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AMID calls to stop the P28.78 billion Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said Friday that the project will still push through and that the first of its packages may even be operational in a couple of months.“Ipagpatutuloy po natin yan. We will continue. As we have discussed with the mayor and the governor, we will push through with the project,” Bautista said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the general assembly of the Philippine Coastwise Shipping Association on April 19, 2024 at the Fili Hotel, Nustar Cebu. Bautista met with Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on Thursday night, April 18, and concerns over the CBRT’s implementation were among the things they discussed. “We agreed to help each other, to coordinate with each other, so that we can continue the construction of the Cebu BRT. Posibling magkaroon ng (It’s possible for there to be a) modification,” he added. Bautista also met with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama on Friday morning regarding the CBRT project.Rama sued the governor on March 20 for meddling in the Department of Transportation (DOTr) project built in the highly urbanized and independent Cebu City, after Garcia ordered contractor Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Co. Ltd. on Feb. 27 to halt CBRT construction activities on Province-owned lots on Osmeña Blvd.She said the construction work potentially violated a Philippine heritage law, as it appeared to be conducted within the buffer zones of heritage zones. In particular, Garcia complained that the large leaf design of the intended Capitol bus station obstructed the view of the pre-war era Provincial Capitol building.Suspend packagesSince the start of the civil works on the CBRT Package 1 in March 2023, delays and controversies have marred the project, the most recent of which was the call of the Cebu City Council at its regular session last Wednesday to suspend the implementation of Packages 2, 3 and 4 of the CBRT project, and to change the route of the project. Last March 25, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) requested the proponent DOTr to submit an Archeological Impact Assessment and development plans for the project for the NCCA’s approval before resuming work on Capitol-owned lots in the area.Bautista said there is a possibility of modifications in the CBRT project, including the redesigning of the bus station. However, he stressed that the modifications must be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), and the project funders, meaning the World Bank and the French Development Agency.No changeBut in a text message on Friday, CBRT project manager Norvin Imbong told SunStar Cebu that the design of the bus station along Osmeña Blvd. in front of the Cebu Capitol Building going to the Fuente Osmeña Rotunda will remain the same due to the difficulty of redesigning it. Imbong added that CBRT implementers are working to comply with the heritage impact assessment, with the DOTr central office already having hired a third-party proponent to formulate the assessment. Bautista, on the other hand, said he will review the call of some local officials to stop the project. “Ang tinatapos lang natin ay (The only thing we are completing is) Package 1, but we will work with them kasi (because) this is a very important project of the Department (of Transportation) as it will benefit the Cebuanos,” Bautista said. “Overall, we are looking for partial operations, siguro mga (maybe in) June of this year,” he added. The CBRT, a priority project of the Marcos Jr. administration, has a budget allocation of P28.78 billion. It spans 35.28 kilometers.The project, first intended to be completed in 2025 but moved to 2027, is divided into four packages. Package 1 covers the route from Osmeña Boulevard to the South Bus Terminal (2.38 kilometers); Package 2, route from the South Road Properties (SRP), Barangay Mambaling, and Escario St., Capitol, and Gorordo Ave. (10.8 km); Package 3, routes from the Cebu IT Park to Barangay Talamban and from the SRP to Talisay City. Package 4 will feature a dedicated lane from barangays Bulacao to Mambaling, extension of the alignment from Ayala to Cebu IT Park, a rotunda underneath the Mambaling flyover, and the conversion of a mixed traffic lane along the coastal road at the SRP and F. Vestil St.The CBRT project is expected to cater to 60,000 passengers daily in its first year of operation, and up to 160,000 passengers once fully operational, according to the DOTr. Trial runMajority of the members of the Cebu City Council once again called to suspend the civil works of the second to fourth packages of the CBRT, but this time, only for six months while a trial run for the Barangay Bulacao to Ayala route is conducted.Last February, the Council had called for the suspension of the remaining packages, without indicating the duration for the suspension, saying only that the suspension should be undertaken to give time to observe the Package 1 operations to help determine if the CBRT really works, as well as to address the challenges to acquire the lots needed for the succeeding CBRT packages.The Council also unanimously agreed Wednesday, April 17, to request Mayor Rama to convene a CBRT Technical Working Group to discuss the option of a City-operated trial run of a CBRT route from Bulacao to Ayala while the three remaining packages of the CBRT are suspended.But the proposed trial run did not sit well with some councilors, who said a TWG study must be done before conducting the trial run.Fix the projectCebu City Councilor James Anthony Cuenco, who chairs the committee on transportation and who has been a critic of the CBRT project, said in his privilege speech on Wednesday that there is still a chance to fix the mass transport system project through the steps presented by mass transportation expert and consultant Rene Santiago.Cuenco said that according to Santigao, there could be three ways the CBRT project could proceed with the suspension of the remaining packages after the completion of Package 1: Conduct a dry run for the Bulacao to Ayala route; have exclusive bus lanes but no re-paving of roads, and just use temporary cost-effective bus stations; and for the Cebu City Government to take over with the Neda and the DOTr observing.“That is why I have presented my speech not to counter-argue, but to clarify. By coming together with open minds, we can chart a path forward that will ensure that this project is implemented not as a reckless battle but as a strategic operation,” said Cuenco.But Councilor Nestor Archival questioned the proposal, saying that during the executive session last April 3 where Santiago was present, he was not able to answer how he intended to perform his suggestions.“During the executive session, he was telling us that he can do that within six months, but he can’t prove it. He can’t tell us how,” said Archival.Cuenco said he met with Santiago after the executive session and the traffic expert told him what steps to be taken for the project within six months, but he can’t reveal these yet “because the Department of Transportation might copy.”Archival, in response, said he preferred convening the TWG first and have it conduct a study immediately and give a report to the Council on the feasibility of a trial run.These concerns prompted Archival not to vote for the measures presented by Cuenco.Other members of the minority bloc, Councilors Joy Augustus Young, Mary Ann de los Santos and Jose Lorenzo Abellanosa, also voted no to the measures presented by Cuenco.Association of Barangay Councils president Franklyn Ong, meanwhile, abstained from voting, saying his concerns on who will operate the CBRT and what type of buses traverse the CBRT route remained unanswered by the transportation agency.Wrong routeIn his privilege speech, Cuenco also said that during an executive session on April 3, 2024, engineers Santiago and Nigel Paul Villarete suggested that Package 1 of the CBRT project could have been implemented elsewhere instead of Osmeña Boulevard. Their reasons included the short distance of the CBRT route from the South Bus Terminal to the Capitol, the presence of numerous crosswalks along the route, and the possibility of simpler BRT station designs to save time and money. They said the current BRT routes primarily connect commercial centers like the Ayala mall and Cebu IT Park, rather than residential areas as originally intended. They also questioned the request for a depot in SRP, which they argued was not aligned with the BRT’s original purpose. Instead, they proposed considering an alternative route via Fuente to Gen. Maxilom Ave. if the public prefers avoiding Capitol, while maintaining the start and end points in Barangays Bulacao and Talamban. The session concluded that there is no reason not to suspend Packages 2 and 3 while exploring the possibility of streamlining the route to a direct path from Bulacao to Ayala or Talamban.MisconceptionsCuenco also responded to former mayor Tomas Osmeña’s warning of a possible blacklisting by donor nations if the CBRT project were to be halted, by saying that the cancellation of foreign state loans for large-scale projects has not always resulted in negative repercussions. He said in 2016, a $300 million e-trike project loan from the Asian Development Bank was canceled due to lack of buyers and high manufacturing costs. He added that in 2022, a $64.6 million loan for the BRT Line 1 project from Quezon Ave. to España Blvd. was canceled by agreement between the government and the World Bank. He also said that in 2023, a $172 million loan from South Korea for the proposed New Cebu International Container Port expired with the project only one percent complete. In too deep Cuenco said another misconception is that the CBRT project has progressed too far and a significant portion of its loan has been spent, making it impossible to halt. However, he said during their session, that the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Cebu City’s Lot Acquisition Committee revealed that only half of the project’s budget is allocated for land acquisition. He said no letter-offers had been served to lot owners yet, so half of the project budget remains unspent, with only time being wasted. Online Casinos in the Philippines Philippines INFLATION in Central Visayas declined to 2.5 percent in January 2024 from 3.9 percent in December 2023, according to the latest data from the statistics office.The Summary Inflation Report in Central Visayas Consumer Price Index released on Feb. 8, 2024 also showed that Central Visayas’ latest inflation rate marks a significant decrease from the rate in the same period last year, when the inflation rate was 7.2 percent.Meanwhile, the country’s headline inflation, or the overall inflation, also decelerated, dropping to 2.8 percent in January 2024 from 3.9 percent in December 2023; this represents a moderation from the higher rate of 8.7 percent recorded during the start of 2023.Inflation rates across all regions decreased last month compared to in December 2023. Regions 1 (Ilocos Region) and 2 (Cagayan Valley) reported the lowest inflation rates at 1.5 percent, while Region 11 (Davao Region) saw the highest inflation at 4.4 percent in January 2024.Inflation rate, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said, is equivalent to a decline in the purchasing power of the peso. It is the change in the Consumer Price Index over a specific period of time, usually a month or a year.The PSA report pointed to several key factors driving this downward trend of regional inflation.Key factorsPSA 7 reported that the down­trend in regional inflation in January 2024 was mainly brought about by the lower year-on-year growth rate of food and non-alcoholic beverages.In Central Visayas, the year-on-year growth rate of food and non-alcoholic beverages dropped to 2.2 percent in January 2024 from 5.5 percent in December 2023.Additionally, a lower inflation rate in the indices of transport and education services also contributed to the decrease. The inflation rate in transport declined to 0.5 percent in January 2024 from 3.8 percent in December 2023 while the inflation rate in education services decreased to 0.9 percent from 1.5 percent in December 2023.Further contributing to the moderation in inflation were decreases observed in several commodity groups during the month.Lower inflation rates were observed in alcoholic beverages and tobacco (from 10.4 percent to 10.2 percent); clothing and footwear (from 2.6 percent to 2.4 percent); furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (from 3.3 percent to 3.2 percent); health (from 4.6 percent to 4.5 percent); financial services (from 0.0 percent to -0.2 percent), and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services (from 4.5 percent to 4.4 percent.)However, amid these decreases, certain commodity groups witnessed faster annual increments during the month.Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels increased to two percent from 1.7 percent, while recreation, sport, and culture rose to 3.7 percent from 3.6 percent.Additionally, restaurants and accommodation services saw an uptick to 4.3 percent from four percent. Meanwhile, information and communication maintained its previous month’s annual rate of 0.3 percent.PSA 7 said the top three commodity groups contributing to the 2.5 percent regional inflation in January 2024 are food and non-alcoholic beverages (34.1 percent share or 0.85 percentage point), followed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, accounting for a 19.2 percent share or 0.48 percentage point, and restaurants and accommodation services with 15.6 percent share or 0.39 percentage point.Food inflationMeanwhile, the food inflation in the region eased to 2.1 percent in January 2024 from 5.6 percent in December 2023. The region’s food inflation rate was higher in January 2023 at 7.5 percent.Lower annual growth rates were observed in fish and other seafood, vegetables, fruits, corn, oils, fats, and ready-made food products. Rice, flour, meat, and dairy products saw increased year-on-year growth rates.Food contributed 29.7 percent to overall inflation, with cereals, dairy, and meat being the primary contributors.

