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Mability will be key to recovery because we have relaxed some of our quarantine methods.

The request of embattled Philippine lawmaker Arnulfo Tevez Jr. to extend his leave of absence, rejected by the House Speaker.

The number of residents falling ill from the oil spill in Pola Oriental, Mindoro, rises.

We speak with Pola Mayor Jennifer Cruz about that later on in the program.

Charges are recommended against 20 Taogama Phi fraternity members over the hazing death of university student John Matthew Salile.

And Poland becomes the first NATO member to pledge fighter jets to war-torn Ukraine.

Hi, I'm Camila Constantino. Dateline Philippines begins right now.

Thanks for joining us. For those of you watching us on YouTube and on Facebook, nice to have you with us today.

We begin with this. The camp of Philippine lawmaker Arnulfo Tevez Jr. confirms his request for a two-month leave of absence was denied by House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Tevez, who is facing criminal complaints and is being tagged in the death of Negros Oriental Governor Roel de Gamo, is currently abroad.

His legal counsel, Ferdinand Topacha, says they are planning to appeal the Speaker's decision.

Romualdez has given Tevez until March 20 to come home and report for work.

In view of all the reckless accusations that he is guilty, that is one of his considerations.

And that is why he is hiding. If he is not guilty, no one is hiding the threats to his life.

Meanwhile, police released two of the six people arrested during the March 10 raid on the properties of Congressman Tevez, one of them his secretary.

The PNP says they were released because the complaints against them lacked probable cause.

The remaining four are still under police custody to determine the real owner of the firearms and explosives seized during the raids.

One of the suspects in the assassination of Governor Roel de Gamo linked to the communist movement.

George Carino spoke with the suspect's family about this allegation.

Our search began in Eterna Funeral Chapel in Bayawan City, where Arnil Labradilio's body was brought.

The 26-year-old Arnil was the man found dead in a sugarcane plantation following a chase by soldiers and policemen which ended in Barangay Can Sumalig of Bayawan City.

The embalmer told us it was Saturday morning when Arnil's father and uncle arrived here to claim the body.

Labradilio's remains were brought to his hometown in Bindoy Municipality.

There, we met the suspect's uncle, Glesildo Labradilio.

Glesildo declined to provide more details about his nephew, only to say that he left their place at 17 to work in Dumaguete City.

What the military is saying is that Arnil was a former member of the NPA.

You should be ashamed of what you did, sir. You should be ashamed.

It's now up to investigators to piece together what role Arnil played in the deadly shooting incident.

George Carino, ABS-CBN News, Negros Oriental.

Auslaying Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo laid to rest Thursday amid tight security.

Thousands turned out for his burial to demand justice for the local official.

Degamo's widow, Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, also hoping those who killed her husband will finally be caught.

She also did not hide her dismay over the request of lawmaker Arnulfo Tevez Jr., a two-month extension of his leave of absence.

Bakit siya hihiling ng two months na extension? Pwede siyang umuwi at pwede kaming magharap.

Two months extension doesn't make any sense. Why?

Uy, first time kong narinig yan, takot din pala siya sa security.

In the news of Philippine Maritime Industry Authority, considering grounding all vessels owned by the shipping company,

responsible for the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro.

See, aside from questionable documents to operate, Marina says,

it appears the sunken tanker also did not have a license to transport fuel.

We created a fact-finding team to look into the matter of these certificates.

Of course, our processes in Marina, using our circulars,

this has already started. The fact-finding team has convened and they already have a fact-finding plan.

Our personnel from the regional office five have already been transferred to the central office

and have already been called to this fact-finding inquiry.

The oil spill in Oriental Mindoro meanwhile reaches several villages in Calapan City.

The local government has installed oil spill booms in 23 coastal villages in a bid to contain it.

Fishing has been banned in several areas while the elderly and those with respiratory diseases were advised to evacuate.

Over in Paula, the worst-hit area of the oil spill in Calapan City,

the local government has installed oil spill booms in several villages in a bid to contain it.

Fishing has been banned in several areas while the elderly and those with respiratory diseases were advised to evacuate.

Over in Paula, the worst-hit area.

184 individuals have fallen ill after the oil spill.

