Constitution to receive the lion's share of funding, has its plate full as school-aged children return to classrooms after two years of blended online learning.

Meanwhile, the agriculture budget benefitted from the spotlight as President Ferdinand “bongbomg” Marcos Jr. tacked on the department among his responsibilities. Agriculture, including the agrarian reform department, saw its planned 2023 budget widened 39.2% to P184.1 billion. The sector is reeling from headwinds here and abroad, as a shortage of sugar and onions will test the neophyte administration’s ability to respond to crises.

The Marcos Jr. administration earmarked P1.196 trillion for infrastructure build-up for 2023. It said it was planning to spend an equivalent of 5% of the gross domestic product on public works and infrastructure to eke out growth.

The Marcos Jr administration wants the Philippine economy to grow 6.5-7.5% this year.

48,000 STUDENTS GET CASH AID, SMOOTHER PAYOUT SET

An initial 48,000 students benefited from the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s educational aid amounting to P141 million, DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo said Sunday.

Meanwhile, Tulfo said he and Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos will sign an agreement Monday for the smooth and orderly release of payouts to qualified student beneficiaries.

The Social Welfare Secretary on Sunday apologized again for the chaotic distribution of cash aid to poor students on Saturday and vowed to do better after unruly crowds gathered around the offices of his department and dozens of people rushing to get their handouts in Zamboanga City were injured.

Tulfo said the DSWD would work with local government units through Abalos to bring order to the distribution of cash aid, which the department planned to release every Saturday until Sept. 24.

A DSWD social worker will interview the student-client, while the local government is tasked to determine where the payout would be conducted, and to assign more cashiers, traffic enforcers, policemen, and barangay to the area.

“We do not want a repeat of what happened last Saturday when many were not able to receive the benefits due to huge crowds of people in different areas,” he said.

Tulfo also said recipients of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) are no longer qualified for the educational cash assistance.

FILIPINO STUDENTS RETURN TO IN-PERSON CLASSES AFTER 2 YEARS OF DISTANCE LEARNING

MANILA — Students of Parañaque National High School began arriving on campus as early as 4 a.m. on Monday, both out of excitement and in order to avoid heavy traffic.

Some students like Divine Grace Abad were anxious to physically return to school following 2 years of remote and distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Sobrang excited na may halong kaba kasi sobrang tagal na noong huling face-to-face [classes]," Abad told ABS-CBN News.

Abad is among the 17,000 students of Parañaque National High School, which has one of the largest student populations in Asia.

Before the pandemic, each classroom catered to about 60 students, but this was halved for School Year 2022-2023, with each class divided into 2 sets.

One set will hold in-person classes from Mondays to Wednesdays and online classes on Thursdays to Fridays. The other set, meanwhile, will study remotely during the first 3 days of the week and attend physical classes on the remaining 2 days.

The setup was intended to ease overcrowding in classrooms, ensuring that the school can follow health protocols as the COVID-19 pandemic continued and more schools resumed in-person classes.

PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT TO SELL MORE FOREIGN BONDS THIS YEAR — REPORT

MANILA — The Philippine government plans to tap the international debt market anew this year to raise more cash for its programs and projects, according to a report.

Citing a person familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported on Monday that the government would sell more foreign bonds this year in a bid to raise $3 billion to $4 billion.

Budget documents showed net foreign borrowings this year are expected to hit P421.4 billion.

In the first half, domestic borrowings still cornered the largest share of the government’s P12.79 trillion debt pile at 68.5%.

The Bureau of the Treasury announced last week its plan to sell P30-billion worth of Retail Treasury Bonds that would be the first such offer under the Marcos Jr. administration.

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION, PROTECTION TO PREVENT MORE PANDEMICS – VILLAR

MANILA — Sen. Cynthia Villar sought yesterday measures to strengthen the country’s wildlife conservation and protection mechanisms to safeguard natural resources and prevent pandemics in the future.

Villar, who chairs the Senate committee on environment, natural resources and climate change, warned that constant exploitation of wild fauna and their habitats has been raising the risk of zoonotic disease transmission.

“There were studies suggesting that COVID-19 virus may have originated from bats and that the first people infected were traders in bat meat, who may have subsequently visited the Huanan seafood market, where the virus spread was first traced,” Villar said.

She said the need to fortify the country’s wildlife resources is more critical now as Filipinos continue to experience the ill effects of the COVID-19 virus.

Despite the existence of Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Protection and Conservation Act for more than 20 years, the senator said there has been no letup in wildlife crimes that have evolved and grown.

She said her Senate Bill 125, or the Revised Wildlife Resource Conservation and Protection Act, seeks to address the evolving nature of wildlife offenses and fortify the mechanisms in place to afford better protection to wildlife resources.

PRESIDENT MARCOS SON EYES 6 SPECIALTY HOSPITALS FOR NORTH

MANILA — President Marcos’ son intends to pick up from where his grandparents’ legacy projects left off, particularly the putting up of more specialty hospitals but this time, in the Marcoses’ home region in Northern Luzon.

