Select Page
Duterte made false promise for 16 million votes – Carpio

Duterte made false promise for 16 million votes – Carpio

by | Sep 22, 2022 | Gotcha

PNA photo of President Rodrigo Duterte

 

GOTCHA

written on May 7, 2021

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

President Duterte disavowed Monday that he harangued China during his 2016 presidential campaign. “I did not promise that I would pressure China,” he claimed. “I never mentioned about China and the Philippines in my campaign because that was a very serious matter. I never, never in my campaign as president promised the people that I would retake the West Philippine Sea.”

Online videos prove otherwise. On April 24, 2016, he dared: “The Arbitration Court can go on and hear the case. Ngayon pag sinabi panalo tayo, pag ayaw nila, then I will ask the Navy to bring me to the nearest boundary diyan sa Spratly, Scarborough. Bababa ako, sasakay ako ng jet ski, dala-dala ko ‘yung flag ng Pilipino at pupunta ako doon sa airport nila tapos itanim ko, then I would say, ‘This is ours and do what you want with me’.”

Chinese aggression in the WPS was a hot election issue then. Voters were furious that Chinese coastguards were barring Filipinos from their Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal traditional fishing ground. China was also landfilling seven reefs into island-fortresses within the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone. In debates presidential candidates were being asked their stand.

Candidates usually hyperbolize. But their exaggerations mostly spring from intense feelings. If not, then it’s “hyper-bola” or extreme lie.

Of Duterte’s “plant-the-flag” bravado, retired Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio recounted: “President Duterte’s campaign[ers] also issued a statement that he fully supported the arbitration case against China: ‘As a Filipino, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte fully supports the case now pending in The Hague questioning China’s occupation of areas in the WPS that the Philippines considers its territory. He is hopeful for a favorable ruling for the Philippines’.”

Carpio, who helped file the arbitration in 2013, concluded: “President Duterte cannot now say that he never discussed or mentioned the WPS issue when he was campaigning for President. Otherwise he would be admitting that he was fooling the Filipino people big time. There is a term for that – grand estafa or grand larceny. Making a false promise to get 16 million votes.”

Duterte and three presidential contenders in 2016 were incumbent public officials. They were bound by the Constitution’s Article XI, Accountability of Public Officers, Section 1: “Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives.

Integrity – honesty, moral uprightness – is a trait voters most seek in candidates. Honesty was itself an election issue. So was patriotism, because of the China problem.

China’s EEZ intrusions remain hot issue. Last March, 220 Chinese maritime militia craft blockaded Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef. Exposed, they dispersed to poach in the rest of Pagkakaisa (Union) Bank and Kalayaan Island municipality of Palawan. Fish by the millions of kilos worth billions of dollars are being hauled off. Dozens more trawlers pillage Panatag and Recto (Reed) Bank.

From ports in the concreted reefs Chinese gunboats chase away Filipino exploration vessels from Recto’s Sampaguita oilfields. Bancas are water-cannoned or machine-gunned when approaching Panatag. In 2019 a Chinese steel trawler rammed an anchored Filipino wooden boat and abandoned the 26 fishermen thrown overboard. In 2020 a Chinese warship, unprovoked, aimed its weapons on a Philippine Navy patrol near Palawan.

Beijing ignores diplomatic protests against militarizing Philippine waters. In survey after survey, 90 percent of Filipinos want defensive action. Duterte is under increasing pressure to toughen up instead of acquiescing. The Constitution in Article II, Declaration of Principles and State Policies, Section 7, mandates: “The State shall pursue an independent foreign policy. In its relations with other states the paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest and the right to self-determination.”

The Hague court on July 12, 2016 rubbished China’s “nine-dash line” claim over the entire South China Sea. It upheld Philippine sovereign rights to its EEZ and rebuked China for reef destruction. Two weeks into his presidency then, Duterte shelved the Philippine victory. President Xi Jinping promised him $24 billion in loans, but only a trickle materialized.

In 2019 Duterte disclosed a “verbal” agreement with Xi allowing Chinese to fish in the EEZ. He has yet to detail how much they can fish, where, when and for how long. Carpio reminded Duterte last week of the people’s right to know. The President cannot monarchically cut state deals. The Constitution states in Article II, Declaration of Principles, Section 1: “The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.”

