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A league of her own: Celebrating the uniques stories of women in STEM

Often relegated to the bookish, awkward lab assistant, female scientists have never gotten the respect they deserve in the public eye. Everything from literature to movies has fed on this trope, reducing them to exposition devices spewing jargon, or sidekicks to more competent male characters.
In reality, women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are not two-dimensional and definitely do much more than advance someone else’s plot. To discuss and celebrate the unique and nuanced stories of these women, She Talks Asia and L’Oreal Philippines held #STEMSisterhood, a tribe meet-up for women in STEM, last February 11, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

No single path or story

At first glance, Dr. Maricor Soriano, Dr. Geraldine Zamora, and Alex Suarez seem like they’ve always been sure of their place in the sciences since childhood. However, listening to their histories reveal that their path was anything but certain.
Dr. Soriano, a physicist at the National Institute of Physics at the University of the Philippines and an awardee of The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service, had always been interested in STEM. But falling into her chosen field was a bit of an accident. “Choice one was biology, choice two was psychology,” she said, recalling her college application. “But I didn’t know they were quota courses. I passed the exam, but I didn’t pass the quota. [I was told to] choose a subject that still had slots. So I looked at the long list and said, ‘Hey, physics! I enjoyed physics in high school. I’ll take physics!’”
For Dr. Zamora, a rheumatologist and founder of the Lupus Bridging Fund, STEM wasn’t even among their options. Dr. Zamora wanted to be a dancer and a model. Similarly, Suarez, Country Lead of Bumble Philippines, had a business degree and worked in finance for six years. The roads to their current careers may have been unusual and unromantic, but Suarez thinks it has given them a useful edge.  
“You see every opportunity with fresh eyes. Usually when you’re down one path, you tend to stay on it, especially if it’s working for you in some shape or form. But every time I changed roles, it was a new problem to solve, and you think from the ground up every time.”  

No need to be Superwoman

Other people may take this “uncertainty” of their narratives as a sign of weakness, an indicator that there was never a clear resolve or decision. But by utilizing it a strength instead, they want to tell women who are in or want to pursue STEM that vulnerability is not a sign of weakness, especially since women are especially pressured to be perfect. Falling into a path doesn’t make you less deserving of excelling in it.
Dr. Zamora shared how she had to choose the less demanding field of rheumatology over cardiology when she became a mother. To her, it wasn’t a sad compromise she was forced to make, but a willful choice that allowed her to take control of her time and priorities.
“Some of us might think that we need to do everything, that we need to be Superwoman… but I needed to give something up,” she said. “I had to choose which were the most important aspects of my life… So I think it’s really possible to have the best of the worlds that you choose to prioritize.”
According to Carmel Valencia, corporate communications ehad of L’Oreal Philippines, this is a decision all women, especially those in the sciences, need to make. And so it’s important to create spaces for sharing stories women in STEM can relate to and pattern their lives against.
“We don’t have a lack of stories to tell,” Valencia said. “It’s just a matter of getting them out there and making sure that the young girls can visually see what a scientist and the range of what scientists [can be]. A scientist is not just a person in the lab. Visualization could be so powerful for young people.”
 

