by magnolia_eic | Mar 19, 2010 | Headlines, National News
AGRICULTURAL extension services at one’s fingertips, that is the promise the Department of Agriculture (DA) and a telecommunication giant promise to make agritechno-info at the arms’ reach.
With the Philippine Long Distance Company (PLDT), the government agriculture department makes it easy for farmers and fisherfolk to access the Farmers’ Contact Center (FCC) through a flat rate call or short messaging service.
The project allocates special lines connecting farmers to farm technicians and experts from the aggie department so they can be guided and informed on various concerns without having to worry about high call rates.
A few weeks ago, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap sealed an agreement with PLDT vice president for corporation relations management Renato Castaneda formalizing their participation in this farmer-friendly project.
Yap said the initiative done through its Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), is part of the Extension component of the government’s flagship program on food security dubbed as the FIELDS.
FIELDS, which enumerates the six areas where government support are being focused on under the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s food security and sufficiency agenda, stands for Fertilizers, Irrigation and other rural infrastructure like farm-to-market roads (FMRs), Extension services and education for farmers, Loans, Dryers and other postharvest facilities, and Seeds and other genetic materials.
Incoming Agriculture Secretary Bernie Fondevilla welcomed the project and vowed full support and strengthen it on his watch.
President Arroyo recently named Fondevilla, a former DA undersecretary and Yap’s Chief of Staff at the DA, to succeed Yap.
ATI Director Asterio Saliot said that initially, agricultural experts will be on hand to answer queries received by the FCC, which has also established direct links to the various DA offices and attached agencies including the state universities and colleges.
Saliot said that farmers and fisherfolk can ask about, among others, information on current prices of commodities, schedule of irrigation water releases, marketing of farm produce, and control measures for pest and disease incidents, through the FCC. (PIA Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 18, 2010 | Headlines, National News
THE World Bank has upgraded its forecast on Philippine economic growth to 3.5 percent this year due to a stronger outlook for the world economy, rising deployment of overseas workers that will boost remittances, recovery in private consumption and robust public spending.
In its Philippines Quarterly Update issued Monday, the World Bank said the growth forecast for 2010 represents an upward adjustment from the previous forecast of 3.1 percent. The World Bank forecast the Philippine GDP to expand 3.8 percent in 2011.
World Bank Senior Economist Eric Le Borgne said in a statement that the rising precautionary savings that dampened spending in 2009 will likely diminish as consumer expectations gradually improve over the next twelve months.
Other important growth drivers for 2010 include a replenishment of depleted stocks by private companies, and the strong short-term outlook for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector, the report said.
But Le Borgne said El Nino-induced dryspell can hurt poor Philippine households.
“A worse-than-expected El Nino could pose serious risks to the country’s growth prospects and trigger larger increases in hunger incidence,” he said. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 18, 2010 | National News
REMITTANCES from overseas Filipino workers coursed through banks rose 8.5 percent to $1.4 billion in January from a year ago, supported by the continued deployment of workers abroad, said the central bank on Monday.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. said remittances from sea-based workers rose 18.1 percent, while remittances from land-based workers grew 6.3 percent.
Remittances from the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Italy and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) accounted for the bulk or 81.1 percent of the total inflows reported by local banks.
The central bank attributed the steady remittance flows at the start of the year to the continued demand for professional and skilled Filipino overseas workers, particularly
in the health care, education and services sectors.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) anticipates that work prospects for Filipino overseas workers would continue to be favorable given the expected opening of new job markets and more opportunities for better-paying work in the next five to 10 years.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reported that 18,539 or nearly 19 percent of the total approved job orders of 98,845 in the first two months of the year have been processed. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 16, 2010 | Business, National News
Monetary authorities are pushing for the upward revision of the country’s export growth target for this year.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo told reporters that economic managers through the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) could adjust upwards the projected export growth target of between seven percent and nine percent this year with the expected global economic recovery.
The National Statistics Office (NSO) reported last week that the country’s merchandise exports jumped by 42.5 percent to $3.58 billion in January from $2.51 billion in the same month last year.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Augusto Santos said the growth registered in January was the highest year-on-year growth rate posted since April 1995.
The increase could be attributed to the 51.2-percent jump in the shipment of Philippine-made electronic products. Electronics account for about 56.8 percent of the country’s total exports.
Guinigundo added that another important factor to consider in revising upwards the country’s export growth target is the increase in the industry’s book-to-bill ratio. The book-to-bill ratio has gone up to 1.2 or 120 percent which means the order is more than actually delivery.
He pointed out that even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) upgraded the world’s economic gross domestic product (GDP) growth outlook to 3.9 percent instead of 0.8 percent this year and that of the Philippines to 3.2 percent this year from 0.9 percent last year. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 16, 2010 | Election 2010, Headlines, National News
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) confirmed on Sunday that more than 700,000 voters were found to have double or multiple registration records that could trigger accusations of irregularities in the May 10, 2010 national and local elections.
The Comelec in Resolution No. 8791 said their Information and Technology Department found out about the 704, 542 voters with double or multiple registration records using algorithmic matching.
The resolution, promulgated last March 10, resolved to abate the other registration records of voters found to have double or multiple registration records according to the provisions of the Omnibus Election Code.
The Comelec also directed the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) not to allow the voters with multiple registration records to vote in their respective precincts in the May 10 polls.
It also resolved to delete the registration records of said voters in the next Election Registration Board (ERB) hearings.
In an earlier Minute Resolution last October 20, the poll body resolved that in cases where registrants are found to be registered in two or more districts/cities municipalities, the latest registration shall prevail.
Accordingly, the voters shall be allowed to vote only in the district/city/municipality of their latest registration. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 12, 2010 | Headlines, National News
DAMAGE to the farm and fisheries sectors caused by the current dry spell has reached P8 billion, said Acting Agriculture Secretary Bernie G. Fondevilla on Wednesday.
Rice and corn accounted for more than half the damage, while fish and high-value commercial crops made up a “negligible” amount, Mr. Fondevilla said.
The P8 billion covered 14 provinces, which Mr. Fondevilla did not enumerate. But he said the Ilocos and Cagayan Valley regions in northern Luzon accounted for bulk of the reported damage.
The Agriculture department has estimated that farm production losses could range from P8.09 billion under a “mild” El Niño case to as much as P20.46 billion under a severe “severe” one, with the tally likely more than P10 billion but still less than P20 billion.
Mr. Fondevilla said more than 200,000 metric tons (MT) of rice has already been destroyed, but clarified that any decision to import more of this grain on top of the 2.48 million MT already bought for this year will depend on whether the 7.2-million MT production target for the first half will be met and the final damage tally. (PIA-Bohol)
