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DoE eyes OSW, taps USAID
Due to the lack of financial allocation, the Department of Energy or DoE is turning to the United States Agency for International Development or USAID to bankroll the inclusion of offshore wind or OSW and floating solar energy, among other new technologies, into the country’s competitive renewable energy zones or CREZ. In a recent interview with reporters, Assistant Secretary Mylene C. Capongcol said these new power technologies should be included in the CREZ so that its integration into the grid will be efficient. “The first stage of CREZ, that finished does not include offshore wind and floating solar and other bodies of water. So the second stage, hopefully, will be supported by a USAID grant because we don’t have the budget here,” Capongcol said. “We will talk officially with USAID but we have sent our official request so we will just have a meeting about what is the scope of work and the timeline,” she added. OSW potential high Based on the Philippines OSW Roadmap launched in 2022, the country has about 178 gigawatts or GW of OSW potential. To date, the DoE has awarded a total of 79 OSW Contracts with a total potential capacity of 61.931 GW, spread mainly North of Luzon, West of Metro Manila, North and South of Mindoro, Panay and Guimaras Strait. Meanwhile, in terms of floating solar energy ventures, one of the latest developments was the Laguna Lake Development Authority’s move to offer 2,000 hectares of the Laguna de Bay for floating solar projects. Of these, 800 hectares were taken by ACEN Corp. Half, or 1,000 hectares were leased by renewable energy firm SunAsia Energy, which aims to develop a 1300-MW facility for $1.2 billion. The remaining 200 hectares, on the other hand, were allocated to Singapore-based firm Vena Energy. Capongcol reiterated that the CREZ project will significantly complement the government’s drive to augment the country’s supply of clean energy. By proactively focusing transmission expansion to these resource areas, clean energy generation development obstacles such as transmission access, energy curtailment, land permitting, and regulatory barriers will be resolved. Thus, reducing the risk for private players who will invest in the sector. Relatedly, the DoE official bared that the 2023-2050 Philippine Energy Plan or PEP will also highlight the adoption of modern technologies, smart grid systems, and demand-side management to bring down overall energy consumption and cut down greenhouse gas emissions. The government set the target of a 35 percent share of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix by 2035 and increased it further to 50 percent by 2040. However, it is still notable that despite an aggressive stance on clean energy utilization, the Philippines continues to heavily rely on coal. Coal, which is cheaper than other forms of power but more detrimental to the environment, is still the highest contributor to the power generation mix at nearly 60 percent. Renewable energy only takes a little over 20 percent of the mix. The post DoE eyes OSW, taps USAID appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Up to 2M reservists eyed once ROTC becomes mandatory
There could be about two million reservists who will be able to augment the reserve force of the Armed Forces of the Philippines every year if the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps becomes mandatory again. This was bared by Major General Joel Alejandro Nacnac, Deputy Chief of Staff for Reservists and Retiree Affairs of the AFP, over the weekend during the opening of the National Reservists Week. “Every year, if ROTC becomes mandatory, we expect an additional two million students from all of the universities,” Nacnac told the reporters in an interview. He said projected servicemen from ROTC will be classified as a “standby reserve”—which is mobilized only in times of national emergency or war. The AFP reserve force is currently at 1.2 million as of June 2023, which is composed of over 71,000 “ready reservists,” more than 15,000 affiliated units from other organizations and institutions, and 1.1 million standby reservists—with most of them from the Philippine Army. The ready reservists are called at “any time to add to the regular forces.” The National Reservist Week is the AFP’s annual activity of the “purposely to widen the Reserve Force manpower build-up and for the existing reservists to be accounted.” The event also provides reservists an update on the current AFP policies and directives with regard to the Reserve Force Development Programs as well as establish a robust operational Reserve force by way of checking their individual readiness in order to provide support to the Regular Force to fulfill its mandate. The bill requiring ROTC for students enrolled in at least two years of an undergraduate degree is pending in the Senate plenary. On the other hand, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa the government may allot P4.2 billion for free uniforms yearly if the proposed mandatory ROTC program becomes law. “If it will materialize, every year we’re going to budget P4.2B for uniforms alone for cadets,” he said in a recent hearing on the budget of the Department of Science and Technology and its attached agencies. Dela Rosa also made a recommendation that ROTC uniforms should be locally sourced. The Philippine Textile Research Institute welcomed the senator’s suggestion. The post Up to 2M reservists eyed once ROTC becomes mandatory appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Comelec says goodbye to old VCMs
