News
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com
Quake victims to get China Red Cross aid By Sara D. Fabunan CHINA is set to donate $50,000 humanitarian assistance to the victims of the magnitude-6.7 earthquake in Surigao City last Friday night, killing eight Filipinos and injured hundreds of individuals. In a daily press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang also extended the condolence message of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to his counterpart Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. “Foreign Minister Wang Yi sent a message of condolences to Secretary of Foreign Affairs Perfecto Yasay Jr. of the Philippines over the heavy casualties and property losses caused by the earthquake striking the Philippines,” Geng said. The assistance, he said, is from the Red Cross Society of China. “Wang Yi expressed that China stands ready to actively provide assistance to the Philippines,” he said. Geng made the assurance after Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo asked for cash donations from International communities to buy water for residents of Surigao City and four neighboring municipalities where water supply had been shut down. Taguiwalo said the repairs to the water system might take a while and that her department must prepare for contingency plan to make sure the people in Surigao would have a clean water to drink. Geng said his government believed that under the leadership of President Rodrigo Duterte, the people in the disaster area “could certainly overcome difficulties and restore normal production and life at an early date.” On Sunday, Duterte visited Surigao City and vowed his administration would provide financial help for the victims. On Tuesday, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella clarified the P2 billion aid Duterte mentioned during his visit was for the victims of earthquake. Abella clarified Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar’s claim the P2 billion was for the mining workers.
TRUE LAND REFORM. Militant farmers and land reform advocates stage a picket Wednesday in front of the House of Representatives to demand the passage of what they call genuine land reform bill and free land distribution. Manny Palmero
Minority Bloc backs illegal gambling drive By Maricel V. Cruz
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HE minority bloc in the House of Representatives on Wednesday rallied behind the Duterte administration’s fight against illegal gambling. Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, the bloc’s leader, lauded the President’s issuance of Executive Order 13 ordering several agencies of government such as the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and Department of Information and Communications Technology to cooperate in pushing the government’s intensified efforts to curb illegal gambling. “We support the President
in his campaign against illegal gambling. The prevalence of illegal gambling maintains, and encourages, a habit of defying existing laws to the detriment of peace and order in our nation,” Suarez told a news conference. “Illegal operators have a window of opportunity to legitimize their operations. We strongly encourage them to take it,” Suarez added. Suarez said illegal gambling operations have to stop even as the minority proposed a “unified recognition of the Philip-
pine Lotto and the Small Town Lottery as the sole legal numbers game in the Philippines.” “This aims to completely eradicate jueteng and other forms of illegal gambling while facilitating the expansion of this national legal numbers game to all provinces in the country,” the minority leader said. Suarez stressed: “The minority has been vocal against illegal gambling. We are encouraged that the President shares the minority’s firm stand against the proliferation of jueteng, masiao, and other illegal numbers games in the country,.” Suarez said due to the persistence of illegal gambling, the government posted losses of up to P20 billion annually. He said the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office is mandated by law to raise funds for health and welfare programs,
which it does by supervising legal lottery games. “The P20 billion could afford the PCSO with funds to defray the costs of health, medical and other charitable programs,” Suarez said.. Suarez said apart from being a financial drain, illegal gambling lacks regulation and transparency. “Bettors lose money as ‘winning numbers’ draws are rigged to the advantage of the operators,” Suarez said. “We recognize the cultural roots of numbers games in our country, which is why the government sought to regulate its operation through STL. The aim of STL, to provide a regulated, transparent numbers game which redounds to the general welfare, cannot be achieved if illegal numbers games persist,” Suarez added.