INFLATION in Central Visayas declined to 2.5 percent in January 2024 from 3.9 percent in December 2023, according to the latest data from the statistics office.The Summary Inflation Report in Central Visayas Consumer Price Index released on Feb. 8, 2024 also showed that Central Visayas’ latest inflation rate marks a significant decrease from the rate in the same period last year, when the inflation rate was 7.2 percent.Meanwhile, the country’s headline inflation, or the overall inflation, also decelerated, dropping to 2.8 percent in January 2024 from 3.9 percent in December 2023; this represents a moderation from the higher rate of 8.7 percent recorded during the start of 2023.Inflation rates across all regions decreased last month compared to in December 2023. Regions 1 (Ilocos Region) and 2 (Cagayan Valley) reported the lowest inflation rates at 1.5 percent, while Region 11 (Davao Region) saw the highest inflation at 4.4 percent in January 2024.Inflation rate, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said, is equivalent to a decline in the purchasing power of the peso. It is the change in the Consumer Price Index over a specific period of time, usually a month or a year.The PSA report pointed to several key factors driving this downward trend of regional inflation.Key factorsPSA 7 reported that the down­trend in regional inflation in January 2024 was mainly brought about by the lower year-on-year growth rate of food and non-alcoholic beverages.In Central Visayas, the year-on-year growth rate of food and non-alcoholic beverages dropped to 2.2 percent in January 2024 from 5.5 percent in December 2023.Additionally, a lower inflation rate in the indices of transport and education services also contributed to the decrease. The inflation rate in transport declined to 0.5 percent in January 2024 from 3.8 percent in December 2023 while the inflation rate in education services decreased to 0.9 percent from 1.5 percent in December 2023.Further contributing to the moderation in inflation were decreases observed in several commodity groups during the month.Lower inflation rates were observed in alcoholic beverages and tobacco (from 10.4 percent to 10.2 percent); clothing and footwear (from 2.6 percent to 2.4 percent); furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (from 3.3 percent to 3.2 percent); health (from 4.6 percent to 4.5 percent); financial services (from 0.0 percent to -0.2 percent), and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services (from 4.5 percent to 4.4 percent.)However, amid these decreases, certain commodity groups witnessed faster annual increments during the month.Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels increased to two percent from 1.7 percent, while recreation, sport, and culture rose to 3.7 percent from 3.6 percent.Additionally, restaurants and accommodation services saw an uptick to 4.3 percent from four percent. Meanwhile, information and communication maintained its previous month’s annual rate of 0.3 percent.PSA 7 said the top three commodity groups contributing to the 2.5 percent regional inflation in January 2024 are food and non-alcoholic beverages (34.1 percent share or 0.85 percentage point), followed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, accounting for a 19.2 percent share or 0.48 percentage point, and restaurants and accommodation services with 15.6 percent share or 0.39 percentage point.Food inflationMeanwhile, the food inflation in the region eased to 2.1 percent in January 2024 from 5.6 percent in December 2023. The region’s food inflation rate was higher in January 2023 at 7.5 percent.Lower annual growth rates were observed in fish and other seafood, vegetables, fruits, corn, oils, fats, and ready-made food products. Rice, flour, meat, and dairy products saw increased year-on-year growth rates.Food contributed 29.7 percent to overall inflation, with cereals, dairy, and meat being the primary contributors. Do Filipinos like to gamble? THE Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) will be having dialogues with various members of the business community to discuss the importance of the water rate adjustment, which will finally be implemented on April 1, 2024.The rate adjustment will push through, according to Jose Daluz III, chairman of the MCWD board of directors.“At least we have one month to talk to them, explain to them. Manghangyo mi nga this is not something nga nag-increase mi. It is just an application of the prescribed rate of LWUA since 2010,” Daluz said in an interview on Monday, Feb. 12.He clarified that the water district is not jacking up rates, but is lifting the exemption on the Local Water Utilities Administration’s (LWUA) prescribed rate guidelines set way back in 2010.He said MCWD did not need to seek LWUA’s approval; rather they only informed the agency that they would be imposing the prescribed rate.Daluz said the rate adjustment, which will affect only commercial and industrial customers, was supposed to take effect last Dec. 1, 2023, but they decided to defer it due to the holiday season.According to a SunStar Cebu report on Nov. 19, 2023, the current rates for consumers -- residential, commercial and industrial -- for the first 10 cubic meters of water consumed is P15.20 per cubic meter.Beyond 10 cubic meters, or from 11-20 cubic meters, the rate is P16.80 per cubic meter; from 21-30 cubic meters, P19.80, and for usage exceeding 30 cubic meters, the rate is P48.40 cubic meter.Under the LWUA’s prescribed rate, the first 10 cubic meters will be P30.40 per cubic meter for commercial consumers and P45.60 for industrial consumers.Around 85 percent of the water district’s customers are residential, while the remaining 15 percent are composed of commercial and industrial customers. Daluz also pointed out that the adjustment that was supposed to take effect last December is separate from the rate hikes that the MCWD had asked the LWUA to approve, which included the 60 percent that should have taken effect last July 1 and another 10 percent that was supposed to be implemented in the middle of this year.Daluz said they will no longer pursue these rate hike petitions.He said the MCWD will allot the whole month of March to engage in a dialogue with business chambers and establishments within its franchise jurisdiction after it was informed that the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) had submitted its position regarding the rate adjustment directly to LWUA.SunStar Cebu reached out to CCCI president Charles Kenneth Co to comment on the matter, but he had yet to issue a statement as of press time.Meanwhile, Daluz said the MCWD has no choice but to implement the LWUA’s prescribed rate because MCWD will soon be purchasing water from desalination plants in Barangay Mambaling in Cebu City, Barangay Opao in Mandaue City and Barangay Catarman in Cordova.The desalination plant in Opao charges P73.86 per cubic meter. The ones in Mambaling and Catarman have yet to release their rates.Daluz admitted that commercial and industrial customers will be paying more for their water after April, but the move is crucial to support the water district’s ongoing infrastructure support and projects that will ensure a sufficient supply of water in Metro Cebu.ExemptionIn 2010, Daluz said, MCWD asked for an exemption as a policy to stay competitive after the water district lost a case against Margarita Adala.The loss prompted the earlier administration to uniformly charge its residential, commercial and industrial consumers, and not follow LWUA’s rate structure.On July 4, 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Adala to supply water to three sitios in Barangay Bulacao.The ruling added that the MCWD has no “exclusivity” on water distribution in Metro Cebu, thus opening its operation to competition from private water suppliers. Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama replaced MCWD board members Daluz, Miguelito Pato and Jodelyn May Seno last Oct. 31 with Melquiades Feliciano, Aristotle Batuhan and Nelson Yuvallos. But Daluz, Pato and Seno have refused to step down from their posts.Feliciano is the chairman of the Rama-appointed board.

