global NEWS GLOBAL NEWS Palace hails Duque for being elected WHO committee chair 10
Weekend
BALITA
Saturday-Friday | October 10 - 16, 2020
Visit www.Balita.com
MANILA (Mabuhay) — Malacañang on Thursday congratulated Health Secretary Francisco Duque III for being elected as chair of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Western Pacific. In a Palace briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duque’s accomplishment showed that the WHO recognizes his capabilities. “Our congratulations to Secretary Duque and my classmate in the Cabinet at ito po’y nagpapatunay na nagtitiwala po ang WHO sa kakayahan ni Secretary Duque (and this is proof that the WHO believes in the abilities of Secretary Duque),” he said. Roque said it also means that the WHO acknowledges the Philippines’ efforts in responding to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. “Siguro po kinikilala natin na sa region eh talagang ang response po natin sa Covid ay mukha naman pong epektibo at naniniwala po ang WHO na tama ang mga hakbang na ginagawa natin para labanan ang Covid-19
habang wala pang bakuna at habang wala pa pong gamot (Perhaps the region recognizes that our response against Covid is effective and the WHO believes the country is taking the right steps to fight Covid-19 while there is no vaccine or medicine),” he added. The WHO Regional Committee for Western Pacific is composed of health ministers and senior officials from 27 Western Pacific member countries that meet annually to discuss the region’s health issues. According to the Department of Health (DOH), Duque will lead discussions on Covid-19, vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization, aging and health, safe and affordable surgical interventions, and the program budget for 2022 to 2023. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the committee will convene every year to formulate policies, provide oversight for regional programs, report on their projects and consider, revise and endorse new initiatives. During the opening of the 71st session of the WHO Regional Committee for Western
Pacific on October 6, Duque thanked his fellow representatives for their trust and confidence in electing him as their chairperson. “The circumstances in which we meet this year are very different from last year when we came together to endorse the For the Future vision. Thank you for your continued commitment in implementing that vision in the time of Covid-19, as we work together to adjust to a “new normal” and create a new future,” Duque said. He will be presiding over the entire session virtually until October 9. (MNS)
HEALTH SECRETARY FRANCISCO DUQUE III
DOE urged to build foundations for sound nuclear power agenda MANILA (Mabuhay) — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to focus on meeting the necessary steps in the adoption of a national nuclear energy policy before working on the possible use of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP). Gatchalian said any discussion on jumpstarting a nuclear policy in the country has to be comprehensively studied and backed by rigorous research while taking into account the different infrastructure issues and how these will fit into the environmental, social, economic, and regulatory bodies to address pertinent issues including radiation protection and nuclear security and safety. “Instead of wasting time in reviving the obsolete Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, the DOE should just focus on setting up the necessary legislation, regulations, and public acceptance through greater transparency,” the Senate energy com-
mittee chairman said in a press release on Thursday. Gatchalian said the Philippines has yet to ratify the Convention on Nuclear Safety, the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, and the Amendment to the Convention of Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. On top of t he President Rod r igo Duterte’s directives to conduct a feasibility study on the existing legal framework on the viability of nuclear power in the country’s energy mix through Executive Order No. 116, Gatchalian emphasized the need for the Philippines, as a member-state, to comply with the prescribed guidelines and infrastructure gaps identified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He said before embarking on a nuclear energy program, the Philippines needs to address and satisfy at least 19 infrastructure issues of the IAEA through
comprehensive pieces of legislation on regulator, radiation protection, safety of nuclear facilities and decommissioning, energy preparedness and response, processing and transport of radioactive material, radioactive waste and spent fuel, nuclear liability, coverage and safeguard measures, export and import controls, nuclear security, physical protection and illicit trafficking, among others. Gatchalian echoed the earlier assertions made by Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev on the 43-year-old BNPP as “absolutely outdated” and already beyond revival. He said the current international safety standards are also much higher than the standards on which the BNPP was built. The BNPP is located near Mt. Natib, a volcano and an active earthquake fault. He added that refurbishing the BNPP to make it operational may entail some USD1 billion, based on estimates. It does not
CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA EDUCATORS SAY EDUCATORS SAY
VOTE VOTE YES YES
PROP 15 Proposition Proposition 15 15 protects protects homeowners homeowners while while closing closing commercial commercial property property tax tax loopholes loopholes to to make make big big corporations pay their fair share, so we can invest in our local schools, communities, and our students’ futures. - CTA President E. Toby Boyd
Learn more more at at Learn
yes15.org yes15.org
Ad paid for by Educators for Equity, Yes on 15 and 16, Sponsored by
AdCalifornia paid for by Educators for Equity,Committee Yes on 15 and 16, Sponsored Teachers Association. major funding from:by California Teachers Association. Committee major funding from: California Teachers Association. California Teachers Association. Funding Details at www.fppc.ca.gov. Funding Details at www.fppc.ca.gov.
also guarantee a lower price of electricity. “Hindi totoo na mababa ang presyo. Dahil sa dami ng safety procedures at technology na ilalagay mo, tumataas yung presyo, tulad ng naging karanasan ng Vietnam (It’s not true that price [of electricity] will go down. Due to many safety procedures and technology that have to be placed, the price increases, like the experience of Vietnam),” he pointed out. He said the BNPP is obsolete already, having been built more than 40 years ago. “Kaya sa aking pag-aanalisa, mas maganda pang magpatayo ng bagong planta dahil obviously mas marami nang bagong teknolohiya at mga bagong safety procedures na naaangkop sa panahon ngayon (That’s why, based on my own analysis, it is better to build new [nuclear power] plant because obviously there are many new technology and new safety procedures that are appropriate nowadays),” he said. (MNS)
