Day: June 25, 2024

MANILA: The private sector can help the country realize its food security targets under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. through agro-industries investments, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

During the PHINMA Corporation, Stratbase ADR Institute and Makati Business Club, Inc. policy forum on Monday, DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa underscored the need for more support from the private sector, citing key areas like economies of scale through farm consolidations.

“We want the private sector to help us in our clustering and consolidation. If you look at Thailand, and Vietnam for example, their minimum farm size to be very efficient is about a hundred hectares for rice and corn,” he said.

He noted that most Filipino farmers till an average farm size of about one to two hectares.

This makes everything expensive for farmers, from farm inputs cost to mechanization, not to mention the lower efficiency, De Mesa said.

“We can bring down the cost of inputs. We can make ou
r machinery and mechanization more efficient if we have economies of scale… We need to start now in making sure that our farms will become very efficient,” he added.

Meanwhile, De Mesa said the DA is looking at ways to lower average milling losses in rice to at least five percent to 10 percent.

The current milling losses range from 15 percent to 20 percent, which is equivalent to 342,000 metric tons per year.

“We need to increase iyong ating milling efficiency. So that mas marami iyong buo, iyong tinatawag na head rice… target mapababa siya (there’s more of what they call head rice… we’re targeting to lower it to) at least 5 to 10 percent, and then eventually, mabawasan pa lalo sa mga susunod na taon (lower it even more in the succeeding years),” he said in an interview.

Besides investing in newer and more efficient rice mills, he said one of the solutions being considered to increase milling efficiency was lessening the varieties of rice per region.

He pointed out that there are many rice varieties
— long, round, small and large — which, when milled together, will produce more broken rice.

‘Kapag mas marami iyong broken, lugi dun iyong farmer, mas magiging mababa iyong presyo (If there’s more broken, farmers will have lower income because of the cheaper price),” De Mesa said.

He said they are also requesting for a higher budget for the improvement of drying, milling and post-harvest facilities to further trim down production losses.

For 2025, the DA is proposing around PHP13.1 billion for its post-harvest related machinery, equipment, and facilities, much higher than this year’s PHP4.2 billion.

It is also seeking to increase its budget for farm-to-market road projects amounting to PHP50 billion and over PHP200 billion for irrigation.

Source: Philippines News Agency

BAYAMBANG: A 67-hectare investment hub soon to rise in Barangay Bani here is expected to boost the local economy, including the town’s coffers.

“We are anticipating a surge in unemployment, especially among the youth, but this project will usher in investments, and job opportunities. It is not for the economy alone but also for culture and commerce,” Mayor Mary Clare Judith Phyllis Jose Quiambao said during the groundbreaking of the Bayambang (BYB) Metro on Monday.

The PHP2.5-billion BYB Metro is a commercial-residential township project — which includes a theme park, open spaces, hotels, housing, and business areas — is expected to be completed within five years.

Quiambao said the project will also benefit nearby towns in central and eastern Pangasinan.

‘It would also boost tourism in the town and neighboring areas since it is adjacent to the famous St. Vincent Ferrer Prayer Park, where the tallest engineered bamboo statue is located, and pilgrims visit,’ she said.

Meanwhile, Agricultural Infrastructu
re and Leasing Corp (AILC) president Cezar Quiambao said the new metro area will generate around PHP50 million to PHP200 million income for the town annually when it is fully operational.

“It will generate income for the town from real estate tax,” he said.

BYB Metro’s Blue Sky theme park will feature a 50-meter-high Ferris wheel and a roller coaster as the main attractions, as well as14 other rides, a snow world, and an ice-skating rink.

Quiambao said the first phase of the theme park is expected to be opened by November 30 this year, initially creating 5,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, a digital theme park would also be opened in June 2025.

The commercial business district will include a shopping mall, restaurants, and an amusement park, while the residential subdivision is designed to provide modern living spaces for the community.

Quiambao said they are expecting to cater to over 500,000 local tourists from neighboring towns.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Swimmers Kayla Sanchez and Harold Hatch, and judoka Kiyomi Watanabe have qualified for the Paris Olympics, increasing the roster of Team Philippines to 18.

The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) is still waiting for a letter from the International Golf Federation (IGF), which will confirm that Bianca Pagdanganan (No. 35) and Dottie Ardina (No. 55) qualified. The top 60 is the cut off for the Olympics.

‘Great news, and we can even ask for more,’ said POC president Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino on Tuesday. He is in Metz, France overseeing the pre-Paris training camp at La Moselle with chef de mission Jonvic Remulla.

