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Upgraded GenSan airport rated at 150% of previous capacity

THE Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said Thursday that the upgraded General Santos (GenSan) Airport can now accommodate up to two million passengers annually from the previous ceiling of 800,000.

Transport officials inaugurated Thursday the newly developed airport in General Santos City.

The projects completed at the airport include the P434.29-million rehabilitation and expansion of a passenger terminal building, the P107.22-million procurement and installation of navigational aids, and the P23.43-million construction of a CAAP administration building.

“The newly constructed two-story CAAP administration building, with an estimated floor area of 900 square meters, now serves as new office space for all administrative personnel of the Airport. The admin building project also includes concreting of its vehicular parking area,” the agency said in a statement.

“From a previous area of 4,029 square meters, the airport’s passenger terminal building now has a total of 12,240 square meters. These development projects were able to provide job opportunities to around 380 workers during the airport’s construction phase,” it added.

The airport serves the provinces of South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and the city of General Santos.

“Projects to continuously develop the General Santos Airport are now ongoing, such as the P91,888,888 upgrade of Gensan Airport’s power system which is targeted to be finished by the end of this year; as well as the improvement and construction of its facilities, targeted to be completed by Nov. 18, 2021,” the CAAP said. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Energy dep’t may halt subsidies to remote areas that link to grid

THE DEPARTMENT of Energy (DoE) is proposing to halt the Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification (UC-ME) subsidy for remote areas that connect with the main power grid.

The UC-ME is collected from all on-grid electricity end-users.

According to a draft department circular posted on its website this week, the DoE said it plans to discontinue the UC-ME charge “upon the interconnection of an off-grid area to the grids of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao” and “upon interconnection of a qualified third-party service area to the distribution utility’s grid.”

The draft rules provide for the creation of a “UC-ME rationalization and graduation plan” which requires distribution utilities (DUs) in off-grid areas receiving such subsidies to prepare a 10-year plan detailing their respective interconnection plans and optimal power supply outlook, among others.

Power providers are to receive assistance from the National Transmission Corp. and National Power Corp. in preparing such plans.

The draft guidelines also require DUs in off-grid areas to facilitate the entry of the lowest-cost and efficient technologies, which include renewables and baseload facilities, as alternatives to existing diesel and bunker fuel systems.

The department said it is holding a public consultation on its draft circular on Oct. 6 at 8:30 a.m. for Luzon participants, and Oct. 7 at 8:30 a.m. for Visayas and Mindanao attendees, but provided no further details.

The DoE is required to establish a new policy which will remove or significantly reduce the UC-ME after due consultation, according to a department circular issued two years ago. — Angelica Y. Yang

DoE endorses plan to import 20,000 electric cars to Board of Investments

REUTERS

THE DEPARTMENT of Energy said it has endorsed a P2.5-billion investment project that would bring in 20,000 imported electric vehicles.

The department endorsed the project to the Board of Investments (BoI). If approved, it would increase the electric vehicle fleet in the Philippines and result in the establishment of up to 5,000 electric vehicle charging stations within five years.

“When completed, the project is expected to help contribute to the reduction of as much 145.02 million liters of fuel. This is equivalent to at most a P7.99 billion reduction from fuel costs,” Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said at an electric vehicle forum Thursday.

Patrick T. Aquino, Energy Utilization Management Bureau director, said in an e-mail that the project proponent is Century Peak Energy Corp.

The BoI has not disclosed any updated investment data beyond the P2.5 billion stated in the initial project proposal.

Mr. Cusi at the virtual event said the department is looking forward to more projects that will accelerate the shift to electric vehicles.

“Our success depends on a strong public-private collaboration, and I’m confident that together we can make this happen,” he said.

He also suggested that electric vehicles could be used to transport frontline workers.

“Not only would it be a greener transport alternative in terms of zero noise and smoke emissions, but it would also pave the way for sectoral job creation that would definitely help reenergize our economy.”

