DPWH TO DREDGE RIVERS DOWN SLOPES OF BULUSAN VOLCANO
By Ed de Leon

LEGAZPI CITY –Director Danilo E. Dequito of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bicol has directed today Sorsogon 2nd Engineering District Office chief Engr. Edgar Curativo to prepare the program of work for the desilting of two rivers down the slopes of Bulusan Volcano in Bulusan town which has become shallow due to lahar flows washed down by continuous rains in the area.

It may be recalled that Bulusan Volcano started spewing dark ash clouds as high as two kilometers from its crater during a series of phreatic eruptions starting November 6, 2010 that caused the accumulation of a large volume of lahar along its slopes reaching some 450,000 metric tons todate estimated by Phivolcs resident volcanologist Ed Laguerta .

Laguerta said that continuous heavy rains might trigger heavy lahar flows down slope along the already heavily silted Cadac-an and Rangas rivers.

Dequito said that Phivolcs officials have also recommended the dredging of the two rivers and their tributaries to prevent over flowing when continuous heavy rains hit the area.

Curativo meanwhile briefed the DPWH regional director during the latter’s site visit today in the towns of Irosin, Juban and Casuguran to make a first hand inspection of the affected areas.

Curativo also informed Dequito on designated alternate routes that can be taken by motorists in case Bulusan has a full-blown eruption and turn the main highway impassable.

Dequito said that heavy equipment like bulldozer, back hoe and dump trucks are now in placed in areas were they are most needed in case the volcano situation worsens.

He added that he also directed the district office chief to rush the completion of the plans for the dredging so that he will be able to forward it to the central office for immediate funding. (PIA V/mal)

SALCEDA URGES SC TO COMPEL GOV’T TO FIND WAYS TO CUSHION IMPACT OF SLEX TOLL RATE HIKE

LEGAZPI CITY -- Albay Governor Joey Salceda on Monday (November 29) expressed dismay over the recent Supreme Court (SC) ruling dismissing for lack of merit his petition questioning the authority of the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) to approve the 250-percent toll rate increase in the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx).

In an emailed message, Salceda said the SC ruling "junking my petition over the SLEx toll rate increase would indeed affect in general the economic growth of Bicol particularly Albay whose economic momentum has already started to gain headway".

“My major concern is the P480 million annual net resource outflow siphoned from the Albay economy with annual amount of P82 billion in 2009 which would disrupt our economic growth thus our ability to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) especially the reduction of poverty” he stressed.

Salceda, in raising his concern, said he would urge the SC to compel the national government to find ways to cushion the adverse economic impact of its decision specifically on the welfare of small “viajeros” who depend on Divisoria trade, or fish dealers that rely on Navotas, and the ordinary motorists including students studying in Metro Manila or families visiting their relatives working in Manila.

“I am asking the Supreme Court to direct the National Government to offset such outflows by commensurately increasing its annual flows to Albay by way of higher Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) coverage, tertiary scholarships and support to our only SUC - Bicol University and capital investments in relocation sites and permanent evacuation centers.”

He said “If the justice system is able to compel that, then, the Supreme Court has spoken."

The high court in its November 23 resolution stated “Wherefore, the petition … is hereby dismissed for lack of merit. Accordingly, the TRO (temporary restraining order) issued by the court … with respect to this petition is hereby ordered lifted.”

While dismissing the Salceda petition, the high court did not rule on the immediate implementation of the toll increase.

Instead, the magistrates reiterated their position in the previous ruling on four similar petitions remanding to the TRB the issue of “propriety and reasonableness” of the toll increase in SLEx.

Salceda last June asked the SC to stop the SLEX planned toll fee hike, saying “toll fees should not be increased by mere contract between the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) and its contracting parties through the Supplemental Toll Operation Agreement (STOA). Without notice and hearing, which are mandatory twin requisites of Section 3(d), P.D. 1112 (Toll Operation Decree), the increase in toll fees is null and void for the reason that such action violates a mandatory provision of law.”

