Select Page
China has taken P9.7 trillion in reefs, fish – and counting

China has taken P9.7 trillion in reefs, fish – and counting

by | Sep 21, 2022 | Gotcha

GOTCHA

written on Feb 17, 2021

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

• The amount is for poaching, damage and “rent.”

• Computations are based on global scientific measures.

• Duterte can use it for pandemic response, economic recovery.

“We asked so much of them (America) because they have taken so much from us,” President Duterte said Friday. “They have to pay. It’s a shared responsibility, but your share of responsibility does not come free.”

He wants a review of the Phl-US Visiting Forces Agreement. But he was vague on what America has taken or how he will monetize the VFA. The pact is about legalities, like visas for US troops coming for joint military exercises and jurisdiction in case of criminal offenses. The US no longer has military bases in the Philippines. Yet, his spokesman compared Monday the $16-billion Pakistan received from the US in 17 years.

The VFA operationalizes the Phl-US Mutual Defense Treaty. Forged in 1951 the alliance shields against the expansionist Chinese Communist Party. Manila and Washington are to aid each other if attacked in the Pacific and adjunct South China Sea.

The CCP is stepping up sea aggression. Seven Philippine reefs have been landfilled into Chinese island-garrisons. From there gunboat-backed Chinese poachers overfish Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal and mineral-rich Recto (Reed) Bank. All are within the West Philippine Sea, the part of the SCS that forms our 200-mile exclusive economic zone. They are 800 miles distant from China. The Permanent Court of Arbitration has outlawed China’s actions. Manila thus can seek indemnity.

By global measures, China has stolen and ruined P9.725 trillion ($194.5 billion) in Philippine marine wealth to date. The breakdown:

(1) P231.7 billion in seven years of reef ruin.

Starting late 2013 China concreted Kagitingan (Fiery Cross), Zamora (Subi), McKennan (Hughes), Calderon (Cuarteron), Mabini (Johnson South) and Burgos (Gaven) Reefs. Panganiban (Mischief) was fortified since 1995. Corals were killed. Fish that spawn and feed in the reefs vanished. Filipinos lost vital sources of rare metals, new medicines and biotechnology.

Half of the 110 million Filipinos live in coastal communities, relying on marine resources for daily needs. The WPS is 40 percent of Philippine waters, interlinked with land resources as one archipelago. Reef devastation saps Philippine and ASEAN bio-diversity.

Thus, we lose P33.1 billion a year, according to University of the Philippines marine scientists. Prof. Deo Florence Onda, PhD, deems the amount conservative. “The value includes services from coral reefs like climate regulation, and benefits from the ecosystem,” he explains. Damage was calculated at $353,429 (P18 million) per hectare per year. The bases: 2012 studies on global ecosystems, published by Dutch firm Elsevier, a world leader in scientific, technical and medical information.

Satellite images show 1,300 ruined hectares in the seven reefs and 550 in Scarborough. Not included are hazy portions due to weather condition. Thus the low estimate, says international maritime lawyer Jay Batongbacal, PhD.

Former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario sums up the P33.1-billion annual loss to P231.7 billion as of 2020.

(2) P644 billion in stolen fish catch since 2014.

From the island-garrisons Chinese warships harass Filipino fishermen. In Panatag they are driven away with machine guns and water cannons. In Recto in 2019 a Chinese steel-hulled maritime militia trawler rammed an anchored Filipino wooden fishing boat then abandoned the 22 crewmen thrown overboard. More maritime militia vessels, armed with rifles, poach around Zamora, Pagasa island and Sandy Cay. Unprotected, Filipinos have been scared off their traditional fishing grounds. Livelihoods of 350,000 have been diminished, del Rosario says.

Philippine fish catch has dwindled while China’s has multiplied in the WPS, Batongbacal cites global figures. China’s industrialized fishing fleet dwarfs the Philippines’. Each steel-hulled launch can haul in 12 tons per day, according to Chinese publications. Thus the often-sighted 270 Chinese craft in Zamora and Panganiban alone cumulatively catch 3,240 tons per day. That’s 1.2 million tons a year.

That loot is worth P92 billion ($1.84 billion) a year, or P644 billion in the seven years that China escalated its poaching. The figures are culled from Southeast Asia Fisheries Development Center. In its 2018 report on fish capture in the SCS, Seafdec calculates the value per ton at $1,534.21, or P76,710 ($1=P50).

China poaching and reef destruction directly affect 26 percent of Filipinos, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said in 2016. Fish are Filipinos’ main source of food protein. Their reduced WPS catch drives up seafood prices. The 1.2 million tons equals 1.2 billion kilos of fish stolen yearly by China. It can feed 28.6 million Filipinos, or 6.8 million families.

(3) P8.85-trillion actual damage and “rent” for seven occupied reefs.

