MARCOS JR. ARRIVES IN THAILAND FOR APEC MEET; IS CONFIDENT THAT IT WILL TO YIELD ‘GOOD PROGRESS’ FOR PH

BANGKOK — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday arrived in Thailand to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ meeting.

Marcos is expected to meet with 20 other world leaders including from major economies like the United States, China, Japan, Australia and China.

“It will be an honor for me to represent the Philippines at the APEC. APEC remains to be one of the prime platforms to engage the economies of the Asia-Pacific region. The importance of this region to us and to the rest of the world cannot be overstated,” the President said in a pre-departure speech delivered at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

This is the first time Marcos will attend the APEC meeting as the country’s chief executive.

Marcos said he would present the Philippines’ economic agenda, including the plans for digital transformation and attainment of sustainable development goals.

He said he would also push for the Philippines’ participation in the digital economy; the economic inclusion of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs); and the “safe and seamless” passage of Filipino maritime crews and seafarers.

As of 2020, APEC member economies’ comprise of 62 percent of the world’s gross domestic product amounting to nearly $20 trillion, according to data from the APEC secretariat.

Around 85 percent of the Philippines’ total trade involves transactions with APEC members, while tourist arrivals from the 20 other economies account for 56 percent of the country’s total tourists, according to data from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Some 68 percent of remittances to the Philippines are also from APEC economies.

Marcos on Wednesday expressed confidence that his participation in the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting in Thailand will bring “good progress” to the Philippines.

He said he would also push for the Philippines’ participation in the digital economy; the economic inclusion of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs); and the “safe and seamless” passage of Filipino maritime crews and seafarers.

He added that he would urge his fellow APEC leaders to address climate change and ensure food and energy security in the region.

Marcos will also hold bilateral meetings with some economic leaders and heads of state to discuss the strengthening of diplomatic relations.

He is also set to meet with the Filipino community in Thailand.

“It is very clear that there are many areas of consensus between our countries in the Asia Pacific, Indo-Pacific region.

TOP EMITTERS URGED TO PROVIDE CONCRETE CLIMATE ACTION DESPITE G20 LEADERS REAFFIRMING 1.5C GOAL

BALI, INDONESIA - The G20 Media Center was set abuzz as members of the information desk announced the joint communique is ready for public view.

The Bali Leaders’ Declaration is now uploaded.

A draft communique seen by some the night before showed that G20 leaders will close their summit in Indonesia this week with a strongly worded statement against Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. But climate advocates have been waiting on bated breath as there were fears major economy leaders are backtracking on their pledge to limit global warming to 1.5C.

Hundreds of journalists stationed at the Bali International Convention Center scrambled to download the G20 text only to find a 1,186-page document -- complete with the 52-point joint communique and annexes outlining Ministerial Meetings and Working Group files.

The communique reiterates the push to phase down coal-fired power and calls for progress at COP27 on ‘loss and damage’ which compensates poor and vulnerable countries for climate harms - a key issue this year.

For climate scientist and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) author Dr. Rosa Perez, the declaration “echoes the pursuits of many negotiators” in Egypt.

Analysts, scientists, and campaigners also hope the G20 text can breathe a new life in this year's climate talks.

"That the G20 recognized the need to cut emissions and limit warming to 1.5 should provide impetus to the governments gathered at COP27 to agree on a similarly strong outcome," Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics, told ABS-CBN News.

“The positive signals from the G20 summit should put wind in the sails of the climate talks in Egypt, which are entering their final days,” Ani Dasgupta, President and CEO of World Resources Institute said in a statement.

US TO EXPAND FACILITIES IN PH

The United States is interested in building five more facilities in the country under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro said.

Bacarro said these include—subject to vetting–two possible sites in Cagayan, one in Palawan, one in Zambales, and one in Isabela.

Finalized after eight rounds of talks in August 2013, the EDCA which was signed in 2014 allows US troops access to designated Philippine military facilities, the right to build facilities, and preposition equipment, aircraft, and vessels, but rules out permanent basing.

