DAVAO CITY — The city council has endorsed Megaworld Corp.’s application for its information technology (IT) park to be accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), subject to the company’s submission of a master drainage plan.
A UNIVERSITY of the Philippines geologist said the government should consider separating the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to boost its independence and its powers of enforcement.
NEW SHIPPING traffic separation schemes (TSS) in various parts of the country would be implemented starting this month by the Philippine Coast Guard following yesterday’s publication of four memorandum circulars dated June 6. The TSS, which applies to all sea vessels, designates traffic zones, routes, and direction as well penalties for non-compliance. The four areas are:
• Puerto Princesa, Palawan;
• Northern and southern parts of Iloilo Strait;
• Sarangani Bay in the SOCCSKSARGEN Region; and
• Balut Island (or Malulong Island), Davao Occidental
DEMAND for term deposits recovered yesterday, driving yields higher as banks wanted to park more funds with the central bank as they look for viable outlets to place their excess liquidity.
LOS ANGELES — Japanese star pitcher Yu Darvish will make his debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday at New York against the Mets, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday.
WASHINGTON — The US military is set to conduct a test of an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), officials said Tuesday, days after North Korea conducted its own ICBM launch.
My Cup Of Liberty
Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr.
“To what extent will the poor merely replace more expensive colas and 3-in-1 coffee with unsafe sugared water in plastic bags, samalamig, or home-brewed sugared coffee, none of which are covered by the tax? … there is simply a great deal we do not know, which is all the more reason to proceed with reserve and caution.” — Emmanuel de Dios, “Just take it, it’s good for you”
WHILE MORE familiar Chinese regional cuisines boast of rich seafood owing to the proximity of places like Guangdong and Shanghai to the sea, Northern China, located inland and in much colder climes, boast of well-bred land-based animals and products derived from wheat such as noodles and dumplings. According to the Executive Chinese chef of the City of Dreams, Bong Jun Choi, the reason for opening Jing Ting, a restaurant devoted to the traditions of Northern China, is because of a larger presence of guests from that region, owing to the ease of travel in a newly upwardly mobile Chinese population these days.
THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Wednesday ordered Uber Philippines to explain why it continued to accredit new drivers despite a July 26 order directing ride-sharing platforms to stop accreditation and activation.
In a hearing at the LTFRB office, Chairman Martin A. Delgra III asked the legal team of Uber to explain in five days why Uber continues to accredit new drivers to operate under the transport network vehicle service (TNVS).
“We need to put a stop to the false expectations of the public that they can still get themselves accredited, or worse, get activated so they can be booked as TNVS,” Mr. Delgra said.
Uber Philippines legal counsel Joseph Castillo admitted the company has been accepting applications for accreditation, but denied new drivers have been given activated. He said they believed the order only prevented Uber from accrediting and activating new TNVS, and did not cover the acceptance of applications.
The LTFRB, however, clarified that Uber cannot accept new applications under the July 26 order.
Mr. Delgra also asked Uber to submit a new master list, with added active drivers compared to what they submitted last July 29.
Meanwhile, the Foundation for Economic Freedom said the LTFRB should suspend its proposal to regulate the operations of transport network companies (TNCs).
“We believe that it’s untimely and inappropriate for the LTFRB to curtail the service by establishing a cap to the number of permits it is issuing to the drivers of these ride-sharing services. Limiting the number of vehicles allowed to do ride-sharing is not only anti-competitive, but it also forces the riding public to use their own cars on the road to add to the traffic congestion and also compels them to bear with the abuses perpetuated by regulated private utility vehicles, such as taxis,” the FEF said in a statement.
FEF said the LTFRB should instead “conduct hearings and studies on how the Public Service Act may be updated to cover this new wave of technology-enabled transport services.”
Meanwhile at the House Committee on Transportation hearing on Wednesday morning, Mr. Delgra expressed “shock” upon learning there are 66,000 transport network vehicles (TNVs) registered under Uber, and 52,398 TNVs registered under Grab. He added that Uber and Grab said they had around 28,000 TNVs each during a July 11 LTFRB hearing.
Yves P. Gonzalez, head of policy at Uber Philippines, said out of the 66,000 Uber TNVs, only 2,500 have certificates of public convenience (CPCs) or provisional authorities (PAs), while 1,000 have pending extension of the necessary documents.
Brian P. Cu, Grab Philippines country head, said out of the 52,398 Grab TNVs, only around 3,000 to 4,000 have CPCs or PAs. — Patrizia Paola P. Marcelo
BANGKOK — Thailand’s highest court on Wednesday acquitted two ex-prime ministers and two former top police officers over their role in a 2008 crackdown on anti-government protesters that killed two people.
THE Executive Order (EO) increasing funeral benefits for employees in both the private and public sectors was published yesterday, putting it in effect within 15 days. EO No. 33, signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on July 17, directs the benefit increase for members of the Social Security System (SSS) for the private sector and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for government employees. The order cites that the current compensation “is no longer sufficient to cover ordinary funeral costs.” Under Philippine rules, a law takes effect after 15 days following the publication either in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
See related story on Funeral benefits under SSS, GSIS increased https://goo.gl/7A4sA8
SUBSIDIES for state-run firms doubled in June, with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) the largest share, data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) show.
