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How our Independence was stolen, nurtured, regained

How our Independence was stolen, nurtured, regained

by | Apr 14, 2023 | Gotcha

Wikipedia photo of the official draft copy of the Declaration of Independence

GOTCHA

written on June 10, 2022

 

An American was among the 98 signatories of the Philippine Declaration of Independence, June 12, 1898. The presence  of artillery colonel L.M. Johnson has not been fully explained. The Declaration merely described him as “the only stranger (extranjero) who attended those proceedings.”

Strange events ensued in America. Policymakers and influencers debated what to do with the islands they had just taken from Spain. The imperialists chest-thumped national destiny and interest, but were themselves split on colonizing only Manila as a coaling station or including the whole archipelago. The anti-imperialists also subdivided: some invoked their Bill of Rights to encompass even non-Americans; others abhorred co-citizenship with “barbarians” across the Pacific.

A new book details those early sentiments and the subsequence. In Stories from the Other Side, historian Augusto de Viana presents in split-screen goings-on in America and the Philippines from Independence Day 1898, to the American and Japanese Occupations and the first two Post-War presidencies up to 1953. Following is the foreword I had the honor of writing:

“’News is the first rough draft of history’. That quote by writer-civil libertarian Alan Barth in the 1940s has since taken on many meanings. Journalists file reports on the run, under deadline pressure, day in and day out. Put together into an edition, the newspaper provides a snapshot of the day or week’s noteworthy events, places and people. And when reviewed sometime later, the many editions offer a wealth of first-hand information on a given period.

“That is what historian and prolific book author Augusto V. de Viana, PhD, does with back issues of The San Francisco Call. Digging up the American newspaper’s archives from 1898 to 1953, he recollects a unique period of Philippine history.

“Those 55 years were most turbulent. They span such events as the exoneration of the assassins of General Antonio Luna, the US military buildup to take Manila, the opposition of prominent Americans to imperialism, the atrocities during the Filipino-American War and the Japanese Occupation, and post-Liberation reconstruction and diplomacy. Aside from the Philippine capital, places covered were surrounding and far-flung Philippine provinces, North Borneo (Sabah), Washington DC and The Call’s California home state. Persons featured included Filipino and American political leaders, United States and Japanese army generals, their supporters and critics.

“The San Francisco Call is itself a unique source of historical tidbits. Based in the City by the Bay, it looked at two crucial directions. First, east across the United States mainland towards the policymakers in Washington DC. Then west, across the Pacific towards the Philippine islands targeted for colonization. The point of view naturally is American. For a time the newspaper’s editor was the fierce anti-corruption crusader Fremont Older. Correspondents and commentators of the period of coverage included anti-imperialist Mark Twain. The articles presented the reasons behind and the actions forwarded from the American side. Hence, in compiling them into a book, Professor de Viana aptly entitles it Stories from the Other Side and Other Narratives. For context he provides factual background and scholarly insights to each selected news report.

“This latest book complements Professor de Viana’s other compilations of first-hand historical accounts. Notable are The I-Stories: The Philippine Revolution and the Filipino-American War as Told by its Eyewitnesses and Participants; and Stories Rarely Told: The Hidden Stories and Essays on Philippine History, Volumes 1 and 2. From his personal interviews with the characters came Kulaboretor!: The Issue of Political Collaboration During World War II. Readers of Philippine history, depending on the period, can rely on Filipino, Spanish, Japanese and other sources. On the American Rule, learning from American news accounts help complete the picture. In Stories from the Other Side Professor de Viana facilitates that education.”

(Stories from the Other Side and Other Narratives is available at Solidaridad, New Day, Libreria Filipiniana, and Books Atbp.)

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

‘Cancel, don’t just suspend,’ quarries in protected parks

‘Cancel, don’t just suspend,’ quarries in protected parks

by | Apr 14, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of Masungi Georeserve ranger

GOTCHA

written on June 8, 2022

 

“Don’t just suspend quarries in the Marikina watershed; cancel them as they don’t belong there.” Reforesters in the uplands of Rizal province pleaded to Malacañang as the onset of the rainy season again threatens destructive floods below. Rangers of Masungi GeoPark also sought protection against physical attacks and constant harassment by trespassers.