Under the EDCA, the Philippine government is working with the United States to build the future facilities in Cesar Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga; Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation in Nueva Ecija; Lumbia Airfield in Cagayan De Oro; Antonio Bautista Airbase in Puerto Princesa, Palawan; and Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu.

The DND said $66.5 million has been earmarked for construction in three of these—training facilities and warehouses in Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Cagayan de Oro—scheduled to begin in 2023.

DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong, in a statement Tuesday, said the DND is committed to accelerate the EDCA by concluding infrastructure enhancement and repair projects, and developing new infrastructure projects at existing EDCA locations.

This also includes exploring new locations that will build a more credible mutual defense posture.

“The Department is focused on planning joint activities that will enable us to develop our individual and joint capacity to address current security challenges in line with the implementing details provided by Philippines-US defense agreements anchored on the MDT. With the progress in Fort Magsaysay, Basa Air Base, and Antonio Bautista Air Base (in Palawan), the department hopes to be able to complete other pending projects,” Andolong said.

OMBUDSMAN SUSPENDS NIA CHIEF, MAY FACE DISMISSAL

The Office of the Ombudsman has placed National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Administrator Benny Antiporda under preventive suspension for six months following administrative complaints filed by several NIA employees against him.

In a five-page order, Ombudsman Samuel Martires ordered the suspension after NIA employees Lloyd Allain Cudal and Michelle Gonzales Raymundo complained against Antiporda for allegedly committing conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, grave misconduct, harassment, oppression, and ignorance of the law.

“After a careful evaluation of the records, this Office finds that among the respondents, Respondent Benny Antiporda’s guilt is strong and that the case against him… may warrant his removal from the service,” the order read.

At a media briefing in Quezon City, Antiporda claimed a “big-time syndicate” at NIA was behind the complaints filed against him with the Ombudsman, which were part of a “smear campaign.”

He also offered to resign “to avoid embarrassing the appointing authority.”

“I asked permission from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on my corruption campaign at the agency. I don’t think I did something illegal,” he told reporters.

According to the Ombudsman, Antiporda was displeased when NIA lawyers opined that the most senior officer of NIA was Ricardo Visaya, and that the latter should retain his post as administrator.

But he said in Filipino: “The accusations were wrong; it’s very misleading for me to retaliate against people. Did you know that majority of employees here were promoted? How can it be retaliatory?”

The former Environment undersecretary, accompanied by his lawyer Mike Mella, believes that those he earlier sued for graft at the Ombudsman have something to do with his suspension, along with another agency official.

PHILIPPINES LAGS BEHIND ASEAN NEIGHBORS IN ICT NETWORK READINESS

MANILA — The Philippines has been identified as one of the laggards in the 2022 Network Readiness Index (NRI) in Southeast Asia, despite posting the biggest improvement in this year’s ranking.

The country ranked sixth with an NRI score of 48.06 among eight Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies, ahead only of Laos, which ranked seventh with a score of 39.45, and Cambodia, last (eighth) in the region with a score of 38.48.

Singapore ranked at the top in ASEAN with an NRI score of 79.35. It was also second in the overall ranking across the world, second only to NRI topnotcher and global superpower the United States, which garnered a score of 80.30.

Second placer in the ASEAN is Malaysia with a score of 60.58, followed by Thailand (56.56), Indonesia (51.51) and Vietnam (51.07).

The Philippines, however, has been credited as the biggest mover in the NRI rankings, jumping 12 notches from its 83rd rank to 71st of the world’s 130 economies that are most ready to go digital.

Rafael Escalona Reynoso, chief executive officer and secretary to the board of independent nonprofit research and education institution Portulans Institute that conducted the annual NRI rankings, said that while the Philippines was a laggard among ASEAN neighbors and in the broader Asian region in the rankings, the country showed a substantial increase in performance ratings on the four pillars measured – technology, people, governance and impact.?

With its improved performance, the Philippines was able to join all of the ASEAN, which were able to improve in their 2022 NRI rankings from last year.

In a presentation of the results focused on Southeast Asian economies’ performance during a virtual forum spearheaded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) yesterday morning, Reynoso emphasized that to the credit of the Philippines, it was an “outperformer” in the category for the lower middle-income countries.

