CUSTOMS CHIEF Isidro S. Lapeña has ordered the creation of the Interim Internal Affairs and Integrity Unit (IIAIU), the Bureau of Customs (BoC) said in a statement on Wednesday. The said unit’s functions, according to a Dec. 29, 2017, memorandum issued by Mr. Lapeña, are as follows: investigate complaints against BoC personnel, receive and gather evidence in support of an open investigation; conduct motu propio investigation on incidents where evidence in the prosecution of smuggling cases was compromised, tampered with, obliterated, or lost while in the custody of customs personnel; conduct lifestyle checks on said personnel; evaluate or recommend the filing of appropriate criminal cases against BoC personnel before the court as evidence warrants and assist in the prosecution of the case; and undertake liaison work, coordination, and provide assistance to the Office of the Ombudsman, National Anti-Corruption Commission of the Office of the President, and Revenue Integrity Protection Service of the Department of Finance. The IIAIU is headed by the commissioner and composed of one attorney, two special investigators, and three administrative staff. All reports will be submitted monthly to the commissioner.

DON’T FORGET our public schools and state universities and colleges (SUCs). Senator Paolo Benigno Aguirre Aquino IV in a statement issued this call as the government prepares the rollout of Republic Act (RA) 10929 or the Free Internet Access Program in Public Places, of which he is principal sponsor and co-author. “Magagamit din ito ng ating mga guro para mapabuti ang kanilang mga sistema ng pagtuturo,” he added. (Our teachers can avail themselves of this to develop their system of teaching.) RA 10929 provides free Internet access in all national and local government offices, public schools, public transport terminals, public hospitals and public libraries. In addition, the law contains provisions for the faster processing of permits for Internet infrastructure, which is designed to fast-track the improvement in the country’s internet backbone.

FORMER SENATOR Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in a statement on Wednesday decried the “obvious bias” of Supreme Court Associate Justice Benjamin Caguioa, the ponente of his election protest pending before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), against him and in favor of Maria Leonor G. Robredo, the senator’s rival in the 2016 vice-presidential race. “It has now become fairly obvious that his resolutions are biased against me and biased in favor my oppositor,” Mr. Marcos said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum on Wednesday. Mr. Caguioa, Mr. Marcos noted in his statement, was appointed by Ateneo classmate former president Benigno S.C. Aquino III. The former senator enumerated some of the orders issued by Mr. Caguioa “which showed his one-sidedness in favor of Robredo,” citing that as early as April 2017, the PET gave him only two working days, right during the Holy Week, to pay his initial P36 million protest fee. Ms. Robredo, on the other hand, did not to pay on the deadline set by the PET but Mr. Caguioa gave her an extension, Mr. Marcos said, adding that Ms. Robredo “has still not managed to fully complete the payment of her deposit.” Mr. Marcos also said he found it “strange that Romeo Macalintal, lead counsel of his opponent, kept issuing unsolicited advise that he should run for a Senate position in 2019 and forego his election protest.”

THE SUPREME COURT en banc ordered to comment within 10 days the respondents on the petition for mandamus filed last Dec. 22, 2017, by Gabriela Women’s party and the parents of the children inoculated with the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine. Named respondents were Department of Health (DoH) Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, DoH National Center for Disease Prevention and Control Program Director Lyndon L. Lee Suy, Food and Drug Administration Director-General Nela Charade G. Puno, Education Secretary Leonor M. Briones, and former Interior Department officer-in-charge Catalino S. Cuy. — MNDC

LAWMAKER Sherwin T. Gatchalian has called for a Senate investigation into what he called “anomalous disbursements” worth billions of pesos of Malampaya funds under the past two administrations. “These funds were meant to finance the development of energy resources. Their usage for other purposes, and without following the clear procedural requirements concerning their disbursement, is a serious cause for concern that must be looked into by the government,” said the senator, who also chairs the Senate committee on energy. In a statement, Mr. Gatchalian said he had filed on Tuesday Senate Resolution No. 579, directing the appropriate Senate committee to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the release of the Malampaya funds. He said the funds’ release by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) without complete documentary requirements violates Presidential Decree No. 910 Series of 1976, Executive Order No. 683 Series of 2007, DBM-DOE-DOF Joint Circular No. 3 Series of 2008, and other relevant laws and rules and regulations as specified in the Commission on Audit’s Special Report No. 2017-04. The Malampaya fund is the government’s profit share from the exploitation of natural gas resources in the Camago-Malampaya reservoir under Service Contract 38. Mr. Gatchalian placed the accrued profit from operations at P173.28 billion from January 2002 until June 2013. The funds were collected by the Department of Energy and managed by the Bureau of the Treasury for the exploration and development of energy resources. In 2007, the DBM was authorized to release money from the fund according to certain guidelines. However, a Commission on Audit special report issued in 2017 revealed that Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) and Notices of Cash Allocations (NCAs) were issued with incomplete documentary requirements, Mr. Gatchalian said. The anomaly includes the lack of project proposals, requests for funds from the implementing agencies, proof of DBM evaluation, or approval by the President, he added. As of May 21, 2012, a total of P38.8 billion of public funds has been released by DBM to various nongovernment agencies, government-owned and controlled corporations, and the provincial government of Palawan, the senator said. — Victor V. Saulon

FIFTY-SIX residents of a village in Atok, Benguet were rushed to hospital during the first week of the year in what was initially suspected to be a case of mass food poisoning but which health officials later attributed to contaminated water used for cooking. — interaksyon.com

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MAKATI CITY had a remarkable increase in its total revenue collections last year amounting to P16.97 billion, which is 12% more than in 2016 and 116% of revenue target, Makati Mayor Mar-len Abigail Binay said in her State of the City Address before Rotarians on Tuesday. “We have reason to be jubilant about the two-digit increase because based on official records, the city has only posted one-digit year-on-year increases for the past 12 years,” said the mayor, who cited the business tax as the top revenue source at P8.22 billion, followed by real property tax at P6.22 billion. Ms. Binay also cited accomplishments for the city and its residents in the fields of public health, education, and public safety and order, among other areas of public service.

THE DEPARTMENT of Tourism (DoT) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have embarked on a joint effort to save Boracay island. DoT Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo and DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu took off on an aerial survey of the world-renowned island and later presided over a meeting, including the island’s tourism stakeholders, to address pressing concerns on offshore pollution brought about by waste disposal. She said a list of over 100 establishment violators will be disclosed soon while Mr. Cimatu vowed to conduct an individual inspection of their sewer facilities. Mr. Cimatu, for his part, said he has called the attention of Malay Mayor Ciceron Cawaling regarding the worsening garbage problem. Mr. Cawaling, along with Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores, have urged the Duterte administration to provide more funds. “We appeal to both Secretaries to adopt Boracay,” Mr. Miraflores urged the visiting Cabinet officials. Ms. Teo and Mr. Cimatu disclosed that an executive order ill be submitted to President Rodrigo R. Duterte to address the problems besetting Boracay.