Gen. Sinas “party” uncalled for-DILG

The birthday celebration of Metro Manila police chief Major General Debold Sinas is “uncalled for” specially during the quarantine period in view of COVID-19.

This statement was made by Interior Secretary Eduardo Año in an interview aired lived via Teleradyo today. 

Año, however, said the event was not really a birthday party but a “Mañanita” which is a tradition in the military and police service. The birthday surprise was conducted in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig, Metro Manila which is under Enhanced Community Quarantine or ECQ.

The government has prohibited mass gatherings during these times,

Las Mañanitas is a traditional birthday song originally sung in Mexico and other Latin countries, to serenade the birthday celebrator usually early in the morning.

“But during this time it is uncalled for, i said there is a delicadeza so dapat stop muna yan,” Año said.

Año has directed all bureaus and offices under the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to refrain from such gatherings. 

“I leave it to PNP to conduct investigation if there are violations of the quarantine guideiines,” he added.

Early today,, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Archie Francisco Gamboa said he does not see any violation since there was no party but only a mañanita.

SM Group sets P100M to help fund efforts vs COVID-19

The SM Group has allocated up to P100 million to help the Philippine government’s efforts to fight the health scare caused by the corona virus (COVID-19) outbreak.

SM indicated that the funds will be used specifically for the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) which is a health research facility based in Muntinlupa and other government hospitals.

SM, a Philippine company with diverse business interests in retail, banking and property, with blue-chip listed assets such as SM Prime Holdings, China Banking Corporation and BDO Unibank.

“To ensure the safety of medical frontliners, SM is bringing in personal protective equipment (PPE) - face masks, gowns, visors, hoods, gloves, and shoe covers, as well as urgent medical supplies to help government hospitals who badly need them,” SM Prime Chairman of the Executive Committee Hans Sy said.

Sy said assistance has also been extended to PGH and the RITM for their urgent needs and for improving their laboratory testing capacity. SM has also allocated PPEs and medical supplies to the UP Medical Foundation Inc. to reach a wider network of hospitals.

“To improve availability of tests, SM has reached out to Manila Healthtek Inc. to distribute 20,000 tests for free to government hospitals, once approved for use,” the statement read.

While the city has been placed under a “community quarantine” which means Dabawenyos are strongly urged to stay inside their homes except when they need to work, buy food or medicine, go to the hospital or take out garbage, SM stores in the city have remained open.

However,  both SM Ecoland and SM Lanang Premier have adjusted mall hours to 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. from the previous 10 a.m. to 9 p.m..

“SM Cinema, bingo, and playrooms have temporarily stopped their operations following the directive of the City Government of Davao,” the mall advisory read.

On the other hand, the Ayala Malls Abreeza also issued an advisory which adjusted its operating hours effective March 16, in line with the management’s thrust of prioritizing the health and safety of  everyone.

Abreeza Mall has also adjusted its hours effective March 18: Monday to Sunday 11AM to 7PM.

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Davao mayor bans pigs, pork products

Mayor Sara Duterte yesterday ordered, through an executive order, the entry of all live pigs and pork products in the city to ensure that it remains free from the African  Swine Fever (ASF).

The order came amidst the continued spread of ASF in many countries causing massive economic losses and social dislocation.

“The temporary ban applies to all live pigs, pork and pork-related products and by-products, whether fresh, frozen, processed or cooked, including but not limited to frozen boar semen, from the entire island of Luzon and the other ASF-affected areas,” the mayor said.

The order also included the prohibition of feeding of raw swill or food wastes, also known as “lamaw” in the dialect, to pigs in Davao City.

The Department of Agriculture Crisis Management Task Force on Swine has already officially declared the presence of ASF in the country early this month.

“There is a possibility that the African Swine Fever may reach the city in such proportions that would affect the food safety and food security of the city,” Sara said, There is a need to protect the city’s hog industry from the potential threat of ASF and from any possible economic loss, she added.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already warned all food business operators against importation, distribution and sale of the banned products from affected countries about the ASF as early as May this year.

Sara urged the swine industry stakeholders to be vigilant in their areas of responsibilities. 

“All are hereby alerted and directed to prepare protective measures to prevent the spread of the swine disease into our city,” she said.

Among the measures recommended by the EO are the following:

-strict biosecurity and good animal husbandry practices in the farms for swine raisers; 

-prohibition on the feeding of raw swill/food wastes ("Lamaw") to pigs;

-use of commercially available feeds or self formulated feeds using conventional or non-conventional feed ingredients sourced from areas that are not affected with ASF;

-reporting of any suspicious incidence of mortality in pigs to the City Veterinarian's Office. 

-warning to hotel and restaurant operators and other food establishments and food wastes collectors on the proper disposal of table left-overs or food wastes/swill;

-non-distribution of food wastes to hog raisers; 

-for livestock dealers, ensure that all animals for transport and slaughter are accompanied by necessary documents such as Veterinary Health Certificate or Animal inspection Certificate and Shipping Permits; and

-meat vendors/suppliers and meat processors are also strictly discouraged from selling meat and processed meat that are clandestinely or illegally slaughtered, undocumented or sourced from illegal markets. (with reports from the City Information Office)

Sara hails opening of DFA's authentication center in Davao

AUTHENTICATION SERVICE. Mayor Sara Duterte led the ribbon cutting ceremony together with DFA officials (L-R) Eric Valenzuela, Acting Director, Authentication Division, Maria Theresa Lazaro, Executive Director, Atty. Brigildo DJ Dulay, OIC, Office of the Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns, Nick Santos, SM Regional Operations Manager, Uriel Noman Garibay, DFA Mindanao Assistant Secretary and Duke Villanueva, Director, Consular Office Coordinating Division.PHOTO: PRIX BANZON

Mindanaoans need not go to Manila to get their documents authenticated with the opening Friday of the first Authentication Services Center of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) located at SM City Ecoland. 

