Nation

The
FRIday-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16-17, 2018
EDITOR marifi s. jara

#nationataglance

MIWD.GOV.PH
The Maasin
watershed

Sandiganbayan defers Aquino arraignment on Mamasapano case

ANTI-GRAFT court Sandiganbayan adopted on Thursday, Feb. 15, the resolution issued by the Su-
preme Court suspending the arraignment and pre-trial on the charges filed against former President
Benigno S.C. Aquino III and several others in relation to the botched police operation in Mamasapano,
Maguindanao on Jan. 25, 2015. The Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) last
Feb. 7 following a manifestation filed by the Office of the Solicitor General and the relatives of the
Special Action Force (SAF) troopers who were slain in the operation. The TRO pertains to several cas-
es covered by the Ombudsman’s dismissal of the 44 counts of reckless imprudence resulting in mul- afp
tiple homicide against the former president and his co-accused. The other respondents are former BICOL: ALBAY WESTERN VISAYAS: ILOILO
police chief Alan L.M. Purisima, and former SAF chief Getulio P. Napeñas. — Minde Nyl R. dela Cruz US pledges P5.2-M assistance MIWD calls for integrated approach to address
for Mayon Volcano evacuees siltation at Iloilo’s main water source
THE AMERICAN government, through the United States AN INTEGRATED watershed program is being proposed to
Ombudsman hits back at SolGen over Duterte wealth case Agency for International Development (USAID), has com- address the heavy siltation at the Maasin watershed, the main
OMBUDSMAN CONCHITA Carpio-Morales yesterday hit back at Solicitor General (SolGen) Jose C. Calida mitted P5.2 million in emergency assistance for people supply source of Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD). The Met-
over the supposed failure of her office to immediately release the information that the investigation most affected by the Mayon Volcano eruption, the US ro Iloilo Bulk Water Supply Corp. (MIB), a joint venture com-
on President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s alleged undisclosed wealth was closed and terminated on Nov. Embassy in Manila announced yesterday. USAID’s Office pany of MIWD and private firm MetroPac Water Investments
29, 2017. In a statement, Ms. Morales said, “Fact-finding investigations, under the rules, are generally of Foreign Disaster Assistance, in coordination with the Corp., appealed for a comprehensive multi-sectoral approach
confidential in nature. The (Ombudsman’s) Office is not obliged to inform the subject of the fact- Philippine government, will distribute vouchers to families in managing the watershed, which has never undergone
finding investigation about its outcome. The confidentiality of proceedings was, in fact, recognized who are still in evacuation centers for the purchase of es- desilting. Engr. Rolixto V. Jodieres, Jr., MIB general manager,
by the Solicitor General when he cited the exception that the Ombudsman has the power to publicize sential household items and hygiene kits. USAID will also reported that the continuous accumulation of silts has led to
certain matters (e.g., whether or not to act upon an inquiry “out of curiosity” or media requests for construct latrines, bathing cubicles, and hand-washing sta- obstruction of raw water intake. — Louine Hope U. Conserva
case status out of journalistic duty).” Ms. Morales also pointed out that it is public knowledge that she tions, as well as promote safe water and hygiene practices >> See full story on https://goo.gl/PvDfgT
inhibited herself from the case and as such, “could not have considered exercising such discretionary through educational materials. As of Feb. 15, the Philippine
power…” The Ombudsman confirmed that the investigation has been terminated, but noted that “By Institute of Volcanology and Seismology maintains an Iloilo province falls short of 1M MT rice target
rule, ‘[a] closed and terminated field investigation is without prejudice to the refiling of a complaint alert level 4 and prohibits entry within the eight-kilometer THE PROVINCE of Iloilo failed to hit its rice production target
with new or additional evidence.’” — Minde Nyl R. dela Cruz danger zone around the mountain volcano. of one million metric tons (MT) in 2017, with harvest reach-
ing only 906,000 MT. “We still have to add the January and
February planting but it will not reach one million metric
tons,” Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) head Ildefonso T.
Toledo. However, Mr. Toledo said the province recorded im-
provements in production following the use of hybrid seeds.
In collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, PAO
introduced the high yielding technology adoption (HYTA)
program with the use of hybrid seeds, which are capable of
producing 10 to 15 MT while an inbred seed has an average
CENTRAL VISAYAS: CEBU CITY yield of seven to eight MT. “In the past years, our average
Meat processor Virginia Foods to build yield is only 3.5 to 3.7 metric tons (per hectare) because of
halal plant in Cebu climate change. But with the introduction of HYTA, we have
CEBU-BASED food manufacturer Virginia increased our production,” he said. The provincial agricultur-
Foods, Inc., (VFI) will build a dedicated ist said their target for 2018 remains at one million MT. Iloilo
halal plant in Cebu as it sees good potential province has around 100,000 farmers and a rice area of
for this specialty market. Stanley Go, VFI 134,000 hectares, of which 75,000 are rainfed and 55,000
vice-president for sales and marketing are irrigated. — Louine Hope U. Conserva
announced that works are now ongoing
for the establishment of a halal plant and
construction may start before the end of
the year. Mr. Go said demand for halal
products is growing in both the interna-
tional and domestic markets. A study by
the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (DCCI) shows that the global halal
philippine star_EDD GUMBAN
market is projected to grow to $1.6 trillion
Feb. 16 is declared a special non-working holiday in the Philippines, the start of the by 2018, with the food sector accounting
Year of the Dog under the Chinese lunar calendar. for $630 billion. VFI is already exporting
its various products in Dubai, Canada and
NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION Australia, primarily targeting the Filipino
Number coding remains in effect in Las Piñas City on Chinese New Year market in these countries. — The Freeman
THE NUMBER coding scheme is lifted today, a national holiday in observance of the Chinese
New Year, except in Las Piñas City, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development
Authority (MMDA). According to MMDA, there was “no advise” from the Las Piñas local gov-
ernment so the vehicular reduction scheme would remain in effect.

NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION: MAKATI CITY

Several large Makati firms sued for tax evasion
SEVERAL FIRMS based in Makati City, including a company engaged in
building power plants, were sued for tax evasion by the Bureau of Inter-
nal Revenue (BIR). Mirae Asia Energy Corp. and its officials Christopher
Walter Lim, Craig Oliver Marsh and Sung Woo Yang also allegedly faked the firm’s import-
er’s clearance certificate, the BIR said. The offense could lead to jail terms. SKI Construction
Group, a construction firm engaged in infrastructure, nuclear, petrochemical, electronics and
mass transit projects, and its officials Claudio Altura, Albert Altura and Cornelio Caedo were
charged for allegedly not paying a P206-million tax liability. — interaksyon.com
>> See full story on https://goo.gl/F4GZDn

PNP-PIO

CARAGA: DINAGAT ISLANDS

Bank no more
The Rural Bank of Loreto (Surigao
del Norte), Inc., a four-unit bank with
main office in the province of Dinagat
Islands, has been ordered closed by
the Monetary Board and the Philippine
Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) took
over on Feb. 14. PDIC said records
show that as of Dec. 31, 2017, the bank
had 2,264 deposit accounts with total
deposit liabilities of P5.95 million,
of which 99.9% or P5.94 million are
insured and will be paid.

pnp_pio
NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION: QUEZON CITY

Earthquake drill DAVAO: DAVAO CITY

Officers and non-uniformed personnel stationed at the Philippine National Police
national headquarters participate in the 1st Quarter National Simultaneous Earthquake
Drill conducted at 2 p.m. on Feb. 15.
NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION
MRT breakdowns persist; 3 trains pulled out
THE METRO Rail Transit (MRT)-3 underwent three train removals yesterday due to electrical
failure in motor and door failure, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) reported. The
DoTr said they have procured spare parts, some from Pink Armour Corporation, Linkers
Enterprises, and Nikka Trading, while others are from Germany, and China. The government
terminated its maintenance contract last November with Busan Universal Rail, Inc. (BURI),
due to what the DoTr alleges as the company’s failure to ensure efficient and available
trains and failure to procure the necessary spare parts. The DoTr and the Land Transporta-
tion Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) plan to expand the point-to-point (P2P)
MRT-3 project to 60 buses to serve as alternative mode of transport. — Patrizia Paola C.
Marcelo
Davao City targets 7% increase
in tourist arrivals with more MICE
THE DAVAO City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) is targeting a 7%
increase in tourist arrivals in 2018 from last year’s two million record.
“We are aiming for a 7% increase… We need to sustain the two mil-
lion tourist arrivals mark of last year so we’re doing the best for this
year,” CTOO head Generose D. Tecson told the media. Ms. Tecson said
the meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions (MICE) segment
is the city’s big ticket to attracting more visitors, but there is a need
for more facilities to cater to this market. “We need more convention
facilities, more branded hotels, even in the transport sector … even
tour guides, and we also need more people who will cater to souvenir
items,” she said. The CTOO is currently working on a tourism master
plan after the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority
(TIEZA) approved a P10-million fund for the project. Ms. Tecson said SMXCONVENTIONCENTER.COM
they aim to have the road map ready by the third quarter this year. — The SMX Convention Center-Davao is the biggest meetings,
Maya M. Padillo incentives, conferences, exhibitions (MICE) venue in the city.