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Reviving ROTC ‘illegal’ if in Grades 11-12, unless…

Reviving ROTC ‘illegal’ if in Grades 11-12, unless…

by | Apr 14, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of ROTC

GOTCHA

written on July 29, 2022

 

President Marcos and VP Duterte want ROTC revived – in Grades 11 to 12. That can be illegal.

Most Grades 11 and 12 students are minors aged 16 to 17. The UN Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict forbids states from involving minors in war. State-parties like the Philippines must ensure that persons below 18 are not recruited or conscripted into any armed group. “Generally accepted principles of international law [are] part of the law of the land,” the Constitution states.

Reserve Officers Training Corps prepares trainees for military action. Thus, it should be for majority age starting 18.

The simple solution is to restore ROTC in college – first and second years for students aged 18 to 19. More Filipinos now go to college since it became free starting 2017.

No need to reinvent the wheel. In 2018, then-Senate president Koko Pimentel and -Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo already co-sponsored such bill. Their proposed Citizen Service Act even expands ROTC from external defense to internal peace and order, and disaster operations. The 2019 election campaign overtook Senate Bill 1322 and House Bill 5305. Time to dust them off the shelf.

I wrote about it in Gotcha, May 31, 2019, “Restore ROTC in College to Avoid Legal Tangles.” Excerpts:

“ROTC is not for inculcating nationalism. Trainees should have imbibed love of country and been taught Filipino history and culture from age five. ROTC is for military preparedness to defend the motherland. It includes training in combat, marksmanship, artillery, map-reading and other basics of soldiery. ROTC is for adults. If enforced in Grades 11 and 12, or ages 16 to 17, it would violate international law against child soldiers.

“Aside from training, ROTC entails readiness for mobilization. Graduates will be given ranks and serial numbers as part of the reserve Armed Forces. Deployment shall be in emergencies and for contingencies: external or territorial defense, internal peace and order and disaster risk reduction and management.

“Congress is still debating compulsory ROTC’s age and aim. Other matters have been hurdled, like inclusion of all genders or physique. The Constitution does not distinguish between male and female, able-bodied and handicapped. It just requires military training for all Filipinos, to comprise a citizens’ armed force. In defense of the State, citizens may be called upon to render personal military or civil service. The old ROTC law needs updating. The number of military reservists has been dwindling. The National Service Training Program which made ROTC optional in 2002 needs replacing. The Commission on Higher Education has deemed it a failure.

 

“At what age should ROTC be re-imposed? The House has approved a version for Grades 11 and 12, senior high school. Defeated was Macapagal-Arroyo’s preferred first and second years of college or vocational course. Pending at the Senate are counterpart bills for Grades 11 and 12. Separate is SP Pimentel’s version, akin to Macapagal-Arroyo’s, for tertiary level.

“The younger age violates the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. OPAC stems from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. State-parties, like the Philippines, must ensure that persons below 18 are not recruited or conscripted into any armed group. States may not send children to the battlefield, and must criminalize such child abuse.

“The Enhanced Basic Education Program, or K-to-12 Law, itself specifies the ages of enrollees. Kindergartners must be at least five years old, Grade 1 at least six, Grade 11 at least 16, and Grade 12 at least 17. Age cutoff is June 1 of the school year. So Grade 12 students who will finish ROTC would still be 17 upon school graduation the following March. (School year was altered to August-May in 2020.) Since ROTC would be a requirement for high school graduation, the OPAC will be breached.

“The University of the Philippines Vanguard Inc., consisting of Advance ROTC finishers, points up the risk. Mandating ROTC in Grades 11 and 12 can be questioned in court, say UPVI chairman Gilbert Raymund Reyes and national commandant Guido Alfredo Delgado. One cannot claim that ROTC Philippine-style is purely internal; the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties compels signatories to enforce them. Even the old ROTC law requires reservists of the Armed Forces to be at least 18 years old.

“Two arguments attempt to dismiss the age issue. One is that Grades 11 and 12 students of today were the college freshmen and sophomores of yesteryears. Both were 16 to 17, before K-to-12 added two years to the basic curriculum. But that was also before the Philippines ratified the OPAC in 2003 and made ROTC optional in 2002. The other option is grayer. A proviso is inserted to the effect that, while ROTC trainees shall be registered upon graduation, such registration shall not be construed as enlistment in the reserve Armed Forces. What then is the point of registration, if not for enlistment and mobilization as reservists?

