4-PART PLAN FOR PH-US DEFENSE

The Philippines and the United States must focus on four separate areas to modernize their military alliance, starting with a common understanding of their policies and priorities, Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said Thursday.

This developed as US and Philippine troops held anti-tank missile exercises on Thursday, as the allies stepped up their largest war games, which have already drawn China’s ire.

Galvez said the focus would pave the way for defense guidelines that govern how equipment and military capabilities are upgraded to respond to threats, he said after meeting with his American counterpart in Washington DC.

He said the second area must enhance the countries’ cyber defenses to protect critical infrastructure and sensitive information.

The third area, Galvez said, required increased intelligence sharing and cooperation to address challenges facing both countries.

“Fourth, we must improve interoperability between our forces to better coordinate and conduct joint activities,” he said.

Galvez said the defense alliance is critical to assuring the safety and security of the Filipinos.

The increased military cooperation between the two countries comes as China pushes its territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea with an aggressive military buildup.

US TROOPS FIRE JAVELINS IN LARGEST EVER JOINT WAR GAMES

PALAYAN — United States and Philippine troops turned their Javelin anti-tank missiles on cars standing in as enemy vehicles on Thursday, in the allies' largest ever war games.

Under a plume of black smoke, 3 sedans parked on scrubland were crushed by missiles fired from about 600 meters (0.37 miles) away by three soldiers at a military base in the north of the Philippines.

The annual Balikatan maneuvers follow a 3-day Chinese military exercise that simulated targeted strikes and a blockade of self-ruled, democratic Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory.

"As you're recently witnessing, there are some irresponsible behaviors that are ongoing and we should call those irresponsible behaviors out," US Army Pacific Commander General Charles Flynn told reporters at the site, without elaborating further.

Flynn added that the war games were an important show of "collective commitment to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific".

Philippine Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner praised the "effectivity" of Javelins against Russian tank and armor in the Ukraine war, adding Manila plans to acquire the weapon in the future.

Nearly 18,000 troops are taking part in the annual exercises, which for the first time will include the sinking by live fire of a decommissioned Philippine navy warship in the South China Sea, waters that Beijing claims almost entirely.

PHILIPPINES BREAKS INTO TOP 10 COUNTRIES WITH MOST CERTIFIED LEED SPACE IN 2022

MANILA — As testament to the tremendous growth of green buildings in the country, the Philippines, for the first time, has made it to the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) annual list of Top 10 Countries and Regions for LEED.

The country claimed the 10th spot for the most certified LEED space in 2022 outside of US with a total of 11 million certified square feet representing 24 projects.

To celebrate this achievement, the USGBC and Green Business Certification Institute (GBCI) recently concluded its maiden event in Manila titled, “LEED in Southeast Asia Series – In dialogue with USGBC & GBCI.”

Graced by over 100 key stakeholders, the event featured an exclusive panel of experts who discussed on why Philippines should continue to focus on sustainably built environment through “Building Design, Construction, and Performance Monitoring for Higher Efficiency towards NET ZERO.”

“With cities around the world responsible for over 70% of global carbon emissions, the Philippines’ built environment should strive toward a net-zero future to foster a highly sustainable and resilient living environment for generations to come,” said Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan, managing director for Southeast Asia and Middle East of GBCI and the moderator of the panel discussion.

LEED has provided a framework for high-performance buildings and spaces, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions through strategies impacting land, energy, transportation, water, waste and materials.

Building on that work, USGBC has developed LEED Zero, a complement to LEED that verifies the achievement of net-zero goals in existing buildings.

MARCOS: RICE SUPPLY ‘GOOD,’ DA, NFA WORKING TO PREVENT PRICE INCREASES

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday assured the public that the country has ample supply of rice, and his administration is doing its best to control the price of the staple grain.

In a video interview, President Marcos – who is concurrent Agriculture Secretary — said the rice supply situation in the Philippines appears to be “good,” assuring Filipinos there would be no shortage in the coming months.