Electric vehicle registrations fell 35% to 1,015 in 2020 from 1,570 in 2019, Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines President Edmund A. Araga said at the same event.

A Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) research specialist said in July that shortcomings in electric vehicle charging infrastructure and manufacturing technology have left the Philippines behind in the regional competition for trade and investment.

The Philippines must prepare for increased investment competition in Asia as the electric vehicle value chain grows larger, PIDS Supervising Research Specialist Maureen D. Rosellon said. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Q4 2020 agriculture PPI rises by 4.1%

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THE PRODUCER price index (PPI) for agriculture rose 4.1% in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). 

The PSA said in a report that the fourth quarter growth rate represents a turnaround from the minus 6.8% recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019. The growth rate also exceeds the 0.7% logged in the third quarter of 2020.

“This brings the Philippines’ annual average growth rate of PPI for agriculture for the year 2020 to 0%,” the PSA said.

The agriculture PPI “measures the changes in the average prices received by farmers for their produce relative to a base period,” the PPI said. The base year used in the report was 2018.

The PSA said the highest growth rate in the fourth quarter was posted by Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) with 22.4% while the lowest was by Eastern Visayas with minus 20.3%.  

Crops grew 2.2% during the fourth quarter, with growth rates for fruit and commercial crops at 0.9% and 0.4%, respectively.

It added that the growth rate for cereals was 3.3%, while condiments came in at 40.5%. 

The PSA said the growth rate for livestock and poultry in the fourth quarter was 20.6%, turning around from the minus 6.1% posted a year earlier.

“The uptrend in the PPI for livestock and poultry was due to the 31.7% annual increase in the index for livestock during the quarter,” the PSA said.

The growth rate for fisheries was minus 8.1% in the fourth quarter, against the 0.8% rise a year earlier.

It added that the growth rates for aquaculture and commercial fisheries for the quarter were minus 5.9% and minus 8.4%, respectively.  

“On the other hand, annual declines further accelerated during the quarter in the indices of inland municipal fishery at minus 5.4% and marine municipal fishery at minus 11.4%,” the PSA said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Customs seizes over 6,000 liters of unmarked fuel

PHILIPPINE STAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES

THE BUREAU of Customs (BoC) confiscated 6,357 liters of unmarked fuel earlier this month on suspicion of smuggling, the Department of Finance (DoF) said Thursday.

Citing a report from the agency, the DoF said the unmarked fuel was discovered in one of the retail gas stations of Petromobil Corp. in Arayat, Pampanga during a BoC monitoring exercise.

The BoC office in Clark issued a warrant of seizure and detention after field tests to determine the presence of a marker failed to detect sufficient quantities of the dye, which is injected into tax-compliant fuel.

Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero said the bureau conducted further field testing in other Petromobil stations around the National Capital Region, as well as in Northern and Southern Luzon.

The follow-up operations discovered uncompliant stations in Angeles City, Pampanga and several others in Rizal and Bulacan, which carried fuel with marker levels of less than 20%.

“These stations, as well as the identified fuel source is subject to ongoing surveillance,” Mr. Guerrero said.

Republic Act No. 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law authorized the fuel marking program in a bid to curb smuggling after the law raised the excise tax rate on fuel products.

The DoF said Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told the anti-smuggling task force to go after ocean vessels turning off their automatic identification transponders to unload fuel undetected.

The agency has boarded 50 suspected vessels that were turning off their transponders but no violations of customs or anti-smuggling laws have been recorded so far.

The government collected P289.33 billion in duties and taxes from 29.4 billion liters of marked fuel in the first two years of the fuel marking program. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Vaccine supply enough to cover minors by Oct.

ADULTS line up inside a movie house that has been turned into a vaccination site at a shopping mall in Quezon City on Sept. 23, 2021. Aside from commercial establishments such as malls, local governments have been tapping various venues and schemes for the coronavirus vaccination program, including drive-thru, house-to-house service for the elderly, and village-level delivery. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THE PHILIPPINES’ vaccine chief is asking the national government to begin the vaccination of children aged 12 to 17 by mid-October.