Equivalence: $177 billion. American geopolitics analyst Prof. Anders Corr, PhD, presented that figure days after Manila’s arbitral victory of July 2016. He used two computation methods:

• For damage, Corrs cited the $1.97 million (P98.5 million) paid by the US for 0.235 hectare of coral that USS Guardian gashed running aground in the Sulu Sea in 2015; and

• For “rent,” $1.2 billion (P60 billion) a year that Manila demanded in 1988 for continued use of six US military bases, or $200 million (P10 billion) for each.

The arbitral court ruled that China “irreparably destroyed” 12,432 hectares (48 square miles) in the WPS. For Corr, “rent” commenced in 1988 when China grabbed the first six reefs, 1995 for Panganiban and 2012 for Panatag.

Manila and ASEAN members harmed by China can seek recompense in the US and “elsewhere China has substantial assets,” Corr said. “If China refuses, [they] can seek redress in foreign civil courts to attach China’s offshore assets – of which there are plenty.”

* * *

            “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

Vaccinations kick off amid politicking, puzzling report

Vaccinations kick off amid politicking, puzzling report

by | Sep 21, 2022 | Gotcha

Photo from Philippine News Agency

GOTCHA

written on Mar 3, 2021

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sunday, Feb. 28, was a big day for Malacañang. Its COVID-19 mass vaccination kicked off at last. Six hundred thousand doses from Sinovac of China arrived in Manila. President Duterte no less accepted the donation. The Philippines became the tenth country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to start inoculating against the pandemic. ASEAN has ten members.

The 600,000 are for 300,000 vaccinees, at two jabs each. Malacañang aims to procure 140 million doses, to immunize 70 million Filipinos. The 600,000 is 0.4 percent of target. Later deliveries are yet unsure.

Injections followed the next day. Prioritized were frontline health workers at COVID-19 centers, particularly Philippine General Hospital. The queue was orderly. Majority of registrants gave up their place. They had expected to be jabbed with 95-percent efficacious Pfizer, not Sinovac with only 50.4 percent efficacy. Ignored was the Palace spokesman’s earlier call to not be choosy. The press outnumbered the vaccinees.

The 600,000 jabs were a surprise from China’s army. The supposed donee Armed Forces of the Philippines probably didn’t expect it. There was no such previous publicity. China state news agency Xinhua simply announced: “Beijing (Feb. 28) – The Chinese People’s Liberation Army on Sunday delivered a batch of COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippine military at the latter’s request and with approval of the Central Military Commission, said China’s Ministry of National Defense. The PLA previously delivered vaccines requested by the Pakistani, Cambodian and Mongolian armed forces.”

Duterte said Beijing did not ask for anything in return for the vaccines. Beijing also did not ask when it grabbed a Philippine shoal in 2012, concreted seven reefs starting 2013 and blockaded a cay in 2017. Its PLA just went ahead and installed airstrips, missiles and naval bases on the reefs. From there the PLA and its maritime militia menace Filipino fishermen and oil explorers in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. While warning Beijing against any more aggression, Washington reassured Manila of readiness under the 1951 Phl-US Mutual Defense Treaty. Duterte in turn demanded 20 million vaccines for continuance of the pact.

Curiously, in Vietnam a pharmaceutical firm has begun second stage trials for a homegrown coronavirus vaccine. “[It’s] an important step toward Hanoi’s goal of vaccine independence from China amid rising territorial tensions between the countries,” noted Nikkei Asia. “If trials are successful, Nanogen Biotechnology’s vaccine is expected to be approved for emergency use as early as May. A quick rollout is crucial for Vietnam, which seeks to keep Beijing from exerting influence through its so-called vaccine diplomacy in Southeast Asia.” Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is closely monitoring developments. Through targeted street lockdowns instead of wholesale, Vietnam’s COVID-19 infections and deaths are but a fraction of the Philippines’.

Malacañang spokesman Harry Roque gaily played politics amid vital inoculations to restart the economy. He gushed Saturday about joining the Inday Cares Volunteers. The group aims to “convince” presidential daughter Sara “Inday” Duterte-Carpio to run as her father’s successor in Election 2022. Images are circulating in social media of “Run, Inday, Run” tarps being mass printed, posted in public and motorcaded by flashy sports cars. Yet Roque twitted Vice President Leni Robredo for “politicking” in volunteering to be vaccinated in public if only to lessen Filipinos’ hesitancy.

Science, not politics, is why most health workers shun Sinovac. In issuing an emergency use authorization for the China brand, the Food and Drug Administration set two caveats. One, not suitable for doctors, nurses and lab technicians often exposed to the virus. Two, OK for healthy 18- to 59-year-olds. A survey at the PGH mid-February showed 94 percent willingness to be injected, the Physicians Association said. But when news came that only Sinovac was to be used, 95 percent backed out.

