News Roundup 03 September 2023
Sep 03, 2023 • 3 min Read
Recto laments ‘measly’ budget for military upgrade in Pag-asa |PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Is P80 million all the Philippines can afford to improve its military facilities in Pag-asa Island in Kalayaan, Palawan?
Batangas Rep. Ralph Recto raised the question, citing the “measly” amount allocated in the proposed 2024 national budget for the improvement of the country’s defense in the island community.
“For all the loud noises government makes in defending what is ours in the West Philippine Sea, it seems that the funds it is proposing in the 2024 national budget for improving military facilities in Pag-asa Island in Kalayaan, Palawan amount to a whimper,” he said.
Recto said only two projects were tagged as “itemized expenditure” in the 2024 budget under the P3.8-billion “Tatag ng Imprastraktura para sa Kapayapaan at Seguridad Program” or TIKAS program of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
One of the projects costing P40 million is for the construction of “igloo-style ammunition storage” while the other one, also P40 million, is for the establishment of two-story military personnel barracks in Pag-Asa island.
The share of Pag-asa Island, home to the Rancudo Air Station and Liwanag Naval Station, translates to a mere 2.1 percent of TIKAS funds.
Full Story at: Recto laments ‘measly’ budget for military upgrade in Pag-asa | Philstar.com
DepEd flagged over P10 billion unliquidated cash advances | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Department of Education (DepEd) over the accumulation of unliquidated cash advances (CAs) by its central office (CO) and several regional offices (ROs), which stood at P10.183 billion as of the end of 2022.
“The existence of substantial accumulated unliquidated cash advances is attributable to the lapses in the controls placed by management in the granting, liquidation and monitoring of CAs in disregard of the existing rules and regulations and pertinent DepEd guidelines relative thereto,” the COA said in its 2022 annual audit report on the DepEd.
The COA’s record showed that as of Dec. 31 last year, the DepEd’s CO and 16 ROs have yet to liquidate their CAs past the prescribed period.
The audit breakdown showed that P4.74 billion of unliquidated CAs was for payroll, P2.084 billion was for operating expenses, P1.144 billion was granted to special disbursing officers for various purposes, P166.815 million was granted to officers and employees also for various purposes, while P2.05 billion of the advances was “without specific account details.”
Full Story at: DepEd flagged over P10 billion unliquidated cash advances | Philstar.com
Rice retailers to defy price caps to avoid losses | INQUIRER.NET – TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, Philippines — Retailers on Saturday said they would defy President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order setting price ceilings on rice effective Sept. 5.
A day earlier when the directive was announced, it met immediate opposition from small merchants.
“As far as we are concerned, no, we will not comply,” said Frederic Dy, president of the 300-strong Grains Retailers’ Confederation of the Philippines (Grecon) in Eastern Visayas.
“How can we recover our losses? They should give us a leeway and not give us a deadline,” he said. “Most of us bought our supplies before the issuance of the rice cap order and doing so would lead to losses.”
Full Story at: Rice retailers to defy price caps to avoid losses | Inquirer News
More than 200 gun ban violators fall during period of COC filing nationwide | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Authorities arrested more than 200 gun ban violators, including two personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and an elected government official (EGO), during the period of filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) for the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Based on the data from the PNP, the agency’s spokesperson and public information office chief Col. Jean Fajardo said on Sunday its operatives arrested a total of 216 persons from August 28, 12 midnight until September 2, around 11:59 p.m.
Aside from AFP members and EGO, Fajardo said 211 are civilians, and two are security guards.
Full Story at: More than 200 gun ban violators fall during period of COC filing nationwide | Inquirer News