Priority would be given to minors with comorbidities and children of health workers once President Rodrigo R. Duterte approves the proposal, vaccine czar Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. said at a televised Cabinet meeting on Wednesday night.

“We are experiencing saturation point in National Capital Region and other cities,” Mr. Galvez said.

He explained that demand and supply of vaccines against the coronavirus are now at meeting point, which means sectors other than the four priority groups can be opened.  

The Philippines will have enough supply of coronavirus vaccines to inoculate 12 million children aged 12 to 17, he said.

The country is struggling to vaccinate its entire adult population amid a spike in infections believed to be triggered by the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant.

The first four priority groups cover healthcare workers, senior citizens, persons with comorbidity, and economic frontliners.

CASES
Philippine health authorities on Thursday reported 17,441 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 2.43 million.

The country’s coronavirus death toll rose to 37,405 after 177 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 14,090 to 2.23 million, the Department of Health (DoH) said in a bulletin.

There were 165,790 active cases, 92.1% of which were mild, 3.1% were asymptomatic, 1.5% were severe, 2.73% were moderate and 0.7% were critical.

DoH said 77 duplicates were removed from the tally, 55 of which were reclassified as recoveries. It added that 88 recoveries were reclassified as deaths. Three laboratories failed to submit data on Sept. 21

The country’s drug regulator has already allowed the vaccines developed by Pfizer, Inc. and Moderna, Inc. to be used for children as young as 12 years.

The government, however, had said that health workers, seniors, people with health complications, among other vulnerable people, would still be prioritized due to supply issues.

The Philippines has received about 65.88 million doses of coronavirus vaccines. About 19.38 million people or 25.12% of the adult population had been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus as of Sept. 22.

On Wednesday night, the country took delivery of 940,680 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. The Philippines was set to receive 34 million vaccine doses this month. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Comelec willing to hold a week’s extension of voter registration 

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) is amenable to a one-week extension of voter registration, which ends on Sept. 30, to be held after the Oct. 1-8 filing of certificates of candidacy, a poll body official said during a Senate hearing on Thursday.   

Election Commissioner Marlon S. Casquejo, however, said they will implement the one-month extension sought by Congess if a law is passed mandating such period.  

“If the bill will be passed as law, then we will comply,” Mr. Casquejo told the hearing.  

The Comelec en banc has previously rejected a petition for a month’s extension filed by several groups.   

Mr. Casquejo reiterated that an extension would be difficult due to other scheduled activities for election preparations and their low manpower, which are affected by the coronavirus pandemic.  

Senator María Imelda “Imee” Josefa R. Marcos, however, said a one-week extension does not constitute a “compromise” to the one-month period being sought by Congress.  

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have filed bills to extend the voter registration to Oct. 31 from the Sept. 30 deadline, citing the need to address potential voter disenfranchisement given lockdowns and other restrictions since last year.   

The Senate version was approved Tuesday on second reading.   

“Give those under the lockdown a chance,” said Ms. Marcos. “It’s really difficult with all the long lines, there are many waiting for five hours, others six.”  

Cavite Rep. Elpidio F. Barzaga, Jr., meanwhile, said they will now seek a two-week extension for voter registration.  

NO CERTIFICATES
Meanwhile, the Comelec announced Thursday that it will temporarily suspend the issuance of voter’s certification nationwide, except at the agency’s main office in Intramuros, from Sept. 27 to 30 to focus all efforts on voter registration.    

“The Commission anticipates an influx of last-minute registrants as we get closer to the deadline, and given the limited number of field personnel, we must endeavor to make the full use of our limited manpower and resources in catering to applicant for voter registration,” Comelec Spokesperson James B. Jimenez said in a statement.   

