SMC awaits Duterte OK for $15-billion Bulacan airport

San Miguel Corp., the country’s diversified conglomerate, hopes to soon get the Duterte administration’s approval for its proposed $15 billion airport in Bulacan.

“Let’s hope it will be soon so passengers will no longer have a difficult time traveling,” SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said during the company’s annual stockholders meeting in response to a query on when the project will take off.

In a briefing after the meeting, Ang said the President is very strong willed so the project’s approval may move faster than expected if Duterte wants it.

Ang touted the Bulacan airport as the solution to the airport taxiway and runway congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

“The problem with NAIA now is not just runway congestion. It’s also airport taxiway congestion,” he said.

He has already tapped the best masterplanners and builders to design and construct the airport, which he said could be the cleanest and most efficient in the country.

 “Once the government gives us the go-signal, we will reveal to the public the design of the project, but it will be a green airport, the cleanest, easiest, and friendliest,” Ang said.

Last April, the National Economic and Development Authority Board gave the green light for the airport project. But Ang said it could still take a long time given that there would still be negotiations with the Department of Transportation (DOTr). The project still needs to be subjected to a Swiss challenge.

He believes the project will attract 20 million foreign tourists and generate at least 40 million new jobs.

Ang also reiterated the proposed Bulacan airport could put the Philippines on the radar screen of foreign tourists as it would help decongest the existing airports such as the NAIA and support the Clark gateway in Pampanga.

Filipino Muslims pray for passage of self rule law as fasting month ends

Manila: Thousands of Filipino Muslims joined their families for Eid festivities across the country amid fervent hopes that a law that would provide them with genuine self-rule would be passed.

Muslims in the Philippines attended Eid prayers at the Golden Mosque and Cultural Centre in Manila’s Quiapo district to celebrate Eid Al Fitr.

Haji Mohammad Ersad Malli, administrator of the Golden Mosque said as the tasting month ended for Filipino Muslims, he hopes Senators and House of Representatives finish with their work with the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

“We are praying and hoping that the BBL will become a law. We, who are in Luzon, are also affected by conflicts in the south. God willing, BBL will push through, according to them the bill is now in the bicameral and we hope it would be signed before the State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo Duterte,” Malli was quoted by the state-run Philippine News Agency as saying.

During the last week of May the House and the Senate passed their respective versions of the BBL, a legal framework for a Moro self-rule region in southern Philippines that would replace the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The ARMM, which is already more than two decades old, had failed to end the fighting in southern Philippines as it failed miserably to address the root causes of the conflict such as inequity in the distribution of wealth, among others.

The two chambers’ work on the BBL marks the first time proposals on this matter had gone past discussions in the plenary.

Still, work on the law is still far from finished and a consolidated version of the Senate and House versions of the proposal must be approved first in the bicameral conference committee (Bicam), before it can be submitted for Duterte’s approval.

Duterte in May certified the BBL as an “urgent” measure.

It had been hoped that the BBL will finally bring peace in southern Philippines.

“We pray every day for peace to reign in Mindanao, particularly in Marawi City,” he said.

Known as the Philippines’ Islamic City with more than 90 per cent of the population Muslim, Marawi City was turned into a battleground last year for five months as Daesh-inspired groups mounted an insurrection and tried to establish an Islamic fundamentalist “caliphate” in the city.

The fighting disrupted the lives of destroyed homes of the residents and left more than a thousand dead.

Walang overnight? Duterte wants trip to Kuwait to be quick

President Rodrigo Duterte has no plans of staying long in Kuwait even if he’s dead set on visiting the Gulf state out of gratitude.

In a speech before newly elected barangay chiefs of CALABARZON Thursday (June 14), Duterte expressed gratitude to Kuwait for agreeing to all of his demands for the contents of the agreement for the protection of Filipino migrant workers.

Among the President’s demands which were included in the contract is the prohibition on employers’ confiscation of the Filipino workers, a mandatory one day off, and the freedom to cook their own food and practice their own religion.

“So about seven of them were granted. That’s why I’m going to Kuwait. Huwag kayong mag-alala. I will just take the commercial flight. Mag-commercial lang ako just to say ‘salamat po’ and then I’ll take the next available flight back home. Just to show our gratitude,” he said in Laguna.

