DOTr, PPA inaugurate three (3) port projects linking Palawan to other parts of PH, nearby countries

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Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, together with Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago, inaugurated three completed port projects in Palawan – the Port of San Fernando in El Nido, the Port of Bataraza in Brgy. Buliluyan, and the Borac Port in Coron today, 19 March 2021, fulfilling the promise of the Duterte administration to link the island province to other parts of the country and to nearby countries.

The inauguration also marks the start of operations for the newly constructed seaports that aim to boost economic progress, not just of Palawan, but the whole of the MIMAROPA (Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan) region as well.

Also in attendance at the triple event were Palawan Governor Jose Ch. Alvarez, Palawan 2nd District Rep. Cyrille Abueg-Zaldivar, Palawan 3rd District Rep. Gil Acosta Jr., El Nido, Palawan Mayor Edna G. Lim, and other local and national officials.

The ports of San Fernando, Bataraza, and Borac are among the 424 completed seaport projects of the DOTr and PPA, under the massive "BUILD, BUILD, BUILD" infrastructure program of the Duterte administration.

“Ngayon ay magpasinaya tayo ng hindi isa, hindi dalawa, kundi tatlong Puerto, kasagutan sa pangarap ng Palawan. Kasama ang tatlong puerto na pinasisinayaan natin ngayon, sumatutal na puerto na ginawa ng Kagawaran ng Transportasyon at ng PPA ay 19 ports ‘ho, ito yung nagawa na, kasama na rin ‘ho ang tatapusin. By any numbers, 19 is not small, it is not medium, it is big pagkat ang Palawan ay malapit sa puso ni Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte, ang Palawan ay malapit sa puso ng Duterte administration,” Secretary Tugade said.

“It took only the political will of President Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte and the cooperation of the local government to say enough is enough, let us put all our actions so that the dreams that we have will come true. And today, those dreams will have to be a reality because they will bring convenience and comfort not only to the people of Palawan but more importantly to the people of the Philippines and also to the people of the neighboring ASEAN,” Secretary Tugade added.

For his part, GM Santiago said that aside from the 13 completed out of the 19 seaport projects in Palawan, the agency also has four (4) more ongoing projects in the province.

“Dito sa Coron, bagamat nagawa na ang bagong pantalan dyan sa Borac, yung luma sa Coron town ay iimprove pa natin yan. Kailangang ayusin ang Port Operations Building dyan para mas maganda ang serbisyo ng PPA sa port users at kailangan continuously ina-upgrade ang ating mga pier, bugbog po talaga ang pantalan na yan sa dami ng biyahe. Dito naman po sa Aborlan ay kung papano mai-improve ang maliit na pantalan doon para makapag-silbi hindi lamang sa mga mangingisda kundi para masilbihan din ang mga deretsong kargamento as an alternate port po sa Southern Palawan other than Puerto Princesa,” GM Santiago said.

Meanwhile, Palawan Governor Alvarez commended Secretary Tugade and the PPA for the completion of the said port projects, which he noted as the government’s fulfillment of the ASEAN agreement for the enhancement of interconnectivity in the region.

“Kung walang political will mula sa isang Secretary [Secretary Tugade] na halos hindi na natutulog matapos lamang ang proyekto, hindi matatapos ang mga proyekto ni Pangulong Duterte,” Governor Alvarez said.

“Ang Palawan ay masyadong bantog sa Kota Kinabalu and the whole of Sabah, where we have 1.3 million Filipinos, sila po ay malayang pupunta rito sa Palawan pag konektado na tayo sa RORO,” the Governor added.

The completed projects at the Port of San Fernando include the construction of a Back-up Area with RORO (roll-on, roll-off) Ramp, a Causeway, and Access Road, as well as a reinforced concrete (RC) wharf with a RORO ramp.

Development works on the wharf, back-up area, and the port lighting system were meanwhile accomplished at the Port of Bataraza.

On the other hand, projects completed at the Borac Port include the development of its back-up area, construction of concrete pavement, as well as the supply and installation of lamp posts, rubber dock fenders, and mooring bollards

Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day in Guiuan, Eastern Samar to mark the 500th anniversary

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The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) will conduct a special program in line with the annual Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day on March 18 in Guiuan, Eastern Samar.

This is to mark the 500th anniversary of the Philippine-Spanish Contact which happened in the said town exactly 500 years ago on the said date. This was made possible through the recorded compassion and generosity of our ancestors exhibited to the starving, undernourished, and scurvy-stricken Magellan-Elcano expedition, the first to circumnavigate the world. It also happened to be the documented contact of our ancestors and the Spaniards.

According to NHCP Chairperson and concurrent National Quincentennial Committee (NQC) Executive Director Rene Escalante, “Unfortunately, a lot of Filipinos, as well as foreign nationals, do not know this episode in the history of the first circumnavigation of the world.”

To commemorate the cordial contact, the NQC adopted Humanity as part of the theme of the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines (2021 QCP), the branding of the thirty-four major quincentennial milestones in Philippine history which include the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan and the 500th anniversary of the introduction of Christianity in the Philippines. The committee, created through the Executive Order No. 55 in 2018 by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, collaborated with the NHCP in installing historical markers in 34 sites in the Visayas, Palawan, and Mindanao that were part of the route of the first circumnavigation of the world in 1519-1522.

