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Breakdown of Philippines: only political elite benefits

Breakdown of Philippines: only political elite benefits

by | Jan 4, 2023 | Gotcha

(President Marcos Jr. at Gloria Arroyo’s birthday bash, April 2022 – PBBM Media Bureau)

GOTCHA

Ex-President Gloria Arroyo joins Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s ill-timed China visit. China’s explosive COVID-19 surge can infect their planeload of companions, and family and staff when they return. Isolated in a pandemic bubble, they won’t get enough work done except to banquet.

The insistence to fly to China is as odd as Arroyo’s midnight sneak-in to Hainan in 2007. Leaving her husband who had just undergone delicate heart surgery, she signed the $329-million National Broadband Network-ZTE deal. A whistleblower later testified at the Senate that ZTE top execs handed over an initial $10-million kickback from the $200-million overprice.

Filipinos meanwhile suffer breakdown of state services and facilities.

Fifty-one perished and 19 went missing from Christmas flashfloods in eight regions. Hillside quarries triggered mudslides that swelled rivers and destroyed P1.1 billion in homes and farms. The quarriers are local and former natural resources officials.

Hundreds others died and thousands lost homes from two 2022 superstorms. Congressmen had pocketed P113.5-billion flood controls that year. Expect worse deluges this 2023 as they again steal P183-billion dredging funds.

Government falsely promises squatter rehabs. Slums remain electricity- and water-less. One neglected candle tipping over razes entire neighborhoods. Bureaucrats take commissions from contractors of shabby resettlements.

Calling it a “glitch” can’t minimize the backlash of the New Year’s Day crash of the country’s Airspace Monitoring System. Four hundred daily international and domestic flights of 60,000 passengers had to be cancelled, delayed or diverted up to three days later. Philippine travel and tourism image cracked.

Worst hit were 3,000 departing overseas workers who missed connecting flights to jobsites. Also those homebound who went hungry and sleepless from days-long flight diversions to other capitals. Who will reimburse their extra expenses?

Aeronautics bigwigs chest-thumped to uphold the Air Passengers Bill of Rights. Meaning, faultless airlines must feed, billet, refund and rebook at their expense the distraught flyers. Plus, pay emergency overtime of pilots and cabin crew, larger aircraft and airport re-slotting charges.

 

 

General aviation bled. Chartered, medical evac, company, student-pilot and fresh seafood flights were grounded.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines alibied that its equipment was antiquated. Yet the P13-billion airspace traffic system was installed only four years ago, 2018. Obviously it had no requisite backups. CAAP’s present chief was at that time transport undersecretary for aviation and airports.

Past Manila and Cebu airport bosses have yet to answer for myriad sleaze. In Manila they monopolize airport taxis. Highway robber-cabbies victimize passengers waiting for hours for rides.

Land transport everywhere is a mess. Disjointed routes of the EDSA bus carousel to elsewhere in Greater Manila is but a microcosm of nationwide commuters’ woes. Buses and jeepneys are hard to come by. Commuters resort to colorum vans. The ride-hailing monopoly exacts arbitrary “surge rates.”

Gridlocks plague urban and rural areas. Potholes pockmark highways and inner roads. Dozens of bridges have collapsed in recent years. Filching funds, national and local officials delay repairs. Absent from streets, policemen prefer assignment to special investigations, special operations, special tactics, special siopao; no regular foot patrols.

Yet they bungle a special criminal probe. Thirty-four “sabungeros” and companions were abducted on different dates in different cockpits under one e-sabong operator two years ago. All are presumed murdered. Three policemen have been indicted for kidnapping three victims in two incidents. No mastermind because money talks. From a gross of P3 billion e-sabong netted P300 million a day, enough to buy off top law enforcement and justice officials.

Sea transport sucks. Ports impose arbitrary wharfage, pilotage, storage. Authorities neglect skills upgrade for 400,000 Filipino seafarers. A fifth risk losing jobs on European-flagged vessels.

