Day: July 2, 2023

The Lao Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Planning and Investment, held the first meeting of the 5th Population and Housing Census steering committee in Vientiane on Jun 30.

Chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of the steering committee Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune, the meeting was also attended by Minister of Planning and Investment Khamjane Vongphosy, provincial governors and representatives of relevant authorities.

The meeting allowed the participants to discuss and approve key documents including the provincial steering committee’s agreement, and a report on the preparation for the implementation of the 5th Population and Housing Census 2025.

The National Population and Housing Census is conducted every ten years to decide the statistics of the Lao population and foreigners living in the Lao PDR, population growth, housing condition, education, health, housing characteristics, livelihoods, migration, labour, employment.

“Today, the world and regional situations have developed in a complicated and unexpected manner. Meanwhile, the world economic recession has posed challenges and impacts on the socio-economic status of the country, especially on its fulfillment of the goals stated in the 9th socio-economic development plan, the two national agendas and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. This survey will provide key data that proves the achievements in implementing such goals, including helping us know the size of the population in 2025 (currently 7.5 million, based on 2023 estimates), migration situation, population growth, changes in sex and age compositions, birth rates, death rates, disability and other key data,” said DPM Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune.

Source: Lao News Agency

The Philippine National Police (PNP) does not tolerate abuse or maltreatment of persons in its custody. This was emphasized by PNP public information office chief Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan when asked to comment on allegations that 13 foreigners sustained injuries when they attempted to escape police custody after a raid on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) establishments inside a compound in Las Piñas City last week. “The PNP does not tolerate such abuse. All possible efforts are done to ensure that persons under police custody are safe from harm or abuse,” he said in a statement over the weekend. Maranan also said all the needs of the persons under their care are provided, even access to their respective embassies. On June 27, police conducted a raid in the compound of Xinchuang Network Technologies, a POGO techno-hub in Barangay Almanza Uno, where more than 2,700 alleged trafficking victims were rescued. Two days later, it was reported that 13 foreigners among the rescued workers were injured after an alleged attempt to escape police custody. Eight reportedly needed immediate medical attention. Maranan pointed out that the PNP observes human rights. ‘Rest assured that the PNP’s aggressive and honest law enforcement operations are at all times conforming with the rule of law,’ he added. Maranan’s statement was in reaction to the demand of the legal representatives of Xinchuang for the PNP to allow medical treatment for the injured foreigners. In a letter dated July 1, the Vargas Law office, which is representing the techno-hub, said they received reports that some of the foreign nationals were injured during a commotion while in police custody. The demand letter was addressed to National Capital Region Police Office chief Maj. Gen. Edgar Okubo, PNP-Anti-Cybercrime Group director Brig. Gen. Sidney Herrera, and PNP Directorate for Intelligence Maj. Gen. Jon Arnaldo, with a copy furnished to PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. “This refers to the incident that occurred during the wee hours in the morning of 29 June 2023 wherein 13 or so foreign nationals, under your custody and detention, were injured during a commotion that ended in serious physical injuries to at least three of them as a result of the severe mauling by your police officers on the ground,” lawyer Ananias Christian Vargas said. He added that this is needed as it could be a matter of life and death. Maranan previously said more than 1,500 of the 2,700 rescued workers during the June 27 raid were already released while the others in custody are still being processed in coordination with the Bureau of Immigration. Cases of human trafficking and violations of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 in relation to the raid have been filed by the PNP before the Department of Justice against Chinese nationals Li Jiacheng, Xiao Liu, Yan Jiayong, Duan Haozhuan, and LP Hongkun.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The Philippine economy remains on track to returning to its high-growth trajectory, backed by several initiatives implemented by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s administration. “One year into the Marcos Presidency, the Philippine economy remains firmly on track as it returns to its high-growth norm, supported by a strong labor market performance and a downward-trending inflation that is on its way to reaching the government’s target,” National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement over the weekend. Balisacan admitted that the president began his term “under very challenging and unique circumstances’ brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, and strict quarantine measures imposed to prevent the further spread of the virus caused the Philippine economy to contract by 9.5 percent in 2020. Balisacan said the significant contraction “came with a number of socioeconomic setbacks” which include