RE market operations for off-grid still frozen

April 13, 2021 | 9:52 pm

THE DEPARTMENT of Energy (DoE) said Tuesday that commercial renewable energy (RE) market operations for off-grid areas remain suspended.

The renewable energy market allows for the trade of renewable energy certificates, which attest to the renewable and environmental attributes of power sourced from qualified RE firms. The Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) program requires distribution utilities to source an agreed portion of their supply from qualified renewable energy facilities.

“Based on our advisory dated August last year, the compliance ‘Year One’ of the RPS off-grid rules is still suspended until further announcements,” Renewable Energy Management Bureau (REMB) Senior Science Research Specialist Jonathan B. Teodosio said during a webinar organized by the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology.

The DoE suspended the first-year compliance period of RPS standards for off-grid areas until further notice pending resolution of various issues.

“Right now, we are establishing the necessary database that can serve as the basis for the decision of our RPSCT (RPS composite team) members (for) policy guidance in the future for the implementation of the RPS rules,” Mr. Teodosio said Tuesday.

The RPSCT consists of a chairperson and representatives from the REMB, the Electric Power Industry Management Bureau, National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) and the RE registrar. The team is in charge of implementing the RPS rules for both on-grid and off-grid participants.

According to a department advisory issued on Aug. 18, 2020, the RPS composite team proposes to “recalibrate” the commercial operations of the REM due to the impact of the pandemic. Participants in on-grid areas will need to submit documents showing compliance with the RPS by the end of December. Meanwhile, those in off-grid areas do not have to submit documents as yet because of the suspension of RPS compliance requirements.

The outstanding issues included: identifying the entries under the name “successors of interest”; determining the RPS requirements per participant using internationally-accepted software; and establishing the guidelines for setting the optimal supply mix in off-grid areas, among others.

“The DoE has the authority to suspend compliance of mandated participants when there is an occurrence or existence of force majeure affecting or preventing compliance with their respective RPS requirements,” it said.

On Tuesday, Mr. Teodosio said that the RPSCT currently has a vacancy for the NREB chair position. “Right now, it’s vacant, it was (occupied) before by former NREB Chair Monalisa C. Dimalanta,” he said during the webinar.

Asked if the DoE is looking for the next NREB chair, he said the appointment is up to Malacañang.

“Right now, the designated alternate NREB representative attends (the) meetings,” he said.

Last month, Ms. Dimalanta said that the DoE held a public consultation on the draft of the 2020-2040 National Renewable Energy Program, and concluded that the RPS level must be set to at least 2.52% by 2023 to guarantee the steady increase in RE share in the country’s power mix. — Angelica Y. Yang

MinDA angling for 20% share of budget for Mindanao

April 13, 2021 | 9:51 pm

THE Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) asked the government to allocate the southern islands at least 20% of the national budget next year to support agriculture and aquaculture projects which will improve livelihoods.

At a hearing conducted by the House Committee on Mindanao Affairs, MinDA Undersecretary Romeo M. Montenegro said the agency hopes for increased National Government investment in Mindanao, especially in agriculture.

“We hope that the 2022 budget, the last budget cycle of this administration, will at least deliver for Mindanao around 20% of the national budget allocation at the minimum,” he said.

He added that funding for Mindanao will “connect our production areas to the production centers and the market centers with the needed infrastructure for the last several years, Mindanao has been wanting.”

Mindanao has historically received little National Government investment, as has agriculture overall, he said.

Mr. Montenegro also said Mindanao has the largest share of unirrigated land but was given only 10% of the 2020 funding for the National Irrigation Administration.

MinDA said it is pursuing programs that will boost productivity in agriculture and aquaculture in partnership with various agencies and stakeholders to boost production in fisheries and aquaculture, hog raising, cattle ranching, poultry, corn, and vegetable cultivation.

MinDA Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said at the hearing that the agency recently established the Mindanao Economic Recovery Facilitation Council.

He added next week, he will be meeting with regional officials of major national agencies “in addressing the concerns of our people and ensuring all of our programs and projects are synced towards a common objective of boosting Mindanao’s economic recovery.” — Gillian M. Cortez

The ghost of the 2012 Scarborough Shoal stand-off

April 13, 2021 | 9:27 pm

Scarborough-Shoal-West-Philippine-Sea — A LANDSAT 7 image of Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. — WIKIPEDIA

Once again, the enigmatic and massive presence of Chinese fishing vessels that are believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia are in the Philippine Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ), particularly in the Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef), in another swarming maneuver that is part of China’s aggressive expansionism in the West Philippine Sea. Belligerently banking on their debunked nine-line claim, China not only continues to negate and evade the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Arbitral Ruling of 2016, but also deprives the littoral states of their maritime and sovereign rights.

On March 20, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana informed the Filipino nation that an estimated 220 Chinese fishing vessels were suspiciously moored in Julian Felipe Reef, a boomerang-shaped feature that emerges above the water only during low tides, that is located approximately 175 nautical miles west of Bataraza, Palawan.

