Philippine Congress-Bangsamoro Parliament Forum strengthens ties between the national and Bangsamoro government

COTABATO CITY — "The Philippine Congress-Bangsamoro Parliament Forum serves as a confidence-building instrument and, in the process, a venue for the fruition of a unified strategy for Philippine governance," said Bangsamoro Parliament Speaker Atty. Pangalian Balindong in a historic forum of the Parliament and the Philippine Congress.

As part of efforts to forge closer relations between the national and Bangsamoro government, the Parliament and the Philippine Congress convened for the first time in a joint legislative forum in Manila.

Speaker Balindong said that the PCBPF will also serve as the main instrument for addressing concerns and issues in the Bangsamoro.

Under the Bangsamoro Organic Law, there should be a PCBCF for purposes of cooperation and coordination of legislative initiatives involving both the regional and national government.

The PCBPF, according to the Senate, is imperative to facilitate legislative measures and initiatives concerning the Bangsamoro government and its people.

The Forum also serves as the coordinating unit for the two legislative bodies, resolving potential issues and affecting the implementation of provisions of the BOL, as well as closely monitoring and overseeing bills filed in Congress affecting the Bangsamoro government.

Several key legislative measures for the region were discussed, including priority codes that need to be passed; laws enacted to upgrade hospitals in the different areas of the Bangsamoro region; the possibility of extending the deadline for Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) members who wish to apply for amnesty; qualification of Shari’ah circuit court judges; and future plans for the continued cooperation of the Philippine Congress and the Bangsamoro Parliament.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman noted that the establishment of BARMM is a "historic win for the whole country."

To have continued cooperation and address the issues and concerns discussed in the forum, PCBPF will create a technical working group.

Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) Secretary Carlito Galvez said this will be the beginning of a strong, inclusive, and productive partnership between the Philippine Congress and the Bangsamoro Parliament in uplifting the lives of our Bangsamoro people.

Meanwhile, Senate President Miguel Zubiri called for the immediate passage of the Bangsamoro Electoral Code, while expressing full support for the PCBFP.

"To enable the smooth and efficient delivery of government services, serve the people, we have to work hard on this particular electoral code because we don't think we can extend the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, the people would like to vote for the representatives and members they want to," said Senate President Zubiri.

BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim vowed for the passage of the two priority codes within the first quarter of 2023.

Chief Minister Ebrahim, Speaker Balindong, BTA deputy speakers, deputy leaders, and several Members of the Parliament; House Speaker Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez; OPAPRU Secretary Galvez; PCBPF members Senator Loren Legarda, Francis Tolentino, and Robin Padilla; House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe; House Committee on Ways and Means Chair Joey Salceda; Representatives Rex Gatchalian, Yasser Balindong, Mercedes Alvarez, and Maximo Dalog Jr. were present during the meeting. (LTAIS-Public Information, Publication, and Media Relations Division)

 

 

PBBM to sign EO creating 'green lane' for strategic investments

By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos 

GREEN LANE. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. meets with Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual and other officials of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) at the State Dining Room of Malacañan Palace in Manila on Tuesday (Nov. 29, 2022). During the meeting, Marcos approved the DTI's proposal to issue an executive order establishing a "green lane" for strategic investments. (Photo courtesy of the Office of the President)

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is set to sign an executive order (EO) seeking the creation of "green lane" for strategic investments, Malacañang announced Tuesday.

This, developed after Marcos convened a meeting with Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual and other officials of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) at the State Dining Room of Malacañan Palace in Manila.

"President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will be signing an Executive Order to promote ease of doing business in the Philippines and make it competitive with other Southeast Asian nations in terms of attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs)," Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil, officer-in-charge of the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS), said in a statement.

"The EO will mandate concerned offices to establish a Green Lane to expedite and streamline the process and requirements for the issuance of permits and licenses, including resolutions of issues concerning strategic investments," she added.

During the meeting, the DTI presented to Marcos the proposed EO after identifying the barrier across multiple regulatory agencies that hamper the smooth entry of FDIs in the country.

Marcos backed the proposal, as he acknowledged that setting up a "green lane" is a "big help" for firms.

