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MGB dismantles illegal mine in Nueva Vizcaya

MINING EQUIPMENT used in illegal small-scale mining activity was seized and dismantled in Quezon, Nueva Vizcaya in late July, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) said.

The MGB said in a statement this week that the equipment included ball mills, diesel engines, pulleys, and other items, which were dismantled, while a number of small-scale miners were also apprehended.

The illegal activity was halted following joint operations by the MGB, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office of Nueva Vizcaya.

According to MGB Region 2 Director Mario A. Ancheta, the absence of documentation to conduct mining operations and transport minerals or mineral products and by-products is considered prima facie evidence of illegal mining.

“This shall cause the seizure or confiscation of the minerals or mineral products and by-products and the tools, conveyances, and equipment used in the commission of the offense in favor of the government,” Mr. Ancheta said.

Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said miners involved in illegal small-scale mining usually dig and drill without proper oversight.  

“These unregulated mining activities pose a danger to the environment, and to human life,” Mr. Cimatu said.

Before the operation, the MGB had ordered an investigation into small-scale mining within the Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement contract area of FCF Minerals Corp., which has not yet developed the area. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave  

China typhoons pose latest threat to supply chains after port disruptions

EXTREME WEATHER in China is becoming the latest challenge to global supply chains, as a heavy typhoon season threatens to further delay goods stuck at some of the world’s busiest container ports.

Yantian port in southern China’s export and industrial hub of Shenzhen temporarily stopped drop-off services of containers on Tuesday night due to a typhoon alert. Just two weeks earlier, Shanghai’s Yangshan mega-terminal facility and nearby ports evacuated ships as Typhoon In-Fa slammed into the coast, bringing widespread flooding and toppling containers stowed in the hold of a bulk carrier traveling to the US.

Heavy rain, high winds and flooding this year are tying up global trade as the already overstretched shipping industry struggles to recover from disruptions ranging from COVID-19 outbreaks to geopolitical unrest. There may be worse to come, as officials predict more typhoons will hit China this month.

From August to December, 16 to 18 typhoons are forecast to form in the Northwest Pacific and South China Sea, the Meteorological Administration said Wednesday. Four to six of these are expected to make landfall in China or affect the country.

“Each time a port is forced to close, containers continue to pile up, adding to existing delays,” said Alex Hersham, CEO of digital freight-forwarder Zencargo. “And as this season is expected to be heavier than usual for tropical cyclones, we can expect more delays like this.”

Supply chains have faced a string of bad luck this year. A COVID-19 outbreak among port staff was to blame for a partial closing of Yantian in May, leading to container goods piling up for a month. As ships diverted away from southern China, some factories in the nearby manufacturing hub of Guangdong shut down because of excess inventory that couldn’t be exported, according to analysts and logistics intelligence firm project44.

“The impact of Yantian’s closure was unprecedented on the supply chain because it serves one of the world’s largest manufacturing bases,” said Salmon Aidan Lee, head of polyesters at consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd. “If we have a few more typhoons that come our way, and knock down production a few days each time, this problem will get worse.”

While the average waiting time for a container to be exported at Yantian has dropped to five days from 25 in June, and operations resumed at the port Wednesday evening, the situation could easily worsen again if weather-related delays at other Chinese ports build up, said Hersham.

Typhoon In-Fa also impacted factory operations in eastern China, while major ports along the Yangtze River, the country’s busiest inland waterway, halted operations last week, the Shanghai Shipping Exchange said in a July 30 note. Torrential rains and flooding have affected flows of commodities like oil and coal, the company said.

The disruptions are driving the cost of shipping a 40-foot box from China to the US to record levels above $10,000, according to maritime consultant Drewry. Ultimately, the snarls will add to inflation, said Lee, who predicts US consumers will have to pay about 20% more for Christmas presents — from toys to furniture. — Bloomberg

Poe says Senate to give water franchises bills due scrutiny

PHILSTAR

SENATOR Mary Grace Natividad S. Poe-Llamanzares, who chairs the chamber’s Committee on Public Services, said her panel will subject the water franchise bills to the required scrutiny, following allegations the measures were rushed by the House.

“Businesses imbued with public interest must ensure that citizens’ welfare takes precedence over private profit,” Ms. Poe said in a statement.

Ms. Poe made the remarks after claims that the franchise bills for Manila Water Co., Inc. and Maynilad Water Services, Inc. were approved too quickly in the House.

Voting was 206-7-0 for both House Bill (HB) No. 9422 and HB No. 9423, which granted separate 25-year congressional franchises to the two companies.