The doctors declared: “PGH-PA stands firm that Sinovac, despite being the only vaccine at hand, should undergo appraisal by the Health Technology Assessment Council to facilitate individual informed decision-making before it is administered to health care workers… As the national university hospital, PGH should set an example on how vaccination rollout should be executed in the country. PGH should uphold the ideals of ethical and evidence-based medicine, of which it has been a bastion.” Stated differently, lawyers shouldn’t play doctor.

Now Sinovac is to be used on Filipino soldiers. They have no civil rights, like free vaccine choice. The US military hesitates to do that for a mere EUA jab, due to bad experience. In the 1990s, it mandated anthrax shots against the terrorists’ biological weapon. Eighty-five percent of vaccinees suffered serious adverse effects. None of the 35 countries with stringent regulatory authorities has green-lighted Sinovac.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

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

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

DOTr, LTO captured by firms that they regulate – senators

DOTr, LTO captured by firms that they regulate – senators

by | Sep 21, 2022 | Gotcha

GOTCHA

written on Mar 5, 2021

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

The Land Transport Office came under fire from senators on three counts. First, the costly vehicle roadworthiness tests by select contractors. Second, delayed production of motorcycle registration plates. Third, the sudden imposition of specialized child seats in private cars.

All have been called “arbitrary,” “suspicious,” “shady.” They have a common thread: regulatory capture.

Regulatory capture is when the industry comes to control the regulator. Nobel laureate economist George Stigler coined the term in the 1970s while studying US trends. Regulated entities have a keen immediate interest in influencing regulators, whereas ordinary citizens are less inclined, he noted. Minority sectors win; the general public loses.

Sweet talk and aggressive lobbying are basic tools for regulatory capture. It can graduate into corruption. The law prohibits bribery, conflict of interest, undue favor especially to the unqualified, negligence and contracting that is grossly and manifestly disadvantageous to the government.

Notorious, for instance, was the National Food Authority’s grant in 2014 of rice import monopoly to big-time grains smuggler alias David Tan. When admins changed hands in 2016 so did the privilege – to a trader in Iloilo, till import liberalization killed it. Stinky too were the error-filled textbooks by a clique of favored publishers. Crusading educator Antonio Calipjo Go kept exposing them for two decades. Regulatory capture kills, as when the Armed Forces bought faulty bulletproof helmets, and the National Police substandard handcuffs from a fly-by-night supplier in the 2000s. That seller moved up to become the foremost fixer of congressional pork barrels, then down to prison.

Most tragic of regulatory captures are in maritime. Interisland ferries collide, run aground, go adrift, catch fire and sink. Dozens, sometimes thousands, perish in one blow. Reasons: loose licensing of crewmen, inspection of vessels and enforcement of load limits. Due to low sea travel during pandemic even in off-monsoon, there has been no major incident of late. Still the Department of Transportation must modernize shipping as decreed as far back as 1975.

About the Land Transport Office, also under DOTr, senators said:

• LTO’s aim of road safety was laudable in expanding emission testing to 72 other roadworthiness criteria. Yet despite having the funds, it delegated the motor vehicle inspection system to private operators. Accreditation was opaque. Thus was “created a favorable environment for an oligopoly where only very few players can enter and succeed.” Vehicle registrants suddenly were charged three-and-a-half times more for tests, then flunked and made to pay again.

DOTr was implicated in the “policy alteration” and “questionable evaluation process.” It even officially issued last Feb. 21 the press statement of the private operators’ association. Approved was the recommendation of public services committee head Senator Grace Poe for a graft investigation.

• On non-issuance of motorcycle plates, LTO and DOTr are repeating the sins of the past admin. In 2013 the DOTr contracted a blacklisted Filipino firm and its undercapitalized Dutch partner for P3.8-billion platemaking. Only a few were produced – late and substandard. (That was exposed in Gotcha, along with two other P3.8-billion scams, the MRT-3 non-maintenance and the faulty Dalian trains. Refer to book compilation below.)

Now a new P979-million contract hangs, as legalities blocked the favored plate maker. Yet the “swindle” continues of collecting fees for plates that never come, fumed Blue Ribbon committee head Senator Richard Gordon. LTO officials were held liable for graft in delegating motorcycle registration to manufacturers, assemblers, importers and distributors. “You allowed big businesses to devour your functions,” Gordon growled.

• On specialized car seats, the LTO’s aim also was lofty: child safety. But there was no prior info, despite DOTr and LTO’s yearlong rulemaking. Fines on violators were announced on the eve of enforcement date. Parents scrambled for age- and weight-suitable models. Prices quintupled to P60,000 apiece within days. Senators demanded to know which suppliers were being favored and for how much. President Duterte deferred the imposition.

