Palace welcomes improved foreign direct
investments in 2013
The Palace said it will continue to improve the
country's business environment to attract more foreign investments as the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported increased Foreign Direct Investments
(FDI) in 2013.
Apart from the FDI on export products, Deputy
Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the country’s export industry has
also increased.
“It’s on a continued upward trajectory, and we’d
want to see those numbers continue, or at least, to grow even bigger,” she told
dzRB Radyo ng Bayan in an interview on Saturday.
“In all the score cards that we’ve seen, the
view of the international community as far as our competitiveness is that it is
going up.”
The Palace official also said that while there
are some areas that have been improved, the government wants to pay special
attention on areas that need further improvement.
“The President has always emphasized the need
for a level-playing field when it comes to foreign or local investments,” she
said.
“Those who are already here, who are seeking to
expand and those who are outside but would want to place their investments here
would see that they will get a pretty level playing field,” she added.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Friday
said it registered net FDI of $3.361 billion for the first 10 months of 2013,
up 35.3 percent compared to the same period in 2012 of $2.485 billion.
The BSP said in a statement that foreign
investors continue to have confidence in the sustainability of the Philippine’s
business environment.
The notable rise in foreign investments reflects
favorable investor sentiment, the BSP said noting that macroeconomic stability
is believed to be firmly rooted in the country’s basic fundamentals. PND (as)
President Aquino retains Villareal as MTRCB head
President Benigno S. Aquino III reappointed
lawyer Eugenio H. Villareal as chairman of the Movie and Television Review and
Classification Board (MTRCB) with a term expiring on September 30 this year.
MTRCB Vice Chairperson Emmanuel H. Borlaza and
Executive Director Victoriano S. Muring Jr. were also reappointed by the
President.
The other members of the MTRCB who will remain
in their posts are Robert R. Andrews, Jaime A. Bengzon, Patrocinia D.
Binungcal, Manuel R. Buising, Ma. Gabriella R. Concepcion, Francia C. Conrado,
Nicasio D. Cruz, Ma. Marta Ines A. Dayrit, Teresita R. Daza, Noel R. Del Prado,
Carmencita A. Guerrero, Mario A. Hernando, Marra Lanot, Eric Henry Joseph F.
Mallonga, Anna-Lissa S. Martinez, Maria Carmen S. Musngi, Leah L. Navarro,
Cecilia L. Nubla, Jay C. Revestir, Jose G. Romero IV, Elizabeth O.
Siguion-Reyna, Rommel M. Sogueco, Gladys Reyes-Sommereux, Benedicto H. Tarnate
Sr., Jose Antonio K. Veloso, Teresita B. Villarama, and Alfred A. Yuson.
The two new appointees as MTRCB members are
Ricardo M. Salomon Jr., and Ma. Lourdes Lilia Espinosa-Supnet. Salomon replaced
Catherine S. Babao-Guballa and Espinosa-Supnet replaced Ma. Lourdes Bautista.
PND (as)
Health Department working with LGUs to contain
measles, says Palace
The Department of Health (DOH) has been actively
coordinating with local government units to prevent the spread of measles in
the country, a Palace official said on Saturday.
Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte
said that children with ages 9 to 11 months have been receiving the first dose
of anti-measles vaccine and the second phase will be those who are 12 to 23
months old.
One to two years old will be inoculated by
receiving the anti-measles booster.
“Ginagawa ito ng Department of Health, in
cooperation with the local government units. In particular, dito sa City of
Manila, in cooperation with the DOH, nag-cover na sila ng 148 barangays at ang
breakdown ay 21,560 children,” Valte said in an interview over dzRB Radyo ng
Bayan on Saturday.
Children with ages not more than five years old
were vaccinated, according to Valte.
At the same time, the DOH also deployed mobile
teams to conduct door-to-door vaccination to ensure that children ages 9 months
old to five years old receive the first dose of anti-measles vaccine, Valte
said.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease
transmitted through droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected
persons.
There is no specific treatment for measles and
recovery may take two to three weeks, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
Complications of measles however may result in blindness, diarrhea, pneumonia,
encephalitis and ear infection. Vaccine is available for children to prevent
them from being infected.
Among the symptoms of measles include eye
redness, coughs and colds, high fever, rashes on the ears, face, neck, and the
whole body, also difficulty of breathing, the health department said.
Health officials said they are looking at a
possible new strain of measles that caused the cases of the disease in Metro
Manila. PND (as)
Government to find ways to shield consumers from
power rate increase, says Palace official
Malacanang said the government is determined to
find ways to mitigate the impact of rising electricity bills once the high
court’s temporary restraining order on Meralco’s rate adjustment is lifted.
In a televised interview Friday over
government-run PTV4, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the
government must find ways to ease the burden of the power rate hike to
consumers.
“Kailangan pong pagtuunan ng pansin ang bagay na
iyan dahil po sa commitment ng ating pamahalaan na tiyakin na mapangalagaan ang
kapakanan ng ating mga mamamayan,” Coloma told PTV4.
At the same time, Coloma said power industry
players, such as Meralco and other power producers, know that their businesses
are imbued with public service and public interest and they must act in favor
of public good.
“Kaya sana ay isa-isip din nila na tungkulin
nila ang magsilbi nang ganap sa ating mga mamamayan. At handa naman ang
pamahalaan na makipag-ugnayan sa kanila para matamo ang layuning ito,” Coloma
said.
With regards to high energy cost in the country
that discourages investors to come in, Coloma said there is a need to study the
existing power industry structure in the country to find a solution.
There is also an Energy Development Plan being
carried out to ensure sufficient supply of electricity in the country which
includes the use of renewable energy sources, he added.
The Supreme Court issued last month a 60-day
halt order on the P4.15 per kilowatt-hour increase by Meralco.
The high court’s order is aimed at stopping both
the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and Meralco from implementing the power
rate increase.
Oral arguments have been scheduled for January
21, 2014?
The rate adjustment was implemented by Meralco
for the December billing. Meralco earlier announced the rate increase was to be
imposed in three tranches, as a result of the scheduled shutdown of the
Malampaya gas plant.
Because of the shutdown, Meralco bought more
expensive electricity from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) to
cover for the deficit needed in its jurisdiction. PND (as)