Deficient transport inflates food prices. As well, faulty data gathering, planning and logistics; costly fuel, feeds and fertilizer. Food producers and suppliers stagger from illegal pass-on of steep power generation costs.

Misinformed about harvests, Marcos Jr. failed to import undersupplied onion. His Bureau of Plant Industry withheld import sanitary/phytosanitary inspection certificates. Knowing better, hoarders began smuggling from China.

BPI inspectors detected toxins and E. coli in contraband onion. Yet Customs is donating the contaminated bulbs for retail in Kadiwa rolling stores. Marcos Jr. is rushing the legalities. The poor can buy cheap – dirty – onions.

The country is P13.5 trillion in hock. Most borrowings went to crooked deals: P15-billion PhilHealth scam, P42-billion Pharmally scam, China COVID vaccine scam. Cronies took over Malampaya gas rights. Agencies with no law enforcement or intelligence functions grabbed confidential/intelligence funds. Coming up: Maharlika Fund.

Up till Marcos Jr.’s departure for China, health officials dithered over stricter COVID-19 protocols on Chinese travelers like other countries. They’ve enforced only mumbo-jumbo “heightened alert.” They avoid offending Beijing, whose state media screeches that harsher rules on Chinese are discriminatory – forgetting that Beijing singled out flights from London, Brussels and Manila during surges.

The past admin too had refused to screen Wuhanese travelers at the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Expect infection resurgence. Aligned with that admin, Marcos Jr. is repeating its mistakes. As it did to Rody Duterte, Beijing is bamboozling Marcos Jr. to sign a joint petroleum exploration in Recto Bank within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

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

Malaysian Prime Minister extols Rizal ‘among greatest Malayans’

Malaysian Prime Minister extols Rizal ‘among greatest Malayans’

by | Dec 30, 2022 | Gotcha

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in front of Jose Rizal

GOTCHA

Not only Filipinos heroize Jose Rizal. Malaysians, Indonesians, Bruneians also study Rizal as central to their histories. Scholars glean from Rizal’s life and works a Malay racial consciousness.

Rizal mastered geography, among many fields. In his time, Spaniards born in Islas Filipinas called themselves “Filipinos.” Both Castilians and Filipinos derogated the natives as “Indios.” British, Dutch, French and Portuguese colonialists had other diminutives for their conquered Malay islanders.

Undaunted, Rizal elevated “indio” to respectability by naming fellow expatriates in Europe “Los Indios Bravos.” Later he arrogated “Filipino” for fellow nationals in forming La Liga Filipina. Rizal envisioned Malay unity. Awareness of Malay legacy showed in his annotations of Morga’s “Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas.”

Rizal inspired future leaders to reunify. Carlos P. Garcia and Tunku Abdul Rahman organized the Association of Southeast Asia. Diosdado Macapagal initiated Maphilindo. Then rose the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is a Rizal scholar. From initial readings in high school, he learned more about the Malayan visionary during visits to history prof Cesar Adib Majul at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. As an opposition leader, Anwar was imprisoned twice on false charges. Tormentors failed to break him. He drew inspiration from the Qur’an and Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, which he reread six times.

On Rizal’s birth anniversary last year, Anwar honored Rizal with his article:

“‘Justice is the foremost virtue of the civilizing races. It subdues the barbarous nations, while injustice arouses the weakest.’ – Dr. José Rizal

 

 

“Today we celebrate the 160th birthday of one of the greatest Malayans, the Philippine National Hero, Dr. José Rizal who was truly an Asian Renaissance Man. A polymath, Rizal’s knowledge and scholarship was beyond measure and his contributions as a writer, thinker and artist was titanic. Dr. Rizal is the ultimate demonstration of how education can take anyone, regardless of race, religion or identity, to seize their moment in history, empowered to make for better tomorrows.

