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Maharlika distracting BBM from agriculture

Maharlika distracting BBM from agriculture

by | Dec 16, 2022 | Gotcha

(Photo: Marcos Jr. visit at DA last July 4, the first of only two times)

GOTCHA

President Marcos Jr. must address his concurrent duties as Agriculture Secretary. Since his July inaugural, he has attended more parties, fiestas and car races than the two days he showed up at the Dept. of Agriculture. Foods are becoming scarce and costly. Yet he’s wasting time devising a silly, sleazy Maharlika Investment Fund.

In assuming the agriculture portfolio, Marcos Jr. gave food security the cruciality it deserves. There are things a President can do that a secretary can’t, he said.

So do it – now.

Breaks in the supply chain result in food scarcity and exorbitance. A President can re-link that chain at Cabinet level: transportation, trade, public works, local governments, law enforcement, health, budgeting, technology, communications, energy, Customs, internal revenue, education, skills training, environment.

Exemplify agricultural smuggling. Contraband yellow onion retails online for P400 a kilo. Imported pompano and salmon, intended for canneries and restaurants, are diverted to public markets.

DA bureaucrats can only do so much. They’ve designated an assistant for inspectorate and enforcement. Also, temporarily stopped issuing sanitary/phytosanitary inspection certificates (SPSIC). Then, warned buyers that uninspected onion and fish can sicken them.

Who knows what harmful chemicals were used to grow and preserve smuggled foods? It’s like scavengers eating “pagpag” leftovers from garbage bins.

A President overseeing agriculture can do more. He can prioritize Customs crackdown on agri-smugglers. Food producers identified 12 new contrabandists, aside from two dozen in a Senate inquiry last May. Nail them all.

 

 

Other possible Presidential orders: Trade officials to pinpoint traffickers’ warehouses. Coastguards to defend commercial and municipal fishers against marauding Chinese maritime militia trawlers. Public works to pave more roads from fish ports to markets, and construct irrigation. Commercial attachés to arrange food cargo screening at overseas ports of origin. Health and technology experts to set up SPSIC facilities in domestic ports. Transport, local governments and policemen to speed up food flow. Environment officers to stop mountain quarries from spewing mud onto lowland farms. And more.

Two actions have long been proposed to Marcos Jr. One, revive the anti-agricultural smuggling council. This consists of private leaders in fisheries, aquaculture, poultry, piggery, grains, sugar and vegetables. Like before, it shall report regularly to the President. Customs colluders with smugglers can be foiled. Prosecution of culprits will be monitored.

Two, ensure cheap fuel and electricity for food producers. Diesel is half the operating cost of commercial and municipal fishers. They’d rather not sail long distances on moonlit nights at slightest weather disturbance than spend big on fuel for a measly catch. With fuel subsidies they can fill up wet markets with seafood.

Unaffordable diesel discourages pump irrigation. Fields run dry. Energy officials must come to the rescue of farmers.

Electricity is 40 percent of poultry, cold storage and grain milling. Generation rates are soaring due to costly imported coal.

Meddling recently in an Appellate Court case, Marcos Jr. implied that one generator must absorb multibillion-peso losses from imported coal instead of slightly raising charges on consumers. In which case he must make the 17 other coal generators nationwide, including those who advise him on the economy, to halve their rates and match that one generator.

With cheap electricity, planters can mechanize and modernize harrowing, planting, harvesting, drying, milling and cold storage.

Marcos Jr. can do all that if undistracted by the Maharlika bill. If he certifies it as urgent, as congressmen ill-advised, he has to contrive a  justifying calamity and emergency. A risky political gamble in lieu of agriculture.

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

Maharlika foolish, corrupt – critics

Maharlika foolish, corrupt – critics

by | Dec 14, 2022 | Gotcha

(Leaked photo of Marcos Jr. with Speaker Martin Romualdez, Rep. Yedda Romualdez, and Deputy Speaker Sandro Marcos at F1 Grand Prix in October in Singapore, where they claimed to be following up on foreign investments)

GOTCHA

Marcos Jr. speaks from both sides of the mouth. Abroad he courts investors to Manila. At home he crafts Maharlika to invest abroad.