With the 250-percent increase, private passenger vehicles would be paying P2.73 per kilometer over the current 82 centavos per kilometer.

Salceda said under PD 1112, the authority of the TRB to enter into contracts, in behalf of the Republic of the Philippines, extends only to construction, operation and maintenance of toll facilities.

“Clearly, the TRB has committed a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction when it entered into a contract which includes, as part of its contractual provisions, the determination and fixing of toll rates, including its increase, in clear violation of its express and limited authority under PD 1112,” he explained.

Salceda added that such massive increase “will prompt substantial negative consequences in the lives of ordinary citizens of the Bicol region.” (PNA Bicol/PIA/mal)

REPRO HEALTH BILL GAINING MORE PEOPLE’S SUPPORT -- LAGMAN

LEGAZPI CITY — Albay Representative Edcel Lagman of the second congressional district has expressed high optimism that in no time the Reproductive Health Bill will be passed into law following the increasing support of the populace based on the recent Pulse Asia survey.

Lagman has cited in his statement e-mailed to PIA News Service that the most recent Pulse Asia survey has revealed 69 per cent of Filipinos favor the passage of a reproductive health law, adding that it manifests the dwindling influence of the Catholic hierarchy when it comes to persuading the faithful to eschew modern methods of family planning.

Lagman has observed that despite the Catholic hierarchy’s all-out campaign against the bill and its branding of all modern methods of family planning as “intrinsically evil”, support for the RH bill has even risen by six percentage points from 63 per cent supporting its passage into law in January 2009 to the present 69 per cent.

“Not only did nationwide support for the bill increase, the opposition to it also decreased from 8 per cent in January 2009 to 7 per cent in Pulse Asia’s survey in October 2010,” he added.

“The people have spoken yet again. They do not only approve of the passage of the RH bill, 79 per cent recognize the right of women and couples to decide for themselves which family planning method is best suited to them; 70 per cent agree that all forms of family planning methods should be promoted; and 55 per cent agree that government funds must be used to support modern family planning methods,” Lagman elaborated.

The solon furthered that the results of the survey is no surprise as almost two decades of surveys by the Pulse Asia and the SWS document that (1) an overwhelming majority of Filipinos, principally Catholics, favor the enactment of RH bill; (2) government must spend for the purchase and distribution of contraceptives to acceptors; and (3) government must promote of all methods of family planning.

Based on the Pulse Asia survey, even a majority of those who disagreed, endorsed other provisions of the RH bill, including recognition of the rights of women and couples to choose the family planning method that they want on the basis of their needs and personal and religious beliefs; promotion of information about and access to natural and modern family planning methods; and the use of government funds to support modern family planning methods. (MALoterte, PIA V)

NEW EMB ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IS A BICOLANO

LEGAZPI CITY – A true blooded Bicolano is designated as the officer-in-charge to the Office of the Assistant Director at the head office of the Environmental Management Bureau of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (EMB-DENR).

In a special order signed by Environment Sec. Ramon Paje, Engr. Gilbert Gonzales, CESO IV is designated as OIC Assistant Director.

Prior to his designation to the office of the Assistant Director, Gonzales led the EMB Bicol as the Regional Director for a span of eleven years.

Under his watch at the regional office, Gonzales implemented a comprehensive water quality management program highlighted by a public-private partnership program dubbed “Clean Bicol Rivers” (CBR).

Through the CBR, EMB Bicol identified urban rivers in the region for its rehabilitation and conservation efforts, through a multi-stakeholders synergy embodied in six river management councils. As per EMB V’s assessment, all of the CBR rivers posted significant improvement on its water quality and a decreasing trend on garbage thrown at the streams.

Gonzales’ resolute campaign for industry compliance to clean water act led to prompt and comprehensive resolution to the worst water pollution case in the region, when the Rapu-Rapu Polymetallic Project spilled their cyanide-laden wastewater off the Albay Gulf due to an overflowing tailings pond in October 2005.

The bureau slapped the erring mining company with 10.4 million pesos in fines and penalty.

