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Now it’s sugar imports: killing domestic producers one by one

Now it’s sugar imports: killing domestic producers one by one

by | Apr 12, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of sugar import

GOTCHA

written on February 18, 2022

 

 

They did it to rice. First, Malacañang endorsed a law to let anyone import rice as long as 50 percent duty is paid. Revenues were to fund irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides, harvesters and driers. Yet it cut that tariff to only 35 percent. Cheap imports flooded in. Farmers groaned from double whammy. They not only got less subsidies, but the import oversupply also depressed their farmgate prices. Benefited most by the tariff cut were two grains smugglers in the Visayas and Mindanao.

They did it to poultry. Chicken sales have been down since 2020 as pandemic closed restaurants, school, factory and office canteens and market stalls. Despite the resulting overproduction, the Department of Agriculture kept importing chicken. Smuggled cuts also poured in from China. Dozens of multimillion-peso poultry farms closed shop from the unfair competition. Thousands of workers were laid off.

They did it to corn. When domestic poultry growers scaled down, demand for corn feed dropped. Losing incomes, corn growers appealed for lower farm inputs. Instead the DA authorized cheap corn importation. It was supposedly to offset increased prices of soybean from the US, a major ingredient in feed milling, delayed by port congestion.

They did it to pork. African Swine Fever began ravaging Luzon backyard and commercial piggeries in 2019. To stem the epidemic, hog raisers begged authorities to buy and bury the infected stocks. The DA allocated only P5,000 per diseased animal instead of the break-even P10,000. Discouraged, backyard raisers continued slaughtering and selling contaminated meat in markets, further spreading the ASF. DA’s transporting of live clean hogs to Luzon from the Visayas and Mindanao was spotty. When Luzon retail prices zoomed, the government swung like a pendulum to massive importation.

Hog raisers suggested to bring in 240,000 tons, the projected domestic shortfall, at the usual 30-percent tariff. The tax could finally push to P10,000 the DA’s buying price per diseased stock. Malacañang approved 840,000 tons at only five- to ten-percent tariff. Collections fell short to quell the ASF yet pork imports flooded even ASF-free Visayas and Mindanao. Inserted among the cheap imports were smuggled pork cuts from ASF-infested China. Deprived of government support, domestic hog raisers are contemplating shifting to non-food businesses.

 

They did it to vegetables and fruits. For two years now, smuggled farm produce from China have been flooding public markets. Contraband is hidden behind authorized imports. Planters in Cordillera, Central and Southern Luzon keep alerting Customs of the modus operandi – to no avail. Even red onion came in, forbidden to protect domestic producers, and easily detectable via Customs X-ray.

Customs officials blame DA counterparts for absence during examination of refrigerated cargo containers. The latter accuse the former of not providing a holding area for first-border inspection at seaports. Both sides withhold from the public the identities of warehouse owners and cargo consignees of raided and confiscated stocks. Without DA help in market information and transport, vegetable and fruit planters have had to throw away harvest by the roadside.

They did it to fish. On pretext of catch shortfall during the annual fishing ban last quarter, meat importers lobbied to bring in 120,000 tons of seafood. Commercial and artisanal fishermen and aquaculturists protested. Only commercial fleets were covered by the ban. Small fishermen would still catch their usual. Bangus and tilapia pens and ponds were brimming with stocks harvestable within the next seven months. The three sectors forecast only 15,000 tons shortage in case of natural calamity. The National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council in which they, academics and NGOs are represented to advise the DA, suggested a maximum of 30,000 tons.

The DA approved 60,000. Of that, only 37,000 were imported and 12,000 released from cold storage – the market’s absorptive capacity.

Last month the importers again lobbied for another 120,000 tons. Pretext this time was supposed fisheries destruction by Super Typhoon Odette. NFARMC said no: there was still 25,000 tons in refrigerated warehouses and 23,000 tons unfilled imports from the previous quarter. Still the DA allowed 60,000 tons of galunggong (round scad), mackerel, sardines, and bonito and tulingan varieties of tuna from China. The fish likely were stolen by Chinese maritime militia from Philippine seas.

Now they’re doing it to sugar. Supposedly due to tight supply of standard and bottlers’ grade refined sugar, the DA is importing 200,000 tons. Sugar planters are howling, as it’s the middle of the harvest and milling season. Their associations in Western Visayas, Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog have long been asking the DA for help to lower fertilizer costs. The DA’s default response was to import the finished product.