“Health facilities and services, in order to be beneficial to the people, must be adequate, affordable and accessible,” Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos said in his House Bill 3752, which seeks to establish six specialty hospitals.

Filed last week, his proposed Satellite Specialty Hospitals for Northern Luzon Act (HB 3752) has an initial funding of P5 billion to build these medical facilities in one compound between the towns of Badoc, Ilocos Norte and Sinait, Ilocos Sur.

“The problem with our health system is that the major specialty hospitals are all located in the Metropolitan Manila area, specifically in Quezon City,” said Rep. Marcos.

By specialty hospitals, the Marcos scion was referring to facilities such as the Philippine Heart Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Lung Center of the Philippines, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Philippine Orthopedic Center and the Philippine Cancer Center.

“Most Filipino patients residing outside the capital region, afflicted as they are with their ailments or injuries, are additionally burdened with the additional cost of transportation and accommodation,” lamented the young Marcos.

He envisions the composite facility of specialty hospitals to be under the supervision of the Department of Health.

Under the bill, these satellite specialty hospitals in Northern Luzon will be administered by the Board of Trustees of their mother units and will have an initial bed capacity of 500 each.

NINOY AQUINO REMEMBERED ON 39TH DEATH ANNIVERSARY

MANILA — Filipinos on Sunday remembered the late Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. on his 39th death anniversary at a time when his family's political nemesis is back in power.

The Ninoy & Cory Aquino Foundation published a short video tribute to the former lawmaker who was assassinated upon arrival in Manila from the United States where he was on exile for three years, on Aug. 21, 1983. At that time, he was the face of the political opposition, as he kept challenging the authoritarian rule of then President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.

"Today, we honor the memory, courage and indomitable spirit of Sen. Benigno S. Aquino Jr., and the millions of beating hearts that stood with his - when his life was offered in the name of freedom 39 years ago," the foundation's post said.

"His faith made him a hero, and his faith in us made heroes of us all," it added.

Sunday marked the first time Ninoy's death anniversary, a regular holiday nationwide, was commemorated under the administration of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr.

The assassination of Aquino sparked protests that led to the ouster of the Marcos family in February 1986 through the People Power Revolution. Aquino's widow, Cory, assumed power from that time until 1992, and their only son, Benigno "Noynoy" III, was also elected to the presidency in 2010. The two have passed away in 2009 and 2021, respectively.

Flowers were offered at the Terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, where Ninoy was shot and killed in its tarmac.

The Aquino family, led by daughters Balsy and Viel, visited the tombs of Ninoy, Cory and Ninoy at the Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque City.

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PHILIPPINES REPORTS 3,643 NEW COVID-19 CASES, 49 NEW DEATHS

MANILA — The Philippines recorded 3,643 new COVID-19 cases, data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed on Sunday, bringing the country's total confirmed coronavirus infections to 3,855,804.

The country has been posting less than 4,000 daily cases in the past week, ABS-CBN Data Analytics Team head Edson Guido said.

Active cases stood at 35,271 while those who recovered from the illness have now reached 3,759,176.

Forty-nine new deaths were also reported, raising the total number of people in the country who succumbed to the respiratory disease to 61,357.

It is also the ninth straight day that the country has been reporting at least 40 deaths, Guido added.

MAYON VOLCANO ALERT STATUS RAISED

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) has raised the alert status of the Mayon Volcano to Level 1 after observing an increased level of activity.

In an advisory released Sunday, PHIVOLCS placed the Mayon Volcano at Low-Level Unrest from Alert Level 0 or Normal as it exhibits “abnormal conditions.”

The raised alert comes after observations from global positioning systems (GPS), precise leveling (PL), and electronic tilt and electronic distance meter (EDM) monitoring.

Under Alert Level 1, the public is urged to avoid entering the 6-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) due to higher chances of sudden stream-driven or phreatic eruption.

The PHIVOLCS also warned of rockfalls, avalanches, and ash bursts at the summit area, which may happen without warning.

It also cautioned residents of nearby valleys and active river channels to remain vigilant against sediment-laden stream flows and lahars should there be heavy rainfall.

“These observation parameters indicate that volcanic gas-induced pressurization at the shallow depths of the edifice may be occurring, causing the summit dome of Mayon to be pushed out,” the advisory read.

Mayon is the most active of the Philippines’ volcanoes and last erupted in 2018.

17 AXED MANILA COPS TO UNDERGO RETRAINING

MANILA — Seventeen members of the Paco police community precinct in Manila, including their commander, will undergo retraining after they were relieved from their posts last week, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) announced yesterday.

Acting NCRPO director Brig. Gen. Jonnel Estomo said he ordered the retraining and reassignment of the police officers to the Manila Police District Personnel Holding and Accounting Section.

The police officers were sacked from their posts on Tuesday after three of their colleagues were arrested for allegedly extorting money from a tricycle operator.

