xt on the en banc’s agenda lock” between the two chambers also provide provisions on ex- also considering adding

also considering adding provi- creation of a regional supreme

his week would be the pro- of Congress where a bill passed panded environmental rights as sions to require the President Court and a federal supreme

Nation
economic and electoral in one chamber remains pend- well as socio-economic rights and vice-President to be elected Court under a new government
ms in The
the new Constitu- ing in the other. on education, health, and hous- as a team from the same political set-up.
EDITORs marifi s. jara, ricky s. torre
MONDAY, april 9, 2018

ms
#nationataglance NATIONWIDE ROUND-UP
DoH issues IRR for anti-Hospital Deposit law
THE IMPLEMENTING rules and regulations (IRR) for
Republic Act No. 10932, or the Anti-Hospital Deposit
d Law, has been released on April 4 and published
yesterday by the Department of Health (DoH). RA
t 10932, which was signed into law in August 2017,
o- increases the penalties for the refusal of hospitals
ls. and clinics to administer appropriate medical treatment in emergency
n- or serious cases. The law provides that “in emergency or serious
cases, it shall be unlawful for any hospital or medical clinic to request,
ve solicit, demand or accept any deposit or any other form of advance
payment as prerequisite for administering basic emergency care, for
end confinement or medical treatment, or to refuse to administer medical
d treatment and support to any patient.” Violators face a punishment
of imprisonment of not less than six months and one day, or a fine of
not less than P100,000.00, or both. High-ranking officials of medical
institutions could be slapped with higher penalties of imprisonment
ing of four to six years, or a fine of not less than P500,000.00, or both.
Complaints related to the law should be initially filed before the Health
Facilities Oversight Board under the DoH’s Health Facilities and Ser-
s vices Regulatory Bureau.
t
De lima accuses Duterte supporters
ns) MICHAEL VARCA/PHILIPPINE STAR
of spreading fake news about her family
ng NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION: QUEZON CITY DETAINED SENATOR Leila M. de Lima said on Sunday, April 8, her

