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FROM 3 planting the daratex variety, which is also known as fake or spurious abaca and is very attractive to the farmers because of its superior ergonomic characteristics. It also easily thrives in different soil quality, bad weather conditions, and substandard maintenance. blocking the traditional routes of the NPA rebels and cutting off their resource and supply generations in the area.”

“As compared to the true abaca varieties such as Tangongon, Inosa, which have 55 to 70 percent fiber recovery, Daratex variety only yields up to 32 percent fiber recovery. And while some farmers may have been planting the Philfida-recommended variety Tangongon, the families will have to wait for 18 to 24 months for harvest time to have income. During these times, they have no source of income,” Abella said.

Under her proposed Abaca Seed Program, actions to be undertaken are the inventory and profiling of the affected abaca farmers, short-term provision of food assistance, provision of cash-crop seedlings, cash for work (replacement of Daratex to Tangongon), the establishment of the tissue culture laboratory for abaca and other cash crops, and distribution of seedlings.

“As the chairperson of the committee on agriculture, it is one of my priorities that Davao City can protect the quality production of abaca as this is considered as “sariling atin.” If these problems of the abaca industry will not be addressed promptly, the Philippines may lose its status as the top abaca-producing country in the near future,” Abella said.

“We intend to finish this fight. We shall continue to capitalize on our gains and step up some more to finally defeat the NPA to its smallest formations,” Banzon said.

He said pursuit operations were ongoing as of posting time, while efforts were also being done to identify the two slain rebels. (PNA)

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ninth anniversary of the signing of the CAB, may we all be reminded that this political settlement is not the end of the Bangsamoro narrative but rather a continuation of our lifelong quest for justice, peace and progress,” Ebrahim said.

For his part, Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez, Jr., officer-in-charge of the Department of National Defense (DND), expressed his agency’s full support in securing peace and order in the region.

“Rest assured that our agency will fully support the CAB’s implementation so that the dividends of peace and development will continue to be felt,” said Galvez, who previously headed the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity.

Galvez stressed that the defense department and the military shall protect the Bangsamoro region from peace spoilers.

“The DND and Armed Forces of the Philippines shall be the vanguards of peace and security in the Bangsamoro (region). We sin natin. Right after this we are planning to conduct social investigation,” he said.

He said incidence of rape is high in the areas where informal settlers reside that include Talomo, Tugbok, and Sta. Ana.

Meanwhile, PRO 11 director Brigadier General Alden Delvo said he also saw the rise in rape cases in Davao Region thats why it should be address this properly.

“For all we know nisaka ni siya during the pandemic but post pandemic naman ta karon there is still a rising trend, although, wala na nag number one ang Davao Region for rape cases but I am morally convinced na i-solve natin dahil karamihan na affected ay mga minors. Most of the perpetrators ay fathers or uncles. Nabalaka ko ug maayo ani,” he said.

Delvo said with the said program they are planning to invite different sectors including church, academe, LGUs and probably from the medical sector also to come and join in the workshop.

By Maya M. Padillo

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FROM 4 ume na kailangan natin. Pero for now we cannot declare that,” said Agriculture Deputy Spokesperson Rex Estoperez.

“Mahirap kasi yung may kanya-kanyang estimates. May estimate ang private sector, may estimate ang ating agency, i-harmonize natin iyon,” he added.

shall not allow the spoilers of peace to negate the gains we have achieved,” he added.

er, and operator of solar power projects. Its affiliate Solar Philippines Commercial Rooftop Projects Inc. has a service contract for the exclusive exploration and development of a property in Nueva Ecija.

Meanwhile, MPIC has interests in services and products, power, toll operations, water, healthcare, rail, and logistics among others, through its units Beacon Electric Asset Holdings Inc., Manila Electric Company, Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., Maynilad Water Holding Company Inc., and Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp.

Shares in MPIC were trading up P0.10 or 2.72% at P3.77 and those in SPNEC down P0.01 or 0.60% at P1.67 as of writing.

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“In a risk-off event, the BSP may be forced to hike more aggressively than we expect to defend the currency. Second, if price pressures surprise to the upside, possible due to further supply disruptions, the central bank would likely have to hike its policy rates even further to anchor inflation expectations,” it said. (PNA)

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Electric Kick Scooter of the Philippines (EKS PH) co-founder

Tim Vargas said it is “unfair” that electric motorcycles were not given tax breaks like other types of electric vehicles.

Arillaga, likewise, said that it will be harder to shift to EVs unless the government rolls out monetary incentives for its use along with an awareness campaign of its benefits and comprehensive research on its effectiveness.

She said that while EVs are being explored, the shift to the new mode of transport should be gradual as the country still relies on non-renewable energy sources.

According to the Statista Research Department, the power production in the Philippines is still dominated by coal at 47.6%, other fossil fuels at 18%, and gas at 10.7%, which totals 76.3%.

Various types of renewable energy like wind, solar, bioenergy, hydro, and other renewables make up 23.7% of the country’s total power source.

Clean air advocates have been pushing for the shift to electric vehicles to help reduce carbon emissions in the country as transport is the main source of air pollution and other issues relating to global warming.

The Philippines aims to go full-on electric vehicles by 2040.

The Department of Energy said it is eyeing to boost the share of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country beyond the mandated 5% mandatory share of EVs in public and private sector fleets as it works on the Comprehensive Roadmap for the Electric Vehicle (EV) Industry (CREVI), which will provide the timeframe for the mandate.

As it works on formulating the EV industry roadmap, the DOE said it is “batting for a faster and broader commercial scale rollout of EVs in the country once the CREVI is approved, as the 10% EV rollout under the clean energy scenario will be increased to 50% by 2040.”