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

Make China liable for ruinous pandemic

Make China liable for ruinous pandemic

by | Apr 12, 2023 | Gotcha

Stock image 

GOTCHA

written on February 16, 2022

 

 

Four facts make China liable for SARS-CoV-2:

• When the disease was detected near a wild animal market and a virology center in Wuhan in November 2019, officials did not act immediately.

• They even squelched the news and arrested ophthalmologist Li Wenliang for alerting fellow doctors of possible epidemic.

• After confirming the outbreak in late December they let five million Wuhanese travel the country and abroad, spreading the coronavirus.

• They ignored global calls since 2003 to close down the $79 billion-a-year wild animal trade despite their own findings that SARS-CoV-1 sprung from it.

Individuals, families and organizations can demand recompense from China. Tens of millions lost loved ones to the pandemic. Infection survivors suffered permanent physical damage. Jobs and businesses vanished. Hunger worsened.

Governments must espouse their cause for damages. In international law, only states have the standing to make claims, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino told Sapol-dwIZ on Saturday. The dean of San Beda University’s Graduate School of Law, like countless experts worldwide, has been studying the issue. With the pandemic subsiding, aggrieved states can get together and talk to China.

Legal bases for China’s fault are strong. Primary is the United Nations Covenant on Social, Economic, Political and Cultural Rights, of which Beijing is a signatory. Article 12.2 compels state-parties to “control and treat epidemic diseases.”

Chinese Communist Party rulers committed more misdeeds. President Xi Jinping disinformed the world that (1) a European brought the virus to Wuhan, (2) Wuhan was not the first epicenter after all and (3) it was a creation of the US Army. He stamped out an online denouncement by 14 million Chinese of World Health Organization Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus’ glossing over the CCP’s tepid pandemic response.

“Uncle Xi” then propagandized to Chinese that they were to save the world. Yet he tied emergency medical supply donations to geopolitics. Face masks and ventilators were airlifted to the Czech Republic only after it sacked its long-serving cybersecurity chief who had first warned the world in 2018 about Huawei and ZTE’s spyware. Same with aid to African and Middle Eastern states, given after wangling concessions for seaports, naval bases and reef reclamations.

Xi embargoed trade with Australia where the parliament sought an international investigation of the pandemic’s source. For one year he barred WHO scientists from Wuhan then, after relenting, restricted their movements and interviews.

 

The CCP took advantage of the Philippines where the first reported infectee was a Wuhanese tourist. With Filipino fishing and patrols scarce due to Luzon-wide lockdown in 2020, Beijing intensified naval and coastguard trespass of the West Philippine Sea where it declared two new incursive “scientific research districts.” In the first half of 2021, 240 Chinese fisheries militia trawlers blockaded Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef in Pagkakaisa (Union) Bank. Reinforced by a hundred more, they then poached at Kalayaan Islands and Recto Bank. 

 

The People’s Liberation Army also attempted footholds in Fuga Island, Cagayan; Subic Bay, Zambales and Sangley Point, Cavite, the Philippine Fleet’s main port. Media exposés and quiet Philippine military resistance prevented it.

Elsewhere in ASEAN, the PLA repeatedly violated air and maritime zones of Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. More dams in China’s side of the Mekong diverted river flow from Indochina, wrecking grain harvests and inland fisheries of Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.

Supposed Chinese pandemic assistance came at a huge cost to Manila. A year since Malacañang first purchased mostly Sinovac inoculants, it has yet to disclose the price. Sworn to non-disclosure, health bureaucrats only estimated P3,640 per double dose. The same Chinese vaccine was openly sold at only P250 per vial to Thailand and P815 to Indonesia.

Revealed in the Senate were pricey pandemic procurements from Chinese suppliers, to the exclusion of Filipino manufacturers. Among those that cornered P42 billion is a Chinese state machinery fabricator that suddenly shifted to medical paraphernalia. The rest, led by Pharmally, were fly-by-nights of suspected Chinese state agent Michael Yang, also special presidential economic adviser. Most were not registered to operate in the Philippines and paid no income taxes. Quietly, 90-percent shares of oil giants Chevron and Shell in Malampaya gas field were transferred to a newborn Filipino firm tied to China National Offshore Oil Co.