Record-high current account gap marks 2018

THE COUNTRY’s current account deficit ballooned in 2018 to exceed an official full-year forecast, fueled by a wider merchandise trade gap, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Friday.
The current account deficit stood at an all-time-high $7.9 billion in 2018, wider than the $2.2 billion recorded in 2017 and surpassing the $6.4-billion projection of the central bank.
Prior to 2018, BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said the biggest current account deficit was 1997’s $4.4 billion.
“At that time, we are using GNP at 5.1%,” Mr. Guinigundo said.
Last year’s current account deficit was equivalent to 2.4% of gross domestic product (GDP), compared with 0.7% of GDP in 2017.
The fourth quarter alone saw a $2.4-billion current account deficit, slightly narrower than the $2.5-billion gap recorded in 2017’s final three months.
The current account provides a snapshot of the country’s overall economic interaction with the rest of the world covering trade in goods and services; remittances from overseas Filipino workers; profit from Philippine investments abroad; interest payments to foreign creditors; as well as gifts, grants and donations to and from abroad.
“This developed as the widening deficit in the trade-in-goods account more than offset the higher net receipts posted in trade in services, and primary and secondary income accounts,” according to the statement of the BSP.
The country’s trade-in-goods deficit widened to $49 billion in 2018 from $40.2 billion in 2017, as purchases of foreign goods grew 9.4% while outbound sales of Philippine products fell 0.3%.
“Import growth was driven by higher imports across all major commodity groups, notably raw materials and intermediate goods, indicating domestic production activity,” Redentor Paolo M. Alegre, Jr., head of the BSP Department of Economic Statistics, said in a media briefing at the BSP complex in Manila.
Trade in services, meanwhile, grew 20.7% to $10.5 billion net receipts in 2018 from $8.7 billion in 2017, driven by “net receipts in technical, trade-related and other business services, manufacturing services and telecommunications services, combined with lower net payments in travel services.”
Despite logging the widest current account deficit, the central bank said that it was not “necessarily detrimental” to the country.
“The recent current account deficit reflects underlying economic trend [and] an excess of investments over savings, which have been pointed out by Deputy Governor Guinigundo, point to highly productive and growing economy,” Mr. Alegre said.
“In addition, the deficit is reflective of the national government’s commitment to boost infrastructure projects and spending to finance productive investments.”
The government has embarked on an P8-trillion infrastructure development program until 2022, when President Rodrigo R. Duterte ends his six-year term, in an effort to boost economic growth to 7-8% until then.
“… [T]he overall narrative in the case of growth of imports support robust domestic economic activities, as it mainly consist of capital goods, raw materials and intermediate goods,” Mr. Alegre noted.
Sought for comment, an economist warned that the wider current account deficit could weigh on the peso.
“It should temper any further peso strength, but may be offset by any increase in net foreign potfolio investment inflows as seen earlier this year, especially in January and February 2019,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a text message.
Looking ahead, Mr. Ricafort said the country’s current account gap could narrow this year, reflecting the slightly narrowing trade deficit in recent months.
“This was largely due to some slowdown in imports growth amid the lingering US-China trade war that slowed down global economic growth and global trade,” he said.
The economist added that “continued growth” in remittances from Filipinos abroad may also help narrow the current account deficit in 2019, together with the continued growth of US dollar inflows from business process outsourcing and tourism revenues. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Cash remittances, a key economic support, off to strong start

MONEY SENT HOME by Filipinos working abroad grew at the fastest clip in three months as this year began, even as the latest amount was less than December’s record-high inflows, according to data the central bank released on Friday.
Cash remittances increased by 4.4% to $2.484 billion in January from the year-ago $2.379 billion, even as the latest inflows were 12.8% less than December’s all-time-high $2.849 billion.
“This growth was in line with the increase in remittances from both land-based and sea-based workers”, who sent 2.3% and 12.7% more at $1.95 billion and $530 million, respectively, in January, the central bank said in a statement.
Personal remittances, which include transfers in kind other than cash, grew 3.4% to $2.745 billion in January from $2.655 billion a year ago, even though the latest inflows were 13.05% less than December’s $3.157 billion.
The latest growth rates of both personal and cash remittances, however, were slower than the 10.8% and 9.7%, respectively, clocked in January last year. Capital Economics in a note on Thursday attributed slowing remittance growth to an improving Philippine economy that has generated more jobs and an economic downturn in the Middle East that accounts for about a third of remittances.
Sought for comment, Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist of Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc., said in an e-mail that UnionBank’s Economic Research Unit (ERU) expected January inflows to have logged three-percent growth.
“This January number is actually higher-than-expected. ERU thinks that remittances growth will hover over this 3.0% this 2019. This is lower than the previous two years of 4-5% average,” Mr. Asuncion wrote.
“The expected decline may actually mean positive. This means that more Filipinos have opportunities here domestically and probably choose to stay here in the country. owever, it can also mean that opportunities abroad have been declining as well, particularly in the Middle East.”
For Security Bank Corp. economist Robert Dan J. Roces, remittances’ year-on-year growth was “driven primarily by the higher-than-anticipated growth in contributions from the sea-based components of OF workers”.
“We’ve been observing the growing importance of this sector since last quarter,” Mr. Roces said via e-mail when asked for comment, adding that “[t]he growth also signals stronger domestic demand and that consumption is back, probably coming off of the slowdown we experienced last year due to high inflation”.
At the same time, the month-on-month “decline is your usual tapering coming from the peak remittance season” towards Christmas, Mr. Roces said.
By country source, the United States accounted for the biggest share of overall remittances at 35.5%. It was followed by Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Canada, Qatar, Hong Kong and Kuwait, the central bank reported. Combined remittances from these countries accounted for almost 78% of total cash remittances.
Cash remittances increased by 3.1% — marking the slowest annual increase on record — to $28.943 billion last year from 2017’s $28.06 billion, a little past the central bank’s three-percent growth projection for 2018.
The central bank projects these inflows to sustain three percent growth this year.
Remittances from abroad fuel household spending, which in turn has long been a key driver of overall economic expansion, which the government projects to steady to 6-7% this year from 6.2% in 2018 and 6.7% in 2017. — with KANV