Another DOTr adjunct, the Land Transport Franchising and Regulatory Board, often is accused of regulatory capture. In 2014 then-Metro Manila chairman now Senator Francis Tolentino denounced its exemption of truckers from licensing. In 2018 Rep. Jericho Nograles bared its bias for one ride-hailing service that led to the death of the sole competitor. Loose regulation of bus lines, taxis and tour coaches have been reported.

The ombudsman is mandated to probe and prosecute sleazy regulators. But the anti-corruption agency too can be remiss. Recently it dismissed charges for the P3.8-billion MRT-3 maintenance fiasco. Exonerated were the unqualified Filipino constructor, general merchandiser, agricultural supplier and plumber who allegedly dummied for a Korean railway firm. Complainant Bayan Muna secretary general Renato Reyes had pointed up the irregular alteration of terms during closed-door negotiations in 2015. The ombudsman ruled that the shoddy upkeep occurred in 2015-2017 after the contracting. DOTr said nothing.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

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

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Youths are out of school, or not learning in class

Youths are out of school, or not learning in class

by | Sep 21, 2022 | Gotcha

Photo from Philippine News Agency

 

GOTCHA

written on Feb 12, 2021

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

The happy Filipino family may not mind what’s happening to the children. The eldest is forgoing college to drive a tricycle and add food on the table. The second becomes pregnant at age 15. The youngest attends grade school but hardly learns anything from online classes.

There’s an education crisis. And society’s merry existence is hand-to-mouth, with no attention to the youth’s future. Yet lives will be drearier tomorrow precisely due to poor education today.

The problem of education is access and quality. More than 2.7 million students dropped out this school year due to the pandemic. That’s compared to pre-pandemic enrollment in public and private elementary and high schools, and state colleges and universities. Many parents lost livelihoods due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Children have had to move from costly private to free public schools. Still 10.88 percent of learners left altogether.

One reason is lack of means for distance learning, says Love Basillote, executive director of the NGO Philippine Business for Education. Health protocols prevent face-to-face classes for the present 25 million enrollees. Yet only 1.9 million have laptops, 6.2 million have smartphones and 3.6 have televisions. Despite simultaneous online class hours, siblings must take turns with the home gadgets. And WiFi connection can be spotty.

Asynchronous learning may not always work. Students can choose when to turn on to certain subjects. But for grade schoolers there’s no substitute for teacher’s attention. Most parents have no knack or time for home tutoring.

It may be time to return to face-to-face classes, says Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian. Experiences elsewhere can be studied. Education Sec. Leonor Briones envies the counter-pandemic measures in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. There, schoolchildren were enabled to regroup as early as July-August 2020.

Take the cue from the US Centers for Disease Control, Gatchalian advises authorities. The CDC sees “little evidence” of coronavirus contagion from in-person instruction. More so in regions with low infection rates. Gatchalian cites a CDC report on 11 North Carolina school districts where 90,000 students and staff returned to school last fall. Only 32 infections were school-acquired, zero cases of students-to-staff transmission compared to 773 from communities. Scandinavia opened grade and high schools in mid-2020. Take note, Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Even before the pandemic, the dropout rate was already high. Citing older DepEd and CHEd data, Sen. Sonny Angara counts close to four million out-of-school youths. Among the OSYs are those who should be in college or technical skills training but are not. They work odd jobs if not bumming around. Females are vulnerable to prostitution and human trafficking. Angara has a bill to identify and entice them to free college and vocational-technical training. CHEd and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority can put them in programs that will increase their incomes.

The vulnerability can be seen in the alarming rate of teenage pregnancies. Seven girls aged 14 and younger are giving birth everyday, according to the Commission on Population. The figure jumped seven percent compared to 2010 and has been going on for nine years. Early motherhood takes the girls away from school.

Even if in school, learning is persistently low. Basillote cites the performance of Filipino students in international assessments. Those in Grade 4 came out last among 64 countries in the 2019 tests by Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Grade 5 students were in the bottom half of the 2019 Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics. And 15-year-olds were last in Reading and second to the last in Math and Science out of 78 countries in the 2018 tests of the Program for International Student Assessment.

Students do not learn as much as they should in Grades 1 to 12. With the World Bank, PBEd discovered that Grade 12 graduates learned only the equivalent of 8.4 years of schooling. “Basically, they learned nothing in four years,” Basillote laments. The pandemic may have worsened that to only 7.6 “learning adjusted years of schooling.” Learning loss is directly proportionate to prolonged school break due to the pandemic.

Future incomes are affected. Again with the World Bank, PBEd calculated potential income loss due to pandemic school closure, based on 2018 per capita. If average income per person then was $8,000 (P400,000) per year, it can drop to $7,500 (P350,000).

Malnutrition causes poor learning. One in three students under age five is undernourished and thus unready to learn. They are the so-called “putot, payat (runt, emaciated).” School feeding programs for them have been suspended by remote learning.

