08/04/2026

WEDNESDAY | APR 8, 2026

7

Vietnam’s top leader wins state presidency

Filipino farmers abandoning harvests BENGUET: Filipino farmers like Romeo Wagayan have been left with little choice but to let their vegetables rot in the field rather than sell them at a loss, as rising oil prices drive up the cost of harvesting, labour and transport. “There’s nothing we can do,” said Wagayan, a 57-year old vegetable farmer in the northern Philippine province of Benguet. “If we harvest, our losses only increase because of labour, transport and packing costs. We don’t earn anything. That’s why we decided not to harvest at all.” Soaring costs are piling pressure on farmers, with the Southeast Asian archipelago particularly vulnerable to oil shocks because of its heavy reliance on imported fuel. Wagayan’s experience mirrors the challenges faced by many highland farmers, according to Agot Balanoy, an adviser at La Trinidad’s vegetable trading hub, who said that a number of growers are halting harvests as buyers pull out as a result of weak demand and surging costs. Balanoy said some buyers are cancelling or limiting purchases, reflecting a shift in consumer behaviour as households grappling with soaring inflation cut back on vegetables and opt instead for cheaper, filling alternatives such as instant noodles. It costs farmers 18 to 20 pesos (RM1.20 to RM1.30) to produce a kilo of cabbage, Balanoy said, covering basic farm inputs such as seeds and fertilisers, but farmgate prices have collapsed to as low as three pesos, and in recent days have hovered at just five to eight pesos per kilo. The downturn has been exacerbated by the sharp increases in fuel prices, which have pushed up the costs of transporting produce from mountainous farms to trading posts and urban markets, while also driving up the price of farm inputs such as fertiliser. “The increase in diesel prices has a really big impact on us, both during planting and harvesting,” said 27-year-old vegetable farmer Arnold Capin. He said long delivery trips often mean farmers are left with little or nothing once the produce is sold. – Reuters

o To Lam has double mandate to rule country

HANOI: Vietnam’s lawmakers yesterday unanimously elected Communist Party General Secretary To Lam as the country’s president for the next five years, making him the most powerful Vietnamese leader in decades. The widely anticipated move marks a break from Vietnam’s traditional collective leadership system, consolidating authority in one figure in ways analysts say could tilt the one-party state toward greater authoritarianism, while also enabling faster decision making, similar to its neighbour China. The parliament said on its website that all 495 deputies present at yesterday’s National Assembly session endorsed the Communist Party’s nomination, while five lawmakers were absent. Officials have said the nominations for top state leadership posts were finalised at a meeting late last month. The former head of public security now has a double mandate to rule the country for the next five years, after he secured a second term as general secretary in January. Parliament will later elect a new prime minister who will replace the outgoing Pham Minh Chinh. After the vote, Lam told deputies in a televised address that it was an honour to hold both posts and pledged “a new growth model with science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation as the primary driving forces”. He also said he would prioritise self reliance in defence. He said his top priorities were to maintain stability, promote rapid and sustainable national development and improve “all aspects of people’s lives”. Analysts said Lam’s dual role could make it easier for him to achieve his goals, while cautioning against the risks of excessive power concentration. “Concentrating greater power in To Lam’s

To Lam (left) receives a bouquet from National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man. – NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HANDOUT/REUTERSPIC

At least two million Filipinos live in the Middle East. Mostly guest workers, they send billions of dollars in remittances home each year. Thousands of Filipino sailors have found themselves trapped in the Strait of Hormuz, awaiting safe passage. The Philippines said last week that Iran had pledged to allow “the safe, unhindered, and expeditious passage of Philippine-flagged vessels, energy sources and Filipino seafarers”. – AFP general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. Even after relinquishing the state presidency in favour of army general Luong Cuong, Lam often acted as if he had retained the role, travelling extensively and representing the country in meetings with foreign leaders. In his first stint as party chief, 68-year-old Lam launched sweeping economic reforms designed to make Vietnam more competitive, which drew both praise and criticism. Lam has vowed to pursue double-digit growth through a new development model that is less reliant on low-cost manufacturing, long the backbone of Vietnam’s export-driven boom and led by foreign multinationals. – Reuters

victim’s given name as Lucille-Jean, saying that she and her family had been pulled from the rubble of their collapsed residence. “The Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv has informed the family and is providing all necessary assistance, including arrangements for the earliest possible repatriation of her remains,” the Foreign Affairs Department said. Mary Ann Velasquez De Vera, a 32-year-old caregiver, became the war’s first Philippine fatality on March 1 as she attempted to escort her elderly ward to a bomb shelter. hands could pose risks to Vietnam’s political system, such as increased authoritarianism,” said Le Hong Hiep, senior fellow at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. However, such consolidation “could enable Vietnam to formulate and implement policies more quickly and effectively,” supporting growth, he said. The combination of the two roles “will shift Vietnam’s domestic politics to a new normal where most of the old assumptions about Vietnam’s politics, including those about collective leadership, are no longer valid,” said Alexander Vuving of the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies in the United States. Lam held both posts for a few months following the death in 2024 of the late party

Second Philippine victim killed in Haifa MANILA: The Middle East war has claimed its second Philippine victim, Manila said yesterday, when a missile struck the home of a Filipina living in Israel.

The woman was killed in the port city of Haifa on Sunday “alongside her Israeli husband and elderly parents-in-law”, the Foreign Affairs Department said, without naming the victims. Israeli rescue services said on Monday that the bodies of four people had been recovered from the rubble of a residential building. Israeli news outlets identified the Filipina

A field of cabbages left to rot in Atok, Benguet. – REUTERSPIC

Nepal vows action against trekkers rescue scam KATHMANDU: Nepal’s government has developed tough measures to stamp out insurance scams involving unnecessary helicopter rescues of trekkers, an official said yesterday, a long-running racket threatening the country’s tourism industry. evacuations for insurance payouts, and 32 people have been charged after an investigation in an alleged US$19.69 million (RM79.4 million) scam. Police say the scam worked by filing multiple insurance claims for a single rescue, meaning charter flight companies were paid several times for the same unnecessary flight.

Nepal’s lucrative climbing and trekking season, when mountaineers can pay tens of thousands of dollars, trusting their guides to lead them into highly dangerous peaks, where acute mountain sickness can be deadly. Police said that there was “no evidence” to suggest Everest guides were involved in the scam. The Nepal Mountaineering Association has also said there were “no verified cases of food poisoning or the alleged overdosing of Diamox (a drug used for altitude sickness) involving climbers in Nepal”. – AFP

investigations, and publicising those guilty of fraud. It said a task force involving the police, tourist board and aviation officials would “strengthen oversight and conduct regular audits”, as well as to ensure guides and trekking agencies were licensed. A 2018 government investigation identified 15 companies involved in similar scams, but no action was taken, allowing them to persist despite new guidelines introduced after warnings from insurers. The investigation comes ahead of

Investigators said some trekkers were even intentionally made sick – by serving contaminated meals or even adding baking soda – to justify a helicopter ride out. Trekkers were also pressured into airlifts even for minor illnesses. The ministry has said a “zero tolerance policy” will be implemented to stamp out fraud, including

“The government is taking several steps to ensure that there is an investigation and immediate action against any fraudulent practices,” said Jaya Narayan Acharya, spokesman at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. “Tourism is an important industry. We must take corrective action against any malpractice.”

The Himalayan nation, home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks including Everest, attracts thousands of trekkers each year, many walking remote high-altitude trails where emergency airlifts are costly. But police say some operators have for years orchestrated fraudulent