CHINA: CONTINUE ‘FRIENDLY TALKS’ WITH PH ON SCS

China wants the continuation of what it described as a “friendly consultation” with the Philippines amid confirmed reports that several Chinese vessels have been “swarming” areas in the West Philippine Sea.

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian stressed Beijing and Manila must work together to improve relations moving forward.

“We stick to friendly consultation and handle differences and disputes properly,” he said, over the weekend.

“The blueprint of China-Philippines relations has been painted and it’s time for us to take concrete actions to make it happen,” he added.

Huang’s statement came after the Western Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines confirmed last week that Chinese vessels had swarmed areas in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea.

Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos revealed that Chinese vessels have been spotted near the Sabina Shoal, within the Philippine’s exclusive economic zone, in the past few months with some 20 at any one time there.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had a meeting last month with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Bangkok, which the executive said was more of a getting to know each other as they talked “a bit” about regional issues.

During the meeting, Xi was reported to have said that the two parties should stick to “friendly consultations” when dealing with issues involving the South China Sea.

The meeting between the two leaders was also attended by former president and House Senior Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was previously described by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi as an “old and good friend of the Chinese people.”

President Marcos is also set to hold a state visit to China from January 3 to 5 or 6, 2023 upon the invitation of Xi, according to the Office of the Press Secretary.

HOUSE REVISES 'MAHARLIKA' BILL ANEW WITH SOCIAL WELFARE, PENALTIES FOR MISUSE

The controversial Maharlika Investment Fund bill has undergone further revision, with the latest version now earmarking 20 percent of the fund's income for social welfare programs.

The revised bill also includes a punishment clause for erring fund managers.

The House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries on Monday met in an executive session to approve the latest set of amendments.

"Also, I have to take note, nilagay ni Cong. Stella Quimbo that 20 percent of the income of the MIF mapupunta sa (will go to) social welfare," panel chair Manila 5th District Rep. Irwin Tieng told media.

The use of the rest of the next income would be up to the MIF board.

As for penal provisions, fund misuse could merit the investment fund's personnel as long as 5 years in jail, apart from fines.

The panel likewise agreed to revert the name from the Maharlika Wealth Fund to the Maharlika Investment Fund and Maharlika Investment Corporation, and bar the company from actively managing day-to-day operations of companies where it invests.

The panel also agreed to formalize previously announced amendments--such as excluding the Government Service Insurance System, Social Security System and the National Budget as funding sources.

UN SHIPPING AGENCY URGED TO SET AMBITIOUS EMISSION REDUCTION MEASURES

LONDON — The International Maritime Organization should adopt a more ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction target by 2030, groups said as delegates from across the world gather in London to discuss how the shipping industry—the backbone of global trade—can accelerate its climate mitigation efforts.

For the first time since May 2019, IMO member states meet in the agency’s London headquarters to attend the 79th session of the agency’s Marine Environment Protection Committee. The session will run until Friday.

IMO is currently in the process of revisiting its existing climate strategy of halving emissions from ships by 2050.

“The science is clear: shipping’s climate impacts have to halve by 2030 to ensure warming stays below the Paris Agreemen’s 1.5°C limit,” said John Maggs, president of the Clean Shipping Coalition.

“But a strong absolute emission reduction target for 2030 is essential to send an unambiguous signal to industry and investors that the race to decarbonize shipping has well and truly started,” he added.

Activists with Ocean Rebellion held a demonstration outside IMO’s headquarters in London, urging the agency to halve shipping emissions before 2030 and start taxing shipping fuel.

Ships are responsible for roughly 3% of global emissions, releasing around one billion tons of greenhouse gas emission every year.

NTC ISSUES RULES ON SIM REGISTRATION, TAKES EFFECT DEC. 27

Telecommunications companies are set to roll out online SIM registration and start selling new SIMs in deactivated mode after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the SIM Registration Act.

The IRR, drafted by the NTC in consultation with the industry, has also gone through public hearings. It is expected to lay down the SIM registration procedure and guidelines that all public telecommunications entities (PTEs) must follow in creating their respective registration platforms.

The IRR is expected to take effect on Dec. 27, 2022.

In compliance with the law, Globe will launch its online SIM registration platform and start selling new SIMs in deactivated mode, the company said.

All new SIMs must be registered immediately to enjoy Globe services while existing SIMs should be registered within 180 days or six months from the effectivity of the law.

The SIM Registration Act was signed into law on Oct. 10, 2022.

“Globe is proud to be part of the technical working group that crafted the IRR, which we hope will pave the way for an orderly and timely SIM registration for all SIM users. We will continue our close collaboration with the government to ensure full implementation of the SIM Registration Act to achieve our shared goal of stopping cybercrime, including SIM-aided fraud,” said Globe Group President and CEO Ernest Cu.

“Our goal is to have a SIM registration process that is seamless, secure, inclusive, and convenient for our customers,” he said.

Cu also noted that Globe has existing customers who are currently not using smartphones and may not be digitally savvy, adding Globe will put in place a special assistance process for these customers so they can go through the registration as well.

