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Are you comfortable?

By Tony Samson

ONLY in our country do we refer to toilets as “comfort rooms.” I can only surmise how that came about. Was it the relief expected from a visit there? Ask for directions where the comfort room is in North America and you get a quizzical look, unless the party being queried happens to be a compatriot.

Toilets have now been politicized (after sidewalks and schoolrooms) and turned into discomfort rooms. While the clearly female character in the eyewear ad seemed embarrassed at entering the men’s room by mistake due to poor eyesight, the social clarity of matching gender and assigned space is now up in the air, even for the clear-eyed.

True, even before the passage of the now much-discussed law, there was no problem with a janitress wandering into the men’s room even when it was occupied to clean up around the urinals. But could a janitor wander into the ladies’ room and expect the same nonchalant reaction?

“Comfort” is a modifier used for such nouns as rooms (toilet) and food (familiar home-cooking). In commerce, a “comfort letter” is designed to provide assurances that conditions for a deal will be met. Some years back, “comfort women”, as a victimized group, sparked the move for them to be indemnified to right a historical injustice. They got an apology instead.

In psychology, a “comfort zone” is defined as a mental state of well-being. When one is in his comfort zone, he confidently goes about his business. His assignments and disposition are aligned to give him a feeling of control, even mastery.

“Comfort zone” was originally a term in physics referring to temperature in an equilibrium state. The body neither sweats nor shivers when the temperature is between 28 to 30 degrees centigrade. This neither-hot-nor-cold condition (also known as the Goldilocks state in economics) provides comfort and safety.

Leaving one’s comfort zone is seldom a self-initiated move. Newton’s Law of Inertia, where a body at rest wants to stay in that state, applies to people. Thus, being forced out of a job’s comfort zone, after a long and secure tenure is sure to be a disturbing experience.

FREEPIK

Even among birds, fledglings with newly acquired feathers need to be pushed out of their comfortable nest to try flying after just lying around and being fed worms lying down on a warm spot of interlocking twigs — open your mouth.

Being pushed out of a comfort zone, even by those who do not consider your well-being, can turn into a blessing in disguise. After a momentary sense of confusion, the new state (accompanied by a sense of falling) can lead to flight, or a loud thud being the last sound heard before losing consciousness.

Even for the comfortable, the state of not perspiring and not shivering can be boring. The goals in one’s early life may be simple. But eventually owning a new car and a home almost fully paid is only comforting after a while. The sense of well-being is temporary. Envy of one’s cohorts in school or work can set in — did they move up faster? Aren’t the rich envious of those who are richer?

The state of discomfort at what has already been achieved is referred to as a “mid-life crisis.” Usually, in one’s late forties after realizing childish dreams or accepting that they must be scaled down, sometimes craziness beckons. And wild things happen — he got into a franchise for a siomai cart business which failed, and then ran off with a masseuse.

Jumping off a bridge is not always the suicidal event it may seem at first — only an extreme sport (if there is a bungee rope attaching the body to a solid support that can bear a falling weight). Some mid-life crisis events are less risky — like training for a triathlon or joining a monastic cult.

The choice is not binary then — leaving or staying in the comfort zone. One can leave without having to cut off ties to sanity.

The equilibrium that a comfort zone offers may be unexciting. Still, the need to rest, recharge, take stock, and consolidate is part of being comfortable. Then it is off again to the risky outdoors where temperatures can change, usually to the very hot and sweaty. After straying a bit, the enticement of the comfort zone can be strong… but sometimes no longer available.

 

Tony Samson is Chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda.

ar.samson@yahoo.com

No ID, No Entry

A newspaper report quoted NEDA Secretary Ernesto Pernia as claiming that a National ID System — which in our case, rolls out this month — will help curb leakages in the government’s cash transfer programs as it can help better identify “deserving beneficiaries” and also correct the “lag between the need of the citizens who merit assistance, and the provision of the budget.”

In this line, I urge the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to hype up its pilot registration for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) that starts this September, so that it can achieve its target of having the entire population registered before the end of 2022. Many still lack valid proof of identity that contains both basic personal information and biometric data.

It is bewildering how some private enterprises go about checking one’s identity in line with their own security protocols. In my opinion, some of these protocols defy logic. And since there doesn’t seem to be any government-set standards for such processes, there is no opportunity or recourse to question them. The use of a national ID can help set a standard for security checks.