Fr. Aquino said countries must bind together under the UN or regional groupings to negotiate damage payments from China. ASEAN can bargain without need to make China admit fault. Reparations can be in machinery or cash like from Japan after World War II.

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

Chevron charged in US too over Malampaya sale

Chevron charged in US too over Malampaya sale

by | Apr 12, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photos of Malampaya Gas Field

GOTCHA

written on February 11, 2022

 

 

A complaint against Chevron was to be filed Thursday in the United States over its sale of interests in the Philippines’ Malampaya gas field. Filipino-American complainants allege that the oil giant, through Philippine subsidiaries, committed “multiple misrepresentations and concealments to shareholders.”

In the “groundbreaking” case, eight Fil-Am leaders referred to the transfer of interest by Chevron Philippines and Chevron Malampaya to Udenna Corp. Two of the eight, lawyers Loida Nicolas Lewis and Rodel Rodis, earlier charged directors of the subsidiaries with graft before the Ombudsman. Also impleaded in October 2021 were Udenna CEO Dennis Uy, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and officials of the Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corp. The Philippines lost P21 billion to P42 billion in that sale, Lewis and Rodis stated.

The new complaint alleges violation of the US Securities and Exchange Act, Section 10(b) (5). The rule, promulgated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, targets securities fraud. It prohibits acts or omissions that result in fraud or deceit in connection with the purchase or sale of any security.

The aggrieved shareholders included the complainants. Aside from Lewis and Rodis, they are Arthur Medel, Rocio Nuyda, Celia Lamkin, Eric Lachica, Ago Pedalizo and Art Garcia. They lead Fil-Ams in New York, Washington DC, California and Marianas.

Rule 10(b)(5) states: “Employment of Manipulative and Deceptive Practices – It shall be unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, by the use of any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce, or of the mails or of any facility of any national securities exchange, (a) To employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud, (b) To make any untrue statement of a material fact or to omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or (c) To engage in any act, practice, or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person, in connection with the purchase or sale of any security.”

 

The complaint names Chevron, subsidiaries Chevron Philippines and Chevron Malampaya, PNOC-EC, Udenna and subsidiary UC Malampaya as respondents. They supposedly “facilitat[ed] and allow[ed] the transfer of Chevron Malampaya’s interest in a service contract in violation of an applicable Joint Operating Agreement.”

Last Friday, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian turned over to the Ombudsman his energy committee’s findings of “graft, gross neglect of duty and grave misconduct.” Urging Cusi to resign, a Senate resolution endorsed criminal and administrative charges.

Gatchalian accused Cusi of “railroading the approval of the sale of participating interest of Chevron in Malampaya gas field.” He said energy and PNOC-EC officials reneged on their duty to approve beforehand any sale by Chevron of 45-percent interest in Malampaya. PNOC-EC with ten-percent interest had the option to match Chevron’s $565-million sale to Udenna. The $565 million was paid over one year mostly with borrowed money and partly with Chevron’s own earnings from Malampaya in that period, the earlier graft case stated.

Denying any wrongdoing, Cusi refused to resign. President Rodrigo Duterte stated that the deal was aboveboard. Uy, reportedly Duterte’s biggest presidential campaign contributor in 2016, said the sale was a “purely private transaction” between Chevron and Udenna subsidiaries.

More than a dozen protesting business and law associations invoked “national interest.” Udenna supposedly had no experience and knowhow in petroleum exploration and production. As well, that state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation will join the Malampaya operation.

Near Malampaya, within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, is Sampaguita gas field, Recto Bank, said to contain three times more petroleum. Malampaya supplies more than 30 percent of Luzon’s electricity. Operational failures can cause prolonged power blackouts – and shut down factories, water and telecom facilities, hospitals, malls, shops, offices and schools. Not to mention no electricity in homes.

“The assets in Malampaya belong to the Filipino people; we hope our leaders will do their best to protect it for future generations,” Rodis declared before filing the US case.

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

Opposition can beat Bongbong if 1-on-1

Opposition can beat Bongbong if 1-on-1

by | Apr 12, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photos of Leni Robredo, Manny Pacquiao, Isko Moreno, Ping Lacson and Bongbong Marcos (left to right)
Facebook page photo of Leody de Guzman 

GOTCHA

written on February 9, 2022

 

 

Five “non-administration” presidential aspirants musn’t race each other to be No. 2. Only first place matters. Leni Robredo, Manny Pacquiao, Isko Moreno, Ping Lacson and Leody de Guzman know that.

