Philippines News

DR. PAUL Alanis, Mayon's resident volcanologist, compared Mayon Volcano's condition to a patient in the intensive care unit (ICU): "not deteriorating but still abnormal." An unfortunate metaphor, as the volcanic activity for a volcano is in its nature. When co

ANOTHER CHAPTER looms in the on-again off-again peace talks between the government and communist insurgents. Given the long history of peace negotiations, journalists should provide background and context to reports of current developments.

On June 8, newly appointed Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said i

THE local government unit (LGU) of Minglanilla in southern Cebu has allocated P1 million for its health and nutrition programs for the whole year.

As the town celebrates Nutrition Month with the theme “Healthy diet, gawing affordable for all,” residents are encouraged to do backyard gardening as an alternative way to achieve healthy lifestyle at a lower cost.

Dr. Mae Mañacap Vicente, municipal health officer, said in an interview with SunStar Cebu on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, that the town’s primary goal is to encourage everyone to eat healthy food and practice a healthy diet.

“It is not necessary to spend so much just to achieve a healthy lifestyle,” Vicente said.

According to Vicente, the month-long celebration of nutrition is an interdepartmental collaboration.

Aside from the Municipal Health Office, other departments like the Municipal Agriculture Office, Municipal Social Welfare and Development, Department of Education are also participating to have a comprehensive approach in implementing their goals.(AML, TPT)

Editor's note: Images and audio grabs from Detective Superintendent Andrew Perkins are available via Hightail

This is a joint media release between the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force and Philippine National Police

AFP intelligence has led to 16 children in the Philippines being removed from harm by the Philippine National Police (PNP), believed to be the most child abuse

LEADING digital solutions platform Globe is looking for ways to unlock the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to significantly improve customer experience by automating routine tasks.

Globe Group president and chief executive officer (CEO), Ernest Cu, said in a recent interview with Bloomberg Television that the company is looking at AI to bring down costs and improve efficiency.

“Given the fact that we're driving automation towards cost and operational efficiency, I think this is going to be a big contributor to our exercise,” he said.

AI is the ability of a computer or a computer-controlled robot to do tasks that require human intelligence and discernment. While AI may not be capable of executing the broad spectrum of tasks people can do, it can still rival human performance in some aspects.

Given the scenario, Globe is exploring the potential of utilizing AI to enhance customer service. Currently, the company’s main focus is on operations, where AI has shown promising use cases. This is especially evident in outbound calling, customer care, and collection.

Cu shared that one of the most promising applications of AI he has observed from the Globe team is the successful completion of customer interactions entirely in Tagalog. He expressed awe and admiration for the human-like quality of these conversations and his belief in their potential effectiveness.

“I was truly amazed and impressed at how human the conversation was and how effective it will be given the fact that we are driving towards automation, towards cost-cutting and efficiency,” he said.

Internally, Globe has been harnessing technology to enhance its employee care initiatives. For more efficient program delivery during the global health pandemic, it introduced the Digital Usher for Disasters and Emergencies or DUDE, which served as an official health monitor.

It also has a recognition chatbot named Wanda so employees can send e-cards to each other. Additionally, the AI-powered chatbot EVA, or Employee Virtual Assistant, can answer employees’ HR-related questions

The use of chatbots and other technologies helped the company adopt a multi-faceted approach to active employee engagement, thereby boosting the daily experience of employees.

To learn more about Globe, visit https://www.globe.com.ph/. (SPONSORED CONTENT)

MANILA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- The literacy rate in the Philippines increased to 97 percent, improved by 1.2 percentage point in the last five years, according to the data released Tuesday by Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Citing the survey results of the 2020 Census of Population and Housing, the PSA said among 97.6 million Filipinos above five years old, 94.6 million were literate, or can read and write a

MANILA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Some 56.1 percent of more than 26 million households in total in the Philippines have internet access, showed a survey released Tuesday by the Philippine Statistics Agency.