Economists, jurists, academics enumerate Maharlika Investment Fund’s flaws. College dropouts should listen to specialists. Criticisms are summed up into three. MIF is ill-conceived, thus doomed. It encourages corruption. Undue haste taints it.

Bill authors included SSS and GSIS, a basic defect. Ignoring jurisprudence, they mis-labeled the private provident funds as government-owned. In breach of charters, Malacañang appointees committed P125 billion from GSIS and P50 billion from SSS without board trustees’ consent.

Yet there’s no cash to spare. SSS suffers P6.94-trillion deficit; GSIS, P560.6 billion. Rep. Stella Quimbo delisted them as MIF funders. “Their inclusion was a bad idea,” Rep. Joey Salceda conceded. In fact SSS will again forcibly increase members’ contributions P300 a month starting January 1st.

MIF will now rely on P50 billion from Land Bank, and P25 billion each from DBP and national government. Another mistake.

A “sovereign wealth fund” copied from rich countries, MIF should derive from excess earnings, say oil, gas, export and trade taxes. Land Bank and DBP have no surplus, notes ex-Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio, an economics grad. The state banks’ charters require that they remit half of annual incomes to the Treasury. Remainders go to operational expansions.

Land Bank and DBP’s Malacañang directors already invest in certain portfolios. Placed under MIF, 15 more highly paid directors, four Cabinet advisers and a dozen fund managers will do the investing for the two. Wasteful duplication.

For national government to put in P25 billion, it must first show excess funds in the national budget and at fiscal yearend, Carpio says. It can’t. For decades now government spending has depended on borrowings, P13.64 trillion at last count.

MIF obligates Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to contribute. That violates the Constitution, which mandates a BSP autonomous of national government. BSP may not participate directly or indirectly in any enterprise unless approved by its Monetary Board. In which case, the MB should first approve BSP’s entry in MIF, says ex-congressman Neri Colmenares, a law and economics grad.

 

 

Speaker Martin Romualdez and Deputy Speaker Sandro Marcos, Marcos Jr.’s first cousin and son, sponsor the bill.

In his first ever national budget, Marcos Jr. inserted P2.5-billion Confidential/Intelligence Funds for himself. Plus, CIFs to officials with no law enforcement/intelligence functions, like the Vice President and Education Secretary. His cousin and son expedited enactment.

MIF is exempt from the Government Procurement Reform Act, Salary Standardization Law, GOCC Governance Act, Tariff and Customs Code and Civil Service Code. A super lawless body.

Whether or not he chairs MIF, Marcos Jr. will appoint the directors, even “independent” nominees, Cabinet advisers, investment managers. Easy to make them invest in losing crony companies, like what happened in 1972-1986.

Salceda claimed all will be subject to internal, external and constitutional Commission on Audit. Yet they will appoint such internal/external auditors, Colmenares points out. And with everyone in MIF exempted from transparency and accountability, COA will have no basis to determine their wrongs.

Wrongdoers will be jailed up to five years and fined P50,000 to P2 million. But government crooks enjoy immunity. Examples: those behind the P42-billion Pharmally pandemic supply overprice, P15-billion missing Philhealth money, P728-million fertilizer scam from Malampaya gas fund.

And what’s the hurry? MIF was filed Monday, Nov. 28. Tuesday, the  House committee on banks approved it subject to revising by Salceda’s technical working group. Wednesday, they OK’d the TWG’s addendums. A public hearing was rushed the following Monday.

Norway’s sovereign fund, the world’s biggest at $1.4 trillion, was well thought out. Discussions on a fund for future generations when oil runs out began in 1961, two years after North Sea discovery. Ideas firmed up in 1970. The fund was formalized 12 years later, 1982. The Finance Ministry first infused oil revenues in 1996. Government can spend income only on real returns, meaning, income above inflation rate. If fund returns average 5 percent and inflation is 3 percent, it may withdraw only 2 percent. The fund grew every year but first withdrawal was only in 2016.

Seventeen key officers and 500 professionals manage Norway’s fund round-the-clock, says economics Prof. JC Punongbayan, PhD. It is most transparent. Its website details all portfolios and earnings.

