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Roque to seek passage of whistleblower bill if elected

Roque to seek passage of whistleblower bill if elected

MANILA – UniTeam senatorial candidate Harry Roque would push for whistleblowers' protection, security, and benefits to curtail graft and corruption in government.

Roque previously authored House Bill No. 223, which seeks to encourage citizens "to stand up and report alleged violations of law, improper use of governmental office, gross waste of funds, or any other abuse or gross neglect of duty on the part of an agency, public officer or employee, and private entity."

The former party-list representative would bring the "Whistleblowers’ Protection Bill" to the Senate if elected.

"By protecting citizens who disclose wrongdoing from retaliatory acts, we strengthen accountability and reduce corruption in the public and private sectors," Roque said in a news release on Monday.

Roque cited Article 2, Section 27 of the Constitution that says, “the State shall maintain honesty and integrity in public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption.”

Under HB 223, any person who violates provisions of the Act shall pay a fine of not less than PHP200,000 but not more than PHP500,000 and suffer imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than six years.

A "whistleblower" is defined as a person who publicly reveals a concealed misconduct or a commission or attempted commission of a crime by a person, employer, employee, or an agency, whether of a public or private entity. (PR)

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Robredo camp mulls legal action over attacks vs. daughter

Robredo camp mulls legal action over attacks vs. daughter

MANILA – The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo is mulling to take legal action over online links to an alleged sex video involving Robredo's eldest daughter Aika that are circulating on social media.

In a statement on Monday afternoon, Robredo's spokesperson, Ibarra Gutierrez, described the move as a "malicious fabrication" to distract the supporters of the vice president for her campaign in the presidential election race.

"This is a malicious fabrication and we have reported it to the platforms concerned to have it taken down. Our lawyers are studying our options for legal action," Gutierez said.

He said the deeper goal of the distraction ploy is to stir up trouble among Robredo's supporters and prevent them from converting more people to support her presidential bid.

"Kaya nga ang tamang response dito: Hold the line tayo para sa pag-ibig. Be firm but kind sa pagtatama ng disinformation, kahit gaano ito kawalanghiya (That's why this is the appropriate response to this: Let us hold the line for love. Be firm but kind in correcting disinformation, no matter how horrible),” he said.

He said the malicious attack against Aika is considered a crime.

"Malinaw na krimen ito. At ang paraan para talunin ang mga ganito once and for all: Manalo tayo sa halalan, ayusin ang sistema, at panagutin ang mga nagkakalat nito (This is clearly a crime. The way to beat this once and for all is: we win the elections, fix the system, and punish the ones spreading this)," he said.

Meanwhile, Robredo encouraged her supporters to not lose focus, stressing that the "best antidote to fake news is truth".

“Let us not lose focus. Let us continue doing good. This is how I survived the last six years," Robredo said in a tweet. (PNA)

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DTI-BOI sees further growth of manufacturing output

DTI-BOI sees further growth of manufacturing output

MANILA – Following the greater mobility and effective implementation of health and safety protocols with lesser and lesser coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19 cases), the Philippines is in full swing of economic recovery as manufacturing output climbed 53.2 in March 2022, again outperforming its Asean neighbors.    

  The Department of Trade and Industry, through its industry and investments promotion arm, the Board of Investments (BOI), believes the country’s manufacturing output will continue to rebound this year. 

 “The surge of the Omicron variant dampened our recovery expectations at the start of the year but with the lesser and lesser Covid-19 cases in February and March, all signs point to a full recovery in full swing starting March and in the coming months,” Trade Secretary and BOI chairman Ramon Lopez said.  

 The manufacturing output, through the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of the IHS Markit Philippines, climbed to a three-year high at 53.2 in March, again outperforming its Asean peers as the country’s mobility was the highest, snapping four months of the index above 50.  

 “With this, we expect a robust first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) performance and for manufacturing PMI to again signal expansion in April. Still on the brighter side, manufacturing output for the whole of 2021 capped a solid year marked by nine straight months of growth culminating in December,” Lopez said. 

 The Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) monthly survey of selected industries showed the Volume of Production Index (VoPI) expanded 17.9 percent year-on-year in December 2021 which is slower than the 25.8 percent growth in November but a turnaround year-on-year of the 14.8-percent decline recorded in December 2020.  

  The PSA indicated 11 industries that grew in December and were paced by the manufacture of wood, bamboo, cane, rattan articles, and related products which attained a 122.6-percent growth year-on-year. 

 Other gainers include the manufacture of machinery and equipment, as well as electrical as both grew by 50 percent. 

 Other industries recorded double-digit growth, such as coke and refined petroleum products (48 percent), computer, electronic and optical products (27 percent), non-metallic mineral products (37 percent), food products (32 percent), and fabricated metal products (40 percent).   

  All told, about a fourth of factories were at the full-capacity operation.  

  Growth in the Value of Production Index (VaPI) posted an increase of 18.6 percent in December from 27.2 percent in November. 

 For the full year, VaPI increased by 47 percent, a turnaround from the 43 percent contraction in 2020.  