Their internal and all independent surveys show Bongbong Marcos leading, 47-53 percent, largely from social media propaganda. The five’s combined rating is less than or equals BBM’s. Only six percent is undecided, and 12 percent at most convincible like in the past to switch sides as command votes.

Three months to Election Day, none of the five can chip at BBM’s margin. Pinning hopes on invalidating BBM’s candidacy, though legally solid, is iffy.

Four of the five must slide out, and put up the strongest against BBM – one-on-one. The only chance to fulfill their campaign promises is to coalesce with the others.

Common platforms can be basis of unity. All five abhor corruption. They hail government’s recovery from BBM’s family of P174 billion in plundered wealth and litigation of P125 billion more. They denounce the administration’s P42-billion procurement of pricey pandemic supplies from Pharmally and other Chinese fly-by-nights of presidential adviser Michael Yang. Shielding those deals from Senate investigation is President Rodrigo Duterte, appointer of the procurers and father of BBM’s running mate Sara Duterte-Carpio. Parties led by plunder convicts and indictees support the BBM-Sara ticket. Sara’s rating: 45 percent.

The five espouse honest leadership by example. All pledge to disclose annual Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, as required by law. BBM refuses, echoing Duterte that divulging his SALNs will only open him to political attack.

The five want legislation against political dynasties. A drive against drug traffickers but heals victims. Protection of Filipino fishermen against harassment by Chinese coast guards and armed militia in Philippine seas. BBM has dynasties in Luzon and the Visayas; Sara in Mindanao. Both praise Duterte’s drug war that has killed 7,000 street pushers and users. Belittling Filipino patrols, BBM ignores China’s sea aggression.

The five need to pull together blocs from Left and Right. Robredo already has the national and social democrats; their ideology and economic goals jibe with those of socialists de Guzman and VP running mate Walden Bello. Robredo and Moreno have youth following; Robredo again, and Lacson inspire the middle class. The poor boy roots of Moreno and Pacquiao give hope to the downtrodden. Pacquiao by faith attracts religious charismatics, while Lacson, by training, police-military families.

Church hierarchs can help cohese the five. They wouldn’t want another president aligned with one who curses God and the Creation, treats lightly rape and mass killings and maligns women and critics. NGOs note that the five’s concern for health, education, housing, labor and agriculture complement. Large campaign contributors can shut off the faucet until the five join forces. They’re smart and will bet only on a winner, not five sure losers.

Disunity spells defeat, electoral history teaches, like Imelda Marcos and Danding Cojuangco in 1992, Fernando Poe Jr. and Lacson in 2004, Mar Roxas and Grace Poe in 2016. Other lands promote coalescing: in France, 79 percent forecast Emmanuel Macron’s second term by only a slim margin. So he’s striving to charm as many small parties as he can.

 

Duterte has cussed Robredo as “dumb,” Pacquiao as “punch drunk,” Moreno as “callboy” and Lacson as “crooked.” It would be foolish to believe he would now endorse one of them. Notwithstanding Duterte’s popularity and his ruling party’s campaign war chest, such endorsement could backfire. The endorsee will be branded as “Katas ng Pharmally at Malampaya.”

Duterte’s playbook is apparent: something about getting the “cocaine addict” disqualified post-election, then elevating the elected VP to president. That only means the five non-administration “presidentiables” should also pick the most winnable among their running mates.

Hapless bus riders between Metro Manila and north Luzon have found a champion in former senator Nikki Coseteng. A regular commuter to Baguio, she finds cruel the forced alighting at a common bus terminal in Bocaue, Bulacan, 30 kilometers from the capital. Finding a city bus to Bocaue is hell, let alone getting off at the highway for a tricycle ride to the terminal. Manila-bound riders must get off there too, taking two or more rides to final destinations. Laborious even without luggage, merchandise or children in tow.

Coseteng told Sapol-dwIZ Saturday of fellow-passengers’ travails. A single mom in La Union buys and sells apparel from Divisoria. She used to alight at the bus line’s private depot in Caloocan, then hop on a jitney to market. Transport authorities now forbid provincial buses from proceeding to the city where they “clog up EDSA;” yet that line doesn’t even traverse EDSA. A broom-maker grandpa in Cagayan totes his wares to Cubao and must now change buses at Bocaue. Vacationers and fatigued workers must endure a “hare-brained policy,” Coseteng said.