MIF is “broken beyond repair,” National Scientist for Economics Raul Fabella laments. No amount of tweaking can undo its flaws. MIF wrongly assumes that government must finance infrastructure, despite the Build-Operate-Transfer Law and Public-Private Partnerships. It illusions revenue surplus, when overborrowing is fast moving to repayment crisis. It is untimely; all indications are towards global recession. Due to shaky world economy, Norway’s wealth fund lost $174 billion in the first half of 2022.

Yet the House steamroller intends to finish three plenary readings between Dec. 14 and 17. To drown out resistance, authors now insert ayuda for the destitute. Salceda, MIF’s sole defender, taunted that critics talk without reading the latest of ever-changing versions.

Maybe it’s they who should read about the French revolution.

*      *      *

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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

As example, BBM can slash power rates in home region

As example, BBM can slash power rates in home region

by | Dec 7, 2022 | Gotcha

(Electricity map of Eastern Visayas – ERC)

GOTCHA

Presidential influence is boundless. Bongbong Marcos Jr. can sway electricity generators to halve rates where it is costliest – Leyte-Biliran-Samar. That will spur commerce and industries in Region 8, among the country’s poorest, from where his mom hails. Generators elsewhere will follow suit, to be on his good side.

Asia’s highest power rates will thence drop. The biggest block to investors finally will melt. Livelihoods will thrive. Turning around the economy will be Marcos Jr.’s legacy. Let it not be said that he had that one chance yet blew it.

Waray-land’s main generator is GNPower Dinginin. Owned by Aboitiz Power, the coal plant supplies all 11 electric cooperatives there.

Convincing Aboitiz Power to slash rates should be easy. Chairman Sabin Aboitiz leads Marcos Jr.’s Private Sector Advisory Council. PSAC billionaires counsel the President on the economy. The tycoons made Sabin their head not only because of his closeness to Marcos Jr. but also for his congeniality.

Marcos Jr. knows the power of influence. Last August, he got the Big 3 mall chains’ 2,000-plus outlets to retail sugar at only two-thirds its price per kilo.

Once convinced by Marcos Jr., Aboitiz Power can scrap its “pass-through” provisos in power supply agreements. Such provisos allow it, like most other generators, to raise charges at will. Distributors and co-ops pass on the increased charges to customers.

The Energy Regulatory Commission approved the pass-through deals.

The National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms has long been begging ERC to abolish the pass-throughs. Founder Pete Ilagan calls them “illegal, unreasonable, onerous.” They violate the 2001 Electric Power Industry Reform Act.

EPIRA requires power rates to be “at the least cost to consumers.” Pass-throughs include variable expenses like rising cost of coal, diesel and bunker – even operational inefficiencies.

Ilagan complained anew against the pass-throughs last April 26 to then-ERC chairman Agnes Devanadera. He cited runaway generation charges to Leyte Electric Cooperative (Leyeco)-II, Biliran Electric Cooperative (Bileco) and Samar Electric Cooperative (Samelco)-II.

 

The Supreme Court declared in 2006 that pass-throughs negate EPIRA’s least-cost policy. Ilagan reiterated this on Oct. 3 to new chairman Monalisa Dimalanta.

His pleas “falling on deaf ears,” Ilagan wrote Marcos Jr. on Oct. 10 to denounce the pass-throughs.

ERC then rejected a joint plea of Meralco and two San Miguel Corp. generators for slight, temporary rate increases in Greater Manila. Unlike nine other Meralco suppliers, SMC’s two coal plants have no pass-through escalation clause. But they need a six-month breathing spell from multibillion-peso losses due to the quintupling of coal prices with the Indonesian export embargo and the Ukraine invasion.

Ilagan wondered why ERC ignored SMC’s coal woes. Only last June 20 Devanadera had explained the “high cost of electricity” in Leyte-Biliran-Samar. It was due to GNPower Dinginin of Aboitiz Power, among others, “using coal.”