We're going to talk now to Paula, Mayor Jennifer Cruz.

Mayor, good afternoon. Thank you for joining us today.

She joins us via Zoom.

Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Zarina.

Mayor, kamusta na po kayo? Kasi ang balita dito, 184 na po ang tala ng mga nagkakasakit dahil sa oil spill, Mayor.

Let's start with that.

As of yesterday, po, is 184. Right now, po, is 191 na.

Medyo dumadami po dahil, yung effect pala niya, medyo pag tumatagal ang tumatagal,

dumadami ng dumadami yung nagkakasakit.

Kasi pag matagal yung effect ng amoy.

So ano yung range nung mga sakit po nila, Mayor?

Nayihilo, sumasakit ang ulo, masakit ang tiyan, masasakit ang lalamunan.

So parang yun yung iba nila, lagnat, may mga ganon, hindi makahinga.

So yun yung mga nararamdaman nila. Parehas lang kami kasi nung una yun din yung naramdaman ko.

So ngayon yun yung nararamdaman ko ng lahat ng nararamdaman ng mga malapit sa shoreline.

Tapos, Mayor, ano po ang kaagarang tulong na nakukuha ninyo?

May kailangan pa bang bayaran itong mga affected residents po?

Andyan ho ba ang DOH para siguraduhing gumaling sila sa lalong madaling panahon, Mayor?

Right now po, yung 80 na under pa sila ng observation, yung the rest po okay na sila.

Stable naman po, naayos naman po ng ating MHO.

And so far, may mga gamot din po ang DOH na ibinigay dun sa mga nagkakasakit.

And syempre, yung mga hiningi pa naman natin right now is yung paano matulungan ng mas maayos na livelihood programs...

... para hindi naman every now and then aasa kami, ingin kami ng tulong every day kasi syempre kailangan nilang kumain.

So kung anong pwede na pang matagalan na livelihood programs, bukod po dun sa pinibigay ng DOLE, ng DSWD.

Pag-usapan natin yun, Mayor, kasi marami din ang nag-react dito sa Cash for Work program.

Lilinisin yung baybayin ng mga apektadong fisherfolk at mga residente.

Sila mismo ang maglilinis. Tapos kapalit noon, bibigyan sila ng cash.

Pero ang sabi ng iba, bakit ganun? Bakit sila pa ang maglilinis? Eh hindi naman nila kasalanan ito.

Meron ba ang abiso sa inyo na imbis na pagtrabahuhin pa sila, bigay na lang yung cash assistance at iba na ang maglinis kasi nagkakasakit din po sila?

Tama po yun. Tama. Sana naisip po nila na dapat ganun kami.

Pag-usapan natin yung apektuhan, kami pa rin ang maglilinis. Babayaran kami para maglinis.

Maaaring okay sa pandinig kasi trabaho para sa kanila kasi mangingisda nga sila.

Pero better na ibigyan na lang muna yung cash then mag-isip kami ng other alternative na trabaho para sa kanila kasi parang hindi na sila magkasakit.

Long-term kasi yung effect nito ng oil spill na ito kasi sobrang baho. Kailan pa natin mararamdaman? After 3 months mararamdaman pa ulit natin ito dahil tayo inakaamoy at direct na nakapunta sa oil spill na ito.

So hindi namin alam kung ano yung long-term effect ng oil spill. Kaya kailangan sana maganda po yung suggestion na sana at ng ibang tao na pigi na lang ng pera, mag-isip ng bagong alternative na trabaho.

Then kung sino yung talagang kailangan na magtrabaho for that na dapat yung may-ari. Lumabas na din po yung may-ari.

And sino yung may-ari ng oil? So lumabas sila ang magtrabaho, magpatrabaho sila doon, magpadala ng tao para hindi na kami yung nagkakasakit po rito.

Mayor pasensya na and correct me if I'm wrong, pero parang tila bagang kayo na lamang ang nag-iisip ng paraan kung paano ito mabigyan ng solusyon.

Meron din kasing obserbasyon that you are now left to fend for yourselves na wala talagang, patulad nung sinabi nyo kanina, hindi nyo alam kung gano'ng katagal ito, yung effect, kung gano'ng katagal ito mararamdaman.