“The mobilization part is crucial. Pimentel’s Citizen Service Bill will form a commission to oversee training for deployment in emergencies and contingencies. ROTC cadets of old were mobilized for aid during floods and election precinct guard. Graduates comprised regional reserve forces also for disaster relief. If not for battle against invaders, future ROTC trainees’ role will be mostly in disaster mitigation and prevention. That could include enforcement once and for all of the law requiring all barangays to have water impoundments against floods and droughts. The commission shall have the extra duty to investigate corruption, hazing and sexual harassment that marred the old ROTC.”

 

                                             

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Only two persons have President’s interest at heart

Only two persons have President’s interest at heart

by | Apr 14, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of Vic Rodriguez

GOTCHA

written on July 26, 2022

 

Vic Rodriguez quickly squelched last Friday’s newsflash that he had resigned as Executive Secretary. Still, it was intriguing. That rumor could only have sprung from the Malacañang snake pit. Rodriguez hinted as much to Palace reporters. Asked about P100-million payolas for plum presidential appointments, he told them to “go to your source for details… before asking me.”

It has happened before. Two weeks into Fidel Ramos’ presidency, gossip circulated that ES Peter Garrucho was on the way out; he did leave in two months. Joseph Estrada got Filipino-Canadian professor Aprodicio Laquian as night-shift chief of staff to backstop daytime ES Ronaldo Zamora. Estrada’s midnight Cabinet of mahjong and drinking buddies resented Laquian’s screening of papers they were making the boss sign, so conspired against him. The president did sack him six weeks into the job. Ominous?

In Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first week in office, media commentators blamed Rodriguez for unfit nominees. More so since one of the four shipping businessmen named to the Ports Authority is his brother-in-law’s partner. Allegedly, Rodriguez is behind other conflicted appointees. Attributed to him too is Marcos’ veto of two bills of the past admin that dismayed investors and government lawyers. Also, the memo circular that new agency heads misinterpreted as signal to fire Career Executive Service Officers at will.

Expected of Rodriguez is “complete staff work,” including thorough background checks, before making Marcos sign appointments. As well, all facets and implications of executive orders. Rodriguez must meld policy with politics and implement programs by consensus. The vetoes surprised Marcos’ Congress allies, even his sister Senator Imee Marcos and cousin Speaker Martin Romualdez, who had supported the bills. Still, Marcos Jr. must see in Rodriguez an alter ego, as his campaign spokesman-lawyer for VP in 2016 and president in 2022.

An ES is called the Little President for the power he wields. But he must be ready to take the fall anytime for the real President. One of an ES’s unwritten duties is to cover the President’s back – for the latter never errs or admits to have done so. The Philippines copied “presidential infallibility” from America. The ES is likened to the White House Chief of Staff, nicknamed the co-President.

Picking the ES/CoS is tricky. “Presidents sometimes make the mistake of hiring as Chief of Staff somebody who brought them to the dance rather than the person who needs to be the dance partner once you’re governing,” noted Kenneth Duberstein, US president Ronald Reagan’s last of four CoS. “In campaigning you demonize your opponent. In governing you make love to your opponent. That’s how you put coalitions together.” Campaigners do not always make good presidential aides. (“The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency,” Chris Whipple)

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In Malacañang or the White House, two persons have the President’s interest at heart: the ES/CoS and the presidential spouse. The former must be a sharp manager-adviser; the latter has the advantage of pillow talk. Care must be taken for them to not clash.

Outsiders sneer at interloping by the presidential spouse, but that’s sometimes necessary. After president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s “Hello Garci” and “I am sorry” fiascoes of 2005, a Cabinet faction convinced her to banish first gentleman Mike Arroyo to California. The latter was suspected as behind many admin shenanigans. To his credit, he rushed home months later to alert Macapagal-Arroyo about and stave off a coup d’état. Nancy Reagan was instrumental in positioning then kicking out her husband’s second CoS Donald Regan. He had become power-drunk and had once even hung up the phone on her. Reagan’s popularity was then crashing due to his and Regan’s flops.