The National Task Force for the West Philippines Sea warned of overfishing and destruction of the maritime environment. Closer observation revealed that the Chinese vessels were not engaged in fishing as they were closely lashed together in row formation and kept full white lights on during the night. Their claim to be “seeking shelter from storms” during the hot summer season raised more suspicions. Increased sovereignty patrols were immediately sent by the Defense Secretary as this incursion is within the Philippines 200 nautical mile EEZ.

The Philippine government’s animated reaction to this incident reflects its recognition of Chinese gray zone operation. It has taken note that China has incrementally asserted its expansive claim in the South China Sea by building artificial islands and fortifying them with missiles, ports, and airstrips in disputed waters also claimed by Vietnam and the Philippines. This was made possible because it has been swarming the South China Sea with both public and civilian vessels, effectively defying and overwhelming the littoral states’ efforts to drive them away. The objective is to accomplish by overwhelming presence what it had been unable to do through diplomacy or economic statecraft, or naked naval power. This is what transpired during the 2012 Scarborough Shoal stand-off against the Philippines.

DÉJÀ VU SCARBOROUGH SHOAL 2012
The stand-off began on April 10, 2012 when the Philippine Navy’s (PN) flagship, the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar, tried to arrest more than 10 Chinese fishing vessels that were spotted in Scarborough Shoal, which is only 220 kilometers from the main Philippine island of Luzon and well within the country’s EEZ. However, before the Gregorio Del Pilar could apprehend the fishing vessels, two Chinese marine surveillance vessels arrived and prevented the arrest of the Chinese fishermen. The two Chinese civilian ships then boldly informed the Filipino captain that his ship had strayed into Chinese territorial waters and was ordered to leave immediately. The following day, President Benigno Aquino recalled the navy ship and replaced it with a smaller Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) patrol craft in an effort to diffuse the tension. Instead of reciprocating Manila’s gesture, Beijing deployed its most advanced and latest fishery patrol ship to the shoal and this joined the two other civilian vessels confronting the PCG patrol craft.

At the onset of the stand-off, China had gained the upper hand when it forced the PN’s surface combatant to withdraw from the shoal. With an armada of armed civilian vessels at its disposal, China put the onus of either escalating or de-escalating the impasse squarely on the Philippines.

China then sent additional patrol ships, and consequently, three huge and imposing Chinese civilian vessels confronted a lone PCG patrol craft in the shoal. In early May, the Chinese foreign ministry ordered the Philippines to withdraw its lone PCG patrol craft from the shoal as China deployed another civilian vessel and additional fishing boats. To forcefully evict the Philippines from the shoal, China impounded 1,200 containers of tropical fruits from the Philippines in several Chinese ports and cancelled all Chinese group tours to the Philippines. To add more pressure on the Philippines, hawkish elements in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) floated the idea of using force against the Philippines.

In mid-June 2012, the tension at the shoal eased as the two countries withdrew their civilian vessels on the pretext of the onset of the typhoon season. However, after the Philippines withdrew its lone coast guard vessel from the shoal, Chinese Maritime Surveillance vessels, along with China Law Enforcement Command constructed a chain barrier across the mouth of the shoal to prevent Philippine access to it. This led to China’s exercise of de facto occupation of the shoal.

LESSONS FROM 2012
The 2012 Scarborough Shoal stand-off has taught the current administration that to avoid open conflict, China pursues its objective of maritime expansion entirely in the grey zone where it uses military and civilian intimidation and the non-violent but coercive use of maritime power.

As Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana stated clearly and sternly, the presence of these alleged Chinese militia boats is a “clear provocative action of militarizing the area.” This military strategy of China disempowers the littoral states and physically bars them from exerting their maritime and territorial rights in the disputed waters.

The Duterte administration should have by now recognized the hard lesson in this ongoing Julian Felipe stand-off. These gray zone operations enabled China to contest and dominate competitive spaces and thereby achieve its coercive aim of maritime expansion without resorting to warlike violence against both its friends and competitors alike!

Dr. Renato De Castro is a Trustee and Convenor of the National Security and East Asian Affairs Program of the Stratbase ADR Institute.

OFWs: Smugglers of faith and joy

April 13, 2021 | 9:25 pm

(Second of three parts)

Economic prospects for 2021 look bleaker by the day as COVID-19 cases are rising and our Government can’t seem to get their act together in effectively distributing the vaccines available and managing more expertly the necessary balance between public health and the economy. In my own economic forecast, the Philippines shall continue to see paralyzing lockdowns as we suffer from additional surges of even more infectious varieties of this deadly virus. I do not expect positive GDP growth till the fourth quarter of the current year, coming mostly from the Government’s stimulus packages and the Build, Build, Build program. The only other major source of growth will be from the more than 10 million Overseas Filipinos who are literally our global front liners helping to carry the burden of the Philippine economy as our doctors, nurses, and health workers are the front liners caring for the health of the population. As I wrote in the first part of this series, we can expect as much as a 7% increase in the remittances sent by Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to their relatives at home for the whole of 2021.

Why am I bullish about OFW remittances?

