PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE

News and Information Bureau

 

PUBLIC BRIEFING #LagingHandaPH

HOSTED BY ALJO BENDIJO

September 13, 2023 (11:01 A.M. – 11:22 A.M.)

BENDIJO: Magandang araw, Pilipinas. Miyerkules ngayon, ika-13 sa buwan ng Setyembre.

Mahalagang isyu po sa bayan ang ating pag-uusapan ngayong araw kasama ang mga kinatawan ng mga piling ahensiya ng pamahalaan, kaya tutok lang. Ako po ang inyong lingkod, Aljo Bendijo, at ito ang Public Briefing #LagingHandaPH.

Umarangkada na ngayong araw ang pamamahagi po ng fuel subsidy para sa mga pampublikong sasakyan. Kabilang sa mga makakatanggap ay ang mga operator at driver ng jeep, mga taxi, UV Express, bus, mini bus, mini cabs, tourist transport services, school transport services, TNVS, delivery rider at tricycle.

Ayon kay LTFRB Chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III, nakadepende ang mga matatanggap na ayuda sa kinukonsumong petrolyo ng mga pampublikong transportasyon. At matatanggap ang ayuda ng mga operators sa pamamagitan ng e-wallet, bank account at sa fuel subsidy card para sa mga dati nang nakarehistro bilang benepisyaryo ng fuel subsidy program. Kuwalipikado rito ang mga operator na mayroong bisa ang prangkisa o nakarehistro na sa LTFRB.

Samantala, magnitude 6.8 (6.3) na lindol sa Cagayan, iyan po ang ating pag-usapan with Dr. Teresito Bacolcol, OIC ng PHIVOLCS. Dr. Bacolcol, good morning.

PHIVOLCS OIC DR. BACOLCOL: Yes, good morning po.

BENDIJO: Ano po ang assessment ng PHIVOLCS at detalye sa naganap po na magnitude 6.8 na lindol sa Cagayan kagabi?

PHIVOLCS OIC DR. BACOLCOL: Hindi po siya magnitude 6.8, it’s magnitude 6.3 po and may depth po siya na 41 kilometers and iyong epicenter po is 22 kilometers Northeast of Dalupiri Island in Calayan and as of 8:00 AM po, mayroon na po kaming naitalang 99 aftershocks with magnitude range from 1.5 to 3.7.

BENDIJO: Gaano po kalawak ang epekto nito, Sir, at saang mga lugar naramdaman ang pagyanig?

PHIVOLCS OIC DR. BACOLCOL: Iyong maximum intensity po is Intensity V sa may Bacarra, Bangui, Burgos, sa Laoag City, sa Pagudpud, Paoay, Pasuquin and San Nicolas sa may Ilocos Norte. Iyon po iyong maximum intensity natin sa mga lugar na naramdaman. Pero naramdaman din po ito sa Abra, sa Cagayan, sa Ilocos Sur, sa Nueva Ecija at saka Aurora.

BENDIJO: May tanong po si Rod Lagusan, correspondent ng PTV: May mga pinsala bang naitala sa mga lugar na nakaranas po ng lindol?

PHIVOLCS OIC DR. BACOLCOL: May nakalap po kaming information at saka may mga pictures po kaming nakuha. Sa Dalupiri Island, sa may Calayan, may dalawang barangays po na naiulat na may mga bahay na nagkaroon ng cracks, ito po ay sa Barangay Centro II at sa Cabudadan. So, ito pa lang po iyong nakuha namin na may mga pictures na may mga cracks po sa walls.

BENDIJO: Para sa kaalaman ng ating mga kababayan, pakilarawan po sa amin, Sir, kung gaano kalakas iyong intensity 6.3 na lindol?

PHIVOLCS OIC DR. BACOLCOL: Magnitude 6.3 po.

BENDIJO: Okay, magnitude 6.3.

