LRT-1 Roosevelt station now renamed after FPJ

By Gabriellea Pariño and Darwin Amojelar

THE Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1)’s Roosevelt Station has been officially renamed Fernando Poe Jr. Station after the late King of Philippine movies.

In an unveiling ceremony held in the station on Poe's birthday, the actor's adopted daughter Senator Grace Poe emphasized the contribution of Filipino artists to the country.

“FPJ has long been the symbol of the Filipino masses -- whether you are a police officer, student, worker, all of us work hard and struggle every day to give our children a better future,” Poe said in her speech.

The senator also said the initial symbolic act to commemorate her late father through naming a station after him is one way to recognize Filipino artists.

“May each person who passes through FPJ station remember that his heart was always with the Filipino masses,” she said in a Facebook post.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte Duterte signed Republic Act 11608, renaming Roosevelt Avenue to Fernando Poe Jr. Avenue, with the street sign put in place in December last year.

Poe’s ancestral home is located on Roosevelt Avenue in the first legislative district of Quezon city.

The change in station name is in accordance with RA 11608, the Light Rail Manila Corp., the operator of the LRT

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Ayungin Shoal, where there is a small contingent of Marines on the BRP Sierra Madre, that was deliberately grounded to serve as an outpost.

He said there were probably Chinese Coast Guard ships in the area, but none of them have turned on their automatic information system (AIS).

"PLA Navy ships never broadcast AIS, so we seldom know where they are," Powell said.

"I think there are still CCG ships in the area, but none have turned on their AIS so it's hard to say how many. My guess is fewer than the 6 that were there before, since I don't think they plan to keep so many there all the time. Many of the militia ships also rotated back to Hainan Island," Powell added.

Powell also identified the ships that were frequently taking part in Chinese militia blockade of Ayungin Shoal against

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Line 1, said.

“In renaming Roosevelt Station to Fernando Poe Jr. Station, we hope that Filipinos will always remember and will be inspired by how FPJ lived with values of determination, courage, and hope. LRMC shares these values and supports the promotion of local arts and culture,” Juan F. Alfonso, LRMC president and chief executive said.

A commuters group criticized the renaming of the station however.

“It’s a good way to honor those who have truly contributed to the country when it comes to the arts, but it may cause confusion amongpeople, especially commuters,” Primo Morillo of the Passenger Forum said in an interview.

Morillo said commuters were used to referring to the area as Roosevelt or Muñoz and the sudden change could leave some of them at a loss.

“We get the intentions, but maybe there are other ways to honor FPJ without having to cause confusion among commuters,” he added.

Meanwhile, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte welcomed the Senate's approval of a measure renaming Agham

Filipino fishing vessels and Coast Guard ships.

"The 11 Qiong Sansha Yu ships are of the type that frequently take part in blockade operations at Ayungin Shoal," Powell said.

Earlier, the AFP spokesperson, Col. Medel Aguilar told the Chinese Coast Guard to "behave" as they will conduct a next resupply mission for the Filipino troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre located at the Ayungin Shoal.

"We therefore call on all relevant parties to abide by their obligations under international law and respect the Philippines' sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its maritime shoals," AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said in a media forum.

"All the consequences that their singular act will do, the blame will be to them and to the authorities above them. So they should behave," he added.

Meanwhile, the Tarlac City-based Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) announced that its littoral monitoring

Spain is the fifth team to lift the World Cup since the tournament began in 1991, joining outgoing champions the United States, Germany, Norway and Japan.

In front of Spain's Queen Letizia, defender Carmona scored what turned out to be the winner, rampaging from left-back to thrash the ball in low and hard on 29 minutes.

Wiegman had resisted the temptation to recall Chelsea attacker Lauren James after her two-match ban and kept faith with the team that beat co-hosts Australia 3-1 in the semi-finals.

Playing in their blue second kit, England had the first sniff of a chance in the fifth minute but Lauren Hemp shot weakly at goalkeeper Cata Coll.

There was little to choose between them in the opening exchanges before both teams had golden opportunities on the quarter-hour mark.

First, Manchester City forward Hemp struck the bar with a curler that had Coll well beaten.

Spain went up the other end and should have scored but Salma Paralluelo – in for Alexia Putellas – missed the ball in the six-yard box.