“Malaking bagay ‘yun (That's a big help). That will address immediately ‘yung tinatawag na ease of doing business na laging nirereklamo sa atin (the challenges on implementing the ease of doing business in the country),” Marcos, as quoted by the OPS, told DTI officials during the meeting.

The proposed "green lane" policy, Marcos said, would enable the government to change the "extraneous" and "obsolete" procedures.

Strategic investments

Garafil said the proposed EO will cover all national government agencies (NGAs) and their regional and provincial offices, local government units (LGUs) and quasi-judicial bodies involved in issuing permits and licenses necessary for establishing strategic investments in the country.

The strategic investments include "projects of national significance, highly desirable projects endorsed by the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) and FDIs endorsed by the Inter-Agency Investments Promotion Coordination Committee (IAIPCC) or priority projects or activities under the Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP), which are considered as projects of national significance or highly desirable that may be endorsed by the Board of Investments (BOI) of the concerned Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs)."

"The EO mandates NGAs and LGUs to act on a permit or license application not longer than three working days in the case of a simple transaction, seven working days in the case of complex transactions, and 20 working days for highly technical transactions from the date of receipt," she said.

Garafil said a technical working group headed by the DTI’s BOI will be in charge of implementing the EO.

She said a BOI-Investment Assistance Service (BOI-IAS) will become the single point of entry of investment availing of the green lane services endorsed as nationally significant or highly desirable projects.

"Non-compliance with the EO’s provisions will be a ground for administrative and disciplinary sanctions against any erring public officer or employee, as provided under existing laws and regulations," Garafil said.

'More conducive' to business opportunities

The proposed green lane is vital in fulfilling the Marcos administration's goal of making the Philippines "more conducive" to business opportunities, the Office of the President said in a separate Facebook post.

During the meeting, Pascual sought the issuance of an executive order (EO) which allows the creation of a green lane for firms to hasten the processing of their applications for permits and other needed documents.

"DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual presents the proposed creation of an Executive Order (EO) on the provision of guidelines in expediting the process and issuance of permits and licenses for the implementation of strategic investments in the Philippines, and creation of Green Lane," the RTVM said.

"This concerns national government agencies (NGAs), including their regional and provincial offices when applicable, local government units (LGUs) and quasi-judicial bodies," it added. (PNA)

 

Marine, bizman killed, driver hurt in Zambo shootings

By Teofilo Garcia, Jr. 

SHOOTINGS. Policemen sift through the crime scene where motorcycle-riding gunmen shot a Marine officer on Monday (Nov. 28, 2022) in Barangay San Jose Cawa-Cawa, Zamboanga City. The incident was one of two separate shooting incidents that transpired Monday in Zamboanga City. (Photo courtesy of Regino Delos Santos)

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A Marine officer and a businessman were killed while a driver was wounded in separate shooting incidents in this city, a top police official said Tuesday.

The police identified the fatalities as 36-year-old Marine Sgt. Antonieto Doc-Doc, and 60-year-old businessman Benjamin Usman.  

Police withheld the identity of the wounded public utility tricycle driver.

Col. Alexander Lorenzo, city police director, said Doc-Doc was shot by motorcycle-riding in tandem gunmen around 1:40 p.m. Monday along San Jose Road, Barangay San Jose-Cawa-Cawa.

He said investigation showed the victim rode a tricycle from Barangay Canelar going to a food chain branch in Barangay San Jose-Cawa-Cawa when his assailants tailed and shot him.

He said the suspects sped towards the city proper while the victim, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds, was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Doc-Doc died around 4:10 p.m. on the same day based on the attending doctor’s declaration.

Recovered from the crime scene were four empty shells and three deformed slugs from a .45-caliber pistol.

Also on Monday, Musa was shot dead by assailants onboard a motorbike around 9:45 a.m. in Purok 1, Barangay Talisayan.

Lorenzo said Musa was about to get off the tricycle in front of his home when the attack occurred.

The driver was hit by a stray bullet and was admitted to a hospital.

Recovered from the crime scene were three empty shells and a deformed slug of a .45-caliber pistol.