PHIVOLCS OIC DR. BACOLCOL: And Intensity V po iyong naramdaman, intensity 5 is considered strong and kapag Intensity V po, it’s generally felt by most people indoors and outdoors; kapag tulog naman po kayo, puwede po kayong magising and usually po ang reaksiyon ng mga tao rito, natatakot and lumalabas outdoors; there will be strong shaking and rocking that can be felt kapag nasa building po kayo and iyong mga hanging objects puwede pong mag-swing violently; iyong small, light and unstable objects may fall or overturned and; iyong standing vehicles may rock noticeably at kapag nasa labas po kayo, mapapansin po ninyo iyong leaves and twigs sa mga kahoy are shaking. Iyon po, kapag Intensity V.

BENDIJO: Opo. Mayroon po tayong earthquake drills, malaki ang maitutulong po niyan sa atin. Pero paano po natin masisiguro – huwag naman po sanang tumama ang malakas na lindol lalung-lalo na po dito sa Metro Manila – na iyan po ay susundin talaga ng ating mga kababayan, iyong ginagawa nating earthquake drill?

PHIVOLCS OIC DR. BACOLCOL: Tama po kayo. Dapat siseryosohin po natin iyong mga earthquake drills, hindi po iyong nagsi-selfie tayo or nagpo-post sa Facebook o nakangiti habang nag-i-evacuate. So, we really have to take these drills seriously, kasi earthquakes are random events, hindi po natin alam kung kailan mangyari – puwedeng mangyari sa umaga, puwedeng mangyari sa gabi. And if we constantly participate in these earthquake drills and if we take these earthquake drills seriously, it will build muscle memory and alam na kaagad natin iyong gagawin kapag may lindol na magaganap.

BENDIJO: Opo. Ano po ng mga suggestions, kung mayroon man, na galing sa PHIVOLCS na maaari nating ibigay sa DPWH, ganoon din sa iba’t ibang mga stakeholders, lahat na po lalung-lalo na sa mga edipisyo o mga buildings dito po sa Metro Manila lalung-lalo na may kalumaan na po at talagang kapag tumama ang lindol, ay naku, huwag naman sanang marami po ang maapektuhan, Sir? May mga pagbabago na bang ginagawa ang ating pamahalaan sa pakikipag-ugnayan ng PHIVOLCS upang sa ganoon ay mai-check?

PHIVOLCS OIC DR. BACOLCOL: Yes, marami na pong initiatives iyong national government natin when it comes to earthquake preparedness. So, for example, at the national level, iyong NDRRMC has prepared tools to assess local government units in developing their comprehensive earthquake response plans. Iyong DILG naman po has crafted operation Listo, which aims to strengthen disaster preparedness plans sa mga LGUs.

And sa tingin ko kailangang i-develop ng mga LGUs, the LGUs should strengthen and continuously improve the engineering competency of their staff so that they can confidently and strictly enforce the building code. Ito sana ang pagtutuunan ng mga LGUs natin to train their staff para ma-enforce strictly iyong building code natin.

BENDIJO: Sa pangkalahatan, handang-handa na ba ang Pilipinas lalung-lalo na sa kabisera ng Pilipinas, ang Maynila, dito po sa – huwag naman pong magaganap na inaasahan natin talaga, uncertain ito, pero malamang mangyari – ito pong the Big One?

PHIVOLCS OIC DR. BACOLCOL: We cannot be prepared, we cannot be 100% prepared, that’s impossible, but we are more prepared now than before. And again, malaki ang naitulong ng NDRRMC sa ating awareness, again dahil po sa earthquake drill na quarterly ginagawa natin. Again, people are now more aware than before, and again, with the advent of the social media, madaling kumalat po ang impormasyon.

BENDIJO: Maraming salamat po sa inyong impormasyon din, Dr. Teresito Bacolcol, ang OIC ng PHIVOLCS.

PHIVOLCS OIC DR. BACOLCOL: Maraming salamat din po.

BENDIJO: Samantala, kahalagahan ng inclusive digital adoption sa Southeast Asia ang ating pag-uusapan with Go Negosyo Founder at ASEAN Business Advisory Council chairman, Sir Joey Concepcion. Sir Joey, magandang araw po, Sir, kumusta?

 

GO NEGOSYO FOUNDER MR. CONCEPCION: Yes.