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THE Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) will be having dialogues with various members of the business community to discuss the importance of the water rate adjustment, which will finally be implemented on April 1, 2024.The rate adjustment will push through, according to Jose Daluz III, chairman of the MCWD board of directors.“At least we have one month to talk to them, explain to them. Manghangyo mi nga this is not something nga nag-increase mi. It is just an application of the prescribed rate of LWUA since 2010,” Daluz said in an interview on Monday, Feb. 12.He clarified that the water district is not jacking up rates, but is lifting the exemption on the Local Water Utilities Administration’s (LWUA) prescribed rate guidelines set way back in 2010.He said MCWD did not need to seek LWUA’s approval; rather they only informed the agency that they would be imposing the prescribed rate.Daluz said the rate adjustment, which will affect only commercial and industrial customers, was supposed to take effect last Dec. 1, 2023, but they decided to defer it due to the holiday season.According to a SunStar Cebu report on Nov. 19, 2023, the current rates for consumers -- residential, commercial and industrial -- for the first 10 cubic meters of water consumed is P15.20 per cubic meter.Beyond 10 cubic meters, or from 11-20 cubic meters, the rate is P16.80 per cubic meter; from 21-30 cubic meters, P19.80, and for usage exceeding 30 cubic meters, the rate is P48.40 cubic meter.Under the LWUA’s prescribed rate, the first 10 cubic meters will be P30.40 per cubic meter for commercial consumers and P45.60 for industrial consumers.Around 85 percent of the water district’s customers are residential, while the remaining 15 percent are composed of commercial and industrial customers. Daluz also pointed out that the adjustment that was supposed to take effect last December is separate from the rate hikes that the MCWD had asked the LWUA to approve, which included the 60 percent that should have taken effect last July 1 and another 10 percent that was supposed to be implemented in the middle of this year.Daluz said they will no longer pursue these rate hike petitions.He said the MCWD will allot the whole month of March to engage in a dialogue with business chambers and establishments within its franchise jurisdiction after it was informed that the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) had submitted its position regarding the rate adjustment directly to LWUA.SunStar Cebu reached out to CCCI president Charles Kenneth Co to comment on the matter, but he had yet to issue a statement as of press time.Meanwhile, Daluz said the MCWD has no choice but to implement the LWUA’s prescribed rate because MCWD will soon be purchasing water from desalination plants in Barangay Mambaling in Cebu City, Barangay Opao in Mandaue City and Barangay Catarman in Cordova.The desalination plant in Opao charges P73.86 per cubic meter. The ones in Mambaling and Catarman have yet to release their rates.Daluz admitted that commercial and industrial customers will be paying more for their water after April, but the move is crucial to support the water district’s ongoing infrastructure support and projects that will ensure a sufficient supply of water in Metro Cebu.ExemptionIn 2010, Daluz said, MCWD asked for an exemption as a policy to stay competitive after the water district lost a case against Margarita Adala.The loss prompted the earlier administration to uniformly charge its residential, commercial and industrial consumers, and not follow LWUA’s rate structure.On July 4, 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Adala to supply water to three sitios in Barangay Bulacao.The ruling added that the MCWD has no “exclusivity” on water distribution in Metro Cebu, thus opening its operation to competition from private water suppliers. Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama replaced MCWD board members Daluz, Miguelito Pato and Jodelyn May Seno last Oct. 31 with Melquiades Feliciano, Aristotle Batuhan and Nelson Yuvallos. But Daluz, Pato and Seno have refused to step down from their posts.Feliciano is the chairman of the Rama-appointed board. Do Filipinos like to gamble? AMID calls to stop the P28.78 billion Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said Friday that the project will still push through and that the first of its packages may even be operational in a couple of months.“Ipagpatutuloy po natin yan. We will continue. As we have discussed with the mayor and the governor, we will push through with the project,” Bautista said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the general assembly of the Philippine Coastwise Shipping Association on April 19, 2024 at the Fili Hotel, Nustar Cebu. Bautista met with Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on Thursday night, April 18, and concerns over the CBRT’s implementation were among the things they discussed. “We agreed to help each other, to coordinate with each other, so that we can continue the construction of the Cebu BRT. Posibling magkaroon ng (It’s possible for there to be a) modification,” he added. Bautista also met with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama on Friday morning regarding the CBRT project.Rama sued the governor on March 20 for meddling in the Department of Transportation (DOTr) project built in the highly urbanized and independent Cebu City, after Garcia ordered contractor Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Co. Ltd. on Feb. 27 to halt CBRT construction activities on Province-owned lots on Osmeña Blvd.She said the construction work potentially violated a Philippine heritage law, as it appeared to be conducted within the buffer zones of heritage zones. In particular, Garcia complained that the large leaf design of the intended Capitol bus station obstructed the view of the pre-war era Provincial Capitol building.Suspend packagesSince the start of the civil works on the CBRT Package 1 in March 2023, delays and controversies have marred the project, the most recent of which was the call of the Cebu City Council at its regular session last Wednesday to suspend the implementation of Packages 2, 3 and 4 of the CBRT project, and to change the route of the project. Last March 25, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) requested the proponent DOTr to submit an Archeological Impact Assessment and development plans for the project for the NCCA’s approval before resuming work on Capitol-owned lots in the area.Bautista said there is a possibility of modifications in the CBRT project, including the redesigning of the bus station. However, he stressed that the modifications must be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), and the project funders, meaning the World Bank and the French Development Agency.No changeBut in a text message on Friday, CBRT project manager Norvin Imbong told SunStar Cebu that the design of the bus station along Osmeña Blvd. in front of the Cebu Capitol Building going to the Fuente Osmeña Rotunda will remain the same due to the difficulty of redesigning it. Imbong added that CBRT implementers are working to comply with the heritage impact assessment, with the DOTr central office already having hired a third-party proponent to formulate the assessment. Bautista, on the other hand, said he will review the call of some local officials to stop the project. “Ang tinatapos lang natin ay (The only thing we are completing is) Package 1, but we will work with them kasi (because) this is a very important project of the Department (of Transportation) as it will benefit the Cebuanos,” Bautista said. “Overall, we are looking for partial operations, siguro mga (maybe in) June of this year,” he added. The CBRT, a priority project of the Marcos Jr. administration, has a budget allocation of P28.78 billion. It spans 35.28 kilometers.The project, first intended to be completed in 2025 but moved to 2027, is divided into four packages. Package 1 covers the route from Osmeña Boulevard to the South Bus Terminal (2.38 kilometers); Package 2, route from the South Road Properties (SRP), Barangay Mambaling, and Escario St., Capitol, and Gorordo Ave. (10.8 km); Package 3, routes from the Cebu IT Park to Barangay Talamban and from the SRP to Talisay City. Package 4 will feature a dedicated lane from barangays Bulacao to Mambaling, extension of the alignment from Ayala to Cebu IT Park, a rotunda underneath the Mambaling flyover, and the conversion of a mixed traffic lane along the coastal road at the SRP and F. Vestil St.The CBRT project is expected to cater to 60,000 passengers daily in its first year of operation, and up to 160,000 passengers once fully operational, according to the DOTr. Trial runMajority of the members of the Cebu City Council once again called to suspend the civil works of the second to fourth packages of the CBRT, but this time, only for six months while a trial run for the Barangay Bulacao to Ayala route is conducted.Last February, the Council had called for the suspension of the remaining packages, without indicating the duration for the suspension, saying only that the suspension should be undertaken to give time to observe the Package 1 operations to help determine if the CBRT really works, as well as to address the challenges to acquire the lots needed for the succeeding CBRT packages.The Council also unanimously agreed Wednesday, April 17, to request Mayor Rama to convene a CBRT Technical Working Group to discuss the option of a City-operated trial run of a CBRT route from Bulacao to Ayala while the three remaining packages of the CBRT are suspended.But the proposed trial run did not sit well with some councilors, who said a TWG study must be done before conducting the trial run.Fix the projectCebu City Councilor James Anthony Cuenco, who chairs the committee on transportation and who has been a critic of the CBRT project, said in his privilege speech on Wednesday that there is still a chance to fix the mass transport system project through the steps presented by mass transportation expert and consultant Rene Santiago.Cuenco said that according to Santigao, there could be three ways the CBRT project could proceed with the suspension of the remaining packages after the completion of Package 1: Conduct a dry run for the Bulacao to Ayala route; have exclusive bus lanes but no re-paving of roads, and just use temporary cost-effective bus stations; and for the Cebu City Government to take over with the Neda and the DOTr observing.“That is why I have presented my speech not to counter-argue, but to clarify. By coming together with open minds, we can chart a path forward that will ensure that this project is implemented not as a reckless battle but as a strategic operation,” said Cuenco.But Councilor Nestor Archival questioned the proposal, saying that during the executive session last April 3 where Santiago was present, he was not able to answer how he intended to perform his suggestions.“During the executive session, he was telling us that he can do that within six months, but he can’t prove it. He can’t tell us how,” said Archival.Cuenco said he met with Santiago after the executive session and the traffic expert told him what steps to be taken for the project within six months, but he can’t reveal these yet “because the Department of Transportation might copy.”Archival, in response, said he preferred convening the TWG first and have it conduct a study immediately and give a report to the Council on the feasibility of a trial run.These concerns prompted Archival not to vote for the measures presented by Cuenco.Other members of the minority bloc, Councilors Joy Augustus Young, Mary Ann de los Santos and Jose Lorenzo Abellanosa, also voted no to the measures presented by Cuenco.Association of Barangay Councils president Franklyn Ong, meanwhile, abstained from voting, saying his concerns on who will operate the CBRT and what type of buses traverse the CBRT route remained unanswered by the transportation agency.Wrong routeIn his privilege speech, Cuenco also said that during an executive session on April 3, 2024, engineers Santiago and Nigel Paul Villarete suggested that Package 1 of the CBRT project could have been implemented elsewhere instead of Osmeña Boulevard. Their reasons included the short distance of the CBRT route from the South Bus Terminal to the Capitol, the presence of numerous crosswalks along the route, and the possibility of simpler BRT station designs to save time and money. They said the current BRT routes primarily connect commercial centers like the Ayala mall and Cebu IT Park, rather than residential areas as originally intended. They also questioned the request for a depot in SRP, which they argued was not aligned with the BRT’s original purpose. Instead, they proposed considering an alternative route via Fuente to Gen. Maxilom Ave. if the public prefers avoiding Capitol, while maintaining the start and end points in Barangays Bulacao and Talamban. The session concluded that there is no reason not to suspend Packages 2 and 3 while exploring the possibility of streamlining the route to a direct path from Bulacao to Ayala or Talamban.MisconceptionsCuenco also responded to former mayor Tomas Osmeña’s warning of a possible blacklisting by donor nations if the CBRT project were to be halted, by saying that the cancellation of foreign state loans for large-scale projects has not always resulted in negative repercussions. He said in 2016, a $300 million e-trike project loan from the Asian Development Bank was canceled due to lack of buyers and high manufacturing costs. He added that in 2022, a $64.6 million loan for the BRT Line 1 project from Quezon Ave. to España Blvd. was canceled by agreement between the government and the World Bank. He also said that in 2023, a $172 million loan from South Korea for the proposed New Cebu International Container Port expired with the project only one percent complete. In too deep Cuenco said another misconception is that the CBRT project has progressed too far and a significant portion of its loan has been spent, making it impossible to halt. However, he said during their session, that the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Cebu City’s Lot Acquisition Committee revealed that only half of the project’s budget is allocated for land acquisition. He said no letter-offers had been served to lot owners yet, so half of the project budget remains unspent, with only time being wasted.

