E-GOVERNANCE BILL NOW A STEP CLOSER TO LAW

A measure seeking to institutionalize the government’s transition to e-governance is one step closer to being passed into law after hurdling the House Committee on Appropriations last week.

The measure aims to boost the use of information and communication technology in transforming government processes, operations, and service delivery.

This will cover all executive, legislative, and judicial offices, including local government units, state universities and colleges,government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs), and other units that provide business and non-business-related transactions.

It also seeks to establish the Philippine Infostructure Management Corp. (PIMC) which will focus on the delivery of government services through the interoperability and maximization of resources.

“With the establishment of the Philippine Infostructure Management Corporation, we can ensure that our citizens will have access to efficient, reliable, and responsive government services,” Committee on Appropriations chair and Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co said in a statement Sunday.

Following the approval at the committee level, the measure will nowproceed to the plenary for further deliberation and approval.

“The passage of the bill is seen as a critical step toward thecountry’s digital transformation, enabling the government to provide fast, transparent, and efficient services to the public,” Co said.

Marcos also assured that his administration would facilitate theimmediate passage of the proposed E-Government Act and the proposed E-Governance Act to improve service delivery in the government.

“They are working on it and I have asked them to bring it out as quickly as they possibly can so that we have the framework with which we will digitalize our government, which we will digitalize our bureaucracy,” he said. “The bills that we have asked the legislature to pass will enable to ensure, fast, transparent, and efficient government service for the Filipinos.”

MAKATI CITY PADLOCKS SMART HEADQUARTERS DUE TO ALLEGED PERMIT, TAX VIOLATIONS

MANILA — The Makati City government on Monday said it shut the main office of Smart Communications Inc for allegedly operating without a business permit since 2019 and for supposedly failing to pay a franchise tax deficiency of over P3.2 billion.

In a statement, the Makati LGU said Smart failed to obtain relief from courts over the P3.2 billion franchise tax covering January 2012 to December 2015.

The LGU released photos of the closed Smart office located at 6799 Ayala Ave. in Brgy. San Lorenzo on Monday. It said it issued a closure order against Smart for supposedly operating without a business permit since 2019.

“When businesses in Makati choose to operate without a valid business permit, they are essentially operating outside the law. This is unacceptable, and I want to make it clear that we will not tolerate this kind of behavior, whether you are a big or small company,” Makati City Administrator Claro Certeza said.

In an order of desistance/closure on Feb. 23, the LGU said Smart's headquarters violated the Revised Makati Revenue Code.

“You are hereby commanded to cease and desist from further operating your business establishment until such time compliance with the said ordinance is made,” the order read.

Makati Mayor Abby Binay said the city is upholding the highest quality and safety standards for businesses operating in the area.

“I am committed to making sure all businesses are operating legally. It is important for businesses to know that we take these matters seriously and will take action when necessary,” she said.

In 2022, the city shut down 191 business establishments due to lack of business permits.

PNP: NO LINK AMONG RECENT ATTACKS AGAINST LOCAL OFFICIALS

MANILA — The recent attacks against some local officials, which left several people dead, are likely not related, the Philippine National Police said Monday.

"As of now, we have not established or see any link with respect to the 3 cases," PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo told ANC's "Rundown".

"Nonetheless, we are beefing our security, particularly the personnel security detail of not only our elected officials but also appointed officials, because of these recent attacks."

PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. has ordered regional police commanders to conduct threat assessment of their local chief executives, Fajardo said.

Last week, Mayor Ohto Montawal of Montawal, Maguindanao del Sur province was shot and wounded in an ambush in Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City on Thursday.

On Feb. 19, Vice Mayor Rommel Alameda of Aparri, Cagayan and 5 of his companions were killed in an ambush in Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya.

Meanwhile, Governor Mamintal "Bombit" Adiong Jr. was seriously wounded while 4 of his police security were killed in an ambush in the town of Maguing, Lanao del Sur on Feb. 17.

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. has assured the public the police are working hard to resolve the attacks.

He said investigators are looking at every angle to determine the motive.

Meanwhile, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Sunday called the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to an emergency meeting today to discuss the spate of high-profile crimes in the country.