Wala ho bang kumakausap sa inyo galing mismo sa national government para sabihin ito ang plano, ganito yung epekto sa inyo, ito ang gagawin natin para maiwasan o maibsan man lang ang pinagdadaanan ng mga constituents niyo po, Mayor?

Alam nyo sa totoo lang, wala magandang kongkreto tulad ng sinabi nyo po. Walang kongkreto na after 10 days, 3 months, 6 months tapos tayo. Wala gano'ng kongkreto na malinaw talaga na sasabihin ng Congress sa amin, after 3 months tapos tayo, alis na po tayo.

Nandyan po ang TSWD, diret-diretso yung tulong na binigay na bigas. Pero yung livelihood programs po talaga na dapat ito after 3 months, ito na yung magiging trabaho natin. Wala pa po, wala pong kumakausap natin para yung kongkreto-kongkreto po talaga.

Q1. May mga mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

Q1. May mga malapit doon sa kanilang kinikita araw-araw bago pa nangyari itong oil spill, Mayor?

And we are back here still at Dateline Philippines here on ANC. Here's another look at our headlines this noon.

The request of embattled Philippine lawmaker Arnulfo Tevez Jr. to extend his leave of absence rejected by the House Speaker.

The number of residents falling ill from the oil spill in Pola Oriental Mindoro rises.

Pala Mayor Jennifer Cruz also calling for better livelihood programs for those affected amid fears of a long-term effect of the incident.

Charges are recommended against 20 Daugama Phi fraternity members over the hazing death of university student John Matthew Salilig.

And Poland becomes the first NATO member to pledge fighter jets to war-torn Ukraine.

Back to more news. Poland will send four fighter jets to Ukraine in the coming days, becoming the first NATO member to fulfill Kyiv's repeated requests.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said the planes will be handed over in the coming days.

Warsaw has taken the lead in persuading hesitant NATO members to provide Kyiv with heavy weaponry.

The move could put pressure on other member states to do the same.

Poland has sent 14 heavy-duty tanks to Ukraine and has expressed intent to send more.

The White House says the U.S. has sufficient resources to support Ukraine through the end of this fiscal year.

White House Press Secretary Karen Jean-Pierre said the bipartisan congressional support for Ukraine continues.

That was done in a bipartisan way.

So of course we're going to continue to elevate whether any additional resources are needed based on the conditions that we're currently seeing on the ground.

The latest military aid package from the U.S. announced on March 3rd was worth $400 million.

Ukraine has received about $6 billion in Western aid so far this year.

The Pentagon releases footage showing the encounter prior to the crash of a U.S. spy drone into the Black Sea.

But despite providing evidence of what it calls a reckless behavior of Russian fighter jets,

the White House says it is looking to de-escalate the situation.

Details in this report.

Video shows a Russian Su-27 jet approaching an American MQ-9 Reaper drone, spraying fuel and blinding its camera,

says the Pentagon, which released the footage Thursday.

U.S. officials say either the same jet or another Russian fighter approached again,

hitting the MQ-9's propeller, forcing Washington to bring down the drone in international waters.

It's not unusual for us to release imagery of unsafe, unprofessional incidents.

We've done that in other situations.

And so particularly in this case, given the reckless and dangerous behavior,

and to demonstrate publicly what type of actions the Russians had taken,

we felt that it was important to provide this imagery.

The U.S. said the drone, like this one, was flying in international airspace over the Black Sea off the coast of Ukraine,

acclaim Moscow disputes.

They totally ignored the fact that after the start of the special military operation,

our military has declared certain areas of the Black Sea near the shore as areas with limited access to any aerial vehicles.

Moscow also denied its aircraft clipped the drone's propeller,

and said it would try to retrieve the wreckage,

warning it would react proportionately to any future U.S. provocations.

The White House says it is aiming to de-escalate.

Intercepts between Russian and NATO aircraft off Ukraine's Black Sea coast are common,

but the downing of the U.S. drone raised concerns of escalation between two nuclear superpowers already at odds over Ukraine.

What the limits are around what the Russians will find acceptable,

and what they're actually willing to push back on.