The agency data showed that Metro Manila has the highest proportion of households with internet access at 74.6 percent, while the Zamboanga Peninsula, a region in the south, has the lowest rate at 28.5 percent.

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MANILA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Year-on-year inflation in the Philippines slowed further to 5.4 percent in June 2023 from 6.1 percent in May due to lower food and transport costs, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday.

"This is the fifth consecutive month of deceleration in the headline inflation and the lowest in the past 13 months," PSA head Dennis Mapa told a news conference.

The PSA d

This week, Burundian authorities once again displayed their contempt for human rights by

A WAREHOUSE in Barangay Opao, Mandaue City was destroyed by the fire at dawn Wednesday, July 5, 2023.

The damage was about P14 million.

The Mandaue City Fire Station got the fire alarm at 3:53 a.m., according to Senior Fire Officer 2 Antonio Montajes.

At 4 a.m., the fire was upgraded to the first alarm and then to second alarm at 4:33 a.m.

The fire was put out with the aid of firefighters from the cities of Cebu and Lapu-Lapu.

According to an investigation by the Mandaue City Police Office, Xanda Traders leased the warehouse that was owned by James Tan of Hesreal Corporation.

Fire Chief Inspector Arniel Abella, fire marshal of Mandaue City Fire Office (MCFO), said they used aqueous film-forming foam to extinguish the fire because it could not be contained immediately with water alone.

Construction materials were kept inside the warehouse.

At 5:33 a.m., the fire was put under control and declared fire out after a minute.

According to reports, the fire was started when a transformer nearby exploded during a downpour.

The MCFO is now finding out the real cause of the fire. (BBT/TPT)

The Department of Social Welfare and Development issued the cease-and-desist order on Gentle Hands in Quezon City after an unannounced inspection led by Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian.

Dera's lawyer said his client had been allowed to leave NBI custody to get his gastrisis checked, but the Department of Justice said the trip was not sanctioned.

El Niño is still “weak” at the moment, according to Ana Liza Solis, chief of PAGASA’s climate monitoring and prediction section. But it is expected to become moderate or strong during the last quarter of the year. 

NEARLY 50,000 families in Cebu benefited from emergency and recovery assistance amounting to P1 billion from the humanitarian organization, Philippine Red Cross (PRC).

This was announced by PRC’s chairman and chief executive officer, former senator Richard Gordon, during a press conference on Saturday, July 1, 2023, at the Fili Hotel in Nustar Resort and Casino in Cebu City.

Gordon highlighted the PRC’s achievements and completed projects in the past decade, particularly during the crises caused by typhoons Yolanda and Odette, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

PRC data showed that the close to 50,000 families received the P1-billion aid in the form of shelter repair, livelihood, cash grant and food items.

The PRC has spent P12 million for shelter repairs, P89 million for livelihood, P43 million for cash assistance and P2 million for food items.

A total of 8,741 houses were also built for the families who were affected by natural disasters which cost around P452 million.

In 2013, the PRC helped families displaced by typhoon Yolanda by building 8,671 houses in Bantayan Island, Daanbantayan, San Remigio and Bogo City.

This was part of the over P627-million relief and recovery aid the organization provided in the province.

The PRC also assisted 6,738 families in Cebu who were affected by typhoon Odette in 2021. PRC volunteers delivered bottled water and distributed cash assistance to the affected families. They also provided emergency shelter assistance to some residents of Barangay Inayawan, Cebu City.

Gordon said the PRC does not only provide emergency response and relief but also helps communities recover and rebuild after disasters.

He said it is important to ensure the continuity of the projects to enable the affected families to overcome the damage caused by disasters. (AML)

THE Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and Habitat for Humanity have identified Mandaue City as their pilot local government unit (LGU) for the countrywide implementation of the inclusive green housing microfinance program for low-income families.

This program gives low-income families access to credit to buy climate-resilient homes.