The Commission on Elections will no longer use the 98,000 vote counting machines or VCM in the 2025 polls regardless of whether there is no budget to procure new ones, its chairperson George Garcia told lawmakers on Monday. Even in the absence of funds, Garcia confidently bared to the members of the House Committee on Appropriations, which is looking into their budget, that the poll body could no longer utilize the VCMs that had been deployed during past elections. According to the Comelec chief, the 98,000 VCMs are deemed “unusable” and unable to be refurbished due to the unavailability of necessary spare parts, as well as the inability to procure components from suppliers. “We already declared the 98,000 machines unusable. It’s up to us if we get a budget or not, but we can no longer use the 98,000 machines,” he said. Garcia made the remark after Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop voiced concern about why the Comelec is still using end-life and end-of-manufacturing equipment “that is so old and can be tampered with online or otherwise.” In 2021, Garcia said the poll body had requested a P23 billion budget to procure new sets of VCMs for the 2022 elections but to no avail. Instead, the Comelec was only given a P12 billion. According to Garcia, the Comelec has been using the 98,000 VCMs in the past three elections. “That’s not really going to work well. It’s like a refrigerator. No matter what you kick in there when it doesn’t get cold, it won’t get cold anymore,” Garcia said, “And so the Comelec resorted to refurbishment,” he said. “Because you know technology, Mr. Chair, you are right, it changes. Our cell phone is only six months old, and [these VCMs] we have been using it for several elections. The Comelec even bought it,” he added. Previously, Garcia expressed concerns about the potential ineffectiveness of the VCMs, especially since the poll body considered full automation and new technology for the next national elections. He also noted that the machines have already exceeded the lifespan of five years. Back in March, Comelec said it was planning to integrate the biometrics technology into the new election system it will be using for the 2025 polls. He said, however, that funding is the primary consideration in determining the type of technology they will utilize. The Comelec sought a P43.7-billion budget for 2024, but the Department of Budget and Management trimmed it to P27.34 billion under the National Expenditure Program. The post Comelec says goodbye to old VCMs appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Phl Navy to acquire new ships, weapons worth P58B
The Philippine Navy is slated to acquire two brand new missile corvettes between 2025 and 2026 while two offshore patrol vessels will arrive 2026 to 2028, a navy official bared Wednesday. PN ice commander Rear Adm. Caesar Bernard Valencia said the coming in of new navy vessels in the country is part of the corvette acquisition program of the Department of National Defense with the South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries awarded on 28 December 2021. "Marami po tayong parating na barko. Pagdating po ng 2025 tsaka 2026, we will be receiving two brand-new corvettes. Galing po ito sa South Korea. Bago po ito (We have a lot of naval ships coming in. In 2025 and 2026, we will be receiving two brand-new corvettes from South Korea. These ships are brand new)," Valencia said in a radio interview. The navy official said the brand corvettes are expected to reinforce the two Jose Rizal-class missile frigates that are in service—the BRP Jose Rizal and the BRP Antonio Luna. According to Valencia, these incoming corvettes, designed to be capable of conducting anti-ship, anti-submarine, and anti-air warfare missions, are worth P28 billion. On top of this, is the acquisition of brand-new offshore patrol vessels or OPVs worth P30 billion worth, which was also awarded to HHI on 28 June 2022. "At pagdating po ng 2026-2028, we expect to receive six more brand new OPVs. Ang OPV, ang pinaka main purpose po niya ay magpatrulya sa karagatan (Come 2026-2028, we expect to receive six more brand new OPVs, the main purpose of the OPV is to patrol the seas)," Valencia said. The post Phl Navy to acquire new ships, weapons worth P58B appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Tulfo on ID: ‘Why BSP?’
A senator questioned the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for assuming responsibility for printing the national identification cards under the Philippine Identification System or PhilSys project. Tulfo said he was puzzled as to how the BSP, in charge of printing Philippine money, became part of the PhilSys implementation. The project had a P28 billion budget after Republic Act 11055, or the Philippine Identification System Act was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte in August 2018. In October 2019, former BSP Governor and now Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno signed a memorandum of agreement with National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa for the production of national ID cards for an estimated 116 million Filipinos. Probe looms Tulfo questioned why the BSP accepted the printing of the ID cards and later, passed on the task to AllCard Inc. which has a poor performance record. He claimed AllCard Inc. has been delaying the implementation of its contract with other agencies. Tulfo bared he will soon file a resolution to investigate the matter concerning BSP and AllCard Inc.’s printing agreement. Tulfo lamented that since the National ID law was passed in 2018, only 36 million physical national ID cards have been printed — which is roughly one-third of the government’s 92 million target. “Now, once again, AllCard has delayed the implementation of its contract with the BSP. It’s not just delayed, it created a big mess,” he said. He deplored the BSP’s failure to correct the design of the QR code for national ID cards, noting that the existing design was too small and could not store enough information. “As a result of this, BSP may need to destroy millions of cards that have been initially printed to be replaced by a new design,” he added. On its sealed pact with the PSA for the PhilSys project, the BSP shall produce 116 million cards over three years. Tulfo also lambasted BSP for tapping an Australian company to print the country’s 1,000 peso bank note. “This only means that Philippine money is imported and made in Australia,” he said. The post Tulfo on ID: ‘Why BSP?’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
2 PBBM priority bills pressed for House okay
