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Insurance Commission places CareHealth Plus under conservatorship

BW FILE PHOTO

THE INSURANCE Commission (IC) has placed health maintenance organization (HMO) CareHealth Plus Systems International, Inc. (CareHealth Plus) under conservatorship for being unable to address policyholder complaints.

The IC informed CareHealth Plus in a letter dated April 5 that it is being placed under conservatorship due to numerous complaints that the HMO was unable to provide the benefits stipulated in its products.

“Foregoing considered, the Commission finds CareHealth Plus to be continually incapable of complying with the order of the IC to address the issues and concerns of the complainants against it. The additional complaints against CareHealth Plus even reveal that the HMO has not improved its services towards its members, nor has it paid its obligations with accredited healthcare providers,” Insurance Commissioner Reynaldo A. Regalado said in the letter.

CareHealth Plus is a licensed HMO based in Manila with several branches in the country.

The IC issued a cease-and-desist order to CareHealth Plus on Oct. 10, 2023, preventing the HMO from selling new policies.

However, CareHealth Plus was allowed to continue servicing the claims of existing policyholders.

The IC in a resolution dated April 3 denied CareHealth Plus’s motion to lift the cease-and-desist order.

The regulator also denied the HMO’s application for a license renewal, which was previously put on hold due to the complaints filed against CareHealth Plus.

Under Circular Letter No. 2019-35 dated July 18, 2019, the IC may put an HMO under conservatorship if the company is unwilling or unable to comply with its obligations under the law and its issued policies.

The IC found that there was a total of 66 pending complaints against CareHealth Plus, with some involving corporate accounts and government agencies.

The HMO industry incurred a net loss of P4.269 billion in 2023, larger than the P1.433-billion net loss in 2022, due to higher spending on benefits and taxes, latest data from the IC showed. — A.M.C. Sy

The First Omen fearlessly features graphic female bodies

IMDB

LOS ANGELES — For The First Omen director Arkasha Stevenson, it was imperative to create a fearsome film focused on female body horror, including graphic birthing scenes.

“It was really important to us to not shy away from the imagery of the female body,” Ms. Stevenson told Reuters, ahead of the film’s premiere in theaters on Friday.

Her vision almost did not materialize, however, when a birthing scene showing a woman’s vagina was almost taken out.

The graphic scene is what turned the film’s rating from NC-17 to R due to the body imagery. (The MTRCB has given the film a rating of R-16 in the Philippines. — Ed.)

It was vital to Ms. Stevenson to keep the scene and the R-rating for a chance to boldly depict a woman’s body.

“The shot really encapsulated the themes of the film for us, and we felt that without this image, the film would be a lesser version of itself,” she added.

The Legion director finds that body horror helps her reconnect with her body and serves as a reminder that every person’s body is their own, especially for women often taught to disassociate with their own physical forms.

20th Century Studios’ The First Omen follows Margaret, an American woman training to become a nun at a church in Rome who discovers a dark secret that catalyzes the birth of the antichrist.

The film serves as a prequel to the 1976 horror cult-classic The Omen and is the sixth film in the franchise, including three sequels that explore the devilish antichrist child named Damien.

Exploring femininity and grotesque imagery was also something that Nell Tiger Free, who portrays Margaret, embraced.

“Having female-led horror is a wonderful thing to see, and we’re seeing more of it now, which is great,’ she told Reuters adding that having a female director and a female protagonist was a “nice combination work-wise.”

Ms. Free felt like she and Ms. Stevenson, who both grew up watching The Omen films, were in sync from the get-go when they began working on the prequel film.

“I trusted her straightaway,” the Game of Thrones actress said.

Joining the franchise that both she and Ms. Stevenson admire helped Ms. Free immerse herself not only in the role of Margaret, but also The Omen storyline.

“It felt like a big honor to be part of the lore now, part of the legend,” she said. — Reuters

How much did each commodity group contribute to March inflation?

Headline inflation quickened for a second straight month in March as prices of rice continued to surge, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported. Read the full story.

 

How much did each commodity group contribute to March inflation?

Entertainment News (04/09/24)

Poor Things to stream on Disney+

COMING off multiple Academy Award wins including Best Actress for Emma Stone, Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design, Disney+ has announced that Poor Things will be available to stream in the Philippine market starting April 10. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, it chronicles the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist, Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Since it includes mature content, Disney+ reiterated that its parental controls allow subscribers to set limits via PIN-protected profiles alongside the Kids profiles.