“Mere suspension means the quarries can resume operations and even be extended,” Engr. Ben Dumaliang wrote President Duterte on June 2. He heads the Masungi Georeserve Foundation that replants and rewilds 2,700 hectares of watershed.

The Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources suspended the other week three rock quarries in Baras town, Rizal. All three are within the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape. Downhill are Antipolo, Marikina, San Mateo, Cainta, Pasig and Quezon cities.

Suspended were Rapid City Realty and Development Corp., Quarry Rock Group Inc. and Quimson Limestone Inc. The interrelated firms hold Mineral Production Sharing Agreements in 1,000 hectares of fragile forests. The lower slopes of the quarries overlap Masungi GeoPark.

In signing the suspension, DENR Acting Sec. Jim Sampulna said there should be no “activity within the MPSA contract area… pending review of [Masungi’s] allegations.” Quarries contravene nature, conservationists decry.

“Cancellation is long overdue because the quarries are located in a geohazard zone prone to floods and landslides,” Dumaliang explained. “Besides, national parks and protected areas are closed to quarrying. Therefore the MPSAs are void from the start.” MGF has restored thousands of endemic trees since authorized in 2017 by then-Sec. Gina Lopez. Birds, butterflies, reptiles and wild boar have returned.

In March 2020, then-Sec. Roy Cimatu ordered the MPSAs revoked “for being anathema to the protected watershed.” Inspecting the site, he and anti-illegal logging officers tore down fences along Marikina-Infanta Highway ascending the Sierra Madres.

National Scientist and former Sec. Angel Alcala lauded Cimatu. In 1993, he forbade quarries and other destructive businesses in the area (Department Administrative Order No. 33). The 1977, Presidential Proclamation No. 1636 declared as a national park, wildlife sanctuary and game preserve the uplands of Rizal, Bulacan, Laguna and Quezon provinces.

PP 1636 and DAO 33 preceded and thus debarred the quarry permits of 1998, Dumaliang said. The 25-year MPSAs are about to expire. Replying to Sampulna’s show-cause order prior to suspension, the quarriers said they “will not give up.”

The quarries have been idle, Dumaliang said. But a dozen private swimming pool resorts sprouted. The two largest fenced off and diverted half a kilometer of riverway into their compounds. Word has reached Malacañang that a retired DENR official and an active police general have erected manors.

Masungi park rangers have been shot at while replanting and fencing off trespassers. Last February, seven of them were mauled and stoned by 30 employees of the resorts; two rangers were hospitalized for serious injuries. On April 26, Press Secretary Martin Andanar conveyed Malacañang’s order to investigate forest trespassing and timber cutting. As then acting presidential spokesman, he zeroed in on the quarries and resort construction: “We urge the DENR Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force to look into the matter and file charges against violators of environment laws.”

Masungi is a showcase of the Duterte administration. “Safeguarding the environment and natural resources is an important component in our sustainable development,” Andanar said.

Sixteen other quarries operate in the mountains of Rodriguez (Montalban), Rizal. The biggest is owned by a former DENR chief.

The 16 quarries in Rodriguez and the three in Baras were blamed for the catastrophic floods from Typhoon Ulysses in November 2020. Lives were lost; homes and shops inundated up to rooftops; vehicles, business equipment, home appliances, furniture and personal records ruined.

Rizal Gov. Rebecca Ynares urged DENR to stop all mining and rock crushing in 4,964 hectares. The quarrying goes on.

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

Electricity consumers suffer from energy officials’ errors

Electricity consumers suffer from energy officials’ errors

by | Apr 14, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of Meralco linemen inspecting residential electricity meters

GOTCHA

 The Department of Energy can’t entice enough power producers. Controlling the tight supply those few producers make electricity retailers automatically pass on to customers their costly rates.

Worse, the Energy Regulatory Commission favors producers while feigning to protect consumers. Caught in the middle are electricity distributors and cooperatives.

The case of San Fernando Electric Light and Power Company illustrates the dilemma. ERC ordered Sfelapco to refund customers a staggering P654.4 million for supposed “excess charges” from January 2014 to December 2020. ERC wants the refund done by this mid-month.

The P654.4-million “excess charges” never went to Sfelapco. It merely collected the amount over seven years for its supplier Aboitiz Power Renewable Inc.

ERC also fined Sfelapco P21.6 million for passing on to customers APRI’s generation cost without the regulator’s consent. Yet it was ERC that foot-dragged all these years on the approval. It finally acted only because, with APRI’s supply deal lapsed, Sfelapco got new supplier GN Power Dinginin, also of Aboitiz.