Two bills President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. listed in his wish list in Congress have been lobbied in the House of Representatives a day after the Chief Executive named it in his second State of the Nation Address. The proposed Tatak-Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) law and the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act, among Mr. Marcos’ 17 priority legislation that he asked Congress to enact, were embodied in House Bills 8601 and 8600, respectively, filed on 25 July by Quezon Rep. Keith Micah Tan. Marcos, during his second SoNA on Monday, bared before Congress his 17 priority bills in his second year in office, seeking its legislative power for its enactment. Seven of the total measures have already hurdled the lower chamber, with the remaining ten expected to be passed in October and December, confirmed by Speaker Martin Romualdez. Tan’s HB 8601 calls for the creation, funding, and implementation of the Tatak Pinoy Strategy by the Tatak Pinoy Council composed of the National Economic and Development Authority’s director general and Departments of Trade and Industry and Finance’s secretary. “The goal is to make the country competent in producing and offering complex or sophisticated products and services in order to empower the economic sector to branch out into other forms of complex production and economic activity towards jumpstarting national development that is anchored in the ingenuity of the Filipinos,” the lawmaker said in filing the bill. The proposal aims to make Filipino-made products, goods, and services competitive in the global market. Meanwhile, HB 8600, among other similar bills filed in the House, intends to amend Republic Act 10845, or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016. Among the provisions is the imposition of harsher penalties s on anyone found to have smuggled agricultural goods into the country, considering that no one has been prosecuted under existing laws despite the widespread smuggling of rice, sugar, onions, carrots, garlic, fish, and pork, Tan said. Last year, the government seized P1.2-billion of smuggled agricultural products. Also last year, the country experienced an agricultural shortage, primarily in onions, which soared as high as P500 to P700 per kilo during the last quarter of 2022. Earlier this week, Speaker Martin Romualdez has vowed that the House will approve four bills, including the Tatak Pinoy and Anti-Agricultural Smuggling before Congress goes into its first recess in October in the 10 priority measures that the chamber has yet to pass. The post 2 PBBM priority bills pressed for House okay appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
PNR: Massive train projects drive growth
State-owned railway company Philippine National Railway or PNR said the massive pipeline of train projects will not just offer convenience to commuters, but it will also help the economy trim the revenue losses due to traffic congestion, especially in Metro Manila. “Our commuters deserve to experience the luxury of riding on a train safely and comfortably. Aside from that, improving our train systems will also ease daily traffic,” PNR chairman Michael Ted R. Macapagal said in an interview at Straight Talk on Tuesday, an online show of the Daily Tribune. “The economy loses billions of pesos in traffic in Metro Manila daily. But the President, with the help of the Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, will push to revolutionize the entire transportation system in the country. The Philippines will be different in five to six years,” Macapagal explained. According to the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, about P3.5 billion is lost daily due to the congested Metro Manila roads. Citing projections by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the economic losses could balloon to P5.4 billion daily by 2035 if the gridlock issues will be unresolved. In his second State of the National Address on Monday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. bared that the DoTr will take on railway projects with a total length of more than 1,000 kilometers. The pipeline includes the following: PNR North Long Haul, 853 kilometers; Panay Railway, 100 kilometers; North Mindanao Railway, 54 kilometers; and San Mateo Railway, 17 kilometers. According to Bautista, all of these projects have secured funding to initiate feasibility studies. He said procurement is now ongoing for consultancy firms to create the feasibility studies for the rail projects lined up by the administration. “We initiated several railway projects, with a total length of more than 1,000 kilometers,” the President said. “Roads, bridges, and mass transport systems will be interconnected. This network will provide access and passage to vital and bustling economic markets, such as agriculture hubs, tourism sites, and key business districts,” Bautista said. PNR North Long Haul will be composed of four phases: Clark-La Union, La Union-Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Sur-Ilocos Norte and Cagayan Valley. It is envisioned to link strategic infrastructure, logistic system, and economic zones such as the Clark Freeport Zone, Poro Point Freeport Zone, Laoag International Airport, Port Irene, and Cagayan North International Airport (Lal-lo Airport). The Panay Railway project seeks to establish a modern and efficient railway system across the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, and Iloilo. The railway will serve as a vital link between major cities, towns, and economic hubs, facilitating the movement of goods, services, and people. Northern Mindanao Project, meanwhile, involves the financing, design, construction and operations, and maintenance of a 54.8-kilometer high-capacity, initially inter-city passenger railway system that will span across the highly urbanized city of Cagayan de Oro, connecting the Municipalities of Laguindingan and Villanueva, Misamis Oriental. San Mateo Railway is aimed to be built as a 17-km feeder railway line that connects LRT Line 2 to the municipalities of San Mateo and Rodriguez in the Rizal province. The post PNR: Massive train projects drive growth appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
