News Roundup 18 May 2023
May 18, 2023 • 4 min Read
Canberra’s pledge to Coast Guard: drone training, tech and help with oil spill | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — As Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s visit comes to a close, Canberra announced its plan to provide the Philippine Coast Guard with equipment and training.
“We discussed today the ways in which we will enhance our cooperation — this includes Australia providing drone equipment training and other technology to strengthen your Coast Guard’s maritime domain awareness and protection capabilities,” Wong said in a joint press conference with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo on Thursday.
Australia is hoping to further expand cooperation with the Philippines in terms of maritime security space.
Wong announced a string of maritime cooperation initiatives in the Philippines, including providing assistance in the recent oil spill in Oriental Mindoro and a program focusing on women’s leadership in maritime security.
“The [PCG] is indeed grateful for all the assistance that Australia has given from vessel acquisition, maritime domain awareness, and other capability development programs, human resource development and other capacity building program, and most especially the sustainment of PCG vessels under the Marine Resources Initiative Program,” Coast Guard Admiral Artemio Abu said in a separate statement on Thursday.
Full Story at: Canberra’s pledge to Coast Guard: drone training, tech and help with oil spill | Philstar.com
House panel wants ‘Sibuyas Queen’ and accomplices sautéed in court | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Believing it has peeled the layers of the “onion cartel” that drove up prices of the vegetable in 2022, the House agriculture and food panel says it could file charges against businesswoman Leah Cruz and government insiders they say conspired with her to cause an artificial shortage of the crop.
Rep. WIlfrido Mark Enverga (Quezon, 1st District) said in a press conference Thursday that while the committee has yet to reach a final decision, “there will be individuals whom we will recommend for the filing of charges.”
He said the panel will review documents from the investigations “to ensure that there’s a fair chance given to the individuals we are pursuing and (that) the case is backed by documentary evidence.”
Following the marathon hearings into the suspected smuggling and hoarding of onions — at one point, House Speaker Martin Romualdez threatened “uncooperative” resource persons with jail time — Rep. Stella Quimbo (Marikina City) said that the panel has arrived at a conclusion: businesswoman Lea Cruz is the “reigning, undisputed Sibuyas (Onion) Queen.”
“Leah Cruz operates the biggest onion cartel in the country. She does this through an SEC-registered corporation called Philippine VIEVA Corporation, which was established in 2013,” Quimbo said while reading the committee’s press statement.
Full Story at: House panel wants ‘Sibuyas Queen’ and accomplices sautéed in court | Philstar.com
Skeptics won’t quiet down on latest sugar import plan | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — A group of sugarcane planters has called on the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to make an inventory of the country’s sugar stockpile, including the entry of 440,000 metric tons (MT) of imported sugar under the last importation order allowed by the agency.
In a statement, National Federation of Sugarcane Planters Inc. president Enrique Rojas said the inventory should be done before the SRA even decides whether or not there is a need to import more of the commodity.
On Monday, Malacañang announced that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had approved the additional importation of 150,000 MT of sugar following the SRA’s recommendation to stabilize prices and boost the country’s stock.
“If there is indeed a shortfall even with the latest approved importation, then we should import only the exact amount of the shortfall for this crop year,” Rojas pointed out.
He added that the next batch of imported sugar should enter the Philippines before the next cropping season so it would not affect retail prices.
Full Story at: Skeptics won’t quiet down on latest sugar import plan | Inquirer News
Hontiveros renews call for increased sugar importers to reduce local prices | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The price of sugar in the market is unlikely to drop to its previous low level despite the order issued by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos to import an additional 150,000 metric tons (MT), according to Senator Risa Hontiveros.
During an interview, Hontiveros expressed her belief that sugar prices will remain high as long as the government restricts sugar imports to only three companies.
She stated, “According to reports, the President instructed the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) board members to import additional sugar. The President seems to be solving the wrong problem.”
Full Story at: Hontiveros renews call for increased sugar importers to reduce local prices | Inquirer News