Proposed powers could clear roadblocks—Poe By Macon Araneta THE proposed emergency powers sought by the Executive to solve traffic could clear roadblocks in completing the P2.8billion common station project that has been delayed for several years, Senator Grace Poe said Wednesday. Poe, chairperson of the Senate committee on public services and principal sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1284 or the proposed Traffic and Congestion Crisis Act, said the government and the private sector could invoke some provisions in the emergency powers measure to avoid delays in the construction of the13,700-sqm
common station project. The common station project would connect three elevated urban railways—LRT-1, Edsa MRT-3 and the proposed MRT-7. She said the emergency powers bill was currently being deliberated upon in Senate plenary. Poe said: “It [emergency powers] will help... because I think there’s also certain rights-of-way acquisition. “It will prevent the lower courts from issuing temporary restraining orders and injunctions. It will harmonize the laws of the local governments units when it comes to traffic to be under the traffic czar. “And it will also allow the government to get into a
specialized form of procurement like negotiated procurement.” Poe said allowing only the high court to issue injunctions would “discourage the not very serious contenders” and those who would deliberately delay the common station project. According to Poe, the bill’s provision on negotiated procurement would allow the proper maintenance of the trains since “only a few players” have the financial and technical capability. “This is very important because in maintaining the trains, you only have a few players that are capable enough to maintain those trains. So you need negotiated procurement because they
have the technical, legal and financial capability,” she added. The senator also called on her colleagues to speed up deliberations on the bill and finally put the measure to a vote to enable the government to start with critical infrastructure projects and provide relief to the public. Meanwhile, Senator Win Gatchalian wants the government to explore options to generate additional income from the project by maximizing the value of the projected foot traffic through the station. He said the government could make at least P182.5 million per year (assuming P1 of potential income per pedestrian x 500,000
x 365 days) if it bidded out the value of foot traffic to be generated from the government undertaking. “The foot traffic within the station will be an asset of the government because government created it. The income from foot traffic can be used to subsidize the station’s expenses, and therefore cut down train fares. This way, we can add even more value to this project for the general public,” he said. He added the foot traffic value could still be included in the contract, which is still under review by the National Economic and Development Authority.
DTI conducting tests on China’s steel cargo By Rio N. Araja
COMMUNICATIONS AGREEMENT. Presidential Communications Operations Office Undersecretary Noel Puyat and PCOO Assistant Secretary Ana Maria Banaag propose a toast Tuesday to the officials of China Radio International led by its president Wang Gengnian following the signing of an agreement at the Philippine Information Agency in Quezon City.
THE Department of Trade and Industry is now conducting the required tests to determine the traceability, quality and safety of the 20,000 metric tons of steel cargo from China worth half a billion pesos at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. At a news conference in Quezon City, Undersecretary and concurrent chief of DTI’s Consumers Protection Group Ted Pascua disclosed the department’s action on the importation of substandard or fake construction materials that entered the country. “We are now conducting a required test procedure on a reported construction materials, specifi-
cally the steel rebar cargo, at the SBMA to ascertain its traceability, quality and safety pursuant to the law,” he said. On Dec. 8 last year, the questioned importation of the steel cargo was the subject of DTI’s cancellation or withdrawal of its import commodity clearance, the legal basis of its import entry documents from the Bureau of customs. Despite the ICC cancellation, truckloads of steel cargo were released on Dec. 19, and sold to the consuming public. Pascua welcomed the complaint of the United Filipino Consumers and Commuters about the entry of the 20,000 metric tons of substandard steel bars.
LRA launches ‘Aksyon Agad Center’to mark its 114th year THE Land Registration Authority has launched its “LRA Aksyon Agad Center” as the centerpiece project as it celebrated its 114th anniversary recently with the launch of four new initiatives that aim to provide faster, better and stronger service to the public. LRA Aksyon Agad Center is a one-stop interactive support system that receives inquiries and concerns from the public, notably updates on status of transactions and complaints. This is first in the list of LRA’s new projects for 2017, the Authority said in a statement. The hotline directs the call to the respective LRA-Register of Deeds office involved and provides feedback to the client. Callers are advised to contact the LRA Aksyon Agad Center via sms (09193549809/0905-2586289), email (customerservice@lra. gov.ph) or landline (9211383). The other key projects in the pipeline are the LRA Queuing System for faster and more efficient transactions at the central office; Central Office LAN (Local Area Network) for improved service delivery and inter-agency communication; and Juan Konek Free Public Wi-Fi that gives the public free Internet access when they visit the LRA office. LRA OIC-Administrator Robert Nomar Leyretana led the anniversary celebration and action center launch at the LRA Central Office in East Avenue, Quezon City. The event assembled officials and employees from LRA and from the Department of Justice headed by Undersecretary Deo Marco. LRA, an agency under DoJ, is responsible for issuing decrees of registration and certificates of title and register documents, patents and other land transaction for the benefit of landowners, agrarian reformbeneficiaries and the registering public in general. This year’s theme was “LRA: Surpassing the Challenges of Bringing Quality Standards Through Genuine Commitment to Excellence and Public Service.” “This is a fitting affirmation of what LRA has achieved for more than 100 years as the reliable vanguard of land registration and property rights in the country,” said Leyretana. “With these new services we are launching...LRA is in a far better position to deliver faster, more efficient and professional service to the public.”