Estomo said the retraining of the police officers is part of his policy in which the “fault of one is the fault of others.”

“You must be your brother’s keeper,” he said.

The Manila policemen will be transferred to the NCRPO’s Regional Community Affairs and Development Division to undergo a 45-day training on reformation and moral enhancement in line with the internal cleansing program of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“To promote the PNP’s desire to reform the organization, the police officers must be investigated,” Estomo said.

“The retraining seeks to infuse discipline, build ethics, evaluate their commitment as well as redirect the police officers to their sworn duties,” he added.

Estomo assured the public that under his watch, the NCRPO will never tolerate officers who commit crimes regardless of their status in the police organization.

MAP BACKS UPGRADE, PRIVATIZATION OF EDSA BUSWAY, RAILWAYS

MANILA - The Management Association of the Philippines on Monday said it has proposed the upgrade and privatization of the EDSA Busway system which could help the transport system reach global standards.

MAP said it has submitted its recommendation for a "total system upgrade of the EDSA Busway and bus service" to Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista.

The group said the upgrade will scale up its capacity to achieve its full potential as an urban mass public transport system to "ably serve its role as the complementary mass transport to the MRT-3," the group said.

Among the recommended measures by MAP are as follows:

• increase the capacity of station platforms and enable simultaneous docking of buses

• construct more stations to close the gap

• construct footbridges with concourse dedicated for the busway

• expedite the construction of donated busway station footbridges

• resolve chokepoints along the carousel line

• replicate the busway in other major commuter corridors in NCR

• provide ease of bust-to-train connectivity

• provide bus exchange stations for trunk-to-feeder line transfer

• decongest Ayala Stations and McKinley Road by providing an alternate route from Bonifacio Global City to Buendia stations

• introduce modern high-capacity electric commuter buses

• issuance of an Executive Order by President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr to require all agencies to comply with the National Transport Plan 2017 which aims to prioritize public transport and active mobility through allocation of road space for such purpose

The DOTr was also urged to consider the privatization of the EDSA busway and bus service and urban commuter rail systems consisting of the MRT3, LRT2 and PNR Commuter lines in a hybrid mode wherein the government provide the infrastructure while private concessionaires operate the service and maintain the facilities, MAP said.

MAP said it was willing to work with the DOTr for the preparation of the terms of reference (TOR) for the bidding.

'FLORITA' TO DUMP RAINS OVER NORTHERN LUZON ON FIRST DAY OF CLASSES

MANILA -- Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal no. 1 is raised over parts of northern Luzon as tropical depression Florita is expected to dump rains on the first day of classes for School Year 2022-2023.

In its latest tropical cyclone bulletin, state weather bureau PAGASA said Florita was last spotted 310 km east of Casiguran, Aurora. It has maximum sustained winds of 55 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 70 kph.

It is moving west southwestward at 20 kph.

Signal no. 1 is hoisted over Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Apayao, Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and the northern portion of Aurora (Dilasag, Casiguran, Dinalungan, Dipaculao).

PAGASA said Signal No. 2 may be raised over some localities in the eastern section of Northern Luzon on Monday. Florita is also expected to reach tropical storm category that day.

Florita may make landfall in the vicinity of the east coast of Cagayan or northern Isabela on Tuesday afternoon, according to the state weather bureau.

Afterwards, it will pass over the Babuyan Channel and may come close or make landfall in the Babuyan Islands Tuesday evening or early Wednesday morning before moving on to the West Philippine Sea.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said it has ramped up preparations for the possible effects of typhoon Florita on the country.

CAAP Director General Capt. Manuel Antonio Tamayo has given instructions to area managers on Region 1 and 2 airports to activate procedures for typhoon disaster response.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

BIANCA GONZALEZ, MARIEL RODRIGUEZ, DREW ARELLANO REUNITE WITH MANAGER BOY ABUNDA

MANILA -- Bianca Gonzalez, Mariel Rodriguez and Drew Arellano had a reunion with Boy Abunda on Sunday years after being unable to catch up with each other.

On Instagram, Gonzalez shared a fun fact about how they crossed each other’s paths.

“In 2003, after managing mostly singers, Boy Abunda decided to take 3 young newbie hosts under his wing... Drew Arellano, Bianca Gonzalez and Mariel Rodriguez,” she said.

After almost two decades later, Gonzalez is amazed that all three of them are still in the entertainment industry and thriving.

“Almost two decades later, now with Iya Villania, heyyyyy we still here. Love you guys so much! Kulang ang oras sa dami ng kwento. Thank you Tito Boy for hosting us in your beautiful museum-like home,” she said.

Rodriguez, for her part, said she doesn’t usually leave her home without her kids except for family gatherings -- and Abunda certainly qualifies as family.

She then thanked him for taking a chance on them several years ago “and decided to share his wisdom in hosting.”

As for Arellano, he thanked Abunda for hosting them adding that he missed everybody.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Reverence for the past is important, but so is the regard for future. – Brad Herzog