IN BRIEF

Solon seeks inventory of seized illegal drugs

SURIGAO del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chairperson of the House committee on dangerous drugs on Wednesday asked anti-drug law enforcement agencies to account and submit to the committee the complete inventory list of all seized illegal drugs that remain under their custody pending court resolution of their cases.

Barbers made the call even as the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Virgilio Moro Lazo’s revealed about the alleged agency’s previous policy of paying 30 percent of confiscated drugs to assets or informants as reward for successful drug seizures.

“As of now, we have no clear knowledge or understanding on the disposition of previously seized drugs that are still under the custody of law enforcement agencies such as the PDEA, the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation,” Barbers said. Maricel V. Cruz

S. Korea eyes DOJ aid to deport fugitives

WITH the prompt action of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to the request of Japan for the deportation of fugitive Japanese nationals, the government of South Korea is now seeking the deportation of its three fugitive nationals.

Justice Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano on Wednesday said Korean Ambassador Kim Inchul himself made the request during a courtesy call to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.

“Secretary Remulla assured Ambassador Inchul that he would look into the request immediately and assist if ever the request warranted swift action,” Clavano said.

The names of the South Korean fugitives were not disclosed by Clavano who recounted that during the courtesy call, the Korean ambassador congratulated Secretary Remulla for the swift deportation of four Japanese fugitives.

“They then spoke about the request by the Korean government to likewise have three (3) Korean nationals deported back to South Korea. The official request, the Ambassador mentioned, was already sent by his consul-general,” Clavano revealed. Rey E. Requejo

PBBM vows to continue promoting PH culture

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday reiterated his continuous commitment to promoting Philippine culture as well as the preservation and protection of the country’s cultural heritage.

The President made this remark in a speech at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Ani ng Dangal (Harvest of Honors) awarding ceremony in Malacañang.

“You can hope that this government and administration will be with you in promoting and enriching our art and culture,” he said. “I am confident that if we develop this industry, we will be able to contribute more to the growth of our economy and lift Filipinos everywhere in the world.”

Mr. Marcos also called on NCCA to support Filipino artists who make significant contributions to the development, and promotion of Philippine culture and the arts. Vince Lopez

PBBM issues order revising rules on SCS

By Vince Lopez

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued an executive order this week revising the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the scientific career system (SCS) under a previous presidential order.

In issuing Executive Order No. 17, “Revising the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Scientific Career System Under Executive Order No. 901 (S.1983),” the President said there’s a need to update the existing implementing rules and regulations of the SCS to effectively respond “to the evolving needs of the country’s science and technology human resources in government service.”

Under the President’s order dated February 20, the SCS will be a system of recruitment, career progression, recognition, and reward of scientists in public service aimed at developing a pool of highly qualified and productive scientific personnel.

The system will be characterized by an entrance to and a career progression or advancement based on qualifications, merit and scientific productivity, career path to scientists, as well as incentives and rewards to ensure attraction and retention of highly qualified personnel in the science and technology sector.

(January to February 9, 2023), the bulk of foreign capital is from Germany with P157 billion, followed by The Netherlands (P2.7 billion), Japan (P524 million), the United States (P509 million), and the United Kingdom (P194 million).

The renewable energy/power sector remains dominant, with P398.7 billion in approvals to date, up by 138 percent from the same period last year with P167.9 billion.

Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said the agency still has P344 billion in potential investment leads that will be processed.

Pascual said the aggressive investment promotion efforts led by President Marcos are complemented by the country’s strong economic performance with a 7.6 percent GDP growth.

“And more likely, than ever, we may have 80 to 90 percent of the target even before the middle of the year,” according to Pascual.

The increase in investments, he added, proves that the Marcos administration’s foreign trips are working as investors from Southeast Asia, the United States, Belgium, China, and Japan have expressed a strong desire to put in more investments into the country.

The DTI chief also noted that BOI’s foreign investment approvals performed even better, accelerating to P163 billion in the same period, a 65,436 percent growth from the same timeline in 2022.

It accounted for nearly 40 percent of the aggregate total, with domestic investment nods taking up the rest with P251.3 billion, a 47.6 percent rise from P170.3 billion last year, he added Mr. Marcos recently sealed $13 billion worth of agreements during his five-day working visit to Japan.

Japan pledged to provide development loans for the NorthSouth Commuter Railway for MalolosTutuban and the North-South Commuter Railway Project Extension totaling 377 billion yen, which is about $3 billion.

Mr. Marcos said the completion of these projects, along with other ongoing large-scale Official evelopment Assistance (ODA) projects such as the Metro Manila Subway Project and many more across the country, is expected to translate to better lives for Filipinos through improved facilitation of the movement of people, goods and services.