Perhaps not unlike a few others, I always carry an “old” ID card for identification purposes — an expired driver’s license — when walking about the city sans wallet and credit cards. Just cash in my pocket, the old ID, house keys, and an old mobile phone. I carry the ID so that in case of an emergency or an accident, people can “identify” me.

Despite its “expiration,” the details on the old license — name, date of birth, address, personal statistics, signature, and emergency contact number — remain valid and current. It is only the ID that has expired, but not its details. Even the picture is somewhat updated. What is important, I believe, is that I can be identified by name and photograph.

I tried a simple experiment in this regard. I carried three sets of identification: a “valid” driver’s license issued in 2017 and good for five years; the driver’s license that “expired” in 2017; and, a Social Security System (SSS) ID card issued about 20 years ago. Then, I tried to enter an office building in Makati City.

Upon entry, I handed the license card that expired about two years ago, and it was immediately rejected. When I inquired as to why, the woman behind the counter said that the ID was invalid because it was expired. When I argued that the details were still valid, including the address and the picture, she insisted that I give a “valid” ID instead.

I then gave her my SSS ID, which she accepted and considered “valid” for the simple reason that it did not carry an expiration date. And this is despite the fact that the ID carried only my name, SSS number, date of birth, and signature. It did not have my residential address nor my personal statistics such as sex, height, and weight. Worse, it carried a photograph taken 20 years ago. But it was deemed valid because it did not have an expiry date.

I did not bother to take out my current license, nor to argue the point that the details and photographs on both the expired and the valid license cards were the same. But, if the logic behind leaving an ID to gain entry is to identify a person entering a building, and leaving some from of trace or trackability in the future for whatever purpose, why then should an expiry date — or the lack thereof, in the case of the SSS ID — be the point of contention? An expiry date does not validate nor invalidate the details on the ID.

Go to a bank or any other establishment with Know-Your-Customer (KYC) protocols as required by the government, and you can also expect the same line of thinking or logic. My SSS ID, despite its deficiencies and age, remains a valid and acceptable form of identification as opposed to a recently “expired” driver’s license that has updated details and a more current photograph.

In this line, despite its lack of an entry for residential address, a passport with biometric features as well as a relatively new driver’s license also with biometric features will be your best bets for valid and acceptable government-issued identification cards. In many instances, two government-issued IDs are required for service, and these two will suffice.

The problem is that not everyone has a passport or a driver’s license. And while a motorist regularly carries his or her license, people carry their passport only when they are traveling. As such, many people will be one ID card short when dealing with banks and other institutions that require the presentation of two government IDs.

In rural areas, people usually don’t have either. No passport, no license. Thus, no ID. And, not everybody votes. In my case, despite being a registered voter, I never got a voter’s ID. And only a few people bother to get a postal ID. Senior cards and PWD cards are given only to a few. In this regard, I believe there is an actual need for a national ID card.

In a column this March, I also noted NEDA Secretary Ernesto Pernia’s concern that about 14% of Filipinos have limited to no access to government as well as financial services for lack of proper identification or proper documentation. This, again, further highlights the need for the Philippine Identification System or PhilSys, and the issuance of a “National ID” with a specific or unique and permanent PhilSys number for citizens and resident aliens. It should have personal details and biometric information.

As I understand the process, people will have to be registered, and then be given a permanent ID number and issued national ID cards after personal information submitted are “authenticated.” The national ID can be used for public and private transactions, and can serve as one of the two usually required when dealing with banks and like.

Many people actually fake their birth year for various reasons: to get a driver’s license at age 15 or 16; to get a senior card even before the age of 60; to delay retirement from government service by one to three years; to compete in sporting competitions in specific age groups; to get married; or to draw benefits or incentives, etc. Some simply pay to shortcut the licensing process.

Well, those days may be numbered. One indirect consequence of this national ID effort is the possible audit of all existing ID cards and weeding out those with false or fraudulent information. Linking public and private databases for the purpose of authenticating personal and biometric information will help purge the system of fake identification details.

It is about time that such a purge occurs. People with fake entries should now work on correcting them, even if it means paying a penalty. Once the national ID system is in place, all information made public might be vetted and authenticated, and any mismatch might just lead to confusion or delay or more penalties for the ID applicant.

As Secretary Pernia connects the national ID to conditional cash transfers, and as more banks and other financial institutions accept the national ID as a form of identification, and with a banking digital ID registry also under way, then surely we are now seeing the advent of the shift where “No ID, No Entry” will soon become “No ID, No Money.”