“To call José Rizal a revolutionary is disingenuous, for he denounced violent uprisings and referred to himself as a reformer. Without doubt, his efforts helped to launch the Philippines’ fight for independence from Spain, but his pen was mightier than the Spanish sword. The potential power given in his education, received from the West, helped him lead his community out of colonial slump. His two novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, are a testament to global literature and demonstrate mastery of language, satirizing the Spanish colonial project with allusion to classic Spanish literature and history, judging the brutal methods used with their own mythology. In his essay, ‘The Philippines a Century Hence,’ Rizal’s foresight warned the Spanish Empire of the struggle ahead if reform is not pursued and predicted the US’s growing influence in the Pacific. His hope was to inspire peaceful reform and gradual transition, but Spain labelled him a traitor and, at the age of 35, he was executed by firing squad in Manila in 1896.

“Rizal’s efforts took him beyond acclaim in just one nation. He not only believed in the indigenous peoples of the Malay Archipelago, but demonstrated what they were truly capable of. He advocated the union of the Malay lands against colonialist rule. He saw education as the highest element of any society that would ensure its survival and prosperity into the future. ‘In my blood runs the wanderlust of the Malays’ was a saying of Dr. Rizal. Let us take his example and seek the betterment of ourselves and our neighbors to build better futures.

“Rizal’s message reverberates today in his concept of the Malayan world and those sentiments of community we need to embody. For international cooperation and regional partnership, we should all take a page from Dr. Rizal’s words. His message remains important as we still find ourselves plagued by poverty and injustices in Southeast Asia.”

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

Marikina watershed quarries: 2 cancelled, 2 next – Loyzaga

Marikina watershed quarries: 2 cancelled, 2 next – Loyzaga

by | Dec 29, 2022 | Gotcha

(Google Earth photo shows one of several unlicensed swimming pool resorts inside Masungi Georeserve)

GOTCHA

written on December 9, 2022

 

Two of four dubious rock quarries inside Marikina watershed have been cancelled. The two remaining are in the process of cancellation. Sec. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga announced this at the Senate hearing Nov. 16 on the 2023 budget of her Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources.

If so, this solves the foremost cause of deadly floods below: Marikina, San Mateo, Cainta, Antipolo, Quezon City, Pasig and San Juan, among others. Hundreds died in 2009 and 2020 when mud and heavy rains gushed onto thousands of homes, shops and vehicles there.

Marikina watershed in the mountains of Rizal province consists of forests, rivers and ponds. Although inoperational, quarries there host illegal woodcutters, slash-and-burn farmers, rich squatters and a dozen unlicensed swimming pool resorts. Forest denudation, hill levelling and river diversion trigger flash floods and mudslides.

On questioning by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, Yulo-Loyzaga said she cancelled the quarries for being inoperational since 2004. Cancellation forecloses extension after the 2024 expiration of permits.

Only the DENR secretary can initiate the process and actually cancel Mineral Production Sharing Agreements over mines and quarries. Yulo-Loyzaga spoke under oath at the Senate.

For whatever reason, however, she has not publicized the signed cancellations. Unanswered to date is a Nov. 23 request from the Upper Marikina Watershed Coalition for copies of the cancellation notices and status reports.

UMWC secretariat head Anna Maria Eliza Reyes invoked transparency in writing Yulo-Loyzaga. Two groups of ethnic Dumagat Remontados also thanked Yulo-Loyzaga for closing the quarries that encroach on and desecrate ancestral lands and burial grounds.

Yulo-Loyzaga subalterns disavow the quarry cancellations. On Nov. 21, Mines and Geosciences Bureau Southern Tagalog regional director Dondi Sarmiento told Reyes: “Our records show there are no Orders of Cancellation for the MPSAs within the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape, [only] Orders of Suspension issued on May 25, 2022.”

 

Goons of resort owners continue to harass park rangers of Masungi Georeserve that overlaps with the quarries. Authorized in 2017 by then-DENR head Gina Lopez, Masungi Georeserve Foundation rangers have been rewilding with indigenous trees 3,000 hectares of protected watershed.