The ES should do dirty jobs for the President. He must know how to fire and be fired. Most Philippine presidents changed executive secretaries several times. Those brilliant men were either former or later generals, legislators and justices:

• Cory Aquino had Joker Arroyo, Catalino Macaraig Jr., Oscar Orbos, Franklin Drilon;

• Fidel Ramos: Garrucho, Edelmiro Amante, Teofisto Guingona Jr., Ruben Torres, Alexander Aguirre;

• Joseph Estrada: Zamora, Edgardo Angara;

• Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo: Renato de Villa, Alberto Romulo, Eduardo Ermita, Leandro Mendoza, plus four CoS Renato Corona, Rigoberto Tiglao, Mike Defensor, Joey Salceda.

Noynoy Aquino and Rody Duterte had one each, Paquito Ochoa and Salvador Medialdea. Marcos Jr.’s father Ferdinand E. Marcos, 1965-1986, had four: Rafael Salas, Ernesto Maceda, Alejandro Melchor Jr., Ponciano Mathay. He abolished the ES position then made do with two executive assistants, Jacobo Clave and Juan Tuvera.

Although primus inter pares among Cabinet members, Rodriguez knows he is dispensable. Behind any appointment in Malacañang is the tacit agreement that one can be let go anytime, he told reporters. His previous stints in government were as barangay chairman, then special assistant to the business licensing chief and temporary community relations officer at Quezon City Hall under mayor Sonny Belmonte.

 

                                             

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Effective social development will make ‘ayuda’ irrelevant

Effective social development will make ‘ayuda’ irrelevant

by | Apr 14, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of ayuda distribution

GOTCHA

written on July 22, 2022

 

Have the conditional cash transfers bred indolence? Answering that can gauge the effect of the centerpiece anti-poverty program of three admins, 2007-2022.

CCTs aim for child nutritional and educational care. Depending on the number of children, the poorest of the poor families receive P500 to P1,400 a month plus free rice. Parents not only must ensure offspring’s school attendance; pregnant and nursing mothers should also have regular checkups at barangay centers.

Critics had warned at the onset that the monthly “ayuda” would lead to sloth. More so if parents are not afforded skills training but come to rely only on CCTs and alms for subsistence. To stave off those concerns, program planners promised parents’ enrollment in courses at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. As well, in apprenticeships in local governments, cooperatives and businesses. Was that done?

Small farm owners have been heard to complain about the difficulty of hiring extra hands for planting and harvesting. They used to tap barrio pools of farm workers, kept busy year-round weeding, fertilizing, spraying, threshing, drying, processing and packing. But the CCTs allegedly dis-incentivize farm work. Fathers from CCT-recipient families remain untrained yet no longer work because of the assured monthly cash, hopefully not for liquor. Mothers meanwhile hire themselves out as housemaids in distant cities, coming home only every election week on cash enticements of local politicos.

With no help in the small farm, owners lose interest in planting and just focus on their main jobs as teachers or small traders. Farms become idle. Meantime the question arises: who’s taking care of CCT-beneficiary children?

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How widespread such malady is needs study. But one thing is sure, CCTs are not the be-all and end-all of anti-poverty. They must go hand-in-hand with parental skills training, job placements, productivity and values formation. CCTs must also boost family incomes from fishing, planting, backyard poultry and piggery, even odd jobs.

New Social Welfare Sec. Erwin Tulfo announced the “graduation” of 1.3 million households from the CCT program. “They can now stand on their own two feet. They can survive day-to-day and their children have finished school,” he said of the more than 25 percent of the 4.4 million CCT recipients.

It’s good that CCT succeeded on a quarter of the dependents. Tulfo’s task, however, is to make sure that the remaining three-fourths – 3.1 million families – also pull out of forever from the rut of penury.

The natural next target is to prevent any new family to become penurious. Tulfo cannot do that by himself. Other Cabinet members – for agriculture and food, health, basic education, labor and employment, tourism, environment and natural resources, transportation, trade and industry, communications, science and technology – must keep poverty alleviation in mind.

As of latest count, March 2022, 5.8 percent of 45 million working-age Filipinos were unemployed, and 14.9 percent underemployed. That’s 2.6 million warm bodies without work, and 6.7 million short of income. Aside from work attitudes-building, a multi-pronged approach for livelihoods can minimize the need for any more CCTs.