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AMID calls to stop the P28.78 billion Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said Friday that the project will still push through and that the first of its packages may even be operational in a couple of months.“Ipagpatutuloy po natin yan. We will continue. As we have discussed with the mayor and the governor, we will push through with the project,” Bautista said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the general assembly of the Philippine Coastwise Shipping Association on April 19, 2024 at the Fili Hotel, Nustar Cebu. Bautista met with Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on Thursday night, April 18, and concerns over the CBRT’s implementation were among the things they discussed. “We agreed to help each other, to coordinate with each other, so that we can continue the construction of the Cebu BRT. Posibling magkaroon ng (It’s possible for there to be a) modification,” he added. Bautista also met with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama on Friday morning regarding the CBRT project.Rama sued the governor on March 20 for meddling in the Department of Transportation (DOTr) project built in the highly urbanized and independent Cebu City, after Garcia ordered contractor Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Co. Ltd. on Feb. 27 to halt CBRT construction activities on Province-owned lots on Osmeña Blvd.She said the construction work potentially violated a Philippine heritage law, as it appeared to be conducted within the buffer zones of heritage zones. In particular, Garcia complained that the large leaf design of the intended Capitol bus station obstructed the view of the pre-war era Provincial Capitol building.Suspend packagesSince the start of the civil works on the CBRT Package 1 in March 2023, delays and controversies have marred the project, the most recent of which was the call of the Cebu City Council at its regular session last Wednesday to suspend the implementation of Packages 2, 3 and 4 of the CBRT project, and to change the route of the project. Last March 25, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) requested the proponent DOTr to submit an Archeological Impact Assessment and development plans for the project for the NCCA’s approval before resuming work on Capitol-owned lots in the area.Bautista said there is a possibility of modifications in the CBRT project, including the redesigning of the bus station. However, he stressed that the modifications must be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), and the project funders, meaning the World Bank and the French Development Agency.No changeBut in a text message on Friday, CBRT project manager Norvin Imbong told SunStar Cebu that the design of the bus station along Osmeña Blvd. in front of the Cebu Capitol Building going to the Fuente Osmeña Rotunda will remain the same due to the difficulty of redesigning it. Imbong added that CBRT implementers are working to comply with the heritage impact assessment, with the DOTr central office already having hired a third-party proponent to formulate the assessment. Bautista, on the other hand, said he will review the call of some local officials to stop the project. “Ang tinatapos lang natin ay (The only thing we are completing is) Package 1, but we will work with them kasi (because) this is a very important project of the Department (of Transportation) as it will benefit the Cebuanos,” Bautista said. “Overall, we are looking for partial operations, siguro mga (maybe in) June of this year,” he added. The CBRT, a priority project of the Marcos Jr. administration, has a budget allocation of P28.78 billion. It spans 35.28 kilometers.The project, first intended to be completed in 2025 but moved to 2027, is divided into four packages. Package 1 covers the route from Osmeña Boulevard to the South Bus Terminal (2.38 kilometers); Package 2, route from the South Road Properties (SRP), Barangay Mambaling, and Escario St., Capitol, and Gorordo Ave. (10.8 km); Package 3, routes from the Cebu IT Park to Barangay Talamban and from the SRP to Talisay City. Package 4 will feature a dedicated lane from barangays Bulacao to Mambaling, extension of the alignment from Ayala to Cebu IT Park, a rotunda underneath the Mambaling flyover, and the conversion of a mixed traffic lane along the coastal road at the SRP and F. Vestil St.The CBRT project is expected to cater to 60,000 passengers daily in its first year of operation, and up to 160,000 passengers once fully operational, according to the DOTr. Trial runMajority of the members of the Cebu City Council once again called to suspend the civil works of the second to fourth packages of the CBRT, but this time, only for six months while a trial run for the Barangay Bulacao to Ayala route is conducted.Last February, the Council had called for the suspension of the remaining packages, without indicating the duration for the suspension, saying only that the suspension should be undertaken to give time to observe the Package 1 operations to help determine if the CBRT really works, as well as to address the challenges to acquire the lots needed for the succeeding CBRT packages.The Council also unanimously agreed Wednesday, April 17, to request Mayor Rama to convene a CBRT Technical Working Group to discuss the option of a City-operated trial run of a CBRT route from Bulacao to Ayala while the three remaining packages of the CBRT are suspended.But the proposed trial run did not sit well with some councilors, who said a TWG study must be done before conducting the trial run.Fix the projectCebu City Councilor James Anthony Cuenco, who chairs the committee on transportation and who has been a critic of the CBRT project, said in his privilege speech on Wednesday that there is still a chance to fix the mass transport system project through the steps presented by mass transportation expert and consultant Rene Santiago.Cuenco said that according to Santigao, there could be three ways the CBRT project could proceed with the suspension of the remaining packages after the completion of Package 1: Conduct a dry run for the Bulacao to Ayala route; have exclusive bus lanes but no re-paving of roads, and just use temporary cost-effective bus stations; and for the Cebu City Government to take over with the Neda and the DOTr observing.“That is why I have presented my speech not to counter-argue, but to clarify. By coming together with open minds, we can chart a path forward that will ensure that this project is implemented not as a reckless battle but as a strategic operation,” said Cuenco.But Councilor Nestor Archival questioned the proposal, saying that during the executive session last April 3 where Santiago was present, he was not able to answer how he intended to perform his suggestions.“During the executive session, he was telling us that he can do that within six months, but he can’t prove it. He can’t tell us how,” said Archival.Cuenco said he met with Santiago after the executive session and the traffic expert told him what steps to be taken for the project within six months, but he can’t reveal these yet “because the Department of Transportation might copy.”Archival, in response, said he preferred convening the TWG first and have it conduct a study immediately and give a report to the Council on the feasibility of a trial run.These concerns prompted Archival not to vote for the measures presented by Cuenco.Other members of the minority bloc, Councilors Joy Augustus Young, Mary Ann de los Santos and Jose Lorenzo Abellanosa, also voted no to the measures presented by Cuenco.Association of Barangay Councils president Franklyn Ong, meanwhile, abstained from voting, saying his concerns on who will operate the CBRT and what type of buses traverse the CBRT route remained unanswered by the transportation agency.Wrong routeIn his privilege speech, Cuenco also said that during an executive session on April 3, 2024, engineers Santiago and Nigel Paul Villarete suggested that Package 1 of the CBRT project could have been implemented elsewhere instead of Osmeña Boulevard. Their reasons included the short distance of the CBRT route from the South Bus Terminal to the Capitol, the presence of numerous crosswalks along the route, and the possibility of simpler BRT station designs to save time and money. They said the current BRT routes primarily connect commercial centers like the Ayala mall and Cebu IT Park, rather than residential areas as originally intended. They also questioned the request for a depot in SRP, which they argued was not aligned with the BRT’s original purpose. Instead, they proposed considering an alternative route via Fuente to Gen. Maxilom Ave. if the public prefers avoiding Capitol, while maintaining the start and end points in Barangays Bulacao and Talamban. The session concluded that there is no reason not to suspend Packages 2 and 3 while exploring the possibility of streamlining the route to a direct path from Bulacao to Ayala or Talamban.MisconceptionsCuenco also responded to former mayor Tomas Osmeña’s warning of a possible blacklisting by donor nations if the CBRT project were to be halted, by saying that the cancellation of foreign state loans for large-scale projects has not always resulted in negative repercussions. He said in 2016, a $300 million e-trike project loan from the Asian Development Bank was canceled due to lack of buyers and high manufacturing costs. He added that in 2022, a $64.6 million loan for the BRT Line 1 project from Quezon Ave. to España Blvd. was canceled by agreement between the government and the World Bank. He also said that in 2023, a $172 million loan from South Korea for the proposed New Cebu International Container Port expired with the project only one percent complete. In too deep Cuenco said another misconception is that the CBRT project has progressed too far and a significant portion of its loan has been spent, making it impossible to halt. However, he said during their session, that the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Cebu City’s Lot Acquisition Committee revealed that only half of the project’s budget is allocated for land acquisition. He said no letter-offers had been served to lot owners yet, so half of the project budget remains unspent, with only time being wasted., check the following table to see what categories most online casinos in the Philippines fit in.

