Asean Tribune

Surigao City began a regular vaccination program Monday (Oct. 16) to protect its senior citizens from common respiratory infections.Robbie Ruaya, the city’s information officer, said more than 6,000 senior citizens, including those from the far-flung and island barangays (villages) are expected to benefit from the vaccination drive.’We advise our senior citizens to bring their identification cards when they avail of the vaccines,’ Ruaya said.The city government is providing pneumonia and influenza vaccines for seniors vulnerable to other complications of respiratory infections such as bronchitis, sinus infections, ear infections, and exacerbation of existing chronic conditions like asthma or heart disease.The vaccines are highly effective in reducing the risk of pneumonia and flu among seniors, Ruaya noted.Regular vaccination activities will be conducted at Luneta Park from Monday to Friday, except on holidays.

Source: Philippines News Agency

(KPL) Marking 50 years of partnership, the Government of the Lao PDR and UNICEF have renewed their commitment to universal hygiene access on Global Handwashing Day.

(KPL) Marking 50 years of partnership, the Government of the Lao PDR and UNICEF have renewed their commitment to universal hygiene access on Global Handwashing Day.

Celebrated annually on 15 October, Global Handwashing Day aims to highlight the crucial role of hand hygiene in preventing illness and saving lives. This year’s theme, “Clean Hands are within Reach,” underscores the right of every child to safe water, sanitation and hygiene.

Speaking about the hygiene and sanitation situation in the Lao PDR, Mr. Kongkham Miboon, Director of Nam Saat, noted the considerable changes witnessed over the decades.

‘In 1975, it is estimated that only 292,000 people across 1,000 villages had clean water. Schools did not have appropriate sanitation facilities. Water-related illnesses typhoid, dysentery, diarrhea, and worm infestations are listed among t
he major disease in Laos – and were leading causes of death. But today over 5 million people in Lao PDR have access to basic water, offering children and their families the chance of a healthier future,’ said Mr. Kongkham Miboon.

In a collaboration that stretches over five decades, UNICEF and the Government of the Lao PDR have tirelessly addressed critical issues in water, sanitation, and hygiene throughout the nation. Since establishing its presence in Laos in 1973, UNICEF has forged robust partnerships with local stakeholders to supply villages, schools, and hospitals with clean water and essential sanitation facilities. Additionally, the organization has taken strides in capacity building, training healthcare workers and spearheading community education campaigns focused on vital hygiene practices, such as handwashing-a seemingly simple act that can yield life-saving outcomes.

UNICEF Representative to the Lao PDR, Dr. Pia Rebello Britto, emphasized the critical role of handwashing, especially as UNICEF c
elebrates its 50-year partnership with the Government of Lao PDR.

‘Handwashing with soap is more than a simple health measure; it is an effective tool for preventing a range of health issues, reducing diarrheal diseases by 30% and respiratory infections by up to 20%. We have seen what 50 years of cooperation has done to bring safe water and hygiene to communities across Lao PDR. Now it is time for a last final push to make Lao PDR open defecation free by 2025,’ said Dr. Pia Rebello Britto.

Most recently, Borikhamxay became the first province to achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) status. Shortly thereafter, Vientiane Capital was announced as the first ASEAN capital city to achieve ODF status.

Dr. Pia Rebello Britto also underscored the importance of working in partnership to continue Lao PDR’s positive trend towards ODF.

‘UNICEF takes this opportunity to thank our key donors in realising children’s foundational right to clean water, hygiene and sanitation in the Lao PDR for the past 50 years. We would like
to thank the Government of Australia, Irish Aid, the Government of Japan, the Korean Committee for UNICEF and USAID among many others. Everyone has a role to play in ensuring clean hands are within reach for all,’ she added.

Source: Lao News Agency

The president of the Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipinas (LTOP) said the three-day transport strike led by another group is likely to fizzle out because it does not enjoy the support of the country’s major transport organizations.LTOP president Orlando Marquez Sr. told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Monday that the leaders of the seven biggest transport groups have all agreed not to support the transport strike launched by Manibela.He said the groups who will not be participating in the protest action include LTOP, Pangkahalatang Sanggunian Manila at Suburbs Drivers Association (Pasang-Masda), Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (ALTODAP), Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP), Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON) and “Stop-and-Go.”Marquez pointed out that with the public utility vehicles (PUVs) under the ‘Magnificent Seven’ transport groups still on the road, the strike
organized by Manibela chair Mar Valbuena has virtually no chance of paralyzing the movement of commuters.’Not a single member of my organization anywhere in the country will go along with that foolishness. They (Manibela) are just trying to blackmail the government. Their leader is politically motivated and is not really after the interests of the transport sector,’ he said in Filipino.He said the first day of the strike has already shown that the protest has no momentum, and there are no indications that it will be gathering more support in the coming days.He noted that the strike’s impact on people’s movement is minimal, at best, even despite Manibela’s claim that it will paralyze up to 600 routes in Luzon alone.’Manibela is just a small group with very few vehicles,’ he added.Marquez claimed that up to 400,000 PUVs in all 13 regions of the country are under the LTOP banner.He said the PUVs under LTOP consist of 30,000 jeepneys, 2,000 buses, 2,000 ‘UV Express’ vans, and the rest are tricycles.Valbuena earli
er called for a transport strike to oppose the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s Dec. 31 deadline for the consolidation of traditional jeepneys as part of the government’s public utility vehicle modernization program.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Take your eyes off the president

After the crushing defeat in the by-election for the head of the Gangseo district in western Seoul last week, the People Power Party (PPP) held an emergency meeting on Sunday to find ways to recover public trust in the governing party. The PPP decided to oust all lawmakers appointed by its head from their party posts and replaced them with lawmakers with seats representing districts in Seoul and the Gyeonggi province.