Grieco said Russian forces have used coercive signaling in various conflict zones, including Ukraine and Syria.

However, the Kremlin appears reluctant to trigger NATO's principle of collective defense.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has repeatedly vowed not to commit U.S. forces to direct conflict with Russia.

Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News, Washington.

Over in Israel, government troops killed four Palestinians during yet another raid in the occupied West Bank Thursday.

Palestinian medics said a teenager, as well as two resistance fighters, were shot during the raid.

Local militants also saying the Israeli unit disguised themselves as Palestinians.

But Israeli police claimed one of those killed was planning a significant terrorist action,

and the other was involved in attacks on Israeli forces.

The raid happened in Jenin, which is among the areas in the West Bank that have seen intensified Israeli raids over the past year.

New Zealand banning TikTok on devices with access to the country's parliamentary network due to security concerns.

The ban will take effect March 31st.

New Zealand's parliamentary service chief said the decision was made after advice from cybersecurity experts and discussions with other countries.

The U.S. and the U.K. recently introduced a similar ban.

Now, the CEO of TikTok is scheduled to appear before U.S. lawmakers next week to face questions about the company's data policy and the popular video app's connections to China.

This report tells us what to expect from that hearing.

TikTok's CEO, Shouzi Chu, is expected to face questions from U.S. lawmakers about the Chinese-owned app's privacy and data security practices, child safety policies, and ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

At an earlier hearing on security threats, Senator Marco Rubio asked FBI Director Christopher Wray about TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, which is headquartered in Beijing.

Could the Chinese government, through its ownership of ByteDance, that owns ByteDance U.S., if they wanted to and ByteDance U.S. were willing to cooperate or forced to cooperate, could they use TikTok to control data on millions of users?

Yes.

Could they use it to control the software on millions of devices given the opportunity to do so?

Yes.

So they can collect our data, manipulate information, poison the minds and feed garbage into the minds of millions of people and so forth.

This is a substantial national security threat for the country of a kind that we didn't face in the past.

TikTok executives, like public policy communications head Brooke Oberwetter, say they are addressing U.S. security concerns.

First and foremost, the Chinese government has never asked TikTok for U.S. user data. We have never provided them U.S. user data, nor would we if they asked us to.

All of our data is now routed through the Oracle Cloud infrastructure where it's kept in a secure environment that is managed by our U.S. data security team.

Heritage Foundation researcher Jake Denton says having TikTok on your phone is like carrying around a personal surveillance balloon.

This application is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

The app is uniquely capable of surveilling and collecting mass amounts of data.

There is also a great deal of Chinese propaganda. There's a great deal of data collection.

And it just creates a massive vulnerability for ordinary Americans and our government.

In December, TikTok was banned on federally owned devices.

Some states, including Texas and Mississippi, have also moved to restrict the app.

But researcher James Lewis says a complete ban is unlikely.

Unfortunately, for the people who want to ban TikTok, the Constitution doesn't allow them to do that.

Texas has the authority to say you can't use it on a state-owned device, you can't use it at work on a state network.

But you can tell people what to do in their private lives.

Congress is considering bipartisan legislation that would give President Joe Biden power to ban any foreign-based technology that poses a national security threat.

Dina Mitchell for VOA News.

Tropical cyclone Freddie is now blamed for the deaths of more than 400 people in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar.

Based on the latest count, the storm also left 700 people in Malawi injured.

Officials say though the storm has now dissipated, heavy rains are expected to continue in parts of Malawi, which will likely cause even more flooding.

The fatal storm first made landfall in Africa late February, but it circled back to hit the region for a second time over the weekend.

Back here at home, Philippine Weather Bureau, Pagasa, says the dry or hot season is just around the corner.

More on that and an outlook on the weather for this weekend from Pagasa forecaster Rhea Torres.

She joins us on the line. Rhea, good afternoon. Go ahead.

Yes, good afternoon to you as well, Carmina.

As of the moment, the low-pressure area that we were monitoring on the east of Visayas area has dissipated early this 2 a.m.

And as of the moment, partly cloudy to cloudy skies with chances of rains over Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be experienced for today.