INFLATION in Central Visayas declined to 2.5 percent in January 2024 from 3.9 percent in December 2023, according to the latest data from the statistics office.The Summary Inflation Report in Central Visayas Consumer Price Index released on Feb. 8, 2024 also showed that Central Visayas’ latest inflation rate marks a significant decrease from the rate in the same period last year, when the inflation rate was 7.2 percent.Meanwhile, the country’s headline inflation, or the overall inflation, also decelerated, dropping to 2.8 percent in January 2024 from 3.9 percent in December 2023; this represents a moderation from the higher rate of 8.7 percent recorded during the start of 2023.Inflation rates across all regions decreased last month compared to in December 2023. Regions 1 (Ilocos Region) and 2 (Cagayan Valley) reported the lowest inflation rates at 1.5 percent, while Region 11 (Davao Region) saw the highest inflation at 4.4 percent in January 2024.Inflation rate, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said, is equivalent to a decline in the purchasing power of the peso. It is the change in the Consumer Price Index over a specific period of time, usually a month or a year.The PSA report pointed to several key factors driving this downward trend of regional inflation.Key factorsPSA 7 reported that the down­trend in regional inflation in January 2024 was mainly brought about by the lower year-on-year growth rate of food and non-alcoholic beverages.In Central Visayas, the year-on-year growth rate of food and non-alcoholic beverages dropped to 2.2 percent in January 2024 from 5.5 percent in December 2023.Additionally, a lower inflation rate in the indices of transport and education services also contributed to the decrease. The inflation rate in transport declined to 0.5 percent in January 2024 from 3.8 percent in December 2023 while the inflation rate in education services decreased to 0.9 percent from 1.5 percent in December 2023.Further contributing to the moderation in inflation were decreases observed in several commodity groups during the month.Lower inflation rates were observed in alcoholic beverages and tobacco (from 10.4 percent to 10.2 percent); clothing and footwear (from 2.6 percent to 2.4 percent); furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (from 3.3 percent to 3.2 percent); health (from 4.6 percent to 4.5 percent); financial services (from 0.0 percent to -0.2 percent), and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services (from 4.5 percent to 4.4 percent.)However, amid these decreases, certain commodity groups witnessed faster annual increments during the month.Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels increased to two percent from 1.7 percent, while recreation, sport, and culture rose to 3.7 percent from 3.6 percent.Additionally, restaurants and accommodation services saw an uptick to 4.3 percent from four percent. Meanwhile, information and communication maintained its previous month’s annual rate of 0.3 percent.PSA 7 said the top three commodity groups contributing to the 2.5 percent regional inflation in January 2024 are food and non-alcoholic beverages (34.1 percent share or 0.85 percentage point), followed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, accounting for a 19.2 percent share or 0.48 percentage point, and restaurants and accommodation services with 15.6 percent share or 0.39 percentage point.Food inflationMeanwhile, the food inflation in the region eased to 2.1 percent in January 2024 from 5.6 percent in December 2023. The region’s food inflation rate was higher in January 2023 at 7.5 percent.Lower annual growth rates were observed in fish and other seafood, vegetables, fruits, corn, oils, fats, and ready-made food products. Rice, flour, meat, and dairy products saw increased year-on-year growth rates.Food contributed 29.7 percent to overall inflation, with cereals, dairy, and meat being the primary contributors. Online Casinos in the Philippines . At GOAL11t Sign-Up Pinas online casino you will find every form of popular online casino game from slots to roulette, blackjack, baccarat and live video poker. here is how to register at an online casino site in the Philippines:

