oil, gas exploration talks to resume in May -- DFA

MANILA -- Discussions between the Philippines and China on a possible joint oil and gas exploration in the West Philippine Sea will resume next month, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday.

In a statement, the agency said representatives from both countries are set to meet for preparatory talks in Beijing “sometime in May.”

This meeting will cover parameters and terms of reference regarding the maritime exploration.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo earlier said China proposed to begin talks again on the oil and gas and the Philippines agreed to it.

This plan was, however, questioned by some legislators with Senator Francis Tolentino on Sunday calling on the DFA to be cautious about it as an agreement could lead to increased Chinese presence in the territory.

He also said that the Senate should be involved in the discussion between the two countries as this may be an extension of our foreign policy.

In response to this, Manalo assured Tolentino that updates on the matter will be provided.

PH, China set exploratory talks on new TOR for oil exploration

The Philippine and Chinese governments are set to begin talks on new “terms of reference” (TOR) for joint oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea after overall discussion for the cooperation was terminated under the previous administration, the country’s top diplomat disclosed.

In a GMA interview transcript shared by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday, Secretary Enrique Manalo said the exploratory talks would be at a "technical level" and would begin in about six weeks.

“(China is) proposing that we begin talks again on oil and gas. I think we will begin in maybe around six weeks but as I said at a technical level. But those talks are going to begin discussing basically terms of reference, there’s no document yet,” he said.

Manalo added that the meeting is meant to see the scope of the discussions, then the two countries would “see where it goes.”

The two nations sought to explore oil and gas assets in the South China Sea in 2018.

A year later, former president Rodrigo Duterte said his counterpart, President Xi Jinping, agreed to consider a 60-40 scheme on oil and gas exploration in favor of Manila should the country set aside the arbitral ruling.

Before his term ended, the Duterte administration terminated discussions over “constitutional limitations.”

In his state visit to China last January, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. told Beijing that Manila is ready to restart negotiations.

Manalo, meanwhile, reiterated that any discussion on a possible oil and gas cooperation would “always be guided by the requirements of Constitution.”

PBBM: Rightsizing bureaucracy to upskill gov’t workforce

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday reassured that rightsizing the bureaucracy is not aimed at terminating employees, but serves as a tool to upskill and reskill the current government workforce.

In a press release, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Marcos made this assurance at a sectoral meeting on the updates of the National Government Rightsizing Program (NGRP) held at Malacañan Palace.

The President ordered a further assessment of the executive branch to determine redundant positions and functions that could be merged.

The Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) likewise updated the status and salient features of the proposed National Government Rightsizing Bill.

Present during the sectoral meeting were Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, Press Secretary Cheloy Garafil, and DBM Undersecretary Wilford Will Wong and Director John Aries Macaspac.

PLLO chief Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza and Assistant Secretary Rose Virginie were also present during the sectoral meeting.

In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July last year, Marcos cited the NGRP as among his administration’s priority measures.

He described it as “a reform mechanism that seeks to enhance the government’s institutional capacity to perform its mandate and to provide better services while ensuring optimal and efficient use of resources.”

“Compared to previous government reorganization efforts, the NGRP will entail a comprehensive strategic review of the functions, operations, organization, systems, and processes of the different agencies, and massive and transformational initiatives in agencies concerned, such as mergers, consolidation, splitting, transfer and even the abolition of some offices,” Marcos said.

“The rightsizing efforts will also involve the conduct of a comprehensive strategic review of functions, programs, and projects that will cut across various agencies.”

In response to the President’s SONA pronouncement, several bills on rightsizing were filed in Congress.

On March 14, the House of Representatives passed on third and final reading a bill that would allow Marcos to right-size the government bureaucracy.

House Bill 7240 or the proposed Act Rightsizing the National Government, was passed with 292 votes, three against, and zero abstentions.

Rightsizing is defined under the bill as “the process of analyzing and designing the appropriate roles, mandates, structures, functions, sizes, systems, as well as processes of government agencies to ensure effective, responsive, and efficient service delivery."

The measure authorizes the President to right-size the executive branch to eliminate redundant, duplicate, and overlapping functions.

To oversee the implementation of the program, the Committee on Rightsizing the Executive Branch shall be established.

Meanwhile, the three bills on the NGRP that were filed in the Senate remain pending at the committee level.

Since assuming office in June last year, Marcos has already abolished several government agencies through executive orders in line with rightsizing, such as the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission and Office of the Cabinet Secretary.

PBBM OKs creation of task force to maintain peace, security in Negros President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has issued an administrative order creating a special task force tasked to maintain peace and order and suppress threats to safety and security in Negros Island.

Administrative Order No. 6, signed on April 3, directed the task force to “prevent the spread and escalation of violence elsewhere in the Philippines and to maintain peace and order in Negros Island, with due regard to the fundamental civil and political rights of the people.”

The AO was issued in light of the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo at his residence in Pamplona, Negros Oriental, where eight other civilians were slain and 17 were left wounded.

The task force, called “DEGAMO,” will be chaired by the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and co-chaired by the chiefs of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of National Defense (DND).

The task force commanders include the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), the chief of sraff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is tasked to extend emergency relief assistance to the families of the victims, while the Department of Health (DOH) shall provide psychological rehabilitation to affected individuals.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (PAFV) is ordered to coordinate with the task force “with the aim of enlisting the full support of all stakeholders.”

Under AO No. 6, the task force will have the power to coordinate and rationalize the efforts of concerned government agencies and instrumentalities to “ensure a whole-of-government approach in the prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of violence in Negros Island.”

It is further tasked to intensify campaign against private armed groups and loose firearms. (MNS)