The youth are the future of the motherland, Filipinos always say. Yet funds for their education are insufficient. Other countries devote four to six percent of annual GDPs to the effort. The Philippines did that only once this decade.

* * *

            “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

Cha-Cha will be credible only if against dynasties

Cha-Cha will be credible only if against dynasties

by | Sep 21, 2022 | Gotcha

GOTCHA

written on Feb 10, 2021

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

The key constitutional reform is to abolish political dynasties once and for all. If congressmen now rushing Charter change (Cha-Cha) avoid that, then their efforts will be unpopular.

Skepticism is to be expected. Congressmen always go into a frenzy of reviewing the Constitution as any election approaches. Their usual alibi is to supposedly free the economy of restrictive provisos. No Filipino would resist a better life for all, they calculate.

Their true motives invariably unravel as their discussions proceed. Not public but personal interest prevails. Past Congresses had attempted to fast break the removal of their term limits. Some had even tried to extend their terms by scrapping the election altogether.

Reviving industries from pandemic is the current excuse for Cha-cha. Purportedly by letting foreigners own land, public utilities and mines, they will invest in droves. Congressmen cite neighbor-states recently attracting companies that relocated from increasingly repressive China. The discourse is spotty.

No mention is made of Philippine failure to get the overseas investors because of officials’ insular shortsightedness. Busy disenfranchising a giant broadcaster, they didn’t notice new investors who could have multiplied, not divided, the economic pie.

No mention either of global trade and exports slumping due to pandemic restrictions. Cha-Cha will not solve that; sane pandemic response and technology will. Investors also look for policy predictability and equality in incentives.

No mention also of China likely coming in to gobble up land, utilities and natural resources. China has leased long-term an island in the Maldives to reclaim as a naval base against India. It has taken over metal and petroleum resources in Africa and South America, and ports in South and Central Asia. It can do the same in the Philippines. Cronies are just waiting to hand over telecom, gas and transport facilities. Congressmen know that; they recently approved an unconstitutional bill allowing such giveaway. The bill is presently stuck at the Senate.

On the other hand, abolishing political dynasties would open up local economies. It is no secret that politicos are able to control major businesses in their locales. The stranglehold is perpetuated as kinsmen succeed them in office and simultaneously assume other positions.

Examples abound. A political clan was able to pocket public funds to acquire a beachside estate. Then diverted public road works into that private resort. One clansman is in Congress, the spouse is the mayor, an offspring the vice mayor, another offspring a provincial board member and a sibling the mayor of the adjacent town.

 

Another politico was able to speculate and sell land to a mall developer. Through siblings in Congress, he influenced the appointment of local judges, who in turn forced prime lot owners to sell to him or else be expropriated for a bogus public utility. Again it was pulled off because of dynastic ties.

Other dynasties control quarries, port labor contracting, public construction supplies and filling stations and more in their provinces, cities and towns.

Inevitably, rival businesses are choked. Local economies stagnate. Jobs and livelihoods become scarce.

Dynasties are used to amass illegal wealth by the hundreds of millions of pesos. Today, due to congressional pork barrels and local clout, they are able to pocket tens of billions.

Dynastic control of local activities breeds mini-dictatorships, said Jose Nolledo, one of 55 framers of the 1987 Constitution. To a large extent their abuses incited communist and Moro insurgencies.

About a hundred political families have ruled the provinces since the last two decades of the Spanish regime, according to the book “The Rulemakers.” The 1987 Charter forbade dynasties, but left to Congress the passage of an enabling law. Dynast-dominated Congress has done no such thing for 34 years.

The Constitutional Commission of 2018 drafted an amendment that defined dynasties and detailed the prohibitions. The wording is plain:

“The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibit political dynasties.

“(a) A political dynasty exists when a family whose members are related up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, whether such relations are legitimate, illegitimate, half or full blood, maintains or is capable of maintaining political control by succession or by simultaneously running for or holding elective positions.

“(b) No person related to an incumbent elective official within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity, as described above, can run for the same position in the immediately following election.

“(c) Persons related within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity, as described above, are prohibited from running simultaneously for more than one national and one regional or local position.

“(d) Congress may, by law, provide for additional prohibitions.”

Congress as a Constituent Assembly can approve that Cha-cha. Filipinos gladly will ratify it in a plebiscite to free up local economies.

Will congressmen do it? Since election in 2019 the present crop of lawmakers have had 19 months to study it and other provisions. Now, only eight months till filing of election candidacies and busy with hundreds of pending bills, they want a constitutional review.

Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, one of the 22 Con-Com delegates, naturally wants constitutional reforms. But he wonders why congressmen are doing it only now, and doubts if they have any more time for serious study.