Duterte lashed out at Kuwait for the “inhumane” treatment of Filipino workers after the body of domestic helper Joanna Demafelis was found in a freezer in February.

The incident led to the ban on deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait for a few months.

Duterte lifted the deployment ban after the agreement with Kuwait was signed.

Robredo calls for a form of BBL that ‘adequately’ reflects hopes, dreams of Muslims

At the end of Ramadan, Vice President Leni Robredo once again called for the immediate passing of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in a form that would “adequately” reflect the hopes and dreams of the Muslims.

Robredo, in a statement issued for the Eid’l Fitr celebration this year, expressed hope that BBL “will soon be passed.” However, she noted that along with its passing into a law, the government must ensure that it will be in a “form that adequately reflects the hopes and dreams of our dear Bangsamoro brothers and sisters.” This, she said, will help “end their long-drawn suffering and fulfill their desire for lasting peace.”

In the proposed BBL, it is suggested that existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will be abolished. It will be replaced with Bangsamoro Region – one that will be governed by a duly elected Parliament.

As the country joins the Muslim community in celebrating Eid ul Fitr, Robredo paid tribute to the Muslims. “The value of sacrifice for the good of others is one of the foundations of Islam,” she said. “For one whole month, Muslims all over the world abstain from worldly pleasures and, instead, feed and clothe the poor. In the process, they renew their faith and show their commitment to service in the name of Allah,” she added.

Robredo also noted that last year, “we have seen first-hand, how our Muslim brothers and sisters were willing to sacrifice their own well-being to help people in need.” She was referring to the Marawi Siege wherein the government forces clashed with a local terrorist group for months.

“Many of our Muslim countrymen were willing to give food to those who had none to eat, to give shelter to those who had lost their homes, and to give comfort to those who were in despair in the midst of the crisis in Marawi,” Robredo said. “These were examples of selflessness that the rest of us Filipinos would do well to emulate,” she added.

Aside from the passing of the BBL, Robredo also wished that the Muslim community to be rewarded “for your sacrifices and selflessness to those in need.” She added that may the celebration of Eid ul Fitr may “strengthen your faith in Islam and give you the strength to overcome the challenges that you and the nation face” and will also become a “time to reflect and celebrate, as Allah’s hand blesses the whole of humanity.”

My Proposed PTV 4 Schedule (August 2018)

Weekdays

• 4 am – Oras ng Katotohanan
• 5 am (replay) –
• Mon: PTV News Weekend
• Tues-Fri: PTV News Headlines
• 5:30 am – Salaam TV
• 6 am – Bagong Pilipinas 
• 7 am – Sa Totoo Lang (Mon), Ben Tulfo Unfiltered (Tue), Edukado (Wed), Kalusugan Mo Sagot Ko (Thu), Linya ng Pagbabago (Fri)
• 7:30 am – Pinoy US Cops (Tue), ITravel Pinas (Thu)
• 8 am – Bitag Live (temporary: Bitag and Pinoy US Cops replays)
• 9 am – Daily Info
• 9:30 am – DOSTv: Science for the People
• 10 am – Chinese Shows (Anime, Movies and Documentaries)
• 1 pm – Sentro Balita
• 2 pm – Chinese Shows (Anime, Movies and Documentaries)
• Fri: Damayan Ngayon
• 3 pm – Chinese Shows (Anime, Movies and Documentaries)
• 4 pm – Kilos Pronto 
• 5 pm – Mon: BizNews 
• Tue: Public Eye
• Wed: Insider Exclusive
• Thu: Iskoolmates
• Fri: GSIS Members’ Hour
• 6 pm – PTV News
• 7 pm – PTV Sports 
• 7:30 pm –Chinese Shows (Anime, Movies and Documentaries)
• 9 pm – PCSO Lottery Draw
• 9:30 pm – Chinese Shows (Anime, Movies and Documentaries)
• 10:30 pm – PTV News Headlines
• 11 pm – The Medyo Late Night Show with Jojo A. All The Way!
• 11:30 pm – PNA Newsroom 
• 12 MN – Oras ng Himala

