wo planes full of workers had agreed to sign a deal to regu- early March. Kuwait.” eral agreement in place.

Kuwait.” eral agreement in place. But that’s

ed in Manila from Kuwait late working conditions. in his briefing on tuesday, “But i do not have informa- not made into a condition. it’s a

Nation
week on flights provided for “we proposed to the Philip- Presidential spokesperson her- tion if the invitation has been ac- preference.” — main report by
The
by commercial airlines at the pine authorities to resolve and minio harry L. Roque, Jr. said, cepted and this is as of yesterday Reuters
EDITORs marifi s. jara, RICKY S. TORRE
WEDNESday, FEBRUARY 21, 2018

c
#nationataglance Renewing peace talks with Reds would depend on military
preSiDenT rodrigo r. Duterte may consider going back to the peace table with
communist groups, but he will only do so with recommendation from the armed
Forces of the philippines (aFp), presidential Spokesperson Herminio Harry l. roque,
Jr. said. Mr. Duterte said on Monday, Feb. 19, that the norwegian government had
rain asked him to renew the peace talks between the government and the national
en Democratic Front-Communist party of the philippines-new people’s army nDF-
acks Cpp-npa). “The norwegian officials came here to explore the possibility of talking
again. i have to consult my military people. Why? it’s them who get killed. i told
… them, ‘i will talk to the military. if you would agree, i might…’” Mr. Duterte said. in a
press briefing on Tuesday, Mr. roque clarified that such a possibility “is still unclear”
the because of the “ongoing attacks from the communist rebels.” — arjay L. Balinbin
on >> See full story on https://goo.gl/FV9akv

s senate ethics committee clears Lacson, Trillanes, De Lima

09. THe SenaTe committee on ethics yesterday dismissed complaints filed against Sen-
er, ators panfilo M. lacson and antonio F. Trilanes iV, and “dismissed without prejudice
to refiling” the complaint against Senator leila M. De lima. Majority leader Vicente
t C. Sotto iii, committee chair, said the cases were junked due to lack of jurisdiction.
as for Ms. De lima, he said the ethics complaint against her may be revived if the
courts would uphold that she has violated disobedience to summons under the
aul revised penal Code. Former Customs commissioner nicanor e. Faeldon filed the
complaint against Messrs. lacson and Trillanes in September last year in connection
with the Senate investigation on the illegal drug shipment at the Bureau of Customs.
ains, Meanwhile, three ethics complaints were filed against Ms. De lima by House leaders
as for allegedly preventing a former aide to attend a congressional investigation. Four
MICHAEL VARCAS/PHILIPPINE STAR cases against Senators Trillanes, richard J. gordon and ana-Theresia Baraquel-
n- naTional CapiTal region Hontiveros remain pending at the committee. — Camille a. aguinaldo
m
red Three floors of woes
a long line of metro Rail Transit-3 commuters, as shown in this photo taken yesterday,
feb. 20, is a common sight as the system has insufficient trains and continues to have
h as regular breakdowns.
ead police want to keep authority over
ty. deployment in proposed Bangsamoro
THe pHilippine national police (pnp)
wants to keep the authority over the de-
ployment and reassignment of officers in
the planned Bangsamoro autonomous re-
gion (Bar). Under the proposed Bangsam-
AFP

oro Basic law (BBl), such power is given

h
to the Bar’s chief minister. in a position
paper delivered on Tuesday, Feb. 20, to the
House of representatives’ committee on
local government, joint with committees
on Mindanao affairs and peace, reconcili-
ble ation, and unity, pnp Director
for plans edwin C. roque said
up that “while the employment
ate and deployment powers
eize are encompassed with the
operational and control
a- powers granted to chief
minister, the power to as-
s of sign and reassign police
he are ought to be properly
fILIpINa WORKERs returning home from Kuwait arrive at exercised by police com-
or the manila international airport on feb. 18. after a horrific manders.” — minde Nyl
ma- murder of a philippine maid in Kuwait, who comes from R. dela Cruz
s. a small town in Iloilo, hundreds of such women are now >> See full story on
y streaming back home, recounting their abuse and hardship, https://goo.gl/nbosiF
sia, but also saying they are ready to work abroad again.