All that time Sfelapco stuck to the law’s dictum of “least-cost to consumers,” it told ERC. Its monthly charge – generation cost, distribution mark-up, taxes – was the lowest among eight in Pampanga. With new supplier GN Power, generation cost will jump 50 percent through no fault of Sfelapco. It went through the proper Emergency Power Supply Agreement, as ERC wanted. Still, its new total rate would be second-lowest of the eight.

When Sfelapco’s original deal with APRI expired in 2012 it studied other supply rates and concluded that APRI’s was lowest. ERC then had not yet required open bidding, or Competitive Selection Process.

Sfelapco went by the old rule which was to continue with the Power Supply Agreement until formally approved by ERC.

In its ruling, ERC said Sfelapco should have bought from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market. WESM supposedly had lower rates most months of the seven years. That’s mere hindsight.

Sfelapco rightly avoided WESM because “volatile and risky.” ERC knows that WESM consists of the same costly generators. What ERC can’t grasp is that buying from WESM is like betting blind. A distributor who buys from WESM today knows only the previous month’s indicative price and not the actual price he will be charged tomorrow. It can run afoul of the least-cost rule.

*      *      *

DOE is remiss not only in getting enough generators but also in developing new energy sources. Malampaya, DOE’s sole but dwindling natural gas source, shut down for two-week maintenance in February.

Smart of Meralco, Malampaya’s biggest user and Luzon’s biggest distributor, to avoid WESM dependence. Foreseeing huge supply shortfalls, it rushed a Competitive Selection Process. When that failed due to no bidders, it signed emergency deals.

Had Meralco not done so, customers would have been stuck with WESM sky-high rates during summer peak demand.

Meralco had to buy from coal- and bunker-fired generators. Prices of coal and bunker have quintupled due to global shortage triggered by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But Meralco had no choice. The peso also has depreciated against the dollar, the currency of world fuel trade.

Meralco’s replacement electricity supply rose 55 centavos per kilowatt-hour in March. That brought its overall power rate for households to P11, although it kept steady its old distribution charge.

The increase would’ve been higher had Meralco not haggled with power suppliers to defer parts of the increase. Also to stagger collection in May and June. Customers would’ve howled even if generation rates merely pass through its billings and do not go to its coffers.

When Malampaya closed, bulk of Meralco’s supply still came from Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo gas plants which quickly shifted to other fuels. But San Gabriel and Quezon Power also stopped for preventive maintenance simultaneous with Malampaya.

Meralco momentarily had to buy from WESM – until it got emergency suppliers onboard. One of two is San Miguel Corp.’s South Premiere Power Corp. Only one year, rate fixed at P1.75/kWh for capital, but variable for fuel cost that changed monthly.

To recall, SPPC and another San Miguel generator used to be Meralco’s second and third lowest of nine long-term suppliers. Both running on coal, they supplied electricity at only less than one-third the present rate. Then came the Ukraine War and world coal prices went haywire.

To stanch San Miguel’s multi-billion-peso bleeding from skyrocketing coal rates, it and Meralco begged ERC for six-month relief via temporary 26-centavo increase. That would’ve been least-cost to consumers, ERC’s technical staff computed.

But as if wanting San Miguel to keel over, three of five ERC commissioners rejected the plea. As expected, San Miguel got court consent to end the long-term contract. Meralco lost two cheap suppliers.

Now under the mess that ERC created, Meralco must rack its brains to continue its least-cost duty.

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

Lotto, pork barrels, elections: numbers that mesmerize

Lotto, pork barrels, elections: numbers that mesmerize

by | Apr 14, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of VCM and winning lotto numbers

GOTCHA

written on October 7, 2022

 

Lotto queues grew longer after Saturday’s P236 million-jackpot. Bettors are tantalized that 433 winners got more than P500,000 each, and 331 second-placers P100,000 each. The six of 55 winning numbers were unusual: 9-18-27-36-45-54, all factors of 9. They daydream of quick, life-changing fortune from a P20 bet.

The chances of winning the 6/55 lotto is one in 29 million, says U.P. Math professor Guido David, PhD. The chances of 433 getting it is 1 followed by 1,224 zeros. Incredulous, Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel, Bar exam top-notcher and college Math honoree, wants an inquiry. So does House counterpart Mars Libanan, to preserve the integrity and credibility of the state lottery.