Saturday

• 5 am – PTV News Headlines (Replay)
• 5:30 am – Oras ng Katotohanan
• 6:30 am – Soldiers for Christ 
• 7 am - Oras ng Himala
• 8 am –Yan ang Marino
• 8:30 am – Lakbayin ang Magandang Pilipinas
• 9:30 am – Mag-Agri Tayo
• 10:30 am – Pros and Cons
• 11 am – Cabinet Report sa Teleradyo
• 12:30 pm – Tahor: Your Ultimate Gamefowl Show
• 1 pm – Auto Review
• 2 pm – Like Pinas
• 2:30 pm – Du30 on Duty
• 3 pm - Chinese Shows (Anime, Movies and Documentaries)
• 5 pm – Mga Pinoy sa tsina
• 6 pm – PTV News
• 7 pm – Chinese Shows (Anime, Movies and Documentaries)
• 9 pm – PCSO Lottery Draw
• 9:30 pm – Crime Desk
• 10 pm – Bitag: The New Generation
• 11:00 pm – CGTN: Travelogue / CGTN: Assignment Asia/Travelogue
• 11:30 pm - CGTN: Culture Express
• 12 mn to 2 am – Jesus Miracle Crusade

Sunday

• 4:30 am – Key of David
• 5 am – Oras ng Katotohanan
• 6 am – Talitha Kum Healing Mass
• 7 am – LWYD (Loving What You Do) 
• 7:30 am – Buhay Abroad
• 8:00 am – Buhay Pinoy
• 8:30 am – The Doctor is In: Made More Fun
• 9:00 am –Tulay: Bridging People, Business and Government for Unity, Peace, and 
• 9:30 am – SME GO: Powered by Go Negosyo
• 10:30 am - Payo Alternatibo ng Dok Alternatibo
• 11:00 am – Kakaibang Lunas
• 11:30 am – Sagisag Kultura TV
• 12 nn – CGTN: Rediscovering China
• 12:30 pm - Bagong Bayani TV
• 1:00 pm - Chinese Shows (Anime, Movies and Documentaries) 
• 3:00 pm – Trabahante 
• 4:00 pm – Chinese Shows (Anime, Movies and Documentaries)
• 6 pm – PTV News
• 7 pm – Chinese Shows (Anime, Movies and Documentaries)
• 9 pm – PCSO Lottery Draw
• 9:30 pm – Kasangga Mo Ang Langit/Biyaheng Langit 
• 10 pm – Salaam TV
• 10:30 pm - Lumad TV
• 11 pm – Chinese Shows (Anime, Movies and Documentaries)
• 12 mn - Oras ng Himala

 =)

Enchong Dee - PBB 737

House minority solons want provisions on flag, anthem out of BBL bill

HOUSE Minority leaders on Thursday set conditions on approving the final Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) to be reconciled by the Bicameral Conference Committee in July.

“I supported the passage of the BBL, but they must take note: we must remove some elements from the approved version,” Deputy Minority leader Jose L. Atienza, Jr. said in a press briefing.

Mr. Atienza was referring to the provision allowing the Bangsamoro region to have its own flag and anthem.

“Meron ba namang area na may sariling pambansang awit (Is there even an area that has its own national song) beside the Philippine National Anthem? I’m quite sensitive to that. I really believe in the constitutional mandate that there should only be one Philippine national anthem,” he said, adding that if the bicameral version still contains said provisions he will change his vote.

Article 2, Section 3 of House Bill 6475 grants the Bangsamoro Parliament to adopt an official flag, emblem and anthem of the Bangsamoro, which Mr. Atienza said could open the region to possible secession.

“That’s a prescription of a serious national disintegration, magkakaroon tayo ng mga (there will be a) secession movement,” he said.

The same provision is present in the Senate version, but on the condition that the Bangsamoro flag will always be displayed alongside the Philippine flag. It was also specified the Bangsamoro can have a hymn, which should always be sung with the National Anthem.

Minority leader Danilo E. Suarez also disagreed with some provisions of the BBL, particularly on the proposed block grant, which he said is “counterproductive.”

“Alam mo kapag ginawa mo yan, the Cordillera, gagayahin ‘yan (You know, if you do that, the Cordillera might follow). That will not stop other areas (from coming) up with their own,” Mr. Suarez said.

A provision in both versions of the bill states the National Government will allocate an annual block grant to the Bangsamoro government, which will amount to 5% of the net National Internal Revenue collection of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the net collection of the Bureau of Customs.

The Bicameral Conference Committee is set to hold meetings from July 9 to 13 as it targets to submit the reconciled bill in time for President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address on July 23.