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

            “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

Insulate veterans’ pensions from annual budgetary whims

Insulate veterans’ pensions from annual budgetary whims

by | Sep 22, 2022 | Gotcha

PNA photo of War veterans

GOTCHA

written on May 5, 2021

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Old soldiers never die; they’re just forgotten. Veterans’ pensions were in fact delayed for decades. Other annual budgetary priorities kept overtaking their direly needed retirement benefits. Only in 2019 were those updated, though still with part of 2018 unpaid. And exigencies are again looming to block the annual allocations for veterans.

A few numerate members of Congress foresee an “imminent existential threat.” One shudders at the consequences on a society unable to pay the promised pension of its old fighting men. The actuarial figures are staggering. The number of military and other uniformed personnel (MUP) necessarily grows by the year. So do the retirees. In 2021 the need for 137,000 retired soldiers or their widows and orphans is P60 billion. Another P75 billion is for 220,000 aged policemen, firemen, coastguards, jail and prison guards and hydrographers of the National Mapping and Resource Information Agency. Twenty years hence that will accumulate to trillions of pesos. A ready source of funds must be devised for their pensions without need for yearly legislation.

The instant thinking is to place all MUPs under the Government Service Insurance System or similar retirement plan. Parallel bills in the Senate and House of Representatives propose all or some of these:

• Nine percent deduction from the monthly pay of MUPs, to be matched by 12 percent from the government, as retirement layaway, just like any public employee;

• Extend the uniformed service tenure from age 56 to 65 to delay pensioning;

• Delay the optional retirement service from 20 to 30 years; and

• No longer index to or equalize the pension with the salary of an active-duty officer with the same rank.

Demoralization may set in, however. That soldiers are guaranteed pension is a gift of the Filipino people, reminds retired Admiral Ariston delos Reyes. The very first act of the Commonwealth in 1936 was to set aside P100 million as seed money for retirement in the Armed Forces, plus P200 million in the Constabulary. To take away the gift for whatever reason is unjust. Law and jurisprudence frown on diminution of accustomed salaries and benefits.

The Constitution also guarantees soldiers’ benefits. Article XVI, General Provisions, Section 7 declares: “The State shall provide immediate and adequate care, benefits and other forms of assistance to war veterans and veterans of military campaigns, their surviving spouses and orphans. Funds shall be provided therefor and due consideration shall be given them in the disposition of agricultural lands of the public domain and, in appropriate cases, in the utilization of natural resources.” All retired soldiers are veterans.

The rationale for the Commonwealth Act and the Constitutional provision is age-old. A state needs soldiers to protect its people, territory, government and sovereignty. To do so they are given special training and weaponry, to fight to the death if need be. They are even deprived of civil rights to choose what to wear, where to live, when to rest and sleep.

The gift granted to Filipino soldiers was not wasted. They fought in Bataan and Corregidor, suffered the Death March and turned into guerrillas during World War II; battled in Korea; quelled domestic insurgencies and terrorism; and served as United Nations peacekeepers. Though outgunned, they guard our West Philippine Sea, Kalayaan Islands and Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal against the regional bully.

Under the bill, two classes of uniformed servicemen will be created, delos Reyes foresees. The first are those in the service before passage, and thus not subject to pay deductions. The second class are those who will join after enactment who must shell out nine percent for retirement and survivorship. Same with pensioners. Earlier retirees will receive pensions equal to the pay of those in active duty. Later ones will get lower. Notably, retirees from the judiciary and constitutional commissions receive exactly the same pay as counterpart ranks in active service, non-contributory.

Uniformed service extension to age 65 years is impractical. Eighty may be the new 60 in this time of medical advancements and prolonged lifespans. But many aspects of soldiery obviously are not for seniors, delos Reyes says.

Delaying the optional retirement to 30 years can be unkind. A retiree at age 55 on his 30th year of service will receive two-and-a-half-year lump sum, then wait eight years till he’s 65 to start receiving monthly pension.

