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IN MET R MANILAO
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 50 • 2 SECTIONS 8 PAGES APRIL 2, 2023
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PH to meet EU standards on seafarers Ople: Monumental crisis averted, 50,000 jobs saved n By MARICEL V. CRUZ
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FTER getting an extension of the Philippines’ maritime education, the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is prepared with its plans and programs to efficiently address the six deficiencies identified by the European Commission in the country’s maritime and seafaring sector. The Department of Transportation said that although the European Commission has yet to set a deadline for meeting the EU level standards, the country’s Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) would be closely coordinating to address these deficiencies. According to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the European Commission’s decision to continue recognizing the Philippines’ training and certification will directly benefit more than 50,000 Filipino seafarers. The EC’s Directorate General for Mobility and Transport on March 31 extended its recognition of Philippine-issued seafarers certificates, saying Manila has made “serious efforts” to address deficiencies in monitoring, supervision, and evaluation of training and assessment. It had identified six areas of deficiencies in the maritime education, training and certification for seafarers of the Philippine government. These were in areas of monitoring, supervision and evaluation of training and assessment; examination and assessment of competence; program and course design and approval; availability and use of training facilities and simulators; on-board training; and issue, revalidation and registration of certificates and endorsements.
NAIA passenger surge to hit 1.2m during long Holy Week holiday n By JOEL E. ZURBANO
START OF A LONG HOLY WEEK. Ahead of Palm Sunday today, Catholic devotees as well as local tourists visit the ‘Kamay Ni Hesus Healing Church Shrine’ -- a popular pilgrimage site located in the slopes of Mt. Banahaw in Barangay Tinamnan of Lucban, Quezon province. The 50-foot statue of the Ascending Jesus Christ was considered as one of the tallest among the country’s outdoor museums. Inset phoyo shows a ‘palaspas’ vendor at the Plaza Miranda in Quiapo. Manny Palmero and Diana B. Noche
Teves not returning home until wish list is met—lawyer n By MARICEL V. CRUZ SUSPENDED Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. is not returning home yet despite appeals from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other government authorities for him to answer the charges levelled against him in relation to the assasination of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo. Teves’ counsel, Ferdinand Topacio, said his client has made certain requests to ensure his safe return to the country, some were rejected. PRESS BRIEFING. Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, representing of “Iwhich had two interactions with Speaker his client, suspended Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., is [Martin] Romualdez. Of course,the joined by fellow counsels Edward Santiago and Michael Mella details I cannot divulge because of our during a media briefing on Saturday at the Kamuning Bakery in gentleman’s agreement. But Congressman Quezon City. Lino Santos (Teves) made certain requests for his
return in order to ensure his safety,” Topacio said during a media briefing Saturday. “He appeals that his requests be granted for his safety. This isneither for any special treatment nor a bargaining expedition. Just for his safety,” Topacio added. Topacio declined to divulge the requests being made by his client to convince the latter “to surrender.” He said Teves will not return home until these requests are guaranteed, adding that his client is ready to face the court. “(Romualdez) did not mislead us. He said ‘We can do these requests. We cannot do these requests,’” Topacio said.
AIRPORT officials are expecting passenger traffic to reach 140,000 daily at the country’s premier gateway beginning this weekend until the Day of Valor, April 10, in what is considered to be the longest Holy Week holiday since 2019. “MIAA is bracing for a surge in passenger traffic this Holy Week as weanticipate 1.2 million passengers in the four terminals of Ninoy Aquino International Airport over a ten-day period beginning today,” Manila International Airport Authority general manager Cesar Chiong said. He assured the public that MIAA has sufficient manpower and equipment for the influx, as well as the availability of critical airport utilities, such as electricity, water, air conditioning, and communications; amenities and “malasakit” kits for passengers in the event of flight disruptions; and assistance desks in all four terminals to address the riding public’s concerns. “We’re prepared. We are doing all of these initiatives in order to give our riding public a seamless travel experience here at NAIA, especially since this is the first time that we’ll have quite a long Semana Santa after 2019,” Chiong said.
Majority of Pinoys back Maharlika Fund—survey n By MARICEL V. CRUZ MAJORITY of Filipinos support the administration’s proposed Maharlika Investment Fund, the non-commissioned Pahayag Quarter 1 survey conducted by PUBLiCUS Asia Inc. showed. Based on the survey, 62 percent of the respondents were aware of the proposed MIF, and believe the fund is vital to improve particularly the agriculture and health sectors. NCR has the highest level of awareness at 72 percent. The MIF is popular with Filipinos ages between 50 to 59 years old, registering at a high
69 percent and those 60 years old and above at 72 percent awareness. The survey result showed “improving agricultural production and supply chains (32 percent) was regarded as the highest priority project that should be funded by MIF while funding universal healthcare for all Filipinos came in second at 23 percent and investment in lifelong learning for all registered third at 11 percent.” Among the least priority projects are the establishment of logistic hubs across the country at one percent, establishing internet connectivity from Luzon to Mindanao at three percent,
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and the National Railway System expansion outside of Metro Manila at three percent. Speaker Martin Romualdez earlier said the MIF has adequate safeguards to make sure that “funds are invested properly.” Romualdez said the MIF has proactive safety checks, including transparency provisions and the requirement to subject the books of accounts of the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC), which will manage the fund, to three layers of audit by an internal auditor, an external auditor and the Commission on Audit.
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