The hassle discourages commuting. “Trade and tourism officials say, ‘Let’s reopen and move the economy’,” Coseteng noted. “How do you move the economy if you can’t move people?”

Blaming provincial buses for EDSA traffic is unfair, Coseteng added: “Twelve thousand city and provincial buses ply EDSA versus 250,000 private cars. It’s obvious who’s causing the jams. How many more people can fit into a bus’ 30-square-meter capacity, if authorities provide vehicle owners efficient public transport? I can drive my car to Baguio, but I took buses to relax and sleep. Not anymore.”

The option is to take “colorum” private vans. Those un-franchised transports have no ticket, accident insurance, safe distancing and backup in case of breakdown. Fare is three to ten times more than on regulated buses.

Bus operators are losing money to the illegal vans. They get fined up to P1 million for going out of route but colorums go scot-free. They can’t complain, however, lest they anger regulators, Coseteng said. Operators just hope their and the commuters’ plight will change when the administration steps down in end-June.

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

Document can prove Yang ‘profited’ from Pharmally

Document can prove Yang ‘profited’ from Pharmally

by | Apr 12, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of Michael Yang

GOTCHA

written on February 4, 2022

 

 

Presidential adviser Michael Yang likely profited from Pharmally Pharmaceutical’s multibillion-peso government deals and was not a mere guarantor. Senator Richard Gordon deduced this from a document that shows Yang’s nominee Lin Weixiong to have access to Pharmally’s bank deposits.

The document, a corporate secretary’s certificate to Pharmally’s bank, authorizes Lin to withdraw from and monitor the firm’s account.

“This allowed Lin to take out money for the person who placed him in Pharmally – Michael Yang,” Gordon told The STAR, showing a copy of the paper.

The certificate identifies Lin, a Taiwanese, as Pharmally’s “financial manager.” That further belies the testimony of Lin’s Filipino wife, Rose Nono Lin, disavowing any association with the company. On the other hand, it brings Gordon’s Blue Ribbon committee closer to proving Yang’s direct monetary interest.

Only six months old and undercapitalized at P625,000, Pharmally began selling pandemic supplies to the government in March 2020. Its first deal with Procurement Service-Dept. of Budget and Management was for P54 million in face masks. Thereafter it sold PS-DBM up to P12 billion in face shields, COVID-19 test kits, thermometers, goggles and personal protective equipment. Filipino manufacturers were eased out of the “emergency procurements”.

The BRC faulted then PS-DBM chief Lloyd Christopher Lao and deputy Warren Rex Liong for alleged overpriced deals. President Rodrigo Duterte has admitted appointing his college fraternity-mates and Davao City lawyers to the agency. After a few appearances at the BRC hearings, Lao went into hiding. Liong is now Overall Deputy Ombudsman.

Yang, a Chinese national residing in Davao, was also Duterte’s special economic adviser in 2016-2019. As such, Yang introduced to the President Taiwanese fugitive Huang Tzu Yen and Lin as potential investors through Pharmally Biological Corp.

Lin’s wife Rose, a candidate for congresswoman in Quezon City, claimed at the BRC hearing that they and Yang were involved only in Pharmally Biological, never in Pharmally Pharmaceutical. But Gordon confronted her with a document from the Bureau of Internal Revenue stating that Lin was financial manager of Pharmally Pharmaceutical. Huang, Pharmally Pharmaceutical chairman, and Mojit Dargani, corporate secretary-board treasurer-executive director, affirmed the BIR record. Rose claimed that Lin, who snubbed all the hearings, is on prolonged business travel in Dubai.

 

Lin’s wife Rose, a candidate for congresswoman in Quezon City, claimed at the BRC hearing that they and Yang were involved only in Pharmally Biological, never in Pharmally Pharmaceutical. But Gordon confronted her with a document from the Bureau of Internal Revenue stating that Lin was financial manager of Pharmally Pharmaceutical. Huang, Pharmally Pharmaceutical chairman, and Mojit Dargani, corporate secretary-board treasurer-executive director, affirmed the BIR record. Rose claimed that Lin, who snubbed all the hearings, is on prolonged business travel in Dubai.