Rowena Dineros, OIC director for Public Housing and Settlements Service of the DHSUD, said they picked Mandaue City as the pilot LGU because of the City’s already strong adoption of green initiatives in its area.

In March this year, the Mandaue City Council approved an ordinance giving tax incentives to those who construct buildings that contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and help minimize the impact of buildings on health and the environment.

Ordinance 163-2023, an amendment to City Ordinance 13-2015-1047 known as the “green building ordinance” enacted in 2015, was approved on its third and final reading on March 31.

The City also has a 500-unit socialized housing development project in Barangay Tipolo pegged as a green project.

“Mandaue is the ‘greenspot’ in the industry because they have been one of the early adopters. It’s a great foundation to start with,” Jessan Catre, Philippine country director of Habitat for Humanity-Terwilliger Center, said in an interview during the “Building a ‘Greenclusive’ Construction Industry” forum on June 24.

“With the mayor’s intent that green is inclusive, we look at Mandaue as a perfect area where national policies would be tested,” added Catre.

Catre believes having a local chief executive who is a believer in inclusive and green initiatives is critical in the fast adoption and roll-out of inclusive green microfinance programs, especially among low-income families.

Mandaue City currently suffers a 14,000 housing backlog.

“We will map out the areas where the green microfinance will be tested. We don’t want to go wide immediately. We will work with the Mandaue LGU and the concerned government agencies,” Catre said, adding that Habitat for Humanity also has a lot of partner microfinance institutions.

(Housing backlogs)

Nationwide, the country logs 6.4 million housing backlogs, of which 3.7 million come from the country’s lowest-income segment.

Green and inclusive finance focuses on all instruments, products and services that address climate change: mitigation and adaptation; solutions for waste, water and sanitation management; land management and ecosystem conservation; organic farming; access to clean and reliable energy; and energy efficiency.

It also applies housing microfinance practices with housing microfinance innovations.

Affordability remains a major block for many Filipinos to own houses, especially those considered climate-resilient ones.

This is the reason, DHSUD, according to Dineros, advocates for a public-private-partnership program for green and inclusive home microfinancing that targets informal settlers.

“Going green is not expensive... We can adopt ways and strategies to bring down the cost within their means. We can devise ways such as updating the housing microfinance product manual that sets the process and requirements for every household (on how) to avail themselves of this green technology under the microfinance program,” she said.

Dineros said green development involve projects that reduce the use of carbon footprints and make use of resources that promote sustainability and energy efficiency.

“These green technologies, I believe, should be available to all households in the country,” she added.

“Design should be for all,” Catre added.

“(This is) because right now professional architectural, interior design and engineering are usually for high and middle-income homeowners. Design is very important to be resilient and green. Services like these should also be made available to low-income homeowners,” Catre explained.

The forum was organized by key stakeholders in the region’s construction industry including the Cebu Contractors Association, Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, DHSUD, Philippine Institute of Interior Designers-Cebu Chapter and the United Architects of the Philippines-Cebu Chapter. (KOC)

THE origins of nepotism are as old as time. According to Wikipedia, the term originated with the assignment of nephews to important positions by Catholic popes and bishops and came from the Italian word “nepotismo,” which is based on Latin root “nepos” that means nephew. Since the Middle Ages and until the late 17th century, some Catholic popes and bishops – who had taken vows of chastity and, therefore, usually had no legitimate offspring of their own – gave their nephews such positions of preference as were often accorded by fathers to sons. Several popes elevated nephews and other relatives to the cardinalate. Often, such appointments were a means of continuing a papal “dynasty.”

In many family-owned businesses, nepotism is viewed in positive terms, often because it is a cheap source of labor and reflects a dominant culture that embraces “succession.” Sadly, it is a mistaken notion. For family enterprises to thrive, competence must be the main criteria for employment, followed by years of exemplary leadership and consistent high level performance.