   

BENDIJO: Para mas malinawan ang ating mga kababayan, Sir, ano po itong inclusive digital adoption, ano ba ito at ano ang importansiya o kahalagahan nito lalung-lalo na sa ating mga micro, small and medium enterprises?

 

GO NEGOSYO FOUNDER MR. CONCEPCION: Well, iyong digitalization ay talaga namang that will bring a lot more inclusiveness. In other words, noong wala pa iyong digitalization, lahat ng pagbibenta ng mga produkto either diyan sa mga shopping centers, sa mga supermarkets, mga sari-sari stores. Pero itong paglago nitong digitalization especially in the market place,  may mga digital platforms ngayon na puwedeng bumili dito sa mga online market places katulad ng Shoppe, Lazada at marami pa diyan na mismong tindahan binago nila diyan sa mga computer; makikita ninyo diyan sa App na mas madaling bumili ng mga de lata.

So, may mga alternatives ngayon iyong mga maliit na negosyante na puwede nilang ibenta in these platforms. Not only that, dito sa pagma-market ng mga produkto nila, they’re able to either become an influencer themselves ‘no itong mga tinatawag nating mga micro influencers. Ang dami-dami ngayon na nagiging micro influencers kasi mismong ang produkto nila, mga services, iyong may restaurant sila at least they can promote it dito sa social media especially in Facebook, TikTok, you know Instagram – lahat iyan. These platforms are what we’re saying it is making more inclusive.

BENDIJO: Ano ang benepisyo nitong digitalization? Ano ang malaking ambag nito lalo na sa again, sa mga maliliit na negosyante, Sir?

GO NEGOSYO FOUNDER MR. CONCEPCION: Well, itong programang ginagawa ng Go Negosyo, itong 3M on Wheels: Mentorship, Money and Market, access to mentors na ngayon iyong programa namin with the Department of Trade and Industry, iyong mga training namin online na lahat. So, mas maraming tao ang puwedeng mag-aral, matuto dito sa mga online training programs. Hindi katulad dati sa telebisyon ay puwede raw magturo pero one-way lang siya. Ngayon kung may question ang isang MSME puwede silang magtanong kasi online, either in zoom or many other platforms out there.

So, iyong pagmi-mentor ngayon, we do it in many of the shopping centers pero we are also doing it online. So, access to  mentorship, access to market – isa pa iyan, ang sinabi ko na access to market whether you want to sell it to Shopee, Lazada, Zalora and all the  other platforms lahat iyan are all available ‘no.

So, digitalization really is creating a more inclusive environment for our MSMEs. So, that is a big plus ‘no iyong access to mentorship, access to market and, even the access to money ‘no itong mga bangko ngayon iyong mga e-wallets nila, iyong pautang ngayon you can already do it through the digital platforms that they have, you can go to the internet and go to many of these banks that lend mga MSMEs and you access the credit now, depende na iyan sa bangko kung magpapautang sa iyo, so they will have to look at your historic track record of your paying habits, lahat iyan ‘no.

So, digitalization is hastening the speed ‘no for MSMEs to really access market place. Hindi katulad dati that to advertise you have to put it in the newspaper, put it in radio, pero ngayon social media is dominating the entire marketing reach ‘no and that is one big advantage now for our MSMEs ‘no.

BENDIJO: Inyo pong iminungkahi, Sir Joey, ito pong MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) sa bawat ASEAN country na magbibigay ng development sa MSMEs at sa sector ng agrikultura, ano pong detalye doon, Sir?

GO NEGOSYO FOUNDER MR. CONCEPCION: Now, ang ginawa namin dito sa ASEAN – ang host country ang Indonesia, ginawa sa Jakarta. So itong ASEAN matagal na iyan that started kasi isang bansa dapat may legacy project siya, so ang legacy project ng Pilipinas iyong una, iyong ASEAN mentorship for entrepreneurship network, that was how we can provide mentors to our entrepreneurs and that is very successful, that’s all over the 10 ASEAN countries today; it’s funded by JAIF (Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund) ‘no, Japan fund, Japanese government and they are—katulad iyan ng ginagawa namin dito with DTI, they can access our mentors ‘no. So, that’s done in Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia lahat ng mga bansa; that is being rolled out as we speak.