Henry Moodie releases new single

BRITISH pop star Henry Moodie has released his new single, “beat up car,” via Sony Music Entertainment, along with a music video by Ned Botwood. The ballad about love features guitars driven by a powerful beat. “It’s a song fantasizing about running away with someone who makes life feel less scary. When I’m feeling down, I have a couple people I know I can call to remind me of all the beautiful parts of life — love and friendship. I wanted this song to feel uplifting and cinematic, just like how it feels to be with a soulmate,” said Mr. Moodie in a statement. The song is now streaming on all platforms.

Fallout to stream on Prime Video

THE newest offering by Prime Video is Fallout, a series set in a post-nuclear apocalypse, where survival becomes an enduring struggle for humanity. It will premiere on April 11 on Prime Video. The series is based on a popular video game of the same name. It centers around three survivors – Lucy (Ella Purnell), Maximus (Aaron Moten), and The Ghoul (Walton Goggins) – each navigating the treacherous landscape with their varied motivations and struggles.

Cup of Joe set to join Lola Amour’s album concert

THE eight-piece pop-funk band Lola Amour will be holding a concert promoting its latest album this April, this time with Cup of Joe as one of their guest acts. It will be held at the Circuit Event Grounds, Makati, on April 13, with Cup of Joe opening the show along with Any Name’s Okay. There will be an after-concert performance by PLAYERTWO. The concert is in support of Lola Amour’s self-titled debut album which comes out on April 10.

CCP brings Anak and Bagong Buwan to UST

As part of the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Cine Icons program, the award-winning films Anak and Bagong Buwan will be screened at the University of Santo Tomas’ Pier Giorgio Frassati Auditorium on April 15. Bagong Buwan (to be screened at 9 a.m.) stars Cesar Montano as a Muslim doctor who returns to his hometown and witnesses the local insurgency. Meanwhile, Anak (to be screened at 1 p.m.) stars award-winning actresses Vilma Santos and Claudine Barretto, who play a Filipina overseas contract worker and the daughter she left behind. Both movies are co-written by Ricky Lee. A talkback session with actors from the films will follow the screenings.

60th Binibining Pilipinas names its candidates

Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) recently released the names of the 40 official candidates for the 2024 Binibining Pilipinas pageant after its final closed-door screening at the New Frontier Theater in Cubao, Quezon City. The latest batch of pageant queens was meticulously chosen by a panel composed of reigning Binibining Pilipinas 2023 queens and the BPCI Executive Committee. The candidates will compete in the 60th edition of the beauty pageant to earn the right to represent the Philippines on the international stage. The candidates are: Aleckxis Chuidian, Carmella Cuaresma, Charisse Abanico, Christal Dela Cruz, Corrine San Pedro, Erika Ballon, Geraldine Buenafe, Gracelle Distura, Jasmin Dingson, Jasmine Bungay, Joyce Anne Garduque, Kara Villarosa, Kristin Baconawa, Kylie Atiliano, Liezle Jones, Ma. Flordeliz Mabao, Mae Kimberly De Luna, Maria Jajalla, Marikit Manaois, Monica Acuno, Myrea Caccam, Myrna Esguerra, Mythosela Villanueva, Nicklyn Jutay, Phoebe Godinez, Rendell Ann Caraig, Roella Frias, Roselyn Evardo, Samantha Acosta, Shaira Marie Rona, Shannen Manzano, Sheny Sampang, Sheryl Velez, Tracy Mae Sunio, Trisha Hernandez, Trisha Martinez, Vera Dickinson, Vienne Feucht, Zeneth Joy Khan, and Zianah Joy Famy. Visit the pageant’s official social media pages for more information on the candidates.

Doja Cat drops deluxe album

GRAMMY award-winning global superstar Doja Cat has released her deluxe album, Scarlet 2 CLAUDE, via Kemosabe Records/RCA Records/Sony Music Entertainment. With this new release came the music video for one of the new tracks, “MASC,” featuring Teezo Touchdown. The music video was directed and shot in Los Angeles by Doja Cat and Jamal Peters and it made its broadcast premiere on MTV Live, MTVU, and MTV Biggest Pop, as well as on the Paramount Times Square billboards. Scarlet 2 CLAUDE is out now on all streaming platforms.