* * *

            “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

Bulacan airport to proceed after last two legal hurdles

Bulacan airport to proceed after last two legal hurdles

by | Sep 21, 2022 | Gotcha

Photo from Philippine News Agency

GOTCHA

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

After clearing two final hurdles, San Miguel Aerocity will break ground in Bulacan this month. Congress has franchised for 50 years that new 2,500-hectare international airport north side of megalopolis Manila. Unanimously junked at the Supreme Court was an environment petition against the construction.

“Groundbreaking should be soon, anytime this February,” execs of San Miguel Corp. told The STAR. “No more legal hindrances.”

SMC is to invest P1.5 trillion in the airport and economic zone. It is the largest project in Philippine history by a single company. “We will build from scratch,” said president-COO Ramon S. Ang.

Nearly half, P740 billion, is for transforming raw land into terminals, hangars and four runways, with space for two more. As well, for highways and a railway for rapid access. The rest, P760 billion, is for a power plant, waterworks and other facilities for a new industrial-commercial city.

The project’s immensity necessitated green lighting by the three branches of government. Awarded in 2019, the build-operate-transfer deal underwent rigorous screening in various executive agencies. Performance bonds, environment clearances and government shares in revenues were secured. Requirements and reviews by the transport and finance departments took nearly a year. The House of Reps and Senate spent another half year to study income, value-added and import tax exemptions during construction. That phase is limited to ten years.

No government equity, property or loan is to be extended. The franchise forbids any bailout in case of future SMC losses. No guarantees or subsidies whatsoever.

Government is to get 12-percent revenue share from operations. It becomes the development owner at the end of the concession.

SMC’s Aerocity is designed for 200 million passengers a year. It will decongest the existing Manila International Airport and road traffic. Experts say the country loses up to P4 billion a day in Metro Manila’s air and land jams. Higher property values and consequently taxes can be drawn from Bulacan and surrounding provinces. Government can also earn from corporate and individual taxes from new industries. The project expects to generate a million direct and ancillary jobs during construction and 30 million during operation.

South of Manila, the old MIA has no space for additional runways. The two existing, forming a “T,” stunt any increased takeoffs and landings.

The best solution is to move budget airlines to the 2,400-meter runway at Sangley Point, Cavite. That can improve MIA flight movements while San Miguel Aerocity is being built. Access to Sangley 14 kilometers from MIA needs upgrade, via a two-kilometer branch from the Manila-Cavite Expressway. Commute between the two can be reduced to 15 minutes.

Currently used only for cargo and fish runs, Sangley’s runway needs better drainage against floods from high tide and typhoon. A new rapid-exit taxiway must be paved. No need to move out the Philippine Fleet from its adjacent main port. The Navy and Air Force can even jointly use the runway.

 

* * *

 

Since the 1950s “middlemen“ have been demonized as causes of rising prices of pork, beef, poultry, fish, grains, vegetables and fruits. Government’s kneejerk response has always been a price freeze.

It never worked. Middlemen are parts of the supply chain: wholesale buyers at farm-gate, slaughterhouses, mass chicken dressers, transporters and more. Farmers, animal raisers and fishermen have no time or processing capability to supply straight to retailers.

Solutions must be long-term and integrated. National government needs to support food producers with cheap inputs: fertilizers, pesticides, feeds, storage and freezers. Local governments must multiply direct trading centers and rolling stores.

Today, Agriculture Secretary William Dar blames unnamed “mamamakyaw” and “biyahero” as culprits in rising pork and chicken rates in Metro Manila. He got Malacañang to impose a two-month price cap in the capital region starting Feb. 8.

No consultation was made, cries former congressman Nicanor Briones. Had there been one, stakeholders would have told Dar the real issues, says the Luzon VP of the Pork Producers Federation. Those are: African Swine Fever epidemic in Luzon, damage from three successive typhoons, over-importation and smuggling. (Recently a DA bureaucrat attempted to import tilapia from China, but was stopped by protests from raisers in Pampanga and Taal Lake. Last year vegetable and fruit growers in Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog had to dump their harvests for lack of “mamamakyaw” and “biyahero.”)

Price freeze will discourage Luzon piggeries, poultries and distributors from unloading stocks at a loss. Thence they will be accused of hoarding. Further antagonized, some will stop producing altogether. Rushing goods from the Visayas and Mindanao will reduce supplies and increase prices there. Consumers will shift to fish and vegetables. With demand pressuring supply, rising prices will spread nationwide.

Briones suggests a focused solution. Pay hog-raisers P10,000 not only P5,000 for each ASF-infected head surrendered and buried. Cover all raisers, backyard and commercial. That will embolden them to restock, and end the epidemic.

Where to get money? Stop the smuggling and strictly enforce 40-percent duties on imported stocks.

