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NEWS AUGUST 2019
LTFRB: No more old jeepneys by 2020 Duterte wants Dept. of OFWs up by December

he Land Transportation Franchising are really those who just refuse to accept and separate Department
and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) understand. And that is really one of the main of Overseas Filipino
Tyesterday warned jeepney operators challenges in implementing this program,” A Workers (OFWs)
nationwide of the looming deadline to comply Corpuz said. should be established within
with the government’s public utility vehicle Corpuz also criticized groups saying that six months to address the
(PUV) modernization program. they should be allowed to adjust and adopt persistent woes of OFWs with
LTFRB board member Ronald Corpuz gradually to the shift. “This started in 2017. regard to illegal recruiters
assured commuters that they would no longer Isn’t that considered gradual? Three years and other labor malpractices,
see old jeepneys plying the streets by July already and it is not still gradual?” he said. according to President Duterte.
1, 2020. “The deadliest deadline is June 30, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade The proposed department
2020. By then, all polluting and dilapidated earlier said there is no stopping the PUV will ban recruitment of OFWs
Old Jeepney Modern Jeepney
jeeps will be gone,” he said. modernization program despite a few who abroad and will put Philippine-
Corpuz said “if the existing units are not modern PUVs that are powered by either jeepneys operating at present, far from the are opposing it. based recruitment agencies
changed and the existing operators do not brand-new Euro 4-compliant diesel engines government’s target of replacing 170,000 Tugade earlier instructed the Office of under strict government
consolidate by June 30, 2020, their routes or electric motors. units nationwide. Transportation Cooperatives to fasttrack regulation. “Kaya apurahin
will be opened to those willing operators that The program is part of efforts to provide LTFRB officials said there are certain approvals of transport groups intending ko ‘yang Department of OFW.
would want to run new compliant units.” a safer transport system for commuters while groups and operators who continue to oppose to modernize their fleet and consolidate Bawal na ang recruitment sa
Under the government’s PUV mitigating the effects of climate change. and reject the PUV modernization plan of the into cooperatives to further strengthen the abroad... sa labas. So, under
modernization program launched in 2017, However, LTFRB technical division chief government. “Accepting and understanding a country’s shift towards the utilization of the supervision of government at walang
old jeepneys are required to be replaced with Joel Bolano said there are only 4,000 modern message depends really on the receiver. There modern public utility vehicles. —Philstar horrendous charges. By December… buong
Pilipinas ‘to (I will fasttrack that Department
of OFWs. Outside recruitment will be banned.
DOH declares national dengue alert So, under the supervision of the government
Philippines’ Palawan Ranks he Department of Health (DOH) and with no horrendous charges. This will
be in the entire Philippines by December),”
as world’s 2nd best island Tamid a spike in reported cases of the Duterte said during the Araw ng Pasasalamat
declared a national dengue alert
for OFWs ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo.
viral illness caused by female Aedes aegypti The President further warned illegal
and abusive recruiters that their days are
mosquitoes in several regions.
numbered, as they could no longer operate
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said
without direct government supervision. He
from January 1 to June 29, 2019, 106,630
urged those who want to work abroad to
dengue cases have been reported nationwide,
engage the services of legal recruiters.
an 85 percent increase from the 57,564 cases
Former presidential aide and current
reported over the same period last year.
“This is the first time that we’re declaring
a national alert. Because the objective is very
clear. We want to raise awareness among the
public and more importantly, in communities
where signs of early dengue increases are Health Secretary
he Philippines is known for its gorgeous According to Travel+Leisure, Palawan,
evident,” Duque pointed out. Francisco Duque III
islands and beaches. Tourists, both Boracay, and Cebu are long-time favorites,
Duque clarified there is no national said that Code Blue
Tlocal and foreign, attest to its awesome citing “top-notch reef and wreck diving, white-
epidemic as the cases of dengue are localized. Alert has also been raised for the National
allure. For instance, the island of Palawan sand beaches, hiking trails with waterfalls and
“We don’t have a national epidemic. It’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
- hailed by Travel+Leisure magazine as the welcoming locals,” as the best features in the
localized. As I have mentioned, the top among Council (NDRRMC) health cluster.
world’s second-best island this year - is among selection.