Meanwhile, for the state of our coastal waters, we have no gale warning raised over the seaboards of our country.

However, moderate to rough coastal waters will still be experienced over the eastern section of Luzon and Visayas.

Meanwhile, we are not monitoring any tropical cyclone or low-pressure area within and outside our Philippine area of responsibility.

Therefore, for the coming weekends, we will still be expecting generally fair weather conditions over large portions of our country.

And that is the latest here from Pagasa Weather Forecasting Center. This is Rhea Torres reporting.

Thanks a lot, Rhea. To you and the rest of the team there, thanks for all that you do.

And back here in the newsroom, more news overseas now.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says America's banking system remains strong.

That's despite the growing regional banking crises triggered by the collapse of California-based lender Silicon Valley Bank.

Speaking to the Senate Finance Committee, Yellen also said emergency measures to protect SVB and enhance banking liquidity will not hurt taxpayers.

I can reassure the members of the committee that our banking system is sound

and that Americans can feel confident that their deposits will be there when they need them.

Importantly, no taxpayer money is being used or put at risk with this action.

Deposit protection is provided by the Deposit Insurance Fund, which is funded by fees on banks.

After the collapse of SVB, U.S. regulators moved to close down New York-based Signature Bank, another regional bank.

First Republic has also come under threat.

But just yesterday, Thursday, a group of financial institutions came to the rescue with a $30 billion deposit pledge

in a move that aims to shore up confidence in the U.S. banking system.

Chaos on the streets of Paris after French President Emmanuel Macron's government overrides parliament

to pass a controversial pension reform bill.

Macron used a special procedure to push the measure through the National Assembly without a vote.

The bill will raise the retirement age by two years to 64.

The government says that is essential to ensure the pension budget stays in the black.

But unions and other critics insist the bill is unfair and unnecessary.

The Philippine Civil Service Commission, not keen on the proposed four-day work week for government offices,

see there have been several calls for the shift, particularly from the Energy Department,

which sees the setup as a way to conserve energy.

The DOE says the agency itself implemented the four-day work week plus one-day work from home on Fridays,

and this has resulted in over 120,000 pesos in savings.

That's in February alone.

But the commission says front-line services should be manned five regular working days a week

and eight hours per day.

The largest confederation of labor unions in the country backing Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiris' bill,

calling for a 150-peso wage increase.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines says a salary hike is badly needed

to sustain the living conditions of workers amid soaring inflation.

The group also slammed the bill as unfair and unethical.

The commission says the bill is unfair and unethical,

to sustain the living conditions of workers amid soaring inflation.

The group also slams the Labor Department for failing to act on calls for regional wage boards

to review the current minimum wages.

As for Senator Jingo Estrada, he's lukewarm over Zubiris' bill.

Estrada, who is the chairman of the Senate Labor and Employment Committee, says

the interests of both workers and business owners need to be balanced,

as both sides are still struggling to return to pre-pandemic levels.

The Philippine Agriculture Department admits more needs to be done

to bring down rice prices to 20 pesos per kilo.

That's even after President Marcos, the concurrent agriculture chief, said

government is close to reaching that goal.

A rice monitoring group, meanwhile, wants more clarity on how exactly Marcos can actualize

his campaign promise regarding a lower price of rice.

Ang binabanggit ni PBBM na malapit na ang 20 pesos per kilo ay mukhang gasgas ng dialog

dahil pag-upong pag-upo niya bilang DA Secretary at bilang Presidente,

pinangako niya yung 20 pesos per kilo.

At hanggang ngayon, hindi pa natin nakikita kung paano niya maaating.

An agriculture group also doubting rice prices will go down to 20 pesos per kilo.

SINAG points out production as well as fuel costs remain high.

Ang presyo ng palay ngayon is sa 23.50.

O, palay pa lang yun.

Ibig sabihin, yung palay, ihigilin mo pa yan para maging bigas.

Yung 20 to 23 pesos na palay, pag giniling yun, babagsak.

40 pesos na bigas.

Kung bumalik siguro sa P800 ang pataba tapos ang fuel natin bubaba ng P32.

Yung seeds natin kung libre na ibigay sa magsasaka.