P130B mandatory investment needed for NAIA rehab
The Department of Transportation said the winning bidder for the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport needs to prepare at least a P130 billion mandatory investment to deliver the much-needed upgrade for the country’s main air hub within three to five years. “There is a commitment to spend a certain amount of money for infrastructure. We are looking at something called mandatory infrastructure that should be implemented within the next five years,” Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista told reporters on the sidelines of the Philippine Economic Briefing in Pasay City. “We’re looking at something that may reach almost a hundred, 130 billion pesos in investment in the next three years or five years,” Bautista said. The DoTr will publish the Terms of Reference for the solicited bidding to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport by next month so that contract will be awarded as early as December. The National Economic and Development Authority or NEDA, chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., approved the solicited bid to privatize the operations of NAIA. NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the P170.6-billion project will help address the long-standing issues at the country’s main air hub such as congestion and limited aircraft movements that usually cause inconvenience to passengers. Last month, the DoTr and the Manila International Airport Authority submitted a joint proposal to the NEDA Board to privatize the operations and management of NAIA within 15 years. The government’s plan was shorter than the 25-year deal offered by Manila International Airport Consortium or MIAC who vied to take over NAIA. MIAC’s P267 billion proposal includes P211 billion of capital investments, P57 billion of which will be rolled out over the first five years. The remaining P154 billion, on the other hand, will be invested over the remainder of the proposed 25-year concession period. Under the NAIA Masterplan, there are three key phases of development, which will feature capacity and reliability increase, and overall improvements in passenger experience. Before the pandemic, NAIA had already breached this ceiling when it registered a peak of 47.9 million passengers in 2019. MIAC is composed of Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation, Asia's Emerging Dragon Corporation, Alliance Global – Infracorp Development, Inc., Filinvest Development Corporation, and JG Summit Infrastructure Holdings Corporation along with Global Infrastructure Partners. Massive railways projects slated In the same forum, Bautista also bared that the DoTr will take on railway projects with a total length of more than 1,000 kilometers. The project, which was also mentioned during Monday’s SONA, includes the following: PNR North Long Haul, 853 kilometers; Panay Railway, 100 kilometers; North Mindanao Railway, 54 kilometers; and San Mateo Railway, 17 kilometers. According to Bautista, all of these projects have secured funding to initiate feasibility studies. He said procurement is now ongoing for consultancy firms to create the feasibility studies for the rail projects lined up by the administration. The post P130B mandatory investment needed for NAIA rehab appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Son takes up Dad’s unfinished business
Expectations are high on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as he bared yesterday his accomplishments after one year in office. It won’t be surprising if many Filipinos will compare Marcos to his predecessor this early or even to his late father who is regarded by loyalists to be the GOAT leader of their generation. The reality, however, is that nobody is perfect and that there are persistent national challenges that outlasted past presidents and now face the current leader. When Marcos’ father officially assumed the presidency on 30 December 1965, he was confronted with huge government debt, inefficient agriculture, smuggling, lawlessness, rising prices and corruption. A year later, in his second State of the Nation Address delivered at the Legislative Building in Manila on 23 January 1967, the elder Marcos touted his progress in tackling those issues. “We confronted the problem of smuggling, as it was never done before by the national government. We paid no attention to the cynics who said that smuggling could not be eradicated or even diminished. Today, the popular surveys point to the success of the anti-smuggling drive as the premier achievement last year,” Marcos Sr. boasted in his second SoNA delivered 56 years and almost six months ago. The late president partly attributed to his administration’s expanded campaign against technical smuggling the higher collection of the Bureau of Customs during the period of January 1966 to January 1967 compared to the first year of his predecessor’s generated BoC revenues, P47 million against P30 million. In turn, the increased BoC collections boosted total government revenues in 1966 by over 12 percent or nearly P251 million to P2.3 billion from over P2 billion in 1965. Smuggling, however, endured after Marcos, his five successors, and now his son, whose fight against the enduring menace is focused on agricultural smugglers blamed for the rise in red onion prices to an unbelievable P720 per kilo in December. The current President has tapped the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation to find and prosecute the economic saboteurs. Taking bull by horns The elder Marcos said in his 1967 SoNA that the Philippine Constabulary, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and BoC were reorganized to root out corrupt personnel, including removing 80,000 casual employees. Of the latter, only those who had not been linked to cases of dishonesty or inefficiency were re-employed. The son, meanwhile, is also dealing with the same problem by institutionalizing online transactions, through the eGov PH Super app, to prevent the general public from being exposed to red tape, fixers, and extortionists in government. “We intend