AMID calls to stop the P28.78 billion Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said Friday that the project will still push through and that the first of its packages may even be operational in a couple of months.“Ipagpatutuloy po natin yan. We will continue. As we have discussed with the mayor and the governor, we will push through with the project,” Bautista said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the general assembly of the Philippine Coastwise Shipping Association on April 19, 2024 at the Fili Hotel, Nustar Cebu. Bautista met with Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on Thursday night, April 18, and concerns over the CBRT’s implementation were among the things they discussed. “We agreed to help each other, to coordinate with each other, so that we can continue the construction of the Cebu BRT. Posibling magkaroon ng (It’s possible for there to be a) modification,” he added. Bautista also met with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama on Friday morning regarding the CBRT project.Rama sued the governor on March 20 for meddling in the Department of Transportation (DOTr) project built in the highly urbanized and independent Cebu City, after Garcia ordered contractor Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Co. Ltd. on Feb. 27 to halt CBRT construction activities on Province-owned lots on Osmeña Blvd.She said the construction work potentially violated a Philippine heritage law, as it appeared to be conducted within the buffer zones of heritage zones. In particular, Garcia complained that the large leaf design of the intended Capitol bus station obstructed the view of the pre-war era Provincial Capitol building.Suspend packagesSince the start of the civil works on the CBRT Package 1 in March 2023, delays and controversies have marred the project, the most recent of which was the call of the Cebu City Council at its regular session last Wednesday to suspend the implementation of Packages 2, 3 and 4 of the CBRT project, and to change the route of the project. Last March 25, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) requested the proponent DOTr to submit an Archeological Impact Assessment and development plans for the project for the NCCA’s approval before resuming work on Capitol-owned lots in the area.Bautista said there is a possibility of modifications in the CBRT project, including the redesigning of the bus station. However, he stressed that the modifications must be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), and the project funders, meaning the World Bank and the French Development Agency.No changeBut in a text message on Friday, CBRT project manager Norvin Imbong told SunStar Cebu that the design of the bus station along Osmeña Blvd. in front of the Cebu Capitol Building going to the Fuente Osmeña Rotunda will remain the same due to the difficulty of redesigning it. Imbong added that CBRT implementers are working to comply with the heritage impact assessment, with the DOTr central office already having hired a third-party proponent to formulate the assessment. Bautista, on the other hand, said he will review the call of some local officials to stop the project. “Ang tinatapos lang natin ay (The only thing we are completing is) Package 1, but we will work with them kasi (because) this is a very important project of the Department (of Transportation) as it will benefit the Cebuanos,” Bautista said. “Overall, we are looking for partial operations, siguro mga (maybe in) June of this year,” he added. The CBRT, a priority project of the Marcos Jr. administration, has a budget allocation of P28.78 billion. It spans 35.28 kilometers.The project, first intended to be completed in 2025 but moved to 2027, is divided into four packages. Package 1 covers the route from Osmeña Boulevard to the South Bus Terminal (2.38 kilometers); Package 2, route from the South Road Properties (SRP), Barangay Mambaling, and Escario St., Capitol, and Gorordo Ave. (10.8 km); Package 3, routes from the Cebu IT Park to Barangay Talamban and from the SRP to Talisay City. Package 4 will feature a dedicated lane from barangays Bulacao to Mambaling, extension of the alignment from Ayala to Cebu IT Park, a rotunda underneath the Mambaling flyover, and the conversion of a mixed traffic lane along the coastal road at the SRP and F. Vestil St.The CBRT project is expected to cater to 60,000 passengers daily in its first year of operation, and up to 160,000 passengers once fully operational, according to the DOTr. Trial runMajority of the members of the Cebu City Council once again called to suspend the civil works of the second to fourth packages of the CBRT, but this time, only for six months while a trial run for the Barangay Bulacao to Ayala route is conducted.Last February, the Council had called for the suspension of the remaining packages, without indicating the duration for the suspension, saying only that the suspension should be undertaken to give time to observe the Package 1 operations to help determine if the CBRT really works, as well as to address the challenges to acquire the lots needed for the succeeding CBRT packages.The Council also unanimously agreed Wednesday, April 17, to request Mayor Rama to convene a CBRT Technical Working Group to discuss the option of a City-operated trial run of a CBRT route from Bulacao to Ayala while the three remaining packages of the CBRT are suspended.But the proposed trial run did not sit well with some councilors, who said a TWG study must be done before conducting the trial run.Fix the projectCebu City Councilor James Anthony Cuenco, who chairs the committee on transportation and who has been a critic of the CBRT project, said in his privilege speech on Wednesday that there is still a chance to fix the mass transport system project through the steps presented by mass transportation expert and consultant Rene Santiago.Cuenco said that according to Santigao, there could be three ways the CBRT project could proceed with the suspension of the remaining packages after the completion of Package 1: Conduct a dry run for the Bulacao to Ayala route; have exclusive bus lanes but no re-paving of roads, and just use temporary cost-effective bus stations; and for the Cebu City Government to take over with the Neda and the DOTr observing.“That is why I have presented my speech not to counter-argue, but to clarify. By coming together with open minds, we can chart a path forward that will ensure that this project is implemented not as a reckless battle but as a strategic operation,” said Cuenco.But Councilor Nestor Archival questioned the proposal, saying that during the executive session last April 3 where Santiago was present, he was not able to answer how he intended to perform his suggestions.“During the executive session, he was telling us that he can do that within six months, but he can’t prove it. He can’t tell us how,” said Archival.Cuenco said he met with Santiago after the executive session and the traffic expert told him what steps to be taken for the project within six months, but he can’t reveal these yet “because the Department of Transportation might copy.”Archival, in response, said he preferred convening the TWG first and have it conduct a study immediately and give a report to the Council on the feasibility of a trial run.These concerns prompted Archival not to vote for the measures presented by Cuenco.Other members of the minority bloc, Councilors Joy Augustus Young, Mary Ann de los Santos and Jose Lorenzo Abellanosa, also voted no to the measures presented by Cuenco.Association of Barangay Councils president Franklyn Ong, meanwhile, abstained from voting, saying his concerns on who will operate the CBRT and what type of buses traverse the CBRT route remained unanswered by the transportation agency.Wrong routeIn his privilege speech, Cuenco also said that during an executive session on April 3, 2024, engineers Santiago and Nigel Paul Villarete suggested that Package 1 of the CBRT project could have been implemented elsewhere instead of Osmeña Boulevard. Their reasons included the short distance of the CBRT route from the South Bus Terminal to the Capitol, the presence of numerous crosswalks along the route, and the possibility of simpler BRT station designs to save time and money. They said the current BRT routes primarily connect commercial centers like the Ayala mall and Cebu IT Park, rather than residential areas as originally intended. They also questioned the request for a depot in SRP, which they argued was not aligned with the BRT’s original purpose. Instead, they proposed considering an alternative route via Fuente to Gen. Maxilom Ave. if the public prefers avoiding Capitol, while maintaining the start and end points in Barangays Bulacao and Talamban. The session concluded that there is no reason not to suspend Packages 2 and 3 while exploring the possibility of streamlining the route to a direct path from Bulacao to Ayala or Talamban.MisconceptionsCuenco also responded to former mayor Tomas Osmeña’s warning of a possible blacklisting by donor nations if the CBRT project were to be halted, by saying that the cancellation of foreign state loans for large-scale projects has not always resulted in negative repercussions. He said in 2016, a $300 million e-trike project loan from the Asian Development Bank was canceled due to lack of buyers and high manufacturing costs. He added that in 2022, a $64.6 million loan for the BRT Line 1 project from Quezon Ave. to España Blvd. was canceled by agreement between the government and the World Bank. He also said that in 2023, a $172 million loan from South Korea for the proposed New Cebu International Container Port expired with the project only one percent complete. In too deep Cuenco said another misconception is that the CBRT project has progressed too far and a significant portion of its loan has been spent, making it impossible to halt. However, he said during their session, that the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Cebu City’s Lot Acquisition Committee revealed that only half of the project’s budget is allocated for land acquisition. He said no letter-offers had been served to lot owners yet, so half of the project budget remains unspent, with only time being wasted. Do Filipinos like to gamble? . It’s always a good idea to take your time and make sure you’ve found the best online casino in the Philippines on the online gambling market that can give you what you want.

