EU to Speaker: PH ‘attractive’ to investors

By Maricel V. Cruz

and Vince Lopez press officers, Clare O’Hagan.

A BIG business delegation from the European Union (EU) said the Philippines was the most attractive investment destination in the world for their group, Speaker Ferdinand G. Romualdez said Wednesday.

During their meeting with Romualdez, six representatives from the visiting EU-ASEAN Business Council (EUABC) composed of 70 delegates from 36 European multinational companies expressed their interest in expanding EU business and trade relations with the Philippines, as they praised the country’s strong economic performance.

Bohol Island’s Global Geopark status was announced during the 216th session of UNESCO’s executive board, which was held in Paris, France.

The Bohol Island Geopark will soon join 17 other new geoparks in the Global Geoparks Network, the cultural agency said in a Facebook post.

“The network provides a platform for international cooperation, allowing global geoparks and aspiring geoparks to share best practices and enhance the UNESCO Global Geopark brand,” the group added.

In Bohol’s nomination, UNESCO described the Philippine area as having “scenic and varied landforms and structural features.”

“The Geopark features one of the six double barrier reefs in the world and the only barrier reef in Southeast Asia,” it said.

“Bohol also boasts of highly diverse flora and fauna due to its dynamic geologic and tectonic history conserving endemic species through protected areas for the Dipterocarpacea family rainforest trees and animal sanctuaries.”

In 2013, a group of researchers from the University of the Philippines conducted fieldwork on potential geoparks in the Philippines, according to the provincial government of Bohol.

A “METICULOUS” phishing scheme through online gambling websites caused the security breach that led to unauthorized fund transfers from mobile wallet GCash to several private bank accounts earlier this month.

“Upon our thorough investigation, we have determined that the unauthorized transactions in GCash accounts were a result of a meticulous phishing scheme,” said Privacy commissioner John Henry Naga.

“Unknown threat actors took advantage of vulnerable GCash users, trigger- ing the phishing scheme through online gambling websites such as ‘Philwin’ and ‘tapwin1.com,’” he added.

The NPC’s Complaints and Investigation Division (CID) conducted an independent probe to ascertain the extent of the alleged unauthorized transactions and determine if personal data were compromised, among other potential violations of the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

On May 12, the NPC held a clarificatory meeting with G-Xchange Inc. (GXI).

“We have ordered GXI to intensify its education and awareness campaign to zation of government assets. its clients to prevent similar incidents in the future. We assure the public that the National Privacy Commission remains resolute in its mandate to safeguard the rights of data subjects and protect personal information. We will employ the full extent of our powers under the law to penalize those who violate the Data Privacy Act of 2012,” Naga said.

Last week, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla said only 80 percent of the unauthorized fund transfers from mobile wallet GCash to several private bank accounts were recovered. Othel V. Campos

Romualdez informed them of the initiatives of Congress, in line with the policies of the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to “make the Philippines a more inviting host for business investments and economic activities.” implementation of strategic and highimpact large infrastructure projects that will stimulate activity and development,” he said.

“We’re here to see how we can help. We would like to support, we would like to assist. We’d like to be aware of the challenges so we could address them together,” Romualdez told the EU delegation representatives.

Noel Clehane, Global Head of Regulatory & Public Policy for BDO and board member of EU-ABC, informed Romualdez that they have been engaging with EU lawmakers to push for a free trade agreement with the Philippines.

In the Senate version of the bill, the fund’s initial capital will come from the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines, dividends from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp, and from the privati-

The proposed Maharlika Investment Corporation will also be allowed to issue bonds. There will also be limitations in relation to investments in real estate, which shall be limited to major capital projects, as endorsed by the National Economic and Development Authority Board, to ensure that these are in line with the socio-economic development programs of the government.

Other changes are new provisions with the forms of joint ventures and coinvestments on the issuance of bonds as well as to the Board of Directors to reflect nine permanent members, instead of the original 15.

Australia had sent three planes and four ships to help in the international search-and-rescue efforts.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, however, insisted he is not convinced of the need for an MIF.