high national debt, social and economic scarring in terms of learning losses, business closures, and a high unemployment rate. “Recognizing the immediate issues at hand, the President crafted his 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda, a list of priorities that would guide the policies, programs, and initiatives of his presidency,” said Balisacan. “The agenda not only focuses on pressing, short-term issues such as inflation, a tighter fiscal space, and socioeconomic scarring but also on priorities for the medium term to reinvigorate higher-quality job creation and accelerate poverty reduction in the next six years,” he added. According to Balisacan, the Marcos administration’s priorities were key in shaping his Economic Team’s early initiatives and outputs, including the country’s Medium-Term Fiscal Framework, which ensures the alignment of the legislative agenda with the attainment of sound fiscal targets; the PHP5.268-trillion budget this year which focuses on the identified socioeconomic priorities of the President; and the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the country’s medium-term development blueprint to effect socioeconomic transformation for a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient society. He said the further reopening of the economy revived consumption, allowing the country’s gross domestic product to expand by 7.7 percent in the third quarter of 2022, 7.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, and 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2023. For full-year 2022, the Philippine economy grew by 7.6 percent, exceeding the government’s 6.5 to 7.5 percent target. “These indicators paint a promising picture of a sustained recovery for 2023,” said Balisacan. The government aims to attain a 6 to 7 percent economic growth expansion this year. He added that unemployment rate also went down to 4.5 percent as of April this year from 5.7 percent in April 2022 while inflation also decelerated from a high of 8.7 percent in January this year to 6.1 percent in May. Inflation, he said, is expected to further ease and settle within the government’s 2 to 4 percent target range by the end of the year. Balisacan said Marcos created a more open and enabling regulatory and investment policy environment and has shown his deep commitment to pursuing sound and cohesive policies by having a Cabinet with members who capably understand the constraints that need to be addressed to realize the President’s socioeconomic agenda. He added that the Philippines also further opened its economy to trade, investment, and competition with its accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP); creation of Green Lanes for Strategic Investments; amendments to the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Renewable Energy Act and the Build-Operate-Transfer Law; and changes to the NEDA Joint Venture Guidelines. Marcos also convened the National Innovation Council (NIC), citing the need to establish a dynamic innovation ecosystem to sustain rapid economic growth and improve the quality of life in the long term. “Lastly, the NEDA Board, chaired by President Marcos, has been actively pushing for the rigorous assessment and swift approval of major projects to ensure their timely and effective implementation while upholding public interest,” said Balisacan. The NEDA chief assured that the Marcos administration remains committed to ensuring that the poor and vulnerable are protected from economic shocks. Some of the initiatives implemented to ensure this include the provision of targeted transfers and assistance to those hardest hit by inflation; establishment of the Inter-agency Committee on Inflation and Market Outlook to monitor supply and demand conditions proactively for essential commodities and recommend timely policy interventions to manage inflation; approval of the Social Protection Floor to institutionalize basic social security guarantees; and ramped up rollout of the National Identification to have a more efficient and inclusive social protection system. “Overall, despite the many challenges and headwinds it has faced, the Marcos Administration has successfully navigated its first full year in office but recognizes that much is yet to be done. Guided by the strategies it has formulated and the frameworks it has instituted, the government shall continue to work with the private sector and members of civil society so that the country may progressively attain its ambitious development targets,” Balisacan said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Pope Francis has named his Argentine compatriot Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández as the new Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), the Vatican said on Saturday. Archbishop of La Plata Fernández will succeed Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, a Spanish theologian, whom the pope thanked for his years of service at the helm of the Dicastery. Fernández will take up his new duties in mid-September 2023, the Vatican said. In a letter to the new prefect, Francis said he was entrusting him with a task he considers very valuable. He wrote that its central purpose is to guard the teaching that comes from the faith ‘to give for our hope, but not as an enemy who critiques and condemns.’ The pope said that, while in the past the DDF had pursued possible doctrinal errors and questionable methods, what he expected from the new leadership was something very different. Among other things, the pope stressed the importance of a specific section in the Holy See dedicated to the protection of minors and asked the new Prefect to commit personally and directly to the main purpose of the Dicastery which is “to guard the faith”

Source: Philippines News Agency