President Aquino enjoins support for first ASEAN
Conference on Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering in Manila
President Benigno S. Aquino III has enjoined all
heads of departments, agencies and instrumentalities of the national
government, including government-owned-controlled corporations, local
government units, and state colleges and universities to extend full support
for the 1st ASEAN Conference on Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering on
September 24-26 in Manila.
The directive was issued by virtue of Memorandum
Circular No. 52 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. on July 19.
With the theme “Integrating Agricultural and
Biosystems Engineering in the ASEAN for Food Security, Climate Change
Mitigation and Global Practice,” the conference will lay the initial groundwork
for the development of harmonized qualifications and standards necessary for
the mobility of agricultural engineering services in ASEAN Region which will
help achieve long-term competitiveness of ASEAN’s food, agriculture and
forestry products/commodities.
The Board of Agricultural Engineering of the
Professional Regulation Commission, Philippine Society of Agricultural
Engineers and the National Agricultural and Fishery Council-Agricultural and
Fishery Mechanization Committee, in coordination with the ASEAN Coordinating
Committee on Services, is set to conduct the First ASEAN Conference on
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering this September.
In collaboration with the Department of Labor
and Employment, Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry,
Commission on Higher Education and the Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers and
Distributors Association, the organizers will hold the three-day event at the
Manila Hotel.
Agricultural engineers of various government
agencies are encouraged to participate in the said ASEAN Conference, subject to
the approval of their respective heads of offices, and in accordance to the
regular procedures for leaves of absences and availability of funds.
The President directed the Department of Foreign
Affairs to extend assistance in coordinating with concerned officials and
embassies of all ASEAN countries to encourage the participation/attendance of
their agricultural engineers, agricultural and biosystems engineers and
concerned officials to the said ASEAN conference. PND (js)
Malacanang says DTI and associations of flour
millers and bakers studying ways to improve yield of ‘Harinang Pinoy,’ main
ingredient in Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal
The Department of Trade and Industry is working
with members from the associations of flour millers and bakers into developing
a higher yielding batch of Harinang Pinoy, a low-cost flour ingredient used to
make Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal, two favorite bread types of Filipinos that
may cost higher to buy, Malacanang said on Wednesday.
In a press briefing in Malacanang, Presidential
Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said that until then, millers and bakers have
committed not to increase prices of these two bread types.
He added that if studies on improving the yield
of Harinang Pinoy will not materialize, bakers will have to use the much more
expensive local flour which in turn will increase the prices of Pinoy Tasty and
Pinoy Pandesal.
“The commitment the millers is to find ways to
improve the yield of Harinang Pinoy so they’re doing it right now and the
bakers have committed na wala munang price increase ngayon but they’re planning
na sakaling gagamit na sila ng local flour … magiging expensive na yan,“
Lacierda said.
“DTI is reviewing their suggested price but
we’re looking already how the millers will improve the yield of Harinang Pinoy.
Wala na munang pag-galaw sa presyo ng Pinoy
Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal dahil pinag-aaralan ng DTI kasama ng mga bakers and
millers kung ano magagawa nila,” he added.
The Presidential Spokesperson clarified that the
planned price increase will only affect Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal.
“Let’s just clarify: its not all the bread whose
prices will increase. We’re focused only on Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal
because these two types of bread use a different kind of flour called Harinang
Pinoy,” Lacierda said.
“So ang concern nila ay sa Pinoy Tasty at sa
Pinoy Pandesal at hindi sa lahat ng tasty o pandesal. The bakers are limited to
this,” he said. PND (rck)
Palace says it’s well-versed about corruption in
the Bureau of Customs
Malacanang said it has enough information about
the severity of the corruption in the Bureau of Customs and knows the scope of
the overhaul needed to reform the bureau.
“Part of the process of instituting reforms is
to know the battlefield. It is safe to say that we know the battlefield and we
know the lay of the land; and so, what the reforms are will be in response to
the lay of the land,” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in the press
briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday.
Pressed by reporters if the President has solid
evidence to prove Customs personnel who are involved in smuggling, Lacierda
said the Palace can’t divulge at this time the measures to be carried out to
reform the bureau.
“You will know our reforms. We don’t want to
telegraph our measure. If I answer you one way, there will be a lot of
implications or consequences —unnecessary consequences or unintended
consequences. So the safest answer is to say: you will know,” he said.
In his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on
July 22, the President lashed out at BOC personnel for not collecting more than
P200 billion from the smuggled goods.
The President said that instead of collecting
the proper taxes and preventing contraband from entering the country, those
officials permitted the smuggling of goods, drugs, arms and other items into
the country.
Customs personnel who could not do their job
don’t deserve to remain in office, he said.
Senator Francis Escudero, the Senate finance
committee chair, on Tuesday filed a resolution directing three committees to
investigate the padrino system in the BOC.
Escudero’s resolution mandates his committee as
well as the Senate blue ribbon and ways and means committees to spearhead the
investigation of a rumored patronage system in the customs bureau. PND (as)
Palace asks Bicol’s cooperation to resolve power
concerns
Malacanang asked Bicolanos to help resolve the
current energy concerns in Bicol that have been affecting other sectors
including tourism.
In a press briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday,
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla
will be meeting with Bicol’s local leaders, especially those from Albay to
solve the problem.
“This is a problem of Bicol and we ask the
people from Bicol to also help in resolving the problem. This cannot bleed
forever. It has to stop, and that’s the reason why Secretary Petilla is going
to meet with them,” Lacierda said.
Petilla will meet three congressmen from Bicol
as well as the AKO Bicol party-list representative about the action of the
national government to resolve the issue.
The lawmakers realized that there’s a need to
improve the situation of the Albay Electric Cooperative Inc. (Aleco), he said.
“Hindi na pwedeng lumaki pa itong problema dahil
kung hindi maayos ito, lalaki at lalaki ang problema,” Lacierda said.
The province of Albay has been cut off from the
power grid starting Tuesday after Aleco failed to settle debts with the electricity
spot market.
The Department of Energy (DOE) said the
Philippine Electricity Market Corp (PEMC), which operates the Wholesale
Electricity Spot Market (WESM), as well as power plant operators sought Aleco’s
disconnection.
The DOE said power producers have obligations to
their creditors, while the financial viability of the WESM must be ensured.
Reports said the Aleco’s arrears have ballooned
to nearly P4 billion as a result of poor collections, high system losses,
pilferage, and failure to secure long-term power supply contracts. PND (as)