Ilagan on Oct. 24 asked Marcos Jr. to “ban illegal pass-throughs.” He pointed out that SMC’s generators are Meralco’s second and third lowest suppliers at P4.05 per kilowatt-hour. In contrast, Thai-owned Quezon Power with an escalation pass-through, charges triple, P13.34.

Marcos Jr. can persuade Aboitiz Power to match in Leyte-Biliran-Samar SMC’s P4.05/kWh in Greater Manila.

Pressuring ERC to do the rate slashing would be an abuse of presidential power. Although the President appoints the chairman and four commissioners, ERC should be an independent quasi-judicial body.

Persuading Aboitiz Power is also better than pressuring the Court of Appeals. Marcos Jr. had called “unfortunate” the CA’s intention last week to review ERC’s rejection of the Meralco-SMC petition. Think-tank Infrawatch convenor Terry Ridon cautioned him against interfering in judicial proceedings, a breach of constitutional separation of powers.

Marcos Jr.’s fellow-Leyteño, Ilagan obtained from ERC GNPower Dinginin billing statements in Region 8. Generation charges are detailed:

(1) Leyeco-I (Don Orestes Romualdez Electric Cooperative) – P11.48/kWh in Nov. 2022. Up from P5.63 in Nov. 2021.

(2) Leyeco-II – P9.27/kWh in May 2022. From P5.63 in Nov. 2021.

(3) Leyeco-III – P9.98/kWh in July 2022. From P5.53 in Oct. 2021.

(4) Leyeco-IV – P10.61/kWh in June 2022. From P5.71 in Nov. 2021.

(5) Leyeco-V – P9.83/kWh in July 2022. From P5.56 in Oct. 2021.

(6) Bileco – P10.23/kWh in July 2022. From P5.58 in Oct. 2021.

(7) Southern Leyeco – P10.26/kWh in July 2022. From P5.49 in Oct. 2021

(8) Samelco-I – PP10.90/kWh in June 2022. From P5.94 in Oct. 2021.

(9) Samelco-II – P11.17/kWh in June 2022. From P6.20 in Oct. 2021.

(10) Eastern Samelco – P10.67/kWh in July 2022. From P6.04 in Oct. 2021.

(11) Northern Samelco – P10.96 in June 2022. From P5.67 in Nov. 2021.

This week SMC offered its plant at only P1/kWh if Meralco gets natural gas as fuel. Natural gas is a State wealth. Marcos Jr. can ask Aboitiz Power facilities that use geothermal, another State wealth, to match SMC’s P1.

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 opposition leader extols Rizal for ‘Malay union’

Malaysian opposition leader extols Rizal for ‘Malay union’

by | Sep 25, 2022 | Gotcha

Photo of Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim in front of Jose Rizal

GOTCHA

written on June 23, 2021

Sinovacety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Political foes tried to break Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim with solitary imprisonment on trumped up charges. He stayed firm, immersing himself in the Qur’an, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. José Rizal’s two novels, which he reread six times, inspired him no end to fight for democracy and international dialogue. Anwar became visiting professor at Georgetown University. He is esteemed as among the world’s most modern and erudite Muslim statesmen.

Last June 19, Rizal’s 160th birth anniversary, Anwar paid homage:

“‘Justice is the foremost virtue of the civilising 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.”

Malaysia’s parliament was closed in January, supposedly due to pandemic, which broke out a year ago. The king has urged 18 political party heads to reconvene, no more delays. Reports are that when parliament resumes late this month, Anwar might be installed as new prime minister, with his People’s Justice Party to lead a new majority coalition.

*      *      *

The Philippines’ confused pandemic response shows in the use of face shields. Advising people for weeks to continue wearing them, health officials cite studies of 96 percent protection from infection by wearing face shields with masks. Added to physical distancing, frequent handwashing and disinfecting, the face gear can stop the spread of the deadlier Delta variant. Mass media dutifully helped spread the word.

Wielding highest authority, President Rody Duterte told Senate President Tito Sotto last week that face shields no longer are needed except inside hospitals. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque confirmed Monday morning, June 21, that Duterte prefers discarding shields outdoors except in public transports and crowded markets. But that night Duterte ordered continued use of shields, as recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force.