The first reason is the evidence from last year that our workers abroad thrive in adversity. Despite the fact that practically all of their major host countries in Europe and the Middle East suffered huge economic losses and a good number of them had to return to the Philippines because they were laid off, the remittances that came from them hardly fell. There was a slight decrease of 0.8% (compared to the catastrophic decline of GDP by 9.5, the worst in East Asia). The close to $30 billion that these OFWs sent to their relatives helped in preventing an even deeper decline in consumption expenditures that are the primary engine of growth of our economy. Thanks to these cash remittances, the low-cost and economic housing segments of the real estate sector continued to thrive (as contrasted with the more expensive housing units that have suffered a glut). The financial assistance that their families received from them also helped their children avoid the tragic fate of the 2.7 million students who had to stop schooling during the school year 2020-2021 because of the loss of income of the breadwinners of their respective families. The very high priority given by the families of the OFWs to education is helping to mitigate the ongoing educational crisis that will surely prejudice the future of the Philippines as many children and young people today are unable to have access to quality education or, for that matter, any education at all. A Consumer Expectations Survey conducted by the Central Bank research department in the last quarter of 2019 showed that 97% of the OFW households spent the remittances on essential items like food and other household needs while 64% put them in education and 44% to cover medical expenses.

It is estimated by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration that since 2020, 489,451 OFWs have been repatriated as of March 25, 2021, of which 20% came back to the Philippines during the first quarter of this year. More updated information comes from the Department of Health which reported on March 25, 2021 that a total of 1,031,495 million Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs) have arrived in the country, among whom 651,628 were land-based; 371,764 sea-based; and transferees from Sabah,1,986. Of these, 1,024,170 were released from facility quarantine (land-based, 651,626; sea-based, 370,558; and Sabah, 1,986). Among these ROFs, 15,394 were confirmed COVID-19 patients. Of these, 9,675 were land-based and 5,719 were sea-based. Among the confirmed COVID-19 patients, 378 are currently admitted, 14,985 have already recovered and 10 have died. It is cause for celebration that a very small number of the ROFs have passed away from COVID-19. We have among them still a very large human resource pool from which we can have productive workers who can be redeployed either in the Philippines (especially in the construction industry or health sector) or once again, especially among the younger ones, as Overseas Filipino Workers. Once the economies of their former host countries rebound sometime this year, some of them can reapply for work, especially in the Middle East that is getting a big help for recovery from the much higher oil prices that are expected to rise above $70 per barrel. The downside for the Philippine economy of these higher oil prices is greater inflationary pressure on our domestic economy. It is already a certainty that average inflation for 2021 in the Philippines will be closer to 5%.

To have an idea of the post-pandemic prospects of OFWs, let us analyze the data provided by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas. In the latest report of this Commission, the 10.2 million Filipinos Overseas (not necessarily all are OFWs) are categorized as follows: 4.8 million are permanent migrants (already citizens or permanent residents in their host countries); 4.2 million are temporary migrants (especially in the Middle East and East Asian countries), and 1.2 million are irregular migrants. All of them are spread out in more than 200 countries and territories. Although a good number of them are already permanent citizens in their host countries, they can still be a major source of remittances to their relatives in the Philippines, especially among those in the United States.

During the height of the pandemic in 2020, a leading researcher on OFWs, Dr. Bett Esposo Ramirez from the University of Asia and the Pacific, monitored the conditions of OFWs in select countries. She reported her findings in a paper entitled “OFWs in their country of work amidst COVID-19 pandemic.” According to her, in Macau, pending legislation on the conversion from tourist to worker status can allow Filipinos stranded in that part of China to stay and supplement the scarce labor supply. In Taipei, Labor Attaché Cesar Chavez, Jr. reported that the factories where thousands of Filipinos work were still operational. Some of the OFWs chose to pre-terminate their contracts to receive their bonuses. Those who elected to stay in Taiwan received the benefits specified in their contracts. In Japan, the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO) Labor Attaché in Osaka, Elizabeth Estrada, reported that OFWs with a residence card are given JPY100,000 (Php 47,000) one-time assistance. For those who had worked in Japan for at least six months and had made insurance payments, Unemployment Insurance of up to 80% of their salary was provided. Aside from the financial assistance, the Japanese government also allowed a visa extension of three months so that the employees could continue working while waiting for the situation to normalize.

Countries in the Middle East, where some 40% of the OFWs work, also manifested some of the most friendly policies towards immigrant workers, reflecting their dire need for them. POLO Bahrain Labor Attaché Vicente Cabe announced that Bahrain had granted an amnesty for undocumented or “irregular” migrant workers who were allowed to legalize their stay and were issued visas to prolong their stay. In Oman, POLO Labor Attaché Greg Abalos reported that the country had started to shift to “Omanization” under which certain jobs held by expats would be given to Oman citizens. Instead of prejudicing OFWs, this measure would benefit them because there would be a greater demand for household service workers (HSWs) as Oman citizens leave their homes to join the workforce. POLO Riyadh Labor Attaché Nasser Mustafa said that the Ministry of Labor of Saudi Arabia issued a standing order against employee termination during the COVID-19 pandemic. OFWs received their salaries during the 14-day quarantine after which they received Paid Leave. Subsequently, they were under the No work, No pay scheme with food allowance and accommodations provided by their employers.