The voter’s certification is considered a valid government-issued ID in the Philippines. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan and Bianca Angelica D. Añago 

Meralco to resume disconnections in NCR next week

PHILSTAR

MANILA ELECTRIC Co. (Meralco) announced that it will resume disconnection activities in Metro Manila next week, but added that it will not be implementing these in areas placed under granular lockdown.

“Disconnection activities in National Capital Region (NCR) will resume with the delivery of disconnection notices for services with unpaid overdue bills next week. The disconnection notices give customers enough time to settle their bills or to reach out for assistance,” Meralco said in a statement issued on Viber Thursday.

NCR, which is now under a general community quarantine or the lowest quarantine level, began implementing targeted lockdowns with new alert level systems last week.

Meanwhile, there will be no disconnections in the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Lucena City in Quezon until Sept. 30 as these areas were placed under the stricter modified enhanced community quarantine until the end of the month.

“We encourage customers with billing concerns to reach out, so we can assist them and even come up with payment terms if needed,” Meralco First Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Ferdinand O. Geluz said.

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., which has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Angelica Y. Yang

Commercial fishing continues to hurt small fishers in municipal waters — Oceana  

By Revin Mikhael D. Ochave, Reporter 

COMMERCIAL fishing in municipal waters pervades amid the coronavirus pandemic and the government should step up its monitoring and apprehension of violators to protect small fisherfolk, according to marine conservation group Oceana.   

Oceana said in a statement on Thursday that 42,934 commercial vessels were detected within municipal waters in 2020, about 4.7% lower than the 44,952 reported the previous year.    

The figures were sourced from Karagatan Patrol, a digital platform that uses Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) and senses lure lights that are likely used by commercial fishing boats.    

“Palawan topped the list of provinces with 6,964 of the 44,952 in 2019 and with 6,202 detected out of the total of 42,934 in 2020. Masbate follows with 5,614 in 2019 and 5,721 in 2020,” Oceana said.    

Other areas with high number of night light detections inside municipal waters include Zamboanga City, Tongkil in Sulu, Milagros and San Pascual in Masbate, and Hadji Muhammad Ajul in Basilan.   

“Illegal commercial fishing has long been the source of misery of artisanal fisherfolk who are counted among the poorest of the poor. The municipal waters are reserved for their preferential use and access under the 1987 Constitution and Republic Act No. 10654 or the Fisheries Code as amended,” Oceana said.   

Municipal waters covers areas 15 kilometers from the shoreline.    

Data from Karagatan Patrol also indicated that 145,094 vessels using super lights were spotted in the country’s municipal waters from 2018 to 2021.    

Of the total, 37,738 were detected in Fisheries Management Areas (FMA) No. 4 which cover Antique, Guimaras, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, and Negros Oriental in the Visayas in central Philippines, and Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga City, Isabela City, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi in Mindanao in the country’s south.    

For her part, Oceana Vice President Gloria Estenzo-Ramos urged the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to fully implement Fisheries Administrative Order 266 that requires the installation of vessel monitoring measures to avoid illegal behavior within the country’s water.    

“We are urging the BFAR to fully implement (the order) to deter illegal, reckless, and irresponsible behavior in our waters. The data from Karagatan Patrol only serve as leads to law enforcement agencies but tracking of the location, identification of the offenders, arrest and seizure, filing of cases in court and getting the violators penalized are facilitated if the vessel monitoring system is in place,” Ms. Ramos said.    

Meanwhile, Oceana said Karagatan Patrol now has new features such as being able to present specific data on boat detection by using maps of FMA, country’s territorial and internal waters, municipal waters, the Exclusive Economic Zone, the Kalayaan Island Group, and even the protected seascapes. 

Colmenares to run again for senator in 2022 

COLMENARES CAMPAIGN PHOTO VIA-PHILSTAR

HUMAN RIGHTS lawyer Neri J. Colmenares said Wednesday that he will be running for a Senate seat once more in the 2022 national elections. 

“I will run for the Senate seat in 2022 if only to deliver the sharpest message to the candidate of President (Rodrigo R.) Duterte,” he said in an ANC interview. 