Smart, Lionsgate Play partner on deals

STREAMING platform Lionsgate Play has announced a partnership with mobile services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart). All Smart Prepaid and Smart Postpaid subscribers now have access to the platform with a discounted monthly subscription of P99 and a seven-day subscription for P39. Entertainment offerings lean toward the provocative, thrilling, and edgy, from blockbuster franchises (John Wick, The Hunger Games, Twilight, Step-Up, and Saw) to award-winning Lionsgate feature films (La La Land and Wonder). Visit Lionsgate Play for more details.

MYX’s 1st podcast stars Samm Alvero, Nhiko Sabiniano

FOR MYX’s first podcast, The Ripple, VJ Samm Alvero and Nameless Kids’ lead vocalist Nhiko Sabiniano will be discussing their love for music as the show centers on unique stories that have created ripples in the music industry. “We wanted to create a safe space for artists and people like me who genuinely love music to come together and talk about music,” said Alvero in the podcast’s pilot episode. In the second episode, members of the veteran rock band Sandwich give insights into their 26-year musical journey. New episodes of The Ripple arrive on YouTube and Spotify on Mondays and on the MYX Channel, SKYcable channel 23, Cignal channel 150, and other local cable service providers on Wednesdays.

Docuseries on Bon Jovi to stream on Disney+

THE four-part, all-access docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story will shine a light on the epic past and uncertain future of the band Bon Jovi. It follows the band around February 2022 as they attempt to chart out their future all while recalling the past through 40 years of personal videos, unreleased early demos, original lyrics, and never-before-seen photos. It is directed and executive produced by multiple Emmy Award winner Gotham Chopra. Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story premieres on April 26 on Disney+.

Central Banks are the newest HODLers of gold

ZLATAKY CZ-UNSPLASH

A FEW WEEKS AGO, when the gold price hit a record high, no one besides a few gold bugs seemed to care. Bitcoin also hit a record high. Everyone cared. Proof came in the personal finance pages of the UK newspapers. The FT had a piece on investing in crypto miners, a long read about what crypto still gets wrong and a cry of pain for UK investors denied the right to hold Bitcoin ETFs. The Telegraph had almost a full page on how to buy. Bitcoin also made it into the Market Report section of the Daily Mail and got good exposure in the Times too — with another cry of pain for UK investors and the fusty bureaucrats who won’t let them get easy exposure to the asset of the century.

Unless I missed it, none of these papers had an article on gold. In March, it rose 9.1% (against 14% for Bitcoin and 3% for global equities) and this week the yellow metal hit yet another record high again to a remarkable lack of interest.

I get it. Gold isn’t digital; it doesn’t have a growing gang of Twitter (or X) evangelists or its own emoji; and it isn’t new money. It’s very old money — one of the oldest there is. In a quick trip to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge last week I saw a few gold coins introduced by Croesus, the King of Lydia, in about 550 BC, a gold coin minted to mark the Olympic Games celebrated in Macedonia in 242, a Sicilian gold quarter-dinar from the 970s and a couple of gold muhrs struck by the Agra mint in 1619. You get the picture. Very old money. But that you are more likely to see actual gold coins in a museum than in your purse doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter. For proof, look at who is buying gold today.

It isn’t the retail investor in the west.

A good proxy for gauging ordinary investor interest is flows into global gold ETFs. And according to the World Gold Council these collectively saw outflows for nine months in a row until the end of February. This year alone outflows have added up to around $5.7 billion, with the US and Europe seeing the fastest pullback and the collective holdings of the ETFs being around 20% below their level of October 2020. There are some signs that this anti-gold vibe is bottoming out. February’s exodus was lower than that of the previous few months; there have been small inflows into Asian ETFs every month for the last 12 months; and according to Charlie Morris of the research shop ByteTree, there may now even be small inflows.

For gold demand, look to emerging markets savers and central banks. Both have been “mega-buyers of bullion” since the start of the war in Ukraine, says Duncan MacInnes of Ruffer Investment Co. They don’t buy ETFs. They buy physical gold. In China, for example, there is a new trend among the young to buy tiny 24 carat beads or “beans” every month as a form of long-term saving, something gathering pace as faith in the investing potential of the property market fades.