This information gathered by Dr. Ramirez on the practices of host countries may give some clues as to which countries, among others, will be most likely to welcome more Filipino immigrant workers after they have the pandemic under reasonable control. Our Northeast Asian neighbors, represented in the survey conducted by Dr. Ramirez by Japan and Macau, and the Middle Eastern countries represented by Saudi Arabia and Oman, are the ones who most appreciate the services of our workers. They should be on top of the list of Filipinos seeking post-pandemic employment opportunities abroad. The Northeast Asian countries are among those hardest hit by very low fertility rates (as low as 0.8 to 1.1 babies per fertile woman) and, therefore, suffer from severe labor shortages. On the revenue side, the Middle Eastern countries are the most benefited by the skyrocketing prices of oil that can enable them to resume a lot of infrastructure projects that will need many construction workers.

Meanwhile, as the last 12 months have demonstrated when more than 1 million Overseas Filipinos returned, those who remained abroad were still able to be a strong support of our domestic economy. As Dr. Ramirez ended her paper: “The labor situation overseas is not stable and options are few. There are a lot of sacrifices, fear, uncertainty and confusion among migrant workers. And yet, the many millions who have decided or are compelled to stay in their country of work continue to communicate and send remittances to their family and relatives in the Philippines who are also affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.” These words, written very early at the start of the pandemic in 2020, were quite prophetic. Indeed, the sacrifices and sufferings of our OFWs have paid off. Remittances from them hardly dropped in 2020 when the whole world was undergoing the worst depression in a hundred years. Even brighter news: in 2021, our OFWs are expected to send 7% more income to the Philippines as we are still struggling to free ourselves from the paralyzing grip of this deadly virus called COVID-19.

To be continued.

Bernardo M. Villegas has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Asia and the Pacific, and a Visiting Professor at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission.

bernardo.villegas@uap.asia

Cold War II?

April 13, 2021 | 9:24 pm

NO ONE disputes the reality of the strategic competition that has blossomed between China and the United States. But experts disagree on whether this contest will rise to the global reach and the comprehensive scope of the Cold War, when the US and the Soviet Union led opposing economic and political systems defended by their respective, globe-girdling security alliances. China is a regional Asian power with hardly any treaty allies. It is also the biggest beneficiary of the international, rules-based liberal order and the global market that has promoted its phenomenal economic growth.

With a swarm of Chinese naval vessels in the West Philippine Sea, the issue is of more than academic interest for the Philippines. Academic historian Niall Ferguson was among the earliest to announce around 2018 that Cold War II had already commenced. This was a striking conclusion from the co-author (with Moritz Schularik) of a 2007 article that had coined the term “Chimerica” to describe the mutually beneficial relationship between China and the United States. By pegging its currency to the US dollar and investing the massive profits generated in the global market in US securities, China was able to keep the value of the renminbi low and its products competitive. American business benefited from lower interest rates and consumers from lower prices for goods.* Chimerica suggested an enduring, warm, and cozy relationship unlikely to chill into a Cold War.

But the authors’ pun on chimera, the mythical monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a serpent, already anticipated the authors’ conclusion two years later — Chimerica was an unsustainable illusion destined to end.** The US-China symbiosis was damaging to their trading competitors. More critically, it exposed the partners to risks that both would rather avoid. China has accumulated in its war chest about $4 trillion in reserves. While the amount makes US policy makers uneasy, it is also worrisome for the Chinese to have so much of its resources vulnerable to US actions.

It seems reasonable to accept Ferguson’s dating of Cold War II, when he reports both Washington, DC and Beijing officials telling him that they are already engaged in such a conflict. Biden’s Interim National Security Strategic Guidance, issued in March, has settled the issue. The document identified the comprehensive range of issues — diplomatic, military, economic, technology, information — over which the US resolved to compete. More significantly, it framed the competition in ideological terms, in the context of a “historic and fundamental debate about the future direction of our world.” As in Cold War I, the choice on “the best way forward,” was between autocracy or democracy.***

Xi Jinping had grasped the ideological foundation of the clash with the United States much earlier than Biden. Sinologists have gathered from Xi’s communications to the party faithful since his ascent to power in 2012-13 on the continued relevance and correctness of the Marxist Leninist view of history and the inevitable decline of Capitalism and the eventual triumph of Socialism it foretold. American mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic and the turbulent transition into the Biden presidency have further reinforced this narrative.

At Davos in late January, Xi Jinping was content to lobby European officials and businessmen to resist the American move to “decouple” Chimerica. While promoting business with China, he warned foreigners to respect the red lines protecting Chinese core interests in Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

In March in Anchorage, Alaska, at the first top-level meeting between officials of the Biden Administration and the People’s Republic of China, Yang Jiechi, Director of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Secretary Wang Yi faced off with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. As the testy opening statements revealed, the participants had their gloves off. For Asian observers, the session recalled the Cold War I confrontations between the Soviet Union and the United States.****

The reset in US-PRC relations both sides might have thought possible would not come through a roll-back of Trump’s anti-China policies. Apart from Biden’s own democracy advocacy, the Democrats could not show themselves less ready than the Republicans to stand up to China. Nor would the People’s Republic of China (PRC), convinced that it was riding the tide of history, retreat from the sharp power/wolf warrior diplomacy it had been pursuing.