Signed by Lin and Dargani, Gordon’s newest document is addressed to Pharmally’s bank. It empowers them to:

• “deposit any of its funds… and said bank is hereby authorized to pay, encash and honor any and all checks, bills of exchange, orders or other instruments for the payment of money or withdrawal of funds;”

• “apply, negotiate for and obtain credit facilities” and

• “access the account through electronic banking.”

“Colorum” (un-franchised) vehicles have taken over bus routes to and from north-central Luzon and Metro Manila. Those private vans and cars load beyond safe, comfy limits. Passengers are charged three times the regulated bus fares, yet have no receipt, accident insurance or alternative rides in case of breakdown. Pandemic health protocols are unenforced.

The illegal “public transport” thrives from poor government planning. Provincial bus lines have been barred from using their private terminals in the national capital since February 2021. Officials make them start and end at a common terminal in Bocaue, Bulacan. Instead of from the usual Cubao, Quezon City, passengers must first ride a city bus 30 kilometers, alight at the expressway and hail a tricycle to the common terminal. Same when they return to the big city. Inconvenient even if they have no luggage, merchandise or tots to take care of.

Provincial bus operators are groaning. They had zero income from the yearlong pandemic lockdown of Luzon. When trips resumed in 2021, they were restricted to only 10-30 percent passenger capacity for safe distancing. Yet they were required to continue renewing and paying for their franchises and taxes. Drivers, conductors, mechanics had to be retained and paid. Buses had to be maintained. Government couldn’t stamp out the colorums yet bus firms were fined up to P1 million and suspended for any breach of franchise and common terminal use. Drivers must be in top shape, yet have no sleeping quarters there. Terminal parking fees add to the overhead.

The operators had won a court injunction against an earlier transport department closure of their private garages in July 2019. But the generals and lawyers handling pandemic response use the health emergency as reason to supersede the judicial ruling. Buses must have “special permits” to operate, or else be pulled over.

Officials justify the common terminal with their supposed strictness with masking, hand washing, safe distancing and vaxxing rules. They also fault operators for the overcrowding and 200-meter long queues to the private city terminals last Christmas-New Year. Yet that was the officials’ own doing; they had announced special reuse of the private garages only two days before the holidays, leaving the operators little time to mobilize their staff and fleets, and prepare the health necessities for the mad rush of riders.

How long do transport and economic officials intend to impose the unworkable plan? They must ensure safe, reliable, convenient rides. As well, regulate fares, standards, routes, frequencies, work conditions and public health. Soon aboveground operators will close down from unfair competition with underground colorums. Government will lose another source of revenues.

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

Guanzon to Bongbong: Did you bribe somebody in Comelec?

Guanzon to Bongbong: Did you bribe somebody in Comelec?

by | Apr 12, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photos of Rowena Guanzon (left) and Bongbong Marcos (right)

GOTCHA

written on February 2, 2022

 

 

How did Bongbong Marcos’ party learn that the vote to disqualify him as presidential candidate was a “minority opinion?” Commissioner on Elections Rowena Guanzon demanded explanations since the three-member First Division that she heads has yet to release its decision. “Did you pay off anybody here at the Comelec?” she asked Marcos through radio show Sapol-dwIZ Saturday.

Guanzon pressed Commissioner-on-case Aimee Ferolino to finish drafting the “overdue ruling.” Thence Guanzon and Commissioner Marlon Casquejo can sign either to concur or dissent. Only then can they release the division verdict, Guanzon explained the procedure. Only then too would the public know whose are the majority and minority opinions, if any.

Guanzon last Thursday told GMA News her vote to DQ Marcos as convicted tax evader. But an influential senator was allegedly delaying release of the Division ruling till after her retirement today, Feb. 2.

Marcos’ Partido Federal Pilipinas accused Guanzon on Friday of “illegally leaking” her “dissenting [and] minority opinion” to DQ. PFP general counsel George Briones asked the Comelec en banc to sanction Guanzon and forfeit her retirement pay.

“Does that mean they paid off somebody?” Guanzon shot back. Ferolino has yet to relay her ponencia (draft ruling) to Guanzon and Casquejo. “Why do they (PFP) know that mine is the minority vote… and that I lost?”