 

                                             

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Powerful but overworked Little President Rodriguez

Powerful but overworked Little President Rodriguez

by | Apr 14, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of Vic Rodriguez

GOTCHA

written on July 15, 2022

 

Executive Secretary-designate Vic Rodriguez is being blamed for Malacañang snafus. Congress, the Opposition and media accord new President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. the traditional 100-day honeymoon to adjust to the rigors of office. But not the so-called Little President.

No one else but Rodriguez must take the fall for conflicted appointees, contradictory announcements and controversial actions. Humbly accepting fault to preserve the President’s “infallibility” are among the many unofficial job descriptions of the ES.

From murmurs in Malacañang, Rodriguez had it coming. Supposedly he re-centralized to his office functions formerly dispersed to other units. That made him powerful, if overloaded.

No longer convening is the screening committee that includes longtime presidential buddy Anton Lagdameo and Zenaida Angping. They have eased into their respective posts as Special Assistant to the President and Presidential Management Staff head. Assistant screeners, including a former Cabinet technocrat of President Cory Aquino, have disbanded.

Rodriguez is left to vet 8,000 presidential appointees by himself. Those must be fielded fast to dozens of agencies and commissions under the Office of the President. Plus, the various departments, bureaus, boards, councils, authorities and government-owned and -controlled corporations.

On their first afternoon in office, June 30, Rodriguez got Marcos Jr. to knock down two Malacañang units. Executive Order No. 1 abolished the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission. The PACC’s duties were returned to the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs.

 

 

Erstwhile PACC chief Greco Belgica was askance. Former president Rody Duterte had spun off the PACC precisely because DESLA was undermanned, with only 11 plantilla positions. Already buried in legal work, it became burdened with investigating crooked presidential appointees among the 8,000. Belgica commented: “Ang masasabi ko lang diyan, kapag natambakan [uli] ng kaso ang DESLA, hindi nare-resolve ang kaso, hindi alam ng tao ang nangyayari, lalong lalala ang korapsyon kasi walang napaparusahan.”

Also scrapped was the Office of the Cabinet Secretary. The OCS used to schedule Cabinet meetings, set agendas, line up attendees and assign reports. Now its staff has reverted to PMS, and its functions to the ES, primus inter pares among Cabinet members.

President Fidel Ramos, 1992-1998, used to annotate policy papers and project studies presented to him with the letters “CSW” in red ink. Meaning, he wanted complete staff work on all aspects of the proposal. Broadcast commentators, newspaper columnists and social media influencers criticize Rodriguez for a series of incomplete staff work.

Four appointees to a transport agency have been exposed for conflict of interest as shipping businessmen, one of them owing the government P132 million. The recommendation for Marcos Jr. to veto tax incentives to the rising New Manila International Airport was seen as a damper to high-tech aviation investors. The floating of an election loser’s name as secretary of Environment and Natural Resources has been cured with Marcos Jr. naming a scientist. But that of Secretary of Energy, initially eyed for two unfit congressmen, remains unresolved. Malacañang last Monday said it has finally tapped former Energy chief Raphael Lotilla to return, then took it back two hours later for imagined conflict of interest.

At least Rodriguez’s workload is lightened by Marcos Jr.’s retention of a SAP. Duterte first created the position to accommodate his 30-year-long aide and confidant, now Senator Bong Go. Then-ES Salvador Medialdea didn’t mind the turf overlap. Marcos Jr.’s SAP Lagdameo will oversee presidential advisers and consultants, starting with that of police-military affairs.

Hopefully Marcos Jr. will not repeat Duterte’s blunder of appointing as special economic adviser a Chinese carpet-bagger. That alien, Michael Yang, got embroiled in the P12.5-billion pricey pandemic supplies to the government.

 

 

                                             

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Career execs cannot be fired in gov’t revamp

Career execs cannot be fired in gov’t revamp

by | Apr 14, 2023 | Gotcha

Logo of Career Executive Service Board

GOTCHA

written on July 13, 2022

 

Newbies in top government posts must restrain themselves. They are mere political nominees, coterminous with the six-year President. They cannot remove career executive service officers at will. Unlike them, CESOs enjoy security of tenure under any admin.

In the past two weeks, a good number of CESOs were eased out. Supposedly they no longer will receive salaries starting payday July 15. The new admin is rushing to complete 8,000 political appointments within its first 100 days. Clarifications can avert discord.