But do Filipinos care? Are they numerate at all? More than a decade of international exams in Math, Science and Reading Comprehension show Filipino grade-schoolers at the bottom of 79 countries. Learning has deteriorated since the 1950s, the World Bank and Filipino educators note.

Charity Sweepstakes chief Mel Robles dismisses talk of statistical improbability of 433 winners. They supposedly favored “lucky 9”. If so, then why didn’t 331 runners-up complete the multiples of 9?

Most Filipinos nurse numbers corresponding to their and loved ones’ birth dates. That’s why most combinations they bet on, whether in 6/42, 6/45, 6/49, 6/55 or 6/58, do not exceed 31, the days in a month. It has been so since the Spanish times. In “jueteng”, two numbers were bet on from 1 to 31 – until operators in the 1980s upped it to a more profitable 37. Bets are still 1-31 in “EZ2”, the legalized “jueteng”.

People think numbers in terms of cash on hand. For those living hand-to-mouth, that cash is in the low three digits. For middle-income earners, it’s five to six digits a month. Few Filipinos comprehend millions, billions, trillions. Those may mean the stars in the universe or sand in a bucket, never money in the pocket.

Can that be the reason why Filipinos don’t care about multibillion-peso intelligence and confidential funds for Malacañang, the Vice President and even the Secretary of Education? Is that why the House of Reps can forestall scrutiny of the 2023 national budget for more multibillion-peso hidden pork barrels?

That budget is P5.268 trillion. Separate is P588 billion in unprogrammed lump sums – pork, as outlawed by the Supreme Court. Too many zeros for the innumerate to grasp.

Last week, on President Bongbong Marcos’ certification of urgency, congressmen rushed budget passage: 289 “yes”, three “no”. All then went on five-week break, Oct. 1-Nov.6, to observe All Saints/All Souls Day. Photographed junketing in Singapore over the weekend with the First Couple were four congressmen: Marcos Jr.’s first cousin and wife, son, and female colleague.

Coincidental news reports were of billions of pesos in typhoon damage to agriculture, homes and shops, and tens of thousand evacuees to schoolhouses. Again too many digits to fathom.

“They’ve been fudging the big numbers,” asserts former information-communication technology secretary Eliseo Rio. He has been questioning the ballot count of last election night, May 9. The results from Comelec’s transparency server were statistically, physically and administratively improbable. More than 20 million votes surged for the top five presidential candidates at 8:02 p.m. An hour later came only 13.2 million, then tapered off every hour till 63 million.

As chairman of the Comelec Advisory Council in Election 2019, Rio has reason to doubt. He conducted time-and-motion studies of the electronic vote process. As in 2022, balloting ended at 7 p.m. But voters within 30 meters were let into the precinct to vote. Detailed procedures followed.

After formal closing, viewed by political party and poll watchers, the three members of the Board of Election Inspectors keyed their digital signatures into the vote-counting machines. A button was pressed to disallow any more ballots. After VCM response, more buttons commenced tallying. This took at least ten minutes. If errors were committed, the steps were repeated.

Eight copies of the election returns (ERs) for national results were printed. Tallies were for dozens of candidates for president, VP, senator, party list. Printing of one ER took three to four minutes, or 24 to 32 for the eight. Eight more copies of ERs for hundreds more local candidates followed. Another 24-32 minutes.

Only then were ERs transmitted to the transparency server; in 2022 at a university in Manila. Since election automation in 2010, the result graphs have always been bell curves. “Not this 2022,” Rio remarks. “The count peaked an hour after closing.” About a third of the 106,439 clustered precincts finished formalities and printing in less than an hour, posted 20 million votes for president, then subsided.

Rio questions other stats. How can the presidential winner get 31 million, when the previous got only 16.6 million? Why were there half a million more votes for VP than for president? Why were there more votes for president and VP than for the senatorial top-notch, when all elections since 1947 had the top three or four always exceeding them?

There is only one way to quell suspicion, Rio reiterated in a recent forum. Comelec must show proof, with transmission time stamps, that ERs did pour in bulk at 8:02 p.m. With former Finance Executives Institute president Franklin Ysaac and former Election Commissioner Gus Lagman, he requested the Comelec in July to publicize the records.