His 2022 bid is backed by the Makabayan coalition composed of progressive party-lists, including Bayan Muna which he chairs.  

This would be Mr. Colmenares’ third attempt for a Senate seat after unsuccessful runs in the 2016 and 2019 elections.    

His platform, he said, would include pandemic response, regularization of contractual workers, and increasing the monthly pension of indigent senior citizens to P1,000, among others.    

Mr. Colmenares currently serves as chair of the National Union of Peoples Lawyers. He is also one of the convenors of opposition coalition group 1Sambayan but is now on leave due to his senatorial run.   

“1Sambayan is still discussing who they will support for the senatorial slate… If I’m chosen by 1Sambayan, I would really appreciate that,” he said in a Viber message.  

Mr. Colmenares has represented families of extrajudicial killings before the International Criminal Court and argued in the Supreme Court against the controversial Anti-Terror Law.    

He was a congressman under the Bayan Muna Party-list from 2009 to 2016. He served as senior deputy minority leader in the 16th Congress. — Russell Louis C. Ku 

Vaccinated applicants to get priority hiring in Davao City 

DAVAO CIO

JOB APPLICANTS who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will be prioritized for hiring by the Davao City government starting Jan. 2022, based on an order issued by the mayor.  

Executive Order 45-A, which contains the priority hiring provision, is an updated version of the directive released last week requiring all current city workers to be vaccinated or face sanctions, including termination from the job.   

The Civil Service Commission and the Department of Interior and Local Government have yet to reply to a BusinessWorld request for comment on the legality of the vaccination mandate and whether other local governments can replicate the order.   

In March this year, the Department of Labor and Employment issued an advisory for the private sector, in line with laws on labor and vaccination, that a “no vaccine, no work policy shall not be allowed.”  

The Labor department, however, emphasized in the advisory that employers must “encourage” workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as part of occupational safety and healthy program.   

“The unreasonable refusal of some personnel to get vaccinated should not be allowed to bring to naught the cooperation of the majority, their effort to achieve herd immunity and their right to a healthy disease-free environment,” Davao Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said over the city-run radio station.  

She cited that of the 20,000 city government workers — including permanent, temporary, and under contract — 12,000 have already been vaccinated without any death recorded.   

“If you are a person who feels aggrieved by the EO (executive order) because you are a city government personnel then you go to our City Legal Office,” the mayor said. — MSJ 

House bill seeks to expand sports commission fund source 

A BILL that seeks to increase the funds of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to ensure adequate support for local athletes competing in international competitions was filed at the House of Representatives.  

House Deputy Speaker and Biñan City Rep. Marlyn B. Alonte filed House Bill 10270 or the proposed Sports Finance Act of 2021, which would expand sources for the National Sports Development Fund.  

New sources of funding would include proceeds from the Motor Vehicles Users’ Tax, revenues from gaming operators of online cockfighting or e-sabong, and all taxes collected from imported athletic equipment.  

The National Sports Development Fund currently comes from proceeds from lotto games and sale of stamps.    

“The sweepstakes have become obsolete and is now just a shadow of what it once was,” Ms. Alonte said in her explanatory note. 

The measure would also allow the PSC in coordination with the Department of Budget and Management and the National Economic and Development Authority to explore, negotiate, and secure foreign grants and technical assistance to augment sports funds.    

The bill comes after the historic run of the Philippine delegation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, including the country’s first gold medal from weightlifter Hidilyn F. Diaz.  

The House has earlier conferred the Congressional Medal of Excellence to Ms. Diaz and the Congressional Medal of Distinction to boxers Nesthy A. Petecio, Carlo Paalam, and Eumir Felix D. Marcial.    

A House bill was also filed on Aug. 26 to establish an Olympian Museum at the New Clark City Sports Complex in Capas, Tarlac, which would be the official public venue for all Olympian records and other memorabilia. — Russell Louis C. Ku 

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