But we went one step further ‘no, ang importante kasi all over the Philippines, this stems from the need for help, we need help from the ASEAN countries that are good in agriculture. So we signed MOAs with this countries ‘no, actually about 7 out of the 10 countries have signed with us to provide us technology on a critical areas like rice, banana, rubber, palm oil many, many – depending on the strength of each country.

So, Malaysia was the first one that signed, we’re working with them on palm oil and rubber and eventually other crops ‘no. So, each country has a specific task from the Philippines. Now what will they do? In fact, when we sign with these  10 countries this coming Friday – Malaysia is sending a delegation over to be headed by their former Minister of Trade, Mr. Mustafa, and a delegation who will now start to work with us and determine what they can help us and what we can help Malaysia ‘no. So, what we can help Malaysia is they will tell us what their needs are, and we’re asking help from them with regards to palm oil and rubber and other things ‘no.

So this discussion, the MOA, was a symbolic event – in front of the President and in front of all the ASEAN-backed chairs – but the execution now is what will matter ‘no. So eventually we will be meeting also with Thailand et cetera but it will start first with Malaysia which will start this Friday ‘no. So, I think this is what the President is pleading to other nations to help the Philippines in agriculture and the way to do it is to bring the best talented entrepreneurs from these countries to come over to the Philippines. If they are they willing to invest with our big brothers, marami kaming mga malaking agriculture entrepreneurs dito sa bansa ng Pilipinas. So they can tie up with us, so we can learn from them or we can also look at their area and see what are our opportunities in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand et cetera ‘no.

So, this is what ASEAN is supposed to be eh, it’s a brotherhood of countries and citizens, countries helping more each other and creating prosperity not only for our country but prosperity for the entire ASEAN countries, the 10 ASEAN countries ‘no.

BENDIJO: Ano po ang mga challenges na kinakaharap po natin o kakaharapin nito pong digital adoption lalo pa’t, Sir Joey, laganap po ngayon itong mga scams, online scams o iba’t ibang panloloko gamit ang iba pang mga digital platforms at medium? Papaano kaya natin ito haharapin sa ating pagsusulong ng inclusive digital adoption dito po sa Southeast Asia?

GO NEGOSYO FOUNDER MR. CONCEPCION: Well, of course you know there are always those kinds of element, those kind people who would take advantage. But let us not get distracted because the greater good will reward a lot of people. The authority will have to just be careful; the platforms also are being more vigilant on looking at these scams and the moment they see that, they take them out of the platforms.

So, the sector itself, the digital entrepreneurs, who own these platforms are going to be vigilant and looking and ensuring that these people who want to take advantage are monitored and taken out of the platforms. The greater good is what is important and I’ve seen it for myself. Iyong ginagawa natin, ng Go Negosyo, every week in mentoring people in the malls and that’s 500 to 2,000 people that attend, you can see that they want to have a better life. Nakikita namin talagang mismong mga bata, na-mentor ko isang 7 year old nagninegosyo na.

So, I think that is what we have to inculcate in our Filipino people. Poverty will be with us if we don’t do anything. But if we do something and if the government and the private sector comes together, and we are coming together – with the government to hand in hand help  the MSMEs plus the entire world is changing, I mean who – how many people watch television? Wala na iyan eh, nasa Facebook na sila halos 24 hours. Everybody has the news, everybody can see everything, everything is transparent; mismong TikTok, Instagram lahat iyan, all of these platforms if used for the better good then we will be able to create greater prosperity for Filipinos because there are a lot of opportunities that was absent when digitalization was not there yet.

The access to media was for the big players like us. But access to social media, so a child that 15-18 years old can be posting certain products and actually do live selling. So, there are many ways now to become an entrepreneur without spending so much money in marketing.

BENDIJO: Sige po maraming-maraming salamat po, Sir Joey Concepcion. Pasensiya na po at mayroon pong importanteng press briefing po sa Malacañang. Again, thank you so much, Sir Joey.

GO NEGOSYO FOUNDER MR. CONCEPCION: Thank you.

BENDIJO: Sir Joey Concepcion, ASEAN Business Council and chairman po ng Go Negosyo, Go Negosyo founder.