Central banks aren’t in it for the short term either: they don’t buy gold to trade. They are buying it for the long term to hedge political risk; to underpin their own currencies; to offset any decline in the value of the dollar; and in place of US government bonds, which given the rate at which the US is accumulating debt ($1 trillion every 100 days, says Bank of America Corp.) are no longer deemed to be free of risk. Looked at through the eyes of an emerging market central bank, gold is something very special, an everything hedge — and one that in the main has hung on to its role as money and its purchasing power for thousands of years. In an increasingly complicated world, who wouldn’t want some of that?

Overall, central bankers are both volume buyers (1,000 metric tons annually for two consecutive years) and, to put it in Bitcoin language, HODLers (a cryptocurrency fan play on “hold” which stands for “hang on for dear life.”) Might it be, asks Ruffer, that we are entering a new era for gold of “price insensitive strategic buyers taking ounces out of the market that will never return?” One in which increasingly limited supply meets rising demand?

If so, and if the rising price starts to pull the retail investors in the west who have little or no exposure to gold right now back in, there seems little to stop the gold price continuing to soar. How do you invest? There are those ETFs, of course. But the miners are also worth looking at. Back in early March, John Hathaway of Sprott Asset Management pointed out that the entire gold-mining sector in the US had a market capitalization of less than that of just Mastercard, Inc. — and not much more than Nvidia Corp. rose in a single day when it last reported earnings. They’ve begun to move a little since: The iShares Gold Producers ETF is up 17% since a double-digit decline in 2022. But it’s still way off the highs of 2011, something that makes little sense given the rise in the metal itself. There could be fireworks ahead for those miners. But either way, it might be worth putting a little gold in your portfolio. If it’s a good enough everything hedge for China’s central bank, it should be good enough for the rest of us.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

PRA targets 77,000 retirees with exclusive discounts at Fiesta Mall, Luxe Duty Free

DUTYFREE FACEBOOK PAGE

THE Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) and Duty Free Philippines Corp., both under the Department of Tourism, have signed an agreement granting exclusive discounts of up to 20% to PRA retiree members at Fiesta Mall and Luxe Duty Free.

“There are 77,000 retirees all over the Philippines. Hopefully, all of them will be mobilized to get something from here,” PRA General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Roberto Z. Zozobrado said in an interview.

Duty Free will offer special discounts to PRA retiree members and their families at Fiesta Mall and Luxe Duty Free. To avail of these discounts, retirees must visit the stores in person and present their special resident retiree’s visa (SSRV) or SSRV identification cards. Discounts include 10% off on regular days and 20% off on special occasions and events.

The partnership aims to contribute to achieving a trade surplus in travel services this year, leveraging the spending power of retirees, Mr.  Zozobrado said.

Last year, the Philippines recorded a net trade surplus of $2.45 billion in travel services for the first time in 15 years, with travel services and export receipts reaching $9.1 billion.

“What we are doing now is trying to get as many merchant partners as we can, not only for merchandise but also for other aspects needed by retirees to enjoy themselves here in the Philippines,” Mr.  Zozobrado said.

“We want them to discover and enjoy the sweetness of doing nothing here in the Philippines. And when you say sweetness of doing nothing, it’s something that is found only in the Philippines and not anywhere else,” he added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

HOOGAH. Homes introduces fusion of Filipino and Scandinavian architectural designs in Antipolo

DEVELOPER HOOGAH. Homes has unveiled its Brook House project in Antipolo City, combining Filipino and Scandinavian architecture.

The project is targeted for completion by April 2025, the company announced last week. The three-storey home is set to rise in Barrington Place, Town & Country Estate, and is located five minutes away from The Valley Golf & Country Club.

HOOGAH. Homes’ debut project, Brook House, is a collaboration with designer Barchan + Architecture and builder Evermount Construction Corp. (ECC).

“[It] takes qualities of Filipino homes specifically being ‘maaliwalas,’ an abundance of light, breezy, and spacious. A home that’s fused with a distinct feeling of a Scandinavian home, which is called HOOGA,“ HOOGAH. Homes Co-founder and Barchan + Architecture Vice-President Nikki B. Buensalido said.

This Scandinavian concept takes its name from ‘hygge,’ which refers to a feeling of peaceful content.

It targets discerning families who are looking for homes to live simply and quietly yet create meaningful pleasures within Metro Manila.

Brook House sits on a 269 square meter (sq.m.) lot and has a 35.20-sq.m. living area on the ground floor. It features four bedrooms with balconies, five bathrooms, a multipurpose room, family hall, and a garden.