Beyond the atmospherics in Alaska, the PRC aimed to strengthen its “countermeasures and deterrent capabilities.” The PRC sought to establish its position as the dominant center of production of high-tech communications and artificial intelligence products, for the world. To enforce this policy, the PRC also had to reduce its dependence for strategic materials on ideologically unreliable trade partners, like Australia, the source of 60% of its iron ore. Hence, its move to Gambia in Africa for access to the world’s largest untapped iron ore reserves and to the Middle East to protect access to oil from Saudi Arabia and Iran, while also expanding its diplomatic footprint.

Cold War II will make it more difficult for countries to improvise on opportunistic or temporizing, transactional diplomacy that seeks free-riding advantages. This approach will not come without costs. Countries will need to be much more deliberate in crafting a foreign policy strategy that identifies and protects their permanent national interests. Nor can leaders postpone coming to grips with foreign policy challenges that are, admittedly, of a long-term nature, as appears to be the inclination of the Duterte administration.

Matt Pottinger, former White House national security adviser, described the competition with China as a marathon. But to qualify for the long-distance event, runners must qualify by keeping competitive in the 400-meter sprints. Or lose the marathon by default. n

* https://www.jfki.fu-berlin.de/faculty/economics/persons/schularick/chimerica.pdf 1apr21

**https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/10-037_0fdf7d5e-ce9e-45d8-9429-84f8047db65b.pdf

***https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/NSC-1v2.pdf

****https://www.wsj.com/articles/matt-pottinger-on-china-and-u-s-business-11617224863

Edilberto C. De Jesus is a Senior Research Fellow at the Ateneo School of Government.

The exigency of punishing vax line jumpers

April 13, 2021 | 9:23 pm

SENIOR CITIZENS receive their COVID-19 vaccines at the San Jose Parish Church in Navotas on March 31. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

The surge in the COVID-19 cases in the country comes with an increase in the morbidity and mortality rate. To curb the devastating effects of the virus, one concrete solution is to vaccinate the populace against the SARS CoV-2 virus. The limited supply of the vaccines, however, led the National Government to come up with a Deployment and Vaccination Plan for COVID-19 Vaccines, listing the priority population groups who can first benefit from the vaccine rollout.

In the Department of Health (DoH) Memorandum No. 2021-0099, or the Interim Omnibus Guidelines for the Implementation of the National Vaccine Deployment Plan for COVID-19 dated Feb. 23, the priority population groups are enumerated, as follows:

1. Frontline workers in health facilities both national and local, private and public, health professionals and non-professionals like students in health and allied professions courses with clinical responsibilities, nursing aides, janitors, barangay health workers, etc.

2. Senior citizens aged 60 years old and above

3. Adults with comorbidities not otherwise included in the preceding categories

4. Frontline personnel in essential sectors both in public and private sectors, including uniformed personnel, and those in working sectors identified by the IATF that are directly client facing and cannot dutifully meet minimum public health standards

5. Poor population based on the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) not otherwise included in the preceding categories

Despite the straightforward list, recent reports reveal that there are non-priority individuals who are getting inoculated. And they seem to get away with it. Once again, societal inequality and privilege is underscored even during this time of pandemic.

The mayors who have been recently inoculated offered the excuse that they did it to boost vaccine confidence among their constituents. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte himself said in a televised address to the nation on March 24 that the mayors’ excuse is a “gray area” that “would require a certain amount of legal study. This, despite the clear statement of Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on March 4 that the vaccination of officials ahead of the health workers are “breaches.”

Even civilians, like actor Mark Anthony Fernandez, received the shot earlier than priority health workers. Reports have also been received of police officers jumping the queue.

Aside from denying the healthcare workers the priority of being vaccinated, vax line jumpers also endanger the country. President Duterte said that the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that if these non-priority officials continue to jump the line, the country might lose access to the vaccine donations from the COVAX Facility.

Given the impact of skipping the vax line, violators should not be allowed to go unpunished. But to date, no one has actually been penalized for violating the government’s priority list. These reported cases are still being referred to the Department of Interior and Local Government for investigation and with no correlative action just yet. President Duterte himself also said that they may face charges.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra remarked that there is a “possible administrative liability if they are government officials who are not in the priority list,” while Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Epimaco Densing earlier said that public officials may be suspended for this. He, however, also said that as of this time, he does not see any potential liability on the part of civilians who jump the line. The liability, he said, may be upon those who let them skip the line.

It is basic tenet in criminal law that there is no crime when there is no law punishing it. Even Mr. Roque said that there is a need to pass a national quarantine law to provide sanctions for those who do not abide by the vaccination deployment plan.