“It’s alarming because it seems that almost every week there is news about high-profile killings,” he said.

“We want to know from the PNP and the DILG what steps are being taken to stop these kinds of heinous crimes),” Romualdez added.

PH SHOULD CONTINUE REVEALING CHINA AGGRESSION IN WEST PH SEA: EXPERTS

MANILA — Security and defense analysts on Saturday urged the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to continue reporting maritime incidents in the West Philippine Sea, as this could help pressure China stop harassment of Filipino sailors.

Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, earlier said there were some unreported maritime incidents in the area.

One of those incidents include a laser-flashing incident in June 2022, in what can be considered the first time China used it against members of the PCG.

PCG personnel experienced temporary blindness and skin itchiness, according to Tarriela.

"As I kept saying before, China's gray-zone tactics, activities, all these assertive actions that are just below the use of force or aggressive, has been working because they had been hidden," said maritime law expert Dr. Jay Batongbacal in an interview with ABS-CBN News.

"Precisely the reason why they kept doing it [China] was the fact, we never let the world know what was going on... As they see, this only allowed China to keep on doing things much worse, in a way," he said.

Dr. Chester Cabalza, International Development and Security Cooperation founding president, said hiding these maritime incidents could be attributed to the Manila's warm relationship with Beijing during the previous administration.

He said maritime incidents must be disclosed as much as possible.

21 PERCENT OF TOTAL SIMS REGISTERED AS OF FEB. 27: NTC

Telcos and regulators are ramping up efforts to encourage Filipinos to register their SIM cards since only 21 percent of the country's total mobile numbers have been registered as of Feb. 27, an official said on Monday.

Some 35.3 million out of the total 168 million SIMs in the country have been registered, National Telecommunication Commission Deputy Commissioner Jon Paulo Salvahan told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

"Twenty-one percent pa lang po ng total number of active SIMs [ang registered]. Bumabagal lang po talaga ang rate ng pagrehistro ng ating mga kababayan kaya ang government [at telcos] pinapaigting ang efforts para hikayatin ang ating mga kababayan na magrehistro na ng maaga," Salvahan said.

Filipinos have less than 2 months to register before the deadline on April 26. The government and stakeholders are also holding facilitated SIM registration in remote areas.

A law required the registration of all active SIMs to help eliminate SMS-linked scams, among others.

NAT’L GOV’T TO SHIFT WORK TO BARMM

The national government will soon be transferring several of its operational functions as well as properties to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

This developed as both the national and regional governments agreed to re-establish the Department of Foreign Affairs consular office and set up a Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) regional office in the BARMM.

These were among the key agreements reached in the 13thIntergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB) meeting in Pasig City on Feb. 24.

BARMM Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal, the IGRB co-chair for the Bangsamoro government, underscored the body’s goal of bringing government services closer to the Bangsamoro people.

“In essence, we desired to bring government services that are not currently being offered by the Bangsamoro Government, closer to the Bangsamoro people. This further gives meaning to the work that we do in the IGR Body; by not limiting our conversations to matters that present conflict or require non-adversarial dispute resolution,” Iqbal said.

BARMM Interior and Local Governments Minister Naguib Sinarimbo said“several issues were discussed and directives as to concrete steps to take ahead were agreed.”

Budget and Management Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman, the IGRBco-chairperson for the national government, disclosed other major issues that are being discussed by the body’s technical working groups.

25 PINOY MULA TURKEY PAUWI NGAYONG LUNES; BAYANIHAN IBINIDA NG OPISYAL

MAYNILA – Makakauwi na sa Pilipinas ngayong Lunes, Pebrero 27, ang 25 na Pinoy na nabiktima ng lindol sa Turkey, ayon sa isang opisyal ng Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

“Today yung dating, ngayong araw sa hapon, ang dating ng unang batch,” ani Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega.

Sabi ni De Vega, handa ang pamahalaan na magbigay repatriation assistance sa mga uuwing Pilipino.

Patuloy rin aniya ang kanilang pagsisikap na pauwiin sa Pilipinas ang iba pang biktima ng lindol na ayaw nang mamalagi sa Turkey.