* * *

            “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

Site Terms & Conditions (scroll down for the buttons)

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

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

I. PRIVACY POLICY

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

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

 

What User Data We Collect

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

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

 

Why We Collect Your Data

We are collecting your data for several reasons:

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

 

Safeguarding and Securing the Data

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

 

Our Cookie Policy

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

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

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

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

 

Links to Other Websites

Our website contains links that lead to other websites. If you click on these links jariusbondoc.com is not held responsible for your data and privacy protection. Visiting those websites is not governed by this privacy policy agreement. Make sure to read the privacy policy documentation of the website you go to from our website.

 

Restricting the Collection of your Personal Data

At some point, you might wish to restrict the use and collection of your personal data. You can achieve this by doing the following:

 

  • When you are filling the forms on the website, make sure to check if there is a box which you can leave unchecked, if you don’t want to disclose your personal information.
  • If you have already agreed to share your information with us, feel free to contact us via email and we will be more than happy to change this for you.

 

jariusbondoc.com will not lease, sell or distribute your personal information to any third parties, unless we have your permission. We might do so if the law forces us. Your personal information will be used when we need to send you promotional materials if you agree to this privacy policy.

 

II. COPYRIGHT NOTICE

All materials contained on this site are protected by the Republic of the Phlippines copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of jariusbondoc.com or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

However, you may download material from jariusbondoc.com on the Web (one machine readable copy and one print copy per page) for your personal, noncommercial use only.

If you wish to use jariusbondoc.com content for commercial purposes, such as for content syndication etc., please contact us at jariusbondoconline@gmail.com.

Links to Websites other than those owned by jariusbondoc.com are offered as a service to readers. The editorial staff of jariusbondoc.com was not involved in their production and is not responsible for their content.

 

III. TERMS OF SERVICE

 

  1. GENERAL RULES AND DEFINITIONS

 

1.1 If you choose to use the jariusbondoc.com service (the “Service”), you will be agreeing to abide by all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement between you and jariusbondoc.com (“jariusbondoc.com “).

 

1.2 jariusbondoc.com may change, add or remove portions of this Agreement at any time, but if it does so, it will post such changes on the Service, or send them to you via e-mail. It is your responsibility to review this Agreement prior to each use of the Site and by continuing to use this Site, you agree to any changes.

 

1.3 If any of these rules or any future changes are unacceptable to you, you may cancel your membership by sending e-mail to jariusbondoconline.com (see section 10.1 regarding termination of service). Your continued use of the service now, or following the posting of notice of any changes in these operating rules, will indicate acceptance by you of such rules, changes, or modifications.

 

1.4 jariusbondoc.com may change, suspend or discontinue any aspect of the Service at any time, including the availability of any Service feature, database, or content. jariusbondoc.com may also impose limits on certain features and services or restrict your access to parts or all of the Service without notice or liability.

 

  1. JARIUSBONDOC.COM CONTENT AND MEMBER SUBMISSIONS

 

2.1 The contents of the jariusbondoc.com are intended for your personal, noncommercial use. All materials published on jariusbondoc.com (including, but not limited to news articles, photographs, images, illustrations, audio clips and video clips, also known as the “Content”) are protected by copyright, and owned or controlled by jariusbondoc.com or the party credited as the provider of the Content. You shall abide by all additional copyright notices, information, or restrictions contained in any Content accessed through the Service.

 

2.2 The Service and its Contents are protected by copyright pursuant to the Republic of the Philippines and international copyright laws. You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce (except as provided in Section 2.3 of this Agreement), create new works from, distribute, perform, display, or in any way exploit, any of the Content or the Service (including software) in whole or in part.

 

2.3 You may download or copy the Content and other downloadable items displayed on the Service for personal use only, provided that you maintain all copyright and other notices contained therein. Copying or storing of any Content for other than personal use is expressly prohibited without prior written permission from jariusbondoc.com or the copyright holder identified in the copyright notice contained in the Content.

 

  1. FORUMS, DISCUSSIONS AND USER GENERATED CONTENT

 

3.1 You shall not upload to, or distribute or otherwise publish on the message boards (the “Feedback Section”) any libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive, or otherwise illegal material.

 

3.2 (a)Be courteous. You agree that you will not threaten or verbally abuse jariusbondoc.com columnists and other jariusbondoc.com community Members, use defamatory language, or deliberately disrupt discussions with repetitive messages, meaningless messages or “spam.”

 

3.2 (b) Use respectful language. Like any community, the Feedback Sections will flourish only when our Members feel welcome and safe. You agree not to use language that abuses or discriminates on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual preference, age, region, disability, etc. Hate speech of any kind is grounds for immediate and permanent suspension of access to all or part of the Service.

 

3.2 (c) Debate, but don’t attack. In a community full of opinions and preferences, people always disagree. jariusbondoc.com encourages active discussions and welcomes heated debate in our Feedback Sections. But personal attacks are a direct violation of this Agreement and are grounds for immediate and permanent suspension of access to all or part of the Service.