Delos Reyes, the mathematician of Philippine Military Academy Class of 1971, has been advocating better terms for retirees. The answer to his quest may be in the constitutional provision above. Is it possible for automatic contributions to soldiers’ pensions be made from concessions in mining, oil and gas, geothermal, forestry, water, fisheries, reefs, soil, solar, wind, tide and other natural resources?

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

            “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 much will China fish under Duterte deal, Carpio asks

How much will China fish under Duterte deal, Carpio asks

by | Sep 22, 2022 | Gotcha

PNA photo of President Rodrigo Duterte (left) and retired Supreme Court associate justice Antonio Carpio (right)

 

 

GOTCHA

written on Apr 30, 2021

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

President Duterte allowed the Chinese to fish in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. A “verbal agreement” with President Xi Jinping was made in 2016. Duterte disclosed it only in 2019. That was after a Chinese steel-hulled fisheries militia trawler rammed an anchored Filipino wooden boat in the EEZ.

Assuming Duterte’s deal is legal, former Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio asks:

• How many Chinese vessels are allowed to fish in the West Philippine Sea, given that China has the world’s largest commercial fishing fleet of 200,000 ships?

• What tonnage are they allowed to catch?

• What months of the year are they allowed to fish?

• Up to when is the Duterte-Xi agreement?

The questions are about equity. Filipinos are required by law to register their commercial fishing craft and to report their catch. Their companies and fishing permits have fixed duration. They are restricted from certain areas in certain seasons for fish to spawn. So should foreigners.

The questions are about rights too. Filipinos must be told what their leader is doing with their patrimonial wealth. Transparency in public dealings is a constitutional rule.

Duterte has been silent on those details for five years now, Carpio notes. Silent as well about 240 Chinese maritime militia vessels presently poaching in Kalayaan (Spratly) Islands and Pagkakaisa (Union) Bank. The Chinese are also in Recto (Reed) Bank and Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal. They refuse to leave the Philippine EEZ because of Duterte’s “verbal agreement”, Carpio says.

Sixty meters long, the span of two basketball courts, each Chinese trawler can haul in 240,000 kilos of fish. Together the 240 intruders can pillage 57.6 million kilos in one expedition, like the first two weeks this April. That’s worth P4.4 billion, in the old 2018 valuation of South China Sea fish capture by the Southeast Asia Fisheries Development Council.

Financed and equipped by the People’s Liberation Army, the Chinese fisheries militia is in the EEZ year-round. Satellite-tracked, the contingent at Pagkakaisa trespassed in December 2020, the start of the calm-water amihan season. The ramming of GemVer-I at Recto in June 2019 was at the start of the habagat.

Filipino fishers do not venture out anymore. The Chinese militia and coastguard escorts water-cannon and machinegun them on sight. The abandonment at sea of the 26 GemVer crewmen was a bitter lesson. “An ordinary maritime accident,” Duterte called the aggression.

Of the “verbal agreement” with Xi, Duterte said weeks later in Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s TV show: “As far as I’m concerned, I’m the owner, and I’m just giving the fishing rights. Galit sila kung bakit ko daw pinapaisda.” Presidential chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo said that, although verbal, the deal was “legally binding.”

Today China ignores Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin’s diplomatic protests against the Chinese incursions. It belittles Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s warning for them to leave.

The 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea reserves an EEZ for the coastal country’s sole use. The Hague court rubbished in 2016 China’s baseless “historic claim” over the Philippine EEZ.

The Constitution reserves for Filipinos the right to use natural resources. The President must submit international treaties for Senate approval.

*      *      *

Duterte to Carpio: “Can UN order China to surrender sea claims? Carpio’s answer: “Yes, of course.”

“(1) In 1987 the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution ordering the US to comply with an International Court of Justice ruling favoring Nicaragua. Only Israel voted for the US. After several years the US eventually complied, to the satisfaction of Nicaragua. The US suffered a huge reputational cost and decided to cut a deal with Nicaragua.

“(2) In 2019 the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution ordering UK to return the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius pursuant to an opinion of the International Court of Justice. Only five countries voted for the UK. So far the UK has not complied. However, its reputation as a law-abiding country is taking a beating.