“The Philippines was fifth among the income group, of the 36 economies in the same lower middle-income group,” he said.

“Being fifth is, I think, a very good position, and it outperforms in the four pillars to the whole group, being also an outperformer in 10 of the sub-pillars within the (four) different dimensions,” he added.

'PRICES LOW, PURCHASE HIGH': FARMERS SEEK WIN-WIN SOLUTION IN DRIVE TO LOWER RICE PRICES

MAYNILA – Farmers cannot be on the losing end if the national government decides to lower the price of rice, the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. said Thursday.

Speaking to ABS-CBN's Sakto, chamber president Danilo Fausto said farmers are seeking two things - to lower the prices of rice for the consumer but to ensure farm gate prices remain high.

“Hindi naman natin pwedeng ibaba ang presyo ng pagbili ng palay sa mga magsasaka dahil nasa mahigit P12 ang cost nila dahil sa taas ng fertilizer saka ng fuel. Hindi naman natin pwede pabayaan na hindi naman sila kumita, wala nang magtatanim kundi kikita," he said.

He said government must give financial aid to farmers if they want to bring down prices of rice.

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HOLIDAY ECONOMICS: 9 LONG WEEKENDS IN 2023

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has released a declaration for the regular and special non-working holidays for 2023 in Proclamation No. 90.

In keeping with the holiday economics idea, the proclamation, issued on November 11, adds two special non-working holidays: January 2 and November 2, All Souls Day in the Catholic calendar.

The Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) released a copy of the document, signed by Mr. Marcos and Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, on Wednesday.

All in all, the public will enjoy nine chances of long weekends next year based on Proclamation No. 90.

It emphasized that “[t]here is a need to adjust these holidays pursuant to the principle of holiday economics, wherein a longer weekend will help encourage domestic travel and increase tourism expenditures in the country.”

“For the year 2023, New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday. In consideration of the Filipino tradition of visiting relatives and spending time with their families for this occasion, it is but fitting to declare January 2 (Monday) as an additional special (non-working) day throughout the country,” it also notes.

Below are the officially declared holidays for 2023:

REGULAR HOLIDAYS

January 1 – New Year’s Day (Sunday)

April 6 – Maundy Thursday

April 7 – Good Friday

April 10 – Araw ng Kagitingan (Monday nearest to April 9, which is a Sunday)

May 1 – Labor Day (Monday)

June 12 – Independence Day (Monday)

August 28 – National Heroes Day (Monday)

November 27 – Bonifacio Day (Monday nearest to November 30, which is a Thursday)

December 25 – Christmas Day (Monday)

December 30 – Rizal Day (Saturday)

SPECIAL NON-WORKING HOLIDAYS

February 25 – EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary (Saturday)

April 8 – Black Saturday

August 21 – Ninoy Aquino Day (Monday)

November 1 – All Saints’ Day (Wednesday)

December 8 – Feast of the immaculate Conception (Friday)

December 31 – Last Day of the Year (Sunday)

Nov. 30, the annual date of observation for Bonifacio Day, may still be declared a working day, Marcos said.

Mr. Marcos said all other provisions of Proclamation No. 42 series of 2022 will still be in effect.

CHED PROHIBITS FULL DISTANCE LEARNING BEGINNING 2ND SEMESTER OF AY 2022-2023

MANILA — Philippine colleges and universities will no longer be allowed to implement full distance learning starting the second semester of Academic Year 2022-2023, based on a recent order from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Under CHED Memorandum Order No. 16 dated Nov. 11, higher education institutions (HEIs) will only be allowed to deliver their degree programs through full in-person classes or hybrid learning.

"Unless there is an approval from the Commission on Higher Education, an HEI cannot offer its recognized degree programs in full distance learning delivery, including fully online modality," the commission said in the order signed by Chairman Prospero de Vera.

HEIs that will deliver degree programs through hybrid learning must allot "at least 50 percent of the total contact time" for onsite learning or in-person classes, according to the CHED.

"For example, for a three-unit course which requires at least 54 contact hours, 27 hours should be spent on a physical learning facility such as a classroom, laboratory and other related learning spaces," it explained.