“We are glad that today, we are marking that episode through this historical marker we are about to unveil,” Escalante noted. “This marker shall be a perpetual reminder to those who will visit this place of our heritage of compassion which we are known at.”

The Municipality of Guiuan and NQC will also host a solidarity night commemorating the contact on March 18 in front of the historic Guiuan Church.

The Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day is an annual observance every June 30 by virtue of Republic Act No. 9187. It commemorates the compassion extended by the young Philippine Republic under President Emilio Aguinaldo to the last Spanish soldiers who were left out inside the Baler Church from June 1898 to June 1899. The NQC notes that the Philippines and Spain forged friendship 500 years ago in Guiuan and both parted ways in Baler bannering the same. These two events are hoped to serve as inspiration and motivation for both countries to continue friendship.

Supreme Court of the Philippines Institutionalizes Videoconferencing Hearings to Ensure Continuation of Justice Throughout COVID-19 and Beyond

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170,000 virtual hearings enabled nationwide and digital proceedings resulted in successfully processing 81,000 persons through Microsoft technology



The Philippines’ justice system has taken a significant digital leap forward as the Supreme Court of the Philippines formally institutionalized videoconference proceedings for all its courts nationwide.

Utilizing Microsoft 365—a unified communication and collaboration platform with innovative Office web applications, intelligent cloud services, and world-class security—transparent proceedings and fair justice is becoming more available for more Filipinos at all levels of the justice system, even amid the ongoing community quarantine throughout the nation.

The Supreme Court recently approved the Guidelines on the Conduct of Videoconferencing, allowing remote appearances in court proceedings from individuals across and even outside the Philippines.

"On January 16, 2021, videoconferencing was formally institutionalized, and the guidelines and the conduct of video conferencing became effective. For the first time in its 119-year history, the Philippine judiciary has blazed a new trail by allowing remote testimony from parties situated in even in different parts of nation and the globe," said Honorable Jose Midas P. Marquez, Court Administrator of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

The Supreme Court chose Microsoft to be one of its key partners in their digital transformation journey and invested in Microsoft 365 because the solution is cost-efficient and ensures security and compliance. Moreover, it is interoperable with the judiciary's other projects, and Microsoft supported the necessary skilling for their IT team throughout the pandemic.

"We are privileged to work alongside the Supreme Court of the Philippines in this historic achievement where remote appearances from parties across and beyond the country are now part of court proceedings. The leaders of the national judiciary aspire to provide Filipinos with innovative and accessible citizen services, and we’re fully committed to empowering them with the right technology solutions to do so—today and in the future,” said Microsoft Philippines Public Sector Director Joanna Rodriguez.

During Microsoft’s recent "Asenso Pilipinas: Building Digital Resilience" Summit, Marquez shared how the Supreme Court of the Philippines embraced innovation to spark digital transformation throughout the 27,000 courts across the country under its jurisdiction.

"At present, all courts are authorized to conduct videoconferencing hearings bringing the total to 2,715 courts. I am pleased to note that from May 4, 2020, to January 8, 2021, while parts of the country are still on varying forms of a lockdown and with hardly any mentoring, almost 170,000 video conferencing hearings in both civil and criminal cases have already been conducted by our judges with a success rate of 80%."

According to Marquez, the imposition of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) at the onset of the pandemic brought challenges across all judicial levels.

In the early months of the pandemic, Community Quarantine and reported infections of Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) with COVID-19 in different detention facilities restrained the movement and travel of PDLs, judges, and court personnel. At that time, Marquez said, the judiciary worked with a skeletal workforce and was mandated only to act and resolve matters filed before the courts electronically.

“This was as much as we could do as we did not have any official regulating platform to mount video conferencing hearings which was badly needed at that time”, Marquez Said.

The Supreme Court evaluated various tools in the market that will enable them to launch virtual court hearings immediately. After assessing the full spectrum and balance of Microsoft 365 with their security, privacy, and compliance requirements through collaborative workshops, the Supreme Court decided to avail the solution for a trial.

With the substantial capability to launch virtual hearings, the Honorable Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta issued Administrative Circular 37-2020 for the pilot testing of hearings of criminal cases through videoconferencing in select courts in cities nationwide on April 27, 2020.

In just over a week of the pilot testing, 4,683 PDLs were released, and after two months, 21,375 videoconferencing hearings were conducted by judges. As of October 2020, more than 81,000 PDLs and children in conflict with the law were released through virtual court hearings.

Moving forward, the judiciary is aware that there are still improvements to be made, and enabling more technology will allow the courts all over the country to be more efficient, effective, and responsive. “This should reduce, if not totally eliminate, the biases that could stall exponential technological developments to enhance and expedite the administration and dispensing of justice,” according to Marquez.

He added that with more people gaining access to the internet and accustomed to technology, virtual access to justice could be a reality in the country sooner than later.