to keep prices down by increasing the production of prime commodities, especially rice and corn. We hope to be self-sufficient within a few years,” Marcos Sr. said in the 1967 SoNA. Marcos Jr. is addressing the same problem based on his own SoNA. “Ang mga pautang at financial assistance sa mga magbubukid at mangingisda ay magiging institusyon at patakaran ng aking administrasyon (Loans and financial assistance to farmers and fishermen will become an institution and the rule of my administration),” he said in his first SoNA. The concurrent agriculture secretary also mentioned modernizing farming through new technologies; expanding aquaculture, piggery, and poultry; building a national network of farm-to-market roads; and reviving the Kadiwa centers. Kadiwa is back and last 7 July, Marcos Jr. condoned the P57.65 billion in unpaid amortizations of 610,054 agrarian reform beneficiaries who till more than 1.7-million hectares of farmland. “Under existing agrarian laws, each agrarian reform beneficiary has to pay the cost of the land given to him in 30 years with six percent interest,” the President said. “It’s time to free them from this debt.” Relieved of the burden of debt, the ARBs can now channel their resources towards food production. Admittedly, perennial problems have endured despite the best efforts of past administrations to solve them. This cannot be misconstrued as a failure of leadership, but rather as unfinished business that existing and future presidents will have to assume and try to finish. The post Son takes up Dad’s unfinished business appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
AMID CA ‘OVERREACH’ ERC ready for battle
The Energy Regulatory Commission is ready to contest before the Supreme Court the decision of the Court of Appeals voiding the regulator’s rejection of the rate increase petitions of two San Miguel Corporation power generation firms. Legal pundits said the CA usurped the ERC’s authority in its ruling setting aside the regulator’s late 2022 decisions to dismiss the petitions of South Premiere Power Corp. and San Miguel Energy Corp. to increase prices. Others called the CA decision an “overreach.” The two San Miguel subsidiaries cited a “change in circumstances” for turning their backs on their fixed-priced contracts with Manila Electric Company. San Miguel disclosed on Wednesday to the Philippine Stock Exchange the favorable decision it had received from the CA’s 13th Division composed of Associate Justice Victoria Isabel Paredes, as chairperson; and Associate Justices Mary Charlene Hernandez-Azura and Florencio Mamauag Jr., as members. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, ERC chairperson lawyer Monalisa Dimalanta clarified that the CA’s decision was not yet final since, under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, only the Supreme Court can issue a permanent injunction on rate hikes. “There is no computation yet of the rate hikes. The decision is not yet final, and we will still file a motion for reconsideration. If granted, that’s another discussion. If denied, we will go all the way to the Supreme Court. I have not yet foreseen any rate impact,” Dimalanta said. Dimalanta added that the ERC, through the Office of the Solicitor General, will need to confirm if the CA is legally allowed to issue a final decision on rate hikes. “The CA can review any factual matter related to any rate hike petition, but we still want to clarify if the CA can decide with finality because it will change everything in the (power) industry. Under the EPIRA, only the SC can issue a permanent injunction,” Dimalanta explained. Unfortunate ruling According to Dimalanta, the CA’s decision was “unfortunate and disconcerting,” but the ERC will continue to uphold the law to “protect consumers.” “The ERC hopes the CA will revisit the records of the case as well as the arguments of the parties and uphold the commission’s ruling,” the ERC chief said. Consumers will not yet feel any adverse impact from the CA’s reversal of the ERC’s rejection of the temporary rate hike petitions, Dimalanta added. However, for San Miguel Global Power or SMGP, the holding firm for SMC’s power ventures, the CA’s decision “upholds the constitutional mandate of due process that guarantees the right to be treated fairly and effectively by quasi-judicial bodies like the ERC.” “It is regrettable that the ERC’s unfair decision early on to reject our joint petition with Meralco for a temporary rate hike — despite proving to be the least cost option at the time for power consumers — resulted in consumers shouldering the burden of much higher electricity rates,” SMGP said in a separate statement on Thursday. Nonetheless, the company said it still looks to “forge even stronger partnerships with the government, consumers, and other key stakeholders to help shape a more resilient and sustainable energy landscape for all.” Meanwhile, Meralco Head of Regulatory Management Jose Ronald Valles said the company will reach out to the CA to clarify some matters regarding the decision. “There are some matters in the decision that we feel need to be clarified. We are consulting with our lawyers on the legal remedies available to us, including an appeal to the Supreme Court,” Valles said. The 13th Division of the CA reversed the order of the ERC that rejected the temporary power rate hike petition filed by San Miguel Energy Corp. or SMEC and South Premiere Power Corp. or SPPC and Meralco. The CA decision granted the consolidated petitions for certiorari filed by SMEC and SPPC. It also favored the joint motion of SPPC and SMEC for a price adjustment with provisional authority and/or interim relief in ERC Case No. 2019-081 and ERC Case No. 2019-083. Likewise, the appellate court made permanent the preliminary injunction issued in favor of SPPC. The rate hike petition stemmed from SMGP’s report that its Sual Coal and Ilijan Natural Gas power facilities logged combined losses of P15 billion from 2021 to date due to high prices. As such, it sought temporary and partial cost recovery relief only for the losses it incurred from January to May, through a power rate increase on its