Excerpts of the Nov. 16 Senate hearing:

Pimentel: I am just alarmed. Is it possible? May MPSA covering some 1,500 hectares in the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape and nearby protected areas? Could that theoretically happen or is that allowed by law? That an MPSA exists inside a protected area?

Yulo-Loyzaga: Mr. Senator, the information we have on record, the MPSAs were granted prior to the designation of the protected area. Right now po, two are already canceled and the other two are recommended for cancellation na po.

Pimentel: So apat lang po lahat yan?

Yulo-Loyzaga: Yes po.

Pimentel: Naninigurado lang po ako. So two cancelled. When you say cancelled, effectively cancelled – talagang no more activity?

Yulo-Loyzaga: Cancelled na po.

Pimentel: And two for cancellation. Anong timetable natin dito?

Yulo-Loyzaga: Sir, there is a three-letter notice and a 90-day period before it finally takes effect.

Pimentel: More or less, can you give me the month and year they have effectivity?

Yulo-Loyzaga: The recommendation for cancellation was two weeks ago. So there’s a 90-day period from then before effectivity.

Pimentel: Sabay sila?

Yulo-Loyzaga: Yes.

Pimentel: So these will be cancellations for cause or these will be cancellations which will be contested by the holders of the MPSAs?

Yulo-Loyzaga: For cause po.

Pimentel: And then the two cancelled, did they accept the cancellations?

Yulo-Loyzaga: The information we have on record is that the two that were cancelled never operated, did not operate.

Pimentel: So that was easy for you. Dito tayo sa more difficult. These two that are about to be cancelled, operated?

Yulo-Loyzaga: The remaining two have not operated since 2004.

Pimentel: OK so basta ang mangyayari, all the four will be formally and officially cancelled. Therefore after the effectivity, we can say that there is no more MPSA inside the protected area of the Upper Marikina River Basin. That’s a fact?

Yulo-Loyzaga: Yes sir.

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

Normal for China to fight 27 neighbors

Normal for China to fight 27 neighbors

by | Dec 28, 2022 | Gotcha

(Communist China trespasses, abuses, entraps its neighbors with onerous loans. Google Maps)

GOTCHA

written on December 28, 2022

 

China aggresses 27 neighboring states. Beijing’s embassy in Manila claims that “it is only natural for neighbors to have differences.”

China’s disregard of neighbors’ rights under international laws cause those troubles.

China has built 11 dams on the Upper Mekong River within its borders. Those choke waterflow to downstream Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. The last three formally have protested since 2018. Their rice, vegetables and fish farms are drying up. Mekong Delta harvests are dwindling.

In diverting river flow from neighbors, China violates the 1997 UN Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses. The treaty requires member-states to share and protect surface and groundwater. Harm must be avoided by diversion dams, pollution or input of alien fish species.

Under Article 7, countries that cause damage must compensate those that share the watercourse. Beijing has refused to recompense Southeast Asian farmers it has bankrupted.

China claims to own the Mekong, one of five great rivers that spring from Tibetan lakes. Its claim is as false as its reference to Tibet as a province. Tibet was an independent kingdom until Communist China annexed it in 1950. In the process it disturbed its border with Nepal.

More Chinese dams choke river flow to India, Bhutan and Pakistan. A 1962 China-India border war ended with a status quo agreement. But Chinese army incursions up to ten miles into India in the past two years have led to unarmed yet deadly skirmishes.

 

 

China continues to grab territory from tiny Bhutan. In 2020 it laid claim to a wildlife sanctuary in Central Bhutan far from their borders. China victimizes Pakistan with opaque loans, including one that onerously guarantees Chinese power plants 34 percent profit.

Despite truce terms from their 1969 border war, China continues to poach in Russian seas. Disputes rage as China desires expansion of inner Mongolia as a province grabbed from its northern neighbor in 1949. China’s suppression of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang upsets Islamic neighbors Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Chinese fishers trespass Korea and Japan waters. Beijing baselessly claims Japan’s Senkaku isles and Okinawa. It threatens to retake independent Taiwan as a “renegade province.”