‘Each day, as the countdown to the Olympics dwindles, the morale goes higher and higher,’ he added.

Sanchez, who will be returning to the Olympics this time representing the Philippines, has entered the women’s 100m freestyle while Hatch will compete in the men’s 100m butterfly.

Watanabe, on the other hand, qualified through the continental quota in the women’s -63kg event. She will be mak
ing her second Olympics appearance after Tokyo.

Tolentino said he is waiting for an official announcement from World Athletics on who will join world’s No. 2 men’s pole vaulter Ernest John ‘EJ’ Obiena in Paris. “We’re expecting more.’

The Philippines is celebrating its 100 years of participation in the Olympic Games.

‘We’re chasing more history, we’re setting the ante higher,’ said Tolentino, hoping to duplicate or surpass the one gold, two silver, and bronze medals achieved in Tokyo.

With 20 athletes, the country has surpassed the Tokyo Olympics where Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo delivered the Philippines’ first gold medal.

The other Paris qualifiers are weightlifters Vanessa Sarno, John Febuar Ceniza and Elreen Ando; boxers Aira Villegas, Hergie Bacyadan, Carlo Paalam, Nesthy Petecio and Eumir Felix Marcial; rower Joanie Delgaco; fencer Samantha Catantan; and gymnasts Carlos Yulo, Emma Malabuyo and Levi Ruivivar.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The first cancer center of the country’s capital city would greatly ease the burden of patients as it would provide them with free treatment, Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna said Tuesday.

During the groundbreaking rites for the Governor Benjamin T. Romualdez Cancer Center at the Ospital ng Maynila (OM) compound, Lacuna said the majority of those who avail of health services from the city government are cancer patients.

“Ang pinakamahirap ay ang kakulangan ng publikong pasilidad na naka-focus sa (The most difficult challenge is the lack of public facilities focusing on [cancer]) treatment and care. The cost of treatment costs from PHP120,000 to PHP1 million or more, obviously such an expense (is) beyond the reach of ordinary people,” Lacuna said in her speech.

The five-story facility, named after the father of House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, will have 38 beds and will be equipped with state-of-the-art medical technology, including a linear accelerator, spect gamma camera with
treadmill machine, and CT scan.

Currently, the mayor said, many cancer patients are enduring long queues to avail of affordable treatment at the Philippine General Hospital and the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center.

Once finished, Lacuna said, the facility would help serve more patients battling cancer, which she said kills 96 persons daily.

Lacuna, meanwhile, thanked Romualdez, who pledged to allot enough funds for the facility.

He also thanked House Appropriations Committee chair Rep. Elizaldy Co for allotting PHP500 million for the OM and the Sta. Ana Hospital under the Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients program.

Meanwhile, Romualdez said the construction of the facility is part of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s legacy health care projects.

‘The President’s vision is clear: no Filipino should have to choose between their health and their livelihood. The establishment of cancer centers, like the one we inaugurated, is a testament to President Marcos’ commitment to this cause,’ he added.

T
he project’s groundbreaking is part of the celebration of Manila’s 453rd founding anniversary.

Source: Philippines News Agency

SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA: Philippine College of Chest Physicians-Northwest Panay Chapter (PCCP-NPC) is calling on local government units in Antique to enact ordinances regulating the sale of vapes, especially to teenagers, due to its ill effects.

In a media interview on Tuesday, PCCP-NPC president Dr. Helarose Elisterio said there are teenagers and even adults in the province who are into vaping.

She said there are vape stores near schools, making them accessible to students, while some establishments have smoking or vaping areas, thus tolerating the unhealthy habit.

‘The vapes are sold in different flavors and packaging such as it could look like a universal serial bus (USB) or a lipstick that could be enticing,’ she said.

The medical doctor said that vapes contain toxic chemicals and metals and could be harmful to the lungs and addictive when inhaled.

It contains nicotine, a highly addictive substance that could affect brain development; propylene glycol used for antifreeze, paint solvent, and artificial
smoke in fog machines; and carcinogen, a cancer-causing chemical.

‘Vaping is not a substitute to tobacco smoking, but it is just the beginning,’ Elisterio further said.

She explained that teenagers usually start with vaping and ultimately step up into tobacco smoking.

She said that the PCCP-NPC, an organization of pulmonary doctors in Northwest Panay to observe World No Tobacco Month, aims to raise public awareness of the ill effects of vaping.

Source: Philippines News Agency