contract capacity under the power supply agreement with Meralco to be amortized for six months. CA gets flak Consumer group Power for People Coalition criticized the CA magistrates for favoring the Ramon Ang-led San Miguel Corporation. “The Court of Appeals is supposed to uphold the interests of justice and the people, but it failed to do both in its decision granting SMC’s petitions in its cases before the ERC,” Gerry Arances, convener of the Power for People Coalition, said in a statement on Thursday. In its PSE disclosure, SMC said the CA annulled and set aside the ERC order dated 29 September 2022 in ERC Cases 2019-081 and 2019-083 due to a “grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.” The CA’s joint decision dated 27 June 2023, received by SMC through the Poblador Bautista Reyes Law Offices, granted the consolidated petitions for certiorari filed by SMEC and SPPC. Arances said the CA effectively released SMC from any consequences of breaking a contract “simply because it is not earning enough from a commitment it has made voluntarily.” “We hope that the court will reevaluate, and we will file a motion for reconsideration to give the justices another chance to live up to their name,” Arances said. It can be recalled that the two power companies, along with Meralco, appealed for a temporary rate hike under their 2019 power supply agreement to help them recover from the unprecedented hike in coal prices. The CA denied the petition of SMEC for a temporary restraining order, but it allowed a TRO and later a writ of preliminary injunction or WPI on the ERC decision to deny an increase in SPPC’s power supply agreement or PSA with Meralco. The CA then consolidated the two rate increase cases under the division that granted the WPI. In its report to the bourse, SMC bared that the CA also favored the SPPC and SMEC’s joint motion for price adjustments without prejudice to any further requests for price adjustments. The further request for adjustments would be for June 2022 onwards for SPPC, from June 2022 to 25 January 2023 or the date of writ of preliminary injunction; and for SMEC, from June 2022 to the date of the finality of the joint decision. The post AMID CA ‘OVERREACH’ ERC ready for battle appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Thread signup hits 10M
Facebook owner Meta’s version of Twitter called Thread was launched late Wednesday and the new microblogging site got 10 million sign-ups seven hours later. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg bared the news Thursday on his official Thread account, signaling the biggest challenge to the Elon Musk-owned Twitter. The Thread app went live, without ads, on Apple and Android apps stores in 100 countries at 11 p.m. Wednesday. Zuckerberg spent the first few hours of the platform’s launch replying to new users. “One thing that’s up is the number of world champion MMA (mixed martial arts) fighters on Threads, especially now that you’re here!” he wrote in a reply to American MMA fighter Jon Jones. “Round one of this thing is getting off to a good start,” he said in another. Zuckerberg also offered a shot across the bow at Musk — the pair are known to be bitter rivals, and have even offered to meet each other in a fighting cage to wrestle it out. In his first tweet in over a decade, Zuckerberg posted a Spiderman pointing at Spiderman meme in an apparent reference to the similarity of the two platforms. But Zuckerberg is game to achieve for Thread what Twitter has yet to score. Back on Threads, he wrote: “It’ll take some time, but I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it. Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn’t nailed it. Hopefully we will.” Twitter has said it has more than 200 million daily users. Threads was introduced as a clear spin-off of Instagram, which offers a built-in audience of more than two billion users, thereby sparing the new platform the challenge of starting from scratch. WITH AFP The post Thread signup hits 10M appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Exec warns vs. alarming risks fueled by climate change
Climate Change Commission Secretary Robert EA Borje warned the public of the alarming impacts of the climate change crisis, noting that some 40 areas across the country were considered as “most vulnerable” to weather extremes phenomenon. In a media interface held Friday night at Malacañan Compound in San Miguel, Manila, Borje emphasized the need to improve the country’s climate action plans to achieve sustainability and resiliency on the continuing risks brought by climate change. “The climate crisis is alarming not just in the Philippines but in the entire world,” he said. Borje cited that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has already identified the climate change phenomenon “as an existential threat.” “When it's an existential threat, that means that lives are already on the line…But it becomes more alarming for countries like the Philippines because we are a developing country, we are an archipelago and we are situated where we are,” he explained. Recognizing these impacts, Borje the government has devoted an entire chapter in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 to climate change and disaster resiliency. In fact, the Philippines has allocated USD 8.2 billion, or 9 percent of its total national budget, for climate change adaptation and mitigation programs this year. Despite being “on the right path” in addressing climate change, Borje said the Philippines “can always do better” to reduce and mitigate the impacts of “historic, global and systemic” phenomenon. “The government is implementing various programs, but it needs to boost and strengthen its efforts because of the shifts in the nature of challenges brought about by climate change),” he said, partly in the vernacular. “We can always do better. Always. I'm not saying that it is not enough. We can always do better. Because I think, whenever we've done something, it is automatic that the benchmark for the government and the people become higher,” he further stressed. Borje bared that the CCC is in close coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government to assist the 40 areas that are at risk of climate disaster. Of the total, 35 of these are “for assessment.” Borje did not identify the 40 highly-vulnerable areas but noted that the DILG was in charge of identifying them and that they are now focusing on the whole-of-government approach to mitigate the risks of the climate change phenomenon. “The CCC and the DILG aim to make sure that 100 percent of the local government units nationwide are implementing their respective Local Climate Change Action Plans,” he said. Based on the CCC data, the LCCAP submissions increased by 95 percent from 715 submissions in 2021 to 1,397 as of 31 December 2022. The Commission targets 100 percent compliance from 1,715 LGUs by Fiscal Year 2024. The LCCAP, which serves as the LGU’s plan for enhancing local climate resilience, includes information on fit-for-purpose climate actions anchored on site-specific risks and vulnerabilities. The post Exec warns vs. alarming risks fueled by climate change appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘It really feels like coming home’
Dr. Teodoro “Ted” Herbosa assumed official control of the Department of Health on Monday, less than two weeks after being appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. A turnover ceremony was held at the DoH main office in Manila, with Herbosa waving the agency’s banner after receiving it from former officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire, symbolizing the transfer of authority during the flag-raising ceremony. The ceremony coincided with the DoH’s week-long 125th anniversary celebration with the theme “One25. One DoH: Sama-sama Tungo sa Pagbabago at Kalusugan ng Lahat.” “It really feels like coming home,” Herbosa said in his speech. Prior to his appointment as Health chief on 5 June, Herbosa served as special adviser to the National Task Force against Covid-19. He also served as undersecretary at the Department of Health from 2010 to 2015 during the Aquino administration. Under his leadership, Herbosa vowed the Health department would be more “humanistic.” “I know they want it to be regulatory to promote good governance and prevent corruption, but I think we should also not forget that there’s a human side in health,” he said. “The way we deliver and govern should be humanistic. It should be humane. The regulations, operations, and assistance to hospitals, whether private or not, should be humane, in terms of providing services to the public,” he said. Meanwhile, Vergeire, who led the agency for almost a year, expressed her gratitude to Herbosa for “aligning” the direction of the Health department with her initiatives. “I think all are aligned. I just want to say that I am grateful to Secretary Ted Herbosa because he did not veer away from the direction that we were going or that we started when I was the OIC,” she told reporters. Herbosa named Vergeire the agency’s overall head of undersecretaries. 8-point agenda Meanwhile, Herbosa bared his eight-point agenda for the Health department to fully realize the Universal Health Care Act. Among the priorities of the DoH are emergency preparedness, disease prevention, use of technology for faster medical assistance, emotional and mental health, and protection of healthcare workers’ rights. Agreement with PhilHealth In a related development, Herbosa on Monday led the signing of a service level agreement with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and Primary Care Provider Network, in a bid to fully realize the Universal Health Care Act. Under the agreement, five local government units, two private sector groups of clinics and doctors, together with PhilHealth, will form the first seven primary care networks in the country. Republic Act 11223 or the UHC Act defines “primary care” as first-contact, accessible, continuous, comprehensive and coordinated; accessible at the time of need; with a range of services for all presenting conditions; and able to coordinate referrals to other doctors, clinics and hospitals in the health care delivery system, when needed. According to Herbosa, the state insurer will allot P500 to P750 per patient per year, on a reimbursement basis to Konsulta Package Providers. “The money will be given to them based on the number of constituents who are beneficiaries of the primary care network,” he said. Around two million Filipinos from the provinces of Bataan, Guimaras, Quezon, South Cotabato, as well as Baguio City are expected to benefit from the PCN innovation. Under his leadership, Herbosa vowed the Health department would be more ‘humanistic.’ Another 300,000 Filipinos under the care of the LiFE group as well as QualiMed will also be covered by the improvements in primary care financing. The current PhilHealth Konsultasyong Sulit at Tama (Konsulta) primary care benefit package covers patient consultations, any of 13 laboratory and diagnostic tests as ordered by a doctor, and 21 common medications that can be prescribed according to medical needs. In a joint statement with the DoH, the state insurer said Konsulta PCPN innovates this arrangement on a “sandbox” or testing basis in pre-selected areas, by allowing advanced payment or frontloading of funds even before services are rendered. “Konsulta PCPN will also only pay networks of primary care doctors and clinics, instead of the individual clinics like the regular Konsulta benefit,” PhilHealth said. “These innovations are enabled by new Commission on Audit accounting guidelines. The seven Konsulta PCPNs caring for 2.3 million Filipinos are projected to be paid a total of P1.2 billion, which may be used to improve infrastructure, equipment, and staff compensation even before the first patient starts using the services,” it added. The post ‘It really feels like coming home’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
P9 billion fund anomaly in special risk allowances bared
An administration lawmaker has filed a resolution in the House of Representatives seeking an inquiry into the P9-billion fund for health workers that allegedly never reached them or have been disbursed in much smaller amounts......»»
