Author: ASEAN Tribune

MANILA: A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed that 53.6 percent of Filipino families rated themselves as “non-poor” for the first quarter of 2024.

According to the survey, conducted from March 21 to 25 and released on Thursday, self-rated non-poor families consist of 30 percent borderline and 23 percent not poor.

Compared to the December 2023 survey, the recent self-rated non-poor figures show that borderline families declined by 3 points from 33 percent, while not-poor families increased by 3 points from 20 percent.

Meanwhile, the March 2024 survey showed that 46 percent of families considered themselves poor, which hardly changed from the 47 percent recorded in the previous survey.

The estimated numbers of self-rated non-poor and poor families were 14.9 million and 12.9 million respectively.

The pollster noted that the 1-point decline in the nationwide self-rated poor figure between December 2023 and March 2024 was due to slight decreases in Mindanao and Metro Manila, combined with an increase
in the Visayas and a steady score in Balance Luzon.

“As of March 2024, the percentage of Self-Rated Poor families was highest in the Visayas at 64 percent, followed by Mindanao at 56 percent, Balance Luzon at 38 percent, and Metro Manila at 33 percent,” the SWS said.

The survey asked those who were self-rated non-poor if they had ever experienced being poor in the past.

According to the SWS study, the total percentage of non-poor families consisted of 15.6 percent who were poor one year to four years ago or labeled as the “newly non-poor”, 10.1 percent who were poor five or more years ago or ‘usually non-poor’, and 27.8 percent who never experienced being poor or “always non-poor.’

Of the estimated 14.9 million self-rated non-poor families in March this year, 4.3 million were newly non-poor, 2.8 million were usually non-poor, and 7.7 million were always non-poor.

Among the 46 percent who identified as poor, 6 percent, or about 1.7 million families, were considered ‘newly poor’ or those who were non-poor
one year to four years ago, while 5.3 percent, or about 1.5 million families, were usually poor, or classified themselves non-poor five or more years ago.

A total of 34.9 percent, or 9.7 million families, considered themselves “always poor” or never experienced being non-poor.

The SWS said the national median Self-Rated Poverty Threshold (SRP Threshold), or the minimum monthly budget self-rated poor families said they need not be considered as poor, remained at PHP15,000 in the past nine quarters.

Meanwhile, the national median Self-Rated Poverty Gap (SRP Gap) fell from PHP7,000 in December 2023 to PHP5,000 in March 2024.

This refers to how much self-rated poor respondents say they lack in home expenses relative to their stated SRP threshold.

In terms of self-rated food poverty, the March 2024 survey found 33 percent of families rating themselves as food-poor, 36 percent rating themselves as food borderline, and 31 percent rating themselves as not food-poor.

Compared to December 2023, the percentage of
food-poor families hardly changed from 32 percent, while food borderline families fell slightly from 41 percent, and not food-poor families rose slightly from 26 percent.

The estimated number of self-rated food-poor families was 9.3 million in March 2024.

The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews with 1,500 respondents nationwide.

It has sampling error margins of ±2.5 percent for national percentages, ±4 percent for Balance Luzon, and ±5.7 percent each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Thursday reported the interception of some PHP29.5 million worth of kush (dried marijuana) inside a shipment from Thailand at the Manila International Container Port (MICP).

In a statement, Customs Commissioner Bien Rubio said a full physical examination of the shipment at the Designated Examination Area (DEA) of the MICP on Wednesday led to the discovery of 74 boxes containing the contraband consigned to Philippians 419 Export and Import Gen Mdse Corp.

The shipment which was declared as household items, shoes, and motor parts arrived at the MICP on April 12.

‘We are seeing this modus more and more these days of marijuana being shipped through balikbayan boxes, which have become symbols of the Filipino diaspora. It’s sad to think that this modus is using something ubiquitous to every Filipino family as a balikbayan box because it degrades what that box symbolizes for us,’ Rubio said.

Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) director Verne Enciso, meanwhi
le, said the physical examination was done after they received ‘derogatory information’ that the shipment contains illegal drugs.

Enciso said the first box has around 6,400 grams of dried marijuana or kush packed in 24 pieces of plastic pouch; the second box has about 9,771 grams packed in 42 pieces of plastic pouch; and the third box has around 4,900 grams packed in 22 pieces of plastic pouch.

He added about 21,071 grams of dried marijuana or kush has an estimated street value of PHP29,499,400.

‘We so far opened three boxes out of the 74 boxes found and now we have positive confirmation of the presence of marijuana,’ Enciso said.

MICP District Collector Mimel Talusan has issued a warrant of seizure and detention (WSD) on the shipment following the discovery of the illegal drugs.

He, meanwhile, said the assigned Customs examiner will continue the thorough examination of the shipment, including the opening and unboxing, in the presence of agents from the CIIS, Enforcement and Security Service (ESS), Custo
ms Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force (CAIDTF), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Environmental Protection and Compliance Division (EPCD), and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

The PDEA is also set to do confirmatory testing on the samples of suspected dried marijuana or kush taken from the subject boxes.

The remaining boxes have been brought back to the container, which was secured with padlocks and seals for safekeeping.

The consignees, senders, and recipients of the balikbayan boxes will possibly face charges in violation of Section 118 (prohibited importation and exportation) and Section 1400 (misdeclaration) in goods declaration in relation to Section 1113 (property subject to seizure and forfeiture) of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) and Republic Act 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Source: Philippines News Agency

LG H andH Co. on Thursday reported its first-quarter net income of 113.1 billion won (US$82.3 million), up 17.4 percent from a year earlier.

