Luy: Gigi raised missing P500k

PROSECUTION witness Benhur Luy claimed former lawyer Jessica “Gigi” Reyes made a “verbal” complaint that the money allegedly intended for then Senator Juan Ponce Enrile was short by P500,000.

Luy said the same concern was raised by Ruby Tuason, a socialite turned state witness in the graft case for the alleged misuse of the former senator’s pork barrel or Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

Mayon...

From A1

“Unless we lower the alert level, we are left with no option but to have those within the permanent danger zone to remain at the evacuation centers,” he said.

“What we are seeing right now, it’s following the template of the 2014 eruption, which was a quiet eruption, effusive eruption. Based on our previous experiences, this activity may persist for a few months,” Bacolcol added.

The Albay provincial government said it is ready should evacuation reach 90 days.

Eugene Escobar, officer-in-charge of Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office, told the news station ANC that in the past, the longest evacuation period lasted five months.

“We were able to sustain that not alone, but with the help of the national government and then many of the international organizations that came in. It was a concerted effort,” Escobar said.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda called for “patience and stamina” from national government agencies extending disaster relief and evacuation support to those affected by recent Mayon Volcano activity, as “evacuation efforts and the wait for an actual eruption could take weeks or months.” of the food stamp program.

“Historically, the scenarios are 45, 90, or 110 days. It could, of course, get even longer than that. This will be a waiting game. Until an explosive eruption happens, or the alert level goes down, we can’t really do much other than evacuate and wait,” Salceda, chair of the House committee on ways and means, said.

“So, this will really require stamina and patience. I am sure President Marcos and the national government will have the patience to see this through. But the economic disruption will also be significant,” Salceda added.

Some 5,000 farmers are already affected by ongoing evacuation efforts and volcanic activity.

On Tuesday, Phivolcs said it detected one dome collapse pyroclastic density current (PDC) that lasted two minutes.

In the past 24 hours, Mayon Volcano had one volcanic earthquake and 221 rockfall events, based on Phivolcs’ seismic and visual observations.

Thin ash from rockfalls was observed as well as continuous moderate degassing from the summit crater, which produced steam-laden plumes that bent and crept downslope before drifting northeast.

“The President also wants to bring in pregnant, lactating mothers because we have to start looking at stunting in this country and the first 1,000 days program (for infants) is very important,” Gatchalian said.

“The marching order of the President is to fight stunting and hunger, joint efforts of other programs of the government,” he added, referring to the order to effectively implement the First 1,000 Days Law or Republic Act 11148.

The government also wants to avoid wasteful spending and ensure that when the program is expanded for its regular run, the government is doing it correctly, according to the DSWD chief.

“The President approved the run of the pilot, which is fully funded through grants... from the ADB (Asian Development Bank), JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), and the French Development Agency. So that will be $3 million (about P168 million) all in all,” Gatchalian said.

“There is a provision to expand it. ADB is still working on other trust funds so that we could expand the pilot.

Luy, during the cross examination on him conducted by Reyes’ lawyer, Christian Diaz, admitted he has no documentary evidence to support his claim.

Luy said it was only made verbally since it was an “illegal” transaction.

“Complaint documents saying the kickback is lacking P500,000? Ilegal nga po iyong ginagawa namin e. Verbal

But other than that, it’s all green lights go for the pilot, which will take place shortly,” he added.

For his part, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said the food in this program should be of nutritional value.

“It actually jives, the poorest one million... to be able to give them food stamps so that they will have nutritious food,” Herbosa said.

“The President wanted a more cohesive approach (for) this problem of hunger and addressing the poor...We’re trying to now put them all together in one unified ‘life stages’ approach that starts from pregnancy,” he added.

Based on figures from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, stunting rates for ages 0 to 23 months old is 21.6 percent or one in five children while for children under five years old, the stunting rate is 28.7 percent.

For malnutrition rate, Herbosa said the children in daycare facilities, which is handled and supervised by DepEd, it is pegged at 20 percent.

“So one in five kids, I need to feed properly with correct nutrients,” the DOH Secretary said.

The DSWD said the project aims to assist targeted households suffering from involuntary hunger.

Earlier, the agency explained that it some 28 volcanic earthquakes, including seven tremors, were observed from Taal Volcano. lang,” Luy said. Diaz argued that Luy’s answer should be stricken off court records, but Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Ronald Moreno did not allow it. would provide electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards that will be loaded with food credits amounting to P3,000 per month to purchase a select list of food commodities from DSWD-registered or accredited local retailers.

“That’s his answer,” Moreno said.

The trial on the graft charges against Enrile and other co-accused will resume on June 20.

Through the pilot testing, Gatchalian said the DSWD and other involved agencies will see its nuances and determine what needs to be improved and enhanced, and what items must be discontinued.

The food stamp program or the “Walang Gutom 2027” aims to provide electronic benefit transfers that will be loaded with food credits amounting to P3,000 to purchase a select list of food commodities from DSWD-accredited local retailers.

It intends to target the bottom one million households from Listahanan 3 who belong to the food-poor criteria as defined by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The DSWD has identified five pilot sites coming from different geopolitical characteristics: an area in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), what used to be a former conflict area; one in geographically isolated regions or provinces; one in urban poor settings; one in calamity-stricken areas; and one in a rural poor area.