Bulacan airport opens in 4 years
The P735-billion New Manila International Airport (NMIA), touted as the single-largest investment ever in the Philippines, is set for opening in just four years from now. San Miguel Corp. (SMC) president Ramon S. Ang on Thursday bared plans to set the massive airport running in as early as 2025. “All of these, Mr. President, will […] The post Bulacan airport opens in 4 years appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Lacson bares ‘huge’ infra allocations for congressional districts
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo Lacson bared “huge” infrastructure allocations for congressional districts under the 2021 budget, with allocations for 220 districts amounting to over P1 billion, the highest of which is P15.3 billion. Lacson made the disclosure during the Senate plenary debates on the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) […].....»»
Dagyaw 2020 tackles NorMin s econ recovery from P90.6-B loss
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Oct. 30 (PIA)-Marking P90.61 billion estimated output losses from March 15 to September 30 in the region, economic recovery plans were bared during the Dagyaw 2020 Episode 3: U.....»»
Probe alleged PhilHealth anomalies, solon urges
Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers has joined the list of lawmakers seeking an investigation on the alleged corruption in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth). He filed House Resolution No. 1068 seeking to direct the House Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Anakalusugan partylist Rep. Michael Defensor to look into the alleged anomalies besetting the government corporation that is mandated to help provide affordable, available and accessible health care service for all Filipinos. “There is a need to determine and address the alleged corruption issues to safeguard the Philhealth’s fund and determine the accountability of the Philhealth officials in order to ensure provision of quality, credible, and reliable services to its members,” he said. He noted that it was uncovered last June 2019, that there were some Philhealth officials who allegedly created a scheme where medical clinics or establishment continue to receive payoffs for dialysis treatment even after the death of the patients. “On July 23, 2020, another corruption controversy circulated on social media in which three Philhealth officials resigned from their posts after alleged corruption activities in the agency were accidentally revealed during a Zoom meeting. One of the said officials who tendered his resignation is the anti-fraud legal officer of Philhealth, Atty. Thorsson Montes Keith, citing widespread corruption as one of his reasons,” Barbers said. He said even Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque bared the supposed “systemic corruption” in Philhealth involving those in the agency’s higher echelons. “Atty. Roque revealed that an investigation has been conducted on the alleged anomalies on the overprices purchased of an IT system worth over P2 billion,” Barbers said. Defensor also filed House Resolution No. 1069 seeking motu proprio investigation on the corruption issues hounding Philhealth that led to the resignation of several personalities. “When there seems to be a pattern of alleged abuses where loopholes can be taken advantage of by the unscrupulous, a systemic change needs to be done to overhaul the present set up,” he said......»»
Robredo: COVID-19 cases and deaths are not mere statistics
Vice President and opposition leader Leni Robredo said the country’s coronavirus cases and deaths are not mere statistics as it shows how COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected every Filipino family. VP LENI ROBREDO (SCREENSHOT FRO VP LENI ROBREDO’S FACEBOOK VIDEO / MANILA BULLETIN) Robredo noted more people have to endure hardships that resulted from the weaker economy and continuous rise in the number of infections and deaths. “Conversely, as more people get sick because of COVID-19, so does the suffering of our people get prolonged. Many have died; they are not mere statistics,” she said. ”Each of them had a story, had a dream, has a family that mourns their loss. And as cases continue to rise, it becomes harder move forward towards a better normal,” she added. The vice president reminded the administration the pandemic is the root cause of these problems, and if it has a clear plan, Filipinos can overcome the challenges of COVID-19 and move forward. Robredo bared a comprehensive list of suggestions in a videotaped public address, dubbed “Message of Hope”, on her Facebook page. This was perceived by many as her own roadmap on how the country can recover from the ill-effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Her recommendations include a correct data regarding COVID-19, safety nets for affected families, tax incentives for companies, equitable and systematic provision of resources to hospitals. Robredo also batted for pooled testing and timely contract tracing, better wages of health workers, and harmonization of COVID-19 efforts of the public and private sector, among others, instead of just waiting for a vaccine to become available. The opposition leader said she supports the government’s P31-billion “Plant, Plant, Plant” program that will be implemented nationwide to benefit farmers, fisherfolks, and consumers. This program mentioned by President Duterte during his last Monday’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) falls under the “Whole of Nation” approach, which Robredo said she is also supportive of. “We support the whole of nation approach. But a true whole nation approach should be directed toward a common goal,” she said. The lady official is also keeping her faith on the goodness and capability of Filipinos in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. “It is not wishful thinking to dream that we can also achieve what Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, and New Zealand have achieved….We can also do this. We have the right skills, we should have sufficient resources. We have what it takes,” she said......»»
All Hail the Camera King! HONOR Magic6 Pro Ranks Number 1 in Camera Global Rankings
The leading global provider of smart devices, HONOR, claimed the top spot as the best camera smartphone in the recent DxOMark ranking test, dethroning its competitors with a high-ranking score of 158. DxOMark, an independent camera testing organization that provides comprehensive evaluations of camera performances, has awarded HONOR Magic6 Pro as the top contender in […].....»»