While the growth of the country’s gross domestic product is something worth welcoming, it remains to be seen if this is felt by the majority of the poor Filipino people, so says businessman Eugene Tan who is seen in the photo meeting with other traders in Tacloban City. (RHOEL LADERA)
While the growth of the country’s gross domestic product is something worth welcoming, it remains to be seen if this is felt by the majority of the poor Filipino people, so says businessman Eugene Tan who is seen in the photo meeting with other traders in Tacloban City. (RHOEL LADERA)
TACLOBAN CITY-The business group in this city has welcomed the report on the country’s 7.2 percent growth of its gross domestic product (GDP) for the fourth quarter of last year.
Eugene Tan, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Tacloban-Leyte Inc., said that the growth means that the economy of the country is improving which suffered a major setback due to the pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
However, the business leader said that the growth, while backed by a scientific study, would become more meaningful if the poorest of the poor could reap its benefits.
“Sometimes, the growth of our economy is not felt in the country that is why we are saying that the growth should be inclusive so it will be felt by every Filipino,” Tan said.
For one, the poor are still reeling from the impacts of the high cost of prime commodities reason the reported economic growth has yet to be felt by ordinary Filipinos.
With the high costs, the purchasing power of ordinary wage earners, Tan added, has diminished tremendously that they could barely buy their basic needs like food.
Tan said that for their part, they are trying to help the poor consumers by not rising the costs of their products.
“As much as possible, if there is a price increase, we don’t implement it immediately because we know that it will cause some hardships to our consumers,” he said. (JOEY A. GABIETA)
Leading digital solutions platform Globe blocked a record high 2.72 billion scam and spam messages in 2022, more than double the 2021 total of 1.15 billion, reflecting the impact of its stepped up campaign against malicious SMS.
As a result of its intensified crackdown against fraudsters, Globe also blocked 83.4 million bank-related spam messages last year. Globe has partnered with all major commercial banks and online retailers in the country to ensure quick and efficient information exchange for a more efficient response to spam and fraud SMS.
Blocking spam and scam messages continues to be a crucial component of Globe’s cybersecurity strategy, and it has managed to spare customers from dangerous and disruptive SMS before the enforcement of the SIM Registration Act.
“Our customers are our top priority so we do our best to ensure that they are protected from scammers and fraudsters. We will continue to invest in cybersecurity systems and work tirelessly to provide them with a safe and enjoyable online experience as we also take part in the full implementation of the SIM Registration Act,” said Anton Bonifacio, Globe Chief Information Security Officer.
“With our relentless proactive blocking efforts and implementation of the new law, we are taking great strides in our campaign to end text fraud,” he said.
Globe has spent about $20 million to step up its spam and scam SMS detection and blocking system. Its round-the-clock Security Operations Center filters out these unwanted messages, including app-to-person and person-to-person SMS of international and domestic sources.
In an industry first, Globe also started blocking person-to-person SMS with clickable URLs from all networks in September last year amid growing concern over escalating scam and spam messages, particularly those containing mobile users’ full names.
In just two weeks after enforcing its unprecedented measure, Globe blocked over 32.2 million scam and spam text messages with clickable links, or an average of 2.4 million SMS daily from September 28 to October 13, 2022.
Because of rising SMS-related crimes, the government enacted Republic Act No 11934 or the SIM (subscriber identity module) Registration Act last year to address the problem. The law requires individuals to register their SIM and present a valid identification document to their respective service providers.
Aside from investing in tools to proactively detect suspicious content on the internet to protect its customers from online attacks, Globe has deployed fraud and security chatbots to assist employees with privacy and cybersecurity-related concerns.
It also regularly provides customers with relevant information via social media advisories about fraud, cybersecurity, and data privacy to boost awareness and help them protect themselves against these threats.(PR)
ORMOC CITY– A family whose house was crushed by a fallen tree due to the bad weather was provided with cash assistance by the municipal government of Lope de Vega, Northern Samar.
The house of the affected family in Barangay Gebonawan was hit by a fallen tree due to the strong winds and heavy rain experienced by the town on Jan.27 at about 6:30 pm, town information officer Francine Acasio said.
The cash assistance was personally given to them by Mayor Bobby Saludario and councilor Ester Carduce, Acasio said.
No one was hurt in the incident as the occupants of the house happened to be outside at that time. (ROBERT DEJON)
TACLOBAN CITY– President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. loves the country’s farmers.
Thus said Agrarian Reform secretary Conrado Estrella III in a speech during the distribution of certificate of land titles awards(CLOAs) held in Tolosa, Leyte last Thursday (Jan. 26).
Estrella, joined by Senator Imee Marcos and Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho ‘Icot’ Petilla, distributed 1,047 CLOAs, benefitting 1,006 agrarian reform beneficiaries.
The total number of hectares covered reached to 1,571,9055.
Sec. Estrella said that Pres. Marcos loves them that he is always ready to provide them with the needed assistance to ensure that they will become more productive, aside from granting them land titles.
He said that the farmers could expect more assistance from the administration of Pres. Marcos like construction of more farm-to-market roads, irrigations, fertilizers, tractors, among others.
Estrella said that the distribution of the titles is an achievement for the beneficiaries in particular in strengthening their security of the ownership of their lands.
“We will add to this achievement by providing different assistance to improve their farmlands” he added.
All farmer-beneficiaries will also be exempted of paying amortizations of their farm lands for at least a year.
