IN BRIEF

DICT: July 25 SIM listup deadline final field offices on the kind of interventions that would be needed in areas to be affected by El Nino.

Meanwhile, Vietnam has committed to continue exporting rice to the Philippines despite the possible supply chal- lenges that may arise due to El Niño, its envoy to Manila said on Friday.

In a business matching event of the embassy on Friday, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines Hoang Huy Chung said that the Philippines will remain among Vietnam’s key destinations for rice exports.

“Every year we export rice to the Philippines about 2 million tons. During COVID-19, Vietnam promised to ensure rice security for the Philippines… In Vietnam, we are strong in rice production… We shall export rice to the Philippines when in need,” Hoang said.

A Philippine agriculture industry group earlier said a rice crisis may ensure as El Niño may affect other Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, a major source of the Philippines’ rice imports.

PhilRice deputy director for Development Karen Barroga said the agency has been disseminating satellite-based data on rice area, production, and yield to local government units and DA regional field offices so that they can be adequately guided on how to adjust their cropping calendars and on what interventions to give.

Speaker honors Mabalacat on 11th year of cityhood

THE subscriber identity module (SIM) card registration period, which will end on July 25, will no longer be extended, Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan John Uy said on Friday.

During the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of a Connectivity Index Rating in the country, Uy announced that the majority of active SIM users have already registered.

According to DICT data, some 104 million SIMs for mobile phones and devices out of over 160 million in the country have been registered.

“July 25 is a hard deadline. The hardheaded ones should register now because, by 12:01 of July 26, they won’t have connectivity (with local mobile networks),” said Uy.

The DICT does not expect all SIMs to be registered since some of these are no longer in use.

Unregistered SIMs will automatically be deactivated after the deadline. Users of deactivated SIMs have a five-day grace period to register their mobile numbers, the DICT said.

MABALACAT CITY’S 11TH YEAR.

Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez is flanked by Mabalacat City Mayor Crisostomo Garbo (left) and Pampanga Governor Dennis Pineda during the ceremonial unveiling Friday of the scale model of the proposed Mabalacat City Hall, part of the groundbreaking rites for the New Government Center and the celebration of its 11th Cityhood Anniversary. Ver Noveno to officially become an adopted son of your wonderful city. As we celebrate the 11th anniversary of Mabalacat’s Cityhood, we also recognize the resil- ience, strength, and progress of this city and its people,” the Speaker said. Romualdez considers the event as “a tangible sign of the progress we are com- mitted to” and that the government hub will be an “embodiment of the spirit of Mabalacat, a symbol of good governance that aims to serve its people better.”

High-powered guns seized in E. Samar TACLOBAN CITY—Army troops in Eastern Visayas continued to recover high-powered firearms allegedly belonging to the New People’s Army (NPA) through the “strong collaboration” with Friend Rescued (FR), or newly-surrendered rebel member.

“We will be stepping up our military and non-military operations to track down the location of communist NPA terrorists’ loose firearms and prevent their recovery efforts here in Eastern Samar,” said Lt. Col. Rodito Gotladera, commander of the 42nd Infantry Battalion (42IB) in Eastern Samar.

On July 15, 2023 alone, at least five M14 rifles, four M16 rifles, a shotgun, an M79 grenade launcher, a radio, assorted ammunition and explosives, and subversive documents were recovered by the 42IB during a strike operation at the hinterlands of Barangay Buco, Canavid, Eastern Samar. Ronald O. Reyes

DOLE-NCR warns of visa docs scam

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) - National Capital Region (NCR) on Friday clarified that it is not mandated to issue any visa documents.

“The department is not in any way mandated to vet, process, or approve any visa documents for Filipino citizens desiring to migrate or emigrate to any foreign country,” it said.

The warning came amid reports of unscrupulous individuals or groups using the name of the department to ask for a clearance fee for the issuance of visa documents.

WELLNESS

“Scam Alert. DOLE-NCR warns the public against scammers attempting to request a clearance fee of visa documents that should be paid to the Department of Labor and Employment,” it said.