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(Voice Of America) The Philippine government announced Tuesday a new diplomatic protest against China over disputes in the South China Sea, a long-thorny issue that has flared anew as the next Philippine president prepares to take office next month.

The Philippines has filed hundreds of diplomatic protests against Beijing in recent years for what it considers acts of aggression in the disputed waters, despite improved ties between Beijing and Manila under outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, whose six-year term ends on June 30.

The territorial conflicts are among the key challenges President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will face when he takes office after his landslide electoral victory on May 9. He has said he will use diplomatic means with China over the issue, the same approach adopted by Duterte, who has been criticized for not taking a more aggressive stance against Beijing’s increasingly assertive actions in the resource-rich and busy waterway.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday it filed a diplomatic protest over China’s imposition early this month of an annual fishing ban lasting three and a half months that covers areas in the disputed waters where “the Philippines has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.”.. Read More

(Interaksyon) MANILA — The Philippines on Tuesday said it had filed a diplomatic protest with China for unilaterally declaring a South China Sea fishing ban, and complained also of harassment and violations of its jurisdiction by Beijing’s coast guard.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in a statement accused the Chinese vessels of disrupting a joint marine scientific research mission as well as energy exploration activities at two sites in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

In another statement, it denounced China’s imposition of a fishing moratorium aimed at regenerating fish stocks, an annual ban that includes waters inside the EEZs of Vietnam and the Philippines.

China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Philippine statements, which referred to developments in March and April.

The foreign ministry said the coast guard’s actions were “not consistent with innocent passage and are clear violations of the Philippine maritime jurisdiction.”.. Read More

(SunStar) A YEAR after being declared the chocolate and cacao capital of the Philippines, the chocolate and cacao industry of Davao is poised to thrive further in the local and global market, but it will take some hard work and time.

Under Republic Act No. 11547 enacted on May 27, 2021, Davao City is officially the Chocolate Capital of the Philippines with over 100 homegrown chocolate processors in the city, while the entirety of Davao Region is the Cacao Capital of the Philippines with its hectares of cacao farms producing high-quality cacao beans.

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, Davao City produced 6,000 metric tons of cacao beans. In a span of two years, despite the global pandemic, the city was able to produce 7,000 metric tons.

Valente Turtur, executive director of the Cacao Industry Development Association of Mindanao Inc. (Cidami), said the increase in production is a good sign. However, it is still far from meeting the global demand.

“Malayo pa (It’s still far), we are way behind as far as demand is concerned. Based on our vision, we want to achieve 10,000 metric tons,” Turtur told SunStar Davao on May 27, 2022 at the launching of the Cacao Mindanao Chocolate Fair in SM City Davao.

According to Turtur, cacao plantations thrived in Davao Region in the 1970s but saw a slow decline that started during the late 1980s wherein other commodities, such as banana and coconut, took center stage.

Thus, the booming cacao and chocolate industry today is relatively young since it was not until the last decade, around the year 2011 or 2012, that the industry was revived… Read More

(Daily Tribune) Come 30 June, the Philippines will formally usher in a new administration under the leadership of the 17th President, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. After Congress officially proclaimed him and UniTeam running mate Sara Duterte as the new Vice President, all eyes are now focused on the final line-up of the new Cabinet members who will serve as President BBM’s most important management team.

Come 30 June, the Philippines will formally usher in a new administration under the leadership of the 17th President, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. After Congress officially proclaimed him and UniTeam running mate Sara Duterte as the new Vice President, all eyes are now focused on the final line-up of the new Cabinet members who will serve as President BBM’s most important management team.

An initial list on who will head the Executive department had been announced, with more appointments to follow in the coming days. First on the list is incoming VP Sara Duterte who accepted the role as Department of Education (DepEd) secretary. Long-time overseas Filipino workers (OFW) advocate Susan Ople is set to be secretary of the newly-formed Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). Former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairperson Benhur Abalos will serve as secretary for the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). Former Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma will return to head the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE). Ex-San Miguel Corp. Tollways President and Chief Executive Officer Manuel Bonoan will lead the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Cavite Rep. Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla has accepted the offer to be secretary of the Department of Justice (DoJ).