Who heads the IATF and most of its working committees? The same health officials who for weeks have been advising to keep those shields on.

“Now I know why the handling of the pandemic is not good!” Sotto tweeted.

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

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Government still won’t disclose vaccine purchase prices

Government still won’t disclose vaccine purchase prices

by | Sep 25, 2022 | Gotcha

PNA photo of Sinovac vaccine

GOTCHA

written on June 18, 2021

Sinovacety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Executive officials continued to withhold from the public the national government’s purchase prices of COVID-19 vaccines. They gave only price ranges at the Senate inquiry Tuesday.

Invoking nondisclosure agreements with suppliers, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez and Finance Sec. Carlos Dominguez declined to detail the prices. “This is a public hearing so we cannot disclose,” both said, adding that they might talk if behind closed doors. The Senate is reviewing the P82.5-billion 2021 mass inoculation budget.

Minority Leader Frank Drilon reminded them that the public will pay for the vaccine procurements and loans. The Constitution requires transparency in public transactions. Commission on Audit scrutiny is fundamental.

Dominguez replied: “It’s a public forum so we cannot give numbers, but if COA wants, it is open to audit.”

He said lenders Asian Development Bank and World Bank won’t release if the vaccines are overpriced, thus a COA audit is a “double check.” A senator remarked that the multilateral institutions have their own rules, but the Constitution binds Filipino officials and agencies.

Three pharmaceutical makers have been contracted so far: Sinovac of China, Gamaleya of Russia and Moderna of the United States.

Dominguez said their prices ranged from $6.75 to $27.59 per dose. He did not specify which seller is lowest or highest, and the quantity. Other price factors are vaccine type (attenuated virus or messenger-RNA), time of order and the country’s paying ability.

The national government has received 12.7 million vaccines as of June 14. Of that number, only half, or 6.68 million, was purchased.

Bulk of the purchases, 6.5 million, was from Sinovac. Another 180,000 was Gamaleya.

The remaining six million or so were donations. A million came from Sinovac. Five million-plus – 2.55 million AstraZeneca of Britain and 2.47 million Pfizer-USA – was under the COVAX Facility/World Health Organization. Two million of the Pfizer doses under COVAX/WHO came from the US government.

In initial Senate reviews in January, Galvez had refused to disclose prices too but promised to tell all when the vaccines start arriving. Senators told him that confidentiality covered only the makers’ proprietary information but not prices. They were incensed that the Department of Health had priced Sinovac at P1,820 per dose, when reports of Thai and Indonesian orders were for only P240-P350. The DOH later said the price it gave Congress for budgeting came only from online postings and not direct inquiries.

Last Tuesday, Drilon and Sen. Panfilo Lacson were more concerned about the slowness of the immunization program. Three-and-a-half months since rollout, only 1.6 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated, and 4.3 percent given the first jab.

Senators last January had noted several causes of delay. Foreign Secretary Teddy Locsin remarked that DOH “dropped the ball” on ten million Pfizer doses arranged by the US State department. (Health Secretary Francisco Duque denied sitting on the documentation.) President Rody Duterte was also misadvised against making down payments for emergency purchases. Galvez belatedly told Congress to allocate indemnification required by vaccine makers in case of fatal adverse effects.

The new Senate hearings are to consider additional P25 billion to immunize 12-17-year-olds. Lacson will recheck the figures given in January by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. He will zero in on IATF’s plan to inoculate 70 percent of 83.8 million adults for herd immunity.

Checking with the Philippine Statistics Authority, the projected population by July 1, 2021 is 110 million, Lacson told The STAR yesterday. Sixty-two percent, according to PSA, are adults aged 18 and above, or 68.2 million.

“That’s way below 83.8 million,” he said. “Multiply the difference by the average cost of P446 per dose, it is many billions of pesos more than what is actually needed. It’s a lot of money.”

“I hope the discrepancies are not deliberate,” Lacson said.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

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

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

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

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Sotto, Lacson can crush crooks in Congress

Sotto, Lacson can crush crooks in Congress

by | Sep 25, 2022 | Gotcha

PNA photo of Panfilo Lacson (left) and Senate president Vicente Sotto III

GOTCHA

written on June 11, 2021

Senate President Tito Sotto’s return of P20-million bribe from a congressman set the standard of his limited tenure. It meant that he would ensure legislation based on merit and not money.