Francis Flores, senior vice president and head of Consumer Business Group Individual at Smart, said, “We will release more information about the SIM registration portal via our official channels in the next few weeks.”

HOUSE PASSPORT MEASURE GRANTS DISCOUNT TO SENIOR CITIZENS, PWDS

Voting 252-0, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill 6510 or the New Passport Law, which gives a discount to senior citizens and persons with disabilities getting a passport, among other changes.

The congressional fact sheet said the bill will harmonize the provisions of the existing Passport Law with current domestic laws and international agreements.

The bill mandates the issuance of passports using the latest tamper-proof and data-management technologies.

It also simplifies the passport documentation requirements of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Office of Consular Affairs in conformity with relevant laws such as the Domestic Adoption Act of 1998 and the Citizenship and Reacquisition Act of 2003 and existing standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

It also directs the DFA to allow senior citizens to renew their passports through available technology without the need for personal appearance.

It also entitles senior citizens and persons with disabilities to a 50 percent discount on the fees for the processing, issuance, or replacement of a passport.

It also authorizes the issuance of emergency passports to Filipino citizens for certain reasons.

Likewise, it authorizes the issuance of other travel documents based on specific circumstances:

1 . Emergency Travel Document issued to a Filipino citizen who needs to travel urgently but who has lost a valid passport, or whose passport has expired or is expiring and cannot be issued a regular passport, or who has not been issued a regular passport and who for one reason or another cannot be issued a regular passport;

2. Travel Document Certificate for Filipinos to be repatriated, alien spouse of a Filipino and their dependents who are yet to be naturalized, and aliens permanently residing in the Philippines; and

3. Convention Travel Document for stateless persons, refugees, or persons applying for asylum in the Philippines.

It penalizes the acts of illegally withholding a passport and the forging of visas and entry documents as passport-related offenses.

It also imposes stiffer penalties on offenses relating to the issuance, forgery, and improper use of passports and travel documents, and the multiple possession of passports.

It also removes the earlier authorization of travel or recruitment agencies to apply for passports on behalf of the applicants.

The House will submit the bill to the Senate for consideration.

CA BYPASSES TULFO FOR SECOND TIME

Social Welfare and Development Secretary Erwin Tulfo must be reappointed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the powerful Commission on Appointments, which is adjourning session this week, will bypass his appointment for the second time for lack of material time, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said Monday.

“He will be bypassed this coming month and then he’ll have to be reappointed by the President shortly after that,” Zubiri said in an interview with reporters.

If he gets bypassed the third time, then the 24-member CA will have to vote, according to Zubiri.

Since Congress is adjourning session this week, CA meetings and sessions will resume in January, effectively bypassing Tulfo, Zubiri explained.

The CA cannot tackle and hold plenary sessions while the sessions in Congress are adjourned.

Sessions in the Senate and the House of Representatives will be adjourned from December 17, 2022, to January 22, 2023.

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EX-TOWN MAYOR TAKES OVER NIA HELM VICE ANTIPORDA

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed a new chief of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) replacing Benny Antiporda, who was suspended for six months after being accused by employees of the agency of grave misconduct, harassment, oppression, and ignorance of the law.

Replacing Antiporda is former Piddig, Ilocos Norte mayor Eduardo “Eddie” Guillen, whose appointment papers as acting administrator were signed on Dec. 9.

The replacement of Antiporda came less than a month after he was placed on a six-month preventive suspension without pay by the Office of the Ombudsman after NIA employees and officials filed complaints against him.

Complainants claimed that as a retaliation, Antiporda barred managers of the NIA Central Office from traveling which “is counterproductive to their work,” while several officials were reassigned and transferred, supposedly without valid grounds.

Antiporda was also said to have threatened not to renew appointments of some workers who fixed the air-conditioning unit of his residence but could not finish the job at once, the Office of the Ombudsman said.

Guillen served several terms as mayor of Piddig, an Ilocos Norte town that was included in this year’s top 10 performing local government units.

Guillen was first elected as mayor in 2010 and was succeeded in the May polls by his wife, incumbent Piddig Mayor Georgina Guillen.

COURT CONVICTS BAGUIO JOURNALIST FRANK CIMATU OF CYBER LIBEL

A Quezon City court on Tuesday convicted Baguio journalist Frank Cimatu of cyber libel over a Facebook post pertaining to former Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol.

Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 93 sentenced Cimatu with imprisonment of six months and one day to five years, five months and 11 days and ordered him to pay Piñol P300,000 as moral damages, according to Rappler where the journalist is a contributor.

He is at least the third Rappler journalist convicted of cyber libel, following Nobel laureate and CEO Maria Ressa and former researcher-writer Reynaldo Santos Jr.

This decision by a lower court can still be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court.

“An attack on one is an attack on all. No one should be silenced for being critical on the most pressing issues,” Rappler said following Cimatu’s conviction.

The case stems from a 2017 complaint by Piñol over Cimatu’s Facebook post where he claimed that the former agriculture chief “got rich by P21-M in 6 months.”