“So, Bongbong, tell the public: Did you bribe a commissioner, yes or no?” Guanzon challenged.

Guanzon said she broke no rules by divulging her vote. What would have been wrong was if anyone disclosed their division ruling before promulgation to the DQ petitioners and respondent Marcos. “But the privilege of secret vote is mine,” Guanzon clarified. “If I want to disclose my vote I can do so.”

Guanzon said Saturday it has been 19 days since the Marcos DQ case was raffled off to Ferolino on Jan. 10. Their division has an agreement to finish any ponencia in seven days, Guanzon said. Ferolino had sought more time because her staff lawyer, then she, went on self-quarantine for COVID-19. “But the quarantine period is past; besides, one can write drafts while in quarantine; we all do that,” Guanzon added. She prides herself in zero backlog in case disposal.

Guanzon hurried up Ferolino with her draft “so that neither of us can be accused of taking bribes.” Marcos’ campaign war chest is vaunted to be the biggest among presidential aspirants. Much of it allegedly comes from unrecovered billions of pesos plundered by his dictator-father Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in the 1960s-1980s.

Guanzon’s division first heard on Jan. 7 consolidated petitions to DQ Marcos. Those pertain to his perpetual bar from public office, under the National Internal Revenue Code, for not filing income tax returns in 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985. As well, automatic bar under the Omnibus Election Code for any convict of crime involving moral turpitude.

Guanzon told Sapol she already gave the summary of case facts and her DQ explanation to Ferolino. If still unable to finish the ponencia way past deadline, Ferolino could pass on the job to Casquejo, Guanzon said. Guanzon could write it herself if not for a rule that no ponencia be assigned one month before a division head’s retirement.

Marcos has not satisfied the court sentence to pay his tax deficiencies and surcharges from 1982-1985 and P30,000 penalty, Guanzon said. Marcos’ bank receipt as proof of payment to the BIR of deficiencies and surcharges, stating “for lease rentals,” is a mere photocopy and not certified as true for legal proceedings. The Quezon City court that convicted him attested that he has not paid the P30,000 penalty.

Not only the non-payments constituted moral turpitude, Guanzon said. That Marcos did it for four consecutive years, when he was vice governor then governor of Ilocos and the son of the president-for-life, showed impunity in lawbreaking.

The Comelec Second Division earlier dismissed a separate case to invalidate Marcos’ candidacy for perjuring in the certificate. He had claimed to be eligible to run and denied any previous conviction.

That case became controversial. The petitioners complained that Marcos’ spokesman displayed “undue, intimate, insider familiarity with the Commission.” That spokesman is not a Marcos Jr. “counsel on record, therefore an outsider.” Yet he announced in the morning of Nov. 18 that they had been granted the previous day, Nov. 17, a deadline extension to answer. The Second Division granted that extension only in the afternoon of Nov. 18.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

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Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Site Terms & Conditions (scroll down for the buttons)

This site, jariusbondoc.com, is free for your use.

However, we do have some terms and conditions which you can find below. By continuing to use or to read from this site, that means you understand and agree to comply with the terms and conditions.

I. PRIVACY POLICY

This privacy policy (“policy”) will help you understand how jariusbondoc.com uses and protects the data you provide to us when you visit and use https://jariusbondoc.com/ (“website”, “service”).

We reserve the right to change this policy at any given time. If you want to make sure that you are up to date with the latest changes, we advise you to frequently visit this page.

 

What User Data We Collect

When you visit the website, we may collect the following data:

  • Your IP address
  • Your contact information and email address
  • Other information such as interests and preferences
  • Data profile regarding your online behavior on our website

 

Why We Collect Your Data

We are collecting your data for several reasons:

  • To better understand your needs
  • To improve our services and products
  • To send you promotional emails containing the information we think you will find interesting
  • To contact you to fill out surveys and participate in other types of market research
  • To customize our website according to your online behavior and personal preferences

 

Safeguarding and Securing the Data

jariusbondoc.com is committed to securing your data and keeping it confidential. jariusbondoc.com has done all in its power to prevent data theft, unauthorized access, and disclosure by implementing the latest technologies and software, which help us safeguard all the information we collect online.

 

Our Cookie Policy

Once you agree to allow our website to use cookies, you also agree to use the data it collects regarding your online behavior (analyze web traffic, web pages you spend the most time on, and websites you visit).

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.