 

3.3 The Feedback Sections shall be used only in a noncommercial manner. You shall not, without the express approval of jariusbondoc.com, distribute or otherwise publish any material containing any solicitation of funds, advertising or solicitation for goods or services.

 

3.4 You are solely responsible for the content of your messages. However, while jariusbondoc.com does not and cannot review every message posted by you on the Forums and is not responsible for the content of these messages, jariusbondoc.com reserves the right to delete, move, or edit messages that it, in its sole discretion, deems abusive, defamatory, obscene, in violation of copyright or trademark laws, or otherwise unacceptable.

 

3.5 You acknowledge that any submissions you make to the Service (i.e., user-generated content including but not limited to: text, video, audio and photographs) (each, a “Submission”) may be edited, removed, modified, published, transmitted, and displayed by jariusbondoc.com and you waive any moral rights you may have in having the material altered or changed in a manner not agreeable to you. You grant jariusbondoc.com a perpetual, nonexclusive, world-wide, royalty free, sub-licensable license to the Submissions, which includes without limitation the right for jariusbondoc.com or any third party it designates, to use, copy, transmit, excerpt, publish, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, create derivative works of, host, index, cache, tag, encode, modify and adapt (including without limitation the right to adapt to streaming, downloading, broadcast, mobile, digital, thumbnail, scanning or other technologies) in any form or media now known or hereinafter developed, any Submission posted by you on or to jariusbondoc.com or any other website owned by it, including any Submission posted on jariusbondoc.com through a third party.

 

3.6 By submitting an entry to jariusbondoc.com’s Readers’ Corner, you are consenting to its display on the site and for related online and offline promotional uses.

 

  1. ACCESS AND AVAILABILITY OF SERVICE AND LINKS

 

4.1 jariusbondoc.com contains links to other related World Wide Web Internet sites, resources, and sponsors of jariusbondoc.com. Since jariusbondoc.com is not responsible for the availability of these outside resources, or their contents, you should direct any concerns regarding any external link to the site administrator or Webmaster of such site.

 

  1. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

 

5.1 You represent, warrant and covenant (a) that no materials of any kind submitted through your account will (i) violate, plagiarize, or infringe upon the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy or other personal or proprietary rights; or (ii) contain libelous or otherwise unlawful material; and (b) that you are at least thirteen years old. You hereby indemnify, defend and hold harmless jariusbondoc.com, and all officers, directors, owners, agents, information providers, affiliates, licensors and licensees (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) from and against any and all liability and costs, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees, incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising out of any breach by you or any user of your account of this Agreement or the foregoing representations, warranties and covenants. You shall cooperate as fully as reasonably required in the defense of any such claim. jariusbondoc.com reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you.

 

5.2 jariusbondoc.com does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other information displayed, uploaded, or distributed through the Service by any user, information provider or any other person or entity. You acknowledge that any reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement, memorandum, or information shall be at your sole risk. THE SERVICE AND ALL DOWNLOADABLE SOFTWARE ARE DISTRIBUTED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. YOU HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.

 

  1. COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN JARIUSBONDOC.COM AND MEMBERS

 

6.1 If you indicate on your registration form that you want to receive such information, jariusbondoc.com, its owners and assigns, will allow certain third party vendors to provide you with information about products and services.

 

6.2 jariusbondoc.com reserves the right to send electronic mail to you for the purpose of informing you of changes or additions to the Service.

 

6.3 jariusbondoc.com reserves the right to disclose information about your usage and demographics, provided that it will not reveal your personal identity in connection with the disclosure of such information. Advertisers and/or Licensees on our Web site may collect and share information about you only if you indicate your acceptance. For more information please read the Privacy Policy of jariusbondoc.com.

 

6.4 jariusbondoc.com may contact you via e-mail regarding your participation in user surveys, asking for feedback on the Website and existing or prospective products and services. This information will be used to improve our Website and better understand our users, and any information we obtain in such surveys will not be shared with third parties, except in aggregate form.

 

  1. TERMINATION

 

 

7.1 jariusbondoc.com may, in its sole discretion, terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Service for any reason, including, without limitation, breach or assignment of this Agreement.

 

  1. MISCELLANEOUS

 

8.1 This Agreement has been made in and shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the Republic of the Philippines law. Any action to enforce this agreement shall be brought in the courts located in Manila, Philippines.

 

8.2 Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, nothing in this Terms of Service will serve to preempt the promises made in jariusbondoc.com Privacy Policy.

 

8.3 Correspondence should be sent to jariusbondoconline.com.

 

8.4 You agree to report any copyright violations of the Terms of Service to jariusbondoc.com as soon as you become aware of them. In the event you have a claim of copyright infringement with respect to material that is contained in the jariusbondoc.com service, please notify jariusbondoconline.com. This Terms of Service was last updated on November 7, 2020.