 

Marvin A. Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippines Press Council.

matort@yahoo.com

More politics will worsen the Philippines’ power deficiency

It is pathetic that people often politicize many things, whether food or medicines or electricity. Like creating a new energy company by legislation instead of the normal ERC-SEC process, or getting the Supreme Court to stop implementation of certain provisions of the EPIRA law of 2001 (RA 9136) such as the retail competition and open access (RCOA).

The Philippines, till today, is among the countries with the lowest electricity generation in Asia, both in absolute amount and per capita. I derived the per capita electricity production below from two data sources: generation from BP Statistical Review of World Energy (June 2019), and population from IMF World Economic Outlook database (April 2019). (see table 1)

We need to stop further politicizing the power sector because low power capacity automatically means that electricity prices will remain high as demand continues to rise. We should encourage more generation companies (gencos) to build more power plants and compete with each other in supplying (1) electric cooperatives, (2) private distribution utilities (DUs), (3) retail electricity suppliers (RES), and (4) the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). More market competition will lead to lower prices while more political intervention will lead to higher prices as gencos, DUs and RES have to factor in the cost of politics and more regulations and restrictions.

Recently, leftist Bayan Muna led by ex-Cong. Colmenares and Cong. Zarate went to the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the implementation of another provision of EPIRA law, the competitive selection process (CSP) on certain DUs. The target, as usual, is the biggest DU in the country, Meralco — demonized for entertaining a sister genco company. Earlier, there were attempts to stop — also via politics — this big DU from getting supply contracts from new big coal plants (to help “save the planet,” the protesting party-list said).

Is it possible that big non-coal plants and companies — say, big gas plants — are desperately trying to stop these coal contracts to force Meralco into buying their power after these new coal plants have been demonized and isolated? If so, it’s a lousy and ugly business model; and lefties are playing along.

Below I try to derive why there were many yellow and red alerts from March to July this year, and how much estimated available power there was during those five months.

First, I computed the implied capacity factor (ICF, measured as: ICF = (Generation)/(installed capacity x 24 hours x 365 days). For oil plants that are used mainly for peak load, I assumed an ICF of 70%, running for only around 6 hours/day for 200 days. From the ICF, the implied available capacity (IAC) can be derived (see table 2).

Then I made projections from 2019 to 2023. Peak demand from 2015 to 2018 rose by 5.7% a year on average, so for 2019 to 2023, I projected a 5% annual increase due to the recent GDP growth deceleration. From there, I computed the projected reserves (see table 3).

We should have reserves of at least 20%, not 2% or even -7%. Of course, there are power plants from the Visayas grid to augment Luzon, but Visayas provinces are also growing fast on their own.

Lefties like Bayan Muna have bad analysis and lousy mathematics in assuming that things in the power sector will be okay in the coming years. More politics, more Congressional harassment, and SC’s TRO will not protect the public from blackouts and high electricity prices.

They should not announce their intellectual mediocrity and do more realistic power projections. Neither should they drag the country toward darkness, as dark as their leftist philosophical advocacies.

 

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers.

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Clarity and purpose in communications

By Raju Mandhyan

SUCCESSFUL selling skills are a reflection of good interpersonal skills. Every sale achieved is an outcome of assessing, approaching, and navigating several interactions between a salesperson and her buyer. Manage and master your ability to connect, engage and ethically influence a prospect and he will become your customer for life.

Research on communication skills from several schools of thought has revealed fundamental practices followed by great communicators in managing their interaction with people so that a large percentage of their conversations rake in success and wealth.

An old story about Socrates goes like this: One day, he was walking the streets of Athens when an acquaintance ran up to him and shouted, “Socrates, Socrates! I have something to tell you about Demosthenes. It’s real juicy stuff!”

Socrates held up his hand and gestured for the man to stop and cool down. “Tell me,” he says, “the thing that you’re about to tell me about Demosthenes, is it a fact? Is it the truth and were you personally witness to it?”

Flabbergasted, the man splutters and stops in his tracks, “No, I wasn’t personally a witness to it; I just overheard some folks down the street talking about it.”

“Well then, in that case,” responded Socrates, “will the content of this juicy stuff do you, me or Demosthenes any real good?” His friend sank to the ground and muttered, “I’m not sure I… Uh, I don’t think it will benefit Demosthenes, you or myself.”

“So let me understand,” said Socrates, “you don’t know if the story you’re about to tell me is the truth and neither will it benefit you, me or Demosthenes. So, what exactly is your purpose in wanting to share this juicy stuff with me?”