“I have studied it for a long time and have tried to dig what’s really on their minds, but still I’m not convinced,” he said.

While it is a state-initiated investment, Pimentel said it can no longer be considered a “sovereign wealth fund’ or state investment fund because it will be open to the private sector.

“We have been highlighting to them that this region (ASEAN), particularly the Philippines, is the most attractive in the world for European businesses,” said Clehane.

He said their excitement about business prospects in the Philippines is borne by an annual survey that they have been doing for the past eight years. As a result, he said EU lawmakers are now “becoming more alert” to exploring expanded trade relations with the Philippines.

China...

From A1

The Chinese vessel overturned on May 16, with 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesians, and five Filipinos on board.

“From an analysis of the ship’s capsizing... it is preliminarily judged that there are no survivors from the ship,” Beijing’s transport ministry said in an official social media post.

The boat capsized within Australia’s vast search-and-rescue region, 5,000 kilometers (2,700 nautical miles) to the west of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia.

Chinese state media reported on Monday that seven bodies had been found by Chinese and Sri Lankan rescue vessels, without specifying the nationalities of the dead.

Rescuers had trawled an area of around 64,000 square kilometers and “did not find any sign of survivors,” the ministry said.

The fishing vessel’s distress beacon was first detected last week as Cyclone Fabian drove waves as high as seven meters and winds as strong as 120 kilometers per hour through the area.

Rough weather conditions held back rescue efforts, with the Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) in Canberra warning of “challenging” survival conditions.

The Chinese transport ministry said rescue boats had sounded their horns for one minute of mourning in the early hours of Tuesday, with only seven vessels remaining on the scene by noon.

Diokno and Tañada said their presence at Ateneo was to attend a forum for senatorial candidates. They also denied meeting Advincula.

“The shipwreck’s condition shows no obvious change from the previous day, and is gradually drifting northeast,” the ministry said.

The capsized vessel was owned by Penglai Jinglu Fishery Company, one of China’s major state-run fishing firms.

It was authorized to fish for neon flying squid and Pacific saury, according to the North Pacific Fisheries Commission.

It left Cape Town in South Africa on May 5 for Busan in South Korea, according to the MarineTraffic tracking website, which last located the vessel on May 10 southeast of Reunion, a tiny French island in the Indian Ocean.

Penglai Jinglu Fishery also runs squid and tuna fishing operations in international waters, including the Indian Ocean and seas surrounding Latin America. Rey E. Requejo with AFP noting that it was Advincula who was probably guilty of the crime of conspiracy to commit sedition. deployed navigational buoys carrying the country’s flag within its exclusive economic zone, including at Balagtas Reef and Julian Felipe Reef, where hundreds of Chinese ships were moored in 2021 and again in 2022. group known as “Project Sodoma.”

As this developed, Sen. Francis Tolentino said the potential defense agreement between the Philippine and Japanese governments may need the concurrence of the Senate.

Tolentino, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, made the remarks as the two Asian countries are reportedly preparing to begin their preliminary consultations before commencing the formal negotiations for a “Reciprocal Access Agreement” or RAA—basically the proposed Visiting Forces Agreement between Manila and Tokyo.

He noted that the primary nature of the agreement will be through a treaty.

“Then, it must be done precisely in accordance with the 1987 Constitution, and thus, must be ratified by members of the Senate,” the senator said.

The group, Advincula claimed, plotted to commit sedition, libel, and cyber libel, among others. Bikoy also claimed there was a meeting at the Ateneo de Manila University among the conspirators.

The statements became the basis for charges of sedition filed against members of the opposition, including the lawyers, at that time.

The criminal charges, however, were dismissed by the Department of Justice on January 27, 2020, with prosecutors en after their arrest last March 5.

Copies of their affidavits of recantation were not available.

“In this case, the totality of the prosecution evidence, when put under severe testing, amounts to proof beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of perjury. The witnesses who testified for the prosecution were able to sufficiently establish the falsehood of the accused’s statements,” the court said.

Earlier, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa said Manila and Tokyo are “just about to start the consultation for negotiations.”

