News Roundup 10 October 2023
Oct 10, 2023 • 3 min Read
House scraps confidential funds for OVP, DepEd, DICT, DA, DFA | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Vice President, Department of Education (DepEd), Department Of Information And Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will not receive confidential funds, the House Committee on Appropriations said on Tuesday.
House Committee on Appropriations Vice Chairperson Stella Quimbo said that the panel reached a “unanimous decision” to “remove or realign the controversial confidential funds” for the five agencies in the proposed 2024 national budget.
“As such the OVP, DepEd, DICT, DA, DFA are getting zero confidential funds under the 2024 General Appropriations Bill,” Quimbo said in a press briefing.
The mentioned agencies will instead receive a certain amount for “Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses” (MOOE).
“Generally ang thinking namin, ano ang mandato ng ahensya? Kung hindi kailangan ng surveillance at pwede gumamit ng MOOE at auditable, prefer namin na ganon ang paggastos,” Quimbo said.
(Generally in our thinking, what’s the agency’s mandate? If it does not need surveillance and if MOOE is plausible and auditable, we prefer that kind of spending.)
Full Story at: House scraps confidential funds for OVP, DepEd, DICT, DA, DFA | Philstar.com
New LTFRB officer-in-charge appointed amid corruption allegations vs Guadiz | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista appointed a new officer-in-charge for the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
The decision came after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. suspended LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III from his post following allegations of corruption in connection to the PUV modernization program.
“In the exigency and best interest of the service, Atty. Mercy Paras Leynes, Board Member of the LTFRB is hereby designated as Officer-in-Charge-Chairperson of the LTFRB from 10 October 2023 to 09 October 2024,” according to special order 2023-353 signed by Bautista on Tuesday.
“As such, she [Leynes] shall perform and discharge all the functions and responsibility of the office, unless otherwise earlier amended or superseded.”
‘Corruption connected to PUV modernization’
The suspension of Guadiz came after a former LTFRB official last Monday bared alleged irregularities in the agency, with at least P5 million being paid “in exchange for the approval of franchise or securing routes and special permits.”
Full Story at: New LTFRB officer-in-charge appointed amid corruption allegations vs Guadiz | Philstar.com
BI: Foreigners illegally acquiring PH docs a ‘national security concern’ | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The proliferation of aliens unlawfully obtaining Philippine passports and documents is a national security concern, Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco reiterated on Tuesday.
As shared by the bureau during a public hearing of the Committee on Finance on Monday, Tansingco said that there are at least 10 recent cases wherein authentic Philippine passports were illegally used by aliens.
Aside from passports, the BI said documents like birth certificates, driver’s licenses, and postal identification cards (ID) are also being illegitimately acquired by foreigners.
The BI further recalled a few instances when aliens they have arrested possessed documents that were supposedly exclusively for Filipinos.
Full Story at: BI: Foreigners illegally acquiring PH docs a ‘national security concern’ (inquirer.net)
Israel retakes Gaza border areas as war death toll mounts | INQUIRER.NET – JERUSALEM – Israel said it recaptured Gaza border areas from Hamas militants as the war’s death toll passed 3,000 on Tuesday, the fourth day of fierce fighting since the Islamists launched a surprise attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Israel’s military campaign following Saturday’s onslaught was only the start of a sustained war to destroy Hamas and “change the Middle East”.
Fears of a regional conflagration have surged amid expectations of a looming Israeli ground incursion into Gaza, the crowded enclave from where Hamas launched its land, air and sea attack on the Jewish Sabbath.
The death toll in Israel has surged above 900 from the worst attack in the country’s 75-year history, while Gaza officials have reported 765 people killed so far.
Full Story at: Israel retakes Gaza border areas as war death toll mounts | Inquirer News