"The second batch will be about 40 and meron pa after," sabi niya sa panayam ng TeleRadyo.

RCBC SAYS NET INCOME UP 71 PERCENT IN 2022

MANILA — Rizal Commercial Banking Corp said on Monday its net income for 2022 reached P12.1 billion, growing 71 percent compared to 2021 due to double-digit increases across its core businesses.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the BSP said its 2022 performance made the bank the 5th largest privately-owned bank in the country with P1.2 trillion in total resources.

"RCBC achieved significant expansion in various business segments during the year," it said.

Investment securities rose by over 70 percent while SME loans and credit cards posted "solid double-digit increases," RCBC said.

Its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio, meanwhile, is at its lowest in over a decade, it said.

BDO POSTS P57.1 BILLION NET INCOME IN 2022

MANILA — BDO Unibank said on Monday its net income reached P57.1 billion in 2022 compared to P42.8 billion in 2021 due to the robust growth of its core businesses.

Gross consumer loans grew 9 percent fueled by the economic reopening, the bank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

BDO said total deposits rose by 14 percent, with net interest income growing by also 14 percent to P149.2 billion.

Revenues, meanwhile, are up by 15 percent, it added.

Non-performing loan (NPL) ratio dipped to 1.95 percent and NPL coverage remained strong at 167 percent, the Sy-led bank said.

Total capital expanded to P461.5 billion, BDO said.

BDO has around 1,600 branches and 4,600 ATMs nationwide.

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QUAKE DRILL SLATED MARCH 9 TO PREP FOR ‘THE BIG ONE’

A National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) will be conducted on March 9 to help the public prepare for a possible catastrophic earthquake, or “The Big One,” that may hit the Philippines, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Sunday.

OCD Joint Information Center head Diego Mariano told radio dzBB the NSED will be held quarterly, and the first leg this year will be initiated at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

“We will have a ceremonial sounding of the buzzer which will be asignal for us to conduct the duck, cover, and hold. This is a very simple protocol but it can save or minimize injuries and casualties in case a strong earthquake occurs,” he said.

Aside from this method, Mariano said that representatives of variousagencies will also practice the tabletop exercise for decision-making scenarios in the event of a strong earthquake.

Following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on February 6, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said it is preparing for The Big One by giving seminars and lectures on disaster preparedness and organizing the possible deployment of urban search and rescue teams.

The Philippines earlier deployed an 82-man inter-agency humanitariancontingent to Turkey to join teams from all over the world to provideassistance and help in the search for survivors of the earthquake.

They are set to return to the Philippines on March 1.

'PAL NOW HAS GOURMET FOOD!': PHILIPPINE AIRLINES UNVEILS NEW MENU AHEAD OF 82ND ANNIVERSARY

MANILA — Philippine Airlines unveiled last Friday a brand new menu curated by Chef Vallerie "Val" Castillo-Archer ahead of the company marking its 82nd anniversary this March.

The Ilocos Norte-born Chef Val was the executive chef of the famous Los Angeles restaurant Yamashiro — the first female and first Filipino-American — before she was invited by PAL to create the brand new menu.

Chef Val agreed as she wanted to thank all the Filipinos who helped make her career, this as she first started cooking professionally past the age of 40 and began as a pastry chef.

For the new PAL menu, Chef Val wanted to "capture and tap into everyone's emotions, put all heart into materials," and even coined the dishes as "appetizers to destinations."

The new menu will first be available on business class trips to North America and Australian destinations before other trips, and slowly, the economy food menus of other destinations both locally and internationally will see a gradual change.

"PAL now has gourmet food!" is the kind of comment that Chef Val will see from passengers given the fine dining experience and patisserie that the new menu gives.

KEROSENE TO LEAD ROLLBACKS THIS WEEK, UP TO P1.80/L

Kerosene prices are expected to take the biggest cut at P1.50 to P1.80 per liter this week as local oil firms are poised for another round of rollbacks in pump prices by Tuesday, industry sources told the Standard.

Cooking gas prices are projected to dip by the end of the month, as interest rates in the United States were raised, Department of Energy Assistant Director Rodela Romero said.