Lorenzo said they have yet to determine the motive behind the two shooting incidents. (PNA)

Nat’l surfing tourney in Borongan City promotes gender equality

 By Roel Amazona 

SURF'S UP. Borongan City Mayor Dayan Agda breaks a surfboard to signal the formal opening of the 3rd leg of the Philippine National Surfing Championship held in the city, the provincial capital of Northern Samar. This is the first time in the history of surfing competition that the male and female categories have the same cash prizes, said Surf in the City Chairperson Rupert Ambil on Monday (Nov. 28, 2022). (PNA photo by Roel Amazona)

BORONGAN CITY – The local government of Borongan City in Eastern Samar province ensures the promotion of gender equality as it hosts the 3rd leg of the Philippine National Surfing Championship this week.

This is the first time in the history of surfing competition that the male and female categories have the same cash prizes, said Surf in the City chairperson Rupert Ambil on Monday.

Providing equal cash prizes for both male and female athletes implies that the city recognizes the ability and talent of both gender and even members of the LGBTQ, Ambil added.

“If you can’t explain why the prize money for men is higher than for women, then there’s something fundamentally wrong there. Here in Borongan, we believe in the strength of all genders. It’s a statement from all of us, not only as a surfing community but as representatives of Borongan City, Eastern Samar,” Ambil said.

Officials of the United Philippine Surfing Association (UPSA) lauded the city government for promoting gender equality in hosting professional surfing championship tournaments.

Philippine National Surfing Team head coach John Carby said providing equality between male and female surfers is within the current roadmap of UPSA and they are lauding the city government of Borongan for leading voluntarily.

Carby said equality between genders in sports is a hotly debated topic, which is why UPSA made a requirement that all categories in surfing competitions sanctioned by their organization must have counterpart categories in both sexes.

Being a male-dominated sport, Carby added that UPSA started to provide better opportunities to female by including more women courses in their judging program.

“We appreciate the initiative and looking forward to put it in our practices for other regions, not to just copy. We hope to copy on their own, but eventually we will also be imposing equal opportunities. This is a roadmap that we want to see it done in a voluntary level in a particular region. We sit down, we clap them, and we raise our hats to the initiatives,” Carby said during a press briefing here.

Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda said the main goal of the local government is to institutionalize this sporting event that has put the city and the province of Eastern Samar as a destination for surfing enthusiasts in the country.

Borongan has been hosting the national surfing competition for three years now intending to produce local surf champions.

At present, the more than PHP2 million budget for the sporting competition is shouldered by the city and the provincial government, they hope that in the future hosting of the event, private sector will come in to sponsor the competition, Agda said.

Around 250 surfers from all over the country are now in Borongan City for the National Surfing Championship to start Nov. 26 to Dec. 3, 2022.

These surfers are from the provinces of Siargao, L Union, Ilocos Sur, Cebu, Eastern Samar, Aurora, Sorsogon, Catanduanes, Zambales, Camarines Norte, Leyte, and Northern Samar.

Borongan's surfing event is dubbed Surf in the City, because the competition is held along the surfing spot on Baybay Boulevard located within the city proper.

The event gathers the best surfers from all over the country as they compete for the third leg of a national surfing competition sanctioned by UPSA, the national sports body for surfing in the country.

The first leg of the competition was held in Siargao while the second was in Baler, Aurora. (PNA)

 

National, Bangsamoro lawmakers join forces to bolster peace, development in BARMM

COTABATO CITY—The national and Bangsamoro lawmakers joined forces, following the conduct of the first Organization Meeting for the Philippine Congress-Bangsamoro Parliament Forum (PCBPF) held on Tuesday, Nov. 15 in Pasay City, to discuss ways of bolstering development and sustaining the gains of peace in the Bangsamoro region. 

The meeting, led by Inter-governmental Relations Body (IGRB) co-chairs, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and BARMM Minister Mohagher Iqbal, aimed to constitute the forum and discuss legislation that concerns Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

DBM Secretary Pangandaman shared that “the establishment of BARMM is a historic win for the whole country, and achieving lasting peace and sustained socio-economic development in the region is a common aspiration for the Filipino people.”

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez led the forum discussions which served as an avenue to update on the status of the priority codes, including the Bangsamoro Electoral Code, Bangsamoro Local Government Code, Bangsamoro Revenue Code, and the Bangsamoro Law for Indigenous Peoples (IP), among other important legislative agenda.