“It looks like our situation is good. Our supplies of rice will not be dangerously low and we are looking for all possible means to ensure that we can control the price and will not further increase.” the President said after meeting with officials of the Department of Agriculture and National Food Authority in Malacañang Palace.

“We’ll plan out if we will be needing to import, if we need to make it longer, to increase the buffer stock at the NFA because it is too low. That is the only problem that we foresee, the buffer stock of NFA is low so the NFA will be needing to buy so that the supply will be suitable for at least nine days,” the President stressed.

Mr. Marcos, however, pointed out that the NFA needs to buy its buffer stock from local producers, which drives the price of rice up, to ensure a sufficient supply of the grain.

“The problem is that if they enter the market, if they buy to replace the buffer stock which they are lacking it will cause the prices to go up because they will buy many,” the President noted.

‘That is what we are looking for so that we can adjust. Maybe we cannot buy it all of a sudden. It’s not high, that was it, also you have to remember. This is agriculture, this is cyclical, this is by season,” President Marcos explained.

The government, the President said, needs to make sure the NFA will be able to build up its buffer stocks for now.

“In terms of the general supply for the country, I think we are in good shape. And although we’ll still have to import, our importations have come down. Our agricultural sector is beginning to come back beyond pre-pandemic levels. And so that’s progressing nicely,” said Mr. Marcos.

SPEAKER VOWS TO PUSH PH ECONOMIC AGENDA

Speaker Martin G. Romualdez on Thursday assured foreign investors and multilateral lenders that the House of Representatives would continue to pass measures to sustain the country’s robust economic performance.

He also welcomed as good news the encouraging remarks made by American and foreign business leaders during the presentation of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s economic team led by Budget Sec. Benjamin Diokno on the state of the Philippine economy in Washington DC.

The team presented to Standard Chartered Bank Global Head of Public Sector and Development Organizations Karby Leggett, World Bank Country Director for Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Brunei Ndiamé Diop, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Director, Asia, and Pacific Department Sanjaya Panth.

“We are committed to passing more measures that the Marcos administration may need to further enhance investment in the Philippines aimed at improving the lives of Filipinos. I urge foreign investors to stay the course with us and share the benefits of progress and development,” Romualdez said.

During the briefing held at Fairmont in Washington D.C. Wednesday (US time), Standard Chartered Bank, WB, and IMF officials cited the continued strong and resilient Philippine economy despite global challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation.

Romualdez said the event was part of the Marcos administration’s whole-of-government approach to attracting more foreign investments that would create more income and job opportunities for Filipinos. Maricel V. Cruz

IMF'S UPGRADED GROWTH OUTLOOK SIGNALS PH IS IN 'GOOD SHAPE': DIOKNO

MANILA — The International Monetary Fund's upgrade on the Philippines' growth outlook for 2023 proves that the country is in good shape, despite the projected slower growth globally, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said on Friday.

The IMF said the Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) could grow by 6 percent in 2023 from the previous 5 percent estimate. On the other hand, it downgraded the global growth outlook for the year to 2.8 percent from 2.9 percent.

"The IMF downgraded the global growth this year and they are anticipating a slower growth for the next 5 years. But surprisingly they’ve upgraded the Philippines by 1 percentage point. We’re in pretty good shape compared to the rest of the world," Diokno told ANC.

He said the Philippines should continue implementing measures to fight inflation. So far, inflation has eased for 2 straight months.

Diokno said global crude oil price seems unlikely to hit $90 per barrel again in the near term. Food remains as source inflation in the country, he added.

In terms of the effect of the global recession to the country, Diokno said the government is closely monitoring the actions of the US Federal Reserve.

Maintaining its current 125 basis points interest rate differential or at least 100 bps is crucial, he said.

"In our point of view, what matters is what will be the action of the Fed. Observe first and see whether the adjustments they have done are enough. We’re monitoring that because we want to maintain the interest rate differential between the US and the Philippines," he said.