She said diesel prices are estimated to roll back from P1.30 to P1.60 per liter, while gasoline would take the smallest cut, from P0.80 to P1 per liter.

“This is because the US came out with a new interest rate hike to its monetary policy to address inflation. Second, the US was seen to have a big build-up to its crude inventory,” Romero said.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT MILES OCAMPO

Throughout the years, Miles undoubtedly improved her craft as an actress. She went from a bubbly child star from Goin Bulilit to a versatile actress starring in several dramas. In the remake of Batang Quiapo, directed and top-billed by Coco Martin, she gave a whole new performance level that made viewers on edge because of its intensity. Miles has been in the entertainment business for years, but her star shines brighter than ever.

Catriona Gray

Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray has been making headlines again, but this time for more personal news. She’s engaged to her partner, actor-singer Sam Milby. The pair announced the next step in their relationship via Instagram in a cozy-looking picture. Cat, on the other hand, admits that she’s comfortable around her beau. Engagement or no engagement, we’re just happy that she is.

…are not talking about

Aljur Abrenica

It’s been days since he and AJ Raval revealed their relationship – on Valentine’s Day, no less. Despite the passion between the two, the public was more concerned about Kylie Padilla’s (Aljur’s ex-wife) reaction. Yet since Kylie announced that all she wants now is peace and happiness, Aljur and AJ’s “announcement” became background news as the drama died down between his past and present relationships (for now).

Carla Abellana

Wedding bells are nowhere near the actress’s near-distant future, especially after her relationship with her estranged husband Tom Rodriguez. The former flames haven’t released any information about how their relationship went downhill, leaving their audience to speculate. Her declaration of not eyeing marriage anytime soon did not take anyone by surprise since her love life was disastrous the previous year. Yet despite that, it’s inspiring to see that she remains hopeful for a positive future.

SPORTS

PHOENIX DEF. CONVERGE, 106-103

Encho Serrano led the way in Phoenix Super LPG (3-5) slim win against the Converge FiberXers (6-3), 106-103 to grab their third win and stay alive in the playoffs hunt of the 2023 PBA Governors' Cup on Sunday, February 26 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

Serrano finished the game with 28 points (11/16fg, 2/6 3pts, 4/7ft) along with two rebounds, two assists and a steal in 22 minutes of play. Du'vaughn Maxwell posts double-double of 19 points, fifteen rebounds, three assists, three steals and five blocks while Tyler Tio and Jason Perkins added 16 points apiece.

The Scores:

PHOENIX 106 - Serrano 28, Maxwell 19, Tio 16, Perkins 16, Muyang 8, Mocon 7, Camacho 4, Jazul 3, Manganti 3, Garcia 2, Alejandro 0.

CONVERGE 103 – Franklin 30, Stockton 11, Arana 11, Teng 11, Balanza 11, Racal 11, Ahanmisi 10, Ebona 4, Tratter 4, Browne 0.

Quarters: 23-24, 42-49, 66-69, 106-103

MERALCO DEF. MAGNOLIA, 86-84

Meralco Bolts (5-3) escape past Magnolia Timplados Hotshots (4-4), 86-84 to grab their fifth win and put a halt to the Hotshots four-game winning streak in the 2023 PBA Governors' Cup on Sunday, February 26 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

McDaniels top scored for the Bolts with 19 points, fifteen rebounds, one assist, two steals and a block. Chris Newsome had a solid game of 16 points, three rebounds and two assists while Aaron Black and Bong Quinto chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Antonio Hester paced the HotShots in the losing effort with a double-double of his own with game-high 23 points, fifteen rebounds and three assists while Paul Lee finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

The Scores:

MERALCO 86 - McDaniels 19, Newsome 16, Black 13, Quinto 12, Hodge 8, Maliksi 7, Caram 5, Banchero 4, Almazan 2, Jose 0.

MAGNOLIA 84 – Hester 23, Lee 18, Jalalon 11, Barroca 11, Abueva 10, Dela Rosa 5, Escoto 4, Reavis 2, Corpuz 0, Ahanmisi 0, Dionisio 0.

Quarters: 20-18, 37-39, 63-71, 86-84

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires. - Susan Brownell Anthony