to
shopping for summer family members, including her son and sister, were victims of fake
news that were made viral on social media by the supporters of
a boy checks out floaters sold in katipunan, Quezon city as the philippine summer season starts. Weather
President Rodrigo R. Duterte. “My sister was reported to have been
bureau paGasa announced last week the onset of the dry season. “The day to day weather will gradually
arrested in Beijing for drug trafficking. Her friends called her about
become warmer and drier in the coming weeks partly due to the dominance of the ridge of North pacific
that. When that fake news came out, my sister happened to be at
High pressure area and easterlies. This would also signify the start of the dry season,” paGasa said.
the hospital, watching over my sick mother,” Ms. de Lima said in a
cal statement. She added: “Another fake news targeted my youngest
e- son, Vincent, who was reported to have been arrested at an airport in
. Berlin, for possession of drugs. My son has never set foot in another
country.” — arjay l. Balinbin
pse
NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION: MANILA NATIONWIDE ROUND-UP
by castillo hazing case moved to another court
THE HAZING case involving 10 Aegis Juris fraternity members linked Read the full stories by scanning the QR code with your smartphone or
to the death of University of Santo Tomas law student Horacio “Atio” by typing the link <https://goo.gl/4wV9zm>
to Castillo III has been re-raffled to a new judge following Manila Region-
le al Trial Court (RTC) Branch 20 Presiding Judge Alfredo D. Ampuan’s
decision to inhibit last March 23. Judge Marivic T. Umali of Manila RTC
Branch 40 will be taking over the case from Mr. Ampuan, who granted
set the Motion for Inhibition by respondents and accused John Robin Ra-
mos and Juan Miguel Salamat. — Dane angelo m. Enerio
ce >> See full story on https://goo.gl/7NhaN2 WESTERN VISAYAS:
CARLES, ILOILO
o provincial gov’t to build up
northern Iloilo tourism
nis- THE ILOILO provincial govern-
ment is planning to create a
Northern Iloilo Tourism Author-
ity (NITA) to take the lead in
g developing the islands in the
province’s 5th district into tour-
ism sites. “We want to prepare
the whole northern Iloilo, espe-
cially Concepcion, which has 17
d islands while the town of Car-
les, which has 22 or I think 24,
to be real tourist destinations,”
E said Gov. Arthur D. Defensor Sr.
eir Among the existing tourist des-
tinations in northern Iloilo are
Gigantes Island, Sicogon Island,
AFP
s Cabugao Gamay Island, and
y WORkERs attend to tourists in Boracay on april 6, 2018. The Pawikan Cave in Carles town;
island, which has been dubbed a “cesspool” by president Marbuena Island Resort in Ajuy;
es- Rodrigo R. Duterte, will be closed for six months starting april 26 Agho Island, Pan de Azucar,
hild to give way to rehabilitation efforts. and Sandbar Island Beach
the Resort in Concepcion. However,
ary WESTERN VISAYAS: BORACAY, MALAY Mr. Defensor said these sites
Sil- DsWD, DolE gear up for assistance to Boracay workers still lack accommodation facili-
ued THE DEPARTMENT of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), MINDANAO ties. “We are looking at where
ed. as chair of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management pBsp says mindanao lGUs need to shape up to draw investors to place the hotels and facili-
Council, has called for an inter-agency social response for workers THE PHILIPPINE Business for Social Progress (PBSP), a corporate-led ties — in the mainland or in the
18 and families who will be affected by the temporary closure of the non-profit foundation, has urged local leaders in Mindanao to improve islands. Because what some
popular tourist destination Boracay. “We know that the closure will governance standards and take initiatives that will strengthen their tourists do is to go there for
r have significant negative effects on households and employment. direct participation in development and investment projects. PBSP island hopping then go home in
We will work as best as we can to mitigate these effects by engag- Chair Miguel Rene A. Dominguez, a former governor of Sarangani the evening,” he said. The gov-
ty ing in convergence efforts with other government agencies,” DSWD province, said local governments — provincial, city, and municipal lev- ernor said they are now looking
17 Officer in Charge Emmanuel A. Leyco said in a statement released els — need to show potential investors that their respective areas are at the legislative process for
7.7 Friday. The government has announced that Boracay, which has ready to host business ventures. “They (LGUs) need to be able to insti- creating the NITA. Mr. Defensor
been plagued by environmental abuse, will be closed for six months tute reforms and other policy initiatives geared toward the building of will meet with the northern Iloi-
or starting April 26. Mr. Leyco said he already had preliminary discus- confidence among investors,” said Mr. Dominguez at the sidelines of lo municipal mayors to discuss
e sions with the respective heads of the Department of Environment last Friday’s launching of the Mindanao Jobs Report here. the plans after the scheduled
- and Natural Resources (DENR) as well as the Department of Labor League of Municipalities of the
he and Employment (DoLE) for synchronized response efforts. The NEW pROGRam Philippines-Iloilo assembly on
- DSWD is set to activate two operations centers in Aklan on April Meanwhile, the World Bank and the Philippine government are April 10-13. In a previous inter-
26, one in Boracay and one in the mainland in front of the Malay crafting a new program, similar to the Mindanao Rural Development view, Provincial Tourism Office
s. municipal hall, to facilitate the release of assistance and emergency Program (MRDP), that will serve as another mechanism for bringing head Gilbert Marin said the 5th
welfare services. Meanwhile, the DoLE-Western Visayas office said growth in the rural areas. Mara K. Warwick, World Bank country direc- District was the top tourism
- affected workers can avail of a one-month emergency employment tor for the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Thailand, said the pro- destination in Iloilo province in
r. from the agency while other assistance programs are also being posed program is “still in the initial stages” with ongoing discussions 2017, accounting for 40% of the
h prepared. DoLE said more than 17,000 workers are expected to be with the Department of Agriculture (DA). — carmelito Q. francisco total 310,878 tourist arrivals. —
ed displaced by the island closure. — louine Hope U. conserva >> See full story on https://goo.gl/8ZuB6T louine Hope U. conserva
e