China claims the entire South China Sea via a “nine-dash line.” The concocted border violates the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. UNCLOS grants each coastal state a 200-mile exclusive economic zone. But Beijing encompasses the EEZs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam.

Beijing has grabbed 25 reefs and isles from those countries. Nine are from the Philippines: Kagitingan (Fiery Cross), Zamora (Subi), McKennan (Hughes), Calderon (Cuarteron), Mabini (Johnson South), Burgos (Gaven), Panganiban (Mischief), Panatag (Scarborough), Sandy Cay.

Two weeks ago, Chinese maritime militia trawlers swarmed Del Pilar (Iroquois) and Escoda (Sabina) Shoals near Palawan. It was a repeat of its 2020 blockade of Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef in Pagkakaisa (Union) Bank. Chinese warships prevent Philippine exploration vessels gas drilling in Recto (Reed) Bank. All those are within the 200-mile EEZ, West Philippine Sea but 650 miles distant from China.

China boycotted Australian mutton, wine and other exports in 2020 when the latter sought a UN inquiry on how SARS-COV2 broke out in Wuhan. China’s payola through its businessmen to three New Zealand political parties has sparked controversy. Chinese trawlers poach in Papua New Guinea and tiny Palau.

China bothers even non-neighbors. Consisting of 3,500 trawlers, its distant-water fleet engage in illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing in Ecuador across the Pacific. Costa Rica and Peru coast guards had to come to the rescue when 600 Chinese trawlers trespassed Ecuador’s Galapagos EEZ in 2020.

Chinese fleets overfish in West Africa’s Atlantic Ocean. Artisanal fishermen’s protest remain unheeded in Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Sierra Leone. While poaching, Chinese trawlers shut off automatic identification systems to avoid satellite detection, in breach of international rules.

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

Decades of flood controls yet we’re still underwater

Decades of flood controls yet we’re still underwater

by | Dec 23, 2022 | Gotcha

PNA photo of river dredging

GOTCHA

Congressmen budgeted P183 billion for “flood controls” in 2023. They’ll pocket most of it.

Congressional pork barrels are mainly in Flood Management Programs (FMP). Rivers are to be dredged, but none actually takes place. No state auditor checks if mud and silt were removed.

Supermajority congressmen will divvy up the P183-billion FMP. The closer to the top the congressman is, the bigger the share. For “pakisama,” some nano-minority members will be handed pork slices.

The P183 billion is inserted in the Dept. of Public Works and Highways budget. Congressmen negotiated their FMPs during budget committee hearings. Only regional directors and district engineers know exactly how much will go to this influential congressman or that lightweight. An engineering district consists of one or more congressional districts.

FMP funds have been allocated since Congress’ 1987 restoration. Most were stolen. Instead of abating, floods have spread. Congressmen welcome inundations of homes, shops and farms – justifications for more FMPs the following year.

A district’s flood budget grows each year of the congressman’s tenure. It continues to swell as the spouse, offspring, parent or sibling inherits the congressional seat. As long as there are political dynasties, there will be floods to control. For them, it doesn’t pay to solve flooding.

Senators partake of FMPs. More pork barrels are “parked” in other departments, like health and social welfare.

Pork barrels have ballooned ever since outlawed by the Supreme Court in 2013. The SC defined it as lump sums, no details of projects concocted by legislators after budget enactment.

Originally those were fixed amounts. Emerging in 1989, the Countryside Development Fund was P80 million per senator and P50 million per congressman. City lawmakers demanded their share. It was renamed Countrywide Development Fund, and increased to P100 million per senator and P60 million per congressman.

 

 

CDFs rose in the 2000s: P150 million per senator, P70 million per congressman. It became Priority Development Assistance Fund: P200 million per senator, P80 million per congressman. Then, Disbursement Acceleration Program; same fixed amounts for senators and congressmen, plus insertions in various agencies.