“Another special feature learning from the pandemic is an alternative entrance that leads to a sanitation area or another space where you can bathe, change, and cleanse yourself,” Ms. Buensalido added.

Its location allows homeowners close access to Our Lady of Fatima University, Metro Antipolo Hospital, SM City Masinag, and Ortigas business district.

EEC’s previous projects include the APT Studios along Marcos Highway and the Aurora Suite Hotel and Pavilion in Subic.

“For HOOGAH. Homes, we have a few more projects in the pipeline, perhaps a few more properties here in the east, and a few properties in the south,” said Jason L. Buensalido, principal chief architect and chief design ambassador of Barchan + Architecture. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

How PSEi member stocks performed — April 8, 2024

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Monday, April 8, 2024.

Palace rules out nationwide state of calamity for El Niño

A farmer guides his carabao on dry and cracked farmland in San Juan town, Batangas, April 18, 2010. — REUTERS

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said on Monday that the government does not see the need to declare a state of calamity nationwide for El Niño, and expressed a preference for more focused local declarations.

Provinces are affected by the drought-causing weather to varying degrees, Mr. Marcos noted. 

“The problem is different in every area. It can’t be a shotgun, a one-size-fits-all approach,” he told reporters in Bacolod City, as quoted in a transcript provided by the Palace.

“So that’s the way we are handling the local states of calamity that the local governments have declared,” he added.

At least 18 cities and municipalities have declared states of calamity due to El Niño, which brings about dry spells and droughts, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Agricultural damage caused by El Niño has risen to P2.63 billion, while the government has handed out assistance worth P1.1 billion, the Department of Agriculture has said. 

The number of El Niño-affected provinces could hit 80 by the end of April, with the dry spell’s effects possibly lasting until June, according to the government weather service.

El Niño has triggered class suspensions in many areas, especially in the Western Visayas, due to extreme heat. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Cebu-Negros-Panay link capacity to be built with new cable links

DNV

THE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has applied with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to install more submarine cable links for the Cebu-Negros-Panay (CNP) 230-kilovolt backbone project.

“We applied for an additional submarine cable last year. We applied with the ERC to build submarine cable lines 3 and 4 (for) additional capacity,” NGCP Spokesperson Cynthia P. Alabanza told reporters on the sidelines of a facility launch in Bacolod City on Monday.

The CNP backbone, which includes the Negros-Panay Interconnection Project Line 2, is composed of three stages, the last of which was completed on March 24.

The third stage of the project, known as CNP3, links the islands of Negros and Cebu via overhead lines from Bacolod City to San Carlos City in Negros Occidental and a submarine cable to Toledo City in Cebu.

Overall, the project consists of 670 transmission towers spanning 442 circuit kilometers, 98.9 circuit kilometers of submarine cables, 10 new substations and the expansion of two major substations.

“CNP strengthens the link between three major islands of the Visayas, and will provide a more reliable transfer of power to support the fast-growing economies of the provinces in Cebu, Negros, and Panay,” NGCP President and CEO Anthony L. Almeda said.

“This development will not only bolster the efficiency of our electricity system but also contribute to the overall economic growth and well-being of our nation,” he added.

Ms. Alabanza said power generation should keep up with the developments in transmission capacity.

“(Transmission) should be accompanied by proper development of (generating capacity) on each island so that we do not rely on sharing,” she said.

“We are hoping for the policy makers and regulators of immediate approval so that we can proceed with the project… will ensure that we stay ahead of the curve,” she said.

The NGCP said that CNP3 Stage 3 application was filed in 2016 with a project cost of P43.41 billion. However, the ERC granted provisional approval for only one year’s worth of capital expenditure amounting to P176.75 million in 2017 and “has yet to issue final approval.”

The total cost of the entire CNP backbone project as filed with the ERC amounts to P67.98 billion.

While certified as an energy project of national significance in 2019, the NGCP said that CNP3 encountered difficulties in acquiring right of way. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Jeepney makers say imports a risk to assembly jobs

DOTR PHOTO

JEEPNEY manufacturers said the government needs to halt imports of completely built-up modernized jeepney units for the Public Utility Vehicles Modernization Program (PUVMP).

“The direct import of the completely built units should be stopped. That’s what’s killing our industry and we’ll never have economies of scale if we allow that to continue,” Francisco Motors owner and Chief Executive Officer Elmer Francisco said in an online roundtable.