Tapos ang tingin natin, 25 pesos baka realistic by one and a half years.

Our very own Warren Digasman now joins us with details. Warren, what more can you tell us?

Hi, Carmina. The Manila Electric Company turned over to the Anti-Red Tape Authority 500 computers

to help LGUs comply with a digitalization requirement that was supposed to be in full effect last June 17, 2021.

Anti-Red Tape Authority Director General, Secretary Ernesto Perez, says

as of March 10 this year, only 219 LGUs out of the 1,634 are already fully automated

while 287 are partially compliant.

Full compliance is only at 13% while full and partial compliance combined is at 31%.

Perez says the many reasons given for the poor compliance include a lack of budget, capacity, and connectivity,

especially in the smaller LGUs far removed from major economic centers.

The same was confirmed by LGU representatives who expressed gratitude for the help Maraco and Art are providing.

LGU officials from Rizal and Laguna say they have found it very difficult to digitalize or computerize their business permitting

because of a lack of resources and capacity and poor connectivity.

The program with Maraco called PASPAS Pilipinas PASPAS is meant to solve the issues of budget and capacity

and under the program, 500 computers will be distributed to 166 LGUs.

The LGU officials in charge of licensing and permitting will also be trained and oriented on how to use the computers

and how to use software developed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology

for the Electronic Business One-Stop Shops or E-BOS.

Data from compliant LGUs show tax revenue collections from businesses have generally increased

once LGUs set up their E-BOS.

Some see an increment in revenue of hundreds of millions of pesos.

The latest data, however, comes from 2022 coinciding with the reopening of the economy

following mobility restrictions enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

Nevertheless, ARTA and DILG fully expect improved ease of doing business to have a positive effect

including but not limited to local employment, business profitability and revenue generation for LGUs.

Armina, back to you.

Thanks a lot. Warren de Guzman there joining us on The Line.

And back here in the newsroom, Shadow and Bone kicks off its second season bringing sorcery and monsters back on Netflix.

Our Hollywood correspondent Yong Chavez talked to two of the stars of the hit fantasy series

about what makes the show special.

In season two of the Netflix fantasy adventure hit series Shadow and Bone,

magic and monsters once again affect the lives of its heroes as they join forces with new allies.

Its lead star is Jessie May Lee who portrays a young woman named Alina Starkov

whose strength and power makes her the target of dangerous enemies.

Being the central character of such a huge and beloved series,

what does it mean to you to have that honor and that responsibility?

It's really exciting and I think what I love about Alina is that she feels like a real human.

And although obviously she's a young woman, I think she is relatable to kind of everyone.

Certainly meeting fans of the show from season one,

so many young women said to me that the character like Alina is so important to them.

In the story, her character Alina grew up with Mal played by Archie Renaud.

The series boasts of a diverse ensemble cast of young talents.

Having been in other projects with strong ensemble casts similar to this one,

what made the show and this character special to you?

I was the kind of naive young one coming in in my first movies, fantasy movies, Stardust, Narnia,

some of those things, even Seventh Son.

I played that kind of protagonist role kind of on the quest chasing,

trying to fight the demons and kiss the princess and defeat the dragon, you know, metaphorically.

And I think for me on this coming in and having such a big dynamic cast of people

who are kind of very fresh and excited about telling this kind of story,

that kind of passion and enthusiasm was extremely infectious.

And I think that breeds passion for what we're doing and thoughtfulness for what we're doing.

And I think coming into a second season, we're more opinionated about what themes we wanted to explore,

how we wanted to express these characters.

Shadow and Bone is based on the best-selling book series created by Lee Bardugo.

Yong Chavez, ABS-CBN News, here in Hollywood.

And before we go, Microsoft is pressing on with its artificial intelligence push.

The tech giant says it would soon apply the powers behind Chat GPT to its office programs Excel, Word and Outlook.

For more on this story, head on over to news.abs-cbn.com.

And that'll do it for today. Thanks for joining us. I'm Carmina Constantino.

If you want to revisit today's episode, you can play back this newscast on ABC's YouTube channel.

And on ANC 24 7 on Facebook. Keep safe, keep it here on ANC.

Thank you for watching.