he WeSTern ViSaYaS
mic DoLE-6 to hold job fair for repatriated OfWs
from Kuwait amid growing unemployment rate
were in Western Visayas
THe DeparTMenT of labor and employment Western Visayas
hey office (Dole-6) is preparing to hold a job fair for overseas
WWW.ANFLOINDUSTRIALESTATE.COM

Filipino workers (oFWs) in the region who were recently repa-

triated from kuwait. “There will be a jobs fair that will be done
be for those returning oFWs para makahanap sila ng trabaho (so
they can find work),” said Dole-6 Director Johnson g. Cañete.
He said the activity will help returning oFWs find jobs. The
d by death of oFW Joanna Demafelis of Sara, iloilo, whose body
cked was found in a freezer in an abandoned apartment in kuwait,
has prompted president rodrigo r. Duterte to order a travel
hey ban to the gulf state. Mr. Cañete said livelihood assistance
from the overseas Workers Welfare administration (oWWa)
e will also be given to repatriated workers. “if there are undocu-
mented oFWs that arrive and will be repatriated we have also
uy- the national reintegration Center for oFWs who will give ser-
in vices. The assistance Dole provides is limited as the beneficia-
ries should first get their benefits from oWWa,” he said.
rity,
uds UNEmpLOYmENT
Meanwhile, Mr. Cañete said addressing unemployment re-
m- mains a major challenge in Western Visayas, as job opportuni-
ties “are not that much.” “every year, we produce graduates
so the tendency is for the unemployment rate to go higher.
We find that most of our graduates will find themselves un-
ern- employed at the end of the day,” he said. Based on data from
to the philippine Statistics authority (pSa), the unemployment
re rate in the region increased from 3.2% in october 2016 to
5.6% in the same period last year. The number of unemployed
t individuals in the region has also ballooned to 183,000 in 2017
an from 108,000 the previous year. “Truly, Western Visayas has
y a problem with unemployment,” said Mr. Cañete. The higher
unemployment rate, he added, is also partly due to jobs mis-
y match. The Dole official said they are working closely with
other government agencies to address the situation. — Louine
ut hope U. Conserva
CenTral ViSaYaS: CeBU CiTY
Cebu City gov’t set to endorse UhRI’s
proposal for Kawit Island development
WiTH no other proposals submitted to chal-
lenge the p18-billion development plan of
Universal Hotels and resorts, inc. (UHri) at
the South road properties (Srp), Cebu City
Mayor Tomas r. osmeña said they are now
preparing to endorse the contract for approval
by the city council. “it’s supposed to be sub-
mitted to the council anytime now for their
approval. The bidding has been unchallenged.
There was one or two others that inquired
about it, but did not push through. i think
it’s going to push through,” Mr. osmeña told
reporters. The deadline for the submission of
expressions of interest (eois) to contest the
UHri proposal was last Feb. 14. UHri is pro-
posing to lease the eight-hectare lot on kawit
island at the Srp to build a hotel, restaurant,
casino, convention center, yacht club, and
waterpark, among other facilities. Mr. osmeña
said once the deal with UHri is closed, the
city will then push through with the sale of
another three-hectare lot at the Srp. — The
Freeman
aN aERIaL view of the ecozone and the adjacent
Davao International Container Terminal.
DaVao: panaBo CiTY
food manufacturers considering anflo ecozone
Foreign anD local food manufacturers and proces-
sors have expressed interest to locate at the 63-hectare
anflo industrial economic Zone (ecozone) in panabo
City, according Damosa land, inc. (Dli) Vice-president
ricardo F. lagdameo. The ecozone, managed by Dli’s
sister company anflo industrial estate, is located beside
a Dli mixed-use project. Mr. lagdameo said they are in
talks with more foreign firms, but he is optimistic that
there will also be local companies coming in. “The likeli-
hood that the next investor would be foreign is high. But
there are several local companies that have expressed
interest and these are mostly in food manufacturing and
processing as well. i would like to see more local food
manufacturer and food processor locating because it is
also a sign of how they are leveling up their businesses,”
Mr. lagdameo told the media in a recent interview. at
present, the sole local locator at the ecozone is Sagrex
Foods, inc., which is setting up a facility for frozen plan-
tain for export. — maya m. padillo

businessworld gRaphICs: erka Capili inCiong