“Getting a UN resolution in your country’s favor is already a huge victory because that means the world community is behind your country. That strengthens enormously your country’s position and weakens greatly your adversary’s position. This is how a country defends its national interest. A country cannot just fold and give up just because the other side is stubborn. That is a childish mentality.”

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

            “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

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Got a comment? Or just want to check out what people are saying about this article, then…

Join the conversation

More related articles & posts (scroll down):

Was Magellan’s slave, a Malay, globe’s first circumnavigator?

Was Magellan’s slave, a Malay, globe’s first circumnavigator?

by | Sep 22, 2022 | Gotcha

Copyright (c) 2012 Lydia Aznar-Alfonso Museum Foundation of the Visayas, Inc.

GOTCHA

written on Apr 28, 2021

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Ferdinand Magellan willed the freedom of his Malay slave Enrique upon his death. But his brother-in-law Duarte Barbosa negated the release, insisting that Enrique continue to serve Magellan’s wife, Barbosa’s sister, as inheritance.

Enrique was morose. He faithfully had assisted his master in several Europe land battles, then in crossing two vast oceans for a new route to the Spice Islands. On their anchoring at Homonhon on March 16, 1521, it was his knowledge of the local language that brought them timely nourishment from the natives. He had advised against fighting the Mactan chieftain Lapulapu. Since Magellan was killed in that clash of April 27, he must be emancipated as stated in the last testament. Yet Barbosa, newly elected co-commander of the expedition, decreed otherwise.

Enrique had no option left. On April 28 five hundred years ago today, he jumped the flagship Victoria.

That much was documented by Genoese pilot Gines de Mafra, Venetian historian Antonio Pigafetta and the expedition’s last captain-general, Sebastian Elcano. Subsequent first-hand accounts and interpretations are contested.

Did Enrique participate in the massacre of Barbosa and crew on May 1, 1521? Rajah Humabon had invited Magellan’s officers to a banquet in Cebu. It was a trap. The guests were attacked while they were feasting. The ambushers captured Barbosa’s co-commander João Serrão, Magellan’s buddy, and held him for ransom. Survivors interviewed by Maximilianus Transylvanus on their return to Spain recounted that Serrão’s maltreatment of Enrique incited the plot. Pigafetta, who did not attend the banquet, pinned the blame on both Barbosa and Serrão.

Was Enrique a Visayan like Humabon? Filipino biographer-historian Carlos Quirino so deduced from their ease of communication. The rajah supposedly knew Enrique’s clan and thus aided him. Magellan had bought him ten years earlier in a slave market in Malacca, now part of Malaysia. Enrique happened to be in that Malay trade center during the Portuguese siege of 1511, Quirino theorized.

Enrique was first to circumnavigate the world, Quirino wrote in Philippines Free Press, 1991. Magellan had brought him to Portugal via the old route of the Indian Ocean and Cape of Good Hope. Joining Magellan’s voyage from Spain in 1519 through the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Enrique completed the round trip on reaching Cebu in 1521.

Malaysian scholar Mohamed Arof Ishak differed from Quirino’s Visayan theory. Enrique was either Malacca- or Sumatra-born, and spoke the Malay lingua franca, he gleaned from Gines and Pigafetta. On escaping from the Victoria, Enrique found his way back to his isle 2,000 kilometers away. In that homecoming Ishak agreed with Quirino: Enrique, a Malay, was first to circle the globe doorstep to doorstep.

Enrique’s real name is unknown. He has been depicted in novels and films as a “panglima” or nobleman. Supposedly only 17 years old, he was sold as a captive in the Battle of Malacca. The Portuguese soldier Magellan bought him as a souvenir of his adventure in East Asia in 1509-1511. He was christened Henrique, later Hispanized to Enrique.

“If Enrique escaped in Cebu, how was he able to find his way and return to Malacca? Historical records are silent on this matter,” said Prof. Augusto de Viana, PhD, in “Stories Rarely Told, Vol. II.”

“Peninsular Malays called him Panglima Awang,” de Viana noted. “The title panglima among the Tausug indicates he was a person of high rank… a judge or a governor… a member of the high council in the court of a sultan.”