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INFLATION in Central Visayas declined to 2.5 percent in January 2024 from 3.9 percent in December 2023, according to the latest data from the statistics office.The Summary Inflation Report in Central Visayas Consumer Price Index released on Feb. 8, 2024 also showed that Central Visayas’ latest inflation rate marks a significant decrease from the rate in the same period last year, when the inflation rate was 7.2 percent.Meanwhile, the country’s headline inflation, or the overall inflation, also decelerated, dropping to 2.8 percent in January 2024 from 3.9 percent in December 2023; this represents a moderation from the higher rate of 8.7 percent recorded during the start of 2023.Inflation rates across all regions decreased last month compared to in December 2023. Regions 1 (Ilocos Region) and 2 (Cagayan Valley) reported the lowest inflation rates at 1.5 percent, while Region 11 (Davao Region) saw the highest inflation at 4.4 percent in January 2024.Inflation rate, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said, is equivalent to a decline in the purchasing power of the peso. It is the change in the Consumer Price Index over a specific period of time, usually a month or a year.The PSA report pointed to several key factors driving this downward trend of regional inflation.Key factorsPSA 7 reported that the down­trend in regional inflation in January 2024 was mainly brought about by the lower year-on-year growth rate of food and non-alcoholic beverages.In Central Visayas, the year-on-year growth rate of food and non-alcoholic beverages dropped to 2.2 percent in January 2024 from 5.5 percent in December 2023.Additionally, a lower inflation rate in the indices of transport and education services also contributed to the decrease. The inflation rate in transport declined to 0.5 percent in January 2024 from 3.8 percent in December 2023 while the inflation rate in education services decreased to 0.9 percent from 1.5 percent in December 2023.Further contributing to the moderation in inflation were decreases observed in several commodity groups during the month.Lower inflation rates were observed in alcoholic beverages and tobacco (from 10.4 percent to 10.2 percent); clothing and footwear (from 2.6 percent to 2.4 percent); furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (from 3.3 percent to 3.2 percent); health (from 4.6 percent to 4.5 percent); financial services (from 0.0 percent to -0.2 percent), and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services (from 4.5 percent to 4.4 percent.)However, amid these decreases, certain commodity groups witnessed faster annual increments during the month.Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels increased to two percent from 1.7 percent, while recreation, sport, and culture rose to 3.7 percent from 3.6 percent.Additionally, restaurants and accommodation services saw an uptick to 4.3 percent from four percent. Meanwhile, information and communication maintained its previous month’s annual rate of 0.3 percent.PSA 7 said the top three commodity groups contributing to the 2.5 percent regional inflation in January 2024 are food and non-alcoholic beverages (34.1 percent share or 0.85 percentage point), followed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, accounting for a 19.2 percent share or 0.48 percentage point, and restaurants and accommodation services with 15.6 percent share or 0.39 percentage point.Food inflationMeanwhile, the food inflation in the region eased to 2.1 percent in January 2024 from 5.6 percent in December 2023. The region’s food inflation rate was higher in January 2023 at 7.5 percent.Lower annual growth rates were observed in fish and other seafood, vegetables, fruits, corn, oils, fats, and ready-made food products. Rice, flour, meat, and dairy products saw increased year-on-year growth rates.Food contributed 29.7 percent to overall inflation, with cereals, dairy, and meat being the primary contributors. licensed online casinos THE Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) will be having dialogues with various members of the business community to discuss the importance of the water rate adjustment, which will finally be implemented on April 1, 2024.The rate adjustment will push through, according to Jose Daluz III, chairman of the MCWD board of directors.“At least we have one month to talk to them, explain to them. Manghangyo mi nga this is not something nga nag-increase mi. It is just an application of the prescribed rate of LWUA since 2010,” Daluz said in an interview on Monday, Feb. 12.He clarified that the water district is not jacking up rates, but is lifting the exemption on the Local Water Utilities Administration’s (LWUA) prescribed rate guidelines set way back in 2010.He said MCWD did not need to seek LWUA’s approval; rather they only informed the agency that they would be imposing the prescribed rate.Daluz said the rate adjustment, which will affect only commercial and industrial customers, was supposed to take effect last Dec. 1, 2023, but they decided to defer it due to the holiday season.According to a SunStar Cebu report on Nov. 19, 2023, the current rates for consumers -- residential, commercial and industrial -- for the first 10 cubic meters of water consumed is P15.20 per cubic meter.Beyond 10 cubic meters, or from 11-20 cubic meters, the rate is P16.80 per cubic meter; from 21-30 cubic meters, P19.80, and for usage exceeding 30 cubic meters, the rate is P48.40 cubic meter.Under the LWUA’s prescribed rate, the first 10 cubic meters will be P30.40 per cubic meter for commercial consumers and P45.60 for industrial consumers.Around 85 percent of the water district’s customers are residential, while the remaining 15 percent are composed of commercial and industrial customers. Daluz also pointed out that the adjustment that was supposed to take effect last December is separate from the rate hikes that the MCWD had asked the LWUA to approve, which included the 60 percent that should have taken effect last July 1 and another 10 percent that was supposed to be implemented in the middle of this year.Daluz said they will no longer pursue these rate hike petitions.He said the MCWD will allot the whole month of March to engage in a dialogue with business chambers and establishments within its franchise jurisdiction after it was informed that the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) had submitted its position regarding the rate adjustment directly to LWUA.SunStar Cebu reached out to CCCI president Charles Kenneth Co to comment on the matter, but he had yet to issue a statement as of press time.Meanwhile, Daluz said the MCWD has no choice but to implement the LWUA’s prescribed rate because MCWD will soon be purchasing water from desalination plants in Barangay Mambaling in Cebu City, Barangay Opao in Mandaue City and Barangay Catarman in Cordova.The desalination plant in Opao charges P73.86 per cubic meter. The ones in Mambaling and Catarman have yet to release their rates.Daluz admitted that commercial and industrial customers will be paying more for their water after April, but the move is crucial to support the water district’s ongoing infrastructure support and projects that will ensure a sufficient supply of water in Metro Cebu.ExemptionIn 2010, Daluz said, MCWD asked for an exemption as a policy to stay competitive after the water district lost a case against Margarita Adala.The loss prompted the earlier administration to uniformly charge its residential, commercial and industrial consumers, and not follow LWUA’s rate structure.On July 4, 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Adala to supply water to three sitios in Barangay Bulacao.The ruling added that the MCWD has no “exclusivity” on water distribution in Metro Cebu, thus opening its operation to competition from private water suppliers. Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama replaced MCWD board members Daluz, Miguelito Pato and Jodelyn May Seno last Oct. 31 with Melquiades Feliciano, Aristotle Batuhan and Nelson Yuvallos. But Daluz, Pato and Seno have refused to step down from their posts.Feliciano is the chairman of the Rama-appointed board.

