Laos Newswire

MANILA: More than 22,000 cops and force multipliers would be deployed to secure the third State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on July 22, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said Monday.

In a statement, NCRPO chief and Task Force SONA commander Maj. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said the number includes 17,971 officers from Metro Manila, 1,879 from police regional offices, including Central Luzon and Calabarzon, and 2,771 from other government agencies.

“Bukod sa Security Task Force SONA 2024, ay may mga itatalaga din tayong sub-task groups na pamumunuan ng ating limang district directors sa Metro Manila. Hindi lamang seguridad ang ating ipapakalat kundi maging medical assistance kaakibat ang mga pampubliko at pribadong ahensya (Aside from the Security Task Force SONA 2024, we would also deploy sub-task groups that would be led by our five district directors in Metro Manila. We will not just provide security but also medical assistance in coordination with
public agencies and private organizations),” Nartatez said.

The five districts of the NCRPO are the Manila Police District, Quezon City Police District, Northern Police District, Eastern Police District and Southern Police District.

“Sa paghahanda para sa nalalapit sa State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA), nagsisimula na tayong magkaroon ng simulations upang magkaroon tayo ng ideya kung magiging epektibo ang ating mga inilatag na preparasyon (As we prepare for the forthcoming SONA, we have also implemented simulations so we have an idea whether our preparations would be effective),” he added.

Aside from the vicinity of the House of Representatives in Batasan, Quezon City, Nartatez said cops will secure places of convergence like malls and churches, as well as vital installations like passenger terminals, airports and seaports.

He assured that tight security would be implemented in areas such as Chino Roces Bridge (Mendiola) near Malacañang Palace and the United States Embassy in Manila, and the EDSA Shrine i
n Quezon City where rallies may be held.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go urged concerned national government agencies (NGAs) to address the ‘pain points’ of pharmaceutical industry players and strengthen the country’s manufacturing of healthcare products.

In his speech delivered by Undersecretary Jose Edwinel Guilas, during a joint briefing of the Anti-Red Tape Authority, Department of Health, Philippine Economic Zone Authority and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Quezon City on Monday, Go urged the agencies to ease the processes for pharma players.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s economic czar mentioned that the so-called pain points for medical drug and device manufacturers are the bureaucratic nature of existing policies of regulatory agencies; difficulty in exporting and importing medicine; and the difficulty of international pharma companies in investing in the Philippines.

‘Can we not consider the certificates of other countries with higher certifying standards a
s compliance with ours?’ Go said, adding that it will also address FDA’s lack of manpower and equipment.

For import and export processes, Go said an administrative order is underway to resolve the challenge.

To ease doing business for investors, the government is eyeing an exclusive ecozone for pharma manufacturing.

‘Our office, together with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, and FDA has called a technical working group to make it easier for pharmaceutical companies to set up their operations in economic zones,’ Go added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. welcomed Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato’ Seri Utama Haji Mohamad Bin Haji Hasan in Malacañang during the latter’s courtesy call on Monday.

According to a Presidential Communications Office news release, the two leaders discussed the bilateral relations between the Philippines and Malaysia, and important regional issues.

‘Welcome, welcome to the Philippines. Thank you for finding time to visit with us while you are travelling around ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). So, I hope you will have a productive visit,’ President Marcos was quoted as telling the Malaysian foreign minister.

Marcos said the Philippines is looking forward to keeping itself in ‘constant communication’ with Malaysia on current developments.

Diplomatic relations between Malaysia and the Philippines started in 1959 with the establishment of the Philippine legation in Kuala Lumpur. The Philippine legation was formally instituted as a Consulate on May 18, 1964, marking the formal esta
blishment of relations.

On July 25-27, 2023, President Marcos made his state visit to Malaysia and had an audience with His Majesty Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’yatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta’in Billah, who was then Yang di-Pertuan Agong XVI (King) of Malaysia.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim earlier visited the Philippines on March 1-2, 2023.

Marcos and Ibrahim engaged in cordial and productive discussions on bilateral cooperation spanning politics, security, economy and people-to-people ties during their restricted and expanded bilateral meetings.

Malaysia played an important role in establishing peace in Muslim Mindanao. Over the past several years, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) region has made significant strides in building institutions for self-governance in accordance with the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).

The region is preparing for its local elections in 2025.

In 2023, the Philippines’ total trade with Malaysia amounte
d to USD8.1 billion. In the same period, the country’s exports to Malaysia were valued at USD2.18 billion while imports from Malaysia were estimated at USD5.92 billion.

Also last year, Malaysia ranked as the Philippines’ 9th major trading partner, 11th export market, and 8th import supplier. The Philippines has recorded a trade deficit in favor of Malaysia for the past five years.

Malaysia ranked 16th among the Philippines’ top investment partners in 2023, with total approved investments amounting to USD13.17 million.

Some 97,639 tourist arrivals from Malaysia were recorded in 2023, up from just 46,805 in 2022. The Philippines recorded 139,882 tourist arrivals from Malaysia in 2019 prior to the pandemic.

There are an estimated 950,043 Filipinos living in Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan), of which 628,450 are estimated to be undocumented, and 321,593 are considered temporary migrants, including those on work and visit visas.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) on Monday said it does not earn from convenience fees from online payment but only processes it for its payment partners.

‘We would like to reiterate that there is no charge if customers use Bayad e-wallet and that convenience fees for other providers go to our payment partners,’ Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga said in a statement. ‘We do not earn a single centavo from these convenience fees contrary to what was inaccurately stated.’

Zaldarriaga issued the clarification following the call of House Committee on Legislative Franchise vice chair Rep. Johnny Pimentel for Meralco to do away with the online payment convenience fee of PHP15 per transaction.