Magellan made Enrique his arquebus carrier and bodyguard in the wars against the North African Moors. Teaching him Portuguese, Spanish and French, Magellan found Enrique useful in the “Byzantine Renaissance court politics in Lisbon and Madrid,” Carmen Guerrero Nakpil wrote in “Heroes and Villains.”

If Enrique truly was Cebuano, Guerrero Nakpil chuckled, then he must have been the first overseas Filipino worker. Also the first balikbayan, or native returnee. “We are left to guess what he shouted to the men on the beach. Was it, ‘Hoy! Kayo diyan! Nakabalik na rin ako!’?” Guerrero Nakpil wondered. “We can be sure Enrique died happy among his own folk, although he never knew of the fame he had acquired in European and world history.”

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

            “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

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Why can’t red-tagging officials denounce Communist China?

Why can’t red-tagging officials denounce Communist China?

by | Sep 22, 2022 | Gotcha

PNA photo of Chinese ‘militia boats’ in WPS

GOTCHA

written on Apr 23, 2021

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

• Beijing’s communist rulers subvert Philippine interests

• Their warships terrorize Filipinos in traditional fishing grounds

• This month alone their militia stole P4.4 billion in seafood from our exclusive economic zone

Certain administration officials habitually red-tag. Targeted are not only political oppositionists. Artists, clerics, academics, journalists, trade unionists, environmentalists, health activists, youth leaders and rights lawyers too have been victimized. Even outspoken netizens and organizers of “community pantries” or free food for the hungry are profiled. Contrary opinion – free thought – mechanically is labeled as “communist, terrorist, subversive.”

Yet the red-taggers don’t ever denounce Communist China. Why?

Red-tagging distracts, divides and demoralizes the people. Exaggerated in the public mind is the threat of scattered barrio rebel bands that good governance and policing can curb. The impression is that more infantry are needed for internal counter-insurgency, drawing resources away from naval and air external defense. That plays right into the desired scenario of the region’s duplicitous bully.

China’s communist rulers subvert Philippine interests. They aggress our seas, occupy our coral reefs and steal our fish. Commissar-led warships threaten our sailors, marines and aviators. Maritime militia terrorize our fishermen, and deprive us of food and other marine resources. General Secretary Xi Jinping and his Chinese Communist Party must be exposed for what they are – enemies of the Filipinos.

Communist China is sapping our economy. In the past two weeks alone 240 Chinese maritime militia trawlers poached in Pagkakaisa (Union) Bank and the Kalayaan Islands. The Chinese embassy in Manila ignored diplomatic protests and badmouthed defense officials who told the intruders to leave. Up to P4.4 billion worth of fish was plundered. The perennial red-taggers eerily were silent.

Each militia vessel is 60 meters long, the span of two basketball courts. Each can haul in 240,000 kilos of fish, according to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea. In sum, the 240 trawlers haul off 57,600,000 kilos of fish per trespassing expedition.

Multiply that by P76.70 per kilo. That’s the peso value of South China Sea fish capture in 2018, according to the Southeast Asia Fisheries Development Council. That makes P4,417,920,000 in seafood stolen from Filipinos in one intrusion alone.

The repeated intrusions in Pagkakaisa and Kalayaan this amihan season began in December 2020, as satellite-tracked by Planet Labs. At first, 220 vessels blockaded and attempted to occupy Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef, within the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone. The Asia Maritime Transparency Institute detected the mass up by their automatic identification systems. The NTF-WPS began photographing them on March 7. At least two-dozen have been identified as coming from Guangdong, 700 miles away. By their names and serial numbers, five are from the same fleet of the steel-hulled militia trawler that rammed and sank an anchored Filipino wooden boat at Recto (Reed) Bank in June 2019.

Apart from the P4.4 billion fish theft were simultaneous poaching at Recto and Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, also since December. Amihan, November to May, is when 350,000 Filipinos in small boats take advantage of mild weather to fish in the WPS. Of late they have been staying close to shore. China coastguards, directly under Xi Jinping’s Central Military Commission, menace them when they stray farther out. That way, China’s maritime militia is able to pillage at will, year-round. This week only a handful of Filipino boats ventured to Kalayaan and Panatag, the NTF-WPS reported.