Mayor Sara Duterte hailed the opening of the first Authentication Services Center of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday here, making services accessible not only for Dabawenyos but also Mindanaoans.

She said this would be more beneficial to the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), OFW aspirants and their families coming from Mindanao.

The new center, she said, is a promising breakthrough as the country continues to benefit from the increased remittances from OFWs given the Duterte administration's thrust to speed up the processing of various government-issued documents.

Lawyer Brigido DJ Dulay, officer-in-charge of the Office of the Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns, said the opening of the center in Davao City will do away with inconvenience and expense of authenticating documents in Metro Manila.

He said President Rodrigo Duterte on April 3 signed The Philippine Instrument of Accession to the Apostille Convention, effectively reducing the authentication process cycle by half.

"Filipinos who wish to have their documents authenticated no longer need to go to the Embassy or Consulate of the country where they intend to present or use such document," he said.

The authentication of Philippine-issued documents alone will be accepted in 113 Apostille Convention member-countries around the world like the United States, Japan, and Australia, he said.

He said the Apostille replaces the Authentication Certificate, and this is what DFA Authentication-Davao would affix to Philippine-issued documents to be presented and used abroad.

"The roll-out of authentication services here, and the implementation of the Apostille Convention in the Philippines are a testament of the Duterte administration's commitment to bring efficient, effective and responsive frontline services to the public," he said.

Dulay added that streamlining the authentication of Philippine public documents, the Apostille Convention establishes conditions more conducive to foreign investment as well as raising the country's competitiveness.

Eric Valenzuela, acting director for Authentication Division of the DFA's Office of Consular Affairs, said DFA processes 770,000 documents for authentication here in the Philippines yearly while another 770,000 documents from overseas Filipinos abroad or about 1.4 million documents coming from here and abroad every year.

He said DFA expects the number to increase with the opening of services outside Luzon.

Authentication fee is P100 per document regardless of the number of pages, he said.

"Once the documents are authenticated at the center it can now be used to any country that will be presented unlike before where the authenticated documents must first pass through the embassy or consulate of that particular country before it can be used," Valenzuela said.

Valenzuela said most of those seeking authentication of documents are OFWs and most documents are unclaimed. "We hope that with the opening of centers in the regions there will no longer be unclaimed documents," he said.Prix Banzon

P74.8M Davao City Food Terminal now open

No less than Mayor Sara Duterte formally opened on Monday, May 27, the P74.8 million Davao City Food Terminal in Daliao, Toril. This is part of the 25-hectare Davao Food Complex.

“This Food Terminal is not exclusive for Davao City farmers only. It's useless if Davao City farmers will be the only ones to grow. Our growth should extend to our neighboring places,” Sara said.

The Food terminal aims to become a venue where small-scale farmers can cash in on their products without the intervention of middlemen.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DA

Sara said the biggest advantage of the Food Terminal is that farmers, including those from outside the city, will have a say on the price of their products.

She said the city has no intention of turning the Food Terminal into a revenue-generating facility because farmers can only pay minimal charges for the use of the facility. It is important for farmers to earn a bigger income, she added.

“The main goal of this food terminal is helping our small-scale farmers than making a profit,” she said.

Outgoing councilor Marissa Abella, chair of the committee on agriculture, said the Davao Food and Trade Terminal is very important as it will become a venue where farmers can sell their products to foreign and other buyers. 

She said The farmers have to form themselves into a cooperative to fully benefit from the new market which is a joint venture between the city and the Department of Agriculture (DA). The agriculture department provided the budget for its construction while the city will take charge of managing the center.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DA

Abella said it was designed to enable farmers to skip through the layers of middlemen so they can access lucrative markets for their produce and increase their sales in the process. It shall serve as the market for agricultural products of farmers in the city and is seen to benefit even the small farmers in the Davao Region.

The Terminal was conceptualized to form part of the country’s integrated supply chain being established in major food producing regions. This will enable farmers and fisherfolk to sell their products directly, earn comfortable income and at the same time make basic food affordable and accessible to the consuming public.

Under the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the city and DA,  the city government is allowed to use the Daliao property initially for 15 years with the possibility of renewal. 

Davao City is the premier agricultural and trade center in Mindanao and has provided as its objective in the Comprehensive Land Use Development Plan (CLUP) the creation of a trading post much like the Davao Food and Trade Terminal.

The city’s 2013-2022 CLUP has allocated 45.65% or a total 111,387.49 hectares for Agriculture. Agricultural land comprises the biggest portion of the city’s total land area because the city relies primarily on agriculture for food, feeds and raw materials for its agriculture and other industries.

“Daliao is a strategic site for an the Food Terminal as it will capture most of the products coming from the agricultural production areas of Davao and nearby provinces and will thus provide market support to the farmers in Mindanao,” Abella said. The Center will provide marketing infrastructure support for small and medium farm size vegetables, fruits and other food crop growers in the area.

While the city will initially manage the facility, and a marketing group from the DA-Davao Region office will oversee the quality of the fresh produce being delivered in the Terminal to ensure high value, its management will eventually be turned over to the farmers.