As of late, Deputy Majority Leader and Quezon City Rep. Precious Hipolito Castelo proposed that vaccine line jumping and mishandling should be criminalized, stressing that she would file a bill to this effect. Said bill, she said, would amend Republic Act 11525, or the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021, which only penalizes the falsification of a vaccine card.

Clearly, there is an exigency to pass a law to curtail the deplorable act of skipping the vaccine line, cutting in front of frontline workers, despite not being included in the government’s priority list. The government should be as serious in punishing these violators as it is in ensuring that those in the priority list will be vaccinated first. Who knows, there may be more violators than what meets the eye of the media.

This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not offered as and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.

Gerime Mae A. Basalo is an Associate of the Cebu Branch of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW).

gabasalo@accralaw.com

Japan set to release contaminated Fukushima water into sea after treatment in two years

April 13, 2021 | 9:01 pm

An aerial view shows the storage tanks for treated water at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, Feb. 13, 2021, in this photo taken by Kyodo. — KYODO/VIA REUTERS

TOKYO — Japan will release more than 1 million tons of contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station into the sea, the government said on Tuesday, a move opposed by neighbors including South Korea and its own fishing industry.

The first release of water will take place in about two years, giving plant operator Tokyo Electric Power time to begin filtering the water to remove harmful isotopes, build infrastructure and acquire regulatory approval.

Japan has argued the water release is necessary to press ahead with the complex decommissioning of the plant after it was crippled by a 2011 earthquake and tsunami, pointing out that similarly filtered water is routinely released from nuclear plants around the world.

Nearly 1.3 million tons of contaminated water, or enough to fill about 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools, is stored in huge tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant at an annual cost of about 100 billion yen ($912.66 million) — and space is running out.

“On the premise of strict compliance with regulatory standards that have been established, we select oceanic release,” the government said in a statement, adding the project would take decades to complete.

The decision comes about three months ahead of the postponed Olympic Games to be hosted by Tokyo, with some events planned as close as 60 km (35 miles) from the wrecked plant. Former Japanese Minister Shinzo Abe in 2013 assured the International Olympics Committee in pitching for the games that Fukushima “will never do any damage to Tokyo.”

Tepco plans to filter the contaminated water to remove isotopes, leaving only tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen hard to separate from water. Tepco will then dilute the water until tritium levels fall below regulatory limits, before pumping it into the ocean.

Tritium is considered to be relatively harmless because it does not emit enough energy to penetrate human skin and other nuclear plants around the world routinely pump water with low levels of the isotope into the ocean.

The United States noted that Japan has worked closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency in its handling of the site since the meltdown in three reactors a decade ago.

“In this unique and challenging situation, Japan has weighed the options and effects, has been transparent about its decision, and appears to have adopted an approach in accordance with globally accepted nuclear safety standards,” the US Department of State said in a statement on its website.

NEIGHBORLY CONCERN
However, opponents to the plan remained concerned about potential levels of tritium or other contaminants.

South Korea expressed “serious concerns that the decision could bring a direct and indirect impact on the safety of our people and surrounding environment.” It called on Japan to provide more information about the planned water release and said it would step up its own radiological measuring and monitoring.

“It would be difficult to accept if Japan decides to release the contaminated water without sufficient consultations,” the government said in a statement. China and Taiwan have also expressed concern.

Fishing unions in Fukushima have urged the government for years not to release the water, arguing it would have a “catastrophic impact” on the industry.

A Scientific American article reported in 2014 that when ingested tritium can raise cancer risks, while some experts are worried about other contaminants.

“My concern is about non-tritium radioactive contaminants that still remain in the tanks at high levels,” said Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.

“These other contaminants are all of greater health risk than tritium and accumulate more readily in seafood and sea floor sediments,” added Mr. Buesseler, who has studied the waters around Fukushima. — Reuters

UK variant of COVID-19 not as severe as feared — study

April 13, 2021 | 9:00 pm

COVID19-ILLUSTRATION — REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION/FILE PHOTO

A HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS variant of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) first identified in Britain does not cause more severe disease in hospitalized patients, according to a new study published in the medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases on Monday.

The strain, known as B.1.1.7, was identified in Britain late last year and has become the most common strain in the United States, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The study analyzed a group of 496 COVID-19 patients who were admitted to British hospitals in November and December last year, comparing outcomes in patients infected with B.1.1.7 or other variants. The researchers found no difference in risks of severe disease, death, or other clinical outcomes in patients with B.1.1.7 and other variants.

“Our data, within the context and limitations of a real-world study, provide initial reassurance that severity in hospitalized patients with B.1.1.7 is not markedly different from severity in those without,” the researchers said in the study.

A separate study published in The Lancet Public Health medical journal found that vaccines were likely to be effective against the British variant since there was no apparent increase in reinfection rate when compared to non-UK variants. According to British scientists, the British variant was about 40%-70% more transmissible than previously dominant variants.

The studies also confirmed the previous findings that B.1.1.7 was more transmissible. — Reuters

Shares sink further as coronavirus case tally rises

April 13, 2021 | 9:00 pm

SHARES declined further on Tuesday as the country continued to log high coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the past few days.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined by 60.85 points or 0.93% to end at 6,457.79 on Tuesday, while the all shares index lost 34.44 points or 0.86% to close at 3,953.81.

Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said the country’s COVID-19 situation “continued to weigh on investor confidence.”

“This comes as our daily additional coronavirus cases remain elevated, in turn, clouding our economic outlook,” Mr. Tantiango said in a Viber message.

On Monday, the Health department reported 11,378 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total to 876,225.

“Business restrictions are less restrictive under current MECQ (modified enhanced community quarantine) guidelines. However, the constant rise of cases continue to spook investors,” AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John J. Mangun said via e-mail.

Under the less strict lockdown, some business establishments are allowed to open at full capacity, except for entertainment venues, recreational facilities, and personal maintenance businesses.

Meanwhile, offshore developments also affected market sentiment, said Anna Corenne M. Agravio, equity analyst at Regina Capital Development Corp.

“This is much like what is happening stateside, with US markets closing lower on Monday fueled by profit taking from record highs coupled with the effects of Fed chairman Powell’s speech. The negative sentiment in Asian markets, which came from a sustained increase in COVID-19 cases, also flowed into the local bourse,” Ms. Agravio said in a Viber message.

Majority of the PSE’s sectoral indices closed in the red on Tuesday, except for services, which inched up by 4.22 points or 0.29% to 1,426.88.

Meanwhile, industrials fell by 174.11 points or 1.97% to 8,660.57; property declined by 59.12 points or 1.82% to finish at 3,179.21; financials lost 24.81 points or 1.78% to 1,366.22; mining and oil went down by 55.12 points or 0.65% to 8,330.99; and holding firms slumped by 4.73 points or 0.07% to close at 6,600.23.

Value turnover increased to P6.1 billion on Tuesday with 1.93 billion issues switching hands, from the P5.97 billion seen the previous trading day with 2.43 billion shares traded.

“This shows that many are still staying out of the market amid lingering uncertainties,” Philstocks Financial’s Mr. Tantiango said.

Decliners beat advancers, 134 versus 64, while 50 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign selling surged to P1.42 billion on Tuesday from the P869.25 million seen on Monday.

AAA Southeast Equities’ Mr. Mangun said current market prices might be attractive to bargain hunters.

“Prices are approaching levels that have attracted buyers just a few weeks ago which may attract buyers to come in,” he said. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Peso ends flat vs dollar on vaccine delays

April 13, 2021 | 9:00 pm

Peso-currency-10 (DO NOT USE) — BLOOMBERG

THE PESO ended flat against the greenback on Tuesday amid cautious sentiment ahead of the release of US inflation data and delays in additional vaccine arrivals.

The local unit closed at P48.555 per dollar, barely moving from its P48.56 finish on Monday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

The peso opened the session at P48.55 against the dollar. Its weakest showing was at P48.58 and its strongest point was at P48.525 versus the greenback.

Dollars exchanged increased to $451.9 million on Tuesday from $373 million the day prior.

Market caution ahead of expected consumer inflation data in the US caused the sideways peso-dollar trading on Tuesday, a trader said in an e-mail.

The US consumer price index was expected to be reported later on Tuesday. In February, it rose by 0.4% from January and by 1.7% a year earlier. Meanwhile core CPI, which excludes volatile items like food and fuel, increased 0.1% from a month ago and by 1.3% from February 2020.

Meanwhile, investor sentiment on delayed vaccine arrivals due to tight global supply also weighed on the peso, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.

The Philippines received another 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines from Beijing on Sunday. However, many vaccine makers, including AstraZeneca, which is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, has put exports on hold temporarily to focus on domestic demand, Reuters reported. This is a risk to the country’s target to inoculate 70 million Filipinos by year end.

Latest data from the Department of Health showed 922,898 vaccines have been administered, where 872,213 and 50,685 were first and second doses, respectively.

For Wednesday, Mr. Ricafort expects the local unit to move within the P48.51 to P48.59 levels versus the dollar, while the trader gave a forecast range of P48.50 to P48.70. — L.W.T. Noble with Reuters

Sixers top Mavericks, 113-95

April 13, 2021 | 8:58 pm

JOEL Embiid led the Philadelphia 76ers past the Dallas Mavericks (113-95) on Monday. — PHILADELPHIA 76ERS FB PAGE

Minnesota sports activities postponed

JOEL Embiid had 36 points and seven rebounds to lift the Philadelphia 76ers past the host Dallas Mavericks (113-95) on Monday.

Embiid was 10 of 17 from the field and 14 of 15 from the free-throw line in only 26 minutes.

Furkan Korkmaz added 20 points in just 18 minutes off the bench while Tobias Harris and Shake Milton contributed 10 each for the Sixers.

With the win, Philadelphia moved past the Brooklyn Nets and back into first place in the Eastern Conference.

Luka Dončić led the Mavericks with 32 points, his 19^th game this season with at least 30, while Jalen Brunson added 15. Dorian Finney-Smith scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Mavericks played without Kristaps Porziņģis, who was resting while recovering from a recent knee injury. Dallas fell to 9-10 this season when Porziņģis doesn’t play.