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

How graft raps end up in PH

How graft raps end up in PH

by | Apr 13, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of Supreme Court

GOTCHA

written on June 3, 2022

 

The Supreme Court recently upheld the dismissal of a two-star general for his role in the 2009 police chopper scam. Herold Ubalde was a one-star general when fired by the Ombudsman in 2012. Reason: serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the service.

Ubalde was head of Legal Services when the PNP purchased three helicopters for P105 million. Specifications were for fully-equipped brand-new police models. Two turned out to be repainted civilian units used for five years by then-first gentleman Mike Arroyo. The deal was first exposed in this column.

The SC ruling on Ubalde was dated March 28, 2022 but publicized only on May 20. He was among 14 officers administratively sanctioned by the Ombudsman in 2012. Also dismissed with forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetually barred from public office were corporals, sergeants, majors, colonels and generals: Leocadio Santiago Jr., George Piano, Job Nolan Antonio, Edgar Paatan, Mansue Lukban, Claudio Gaspar Jr., Luis Saligumba, Ermilando Villafuerte, Roman Loreto, Ma. Josefina Reco, Ma. Linda Padojinog, Avensuel Dy and Ruben Gongona.

The SC affirmed their punishments in 2018 but exonerated Padojinog this week. With 19 other civilians and police brass, they are still being tried at the Sandiganbayan for criminal charges of graft.

Mike Arroyo recently was removed from the roster of those criminally accused. The SC ordered the Sandiganbayan to “drop Arroyo from the information… in the criminal case… at any stage of the proceedings.” The Ombudsman prosecutor failed to establish probable cause, the SC ruled: “The element of conspiracy with a public officer was not established.”

Arroyo had claimed in defense that he was a stranger to the PNP’s helicopter seller. The choppers were transacted by his family-owned LTA Inc. in 2003, when his brother Ignacio Arroyo was president. He alleged to have divested from the firm before then. Ignacio died in January 2012, four months before the criminal raps were filed.

The SC clearance of Arroyo was dated Dec. 1, 2021 but released only last Holy Week, April 10. Trial goes on of the co-accused.

There must be a lesson there for Li’l Injuns tempted to sin.

*      *      *

The SC recently affirmed the imprisonment of NBN-ZTE whistleblower Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada for graft. He will be behind bars for six to ten years. “But I have no regret for telling the truth,” he declared.

Lozada was among the main witnesses against the overpriced national broadband network deal with China’s ZTE Corp. First exposed in this column in March 2007, the equipment and services were for $130 million but padded with $200-million (P10-billion) kickback. In the ensuing Senate inquiry, whistleblowers implicated then-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, first gentleman Mike Arroyo and then-Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos.

Five months later, Lozada surfaced to solidify the testimonies. Rejecting bribes of cash and emigration, then escaping abduction to silence him, he detailed how economic secretary Romulo Neri was arm-twisted to grant ZTE the deal. He was then president of state-owned Philippine Forest Corp.

The Ombudsman indicted the Arroyos and Abalos before the Sandiganbayan in 2012. Also that year Lozada and his brother were accused of graft in a PFC woodland lease. Main witness against Lozada was his former program manager, whom Malacañang appointed to replace him.

The Sandiganbayan convicted the Lozadas in 2016. That same year, the anti-graft court absolved the Arroyos and Abalos.

The Lozadas appealed the sentencing all the way to the SC. In July 2021 the SC upheld the jail term, but publicized it only last March.

“My enemies threatened to make me regret telling the truth,” Lozada told me then. “Yes, they succeeded in sending me to prison, but they failed to buy my soul.”

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

A new international airport 20 minutes from Luneta

A new international airport 20 minutes from Luneta

by | Apr 13, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of Manila International Airport

GOTCHA

written on June 1, 2022

 

The departing administration now wants to sell the old Manila International Airport. The prime property can repay a big chunk of the P7.5-trillion public debt it racked up in six years. That sale should have commenced years ago. MIA is hopelessly congested. Middle class subdivisions cannot be relocated, thus its shelved P100-billion expansion and T-shaped runway extension.

Yet the admin dawdled. Nearly a billion pesos was spent to facelift one terminal, the same amount to replace baggage conveyor in another and still the same amount to move light cargo planes to Sangley Point 28 kms away. The aged aerodrome only earned bad aviation and travel reviews, recently as the world’s worst for business-class passengers. Rains flood up the Sangley runway.