She said the bills must “address the looming water scarcity exacerbated by the growing demand for the commodity and the lack of urgency in tapping new sustainable sources.”

“We must put an end to the woes drowning many households for years due to lack of safe water to drink, high rates and constant supply interruption,” said Ms. Poe. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

Customs seizes over P10B worth of smuggled goods in first half

PHILSTAR

THE BUREAU of Customs (BoC) said it confiscated P10.169 billion worth of smuggled goods from 557 operations in the first six months of the year, about the same as the year-earlier level of seizures.

The first-half seizure total is equivalent to 95.7% of the seizures recorded over the 2020 full year, according to the BoC’s mid-year accomplishment report posted on the bureau website.

Some P6.678 billion was seized through various enforcement operations while the remainder was discovered in the course of regular examinations and port inspections.

Fake goods topped the list of smuggled goods by value at P5.575 billion, followed by P1.97 billion in smuggled fuel, P1.869 billion worth of illegal drugs and P1.1 billion in illicit cigarettes.

The bureau issued 62 letters of authority to check suspicious inventories of imported goods in those six months, 57 of which led to enforcement action.

The BoC also condemned P4.243 billion worth of forfeited goods between January and June.

The sale of confiscated and forfeited goods through public auctions yielded P279.52 billion in revenue for the bureau.

Post-audit activities generated P483.33 million in additional customs duties and taxes.

The BoC collected P359.93 billion in the seven months to July, exceeding its target for the period by 4.15%. This was also 4.2% bigger than its year-earlier total.

The bureau is expected to collect P620 billion this year. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Philippines reports 116 more Delta infections

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter

PHILIPPINE health authorities on Thursday said 116 more people had been infected with the more contagious Delta coronavirus variant, hours before Manila, the capital and nearby cities enter a strict lockdown to contain a fresh surge.

This brought the total Delta cases to 331 the Department of Health (DoH) said in a statement. It added that of the new Delta patients, 95 were locals, one was a returning migrant Filipino and 20 were still being verified.

Metro Manila will be under an enhanced community quarantine from Aug. 6 to 20 after researchers from the University of the Philippines warned that the variant from India might be freely roaming in the community.

Of the 95 local cases, 83 had addresses in the National Capital Region, three in Southern Tagalog, four in Central Visayas, two in the Davao region, and one each in Zamboanga Peninsula, Cagayan Valley and Ilocos region, the agency said.

The Health department reported 8,127 coronavirus infections on Thursday, bringing the total to 1.63 million.

The death toll rose to 28,427 after 196 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 4,343 to 1.53 million, it said in a bulletin. 

There were 66,895 active cases, 94.6% of which were mild, 1.0% did not show symptoms, 1.9% were severe, 1.3% were moderate and 1.1% were critical.

The agency said 135 duplicates had been removed from the tally, 125 of which were reclassified recoveries. Fifteen recoveries were reclassified as active cases, while 131 recoveries were tagged as deaths.

One laboratory was not operational on Aug. 2, while three others did not submit data.

DoH also said 113 more people had been infected with the Alpha coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom, bringing the total to 1,968.

The country now has 2,268 cases of the Beta variant after 122 more Filipinos got infected with the virus strain first detected in South Africa.

Meanwhile, the presidential palace flagged the increasing health care use rate in the country amid the threat of the Delta variant, which is believed to be 60% more contagious than the Alpha variant.

Presidential spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. told a televised news briefing 61% percent of about 3,800 intensive care unit beds in the country had been used as of Aug. 4. He added that 53% of isolation beds and 52% of ward beds were occupied.

ICU occupancy in Metro Manila was at 59%, Mr. Roque said. Fifty-three percent of its isolation beds and 52% of ward beds had been used.

VACCINE DRIVE
Also on Thursday, Mr. Roque said about 10 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated, more than five months since the government started its vaccination drive. 

“We have reached a very important milestone in our national vaccination program,” he said.

The Philippines gave out a record 700,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses on Tuesday vaccine czar Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. said in a statement. About 233,000 doses were given out in Metro Manila.

“What we projected for the second quarter was just 500,000 jabs daily and the 700,000 mark was our goal for the fourth quarter,” he said.

About 22.48 million doses had been given out as of Aug. 4, 12.2 million of which were first shots, Vivencio B. Dizon, deputy chairman of the government’s pandemic plan, separately told a televised news briefing.