FMPs are now permanent entries in national budgets. “Flood contractors” have become congressmen. Adept at it, they wangle bigger FMPs than most. They “buy” colleagues’ FMPs, advancing 80-percent kickbacks to the latter and keeping 20-percent “handling fee.” They do fake feasibility studies and completion reports, and onsite props like idle dredgers, hardhat workers and billboards. Imagine Janet Lim-Napoles sitting in Congress.

Dredging actually is measurable. Diligent engineers first compute the project length, width and depth, then re-compute the dredged dimensions. They countercheck this with the dredger’s operating capacity and duration.

The national budget has no such descriptions. FMPs just come in two generic forms: “construction/maintenance of flood mitigation structures and drainage systems” and “construction/rehabilitation of flood mitigation facilities within major river basins and principal rivers”. Only provinces, cities and engineering districts are itemized.

Taxpayers can ask how their congressmen use FMPs.

FMPs are all flat peso amounts. Some don’t have ones, tens, hundreds, thousands – only millions. Examples:

• Ilocos Norte 1st engineering district, exactly P780,000,000;

• Ilocos Sur 2nd ED, exactly P471,000,000;

• Pangasinan 3rd ED, P240 million flat;

• Pangasinan 4th, P980 million flat;

• Isabela 1st, P300 million;

• Isabela 4th, P565 million;

• Nueva Vizcaya ED, P450 million;

• Bataan 1st, P350 million;

• Bulacan 2nd, P120 million;

• Pampanga 2nd, P210 million;

• Pampanga 3rd, P689 million;

• Tarlac ED, P215 million;

• Tarlac 2nd, P227 million;

• Zambales 1st, P150 million;

• Quezon City 1st, P680 million;

• Batangas 4th, P165 million;

• Rizal 1st, P775 million;

• Rizal 2nd, P100 million;

• Marinduque, P348 million;

• Mindoro Occidental, P234 million;

• Romblon, P620 million;

• Albay 1st rehabilitation, P272 million;

• Masbate 2nd, P225 million;

• Masbate 3rd, P352 million;

• Aklan rehabilitation, P428 million;

• Bacolod ED, P502 million;

• Negros Oriental 1st rehab, P90 million;

• Negros Oriental 2nd rehab, P275 million;

• Negros Oriental 3rd rehab, P430 million;

• Bohol 2nd, P220 million;

• Bohol 2nd rehab, P240 million;

• Cebu 2nd, P35 million;

• Cebu 3rd, P269 million;

• Cebu 5th, P150 million;

• Cebu City, P235 million;

• Biliran, P305 million;

• Leyte 1st rehab, P150 million;

• Zamboanga City ED, P552 million;

• Zamboanga del Sur 1st, P125 million;

• Zamboanga del Sur 2nd, P450 million;

• Zamboanga Sibugay rehab, P200 million;

• Cagayan de Oro 1st, P145 million;

• Misamis Occidental 2nd, P250 million;

• Sultan Kudarat 1st, P200 million.

Aside from millions, other FMPs have thousands, but still rounded figures with no ones, tens and hundreds. Some are larger than those above. Complete list in DBM website, 2023 General Appropriations Act, Volume I-B, pages 94-104: https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/budget-documents/2023/general-appropriations-act-fy-2023/gaa-volume-ib

Sources in and out of government, all preferring anonymity, helped in this research. Staunchly against corruption and pork barrels, they need our prayers for fortitude and protection.

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

Selling smuggled foods unlawful, sickening

Selling smuggled foods unlawful, sickening

by | Dec 21, 2022 | Gotcha

PNA photo of smuggled onions found in clothing shipment

GOTCHA

Distracted by his Maharlika fund, Marcos Jr. spun back Friday to agriculture. His three announcements were supposedly for the poor. First, that his 350 Kadiwa rolling stores nationwide have enough P25-per-kilo rice. Second, that Kadiwa will retail confiscated smuggled onions. Third, that he will slash import duties on rice, corn and pork.