Bangsamoro Parliament Member Atty. Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba emphasized that the PCBPF is one of the Inter-Governmental Relation (IGR) Mechanisms to meet and discuss the legislative initiatives that will affect the Bangsamoro region that was created for purposes of cooperation and coordination between the two (2) legislative bodies, as required under Section 3, Art. 16 of Republic Act (RA) 11054 otherwise known as the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL). 

"The meat of discussions yesterday was solely for the interest and well-being of the general public [especially in the Bangsamoro region]," MP Alba, who is also the Bangsamoro Transition Authority’s (BTA) Floor Leader, said.

Alba further stressed that the PCBPF agrees to create several TWGs to study the matters raised, facilitate discussions and come up with recommendations to the Forum. The PCBPF is scheduled to meet every two (2) months.

Meanwhile, Senator Zubiri, who is a fervent advocate of peace in Mindanao and the principal author of the BOL, thanked in a Facebook post the House of Representatives and the BARMM Government for participating in the forum.

“Maraming salamat po kina Speaker Martin Romualdez, Speaker Pangalian Balindong, at lahat ng mga kasama nating mambabatas mula sa Senado, Kamara, at Bangsamoro Parliament! At salamat din kina Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, Sec. Amenah Pangandaman, Sec. Carlito Galvez, at Minister Mohagher Iqbal na nakasama rin natin sa forum,” Zubiri wrote. 

“Tuloy-tuloy po ang ating pagtutulungan, para sa tuloy-tuloy na pag-asenso ng BARMM,” he added. 

Tuesday’s meeting was also attended by Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, BTA Speaker Pangalian Balindong, MPs Jose Lorena, Raissa Jajurie, Eduard Guerra, Ubaida Pacasem, Omar Yasser Sema, Abdulkarim Misuari, Lanang Ali Jr., Marjanie Macasalong, Senators Loren Legarda and Robinhood Padilla, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, Representatives Rex Gatchalian, Yasser Alonto Balindong, Joey Salceda, and Maximo Dalog, Jr. (Kasan Usop, Jr./BIO)

 

PBBM urges APEC leaders to advance climate change cooperation

 By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos

Repost By Becky D. de Asis/The Redline News Editor

FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE.  President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. speaks at the Retreat Session of the 29th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday (Nov. 18, 2022). Marcos called on his fellow Asia-Pacific leaders to step up their cooperation to address the worst impacts of climate change in the region. (Photo courtesy of the Office of the Press Secretary)

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday called on his fellow Asia-Pacific leaders to step up their cooperation to address the worst impacts of climate change in the region.

During his intervention at the Retreat Session of the 29th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, Marcos said the 21-member bloc must work together, as "increased interconnectedness and interdependence of peoples and economies brought about by globalization has led to the progressive world we live in today."

Marcos said the effects of globalization on the environment have become "more acute," requiring a "strong, immediate and coordinated international action."

"The world currently faces the greatest environmental challenges of all time -- that it continues to pose threats to the planet, and that is one existential element that we all have to deal with," Marcos said.

"How economies respond is critical in determining the fate of the planet we live on and will pass on to our future generations," he added.

To ensure "inclusive and sustainable" growth amid an apparent downturn of the world economy and risks of recessions, Marcos said APEC leaders must work together towards achieving "economic and social stability" that is aligned with the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040.

Marcos was referring to the APEC members' vision of an "open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful" Asia-Pacific community by 2040.

He made the call, as he expressed the Philippines' readiness to advance its cooperation with the Asia-Pacific region to combat the climate crisis.

"As one of the economies at greatest risk from the climate crisis, the Philippines is committed to advancing these cooperative solutions," Marcos said, noting that various international climate pacts, including the United Nations Framework on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, are already being implemented in the country.

Marcos added that the Philippines has already ratified several multilateral and bilateral agreements aimed at protecting the environment.

During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in Bangkok on Thursday, Marcos said APEC member economies should beef up efforts to counter the effects of several global challenges, including the climate crisis. (PNA)

 

 

 

  

 

F