Embiid, who made his first eight free throws, dropped in 1 of 2 with 3:29 remaining in the second quarter to give the Sixers a 51-44 lead.

Embiid carried the Sixers with 23 on their way to a 60-48 advantage at half time. It was the 21st time this season that Embiid has scored at least 20 in the first half.

Without Porziņģis, the Mavericks looked to be out of sync offensively for much of the half. Dončić led the way with 20, but the Mavericks shot just 39%.

When Seth Curry hit a deep 3-pointer with 8:21 left in the third, the Sixers extended their lead to 72-55.

Dallas, which missed 10 consecutive three-pointers during one long stretch, fell behind 88-69 at the end of the third.

The Sixers controlled the tempo in the opening few minutes of the fourth and moved ahead 95-74 following a trey by Korkmaz.

Doncic knocked down a 3-pointer with 6:25 remaining, but the Mavericks still trailed 101-83.

Dallas did close within 104-91 when rookie Josh Green threw down a dunk with 3:45 to go, but Dwight Howard responded with a dunk on the Sixers’ next possession.

MINNESOTA SPORTS
Meanwhile, professional sports in Minneapolis were effectively suspended on Monday following the fatal police shooting of a 20-year-old Black man in the suburb of Brooklyn Center and subsequent outcry.

Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Minnesota Twins, National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Minnesota Timberwolves and the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL) were all set to play at home on Monday.

The shooting on Sunday of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop led to protests through early Monday morning in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.

The city’s police chief said the shooting appeared to be an “accidental discharge” after the officer drew her gun instead of her Taser during a struggle.

The mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul on Monday declared a state of emergency and set a curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Following that announcement, the NHL and the Wild released a joint statement that they were postponing Monday night’s game with the St. Louis Blues. The game was rescheduled for May 12.

The NBA said it decided after consultation with the Timberwolves as well as state and local officials that a game between the Minneapolis team and the Brooklyn Nets would also be postponed. — Reuters

Masters champ Matsuyama open to lighting Olympic cauldron

April 13, 2021 | 8:57 pm

NEWLY crowned Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama said it will be an honor to light the cauldron at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony if asked. — MASTERS TOURNAMENT FB PAGE

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA — Hideki Matsuyama cut a solitary figure as he walked alone to the clubhouse to sign his card after winning the Masters on Sunday, even if all of Japan was with him in spirit.

After exchanging hugs beside the 18^th green with his small entourage, a stoic Matsuyama was left to himself to sign his scorecard and prepare for a new life that will never be the same after becoming the first Masters champion from Asia.

Even before the winning putt dropped the notion was already being raised, by three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo, that Matsuyama could be chosen to light the cauldron at the Olympics opening ceremony in the Japan National Stadium on July 23.

Matsuyama is finalizing his plans, but is likely to be in the country at that time as a member of Japan’s golf team six days before the Olympic men’s competition starts on July 29.

“If the schedule works out and I am in Japan when that happens and they ask me, what an honor that would be,” Matsuyama said via his interpreter, before adding with typical Japanese humility his thoughts about the Olympic golf.

“If I am on the team, and maybe it looks like I will be, I’ll do my best to represent my country and hopefully, I’ll play well,” he said.

But if Matsuyama has played his way into the hearts of Japanese golf fans by becoming the first man from his nation to win a major championship, he is unlikely to offer up much celebrity fodder.

A very private person, to an extent that he makes Tiger Woods look like an open book, Matsuyama rarely speaks of his family. The Japanese media, who follow his every step, did not even know for seven months that he had married back in 2017.

It was not until Matsuyama announced that wife Mae had given birth to a girl that they found out about his nuptials.

The 29-year-old Matsuyama prefers to let his clubs do the talking and even in the glow of victory was reluctant to acknowledge that he was the greatest player from his country.

“I can’t say I’m the greatest,” he said. “However, I’m the first to win a major and if that’s the bar, then I’ve set it.”

MAJOR PRESSURE
The pressure of sleeping on a four-shot lead caused Matsuyama to wake up much earlier than he had hoped on Sunday, and after some first-tee nerves, he remained inscrutable until the very end.

“I felt really good until I stood on the first tee, and then it hit me that I’m in the last group of the Masters tournament and I’m the leader by four strokes,” he said.

“And then I was really nervous but I caught myself, and the plan today was just go out and do my best for 18 holes.”

It was not until he smoked a drive up the middle at the last that the job was almost done, having the luxury of being able to make a bogey and still triumph.

“He’s not going to double from there,” said one spectator.

“It’s all over,” added another, the near silence broken only by a bird tweeting nearby.

So what had Matsuyama been thinking upon holing the winning putt?

“When the final putt went in, I really wasn’t thinking of anything,” he said.

“But then hugging Xander (playing competitor Schauffele) — then when I saw my caddie Shota (Hayafuji) and hugged him, I was happy for him because this is his first victory on the bag.

“And then it started sinking in, the joy of being a Masters champion.” — Reuters

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