Eco-waste management is also Gonzales’ priority, providing technical assistance to every local government for their effective implementation and compliance to Republic Act 9003 also known as the Ecological solid Waste Management Act. Under his guidance, two local governments received national recognition for their effective eco-waste management as epitomized by Barangay Lubiano, Pilar, Sorsogon and the latest national champion in zero basura campaign – the town of Magarao in Camarines Sur.

To put emphasis on segregation and recycling, the new assistant director initiated Waste to Cash Market (W2CM) project in Legazpi and Naga City to urge private and public partnership in solid waste management. W2CM underpins DENR commitment to the climate change campaign to lower waste consumption, generation and advocate for recycling.

With Gonzales’ guidance, Bicol is able to maintain a fair level of air quality as compared to other regions. He established three air sampling stations in the region’s key cities, Iriga, Legazpi and Naga City. He urged colleges and universities to support the government’s anti-smoke belching campaign with their participation to “Bantay Tambutso sa Eskwelahan”, provided technical assistance to local governments in the creation of Anti-Smoke Belching Unit and passing ordinances aimed at banning garbage burning or “Bantay Sunog Basura” moreover, enjoining LGUs to set up “Green Spaces” or greening of identified open spaces to serve as carbon sink/buffer zones to air pollution.

Alongside these accomplishments, Gonzales was also instrumental to the signing of the memorandum of understanding among hospitals and healthcare providers in Albay to regulate their healthcare wastes and enforce compliance to the Republic Act 6969 or the Toxic Chemicals and Hazardous Waste Management Act. Currently the EMB is monitoring 118 healthcare facilities, 8 transporters, 5 temporary storage and disposal facilities and strictly overseeing small scale gold processing plants in Paracale, Camarines Norte and Aroroy, Masbate.

Meanwhile, the steadfast resolution of the Balocawe Iron Ore mining dispute in Irosin, Sorsogon earned Gonzales a commendation from DENR Undersecretary Jeremias Dolino as he imposed fines and penalty to the mining project’s proponent and implemented a strict compliance to environmental laws.

A civil and sanitary engineer by profession, Gonzales rose from the ranks, as a pollution control technician to OIC, Assistant Director of EMB head office. He obtained his master’s degree in Environmental Studies at the University of New South Wales in Australia, his bachelor’s degree in civil and sanitary engineering at the Mapua Institute of Technology. (ASAraya, DENR V/PIA/mal)

ALBAY INFLATION RATE MAINTAINED AT 3.2 % IN SEPTEMBER

LEGAZPI CITY— The provincial inflation rate of Albay maintained the posted 3.2 percent in August 2010 to September 2010 that is 2.8 percentage points higher than the 0.4 inflation rate posted a year ago, according to data obtained from the National Statistics Office (NSO) in Bicol.

In the same report, the agency has attributed the present level of the province’s inflation rate to the changes reflected in the rates registered in the indices of the heavily-weighted food, beverages and tobacco (FBT) index and the non-food commodity/service groups.

NSO Bicol Director Cynthia Perdiz explained that FBT rate recorded a slight increase of 0.13 percent (4.14 percent from 4.01 percent). Increased in the indexes of food, beverages and tobacco were attributed to the following increments in the food groups – cereals and cereal preparation (1.82 percent from 0.85 percent), miscellaneous (6.86 percent from 6.70 percent), beverages (1.22 percent from 1.15 percent), and tobacco (2.41 percent from 1.81 percent).

Contradictory to this, she noted, decreases were likewise recorded in the indices of eggs (3.88 percent from 40.05 percent), fish (7.81 percent from 8.02 percent), fruits & vegetables (7.00 percent from 7.31 percent), and meat (1.46 percent from 2.79 percent). On the other hand, dairy products index maintained its rate at 1.73 percent between the two-month periods.

Perdiz furthered that the Consumer’s Price Index (CPI) for all income households in Albay was registered at 170.4 in September 2010 lower by 0.1 index point over the August 2010 level of 170.5.