Socrates’s acquaintance lowered his head, backed away, and disappeared into the crowded streets of Athens.

The point of the story is whenever we indulge in talk and conversation and prior to creating noise with our mouths, we must carefully reflect upon what we are about to say, why we want to say it, and what positive outcome we hope to generate from the conversation.

Good communicators and effective salespeople are crystal clear about their messages. They spend time researching, reading and pondering upon what to share and ask customers and partners and where to direct their conversations. Think before you speak. First, think through what you want, why you want it, and what it is you might create.

Crystal-clear purpose and well-thought-out objectives will take away anxiety and doubt in how you communicate. It will build confidence and discipline towards achieving positive results in business.

 

Raju Mandhyan is an author, coach and facilitator

www.mandhyan.com

Net foreign buying helps fuel last-minute rebound

By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter

LOCAL SHARES recovered on Wednesday as investors bought up select names towards the market’s close, with those abroad remaining predominantly bullish for the second straight day.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed 0.48% or 38.42 points to close at 7,967.90, recovering from Tuesday’s slump, while the broader all-shares index likewise rose 0.38% or 18.37 points to 4,804.82.

“It was a dull day for the market early on in the day, until a buy-up at the close led the index to finish 38.42 points higher,” Papa Securities Corp. Sales Associate Gabriel Jose F. Perez said in an e-mail.

Mr. Perez noted that sustained net foreign buying could drive the index higher in the coming days.

Foreign investors remained net buyers for the second straight day at P143.15 million, albeit smaller than Tuesday’s P609.78 million.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan also attributed the market’s performance to the rally near the end of the trading session.

“(I)nvestors quietly bought into key names towards closing. US stocks also rallied in the last 10 minutes of the session to end the day little-changed on Tuesday, weighed down by a continuing decline in growth stocks,” Mr. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

Overseas, major Wall Street indices were mostly unchanged as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy decision.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.28% or 73.92 points to 26,909.43; the S&P 500 index edged up 0.03% or 0.96 point to 2,979.39; while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.04% or 3.28 points to 8,084.16.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.96%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.78%, while the Shanghai Composite tumbled by 0.41%.

Back home, all sectoral indices moved to positive territory, led by the mining and oil counter which surged 1.28% or 119.76 points to 9,473.64. Property rallied 0.82% or 33.28 points to 4,061.47; industrials went up 0.66% or 72.87 points to 10,965.83; holding firms gained 0.54% or 42.53 points to 7,890.15; services edged higher by 0.21% or 3.37 points to 1,617.04; while financials went up 0.01% or 0.24 point to 1,824.93.

Some 713.50 million shares worth P6.66 billion switched hands, compared to Tuesday’s 613.73 million issues worth P5.22 billion.

Stocks that advanced were nearly double those that lost at 119 to 65, while 58 others ended flat. Half of Wednesday’s 20 most active stocks ended with gains, including PXP Energy Corp. (up 11.17%); Xurpas, Inc. (up 9.38%); Ayala Land, Inc (up 2.04%); PLDT, Inc. (up 1.44%); and SM Investments Corp. (up 0.99%).

Seven stocks on the same list dropped, led by Puregold Price Club, Inc. (down 2.95%) and Globe Telecom, Inc. (down 1.52%).

Peso weakens as dollar rebounds vs most units

THE PESO declined versus the dollar as the greenback regained its strength amid positive developments in the US-China trade war. — BW FILE PHOTO

THE PESO weakened on Wednesday as the dollar regained its dominance across global markets.

The local unit closed at P52.15 against the greenback on Wednesday, declining by 17 centavos from its P51.98-to-a-dollar finish on Tuesday.

The peso opened slightly weaker at P52.05 versus the greenback. Its weakest point was recorded at P52.195, while its intraday best logged at P52.05 against the dollar.

Dollars traded on Wednesday dropped to $1.436 billion against the $1.495 billion seen on Tuesday.

“The dollar’s strength was evident across all markets. Yield take-up is getting more attractive with US Treasury bonds yields bouncing back,” one trader said, adding that positive developments in the US-China trade war also boosted the dollar against most currencies.

US Treasury yields climbed to fresh three-week peaks on Tuesday, tracking German bonds, as risk appetite continued to improve amid diminishing US-China trade tensions and expectations of fiscal stimulus measures from Germany, Europe’s largest economy.

Washington and Beijing could be back at the negotiating table sometime this month.

