News Roundup 03 October 2023
Oct 03, 2023 • 4 min Read
Filipinos distrust China amid bullying at West Philippine Sea — survey | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — China’s continued aggression over the disputed West Philippine Sea territories is causing growing discontent among Filipinos.
This sentiment is shown by a recent survey conducted by Oculum Research and Analytics.
China is the least trusted country among 1,200 respondents in the poll released on September 27, with 51% registering their disapproval.
The United States (US), Beijing’s archnemesis on the global stage, notched the highest approval, at 62%.
China recently sparked a diplomatic row after it installed a 300-meter floating barrier along Scarborough Shoal to prevent the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and fishermen from entering the area, which Beijing claims to be theirs. Authorities slammed the blockage as a “clear violation of international law.”
The PCG last week cut off a portion of the barrier under the orders of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesperson of the PCG for the West Philippine Sea, vowed to remove any future obstruction that may hinder fisherfolk from earning a living.
“In the coming months, if ever that barrier will once again be in place, the PCG will do whatever it takes for us to remove the barrier,” Tarriela told reporters.
Full Story at: Filipinos distrust China amid bullying at West Philippine Sea — survey | Philstar.com
Rising prices still top concern among Filipinos — Pulse Asia | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Controlling the rising prices of goods and services remained the top concern of most Filipinos, a survey by pollster Pulse Asia showed.
The survey conducted from September 10 to 14 found that 74% of Filipinos said that taming inflation was their “leading urgent national concern” that the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. must address immediately. The figure was 11 percentage points higher than the June survey.
“Public sentiment on the matter is virtually unchanged between June 2023 and September 2023 as well as year-on-year,” Pulse Asia noted.
In all regions, managing inflation, which accelerated to 5.3% in August, was the topmost concern. It was highest in Visayas at 80%, followed by Mindanao at 79%, Balance Luzon at 72%, and Metro Manila at 66%.
The survey also found that public disapproval of how the Marcos government is handling inflation has risen to 56% in September from 37% in June. Only 16% said they approved of the administration’s response to inflation, and 28% were undecided.
A separate Pulse Asia poll showed that the approval rating of Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte has declined by double digits. The two top officials, however, maintained majority support from the public.
Full Story at: Rising prices still top concern among Filipinos — Pulse Asia | Philstar.com
Risa hits ‘questionable’ pass-on charges of NGCP | INQUIRER.NET – The privately owned National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) forked out P8.7 billion in janitorial and security services from 2009 to 2022, an operation expense that the country’s sole energy grid operator passed on to consumers as part of its transmission charge, according to Sen. Risa Hontiveros.
The transmission charge, or the cost of electricity delivery to the Meralco system, makes up 10.1 percent of a customer’s total monthly Meralco bill, while the generation charge, or the cost of electricity bought from suppliers, accounts for 55 percent.
“Does the NGCP really have to clean that much garbage that’s why they needed to spend [billions of pesos] for janitorial services?” Hontiveros asked in a media briefing on Monday.
“Meanwhile, the projects that they should have completed as mandated by their congressional franchise were super delayed and the cost of electricity remains high,” she said.
On top of this, the senator noted, thousands of Filipino households were still being deprived of access to a steady supply of energy largely due to NGCP’s failure to connect their areas to the main power grid.
Full Story at: Risa hits ‘questionable’ pass-on charges of NGCP | Inquirer News
SC to executive, legislative: Respond to petition vs Maharlika fund | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines– The Supreme Court (SC) has asked the executive and legislative branches of government to respond to the petition seeking to declare as unconstitutional the Maharlika Investment Fund Act of 2023 under Republic Act No. 11954.
During its en banc (full court) session Tuesday, both branches were given ten days from receipt of notice to submit their comment on the petition as well as on the prayer for a temporary restraining order.
Named respondents in the petition were Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, the House of Representatives, and the Senate.
The petition was filed by Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, former congressman and Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Javier Colmenares, and former Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate and Ferdinand Gaite.
Full Story at: SC to executive, legislative: Respond to petition vs Maharlika fund | Inquirer News