the regions would be Western Visayas,
the many attractions the archipelago takes In 2007, National Geographic Traveler Mindanao and Cordillera Administrative
followed by Calabarzon, Central Visayas,
pride in. The selection of the island from magazine listed Palawan - home to the Puerto- Region. Western Visayas had the most
Soccsksargen and Northern Mindanao. There
among 15 major tourist attractions should not Princesa Subterranean River, a UNESCO World number of reported dengue cases so far this
is no national epidemic but there is certainly
come as a surprise: Palawan actually held the Heritage Site - as the best island destination in year with 13,164, followed by Calabarzon
regional” added Duque.
exclusive bragging rights when it was voted as the East and Southeast Asia region. Palawan (11,474 cases), Central Visayas (9,199 cases),
Duque said that the five regions have
the world’s premier island in 2013 and 2017. has had a Biosphere Reserve status since Soccsksargen (9,107 cases) and Northern
exceeded the epidemic threshold.
Its rise to the No. 2 spot this year (with a 90.87 the 1990s, proof of its massive push for Mindanao (8,739 cases). “Dengue is a viral
The following regions, on the other hand,
score) from sixth place last year cements anew conservation and sustainable development. disease with no known vaccine or specific
are being monitored after exceeding the
its reputation as a must-go-to destination. Situated on the northern end of Palawan is antivirals,” Duque explained. “Effective
alert threshold: Ilocos region, Cagayan
The Philippines’ fifth largest island, El Nido, also currently named as the “Most surveillance can also help in reducing cases
Valley, Calabarzon, Bicol region, Eastern
Palawan was next only to Sri Lanka in Beautiful Beach in the World” by Conde Nast and deaths if areas with clustering of cases
Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao region, are identified early.” —Inquirer
Travel+Leisure’s “The World’s Best Awards Traveller.
Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim
2019.” One reader, according to the magazine, Meanwhile, Premiere Horizon Alliance
said that the island was the “single most Corp (PHA)’s bet in Palawan’s enduring beauty
beautiful place I have ever seen.” Maldives, is pushing this Qatari holdings company’s Pag-IBIG grants 12K socialized
Milos, and Bali join Sri Lanka and Palawan in stocks to the roof. PHA, which is currently
this year’s top global tourist havens. developing one of the biggest tourism housing loans to low-wage earners
The criteria for voting, based on properties in the Philippines, has grown 300%
Travel+Leisure’s reader choices, examines this year, beating global competitors with over tate-run housing fund Pag-IBIG This is the essence of the BALAI
“activities and sights, natural attractions and $15 million in market value. extended socialized housing loans to (Building Adequate, Livable, Affordable
beaches, food, friendliness, and overall value.” Premiere’s Palawan masterplan includes S11,894 members from the minimum- and Inclusive) Filipino Communities
Palawan also bagged second place in the the construction of 5 hotels, 3 shopping wage and low-income sectors totaling Program of the government’s housing sector
magazine’s yearly listing of Best Islands malls, and a golf course in three years. The PHP4.52 billion in the first half of 2019. towards providing decent shelter for every
Category in Asia, joined by Cebu and Boracay, development is expected to give the island The figure represents nearly 30 percent Filipino family,” said Secretary Eduardo del
the Philippine’s seventh and ninth best islands some $248 million in revenue, in addition to of the total number of housing loans financed Rosario, Chairperson of the Housing and
that garnered a score of 87.09 and 86.90, a yearly income of $86-million generated from by the agency from January to June. Urban Development Coordinating Council
respectively. this project, PHA said. —Business Times 41,746 housing loans amounting to PHP37.07 Trustees. Socialized housing loans are up to
Pag-IBIG Fund financed record-highs of (HUDCC) and Pag-IBIG Fund Board of
Sri Lanka's best billion in the first half of this year to assist PHP580,000 for a 32 square-meter residential
members acquire or improve their homes.
unit in a horizontal housing project. Under its
“Socialized housing is designed Affordable Housing Loan Program, Pag-IBIG
especially for minimum and low-wage Fund maintains the lowest interest rate in the
workers. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte market of 3 percent per annum – a special rate
directed that there be government programs it has provided for minimum and low-wage
catering to this underserved sector, hence, we workers since May of 2017.
have this housing program that is suited for EARNERS
their financial capacity. Continued on Page 14