CESOs attained eligibilities through rigorous exams, panel interviews, competency reviews and experience. Most head divisions and bureaus; some are higher – undersecretaries and acting secretaries. They are spread in dozens of agencies and commissions under the Office of the President. As well, in the various departments and government-owned and -controlled corporations. All are licensed professionals: engineers, architects, doctors, accountants, lawyers, statisticians, etc. They provide institutional knowledge for government newcomers. CESOs being crucial to government continuity, Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. in Presidential Decree No. 1, Sept. 24, 1972, created the Career Executive Service Board.

Two sections of Memo Circular No. 1 are being misinterpreted. Executive Secretary-designate Vic Rodriguez “Declar[ed] Vacant Certain Positions in the Departments, Offices, Agencies and Bureaus in the Executive and Fix[ed] Rules Therefor to Ensure Continuous and Effective Delivery of Service” on June 30, 2022. As with any new admin on its first day in office, MC-1 covered “All presidential appointees classified as coterminous.” It further included:

• “All presidential appointees occupying positions created in excess of the authorized staffing pattern,” and

• “All non-Career Executive Service Officials occupying Career Executive Service positions.”

Some CESOs occupy positions in excess of plantilla. This is because previous department and agency heads filled up available positions with yes-men. They even placed gofers in positions reserved for CESOs. Only on hindsight did they see fit to elevate certain CESOs and thus created special non-plantilla positions for them. This was against CES Board rules. The CESOs quietly bore the mistreatment.

Enter the newbies, adding insult to injury. Combining those two sections of MC-1, they mis-concluded that CESOs are expendable.

They are so wrong. The 1987 Constitution is clear: “Article IX-B, Civil Service Commission, Section 2(3) – No officer or employee of the civil service shall be removed or suspended except for cause provided by law.”

 

 

Tenure and eligibility should be respected. If their positions are abolished in revamps, CESOs may be reassigned and transferred. CES Board Resolution No. 640 (2006) states that such reassignments and transfers shall be:

• “Made in the exigency of public service;

• “Made to existing, vacant and equivalent or higher CES plantilla positions which require the same expertise possessed by the CESOs concerned;

• “Not result in reduction of rank or salary including benefits, allowances and privileges received prior to reassignment or transfer;

• “Not be oftener than once in every two years.”

Putting a CESO on floating status is a no-no for the CES Board.

Malacañang announced Monday President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s “appointment” of Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla as Secretary of Energy. Two hours later came a clarification that it was merely a “nomination.” Lotilla’s employment status as independent director in two private power firms supposedly needed reviewing.

Malacañang does not need to announce the dozens of nominations or applications to any position. Only appointments are publicized. There likely was incomplete staff work on Lotilla, a former energy secretary, 2005-2007, under president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

To begin with, independent directorship is not a bar under RA 7638, Section 8, which states: “No officer, external auditor, accountant or legal counsel of any private company or enterprise primarily engaged in the energy industry shall be eligible for appointment as Secretary within two years from his retirement, resignation or separation therefrom.”

Being a director is different from being an officer. The difference is more stark with independent directors.

SEC Memo Circular No. 16 (2002) enumerates “Guidelines on the Nomination and Election of Independent Directors.” A person elected as independent director shall be disqualified during his tenure if he “becomes an officer or employee of the corporation where he is such member of the board of directors/trustees.”

The Corporation Law requires big firms to have independent directors representing small stockholders and other stakeholders. There are special eligibility courses to become an independent director.

Ordinary directors can be appointed as officers and thus become executive directors. An independent director is independent of Management, one who is paid to bite the hand that feeds him.

 

 

                                             

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Besides true history, Manila airport needs better services

Besides true history, Manila airport needs better services

by | Apr 14, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of the MIA (NAIA)

GOTCHA

written on July 8, 2022

 

Conversion of the old US Air Force’s Nichols Field in Pasay into the Manila International Airport began in 1947 during Manuel Roxas’ presidency. Overseas commercial flights commenced with a longer runway and taxiway in 1953 during the term of president Elpidio Quirino.

Those facts negate the purpose of renaming MIA from Ninoy Aquino International Airport to Ferdinand E. Marcos International Airport. Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves’ House Bill 610 says, “It is more appropriate to rename it to the person who has contributed to the idea and execution of the said noble project.”