All that time, San Miguel Corp. was proposing to use its own P740 billion to build a New MIA on its land in Bulacan. Although franchised by Congress for 50 years to build and operate the NMIA, interminable bureaucratic requirements kept delaying groundbreaking. Will the incoming admin see things clearer?

Newsbits on SMC’s project whet investor and tourist interest. The 2,500-hectare site will have four parallel runways, plus space for two more. Briefing columnists Monday, SMC president-CEO Ramon S. Ang arithmetized what the first two runways alone can accommodate. “Let’s be conservative, with only 250 passengers per flight:” 250 x 50 take-offs and landings per hour x 2 runways x 24 hours a day x 365 days a year = 219,000,000 passengers a year. Four-and-a-half times the old MIA’s maximum of 47 million. A big boost to tourism, travel and trade. Frequent fliers Ang and his team prioritize safety, security, on-time reliability, comfort and convenience.

How far from Manila? “Twenty minutes from Kilometer 0, Rizal Monument, on a 16-km elevated coastal highway,” Ang beamed. Highways will connect NMIA to Luzon’s many tollways; SMC’s Metro Rail Transit-7 will loop through it.

Last week, the Dutch government approved an export credit insurance of 1.5 billion euros (P84 billion) for land development by Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. Before that, Atradius Dutch State Business and four international consultancies reviewed onsite for a year NMIA’s long-term environmental and social impact mitigation measures. The 90-year-old agency’s insurance covers compensation for adverse effects. “This shows that our environmental and social mitigation plans are not only sound but robust, given they can pass international standards and the exacting requirements of the Dutch government,” Ang said.

The departing administration now wants to sell the old Manila International Airport. The prime property can repay a big chunk of the P7.5-trillion public debt it racked up in six years. That sale should have commenced years ago. MIA is hopelessly congested. Middle class subdivisions cannot be relocated, thus its shelved P100-billion expansion and T-shaped runway extension.

Yet the admin dawdled. Nearly a billion pesos was spent to facelift one terminal, the same amount to replace baggage conveyor in another and still the same amount to move light cargo planes to Sangley Point 28 kms away. The aged aerodrome only earned bad aviation and travel reviews, recently as the world’s worst for business-class passengers. Rains flood up the Sangley runway.

All that time, San Miguel Corp. was proposing to use its own P740 billion to build a New MIA on its land in Bulacan. Although franchised by Congress for 50 years to build and operate the NMIA, interminable bureaucratic requirements kept delaying groundbreaking. Will the incoming admin see things clearer?

Newsbits on SMC’s project whet investor and tourist interest. The 2,500-hectare site will have four parallel runways, plus space for two more. Briefing columnists Monday, SMC president-CEO Ramon S. Ang arithmetized what the first two runways alone can accommodate. “Let’s be conservative, with only 250 passengers per flight:” 250 x 50 take-offs and landings per hour x 2 runways x 24 hours a day x 365 days a year = 219,000,000 passengers a year. Four-and-a-half times the old MIA’s maximum of 47 million. A big boost to tourism, travel and trade. Frequent fliers Ang and his team prioritize safety, security, on-time reliability, comfort and convenience.

How far from Manila? “Twenty minutes from Kilometer 0, Rizal Monument, on a 16-km elevated coastal highway,” Ang beamed. Highways will connect NMIA to Luzon’s many tollways; SMC’s Metro Rail Transit-7 will loop through it.

Last week, the Dutch government approved an export credit insurance of 1.5 billion euros (P84 billion) for land development by Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. Before that, Atradius Dutch State Business and four international consultancies reviewed onsite for a year NMIA’s long-term environmental and social impact mitigation measures. The 90-year-old agency’s insurance covers compensation for adverse effects. “This shows that our environmental and social mitigation plans are not only sound but robust, given they can pass international standards and the exacting requirements of the Dutch government,” Ang said.

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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The data we collect by using cookies is used to customize our website to your needs. After we use the data for statistical analysis, the data is completely removed from our systems.

Please note that cookies don’t allow us to gain control of your computer in any way. They are strictly used to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not so that we can provide a better experience for you.

If you want to disable cookies, you can do it by accessing the settings of your internet browser.

 

Links to Other Websites

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.