Saving family business from the dangers of nepotism

To mitigate these negative impacts and make family-run businesses be mindful of the dangers of hiring family members, we assert that family businesses should strive to establish clear policies and procedures that prioritize meritocracy, transparency and accountability. By actively promoting fairness, providing equal opportunities, and valuing competence and performance, a family business can foster a healthy work environment, attract and retain talented non-family employees, and improve its overall competitiveness and sustainability.

I am sharing several family business covenants that promote professionalism over nepotism. I encourage owners and leaders to use this pledge as a guide to remind family members to lead and make decisions for the greater good.

I. As a family-run organization, we must be mindful that when we employ people who are related to us either by blood or marriage, it should always be based on the following non-negotiable metrics: Outside experience, credentials, exceptional work in the past and merit. We must reiterate that the family member’s last name is not a birthright and employment is never guaranteed.

II. As a family-run business, our very existence depends on the quality and integrity of our employees. As working family members, we must set the bar when it comes to hard work and professionalism. As leaders, we must be exceptional role models and lead by example in all facets of our personal and professional lives.

III. As a family enterprise, we must demonstrate our proactive attitude in discouraging nepotism. We believe that the only way to eliminate the old practices is to prepare and enforce key performance indicators (KPIs) that will apply to all family and non-family employees.

IV. Upon the acceptance of a family member, he or she must be required to sign a service agreement indicating the scope of work, title, position and compensation highlighting KPIs. Failure to sign the agreement within 30 days will be grounds to recall the employment.

V. Compensation must never be equal. It must be commensurate with the family member’s qualifications and contribution to the company’s productivity. Employee benefits and privileges must apply to all active family members commensurate to their position in the organization.

VI. We must always be mindful in treating family members joining the business like we would treat non-family employees. We consistently live to the same standards of work and performance of non-family employees. Absences and leaves must be duly recorded; no work, no pay instituted; and, for non-selling functions, time in and time out fully documented.

VII. It is against our policy to prohibit or decline a qualified job candidate on grounds of their relation to the owners and shareholders. However, we do recognize that encouraging employment of our relatives can have a negative impact on workplace productivity and fuel accusations of nepotism and favoritism. Therefore as working family members, we should always be role models and must expect to be treated less well than non-family employees.

VIII. As family members, we are committed to instill the following values that will transform them to decent, responsible, productive and competent professional employees -- honesty, integrity, dependability, respect for others, being industrious and doing one’s best in every endeavor.

THE Municipality of Cordova in Mactan Island has announced that it will now allow swimming in Bantayan Bay in Barangay Poblacion starting Sunday, July 16, 2023. The activity was banned 10 months ago after high levels of fecal coliform were discovered in coastal waters.

The announcement was made by Cordova Mayor Cesar “Didoy” Suan during the flag ceremony last Monday, July 3.

Suan said he hopes Bantayan Bay will be ready for bathing and swimming not only for the Cordovahanons but also for other visitors from other places.

On Aug. 15, 2022, Suan announced that swimming in the area was no longer safe after the Environmental Management Bureau 7 discovered the contamination.

In contrast to the allowed threshold of only 100 mpn (most probable numbers) per 100 milliliters (ml), the Cordova local government previously reported that the fecal coliform level in the area had reached 2,400 mpn per 100 ml.

Suan said the level of fecal coliform in Bantayan Bay has now dropped to 0.8 mpn per 100 ml.

“So, we will open it to the public by July 16,” Suan remarked.

To make sure that the area’s cleanliness is maintained, Suan has tasked the municipal tourism officer and other town officials to hold seminars for all stakeholders who are currently operating in Bantayan Bay, including boat operators and other individuals who offer swimming-related activities.

The local government clarified that no cottages will be allowed to operate in Bantayan Bay.

To avoid polluting the seawater, the local government will also install public comfort rooms at the Marine Watch Office.