If he names and charges the briber, Sotto would set a lasting precedent. He would scare crooked lawmakers from assuming everyone else is, like them, ready to sell public interest for personal gain.

Sotto’s closest pal in the chamber, Senator Ping Lacson, recounted Tuesday the bribery attempt. It happened early last year, when Sotto was new in the highest Senate post. A congressman had sent P20 million to Sotto’s office in relation to a franchise bill being deliberated on plenary. Lacson called it “lobby money.” It was bribe, plain and simple.

(Lobbying, or presenting one’s cause in Congress, is legal. Lobbyists are required to formally register. It’s cash changing hands under the table and perks, like free travel and lavish gifts, that give lobbying a bad name.)

Sotto confirmed the incident to reporters. He sent the money back, he said, but did not identify the culprit.

Every year during debates on the national budget bill, Lacson and Sotto partner to stave off pork barrel inserters in the House of Reps. Sometimes they name the culprits. Oftentimes the pork ringleaders stand up publicly to defend their multibillion-peso commissionable pet projects as if there’s nothing immoral about them.

Legislators bribing each other was reported ever since Congress was revived in 1987. Most prominent were during investigations and debates on sin taxes, pollution, mining, public utilities and road works.

Opposers of the rackets are reluctant to expose the crooks, however. The votes of the baddies are also needed to enact good laws.

Lacson and Sotto can break the impasse. They can indict briber-colleagues at the Ombudsman if not the Congress committee on ethics. Reforming the legislature would boost their planned presidential and VP tandem in 2022.

*      *      *

Women mayors and governors are booming globally this 21st century. A Japanese study attributes it to maternal instinct. More than males, females as local government executives are sharper at innovating to provide basic services.

Makati Mayor Abby Binay is a prime example in the Philippines. Her focus since election into office in 2016 has been on more effective ways to meet the foremost needs of home life, like incomes for adults, education for youngsters, telecoms for the family. Those are among her reports on the city’s 351st anniversary last week.

Her initiatives have caught the attention of heads of LGUs and captains of industry abroad. Last month, she was a featured speaker at an online session hosted by the Kuala Lumpur Regional Training Centre in Malaysia: “Nurturing Human Assets for Urban Excellence.” Discussants included the mayor of Kuala Lumpur, the principal policy advisor of Local Government New Zealand and representatives from the University of Seoul and The United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific.

Binay shared via teleconference the results of her project “Dyipni Maki.” Launched in September 2020, it brings mobile learning hubs to students with no access to the internet and distance learning devices. At the same time, it gives displaced jeepney drivers and teachers a steady source of income.

Dozens of jitneys are dispatched Mondays to Saturdays to barangays. Each Dyipni Maki is equipped with laptops and internet connections, books and other learning materials.

Drivers who lost jitney routes due to pandemic lockdown and less ridership are paid as learning implementers. With face-to-face classes still infeasible and marginalized students lacking the resources to study online, the drivers bring the school to them with the help of teachers who would have otherwise been jobless as well. Disruption of learning and livelihoods due to the pandemic is lessened.

Conferees admired Binay’s flexibility and imaginativeness. They noted that, through engagement with communities, stakeholders and the private sector, she saw opportunities and adaptations.

Lately, Dyipni Maki also helps accelerate Makati’s COVID-19 vaccination program by assisting residents unable to register online. Speaking of vaccination, Binay is keen to immunize everybody in Makati, including transient daytime workers.

For that, she melds pandemic response with her ongoing buildup of Makati as the country’s first smart city. Free WiFi in all public places, parks, school campuses and barangays hasten delivery of services and improve government processes, she stated in a recent webinar of the Stratbase Albert Del Rosario Institute. “Aside from cash assistance to homes and shops affected by the global health crisis, the portal allows Makatizens, non-resident workers and business owners to register for free vaccination – whether for flu, pneumonia or COVID-19,” Binay said.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

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

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

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

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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.