GLOBE SAYS SIM REGISTRATION LAGS DUE TO LACK OF VALID IDS, DIGITAL LITERACY

The lack of government IDs and insufficient digital literacy are among the reasons why the SIM registration is lagging, a Globe Telecom executive said on Friday.

"Ang nakikita namin, kailangan may kaunting hand-holding na mangyari lalong lalo na sa ating mga customers na nasa provinces kasi nandoon talaga ang mababa ang registration," Globe Group Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer Yoly Crisanto told Teleradyo.

As of April 11, some 66 million or just over 39 percent of the total 168 million SIM cards in the country have been registered. The country's 3 major telco players are urging the government to extend the April 26 deadline.

Officials of the Department of Information and Communications Technology have said the agency and the National Telecommunications Commission were studying the possibility of extending the SIM registration deadline.

Failure to register on time will result in deactivation of SIM and mobile services, according to the SIM registration act.

EX-GOV. TEVES TO ATTEND SENATE PROBE ON DEGAMO KILLING

MANILA — Former Negros Oriental Governor Pryde Henry Teves on Friday said he would join the Senate investigation on the killing of his political rival Roel Degamo.

The Senate on Monday will open its inquiry into the March 4 assassination of the Negro Oriental governor in his residential compound.

"Dadalo [ako]. I’m already preparing my antigen test and I’m already trying to get a ticket on Sunday. Hopefully, dadalo with my lawyer Atty. Fortun po," Teves told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

"Physically we would be there," he added.

COMELEC DEFENDS ACCURACY OF 2022 ELECTIONS, SEEKS REDEFINITION OF RULES

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) defended Wednesday the accuracy of the 2022 national elections, amid critics’ petitions to access the transmission logs of the system used in the polls.

At the same time, the government’s election watchdog is advocating the redefinition of vote-buying and vote-selling to allow the agency to crack down on the use of online cash transfers for those activities.

Comelec spokesman Director John Rex Laudiangco noted the private organization Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting found no discrepancies, while the random manual audit of the machines showed a nearly perfect accuracy rate.

The election critics are looking for some 20 million votes in last year’s national and local elections, but Comelec said the system only transmits the results of the voting, not the actual vote.

Laudiangco told the Kapihan sa Manila Bay they have granted the public access to the transmission logs, while looking for a new technology for the midterm elections in 2025.

Comelec has created a committee to coordinate with law enforcement agencies to address vote-buying and vote-selling in the country, Laudiangco said.

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MINDORO OIL SPILL: DSWD SAYS OVER 178,000 AFFECTED BY DISASTER

MANILA — More than 178,000 people so far have been affected by the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro and nearby areas, after authorities on Wednesday announced the leakage from the sunken vessel was already "significantly controlled."

Data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Wednesday showed 37,871 families or 178,306 individuals were hit by the oil spill in the areas of Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and a portion of Western Visayas.

To help those affected, DSWD Assistant Secretary Rommel Lopez said they already released P217 million worth of financial and other assistance.

Around P58.5 million, meanwhile, have also been distributed under the government's cash-for-work program, he said. Governor Humerlito “Bonz” Dolor had said 17,071 families are employed under this scheme.

Based on a Palace release in March, the DSWD allotted P116 million for 18,762 affected fisherfolk who availed of its "cash-for-work" program.

It has been 7 weeks since the oil spill first spread, after MT Princess Empress went down in rough seas near Oriental Mindoro while carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil on Feb. 28.

The Department of Tourism, however, said 64 tourism sites and 1,400 tourism workers in Oriental Mindoro are affected by the ecological disaster.

The province estimated losing around P250 million so far in their tourism sector because of this.

For its part, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said the fishing sector loses nearly P19 million daily as the massive oil spill continues.

PHILIPPINES DETECTS CASES OF OMICRON SUBVARIANT XBB.1.9.1

MANILA — The Philippines has detected cases of omicron subvariant XBB.1.9.1, which is spreading across the globe, according to the Department of Health.