Operating profit for the January-March period was 151 billion won, up 3.5 percent from a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. Revenue rose 2.7 percent to 1.72 trillion won.

The operating profit was 16.3 percent higher than the average estimate, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The estimate of net profit was not available.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

MANILA: The country’s elite and promising cyclists will join the Lumba Tamo Zambales 2024 on May 7.

The race is one of the highlights of the province’s world-famous celebration of the Dinamulag Mango Festival.

About 500 riders in the Elite, Junior, and Youth categories will vie for medals and cash prizes at stake in the 150-km. road race that will cover an out-and-back course at the Zambales Sports Complex in the provincial capital Iba.

‘Cycling tourism is growing increasingly popular, not only in Zambales province but throughout the country. And, through our ingenuity, we have combined cycling and trail tourism and along this line, I welcome all the athletes taking part in the Lumba,” Governor Hermogenes Ebdane said in a statement.

Zambales has been a regular venue for cycling, triathlon, off-road races, and even multi-sport competitions, such as regional athletic meets, in the past 15 years.

Lumba Tamo (let’s race) is sanctioned by the Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines (PhilCycling) as o
ne of its ranking races for the national championships and will bring the riders to the picturesque coastline of Zambales, one of the longest in the country province wise.

The race, however, will offer a tough challenge for participants as the summer heat and unpredictable crosswinds would demand the most from the riders.

The race is principally organized by the provincial government of Zambales through the Zambales Youth and Development Office headed by Eric Matibag.

The Dinamulag Mango Festival 2024 celebration will start on May 2 and culminate on May 11 with a series of daily festivities and activities.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara said there are at least 4,164.92 megawatts of new power supply that will come online this year to address the growing electricity demand in the country.

In a virtual press briefing Thursday, Guevara said half of the new supply will come from solar power projects and the rest will come from conventional power infrastructure.

‘To date, 161.2 MW of the 2024 committed projects are in full commercial operation while 835 MW are under test and commissioning. So, even though they are under test and commissioning, they are injecting power to the grid,’ she said.

Guevara said 4,030 MW of these projects are in Luzon, 80.25 MW in Visayas, and 52.50 MW in Mindanao.

The DOE expects that 1,224.66 MW will come online this quarter, 1,352.17 MW will come in the third quarter, and 1,571.15 MW in the fourth quarter of the year.

Power plants with biggest committed capacities include the four units of 150 MW Mariveles Coal-Fired Power Plant, with total
capacity of 600 MW, while the three units of 440 MW Batangas Combined Cyle Power Plant of Excellent Energy Resources Inc. (EERI) has a combined capacity of 1,320 MW.

The Mariveles power plant’s Unit 1 commenced commercial operation last month, while the remaining three units are under testing and commissioning. They are expected to be on full commercial operations by the third quarter of 2024.

The EERI facility will come online by the last quarter of the year.

Guevara said at least 590 MW of battery energy storage system will also augment the supply this year, of which, 32.42 MW are already online.

She added the country’s power generation growth has surpassed economic expansion.

‘(It’s) an 18 percent increase from the 2022 generation. If you look at our economic growth, which is 6 percent per year, we can show that the number of projects coming online in 2024 is greater than the expected economic growth of the country,’ the energy official said.

Peak demand forecast breached early

In the same briefing,
Electric Power Industry Management Bureau Assistant Director Luningning Baltazar reported that the Luzon grid has exceeded the peak demand forecast of 13,917 MW for this year on April 24.

On Wednesday, actual power demand reached 14,016 MW, or 99 MW higher than the forecast demand.

Also, the Luzon grid has not only surpassed the peak demand for this year but also exceeded the level at an earlier period.

Based on the DOE’s demand projection for 2024, the peak power demand will be hit around Week 20 of the year, or the third week of May. However, it was already exceeded during Week 17 of the year.

DOE Assistant Secretary Mario Marisagan said the increasing temperature due to lingering effects of El Niño has pushed higher demand for electricity.

With the current situation, Guevara said yellow alerts in the Luzon grid will persist, with the possibility of red alerts until mid-May.

DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla said the higher temperature due to El Niño is also causing further ‘stress’ to power plants that c
ould affect their operations.

Lotilla added the El Niño phenomenon poses many challenges not only in the energy sector but also other sectors.

‘It remains a challenge. If we look at the impact of El Niño-and the El Niño phenomenon has created problems not only in the energy, but also in agriculture, water, health, and education. So these are indications of a natural calamity, and therefore the local government units in many areas have already declared such. So we are recognizing that as a fact,’ he said.

‘It’s a calamity and we are responding to it as needed,’ the energy chief added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The Constitutional Court on Thursday struck down an inheritance rule that mandates certain portions of an inheritance be given to siblings of the dead.

The Civil Act mandates families’ rights to legally reserved minimum portions of an inheritance in the event of a family member’s death.

The law stipulates predetermined inheritance portions for spouses, children, parents and siblings of the dead in case a person dies without a will.

Even if a will is left, spouses and children are entitled to half of the portions legally stipulated for them, while parents and siblings are entitled to one-third of the legally stipulated portions, a legal safety net introduced in 1977 to guarantee the survival rights of the bereaved.

The Constitutional Court ruled against the minimum inheritance portions reserved for siblings in its unanimous decision Thursday, saying siblings are hardly recognized as having contributed to the asset accumulation of the dead.

The ruling came amid recurring claims against the inheritance syst
em, which opponents criticize as too invasive of an individual’s property rights.

Source: Yonhap News Agency