President BBM’s new economic team is also coming into form, with many applauding the selection of some of the country’s most recognized economic leaders. Incumbent Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno is set to be secretary of the Department of Finance (DoF), as Monetary Board Member Felipe Medalla takes his position in BSP. Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan will lead the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). International development banker Alfred Pascual, meanwhile, will take on the role as secretary of Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)… Read More

(Asia One) Davao city in the Philippines is in a race against time for a solution to its landfill issues. Rapid urbanisation and poor separation of waste are taking a toll on the city’s only landfill, which will be full by 2023.

Enter the black soldier fly, whose larvae break down biodegradable waste with their strong mouthparts and powerful digestive enzymes, and effectively decompose matter like the debris of rotten animals and plants.

LimaDOL, a start-up in Davao, is using the flies to handle food waste and develop a chemical-free insect protein that can be fed to poultry.

This could be a more affordable and sustainable solution to the city’s waste problem, instead of the construction of a 2.5 billion peso (S$65 million) waste-to-energy (WTE) facility that the local government is considering.

Global environmentalists oppose this as WTE incinerators “produce very little energy while emitting large quantities of climate pollution”, according to international environmental network Gaia.

Carmela Marie Santos, Director of Ecoteneo, Ateneo de Davao University’s environmental organisation, called the WTE project a “false solution” as the problem could be rectified by proper waste segregation instead of constructing a WTE plant… Read More

(Manila Times) CHINA will hold naval exercises in the South China Sea on Saturday, its maritime authority said, after a week of recrimination from Western powers over its military ambitions across the Pacific region.

The exercises, set to take place in the sea less than 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) off the coast of south China’s Hainan province, come as the United States leads warnings over China’s growing military and economic presence in an area spanning from the South China Sea to the Pacific Islands.

“Military exercises will be held and entry is prohibited,” the Maritime Safety administration said in a statement Thursday, warning that an area of roughly 100 square kilometers would be closed off to maritime traffic for five hours.

China routinely conducts similar drills in waters near its shores, with an exercise in another area of the sea near Hainan scheduled for next week, as well as multiple others along the country’s eastern coastline.

But the latest exercises come as Beijing faces a growing chorus of warnings from the United States and Western allies over its naval ambitions, which critics say are a beachhead for a wider attempt to change the regional balance of power… Read More

(Journal Online) The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has set May 31, 2022 as the deadline of applications for research scholarships of doctorate students whose dissertation topics are relevant to its priority thrusts.

The scholarship is open to Filipinos and other Southeast Asians from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

Headquartered at the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), SEARCA provides research funds not to exceed US$4,500 and optional internship at SEARCA for up to two months.

SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio said those who will avail of the internship may be given additional scholarship funds to cover travel expenses to and from SEARCA, travel and accident insurance, and stipend during the internship period.

“During their internship, the scholars may use the resources and facilities available at SEARCA for their research. They will be able to work with SEARCA staff on common areas of interests in agriculture and rural development (ARD),” Dr. Gregorio said.

He stressed that the research topics of applicants must fall within the following SEARCA priority areas: Agri-Business Models for Increased Productivity and Income, Sustainable Farming Systems and Natural Resource Management, Food and Nutrition Security, Transformational Leadership for ARD, Gender and Youth Engagement in ARD, Enhanced ARD towards Climate Resilience, and Eco-Health/One-Health Applications to ARD… Read More

(Voice Of America) MANILA — Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was proclaimed the next president of the Philippines by a joint session of Congress on Wednesday following a landslide election triumph 36 years after his dictator father was ousted in a pro-democracy uprising.

The Senate and House of Representatives also declared that his separately elected vice presidential running mate, Sara Duterte, had won by a wide margin. She is the daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, whose turbulent six-year term ends on June 30.

They will lead a nation battered by COVID-19 lockdowns, crushing poverty, gaping inequality, Muslim and communist insurgencies, crime and political divisions further inflamed by the May 9 election.

Marcos Jr., a 64-year-old former governor, congressman and senator, has refused to acknowledge or apologize for massive human rights violations and plunder under his father’s strongman rule and has defended his legacy.

When they take office, Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte will likely face demands to prosecute her father over thousands of killings of mostly poor suspects under his yearslong crackdown on illegal drugs. The deaths are currently under investigation by the International Criminal Court.

Marcos Jr. received more than 31 million votes and Sara Duterte more than 32 million out of more than 55 million votes cast in the election. It was the first majority presidential victory in the Asian democracy in decades… Read More