Then Alba Redondo hit a first-time strike straight at goalkeeper Mary Earps with the England goal gaping.

Hemp then had another tame effort saved, before the game was momentarily held up in the 24th minute when a spectator darted on to the pitch before being wrestled away by security.

Five minutes later Spain, who had never won a knockout game at the Women's World Cup until this tournament and had lost 4-0 to Japan in the group phase, were ahead.

Mariona Caldentey slid in an inch-perfect pass for Car-

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From A1 and BIR roads after the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

Earlier, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said it is targeting to expand the protected bike lanes network to 2,400 kilometers by 2028.

To date, 564 kilometers of this network have been established so far in Metro Cebu, Metro Manila and Metro Davao.

The agency said it aims to promote road safety and raise awareness on the health impact and economic costs involved.

"I wholeheartedly support the move of the Senate to name the streets after the late senator,” she said.

“This is such a big honor for the city to carry the name of the senator who fearlessly fought corruption and stood for the welfare of the people,” she added.

With 22 affirmative votes and zero negative votes or abstention, the Senate approved on third and final reading House Bill 7413 seeking to rename the roadways of Agham Road and BIR Road to Senator Miriam P. Defensor-Santiago Avenue.

Santiago, who died in September 2016 after a long battle with lung cancer, held various positions in three branches of government.

She served as presiding judge of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, and worked as commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration and as secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform.

She also served as senator for three terms.

She was the first Asian judge elected at the International Criminal Court, the first Filipino as a commissioner for the International Development Organization and as a legal officer of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland. With Rio N. Araja detachments have so far detected 22,474 foreign and domestic vessels in its maritime areas. In a news release, Nolcom acting public affairs office chief Maj. Al Anthony Pueblas said these detections were made possible by their monitoring detachments strategically positioned in Bani, Zambales; Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte; Batan and Mavulis, both in Batanes. mona, who came flying unmarked down the left before lashing the ball into the bottom corner.

“Nolcom will continue to launch maritime patrols (MarPat) in collaboration with key government agencies such as the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to ensure the safety of our fellow Filipinos, specially our fishermen and protect our marine resources for the benefit of current and future generations," Nolcom chief Lt. Gen. Fernyl Buca said.

MarPat is a Nolcom routine security patrol which covers three maritime areas—Bajo De Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea, Philippine (Benham) Rise) and the Batanes Strait.

Vilda, who recalled three of the 15 mutineers for the World Cup, did not even raise a smile on the sidelines.

England looked uncharacteristically rattled and the 19-year-old Barcelona attacker Paralluelo, who was a constant threat, shaved the post with the last kick of the half.

Hermoso fails from spot

Wiegman, who suffered agony in the final four years ago when her Netherlands team lost 2-0 to the United States, made a double change at the break.

James and Chloe Kelly replaced Rachel Daly and Alessia Russo as Wiegman switched from a back-five to a flat back-four.

But it was Spain who nearly doubled their lead almost straight after half-time, Caldentey dinking inside and forcing Earps to turn the ball around the post.

Hemp was booked for clipping Laia Codina as England's frustration mounted.

Midfield schemer Aitana Bonmati, who has been one of the players of the tournament and was one of the three refuseniks recalled by Vilda, fired narrowly over Earps's bar.

With 20 minutes left, Spain were awarded a penalty when VAR was called into action and, after a long review, Keira Walsh was judged to have handled the ball in the box.

Jennifer Hermoso stepped up but her penalty was weak and Earps saved comfortably to keep England just about alive.

Officials indicated 13 minutes of injury time at the end, but if anything, it was Spain who looked the more likely to score as England's dreams of a first World Cup melted away. AFP

"As we rethink mobility and shift our focus on the most vulnerable road users, the call for responsibility and accountability on the road is further reiterated," the DOTr said.

"Everyone is also enjoined that all road users, particularly those who are most at risk, deserve uncompromised safety on the road."

The protected bike lanes is under DOTr's active transport program — one of the agency's flagship programs -- that is in accordance with the National Transport Policy and the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028. The use of protected bike lanes was

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Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate ways and means committee, noted that the proposed P5.7 trillion budget for 2024 is 9 percent higher than the budget for the current year.

Gatchalian and Binay said there is no need to give additional funds to underspending government agencies.

