Dateline PhiliPPines DFA: More PH rescue teams to be sent to help quake-hit Turkey, Syria Maharlika fund, 9 other bills on fast track to approval by June 2

MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday, February 14 said more rescue teams from the Philippine government will be sent to give assistance in Turkey and Syria following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck there.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose De Vega said the Philippine embassies in Ankara, Istanbul, and Lebanon will send teams to help with residents and Filipinos who were affected by the strong temblor.

“May parating pang team, kasi meron tayong embahada sa Ankara at konsulado sa Istanbul ang involved, may darating pa na team from Lebanon para magbigay rin ng tulong so yun ang importante,” he added.

(There is another team coming because we have an embassy in Ankara and a consulate in Istanbul involved. There is also a team coming from Lebanon to provide help as well, so that is the important thing.)

The DFA official assured the 64 Filipinos who lost their homes due to the earthquake that they will be given aid and that supplies of relief goods are still enough.

De Vega said that the government is also handing assistance to Filipinos who chose to stay in Turkey and Syria.

According to the DFA, there are a total of 248 affected Filipinos and two casualties in Turkey, while 60 Filipinos in Syria were recorded to have been affected by the quake.

De Vega added that a six-man team from the Philippines will be heading to Lebanon.

“May six-man team sa Pilipinas papuntang Lebanon galing Damascus para magbigay tulong (There is a 6-man team in the Philippines going to Lebanon from Damascus to provide assistance),” De Vega said.

De Vega said anyone who wants to go home to the Philippines will be assisted by the government while some need to acquire their Philippine citizenship first under R.A. 9225 or the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003

“Kung gusto umuwi ifufund lang, madaling lang, ang iba kasi sa kanila Turkish citizens, kailangan muna iacquire ang kanilang philippine citizenship according to R.A. 9225, kung magagawa natin within several days magsisiuwian na rin ‘yan,” the DFA official said.

(If they want to go home, it will be funded,

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by Xave GreGorio Philstar.com

MANILA — Malacañang and legislative leaders on Monday, February 13 identified 10 priority bills that Congress should aim to pass before it adjourns sine die on June 2, including the controversial measure that seeks to create the Maharlika Investment Fund.

The Maharlika fund, which the House of Representatives approved just 17 days after it was filed, was selected as one of the priority measures during the meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council in Malacañang.

The proposal to create a sovereign wealth fund, which is typically capitalized with excess state revenue that the Philippines does not have, is currently pending before the

Senate banks panel chaired by Sen. Mark Villar.

The committee of Villar, one of the authors of the bills in the Senate alongside Sen. Raffy Tulfo, was set to resume hearings on the measure on Wednesday, February 15.

While the LEDAC has identified the Maharlika fund as a priority which may grease the legislative mill and hasten its passage in the Senate, it is not a guarantee that it will be swiftly approved.

During the committee’s first hearing on the measure two weeks ago, senators raised concerns about investment gains and the proposed fund’s governance structure.

It also faces stiff opposition from the two-member Senate minority bloc, whose leader Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III vowed to block passage.

But the potency of the minority is in question given their lack of numbers in the chamber dominated by allies of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

This was seen when they tried and failed to pry the Maharlika fund from Villar’s panel and send it to the government corporations committee chaired by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.

CDC, VIP, mandatory ROTC

Another measure identified during the LEDAC meeting as a priority is the bill that seeks to create the Philippine Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) and the complementary proposal to establish the Virology Institute of the Philippines (VIP).

The bill creating the CDC, a technical authority on

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