US yields rose for a second straight session, with investors also awaiting a key monetary policy meeting at the European Central Bank on Thursday. Investors expect the ECB to cut interest rates, but may introduce some form of compensation for banks to offset the unwelcome side effects of negative interest rates.

“The greenback gained on news that the German government is considering to inject fiscal stimulus which driven off some appetite for the euro over the US dollar,” another trader said.

Germany’s 30-year government bond yield briefly turned positive on Tuesday, ahead of the ECB meeting and bolstered by possible stimulus measures from its government.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday the government can counter a possible economic crisis by injecting billions of euros into the economy, signaling readiness for a big stimulus package if the economy tips into recession.

For today, the first trader said the peso may continue to weaken due to optimism on a US-China trade deal and ahead of US consumer price index data. The trader expects the local unit to move around the P52.00-P52.40-per-dollar band.

“The local currency might weaken further due to broad market expectations of dovish cues from the European Central Bank policy meeting [today]. Exchange rates might move within the P52.00 and P52.30 range,” the second trader said. — Luz Wendy T. Noble with Reuters

Duterte won’t beg for emergency traffic power

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Tuesday said would not beg for emergency powers from Congress to solve the traffic gridlock in the capital.

“I didn’t ask for it,” the president said at a briefing, adding that it was Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade who was keen on getting the authority for him.

Mr. Duterte said he asked his officials not to pursue it anymore after a lady senator had said they couldn’t be trusted with more powers.

He also recalled telling lawmakers that he was unable to “clear EDSA with the remaining years of my term.” Mr. Duterte is halfway through his six-year term.

Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares, who heads the public service committee, earlier said the body is not inclined to grant the Transportation department’s renewed plea for emergency powers to solve traffic congestion in the capital.

The senator, who opposed a similar proposal in the past Congress, said Mr. Duterte could ease traffic in Metro Manila without emergency powers from Congress.

Senators during a hearing on Tuesday also cited the Transportation department’s lack of a master plan.

The Transportation department can hasten road projects including stage three of the Metro Manila Skyway project, and roll out more trains for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 or MRT-3, among other solutions, Ms. Llamanzares said.

Transportation Secretary Tugade last week renewed his call for emergency powers to solve the traffic gridlock on the main EDSA highway in the capital. During a House of Representatives hearing on his agency’s budget, Mr. Tugade said it was possible to solve the traffic problem but it would take longer without giving special powers to the president.

The government aims to open by early next year the third stage of the Metro Manila Skyway, an 18.7-kilometer toll road connecting Buendia Avenue in Makati City to Balintawak in Quezon City.

Several bills were filed in the previous Congress seeking emergency powers for Mr. Duterte to ease traffic congestion. The measures sought to give the Transportation chief “full power” to manage traffic on EDSA and control road use.

The House approved the bill but the Senate version did not progress. The bills have been re-filed in both Houses. — Arjay L. Balinbin

De Lima asks DoJ to dismiss sedition case

JAILED Senator Leila M. de Lima denied allegations that she was part of a group that plotted the ouster of President Rodrigo R. Duterte by linking him and his family to the illegal drug trade.

In an affidavit submitted to the Justice department, the senator, a critic of the president’s deadly war on drugs, said the police’s complaint of sedition against her and Mr. Duterte’s political opponents lacked sufficient evidence.

“Since the complaint does not impute any particular act against me, it appears that I am not even a respondent, but merely one of those vaguely identified as ‘enumerated personalities’ against whom they have no sufficient proof to make a categorical allegation,” she said in her filing.

Aside from inciting to sedition, police in July also filed cyberlibel, libel, estafa, harboring a criminal and obstruction of justice against Ms. De Lima, Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo and more than 30 others whom it accused of circulating a video about the president’s alleged drug links.

Included in the complaint was Peter Joemel Advincula, the self-confessed drug dealer who was featured in the videos.

Mr. Advincula first surfaced in May to seek legal assistance in filing charges against members of the drug syndicate he was formerly in. Later that month he surrendered to police for estafa and tagged the Liberal Party to be behind the propaganda.

Ms. De Lima said she had not committed libel in connection with a press briefing of Mr. Advincula early this year because she has been detained since February, 2017.

“I am expected to refute allegations of fact, not conclusions of law,” the lawmaker said. “Without such allegation of fact, there is nothing for me to even refute.”

She also denied the allegation of Mr. Advincula that he had talked to Ms. de Lima’s staff.

Human Rights Watch has called on authorities to drop the “preposterous complaint,” saying it was an attempt to harass and silence critics of the government’s bloody war on drugs.