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Gambling in the Philippines 2023 – the Latest Trends

INFLATION in Central Visayas declined to 2.5 percent in January 2024 from 3.9 percent in December 2023, according to the latest data from the statistics office.The Summary Inflation Report in Central Visayas Consumer Price Index released on Feb. 8, 2024 also showed that Central Visayas’ latest inflation rate marks a significant decrease from the rate in the same period last year, when the inflation rate was 7.2 percent.Meanwhile, the country’s headline inflation, or the overall inflation, also decelerated, dropping to 2.8 percent in January 2024 from 3.9 percent in December 2023; this represents a moderation from the higher rate of 8.7 percent recorded during the start of 2023.Inflation rates across all regions decreased last month compared to in December 2023. Regions 1 (Ilocos Region) and 2 (Cagayan Valley) reported the lowest inflation rates at 1.5 percent, while Region 11 (Davao Region) saw the highest inflation at 4.4 percent in January 2024.Inflation rate, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said, is equivalent to a decline in the purchasing power of the peso. It is the change in the Consumer Price Index over a specific period of time, usually a month or a year.The PSA report pointed to several key factors driving this downward trend of regional inflation.Key factorsPSA 7 reported that the down­trend in regional inflation in January 2024 was mainly brought about by the lower year-on-year growth rate of food and non-alcoholic beverages.In Central Visayas, the year-on-year growth rate of food and non-alcoholic beverages dropped to 2.2 percent in January 2024 from 5.5 percent in December 2023.Additionally, a lower inflation rate in the indices of transport and education services also contributed to the decrease. The inflation rate in transport declined to 0.5 percent in January 2024 from 3.8 percent in December 2023 while the inflation rate in education services decreased to 0.9 percent from 1.5 percent in December 2023.Further contributing to the moderation in inflation were decreases observed in several commodity groups during the month.Lower inflation rates were observed in alcoholic beverages and tobacco (from 10.4 percent to 10.2 percent); clothing and footwear (from 2.6 percent to 2.4 percent); furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (from 3.3 percent to 3.2 percent); health (from 4.6 percent to 4.5 percent); financial services (from 0.0 percent to -0.2 percent), and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services (from 4.5 percent to 4.4 percent.)However, amid these decreases, certain commodity groups witnessed faster annual increments during the month.Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels increased to two percent from 1.7 percent, while recreation, sport, and culture rose to 3.7 percent from 3.6 percent.Additionally, restaurants and accommodation services saw an uptick to 4.3 percent from four percent. Meanwhile, information and communication maintained its previous month’s annual rate of 0.3 percent.PSA 7 said the top three commodity groups contributing to the 2.5 percent regional inflation in January 2024 are food and non-alcoholic beverages (34.1 percent share or 0.85 percentage point), followed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, accounting for a 19.2 percent share or 0.48 percentage point, and restaurants and accommodation services with 15.6 percent share or 0.39 percentage point.Food inflationMeanwhile, the food inflation in the region eased to 2.1 percent in January 2024 from 5.6 percent in December 2023. The region’s food inflation rate was higher in January 2023 at 7.5 percent.Lower annual growth rates were observed in fish and other seafood, vegetables, fruits, corn, oils, fats, and ready-made food products. Rice, flour, meat, and dairy products saw increased year-on-year growth rates.Food contributed 29.7 percent to overall inflation, with cereals, dairy, and meat being the primary contributors. Online Casinos in the Philippines

Some of the most important trends revolve around the changes to the legalisation of online gambling for offshore operators, with President Rodrigo Duterte cracking down on illegal operations in recent years. Otherwise, we’ve identified that the growth in the land-based gambling industry has resulted in job creation for locals, with more than half of all employees in the entertainment sector being employed for gambling and betting activities.

Filipino Player Frequently Asked Questions

There can be a lot of contradictory information and biased reports out there on the internet that can conduse the PH online casino user. We find that our readers often have a lot of questions that need resolving, so we dedicated this section to provide more clarity on the topic of online casino in the Philippines.

1 Which is the best online casino in the Philippines?

The recommended picks include a carefully selected and researched list of fantastic venues. All best Filipino casinos host a slew of great games from various providers and each one stands out with Online Casinos in the Philippines . Besides, the PH online casinos are safe, regulated, and trustworthy, above all else.

2 Are PH online casinos legal?

Yes, Filipinos should know PH online casinos are legal if hosted by offshore operators. We recommend you stick to Do Filipinos like to gamble? , as these are legally operating in the country and therefore hold a little risk of being shut down. Avoid shady businesses without official stamps of approval and regular auditing checks.

3 Which are the safest online casinos in the Philippines?

If you stick to licensed and regulated operators, you will be in the hands of safe Filipino casino sites. Those have the latest security and encryption technologies in place to protect their users. Gambling can be addictive, so stay safe from its dangers by setting and sticking to a budget. Do Filipinos call it soccer or football? .

4 Which is the best online casino in the Philippines for slots?

Filipinos should be delighted to learn that the slots sites in the Philippines are jam-packed with incredibly enticing games like Gonzo's Quest, , Big Bad Wolf, Jack Hammer 2, and more. The said slot machines are provided by GOAL11t Sign-Up Pinas with the necessary certification and experience.

5 Which PH online casinos have the best payouts?

The GOAL11t Sign-Up Pinas that are housed by the operator. As each title boasts individual RTP value, the best payout PH casino sites will be those with the highest average across its coming catalog. Information regarding all RTP rates is published on every reputable operator's website.

6 What online casinos in the Philippines offer fast withdrawals?

The speed of the withdrawals depends on the PH online casino payment methods. Across the board, GOAL11t Sign-Up Pinas, with the transaction being finalized in less than a day. Bank transfers take the longest, stretching up to seven business days, due to additional processing and verification checks.

7 Which casino online in the Philippines has the best bonus offer?

Promotions are an integral part of every operator's arsenal to attract and maintain interest. The best Filipino casino site bonuses come in various forms and terms, and which is the most suitable depends on PH players' personal strategies and expectations. Usually, the recommended ones Get FREE iPhone15 Pro, Login Mission Everyday Day!.

8 Which online casino in the Philippines offers the most games?

Every top pick out of all online casinos has impressed with its extensive gaming catalogue. It contains representatives of most gambling products that players have grown accustomed to seeing. The numbers Do Filipinos like to gamble? , all housed under one single gambling roof. Regardless of your choice, each venue will exceed expectations quantity-wise.

9 Do all online casinos in the Philippines take PayPal?

PayPal is one of the leading e-wallets Online Casinos in the Philippines online. It is always associated with legitimate platforms and can be used to charge up your mobile PH casino account while on the go, as well. Not all casinos accept it, but the recommended ones do and Filipinos can freely use it.

10 Do all PH online casinos offer secure deposits and withdrawals?

Similarly to the land-based casinos in the Philippines, the licensed digital gambling platforms also ensure that all monetary transactions coming in and out of players' accounts are extremely secured. This is ensured by the GOAL11t Sign-Up Pinas that back up and protect each deposit and withdrawal.

Conclusion – Find Trusted Online Casino Sites for Filipino Players

There are a lot of safe and reputable online casinos for players from the Philippines to enjoy, though sorting through them can be time-consuming. To make the task simple, our experts put together a list of the certified online casinos in the Philippines that have been tested and proven to offer satisfactory experiences. Here, you can take advantage of Do Filipinos like to gamble? and plentiful payment options in a completely legal setting.

We hope that, by now, you feel safe in the knowledge that there are trustable Filipino online casinos to choose from. Whether you choose to play at the sites featured here or go in search of operators on your own, remember that every Get FREE iPhone15 Pro, Login Mission Everyday Day!.

List of All Filipino Casinos

If, after all the information included on this page, you feel you need a quick refresher on the available casino sites – look no further! The table below will show you Online Casinos in the Philippines , along with their welcome bonuses for this year and a direct link to the offer. Philippines’s GOAL11t Sign-Up Pinas Sites