The Surigao del Sur 2nd District congressman said in a news release on Sunday that the fee goes to Meralco’s sister unit, CIS Bayad Center, Inc.

Zaldarriaga said Bayad has waived the fee when paying via Meralco Online.

On the other hand, those paying through e-wallets l
ike GCash and Maya are processed with PHP6 and PHP7 charges, respectively, while those paying through Visa, Mastercard, and JCB cards are charged PHP15 to ensure that the transactions are reliable and secured.

The Meralco spokesperson reiterated that the company does not profit from the convenience fees and the charges go to its payment partners.

“Our customers are empowered to use whichever secure payment channel they prefer when settling their electricity bills,’ Zaldarriaga said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had separate meetings with leaders of the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s economic groups in Seoul on July 1 within the framework of his ongoing official visit to the country.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and other central banks in Asia recently completed the comprehensive blueprint for phase three of Nexus, a project that seeks to enhance cross-border payments by connecting multiple domestic instant payment systems (IPS) globally.

In a joint statement on Monday, the BSP, Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Reserve Bank of India, Bank Negara Malaysia, Monetary Authority of Singapore, and Bank of Thailand said the completion of the comprehensive blueprint will now allow ready participants to work towards the next stage of seamlessly connecting their instant payment systems.

Nexus, a BIS Innovation Hub project, is designed to standardize the way domestic IPS connect to one another.

Rather than an IPS operator building custom connections for every new country to which it connects, the operator only needs to make one connection to Nexus.

The single connection would allow the IPS to reach all other countries in the network.

For phase four, the Central Bank of
Malaysia, BSP, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Bank of Thailand and domestic IPS operators who worked together in phase three, joined by the Reserve Bank of India, will expand the potential user base to India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

UPI is currently the world’s largest IPS.

Bank Indonesia (BI), meanwhile, will continue its association with the project with special observer status.

BI took part in phase three and will continue in this capacity to follow the project in the next stage of its development.

‘I wish our partners in Nexus every success as they advance the project from concept to reality. This is the first BIS Innovation Hub project that central banks are moving towards a live phase together with instant payment providers,” BIS General Manager Agustin Carstens said.

Carstens said that once implemented, Nexus will greatly enhance cross-border payments.

“Even with just the first wave of connected countries, Nexus has the potential to connect a market of 1.7 billion people glob
ally, allowing them to make instant payments to each other easily and cheaply,’ he added.

To facilitate live implementation, the partner central banks and IPS operators have agreed to work towards establishing a new entity, the Nexus Scheme Organization (NSO), which will be responsible for managing the Nexus scheme, and continuing the mission to achieve instant cross-border payments at scale.

The NSO will be wholly owned by the central banks and/or IPS in participating countries, depending on the specific domestic structures.

While the BIS will not own or operate the NSO, it will continue to play a technical advisory role as participating countries work towards taking Nexus live.

It will also facilitate cooperation among members and the entry of new participants.

‘Empowered by a shared vision of efficient and reliable cross-border payments, the collaboration between the BIS and ASEAN central banks has been rather effective, and I’d like this to continue. Central banks have always played a role in payment
s as a public good. With Nexus, this role will be extended to cross-border payments, maximizing the network effects,” BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said.

‘Thus, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will continue to work with the Philippine payments industry, BIS and other interested countries towards its live implementation. We look forward to Nexus providing overseas Filipinos with a cheaper and faster means to send money to family back home, and facilitating the globalization of Filipino small and medium scale enterprises,’ he added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The export value of Vietnamese coffee to Canada reached over 4.4 million USD in the first quarter of 2024, up 12.2% compared to the same period last year. Vietnam earned over 32 million USD from exporting coffee to Canada in 2023, the highest level in the 2013 – 2023 period, growing by 220% compared to the time before the two countries joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: Local communities can now experience improved road access following the completion of a concrete paving project in sections of the Culandanum-Panalingaan Cross Country Road by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Bataraza, Palawan.

Regional Office IV-B (Mimaropa) Director Gerald Pacanan said the newly constructed 5.072-kilometer road will improve accessibility to businesses and essential services in Bataraza and its neighboring towns.

Implemented by DPWH Palawan 2nd District Engineering Office, the project involves portland concrete cement paving works with a width of 6.70 meters and thickness of 280 millimeters, with concrete shoulders on both sides and provision of concrete box and pipe culverts, line canals, and grouted riprap to prolong service life.

‘The completion of this project is instrumental not only in advancing the transportation network in Palawan but also in stimulating economic growth and improving the quality of life for the residents in the area,’ Pacanan said in a
media release on Monday.

Also included in the road project are safety features, including metal guardrails on concrete posts and chevron signs for optimal visibility even in low-light conditions.

The Culandanum-Panalingaan Cross Country Road is a secondary road linking Barangay Culandanum and Panalingaan to the municipality of Bataraza.

Funded under the General Appropriations Act of 2023, the road paving project was completed for PHP84.62 million.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The northern province of Lang Son since 2022 has focused on developing an agritourism model in order to diversify the local tourism products and promote the tourism potentials of its bordering district of Dinh Lap. The province has selected tea hills in Hoa An village of Thai Binh commune, the Tre Hoa tea hill of the Thai Binh Farm, and tea hills of the Thai Binh-Lang Son Tea JSC for the pilot project to build up the brand for Dinh Lap’s tourism. Blessed with natural forests and mountains, and famous tea hills offering very beautiful landscapes, Dinh Lap has ideal conditions to develop eco-tourism. The district in the first 6 months of 2024 welcomed about 30,600 visitors, an increase of 114.4% over the same period in 2023.

Source: Vietnam News Agency