The remaining contact time can be delivered through distance learning modalities such as "self-paced printed or online learning modules, synchornous/ asynchronous learning sessions, and remote guided peer learning approaches."

HEIs intending to operate graduate and undergraduate programs through distance learning must first secure the CHED's approval as mandated under Republic Act No. 10650 or the Open Distance Learning Act and other related policies, the commission said.

Institutions planning to operate through transnational education must also secure prior approval from the CHED, it added.

VILLAR HAILED AS 2022 ‘GOVERNMENT HERO’ BY INTERNATIONAL BODY

MANILA — Deputy Speaker and Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar has been named as the Government Hero of the Year by the prestigious Stevie Awards for Women in Business, in ceremonies held at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas last Nov. 11.

Villar was honored under the COVID-19 response category for her remarkable work during the COVID-19 pandemic and, as such, the Stevie Award judges have determined that the Gold Stevie Award be awarded to her.

“It is truly an honor to be recognized by Stevie Awards for our work, particularly in our fight against COVID-19. I am grateful to the board of judges for acknowledging the vaccine incentives program that we established, called May Bahay sa Bakuna, to boost the vaccine uptake of our constituents in Las Piñas,” she said after receiving news of the award.

Villar launched May Bahay sa Bakuna in mid-2021 to encourage the once hesitant residents of Las Piñas to get vaccinated against COVID, in exchange for entries to raffle bonanza that rewards lucky winners with non-monetary benefits, which included grocery items, motorcycles and a brand-new house and lot package.

The Government Hero of the Year category is given to “female government employees who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in 2020-2022 to keep us safe and informed” amid the pandemic.

“I share this award with our local government officials, city health officers as well as our constituents who continue to serve with passion despite the difficulties during the pandemic,” the House leader said.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

VICKI BELO, ALEX GONZAGA CLARIFY SNUB ISSUE WITH HEART EVANGELISTA

MANILA — Celebrity doctor Vicki Belo and actress Alex Gonzaga clarified that they are just joking around when they said that Heart Evangelista snubbed them at the recent Milan Fashion Week.

In her Instagram story, Vicki said that Heart didn’t know that they were there.

“So, guys, I just want to set the record straight. It’s not true that Heart snubbed Cathy [Alex] and me. How could she snub us when she didn’t even know we were there? And we never, never saw each other,” Vicki said.

"Kasi naman, if you watch the Vicki Belo vlog, you will see that Alex and I just were kidding and joking around. And I am so thrilled because Alex mentioned Heart and me in one sentence. And we all know what a fashion powerhouse Heart is. Kaya naman you should watch my vlog para alam niyo ang truth,” she added.

For her part, Alex posted on her Facebook account her clarification about the issue.

“Ay.. Hindi po kami nagkita sa Milan biruan lang po namin yan ni Dra if you watch the whole vlog. Heart is nice since Pangarap na bituin circa 2007 pa po sakin at magkaibigan kami. Hindi na dapat ginawang news mga ganito," she said.

Friends of the three, who were also in the fashion show and requested to be anonymous, attested that Vicki and Alex were just teasing Heart and had no ill feelings toward the actress.

Philstar.com's sources also said that Heart was never a snub and was unable to say "Hi" even to them because the Filipina fashion icon was in "work mode" and focused on doing her job as a model and influencer for the international brands.

It can be recalled that Alex and Dr. Vicki Belo went viral after joking on Belo's vlog uploaded last Friday that Heart snubbed them at the recent Milan Fashion Week.

"Pero hindi tayo pinansin ni Heart [sa fashion show]. Hoy Heart!," Belo quipped in her vlog.

"Oy ano 'to mars [Heart]? Sa Manila magkakaibigan tayo. Mars, nanood ako ng 'Luna Mystika,' mars," Alex added, mentioning Heart's former TV series. Alex and Heart collaborated for a vlog in 2019.

"Mars [Heart] we're on the same fashion show hindi ka man lang na-hi. 'Di ba nandoon kami sa Gucci, front row din tayo 'di ba [Alex]?," Belo said.

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 57.35

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup. - H. L. Mencken