A conviction for incitement to sedition carries a maximum penalty of six years in jail.

Ms. De Lima is in jail for allegedly conspiring to commit illegal drug trade inside the national jail in Muntinlupa City when she was still the Justice secretary. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Customs seizes P53M worth of vegetables smuggled from China

THE BUREAU of Customs (BoC) seized P53 million worth of smuggled food products from China at the port of Manila yesterday.

In a statement, the bureau said it confiscated 16 containers declared to contain fishballs consigned to Shinerise Trading Service. Upon inspection, they were loaded with carrots, onions, broccoli and potatoes. The consignee paid only P2.54 million in duties and taxes, it said.

“Upon inspection of the subject shipment, Customs examiners found out an estimated P20.08 million worth of carrots, P20.08 million worth of onions, P10.04 million worth of broccoli and P2.51 worth of potatoes,” according to the statement.

Manila Port district collector Arsenia C. Ilagan said they had canceled the consignee’s accreditation and placed the customs broker under investigation.

The shipment arrived in Manila on Aug. 8, while the warrant of seizure and detention was issued on Sept. 4, the bureau said. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Fewer voters in 2019 complained about cheating — SWS

FEWER Filipino voters complained about cheating in the May 2019 elections, according to a poll by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

Only a tenth of voters witnessed vote-buying, harassment, double voting, bribery, cheating and other forms of violence, SWS said in an emailed statement. This compares with 19% in the May 2016 elections.

People who witnessed harassment of voters fell slightly to 2% this year from 4% in 2016.

Voters who witnessed double voting also fell to 2% from 4%, while those who witnessed ballot cheating fell to 1% from 3%, according to the SWS poll.

Those who complained about bribery to dissuade voting fell to 1% this year from 5% in 2016. People who witnessed violence on election day also fell to 1% from 3%.

SWS interviewed 1,200 adults in June for the poll, which an error margin of ±3 points. — Gillian M. Cortez

Davao-Manado flight may be relaunched Sept. 27

THE REVIVAL of an air link between Davao City and Manado in Indonesia is tentatively set for relaunch on Sept. 27, with the maiden flight to be served by Garuda Airlines. An inter-agency coordination meeting was held last Tuesday to prepare for the initial flight that will carry national and local government officials, travel operators, and businessmen from Manado. The meeting was spearheaded by the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) with Indonesian Vice Consul Ely Handayani. The route is part of the transport and tourism priority programs under the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA). Eamarie M. Gilayo, in charge of MinDA’s International Relations Divisions-Transport Connectivity and Trade Facilitation, said Garuda Airlines is looking at including Bali in the route to make it more sustainable. “They are looking at a triangular tourism perspective (of the route),” said Ms. Gilayo. She added that businessmen who are and will be using the Davao-Bitung-General Santos sea link is another target market for the air service. “Entrepreneurs would need a faster service (compared with the shipping system which will bring their cargoes between the destinations),” Ms. Gilayo said. The Manado-Davao route was last served by Wings Air in 2012.

DIAA
Meanwhile, the local business sector welcomed the creation of the Davao International Airport Authority (DIAA) through the signing of Republic Act No. 11457. “The long wait is over,” Arturo M. Milan, president of the business organization, told BusinessWorld in a text message. Mr. Milan said the creation of the body will allow “a much faster development in the airport in terms of the upgrading of the terminal and facilities and opening (of) more direct flights.” Simeon P. Marfori II, former president of the business group, said the creation of the DIAA will also “enable Mindanaoans greater freedom to move forward in the area of airport policy and management.” He added that, “It will mean we can manage and develop our air transport facilities and assets at the pace and scope we deem best suited for the local economy. It will enable us to be better connected to the rest of the world. Directly.” The DIAA will manage the Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City as well as other airports that will be developed or built within the Davao Region. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

MMDA to escort emergency vehicles

THE METROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Wednesday announced that its motorcycle-riding traffic enforcers will start to escort emergency vehicles like ambulances that will be going through congested areas. “On-ground traffic enforcers can also assist ambulances through traffic on roads congested with vehicles or when motorists refuse to give way,” the MMDA said. The announcement comes after Agence France-Presse reported that the traffic congestion in the capital is costing lives, particularly of patients in critical condition. The report also cited that the “resulting gridlock costs the city $67 million daily in lost productivity, according to a 2017 Japanese government-funded study.” — Marc Wyxzel C. Dela Paz

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