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By Rose de la Cruz Of the 69 priority infrastructure projects of the Marcos administration, 23 involve railway systems in keeping with the government’s dream of a ‘railway renaissance’ for the benefit of commuters and to spur economic growth that is currently being hindered by time lost in traffic and commuting. At a recent conference, DoTr Assistant Secretary Jorjette Aquino …

By Rose de la Cruz Despite firm commitment and efforts to combat human trafficking, the Philippines landed anew the top place (Tier 1 rank)  in the US Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. Tier 1 is the highest rank indicating that the Philippines has completed the minimum standards in eliminating human trafficking. For this, Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla …

Rose de la Cruz House think tank, Congressional Policy and Budget Research Development (CPBRD), in a study said, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) brought about by the Rice Tariffication Law and the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund was only marginal at 1.07 percent from 2019 to 2022. This despite the allocation of funds collected through the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund. …

By Rose de la Cruz The World Bank urged the government to invest in its youth now in terms of health, education, reskilling and upskilling before the Philippines gets old. At the launch of the Philippine Human Capital Review report, World Bank country director Ndianme Diop for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand said “investing in human capital within a …

By Rose de la Cruz Even with the issuance last week of Executive Order No. 62, reducing imported rice tariffs from 35 to 15 percent, effective July 6, farmers would not take this sitting down and are filing a petition for temporary restraining order before the Supreme Court. SINAG, farmers group, on Sunday held a press briefing to denounce the …

By Rose de la Cruz Just last March 19, San Miguel Corp. confirmed it was dropping the Pasig River Expressway (PAREX) project (which made environmental groups so jubilant and victorious). But on Sunday, media reported that PAREX will begin by 2025 after the conglomerate obtains clearances from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said the Toll Regulatory Board. This …

By Rose de la Cruz Based on the Energy Transition Index of the World Economic Forum, the Philippines slowed down to 105th (out of 120 countries) ahead only to Bangladesh (109th), Pakistan (113th) and Mongolia (118th). The Philippines dropped 11 spots in the index to 105th this compared to 94th in 2023, making it the lowest since 2015 when it …

By Rose de la Cruz Think- tank, IBON Foundation, asked the government to invest more in education (particularly in creative thinking and sciences) as the Philippines continued to lag in the recently-published Programme on International Student Assessment of the Overseas Economic and Cooperation Development. Filipino students, ages 15 or those nearing graduation from the basic primary education system covered by …

Vice President Sara Duterte stepped down as education secretary and vice chairperson of the government’s anti-communist task force, Malacañang announced on Wednesday. According to Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil, Duterte went to Malacañang at 2:21 p.m. Wednesday to tender her resignation as Member of the Cabinet, Secretary of the Department of Education and Vice Chairperson of the National …

By Rose de la Cruz With all the hype that SIM Registration law (which was deliberated in the previous administration) about stopping all scams, esp. from POGOs, have all but miserably failed. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, in a statement, said a number of SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards used for fraud were found in recent raids of illegal POGO (Philippine Offshore …