Once approved, he said the proposed agreement would allow Filipino and Japanese forces to deploy troops on each other’s territory for training and other operations.

This developed as the Department of Justice on Wednesday said Rivero should present evidence to prove he was forced and tortured to admit his participation in the slaying of Degamo and nine others and the involvement of Teves in the murders on March 4, 2023.

Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon stressed the DOJ’s panel of prosecutors has received the affidavit of recantation of Rivero.

“The matter of having to prove it is now with Rivero because it does not follow that just because he recanted what he is saying now is the absolute truth,” Fadullon said.

Besides Rivero, three other detained suspects in the March 4 killings -- Dahniel P. Lora, Romel A. Pattaguan, and Rogelio C. Antipolo Jr. – have also retracted their supposed testimonies giv-

Teves reiterated there are threats to his life, thus giving him a reason not to return home. He also refused to comment on his reported application for political asylum in Timor-Leste.

“I’ll keep that to myself. I don’t need to make things public all the time,” he said.

On Rivero’s recantation, Fadullon said: “If it is true, then anybody who may have been responsible for it, if proven to be correct, may be held responsible or may be held accountable.”

“However, if for example, it turns out these allegations cannot be supported, something which cannot be backed up by evidence, then the one who makes the recantation should likewise face the full force of the law,” he added.

“It is incumbent upon the person to now present proofs of the facts he is now alleging in his affidavit of recantation,” Fadullon added.

On the lament of Danny Villanueva, the lawyer of the four suspects, that the DOJ panel of prosecutors required the submission of documents to support the affidavits of recantation, Fadullon said: “I think it is only correct for the panel to require the submission of documents to support whatever allegations are contained in the affidavit of recantation.”

Since Rivero alleged he got tortured, Fadullon said the detainee should show, for example, “medico-legal reports, affidavits of examinations by doctors and probably record of the injuries and any complaint that he may have filed as a consequence thereof is something will have to be submitted if only to justify or if only to lend credence or support to the contents of his affidavit of recantation.”

After his arrest in Negros Oriental last March, Rivero and his co-suspects were turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) last March 7.

Fadullon said that Rivero, immediately on the day of his arrival at the NBI, was “subjected to medical examination as a standard operating procedure in receiving detainees and complaint would have been raised already there.”

“There were lawyers who assisted him from the Public Attorney’s Office during the taking of his statements and right off they were given the opportunity to talk and there would have been the opportunity for him to ask for examination if he felt that the first one was something that was questionable,” he said.

The DOJ official said the participation of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) could have been raised “to check if there is any proof of torture that was committed.”

“All these are being brought forward only now practically a month and a half after they were brought to Manila,” he said.

But the Justice official expressed the belief that the more truthful statements were the first ones done by Rivero. With Rey E. Requejo

Honor Blanco Cabie, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com OPINION A4 THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023

After

The Weeping

IT WAS a shockingly tragic event which will haunt many. A national treasure, an iconic building, has been lost, save only for the classical columns that served as its imposing façade.

Those of us who had intimate relations with the nation’s post office could not help but weep at its destruction.

I need answers as to how the flames engulfed the entire structure so quickly, when all the floors are separated by concrete slabs, vintage 1946.

If indeed it started in the basement which houses the mail sorting section, one can readily understand that there are plenty of combustible materials there, from the letters and parcels, to the wooden pigeon holes and desks that postal employees utilize.

Sadly, no fire sprinkler system had been innovated into the building which was built when no such contraptions existed.

And on its two half-moon shaped structures flanking the east and west of the building, one can understand how the flames may have gone up, and through the stairwells that lead to the grand lobby of the central post office.

But for the flames to have gone up so fast and destroyed the entire inside parts of the building in a matter of hours remains a mystery to those of us who do not have scientific knowledge of how fires spread.

This writer was postmaster-general from 1986 to 1988, and on Tuesday night, I had a long-scheduled dinner with another former postmaster-general and a past president of the defunct Postal Savings Bank, whose separate building flanks the now beautified Jones Bridge.