“This incurred -0.06 percent change in the all-item index, lower than the 0.29 percent in the previous month,” she noted.

“Across commodities under the heavily-weighted FBT index, decrease in the index of this group is due to the decreases registered in the ff: fish (0.06 percent from 0.90 percent), fruits and vegetables (-1.62 percent from 2.23 percent), meat (-1.11 percent from -0.12 percent) and tobacco (0.59 percent from 0.94 percent),” she added.

The NSO report has however recorded increases in the indices of cereals and cereals preparation (0.34 percent from 0.28 percent), eggs(0.23 percent from -0.30 percent) and beverages (0.14 percent from 0.07 percent). Dairy products index also maintained its rate at zero percent.

In the non-food commodity/service group, increase in the indices for fuel, light and water and miscellaneous were registered – 1.01 percent from 0.27 percent and 0.22 percent from 0.07 percent, respectively.

Clothing and housing and repair remained as eased in zero percent change while services had registered as decrement (-0.39 percent from -0.10 percent).

Perdiz explained that as a result, the over-all rate in the non-food commodity/service group was noted to have no changes at zero percent from the August 2010 index.

She said that the price changes reflected in the CPI above caused the purchasing power of the peso (PPP) in Albay to still remain its value at P0.59. (MALoterte, PIA V)

CHIZ QUESTIONS MRT 3 PROJECT, CALLS FOR A SENATE INQUIRY

MANILA — Who really controls the Metro Rail Transit 3 project between the government and the Sobrepeňa Group?

Senator Chiz Escudero wanted this answered as the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) failed to confirm in the budget hearing at the senate last week the exact status of operational control of the MRT 3 prompting him to call for a senate inquiry to look into the matter.

Metro Rail Transit Corporation, owned by John Robert Sobrepeňa entered into a build-lease-transfer contract with DOTC to build the MRT 3 project in 1997 with a put up equity of one hundred ninety million dollars ($190m). The government has since been paying for the project.

Through the years, the group retained control of the operations and development of the MRT 3.

“This contract I think has been anomalous and grossly disadvantageous to the government in the beginning. One, there was a sovereign guarantee in the contract. But the MRT3 was an unsolicited proposal. Under the BOT law, unsolicited proposals must not have any government guarantees”.

He added that MRTC assigned the development rights payment (DPR) to another company called the MRT DevCo which is not allowed under the BOT law. DPR pertains to the acquisition of commercial rights and development of the 16-hectare depot site, including all concessions to develop air and ground spaces.

“What is more questionable in this arrangement is the fact that the signatory both for the assignor (MTRC) and the assignee are one and the same and that is John Robert Sobrepeňa”.

The company has been collecting and receiving income from DPRs but DOTC lamented that MRTC has failed to settle its outstanding debt from DRP that already totalled to more than a billion pesos.

“In other rails in the world, DPRs are actually used to supplement the income of the railway system itself so that it can subsidize lower rates to the commuters. That is why knowing who really controls the MRT 3 operation now is very important because we want to assist the DOTC in so far as the steps they have to take in the next couple of months or years as to how to deal with this particular issue”.

Early this year, state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) acquired a controlling interest in MRT 3 by accumulating equity in and debt paper of the MRTC to realize savings for the government.

Escudero also questioned the move of MRTC to peddle its supposed remaining assets to interested parties like the Metro Pacific Investment Corporation.

“This is a BLT arrangement and under such arrangement, there are no assets to talk about that they can sell. They can only speak of economic interest in the BLT because at the end of the term it will be owned by the government. If there is anything that the Sobrepeňa group can sell it is only the economic interest which they already did to LBP and DBP”.

With a combined 72% equity from the two state banks, Escudero said the government should now have control of the corporation. Thus, “revenue flows should be pointing towards the government coffers”.

The Sobrepena group is also claiming DPRs to the MRT 3 Phase 2 project that will connect the Monumento-North Edsa line. DOTC has refuted the claim saying only Phase 1 of the project has been assigned to the Sobrepenas. (Office of Sen. Francis Escudero/PIA/mal)