Based on the agency's latest COVID-19 biosurveillance report issued Thursday, the country has 54 cases of XBB.1.9.1 — an XBB sublineage that was recently added to the list of variants under monitoring by the World Health Organization on March 30.

Some 39 cases were detected in the samples sequenced by the University of the Philippines - Philippine Genome Center on April 3 to 11.

The DOH has yet to provide information on the other 15 cases.

"The variant has been detected in 63 countries or jurisdictions across 6 continents, according to sequence submissions in GISAID," the DOH report read.

"However, currently available evidence for XBB.1.9.1 does not suggest any differences in disease severity and/or clinical manifestations compared to the original Omicron variant."

JUST 17M PH HOMES HAVE RUNNING WATER

Only 67 percent of Filipino families have access to safe drinking water at home, while the rest lack running and piped water, according to a new survey conducted by the Social Weather Station (SWS).

According to SWS, the percentage equates to around 17 million Filipino households – of about 26.39 million total households as of the 2020 census — with access to running or piped water.

The survey also revealed that 58 percent of Filipino families said their water consumption was billed, while nine percent said it was not.

Filipino families living in Metro Manila are billed P500 per month, but the SWS survey showed that P320 was the median expense per month for the 58 percent of billed consumers.

The normal or median pay is P312 in Balance Luzon, P340 in Visayas and P300 in Mindanao.

On the other hand, the SWS said the monthly expense for the 9 percent non-billed consumers averaged at P300 — P400 per month in Metro Manila, P300 in Balance Luzon, P300 in Visayas, and P225 in Mindanao.

According to the SWS, the survey was conducted from December 10 to 14, 2022 through in-person interviews, with a total of 1,200 adult respondents.

SWS said the survey had a sampling margin of error at plus-minus 2.8 percent.

RAINS TO PERSIST AFTER AMANG WEAKENS INTO LPA: PAGASA

MANILA — Tropical depression Amang, which has weakened into a low pressure area, will continue bringing rains over parts of the Philippines on Friday, the state weather bureau said.

The LPA was spotted 40 kilometers southwest of Iba, Zambales at 3 a.m., PAGASA said.

State meteorologists said cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms were possible over Metro Manila, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Zambales, and Bataan due to the LPA.

The rest of the country, meanwhile, will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms.

Bicol Region was the most badly hit by the tropical depression, said Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Information Officer Diego Agustin Mariano.

"Dito po pumasok si bagyong Amang at d'yan din po siya halos nagbabad bago po umakyat ng Calabarzon po," he told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

Amang spawned floods in around a hundred areas across the country, Mariano said.

"Meron pang mga around 100 na areas na binabaha pa rin po. At meron pang 20 areas na pababa na po or subsided na o yung baha po," he added.

Out of 25,000 families who were affected by the cyclone, about 2,700 are still in evacuation centers, Mariano said.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

MALACAÑANG ANNOUNCES CONCERT SERIES FEATURING FILIPINO ARTISTS FROM ALL OVER THE PHILIPPINES

MANILA — There will be a concert series featuring Filipino artists from different fields of performing arts in the Palace, Malacañang announced yesterday.

According to the Palace statement, the "Konsyerto sa Palasyo" was initiated by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to “highlight the nation’s rich culture and world class talent.”

“He also firmly believes that the creative industry should not be left out as the nation takes leaps of progress towards economic recovery,” Malacañang added.

The first concert is scheduled on April 22, intended to recognize the Armed Forces of the Philippines' service to Filipinos.

“The upcoming ‘Konsyerto sa Palasyo: Awit ng Magiting’ on 22 April 2023 recognizes the Armed Forces for its sacrifices in maintaining the nation’s sovereignty, peace and security,” read the statement.

“Members of the various branches of service of the AFP together with their families will be the guest audiences for the evening,” it added.

The upcoming concerts will be livestreamed on different social media sites.

Performers will be coming from Cebu, Ilocos Norte, Quezon, Cavite, Iloilo, Metro Manila and Davao.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Your self-confidence is directly connected to how much you feel you are making a difference in your world. - Brian Tracy