But if PPP lawmakers continue keeping their eyes on President Yoon Suk Yeol without accurately delivering public sentiments to him, no prescriptions will work. Legislators have the responsibility to check the executive branch regardless of their party affiliations. Nevertheless, members of the PPP shunned it to invite the opposition’s ridiculing the party as a “liaison office of the presidential office at Yongsan.”

Such a farce mostly originated from Yoon’s preference for PPP lawmakers who faithfully follow his instruction. Otherwise, they received a penal
ty from the conservative president. After controversial PPP Chair Lee Jun-seok was driven out of the party earlier this year, the president sent to the then-floor leader a text message praising him for “expelling the party leader bent on attacking the conservative party.” A senior aide to the president even told a candidate for the new party leadership not to provoke the president. Former floor leader Na Kyung-won decided to not run for the party leadership after being criticized for “behaving like the head of an anti-Yoon faction.”

As a result, the governing party has degenerated into a body of lawmakers blindly following whatever the president says. Current PPP Chair Kim Gi-hyeon stirred controversy after overly bending his waist whenever he met the president. Key posts in charge of nominations for the next parliamentary election on April 10 were also taken up by close aides to the president. After controversy arose over the president’s sudden instruction to eliminate so-called “killer questions” from the
college entrance exam, the policy chief of the PPP extolled the president as an “expert in college admissions,” citing his earlier investigation as the prosecutor general into the Cho Kuk family’s college entrance scams. That’s not all. Even when 70 percent of the people worried about a lack of government reaction to Tokyo’s release of the contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, PPP lawmakers were busy accompanying the president to sushi-eating events to show there were no health threats from the discharge.

Unless the PPP changes such behavioral patterns, it will most likely be defeated by the DP in the next election. If the PPP’s image as a submissive party to the president consolidates further, the voters cannot but perceive the election as a contest between the DP and the president, not between the DP and the PPP. A recent Gallup Korea poll showed Yoon’s approval rating at 33 percent while disapproval rating stood at 58 percent. In last week’s by-election, the gap between the DP
and PPP candidates was 17.15 percentage points.

The PPP must deliver the public sentiment to the president precisely. If PPP members are only interested in getting nominations in the next election, the nightmare of the Gangseo district will befall them at any time.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

The Police Regional Office in Northern Mindanao Region (PRO-10) has mobilized all its police units in Misamis Occidental province following an explosion on the governor’s convoy late Sunday night.PRO-10 acting director Gen. Ricardo Layug Jr. condemned the explosion incident in Poblacion II, Clarin town, on the vehicle convoy of Governor Henry Oaminal around 11 p.m.On Monday, Layug ordered all police stations in the province to conduct checkpoints and dragnet operations to apprehend the perpetrators.’We view this incident with the utmost seriousness and are conducting a thorough investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the explosion,’ he said in a statement.The governor was on his way to his house in Ozamiz City when a blast hit his convoy while passing the highway in Clarin.No injuries were reported in Oaminal’s party.Major Jingle Esick, the Clarin police chief, said the blast was a result of an improvised explosive device.’We have been reviewing CCTVs to identify these perpetrators,’ he s
aid.Following the incident, Oaminal released a video Sunday evening telling his constituents that he was not harmed along with his staff.The explosion took place three days before the campaign period for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan election (BSKE) will begin on Oct. 19.BSKE commitmentMeanwhile, the PRO-10 joined the Nationwide Multi-Sectoral Peace Assembly for the BSKE on Monday.Lawyer Renato Magbutay, Commission on Election-Northern Mindanao (Colelec-10) director, emphasized that the police have the primary responsibility to provide security throughout the electoral process.’They must safeguard places, ensuring that voters can freely exercise their right to vote without fear or threat,’ he said.The event intends to gather the stakeholders and other concerned sectoral agencies for the publication of a pledge of commitment for a non-partisan and peaceful BSKE 2023.

Source: Philippines News Agency

South Korea and the United States are expected to sign an arrangement aimed at bolstering bilateral security supply chains this month, Seoul’s arms procurement agency said Monday, amid the allies’ efforts to step up security cooperation.

In a policy report for a parliamentary audit, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said it expects to sign the Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) with the U.S. Department of Defense at the end of October.

Under the agreement, the allies will be able to make requests for priority delivery for defense-related orders from each other. The two sides had agreed to sign the arrangement once they complete administrative procedures during their talks in Washington in July.

DAPA said it will also make efforts for the signing of the Reciprocal Defense Procurement-Agreement between the two countries in a move to help ease some trade barriers for bilateral arms exports.

In May last year, President Yoon Suk Yeol and his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, agreed to beg
in discussions on the agreement as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation in defense supply chains during the summit in Seoul.

DAPA said it will also seek to ensure overdue payments are made by Indonesia for the joint KF-21 fighter jet development project by pushing for a revised cost-sharing agreement this year.

As a partner country, Indonesia has agreed to shoulder about 20 percent of the project’s cost of 8.1 trillion won (US$5.98 billion) through 2026, but it is estimated to be behind in payments by nearly 1 trillion won.

The agency also said it expects to decide on the type of aircraft next month before signing a deal for the country’s project to acquire additional large transport aircraft.

Source: Yonhap News Agency