The government seeks to fully vaccinate 15 million Filipinos by the end of the month and sustain the average daily vaccination of 600,000 to 700,000, Health Undersecretary Myrna C. Cabotaje earlier said.

The country is inoculating health workers, outbound migrant Filipino workers, family members of health workers, seniors, seriously ill people, essential workers and the poor.

The rest of Filipinos would get vaccinated as early as next month, she said. The government has yet to issue rules on the vaccination of minors.

The vaccination in Metro Manila would continue during the two-week enhanced lockdown, Mr. Roque said, adding that the National Government would allot four million more vaccines for the region.

Meanwhile, the Health department said workers who fail to get vaccinated won’t be discriminated against in terms of employment.

Under the law, vaccine cards “shall not be considered as an additional requirement for employment purposes.”

President Rodrigo R. Duterte last month warned that vaccine decliners would not be allowed to leave their homes.

The President in June said he would order the arrest of those who refuse to take part in the government’s vaccination program.

He also threatened to require village officials to prepare a list of those who decline to get vaccinated.

Critics have said vaccine shortage, not vaccine hesitancy, is the biggest problem in the government’s immunization program.

Meanwhile, Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo urged the government to fast-track the distribution of cash aid to low-income residents who will be affected by the metro lockdown.

The government should have by now crafted a better method of cash aid distribution since the capital region had been placed under lockdown before.

Mr. Roque earlier said the cash aid would be distributed before the start of the hard lockdown.

The government has allotted P13.1 billion to fund the financial aid for 10.7 million Metro Manila residents.

Lawmakers have been calling for the passage of a third stimulus measure that seeks to provide P401 to pandemic-hit sectors. Mr. Duterte did not press lawmakers to approve the bill in his last address to Congress.

Police let workers in essential sectors to be driven to, from work

PHILIPPINE police on Thursday said nonessential workers would now be allowed to drive and fetch people working in essential sectors during the two-week enhanced lockdown in the capital region.

Drivers of private cars must show proof that they will fetch essential workers such as a certificate of employment of the woke or a copy of his employer’s business permit national police chief Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar told radio.

On Wednesday, the police chief said frontliners would be barred from being driven to their work places, and should instead drive the car on their own, or take public transportation. The rules apply when they go home.

He said they would not allow the practice because it could be abused by nonessential workers who might use it as an excuse to unnecessarily go out of their homes during the strict lockdown.

Mr. Eleazar had noted that public transportation would still be available during the enhanced community quarantine on Aug. 6 to 20.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Wednesday police to review the ban, which it said “jeopardizes (essential workers’) ability to carry out their crucial roles in combatting the pandemic.

The prohibition also exposes them to higher risk of infection because there was no guarantee that there would be enough public utility vehicles during the lockdown, CHR spokesperson Jacqueline Ann C. de Guia said.

“The negative impact on frontliners’ ability to perform their duties is far worse than the harm or abuse they seek to prevent from this policy,” she added.

She further noted that the government should focus on seeking ways to support the country’s frontliners in fulfilling their duties.

Meanwhile, senators said police should seek alternatives that satisfy all affected parties when implementing restrictions.

Senator Panfilo M. Lacson said the earlier ban was “impractical if not illogical.” “They may want to exert a little extra effort to find a possible win-win solution,” he said in a statement.

He added that there might be a way to satisfy both health concerns and a little convenience for people allowed to go out “to feed their families or render indispensable service to others, like health workers and other frontliners.”

Senator Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel also welcomed the change of plan., noting that legitimizing motorcycle taxis and increasing the budget for service contracting to decrease the long lines and overcrowding in transportation might help solve the problem.

“Before releasing such guidelines, our institutions should carefully discern and take into consideration the plight of ordinary workers,” she said.

Mr. Eleazar said police would conduct random checks of documents, falsification of which could lead to charges. Company shuttle services would be encouraged, he said.

The presidential palace on Wednesday ordered agencies in the Philippine capital and nearby cities to reduce their on-site workers to 20% during the two-week enhanced lockdown meant to contain a more contagious Delta coronavirus variant.

Only agencies that provide health and emergency, laboratory and testing, border control and other critical services can fully operate, according to a copy of an Aug. 3 memo signed by Executive Secretary Salvador S. Medialdea.

The palace urged offices under Congress, the Judiciary, independent constitutional commissions and bodies, and local governments in the capital region to adopt the executive memo.