“Kabaw ko, modagsa na ang bisita coming from different munisipyo or cities, kay nindot gyud baya ni atong lugar. So para magpabilin siya nga nindot ug limpyo, mag-seminar sa ta og two weeks para gikan sa basura, gikan sa pagpangihi, gikan sa unsa pa, nga atoang mapadayon nga limpyo atong lugar (I know that visitors coming from other municipalities or cities will flock here because our place is really beautiful. To maintain its beauty and cleanliness, we will hold a seminar for two weeks, from garbage to urinating and other things. We will continue to keep our place clean),” the mayor said.

Aside from beautiful beaches, the municipality has a sandbar and a mangrove forest that tourists can visit. (ANV / TPT)

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised on June 8 the status of Mayon Volcano in Albay to Alert Level 3 after it showed an “increased tendency towards a hazardous eruption.”

A GROUP of officials in Cebu has strongly condemned the attacks directed at Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco over the country’s controversial new tourism slogan and campaign video that turned out to have included images from other countries.

In a manifesto posted on Monday, July 3, 2023, 11 House representatives, and 54 mayors and members of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP)-Cebu Chapter expressed their support for the secretary of the Department of Tourism (DOT).

Daanbantayan Mayor and LMP-Cebu President Sun Shimura approved the manifesto that was noted by LMP-Cebu Secretary Pablo John Garcia IV.

The manifesto said the attack was a product of “patent mudslinging and dirty politicking” targeting the reputation of Frasco.

Economic recovery

On the same day, the Cebu Provincial Board approved a resolution supporting the DOT’s newest slogan “Love the Philippines,” that aims to further promote the country as a top tourist destination.

“The entire Province of Cebu finds it imperative to fully support this initiative, as it also resonates with the province’s efforts to fully utilize the benefits of tourism for economic recovery, economic growth and countryside development,” the resolution reads.

The manifesto described the fiasco as “a coordinated demolition job” against Frasco’s leadership of the country’s tourism sector.

“We maintain that this barrage of criticisms in social and mainstream media is aimed at destroying neither the DOT nor the concerned private advertisement agency, but Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco herself,” the local officials said in the manifesto.

“We strongly believe this demolition job to be perpetrated by individuals with their own questionable agenda, perhaps to sway the trust and confidence of President (Ferdinand) Marcos (Jr.) in a Cebuana,” it added.

However, the manifesto did not specify who was behind the alleged demolition job.

The manifesto added that Frasco was a valuable asset among President Marcos’s Cabinet members for conducting herself in a “most commendable manner” for both domestic and international audiences.

Frasco ranked second to Interior Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. among the top-performing Cabinet officials in a recent survey, according to the manifesto, which also cited Frasco’s election as vice president of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly and chairperson of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific during the recent 55th meeting of the world tourism body.

In fact, it was the Philippines, represented by Frasco, that was elected vice president and chair, according to the DOT’s press statement on the June election.

The DOT’s newest tourism slogan, “Love the Philippines” received mixed reactions from the public for allegedly not being original, while the new video campaign material received criticism for containing stock video footage that was not even shot in the Philippines.

The local officials said the DOT had not paid for the production of the new promotional audio-visual presentation (AVP) which is believed to have been commissioned for around P50 million.

The new AVP was produced by DDB Philippines, the contracted ad agency.

On July 3, DOT terminated its contract with DDB Philippines for its failure to comply with one of the Tourism department’s requirements, “originality.”

The ad agency has apologized to the DOT and to the general public over the use of stock footage in the new campaign material.

The AVP has already been taken down both from Youtube and the DOT’s official Facebook page. (EHP, CTL)

NEARLY one third of the water produced by the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) daily is lost due to wastage, depriving the distribution utility of an average of P2.4 million in daily revenue and the opportunity to address the large unmet demand for water in its franchise area.

Minerva Gerodias, spokesperson of MCWD, said the P2.4 million is equivalent to an average of 86,000 cubic meters of water, which represents a loss of 31.8 percent of the firm’s daily water production.