Meanwhile, the Barangay Agutayan Farmers Association of Hilongos, Leyte received 4 units of hand tractors and 10 units of grass cutters and the Carmarating-Odingon Pagsarang Sulpa Irrigators Association (COPSIA) of Abuyog, also in Leyte, received 4 units of floating tiller, 4 units hand tractor and 5 units of grass cutters.
The amount of the machinery and equipment totaled to more than P3 million.
The Himay-Angans Farmers Association of Southern Leyte, which comprises 54 farmers, received a multicab, rice thresher, mud boat, multi-function tiller, and water pump amounting to P 632,000. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
NAT exams in Tacloban affected due to inclement weather
TACLOBAN CITY– Eastern Visayas continues to experience moderate to heavy rainfall spawned by the shear line on Monday (Jan. 30).
The bad weather resulted for several local government units to cancel classes in both public and private schools from Kindergarten up to Grade 12 levels.
Among these canceled classes were in the towns of Paranas, Motiong, Hinabangan, and Pinabacdao, all in Samar; Dolores, Llorente, Jipapad, and Taft, all in Eastern Samar; Catarman, in Northern Samar; and in the cities of Calbayog and Catbalogan, both in Samar; Ormoc, Baybay, and Tacloban, all in Leyte;
In Tacloban, its school division announced the cancellation of the holding of the national achievement test(NAT) for graduating Grade 12 students due to the bad weather and will be held instead on February 1 and 2.
In Southern Leyte, a rock fall was reported in Barangay Pinut-an, San Ricardo town at about 4 am due to the heavy rains.
Meantime, the information office of Northern Samar province denied that Governor Edwin Ongchuan has declared suspension of classes across the province.
It said that what was circulated online on the purported order of the governor was a previous cancellation order he issued on Jan. 9.
However, Mayor David Bido of Rosario town in the same province, issued suspension of classes to ensure the safety of the public.
The town has experienced heavy rainfall since weekend that resulted in flooding in several areas of the town, including those located on its center.
The regional office of the Office of Civil Defense has also issued an advisory for the public and the disaster risk reduction and management councils across the region to take appropriate actions, and monitor the weather condition.
Since last month, the region has been experiencing bad weather either due to low-pressure area and shear line that caused flooding and landslides.
The three provinces of Samar Island, Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar, are under a state of calamity due to this inclement weather which resulted in the dislocation of families, damage to infrastructures, and loss of lives. (JOEY A. GABIETA/ROBERT DEJON)
LENDING HANDS. The country’s Coast Guard extended assistance to seven Chinese nationals whose boat drifted off the waters of Suluan Island, Guiuan in Eastern Samar. Aside from towing their boat to safety, the Chinese nationals were also provided with food and water while they wait for their return to their country.
Beijing expressed gratitude for PH assistance
LENDING HANDS. The country’s Coast Guard extended assistance to seven Chinese nationals whose boat drifted off the waters of Suluan Island, Guiuan in Eastern Samar. Aside from towing their boat to safety, the Chinese nationals were also provided with food and water while they wait for their return to their country.
TACLOBAN CITY-The Philippine Coast Guard based here conducted an inspection of a Chinese vessel that was earlier rescued off the waters of Suluan Island, Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
The Coast Guard led by Lt. Commander Ramil Montemar, Coast Guard chief Eastern Leyte-Tacloban, inspected the MV Kai Da 899 now docked at the San Pedro Bay, four nautical miles away from the Tacloban Port for more than two hours on Saturday(Jan. 28).
He said that they have not found anything illegal or suspicious inside the 496-tonnage vessel though they were able to get a copy of a certificate of deletion of ship registration issued by the Chinese government.
“This means that the vessel is no longer safe for voyage and no longer meets the maritime safety standards,” Montemar said.
Among the information written in the said certificate includes its type of ship which was categorized as a ‘supply boat’ and not a fishing vessel earlier mentioned and with a built date of ‘2018-01-25.’
The same document, issued by the Maritime Safety Administration of the People’s Republic of China, also disclosed that the ship’s registration was deleted on June 16, 2021.
The said vessel, manned by seven crew members, made a distress call while it was located on the Suluan Island on Thursday(Jan.26) night and was towed by Coast Guard to the city on Friday afternoon.
It was learned that it has developed some mechanical problem reason it drifted.
Montemar said that the vessel had developed a problem with its rudder or steering wheel.
He said that they will provide assistance to the crew members to fix the problem.
“The crew members will not be allowed to disembark as the Coast Guard will provide their safety, food and water and even fuel, if necessary,” Montemar said.
They will also ensure that during their anchorage, there will be no possible oil spill, the official added.
All were also checked by the Bureau of Quarantine to ensure that they are free from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as they showed their vaccination cards.
Meantime, due to the language barrier, the Coast Guard will seek for a Chinese translator to determine the names of the seven crew members as they wrote their names in Chinese characters as well their short narrative of the incident.
But it was learned that the vessel serves as a ‘boat supply’ owned by a private company and not a fishing boat as earlier mentioned.
The vessel is being used to provide fuels and other essentials to boats that need them.
Montemar said that he could not say as to how many days the vessel will be anchoring in the country’s waters.
Aside from Coast Guard, joining in the two-hour inspection were personnel from the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation, Bureau of Customs.
The crew members of the Chinese-registered vessel await while the Coast Guard-led group inspected their boat.
Meantime, the Chinese Embassy expressed its thanks to the Coast Guard for providing foods to the distressed Chinese.
“These moves are in line with and concrete implementation of the important consensus reached by our two presidents on strengthening communication and improving dialogue mechanisms between our two Coast Guards, properly managing maritime differences through dialogue and consultation while expanding practical cooperation on the sea,” Ambassador Huang said in the statement.