SARA TO ATTEND LAUNCHING OF FREE WIFI IN SAN JUAN

Vice President Sara Duterte will attend today’s launching of a free WiFi program at the Pinaglabanan Elementary School in San Juan.

Mayor Francis Zamora said Duterte would join him in inspecting the fiber optic internet connection installed at the school by the city government.

Zamora said he invited Duterte, who is also the secretary of the Department of Education, to show the local government’s efforts in providing quality education to San Juan students.

He said all 13 public schools in the city would have fiber optic internet connection as well as 55-inch Smart television sets in all classrooms.

“Giving our students quality education is part of my 10-point agenda, which is in line with our objective of being a smart city. We want to empower public school students by providing them with facilities and equipment which are comparable or even better than what private schools have,” Zamora said.

A total of 12,500 public school students in San Juan were given free computer tablets in 2020 in partnership with the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

Grades 3 to 6 students of the Pinaglabanan Elementary School received free laptops.

All public school teachers were also given laptops and WiFi connection to aid them in teaching their students during online classes in 2020.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

MMFF PARADE OF STARS SET IN QUEZON CITY

With this year’s theme, “Balik Saya sa MMFF 2022,” the 48th edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is bringing on new partners to make the event more thrilling for filmmakers and moviegoers.

This year’s Parade of Stars, which signals the official start of the festival, will be hosted by the local government of Quezon City. The parade, featuring floats carrying celebrities of the film festival’s entries, will start from Welcome Rotonda-Quezon Avenue to Quezon Memorial Circle at 2:00 p.m. on December 21.

The parade will run for seven kilometers, with an estimated travel time of two hours and 30 minutes.

Staging area for the floats of eight official entries and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will be along E. Rodriguez to D. Tuazon. The agency’s traffic enforcers will assist on the sidelines of the parade route for crowd control.

Meanwhile, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) announced it will be providing funds worth P500,000 to help in marketing the films through CreatePHFilms, for each film producer whose entries made it to the MMFF 2022.

The FDCP’s CreatePHFilms Funding Program is designed to provide support to filmmakers, producers, and distributors in all stages of filmmaking to complement their efforts to produce quality Filipino films.

The MMFF also signed a Memorandum of Agreement with BingoPlus, an online bingo game platform, to be the film festival presenter.

“This year’s festival promises an exciting selection of films for all moviegoers. It offers a wide variety of genres that will complete the tradition of Filipinos going to the cinemas during the holiday season,” said Atty. Romando Artes, MMDA, and MMFF Over-all Chairman during a recent meeting with the film producers, marketing team, and the parade committee.

The official eight entries to the MMFF 2022 are: Deleter by Viva Communications, Inc.; Family Matters by Cineko Productions, Inc.; Mamasapano: Now It Can Be Told by Borracho Film Production; My Father, Myself by 3:16 Media Network and Mentorque Productions; Nanahimik ang Gabi by Rein Entertainment Productions; Partners in Crime by ABS-CBN Film Productions; Labyu with an Accent by ABS-CBN Film Production; and My Teacher by TEN17P.

The 48th MMFF will run in theaters nationwide from December 25 until January 7.

SPORTS

NBA SUPERSTARS COMING TO PH FOR FIBA WORLD CUP

Mies (Switzerland) —The three hosts of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 have selected preferred teams to play the Group Phase in their respective countries, with the Philippines selecting Team USA.

This means, an American team of superstars, which may likely include Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets, will be Philippine bound in the World Cup slated from August 25 to September 10, 2023.

FIBA’s Central Board has also confirmed, after consultation with the host nations, that Slovenia, led by Dallas Mavericks’ superstar Luka Doncic, will travel to Japan, while Canada, most likely to be led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma Thunder and RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks, will land in Indonesia.

Both Slovenia and Canada have qualified for the World Cup, while USA is in a good position to clinch a berth in the tournament field in the last Window of the Qualifiers.

Each host could select a preferred team based on commercial reasons, as their choice will have no impact on the integrity of the event or the draw process.

As was the case at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 with China, the Philippines, as tournament host for the Group Phase and Final phase, will be placed in Pot 1 for the draw.

They will be joined in Pot 1 by the best-ranked teams in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike after the last qualifying window to be played in February 2023.

For that reason, USA and Philippines will be placed in two different groups of the four that will take place in the Philippines.

Japan has chosen the No. 7 team, Slovenia. Japan and Slovenia will play their Group Phase in Okinawa, where two groups will be played.

Canada will play in Jakarta, Indonesia, with two of the 8 top teams of the FIBA World Ranking Men joining them in the two groups in Indonesia.

The complete FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Draw Principles will be defined after window six of the qualifiers in February is complete and once all 32 qualified teams are known.

These principles will be based on the FIBA World Ranking Men and on geographical principles.

The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Draw will be held in Manila on April 29.

This is only the second time that 32 teams will play at the World Cup. There are two venues hosting four groups in Manila, and two groups in both Okinawa and Jakarta, and the flagship men’s event will tip off on August 25, 2023.

Follow My team passes and other packages for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 are available here. Day passes as well as single-game tickets will become available after the Draw on April 29, 2023.

INDICATORS

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

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