Marcos in 1946-1947 was among Roxas’ several technical assistants. In 1949-1959 he was congressman of Ilocos Norte, 503 kilometers from MIA. Successive administrations modernized and expanded the facility. President in 1965-1986, Marcos rebuilt the main terminal razed by fire in 1972. MIA came to be known as Ninoy Aquino International Airport via RA 6639 of 1987 to remember the 1983 assassination of the democracy icon-senator at the tarmac.

Still Teves adds, “It is more appropriate to bear the name that has contributed and legacy (sic) in our country to make the Philippines a center of international and domestic (sic) air travel, who has instituted and built or conceptualized the project in making pride (sic) of our country.” Malacañang, now under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., is distancing itself from the bill.

Other matters are more urgent at MIA. Passenger services need improving. MIA recently was rated worst international airport for business travelers. The reasons are obvious. Toilets at the three terminals are few, cramped, decrepit, stinky and dank. Pity arriving passengers who delay calls of nature inflight only to confront long queues on landing.

Waiting and departure lounges are limited. Spaces have given way to cafes and shops, some owned by relatives and friends of MIA managers. Drinking fountains, if any, are hard to spot. Passengers must buy bottled water six times the normal price.

There’s no place except on the floor to work on laptops. Exhausted voyagers whose flights are delayed long hours stretch out and sleep there too. Flight announcements blare like circus barkers from tinny sound systems.

 

 

The previous admin mislabeled MIA as a destination airport and not a hub. Overlooked were 13,500 daily arrivers from overseas work who connect to flights home, plus the same number of daily departees who fly out of MIA also from island connections. Also, tourists who rush off to final resort destinations, instead of exiting MIA and getting snarled in Manila’s notorious traffic.

MIA, with Clark Airport in Pampanga, Mactan Airport in Cebu and Davao City Airport, are hubs for the archipelago’s 7,641 final destinations. Ignoring that, former managers wasted P640 million on facelift of one terminal’s exterior. Another P680 million was frittered away to replace another terminal’s baggage conveyor belt that only needed repair.

A decades-long P12-million yearly contract for grass-cutting and janitorial works suddenly was doubled for unverified equipment upgrade. A P300-million computerization did not cover the most crucial portion of MIA operations: accounts receivables. That enabled influential airlines to evade payment of multimillion-peso airport fees. Aircraft use the tarmac for hours-long repairs instead of being towed away. A Chinese jumbo jet that skidded off the concrete taxiway years ago is still there, a safety hazard.

A huge commercial space was leased for two years without MIA board approval to the in-house lawyer’s son-in-law who turned around and subleased it for ten years to an international airline for thrice the amount. Two MIA Authority board members kept blowing the whistle on the scams. If not for them, MIA would have granted P109-billion rehab and operations to a bankrupt firm.

MIA is hopelessly congested. Wedged between residential-commercial subdivisions, its T-shaped runways can no longer be extended or accept more takeoffs and landings. The P620-million transfer of cargo flights and fish runs to Sangley airstrip across Manila Bay failed. The runway there floods up with rains and high tide.

The old airport can tandem with Clark for business and leisure travelers until San Miguel Corp. builds the modern replacement four-and-a-half times bigger in Bulacan.

                                               

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

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Our website contains links that lead to other websites. If you click on these links jariusbondoc.com is not held responsible for your data and privacy protection. Visiting those websites is not governed by this privacy policy agreement. Make sure to read the privacy policy documentation of the website you go to from our website.

 

Restricting the Collection of your Personal Data

At some point, you might wish to restrict the use and collection of your personal data. You can achieve this by doing the following:

 

  • When you are filling the forms on the website, make sure to check if there is a box which you can leave unchecked, if you don’t want to disclose your personal information.
  • If you have already agreed to share your information with us, feel free to contact us via email and we will be more than happy to change this for you.

 

jariusbondoc.com will not lease, sell or distribute your personal information to any third parties, unless we have your permission. We might do so if the law forces us. Your personal information will be used when we need to send you promotional materials if you agree to this privacy policy.

 

II. COPYRIGHT NOTICE

All materials contained on this site are protected by the Republic of the Phlippines copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of jariusbondoc.com or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

However, you may download material from jariusbondoc.com on the Web (one machine readable copy and one print copy per page) for your personal, noncommercial use only.