They also wanted to see how these agencies plan to catch up on their spending on government projects.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada said that based on the cash operation report, the government spent below the P2.5 trillion disbursement program for the first semester.

"May we know the reason for underspending?” Estrada asked during a recent Senate hearing.

In response, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said underspendingwas caused by issues related to procurement by agencies and departments, low interest payments and various social programs that have yet to be fully implemented.

Other reasons she cited were:

• The learning curve of new officials under the new administration;

* • The need to verify beneficiaries of assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE);

• A delay in the procurement of land by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for various infrastructure projects; and • Delays in the arrival of billing from

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From A1 sertiveness in the region. suppliers and creditors. well-milled rice, which cost P55/kg and P57/kg, respectively. A 50 kg sack of rice costs traders P2,500 and with the mark-up of retailers, the price of commercial rice is estimated at a range of P55 to P57/kg. implemented at the height of the pandemic in 2021, when there was limited mobility due to the pandemic restrictions. The bike lane network augmented public transportation and helped people safely get to work during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the head of the farmers’ group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG), Rosendo So, is calling for the abolition of the National Food Authority (NFA) over what he said was the agency’s preference to import rice rather than buy from Filipino farmers.

In a statement, So said the latest showcase of the NFA’s skewed preference for imported rice was the ongoing negotiations with India for rice procurement.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the annual Asia Security Summit in Singapore.

It was during the meeting when the defense chiefs of the four countries reportedly first discussed possible joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea.

She said the underspenders are the Department of Information Technology and Communication, Department of Migrant workers, theCommission on Elections, the Department of Agrarian Reform, the DSWD, the Department of Energy, the Office of the Press Secretary and the Department of Tourism.

Last week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered government agencies to boost spending on programs related to social protection with the goal of preparing the Philippine workforce for the further opening of the economy and the expected influx of foreign investors.

The President led the sectoral meeting in Malacañang to address underspending and determine the steps to improve agency budget utilization. Government agencies presented during the meeting their respective catch-up plans to speed up the delivery of social services.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said growth targets in the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) can still be met if government spending is sped up and inflation continues to fall in the second half of the year.

NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan told the Senate committee on finance that first semester disbursements reached only P2.41 trillion, 6.6 percent lower than the P2.58 trillion programmed, even though the Department of Budget and Management has already released 93 percent of the 2023 national budget.

Balisacan noted that the underspending was one of the factors behind the lower gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the second quarter this year.

Despite this, PRISM maintained there are cheaper commercial rice varieties available at P48/kg. The group has allocated a cheaper rice variety that costs P38/kg only for poor families.

However, the group can only sell up to 5 kilos of rice per family per day.

Based on a 2020 survey from Social Weather Stations and the Department of Health, 87 percent of Filipinos agree that roads in cities and municipalities will be better if public transportation, bikes, and pedestrians are prioritized over private vehicles.

So also questioned the NFA's decision to source Philippine rice stocks from abroad when it could buy rice at a much lower rate in the country's other agricultural regions. He cited Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA) data showing average buying rates for a kilogram of domestically produced palay was between P18.50 to P19.

The NFA can always look for lower rice prices, according to So. He also scored the NFA for justifying importation by announcing it has only 46,000 metric tons of rice left in its inventory, which is good for just 1.3 days.

On local rice prices, the Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholder Movement (PRISM), a group of rice millers, traders and importers, reported that the price of “laon” rice or old rice stock went down by P2/kg. Traders noted there is not much difference in the price of regular-milled and

Data from the Philippine Statistics Agency (PSA) showed paddy rice output went 3.4 percent to 9 million metric tons (MT) in the first semester of 2023, from 8.7 million MT during the same period in 2022.

Actual output in the first half is higher than the PRISM forecast of 8.7 million MT that was used by the DA in its rice outlook.

Agriculture undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio Sebastian is optimistic that full year 2023 output may surpass the 20 million MT mark, given bumper harvest in the first semester.

So also scored the NFA for justifying importation by announcing it has only 46,000 metric tons of rice left in its inventory, which is good for just 1.3 days.

This is the fault of the NFA, So said, since it has not been buying locally-produced rice to add to its stock.

He recalled the NFA saying at a congressional hearing that it still has P8.5 billion left for rice procurement, which was enough to buy palay at P19 per kilo.