Mr. Francisco offered an arrangement involving imported drivetrains for local assembly, which he said will generate employment for Filipino workers.

Meanwhile, Sarao Motors, Inc. Operations Supervisor Leonard John Sarao said his small company needs to rely on foreign investors to upgrade its technology.

“He said the typical arrangement offered by potential partners manufacturing at scale is to send in a unit to carry the local partner’s brand, which does not allow for job generation,” Mr. Sarao said.

Mr. Sarao said his company has had to downsize due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lack of demand for legacy jeepneys.

Its turnover rate is now longer, with a timeline of three to five months to manufacture a single unit.

Mr. Francisco, citing his conversations with diesel engine supplier Isuzu Philippines, noted that the cost of a jeepney engine has risen to P1.4 million from P400,000 prior to the implementation of the PUVMP.

He voiced suspicions that international manufacturers may be dumping obsolete engine technology in the Philippines.

“Euro-4 compliant diesel is obsolete in other countries. When you go to China, they are already in Euro 6 and 7; why are they dumping their garbage in the Philippines?” he said.

“If your purpose is to mitigate climate change; you are not changing anything; it is still a pollutant,” according to Mr. Francisco, who is also a physicist.

Francisco Motors is instead touting a full-electric powertrain powered by a Hydrogen Fuel Cell that can run on a 20% slope with a 30-person capacity.

“We will mass-produce even the Hydrogen fuel cells in Camarines Norte and we will see it manufactured by the end of the year or early 2025,” he said.

Department of Transportation Urban Planner Sharmaine Enales said the Euro 4-engine requirement is only a minimum standard according to the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines of the Department Order 2023-022.

Ms. Enales said there are currently 66 PUV models that have certificates of compliance and 39 of these are considered “locally assembled” by the standards of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Locally assembled sets a threshold of 25% of in-country final assembly for various components like the chassis.

Ms. Enales also said four modern PUV models have acquired certificates of compliance that are traditional-looking and compliant in terms of dimensions with the Philippine National Standard. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

131 protected-area deals under review

CAPTAIN’S PEAK RESORT in Sagbayan, Bohol — SCREENGRAB FROM REN THE ADVENTURER

THE DEPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Monday that it is reviewing the environmental compliance of 131 projects built in protected areas.

“There are 131 Protected Area Community-Based Resource Management Agreement (PACBRMA) in over 36 Protected Areas. All of these are now under review,” Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said at a briefing.

The PACBRMA is an agreement entered into by and between the DENR and organized tenured migrant communities or interested indigenous peoples in protected areas and buffer zones. They have a term of 25 years, renewable for another 25 years.

Ms. Yulo-Loyzaga added that an initial 10 to 11 agreements in Northern Luzon will be under review for  compliance. The results are set to be released within the month.

“We needed to determine that those are still compliant or whether they are non-compliant and to see whether there are (grounds) for cancellation because for whatever reason hindi ginagamit nang tama or hindi ginagamit (it is not being used correctly or is not being used at all),” she said.

The DENR had ordered an inventory of all structures within protected areas, pending the review.

“All of that is being done now on satellite and on the ground,” she said.

Last week, the DENR suspended the processing of all environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) by its regional offices.

She had ordered that all ECC applications be submitted to the Environmental Management Bureau, the Biodiversity Management Bureau, and the Office of the Secretary for final review and approval.

“We are also engaging our multisectoral advisory council… they will be working with us on the comprehensive evaluation of the status of these protected areas,” Ms. Yulo-Loyzaga said.

The DENR has canceled the PACBRMA of the Socorro Bayanihan Services, Inc. due to the misuse of the protected area. The agreement spans 353 hectares in Socorro, Surigao del Norte.

She said that violations include the establishment of residences, the construction of checkpoints, and failure to submit the required monthly, quarterly, or annual reports about the implementation of its Community-based Resource Management Plan.

Among the other findings were the construction of infrastructure like access roads, checkpoints, and a radio station.

The Senate has investigated allegations of human trafficking, exploitation, forced labor, and child sexual abuse at the site.

“The DENR has been working with the Department of Justice, the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the provincial government since the suspension of the PACBRMA in September 2023,” she said.

She added that the agencies are working to reintegrate and resettle the affected occupants.

“There are 404 households of tenured migrants in the PACBRMA area that will be relocated,” she said. — Adrian H. Halili

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