Metro Manila will be under a hard lockdown from Aug. 6 to 20 to contain a fresh surge in coronavirus infections believed to have been triggered by the Delta coronavirus variant from India. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago and Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

Law signed allowing regional courts to handle higher value real estate cases  

BW FILE PHOTO

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has signed into law the bill that would allow regional courts to handle civil actions involving real property with a value of up to P400,000. 

Republic Act 11576, signed into law on July 30, amends the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980 to increase the coverage of Regional Trial Courts (RTCs) from the current limits of P50,000 in Metro Manila and P20,000 in other areas. RTCs can hear disputes relating to property title or possession.  

With the legislative amendment, RTCs also now have authority over actions and maritime jurisdiction, property cases wherein a diseased owner left or did not leave a will, and in all other cases in which “the demand, exclusive of interest, damages of whatever kind, attorney’s fees, litigation expenses and costs or the value of the property in controversy exceeds” P2 million.   

The former limit was P200,000 in Metro Manila courts and P100,000 elsewhere.    

The new law gives the Supreme Court (SC), as the supervisor of all courts, the authority to “reflect the extraordinary supervening inflation and deflation of currency; reflect change in the land valuation; or maintain the proportion of caseload between first- and second-level courts.”   

In a news release on Thursday, SC Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo thanked Congress for supporting the bill until it was signed into law.   

“Through this new law, the jurisdictional amounts of our trial courts have now been adjusted to levels which are more suitable to the current economic conditions and property valuation in the country,” he said.   

Mr. Gesmundo added that the new law “will no doubt help declog the dockets of our second-level courts, which in turn would lead to a faster adjudication of cases and better administration of justice.” — Bianca Angelica D. Añago  

Hospitals already practicing price transparency — PHAPi 

PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

THE HEALTHCARE industry is already practicing transparency on service rates following a Health department order in January, the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAPi) said in reaction to the filing of a bill in the Senate to prevent “surprise billing.”  

The Department of Health issued Administrative Order No. 2021-0008 last Jan. 18, which set guidelines on providing an accessible price list of all services and goods being offered in public and private hospitals and other health facilities.  

On July 27, Senator Manuel M. Lapid filed Senate Bill 2334, or the Medical Bill Transparency Act, which aims to ensure that patients are fully informed about the procedures, price, and quality of the healthcare service in advance to prevent a “surprise billing” before being discharged.   

“The supposed surprise billing should not happen because patients are made aware during admission of the different categories that they go into when admitted into the hospitals, and they sign an informed consent explaining the different charges that they may encounter,” PHAPi President Jose Rene de Grano said in an email.   

He said hospitals are already in the process of improving price transparency with the use of “pamphlets, a website, a tablet, etc.,” and “not publicly posting it just like when you enter a restaurant, and the menu is plastered on the walls.”  

The proposed law will require hospitals to publicly post standard charge information.   

“The consensus of the healthcare workers, especially the doctors, is if ever this is done, the prices should be a range of cost, not a fixed cost, because not all the procedures, operations, services are exactly the same or similar. Also, the cost should depend on the accommodation chosen by the patient,” said Mr. De Grano.  

Mr. De Grano also said private hospitals “should be given a fair way of making a sort of income since they are considered still as a business enterprise, unlike government facilities who should offer the services with the least cost if not free.”  

Should there be hearings on the bill, he said, it must involve all stakeholders. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan 

Holcim Group’s solar-run vessel to collect plastic waste in Manila Bay 

HOLCIM.COM

GLOBAL building solutions provider Holcim Group recently launched a solar-powered vessel that can collect plastic litter in Manila Bay to help in ongoing rehabilitation efforts.  

The Circular Explorer, built in partnership with the Germany-based environmental organization One Earth One Ocean, is powered by 100% renewable energy and can recover four tons of floating marine plastic per day.  

The catamaran, with a lifespan of 25 years, has a cleaning capacity of 21,000 square meters per hour.  

The firm’s local unit Holcim Philippines, Inc., in an emailed statement on Thursday, said it will receive the boat from the Holcim Group in the first half of next year.  

The Circular Explorer is part of the Holcim Group’s stronger focus on sustainability and innovation… (It) will be operated by environmental organization One Earth One Ocean and supported by Holcim Philippines,” it said.  

“Through the Circular Explorer, we will further advance circular economy or the preservation of natural resources by reusing materials as much as possible and have a more positive impact in building progress in the Philippines,” Holcim Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Horia-Ciprian Adrian said.   

Last week, Holcim’s local unit forged a deal with the Marine Environment and Resource Foundation, Inc. based in the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute to develop solutions to plastic pollution.  