“That is how big it is. It can go up or it can go down, but that is around somewhere there,” she told SunStar Cebu on Tuesday, July 4, 2023.

MCWD produces 270,000 cubic meters of water from all its water sources each day.

This is less than half of the daily water demand of 560,000 cubic meters in its franchise area that covers Talisay City, Cebu City, Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City; and the towns of Cordova, Consolacion, Liloan and Compostela.

Water wastage, also known as non-revenue water, is the produced water that is “lost” before it reaches the customers.

In his June 15, 2023 investigation report recommending the removal of Chairman Jose Daluz III and members Miguelito Pato and Jodelyn May Seno from the MCWD board of directors, Cebu City Legal Officer Jerone Castillo cited the Sept. 21, 2022 petition for their removal filed by the MCWD Employees Union and its Executive Board before the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas that pointed to the spiking of the non-revenue water to 30 percent, which is higher than the 20 percent industry standard, as among the reasons for their petition.

As early as 2002, or more than two decades ago, however, under a different board chairman, MCWD was already losing 32 percent of the water it produced daily to leaks, pilferage and for firefighting, with most of the non-revenue water caused by leaks blamed then on old pipelines still belonging to the Osmeña Waterworks system, the forerunner of MCWD, according to a SunStar Cebu report that year.

Non-revenue water

Gerodias said non-revenue water can occur through physical losses from leaking and broken pipes, as well as from free water made available by MCWD for firefighting.

She, however, did not specify what places are greatly hit when a leaking occurs, explaining that “there are no specific places that we look after because these could happen in random places.”

Gerodias also disclosed that there are leaks that are brought on by mistakes made by other parties, such as when some telecommunications companies unintentionally break up the installed water pipes of MCWD when burying fiber optic cable underground.

“There are also times when they install their lines underground and they commit such error and they do not report to us—we do not have any idea that it is leaking,” she said.

Gerodias added that similar incidents also happen when digging is done to build drainage systems.

She divulged that when these mishaps occur, the involved and accountable companies are charged for the entire amount of water lost as a result of the leakage.

Gerodias acknowledged that non-revenue water has an impact on how consistently MCWD delivers water to homes, particularly when accidents involving pipe leaks happen near residential areas.

“It has affected the stability of supply to our consumers, especially those areas affected by the leaks,” Gerodias said.

According to the MCWD’s Planning Department, an ordinary household in the franchise area that is supplied by the water firm consumes around 21 to 23 cubic meters of water per month.

This means the non-revenue water of around 86,000 cubic meters a day would have supplied around 3,909 ordinary households for an entire month.

Measures

She noted that while it is inevitable and therefore hard to entirely eradicate, the problem of non-revenue water from leaky and broken pipes is being addressed and they have hired more staff specifically to work on it.

According to Gerodias, the number of workers whose main responsibility is detecting and repairing leaks has increased. She did not, however, say how many people are in the team.

“This is to have a swifter reaction time when to report that there is a damaged pipe because if we will only employ a few people, there are instances that many pipes will leak at once,” she said.

She said they monitor the pipes within their franchise area every day.

Deep wells

Gerodias also reminded the public not to dig wells and illegally extract groundwater as severe water extraction from groundwater can lead to seawater intrusion.

She said those who wish to construct deep wells must get a permit from the National Water Resources Board.

She added that it is not within the bounds of their powers to apprehend those who illicitly dig deep wells, but they discourage the public to do so.

Presidential Decree 1067, or the Water Code of the Philippines, forbids the unauthorized building of deep wells and prescribes penalties for violators.

According to Article 94 of the law, unless the person is specifically exempted from obtaining a permit by the provisions of the Code, any person who commits appropriation of water without a water permit shall be subject to a fine of not more than P3,000 or imprisonment for not more than three years, or both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court. (with CTL)