PBBM VOWS TO IMPROVE PUBLIC TRANSPO

By Charles Dantes

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday assured the public of improved transportation systems across the country.

The President made the assurance during the ceremonial signing of loan agreement for the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project (DPTMP).

The Chief Executive stressed the much-needed modernization of the transport system in the country alluding to the administration’s “whole-of-nation and whole-ofsociety approach” in addressing the persistent problems on mass transportation.

“We need to work together to pursue the much-needed modernization of our transport system in vital parts of the country, whether through better roads, highways, and even railways,” Marcos said.

The modernization of the transport system in Davao City will create an integrated network of 29 routes that will connect major commercial centers in metropolitan Davao.

The government looked at the DPTMP with an eye on building socioeconomic opportunities for local residents in the region.

“As it opens its doors to visitors and investors, the city will be rewarded with increased business opportunities. Evidently, increased commercial activities necessarily bring more people which means more vehicles on the streets, busier roads, and hence, heavier traffic,” Marcos said.

Marcos also assured residents and families that might be displaced by development of financial and nonmonetary assistance.

“Lest we forget, coupled with this grand vision of building an efficient mode of transportation are the unavoidable issues that also need our immediate attention, such as the families who will be displaced by the implementation of the program,” the President said.

He also thanked the Asian Development Bank for supporting the project.

The ADB has been part of the modernization project as early as 2010 when it was envisioned.

On May 23, Marcos and ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa met at ADB headquarters in Pasig City as the Philippines received $4 billion worth of funding from the bank as part of the administration’s socio-economic and infrastructure development plans for 2023.

The projects covered by the funding were the DPTMP, Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project, and the Integrated Floor Resilience and Adaptation Project.

From 2010 to 2022, ADB’s annual loan financing for the Philippines averaged at $1.4 billion.

WORKERS in the informal sector and senior citizens comprise almost half of the 163,000 individuals who directly benefited from the various initiatives of Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte in his first year in the 19th Congress. Congressional records showed that as of June 2023, Duterte authored 169 national and local bills, many of which aim to safeguard the welfare of senior citizens, persons with disabilities, seafarers, security guards, freelance workers, public school teachers, overseas Filipino workers, farmers and fisherfolk, media workers, calamity victims and other marginalized sectors.

“We will sustain and expand further our projects in Davao City so that we can assist more Dabawenyos in need. We will also continue to propose legislative measures that will help create more jobs, bring in more investments and reenergize the economy while protecting the welfare of society’s underprivileged sectors,” Duterte said.

“My commitment has always been to help build a stable, comfortable and secure future for our countrymen. This resolve, backed by concrete actions, is an unwritten qualification one must have upon entering public service,” he said.

Maricel V. Cruz

Npc Inaugurates

1.2-MW GEN SETS IN TAWI-TAWI

STATE-RUN National Power Corp. is moving forward with its electrification efforts in missionary or far-flung areas in the country with the switch-on ceremony of the 1.2-megawatt generating sets in Simunul, Tawi-Tawi.

NPC president Fernando Martin Roxas inaugurated the gen sets that were meant to cater to the growing electricity needs of the population in the area.

NPC first brought electricity to the island in 2000, with an initial peak load of 105 kilowatts, servicing six hours in two barangays.

NPC now provides 24/7 electricity to the municipality with a population of 34,000 and covers all 15 barangays with its West Simunul and Manuk Mangkaw diesel power plants. Simunul is home to the first and oldest mosque in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia.

Small Power Utilities Group vice president Larry Sabellina, Simunul Mayor Wasilah Abdurahman, SPUG Mindanao department manager Yahcob Darayan and Brig. Gen. Romeo Racadio of the Philippine Marines also attended the inauguration ceremony. Alena Mae S. Flores

Exporters Asked To Prepare For Electronic Invoice

TAXPAYERS engaged in exports and e-commerce should start preparing to comply with the electronic invoicing requirements as the Bureau of Internal Revenue expands the coverage of its electronic invoicing system implementation, a tax expert said over the weekend.

Lawyer Rule Oporto, senior director for business tax services at SGV & Co., said the BIR was poised to roll out the project to other covered taxpayers following the pilot EIS implementation among 100 large taxpayers in July 2022.