The pillage escalated in 2016. That was the year the Philippines won international court arbitration against Communist China’s sea expansionism. But President Rody Duterte set aside the victory in the hope of getting $24 billion in Beijing loans. Taking advantage, Beijing at once fortified seven reefs grabbed earlier from the Philippines. In 2017 it took an eighth, Sandy Cay, within the territorial waters of Kalayaan, Palawan. Only 0.5 percent was loaned.

Duterte appeased the communist enemy. The red-taggers spared him.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

            “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

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Got a comment? Or just want to check out what people are saying about this article, then…

Join the conversation

More related articles & posts (scroll down):

Sugar planters too crying against favored traders

Sugar planters too crying against favored traders

by | Sep 22, 2022 | Gotcha

photo from Department of Agrarian Reform website

GOTCHA

written on Apr 21, 2021

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

There are rumblings in the sugar industry. Planters are decrying the Department of Agriculture’s favoring import-export traders. They allege that they are being forced to export, at cheaper than market rates. That worsens the yearly production shortage. Then they can only watch as the same exporters consequently import sugar to cover local demand.

Is the bias widespread against domestic producers? Hog raisers are groaning because the administration will excessively import pork for a year, at drastically reduced tariffs at that. Earlier, tilapia growers exposed an attempt by DA bureaucrats to allow imports of stocks from China. And poultry men and feed makers reeled from nonstop chicken imports and smuggling.

Lawmakers need to scrutinize agriculture policy. Some senators already suspect kickbacks by DA officials and ruling politicos fundraising for Election 2022.

Sugar planters expect a production shortage of 307,000 tons this year. As usual, however, they will be made to export five to nine percent of stocks to America. That’s at P300 lower than prevailing market rates, laments planter-miller Steven Chan. Four big-name exporters will make a killing.

It doesn’t end there, says Chan. The same exporters will then import at very low price the 307,000-ton shortage, plus the exported volume. They make another killing.

Planters are also required to stow another five to nine percent as domestic emergency buffer. Plus another five to nine percent for export to the rest of the world market. Milling of those stocks can only be done with government go-signal. A third scam occurs, says Chan. Part of those is again forcibly allocated to the traders, for more windfall profits.

All those are based on rules of the Sugar Regulatory Administration. Chan alleges that the “cartel” is able to influence the agency.

Other planters and millers are moaning. But afraid of the import-export traders’ clout, they cannot come out openly, one of them says. “In many cases, the traders also lend the planters capital, like for farm mechanization, which makes them indebted,” adds another planter from Bacolod.

The situation has been going on for at least eight years, Chan says. Diminishing land hectarage devoted to sugar cane causes it. As well, inefficient production resulting from the parceling of large plantations to land reform beneficiaries. “Land is non-renewable yet demand grows with the population,” says Chan, chairman of Central Azucarera de Bais and president of Central Azucarera de San Antonio.

Chan has been taking out newspaper ads detailing the issues. He also complained to DA Secretary William Dar as far back as September 2020.

As chairman of the SRA Sugar Board, Dar took issue with Chan’s figures in November. The Sugar Board allocated exports to the US on determining a surplus for crop year 2020-2021, he said.

“The various sugar producers’ associations and federations across the country arrived at the same conclusion as the SRA: that the country will have surplus production,” Dar replied. Thus, the recommended export to America. “It is outlandish to consider that these associations and federations – which represent close to 90 percent of total raw production – were flawed… the rest of the country has taken a similar position and you are the only one opposed to it.”

The SRA conceals figures from the public, Chan alleges. Weekly supply and demand figures are posted on the agency website. But only a fraction of the imports is reported, he says, “only the 22,528.85 tons covered by sugar orders.”

“But exclusive for the cartel’s eyes only” are undisclosed weekly figures that Chan obtained from the agency. “You will see that 8,892 tons of specialty sugars, 87,145 tons of premix sugars and 115,585 tons of high-fructose corn syrup imports are now included. This is how the public is fooled about the real shortage.”

A Senate inquiry can flesh out Chan’s allegations that are backed by figures from the 2015-2016 to 2019-2020 crop years. Local officials and newsmen from Negros support him.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

            “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

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.