SEC sets rules for forming one-person corporations

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released on Friday draft guidelines listing documentary requirements for putting up a one-person corporation (OPC) and providing how ordinary stock corporations can be converted into OPCs.
“The provision for a one person corporation should encourage the formation of more businesses in the country by making it easier for entrepreneurs to start a limited liability company,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said in a press release.
He said the guidelines would benefit an economy where micro, small and medium enterprises comprise more than 99% of business establishments and generate around 63% of jobs.
The SEC also requested interested parties to submit their comments on the draft Guidelines on the Establishment of a One Person Corporation (OPC) and Guidelines on the Conversion of an Ordinary Stock Corporations into a One Person Corporation (OPC).
The concept of a corporation with a single stockholder was introduced by Republic Act No. 11232, otherwise known as the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines, which took effect on Feb. 23.
Section 10 of the revised code paves the way for the creation of an OPC by removing the minimum number of incorporators that may organize a corporation. It also defined an OPC in Chapter III.
The draft guidelines reiterate that only a natural person, trust or estate may form an OPC. But it clarifies the incorporator should be a natural person of legal age.
The SEC said the “trust” does not refer to a trust entity but a subject being managed by a trustee. If the single stockholder is a trustee, administrator, executor, guardian, conservator, custodian or other person exercising fiduciary duties, proof of authority to act on behalf of the trust or estate must be submitted at the time of incorporation.
The draft guidelines also clarifies that non-bank financial institutions may not incorporate as OPC aside from banks, quasi-banks, pre-need, trust and insurance companies, public and publicly listed companies, and non-chartered government-owned and/or -controlled corporations.
A foreign natural person may put up an OPC, subject to the applicable constitutional and statutory restrictions on foreign participation in certain investment areas or activities.
To incorporate, an OPC needs to submit only its Articles of Incorporation, which sets forth among others a primary purpose, principal office address, term of existence, names and details of the single stockholder, the nominee and alternate nominee, and the authorized, subscribed and paid-up capital.
When the single stockholder assumes the position of the treasurer, an OPC must post a surety bond, computed based on its authorized capital stock and subject to renewal every two years, or as may be required, upon review of its annual financial statements.
At the minimum, an OPC with authorized capital stock of up to P250,000 will have to give a bond of P250,000. The bond shall be equal to the authorized capital stock when the latter breaches P5 million.
On the conversion to an OPC, only a domestic stock corporation may do so and the single stockholder may apply after acquiring all the outstanding capital stock of the corporation.
The process is the same as amending Articles of Incorporation to include the suffix “OPC” in the corporation’s name and remove any suffix indicating an ordinary stock corporation such as “corporation” and “incorporation.”
The corporation must also amend its Articles of Incorporation to reduce the number of directors, name a nominee and alternate nominee, and amend or remove provisions distinctive to ordinary stock corporations, among others.
The SEC will require a secretary’s certificate that the single stockholder acquired all outstanding shares in the corporation and has decided to convert the corporation to OPC, and for that purpose, has decided to amend the incorporation papers, repeal the by-laws of the corporation and appoint a nominee and alternate nominee for the OPC.
The secretary’s certificate should also state that all taxes and obligations in favor of the government has been settled, and that the corporation or any of its stockholder, director, or officer is not involved in any intra-corporate dispute.
The commission will also require proof acquisition of all the outstanding shares, affidavit of acceptance by the nominee and alternate nominee, name reservation, monitoring clearance of the ordinary stock corporation, and undertaking to change corporate name by the single stockholder.
The conversion of an ordinary stock corporation into an OPC takes effect upon approval of the Amended Articles of Incorporation through the issuance of a Certificate of Filing of Conversion to One Person Corporation.
Upon approval of the conversion, the OPC will retain its SEC company registration number. It will also maintain legal responsibility for the ordinary stock corporation’s outstanding liabilities and obligations as of the date of approval of the conversion. — V. V. Saulon