If you wish to use jariusbondoc.com content for commercial purposes, such as for content syndication etc., please contact us at jariusbondoconline@gmail.com.

Links to Websites other than those owned by jariusbondoc.com are offered as a service to readers. The editorial staff of jariusbondoc.com was not involved in their production and is not responsible for their content.

 

III. TERMS OF SERVICE

 

  1. GENERAL RULES AND DEFINITIONS

 

1.1 If you choose to use the jariusbondoc.com service (the “Service”), you will be agreeing to abide by all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement between you and jariusbondoc.com (“jariusbondoc.com “).

 

1.2 jariusbondoc.com may change, add or remove portions of this Agreement at any time, but if it does so, it will post such changes on the Service, or send them to you via e-mail. It is your responsibility to review this Agreement prior to each use of the Site and by continuing to use this Site, you agree to any changes.

 

1.3 If any of these rules or any future changes are unacceptable to you, you may cancel your membership by sending e-mail to jariusbondoconline.com (see section 10.1 regarding termination of service). Your continued use of the service now, or following the posting of notice of any changes in these operating rules, will indicate acceptance by you of such rules, changes, or modifications.

 

1.4 jariusbondoc.com may change, suspend or discontinue any aspect of the Service at any time, including the availability of any Service feature, database, or content. jariusbondoc.com may also impose limits on certain features and services or restrict your access to parts or all of the Service without notice or liability.

 

  1. JARIUSBONDOC.COM CONTENT AND MEMBER SUBMISSIONS

 

2.1 The contents of the jariusbondoc.com are intended for your personal, noncommercial use. All materials published on jariusbondoc.com (including, but not limited to news articles, photographs, images, illustrations, audio clips and video clips, also known as the “Content”) are protected by copyright, and owned or controlled by jariusbondoc.com or the party credited as the provider of the Content. You shall abide by all additional copyright notices, information, or restrictions contained in any Content accessed through the Service.

 

2.2 The Service and its Contents are protected by copyright pursuant to the Republic of the Philippines and international copyright laws. You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce (except as provided in Section 2.3 of this Agreement), create new works from, distribute, perform, display, or in any way exploit, any of the Content or the Service (including software) in whole or in part.

 

2.3 You may download or copy the Content and other downloadable items displayed on the Service for personal use only, provided that you maintain all copyright and other notices contained therein. Copying or storing of any Content for other than personal use is expressly prohibited without prior written permission from jariusbondoc.com or the copyright holder identified in the copyright notice contained in the Content.

 

  1. FORUMS, DISCUSSIONS AND USER GENERATED CONTENT

 

3.1 You shall not upload to, or distribute or otherwise publish on the message boards (the “Feedback Section”) any libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive, or otherwise illegal material.

 

3.2 (a)Be courteous. You agree that you will not threaten or verbally abuse jariusbondoc.com columnists and other jariusbondoc.com community Members, use defamatory language, or deliberately disrupt discussions with repetitive messages, meaningless messages or “spam.”

 

3.2 (b) Use respectful language. Like any community, the Feedback Sections will flourish only when our Members feel welcome and safe. You agree not to use language that abuses or discriminates on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual preference, age, region, disability, etc. Hate speech of any kind is grounds for immediate and permanent suspension of access to all or part of the Service.

 

3.2 (c) Debate, but don’t attack. In a community full of opinions and preferences, people always disagree. jariusbondoc.com encourages active discussions and welcomes heated debate in our Feedback Sections. But personal attacks are a direct violation of this Agreement and are grounds for immediate and permanent suspension of access to all or part of the Service.

 

3.3 The Feedback Sections shall be used only in a noncommercial manner. You shall not, without the express approval of jariusbondoc.com, distribute or otherwise publish any material containing any solicitation of funds, advertising or solicitation for goods or services.

 

3.4 You are solely responsible for the content of your messages. However, while jariusbondoc.com does not and cannot review every message posted by you on the Forums and is not responsible for the content of these messages, jariusbondoc.com reserves the right to delete, move, or edit messages that it, in its sole discretion, deems abusive, defamatory, obscene, in violation of copyright or trademark laws, or otherwise unacceptable.

