Army rallies behind President’s call for speedy passage of ROTC measure IN BRIEF

8,462 DAR workers get bonus this week

AT least 8,462 workers of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) will get their performance-based bonus this week, Secretary Conrado Estrella III on Monday announced. He thanked all DAR employees who worked hard, especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

“With this bonus, we hope to inspire the best performers to continue their exemplary work in DAR, be a model to their colleagues, and prod others to work even harder to serve agrarian reform beneficiaries better,” he said. The bonus was an incentive mechanism given to reward government employees for good governance and meritorious performance of a government agency.

Ninety-two percent of the 8,462 DAR employees will receive the performance-based bonus, following a stringent evaluation of their performance at work for year 2021.

For this, DAR received P141.31 million from the Department of Budget and Management.

“This evaluation tool, the PBB, will help strengthen the accountability of DAR offices and DAR public servants to perform their mandated duties,” the DAR chief noted. Rio N. Araja

BI eyes wider space for counters at NAIA

THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has requested the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) for additional space to put up more counters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminals to accommodate the growing number of arriving and departing passengers at the country’s premier airport.

Immigration Deputy Commissioner Daniel Laogan said the limited immigration space allotted to the bureau has led to long lines at the arrival and departure areas at the NAIA.

Laogan said the BI needed a wider space and more immigration counters to address long passenger queues at the immigration areas.

The BI deputy commissioner said the surge in arriving and departing passengers at the NAIA has increased to 10 percent.

“The daily departure and arrival count at NAIA Terminals has doubled from 30,000 to almost 60,000 daily,” he said, adding “to accommodate this influx of travelers, additional space should be given to ensure smooth and hassle free immigration service.” Vito Barcelo

Solon flags growing child labor problem

DAVAO City Rep. Paolo Duterte has raised concerns over Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) 2021 data showing nearly a million working children in the country.

Citing the PSA report, Duterte said the total number of working children considered engaged in child labor was estimated at 935,120 in 2021. This was higher than the 596,919 reported number of child laborers in 2020.

“The incidence of child labor in many parts of the globe, including the Philippines, has tremendously increased over the years. This is an alarming trend. Children should be in classrooms to learn, and not in factories or out in the fields to earn,” Duterte said.

“We can help save the future of kids trapped in unsafe work environments by joining forces to provide livelihood opportunities to their parents and strictly implementing laws against child labor,” he added.

Duterte said these include the Anti-Child Labor Law (Republic Act 9231), the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (RA 10364), and the Domestic Workers Act (RA 10361), which prohibits the employment of children below 15 years of age as kasambahay or house helpers. Maricel V. Cruz

By Vince Lopez

THE Philippine Army (PA) says it strongly supports the call of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for legislators to prioritize the passage of a bill calling for mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program for senior high school students.

Meanwhile, a total of 122 student officers have successfully hurdled the Command and General Staff Course Class (CGSC) Class 72, meant to provide the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) with its next generation of leaders.

In another development, 1,310 donors from various military units and other sectors responded to the call to donate blood, resulting in the collection of 601 blood bags last June 24.

“The PA supports the national defense strategy of our Commander in

Chief, which includes the revival of the mandatory ROTC program for our youth. Moreover, the organization trusts the wisdom of our legislators for the program’s revival,” Army spokesman Col. Xerxes Trinidad said in a statement.

Trinidad noted that the ROTC program was anchored on the constitutional provision on national defense.

He also said the ROTC was a crucial part of the military’s long-term reserve force development plan that “instills discipline, patriotism, and nationalistic values in the youth who are considered the future of the nation.”

“The Philippine Army, as part of the AFP reaches out to the youth by providing them with another perspective on nation-building. The proposed revival of mandatory ROTC program will be instrumental in the development of a capable, committed, and well-trained reserve force that will serve as an expansion base for the regular force in times of war, rebellion, or other national emergencies,” Trinidad said.

In his State of the Nation Address on Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. emphasized the need to renew the ROTC program as a mandatory component of senior high school programs (Grades 11 and 12) in all public and private tertiary-level educational institutions.

“The aim is to motivate, train, organize, and mobilize the students for national defense preparedness, including disaster preparedness and capacity building for risk-related situations,” Marcos said.

In a statement, AFP public affairs chief Lt. Col. Enrico Gil Ileto said the new batch of officers graduated from the prestigious CGSC last June 23 during rites held at Camp Aguinaldo, Qu-

THE Sandiganbayan has tossed out a civil case against a brother of former First Lady Imelda Marcos over the forfeiture of his alleged ill-gotten wealth, including investments and real estate properties supposedly amassed during the President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. era.

In a resolution dated June 23, the Sandigan Third Division dismissed the civil case against Alfredo Romualdez, citing inordinate delays on the part of the petitioner, the Republic of the Philippines.

The anti-graft court said the petitioner admitted its failure to file full compliance to avoid the dismissal of the case as it claimed that the “oversight was solely due to voluminous workload consisting of hearings and preparation of pleading in other equally important cases.”

The court also said it dismissed the case against Romualdez in 1996 for violating respondent’s constitutional right

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SENATOR Cynthia Villar exalts over the recognition given by the World Bank to the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) or Republic Act No. 11203 as a “strategic policy reform.”

The WB lauded the RTL, enacted in 2019, as “indicative of the true spirit of this strategic shift.”

Villar’s RTL was cited during the launch of the “Agriculture Public Expenditures Review” with special focus on the implications of the Mandanas Ruling for the agri-food system.

The WB was represented in the highlevel forum by its operations manager, Achim Fock, and the European Union (EU) by head of cooperation EU delegation to the Philippines Christoph Wagner.

WB senior agriculture economist Anuja Kar and WB practice manager Dina Umali-Deininger also attended the event and presented their findings on the review.

Philippine Institute for Development

Studies (PIDS) senior research fellow

Dr. Roehlano Briones and Bangko

Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Monetary Board Member Dr. V. Tolentino gave their positive assessment of the RTL, They said the law generated P10 billion yearly Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) from tariffs collected on imported rice.

The earnings were given to farmers listed in the Registry System of Basic Sectors (RSBSA) as assistance in the form of machineries, high quality in- ezon City. to speedy disposition of cases against him.

“The CGSC is a course taken by AFP officers which aims to equip them with necessary skills for higher responsibilities and to become effective military commanders, leaders, and managers,” he added.

The guest-of-honor for this event was AFP chief Gen. Andres Centino who expressed confidence that these newly-graduated CGSC-qualified officers will uphold the professionalism and excellence of the Armed Forces.

“Remember that the knowledge and skills you have acquired come with a responsibility to serve our country with honor, integrity and dedication. Each of you is part of the proud legacy of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, joining the ranks of leaders and visionaries who have come before you and served our nation with distinction,” Centino said.

“In the present case, we find that the petitioner has failed to prosecute its action for an unreasonable length of time, and, has failed to comply with the orders of this court,” the court said in the resolution penned by Associate Justice Ronald Moreno, with the concurrence of Division chairperson and Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Bernelito Fernandez.

The Sandigan also noted that complainant Presidential Commission on Good Government was still awaiting response from the National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Trade and Industry, Bureau of Immigration, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bureau of Internal Revenue regarding information about respondents Storton Investments and Halston Investments.