The results will be anti-poor.

His rice distribution defies science, his supposed policy foundation. DSWD lists 5.6 million penurious families. That makes 16,000 families availing of P25 rice in each of 350 Kadiwa stores.

A day has 144 ten-minute intervals, the time each transaction takes. Meaning, every Kadiwa must have 111 sales staff, shoulder-to-shoulder around the store, to serve 16,000 buyers.

That’s assuming each staff can work 24 hours straight. Assuming too that the 350 Kadiwa stores strategically cover all 84 provinces, 148 cities, 1,487 municipalities and 42,022 barangays.

The poor dwell in all 7,641 islands. They must trek from mountain kaingin, seaside shacks and far-flung fields to avail of Marcos Jr.’s cheap rice. Taking public transport will only reduce their food budget.

A frugal family can stretch the kilo of rice two days. Today’s buyer will wonder when the Kadiwa will return.

By law, confiscated fresh foods are condemned and destroyed. Harmful chemicals likely were used to grow and preserve the pest-infested edibles. Donating those to charity can sicken consumers and contaminate farms.

Last July, the Bureau of Plant Industry stopped issuing sanitary/phytosanitary clearances of onions from abroad. BPI in Cagayan de Oro caused the seizure of 21 cargo containers of Chinese onions mis-declared as siopao buns and lumpia patty.

 

 

In such case, Customs must hire a “condemnator” to crush and bury the contraband. But in cahoots with Customs-Cagayan de Oro, the condemnator on Sept. 18 transferred hundreds of tons of yellow bulbs onto wing vans and sold them in Davao at P600 a kilo, for hundred-million-peso profit.

Videoed and documented, the misdeed was exposed in this column Sept. 28. Held liable, the Cagayan de Oro port collector was “removed.” Customs central office reassigned her to busier Cebu, a promotion. The condemnator was untouched.

Last Friday, Marcos Jr. cited more red and yellow onions interdicted in Manila. Told by whoever, BPI conducted unnecessary sanitary/phytosanitary inspection. It detected toxins and E. coli (feces bacteria).

Still, agriculture higher-ups said the contraband would be sold in Kadiwastores. Price would be cheap since it didn’t cost the government anything anyway, the spokesman beamed.

Marcos Jr. said: “As quickly as possible, naghahanap kami ng paraan kasi usually ‘yan [smuggler] kakasuhan mo pa bago ‘yung auction. By the time i-auction mo, wala na, bulok na.”

Also: “Kaya’t sabi ko hanap tayo ng paraan para mailabas kaagad, mailagay sa market kaagad. Pinag-aaralan namin ngayon. Baka by next week mayroon na tayong solution.”

No care for public health and agriculture biosecurity? Are miserable Kadiwa buyers like garbage scavengers making do with “pagpag” food leftovers?

On advice of his NEDA secretary, Marcos Jr. will keep import tariffs low till end 2023. Rice, 35 percent duty instead of 50. Corn, only five percent instead of 35. Pork, only 15 percent from 40.

They aim to lower runaway food prices caused by shortage, costly transport, fuel and electricity. That should elate Christmas consumers.

But it’s at the expense of rice, corn and hog growers, millers, traders, farm and feed suppliers. They too are consumers. Seventy percent of hogs come from backyard raisers. Ninety percent of rice and corn are from farms less than two hectares.

Tariff collections are intended to improve their sectors through fertilizer, pesticide, irrigation, R&D, mechanization, logistics and anti-African Swine Fever measures. Reduced tariff means reduced aid. Cheap imports will bankrupt domestic producers.

The only beneficiary is the cartel of grain, fish, pork, poultry, vegetable, spice, fruit and sugar importers. Recycling import permits, they also smuggle. Their protector is a NEDA undersecretary, a Marcos Jr. appointee.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

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

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

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

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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.