 

3.5 You acknowledge that any submissions you make to the Service (i.e., user-generated content including but not limited to: text, video, audio and photographs) (each, a “Submission”) may be edited, removed, modified, published, transmitted, and displayed by jariusbondoc.com and you waive any moral rights you may have in having the material altered or changed in a manner not agreeable to you. You grant jariusbondoc.com a perpetual, nonexclusive, world-wide, royalty free, sub-licensable license to the Submissions, which includes without limitation the right for jariusbondoc.com or any third party it designates, to use, copy, transmit, excerpt, publish, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, create derivative works of, host, index, cache, tag, encode, modify and adapt (including without limitation the right to adapt to streaming, downloading, broadcast, mobile, digital, thumbnail, scanning or other technologies) in any form or media now known or hereinafter developed, any Submission posted by you on or to jariusbondoc.com or any other website owned by it, including any Submission posted on jariusbondoc.com through a third party.

 

3.6 By submitting an entry to jariusbondoc.com’s Readers’ Corner, you are consenting to its display on the site and for related online and offline promotional uses.

 

  1. ACCESS AND AVAILABILITY OF SERVICE AND LINKS

 

4.1 jariusbondoc.com contains links to other related World Wide Web Internet sites, resources, and sponsors of jariusbondoc.com. Since jariusbondoc.com is not responsible for the availability of these outside resources, or their contents, you should direct any concerns regarding any external link to the site administrator or Webmaster of such site.

 

  1. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

 

5.1 You represent, warrant and covenant (a) that no materials of any kind submitted through your account will (i) violate, plagiarize, or infringe upon the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy or other personal or proprietary rights; or (ii) contain libelous or otherwise unlawful material; and (b) that you are at least thirteen years old. You hereby indemnify, defend and hold harmless jariusbondoc.com, and all officers, directors, owners, agents, information providers, affiliates, licensors and licensees (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) from and against any and all liability and costs, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees, incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising out of any breach by you or any user of your account of this Agreement or the foregoing representations, warranties and covenants. You shall cooperate as fully as reasonably required in the defense of any such claim. jariusbondoc.com reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you.

 

5.2 jariusbondoc.com does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other information displayed, uploaded, or distributed through the Service by any user, information provider or any other person or entity. You acknowledge that any reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement, memorandum, or information shall be at your sole risk. THE SERVICE AND ALL DOWNLOADABLE SOFTWARE ARE DISTRIBUTED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. YOU HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.

 

  1. COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN JARIUSBONDOC.COM AND MEMBERS

 

6.1 If you indicate on your registration form that you want to receive such information, jariusbondoc.com, its owners and assigns, will allow certain third party vendors to provide you with information about products and services.

 

6.2 jariusbondoc.com reserves the right to send electronic mail to you for the purpose of informing you of changes or additions to the Service.

 

6.3 jariusbondoc.com reserves the right to disclose information about your usage and demographics, provided that it will not reveal your personal identity in connection with the disclosure of such information. Advertisers and/or Licensees on our Web site may collect and share information about you only if you indicate your acceptance. For more information please read the Privacy Policy of jariusbondoc.com.

 

6.4 jariusbondoc.com may contact you via e-mail regarding your participation in user surveys, asking for feedback on the Website and existing or prospective products and services. This information will be used to improve our Website and better understand our users, and any information we obtain in such surveys will not be shared with third parties, except in aggregate form.

 

  1. TERMINATION

 

 

7.1 jariusbondoc.com may, in its sole discretion, terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Service for any reason, including, without limitation, breach or assignment of this Agreement.

 

  1. MISCELLANEOUS

 

8.1 This Agreement has been made in and shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the Republic of the Philippines law. Any action to enforce this agreement shall be brought in the courts located in Manila, Philippines.

 

8.2 Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, nothing in this Terms of Service will serve to preempt the promises made in jariusbondoc.com Privacy Policy.

 

8.3 Correspondence should be sent to jariusbondoconline.com.

 

8.4 You agree to report any copyright violations of the Terms of Service to jariusbondoc.com as soon as you become aware of them. In the event you have a claim of copyright infringement with respect to material that is contained in the jariusbondoc.com service, please notify jariusbondoconline.com. This Terms of Service was last updated on November 7, 2020.