  “The nine-month run expansion of manufacturing output played a key role in pushing our economic growth to 5.6 percent for 2021, above our target of 5 to 5.5 percent. By capping its run until the end of the year ushered a strong 7.7-percent GDP growth in the last quarter,” Trade Undersecretary and BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said, noting that manufacturing was among the sectors that posted investment growth.  

  The growth in the manufacturing sector was significantly supported by the surge in the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows last year to reach an all-time high of US$10.518 billion, 54.2 percent higher than US$6.822 billion in 2020, according to the data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).  

 The previous record level was US$10.3 billion in 2017.  The 2021 net FDI also surpassed the earlier government projection of US$8.5 billion.  

  “The growth in FDI reflected continued positive foreign investor sentiment on the country amid expectations of a rebound in domestic economic activity and declining Covid-19 reported cases, as well as the strengthening of the global economy,” Rodolfo said. (PR)

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Marcos bats for industrialization to create more jobs

Marcos bats for industrialization to create more jobs

MANILA – Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) presidential candidate Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos said he would accelerate the industrialization of crucial sectors in the country to create more jobs for Filipinos if he wins in the upcoming May 9 polls.

In an interview with local radio station DZRJ, Marcos said the next administration should spur economic development by pursuing an industrialization program similar to what was done by his father, former President Ferdinand Marcos, in the 70s.

"The next administration will have to revive the industrialization drive that was started in the 70s. We have to continue that. If you look at the history of our wealthy neighbors, they became economically strong because of trade," Marcos said.

"We are at present very dependent on the service sector. That is something we need to address very, very clearly, and manufacturing is a very important part of that," he added.

According to 2021 data, the agriculture sector accounted for 10 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while the industrial and services sectors accounted for 30.8 percent and 60 percent, respectively.

The manufacturing industry also employs over 3.2 million individuals based on 2016 data from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The UniTeam presidential bet also underscored the importance of expanding our selection of export products to increase trade with other countries.

"If the manufacturing sector has shrunk then we really have to go back and redesign that part of our economy for the simple reason that if we want to be involved in trade, then we have to have something to trade with," Marcos said.

During the tenure of former President Marcos, the country embarked on the balanced development of both agriculture and industry.

In this multi-pronged approach, the agri sector helped generate the much-needed capital and capacity required to pursue our industrialization objectives, since most of the country's exports were agricultural products at that time.

Marcos also stressed the need to generate more jobs for people who lost their work due to the pandemic noting that the manufacturing sector could be used as the primary contributor to job generation.

"When you talk to people, they always come back down to jobs. Walang suweldo, walang pera, walang pambayad sa kuryente, walang pambayad sa tubig. 'Yun ang mga problema ng mga Pilipino ngayon (No salaries, no money, no budget to pay electricity and water),” he said.

“What we really have to do is bring back those jobs and many of those would be in manufacturing. Again, infrastructure development. All that has to come into play. If we are going to revive and reshape the economy in the direction the global economy is going," Marcos added.

It is expected that downstream industries linked to infrastructure development, such as construction, would benefit from the Build, Build, Build program started by the Duterte administration.

Pursuing industrialization in tandem with the agriculture sector's development would also allow the country to attain food security, particularly in essential goods.

The emergence of the global Covid-19 pandemic and conflict in Europe had also shown how import-dependent countries such as the Philippines are vulnerable to price fluctuations due to supply chain disruptions. (PR)

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Dangerous to assume Omicron is last variant: WHO exec

Dangerous to assume Omicron is last variant: WHO exec

MANILA – The World Health Organization (WHO) in the Philippines warned against the "dangerous" assumption that Omicron would bring the world to the pandemic endgame as new variants could still emerge.

"We have a lot of uncertainties about the future evolution of this pandemic. It is very dangerous to assume that Omicron will be the last variant or that we are in the endgame," Dr. Rajendra Yadav, acting WHO Philippines representative, said in a Laging Handa briefing.

"New variants could emerge and these new variants could evade our countermeasures, may even become fully resistance to the current vaccines which will necessitate vaccine adaptations," he added.

While vaccine supplies have risen across the world, some countries still have low vaccination coverage and high transmission of the virus, which he said could lead to new variants.

In Africa, for instance, Yadav said some countries continue to struggle with their rollouts, leaving only 11 percent of the African population fully vaccinated.

"[L]ess vaccination means more transmission there, and more transmission means we have high chances of new variants emerging there. But then, this can cross over to any country. What happens in other countries affects the Philippines too, because we cannot virus-proof our international borders," he said.

"So if other countries have low vaccination coverage and high transmission of the virus, yes, we expect that we could have new variants in the coming weeks or months. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen," he added.

Yadav said there had been a "relatively low number of deaths" during the recent Omicron surge in the Philippines and nationally, the health care utilization rate is "quite stable". Despite this, the public and the government must remain vigilant.

"So for now we can say worst is over but that’s only for now because we do not know how long this current favorable situation will last. We need to hope for the best but remain prepared for the worst," he said. (PNA)

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