Holcim Philippines operates waste management unit Geocycle, which converts qualified waste material to alternative fuel that is used to manufacture cement. The firm has four cement manufacturing facilities, located in La Union, Bulacan, Misamis Oriental, and Davao. — Angelica Y. Yang 

Additional hospital facilities being readied at Lung Center to manage possible surge  

DPWH

THE DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Thursday it is preparing to turn-over additional hospital facilities at the Lung Center of the Philippines for patients’ treatment, which is seen to help manage a potential surge in coronavirus cases, especially with the reported more transmissible Delta variant.  

The facilities, consisting of three off-site cluster units located within the hospital compound, are expected to be completed by Aug. 9. These modular hospital units have a combined 66 beds.   

“Construction of additional two cluster units with 44 rooms are also nearing completion, with one cluster unit to be assigned as intensive care unit facility for patients needing higher level of medical monitoring and complex treatment,” the department said.  

The government will also construct a 16-room off-site dormitory for 32 people.  

“The inclusion of dormitory facility with kitchen and laundry area as temporary living quarters for off-duty hospital workers is meant to improve the billeting conditions of Lung Center frontliners,” DPWH said. — Arjay L. Balinbin 

P13.1-B cash aid during lockdown not enough — Zarate 

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

A LAWMAKER from the progressive Makabayan bloc said on Wednesday that the allotment of P13.1 billion for 10.7 million residents in the capital region who would be affected by the reimposition of a two-week lockdown starting Friday is a “mere pittance.”   

“Even if the government gives P4,000 per family it is far from enough because based on the iPrice data a family of four would need P57,600 to live comfortably for two weeks,” said Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani T. Zarate in a press release.   

The data from iPrice Group he cited put Manila as “one of the most expensive cities to live in Southeast Asia,” ranking third in the region with an estimated monthly cost of P50,800,  

“This is only for one person. If there is no rent, it would cost P28,800 per month to live decently. If you split it to two weeks, one person will need P14,400 in Manila,” Mr. Zarate said in Filipino.    

Presidential Spokesperson Herminio L. Roque, Jr. has announced that low-income residents in Metro Manila will be given P1,000 per person or a maximum of P4,000 per family as cash assistance during the period of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the strictest lockdown category.   

Other members of the Makabayan bloc, in a press conference on Thursday,  challenged President Rodrigo R. Duterte to live on P1,000 for two weeks.    

“Until now, there are people who haven’t recovered their lost income from the first ECQ (such as our workers, small business owners, and farmers,” Bayan Muna Rep. Eufemia Cullamat said in Filipino.   

The progressive group also pushed for the passage of the Bayanihan to Arise as One Act or Bayanihan III, the third stimulus package in response to the coronavirus pandemic. It is currently pending in the Senate.   

The bloc was pushing for a one-time cash subsidy of up to P10,000 per Filipino under the proposed law, but the House-approved version provides P2,000.    

Meanwhile, the Makabayan bloc also filed House Bill 9922 on Wednesday that seeks to provide a P3,000 monthly inflation adjustment allowance for all government workers.    

“Government workers continue to push for P16,000 per month national minimum wage. In the immediate however, they are calling for additional allowances to help them cope with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and high inflation rate in our country,” the group said in their explanatory note. — Russell Louis C. Ku

Olongapo court junks appeal to reverse acquittal of 2 farmers charged under anti-terror law  

AN OLONGAPO City court has denied the motion of the prosecution to reverse its decision acquitting farmers Japer T. Gurung and Junior U. Ramos who were charged with a criminal case for violation of the controversial Anti-Terror law.   

In its order dated July 27 and made public on Wednesday night, the Olongapo City court held that cases dismissed by the grant of a demurrer to evidence “may not be appealed, for to do so would be to place the accused in double jeopardy.”   

Double jeopardy means having the accused prosecuted for the same or a similar offense after an acquittal in the same jurisdiction.   

Article III, Section 1(20) of the Philippine Constitution prohibits this act, stating that “(n)o person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense.”   

The court noted that the elements of double jeopardy are “the complaint or information was sufficient in form and substance to sustain a conviction; the court had jurisdiction; the accused had been arraigned and had pleaded; and the accused was convicted or acquitted.”   

The local court acquitted the two, who are members of the indigenous group Aeta, in a decision on July 15 for insufficiency of evidence.  

Messrs. Gurung and Ramos were arrested on Aug. 21, 2020 as they were accused of being members of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. They also allegedly participated in a shootout against military forces that left one soldier dead. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago  

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