US State Dep’t flags EJKs in human rights report

By Charmaine A. Tadalan, Reporter
EXTRAJUDICIAL killings (EJKs) remain the “chief human rights concern” in the Philippines, the US State Department said in its 2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
“Extrajudicial killings have been the chief human rights concern in the country for many years and, after a sharp rise with the onset of the anti-drug campaign in 2016, they continued in the reporting year, albeit at a lower level,” the report stated.
Citing government data from July 2016 to July 2018, a total of 105,658 anti-drug operations had been conducted, which led to the deaths of 4,854 civilians and 87 members of security forces.
The report noted that figures provided by the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs varied widely from reported numbers of non-governmental organizations due to differing definitions of EJKs.
The Commission on Human Rights, for its part, investigated 301 new complaints of alleged EJKs, of which 70 cases stemmed from drug-related killings as of August.
The CHR also suspected involvement of the Philippine National Police or the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in 208 of the said complaints, while paramilitary personnel were involved in 19.
Moreover, the report also flagged the Duterte administration’s attitude towards international and non-governmental investigations.
“Government officials were under pressure not to cooperate or respond to the views of international human rights organizations,” the report stated.
“Local human rights activists continued to encounter occasional harassment, mainly from security forces or local officials from areas in which incidents under investigation occurred.”
The report also cited President Duterte’s stand against corruption, but also noted the government did not effectively implement anti-graft and corruption laws.
“All three organizations were underresourced, but they actively collaborated with the public and civil society and appeared to operate independently and to use their limited resources effectively,” the report stated, referring to the Office of the Ombudsman, the Sandiganbayan, and the Commission on Audit.
“Despite government efforts to file charges and obtain convictions in a number of cases, officials continued to engage in corrupt practices with relative impunity.”

2017 study: Little to average public concern about drought

FILIPINOS show varying levels of concern about drought, according to a 2017 study by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) DisasterNet Philippines.
HHI’s study, conducted in 2017 with 4,368 adult respondents, is the first nationwide household survey on disaster preparedness in the Philippines, a statement on the study released on Friday said.
According to the report, at the national average, only 12 percent of Filipinos reported feeling extremely concerned. Twenty-four percent were concerned, 21 percent were somewhat concerned, 16 percent were a little concerned, and 26 percent were not at all concerned of being affected by drought.
Metro Manila and Rizal province had been coping earlier this week with a water crisis, particularly the supply shortage in areas covered by concessionaire Manila Water.
But according to the 2017 study, “the lowest level of concern was reported in the National Capital Region (NCR) with only 11 percent while the highest was in Soccsksargen with 67 percent.”
In regions identified by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services (Pagasa) as already experiencing less rainfall in the last five months associated with El Niño, less than half of each region’s population expressed any concern about being impacted by drought.
In Zamboanga Peninsula, where Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay have been experiencing drought since February this year, only 25 percent were concerned about drought, before the disaster, the statement pointed out.
“In Northern Mindanao, where the provinces of Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental have already lost at least P292 million in agriculture this year due to the effects of El Niño, as reported by the Department of Agriculture (DA), 57 percent were concerned about drought before the disaster hit.”
“In the Ilocos Region, where drought has been present in Ilocos Norte since last month, and dry spell is likely in Ilocos Sur and La Union, 41 percent were concerned.”
“In the now defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), where Sulu and Maguindanao are threatened by drought, 39 percent thought they will likely be affected by drought.”
“In Mimaropa, where drought is also expected in Palawan, Occidental Mindoro, and Oriental Mindoro, 47 percent were concerned.”
Davao, the region with the second highest level of concern (63 percent), had experienced drought in 2016, the statement noted, citing the study.
“Palawan, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Maguindanao, and Sulu had also been hit by drought in the same year, while Occidental Mindoro had experienced dry spell, according to a Pagasa data.”
The study noted that, in terms of preparedness, “a mere 2.4 percent of the country’s population reported having a plan for drought.”

SC urged to act on ICC withdrawal due Sunday

By Vann Marlo M. Villegas, Reporter
THE Philippine Coalition for the International Criminal Court (PCICC) urged the Supreme Court to resolve the petitions against the country’s withdrawal from the ICC, which will take effect on Sunday, March 17.
In its motion filed Friday, PCICC said the country’s withdrawal from the ICC would deprive Filipinos of effective legal remedies against potential international crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the Philippines.
“Further, if and when the withdrawal takes effect, petitioners submit that it would mean Filipinos would be deprived of effective remedies provided for under international law and constitutional law in the event that there is inaction by Philippine law enforcement authorities to investigate or prosecute impunity committed in the Philippines,” the motion said.
“Petitioners fear that with the withdrawal taking effect without this Honorable Court’s action, those who kill with impunity will only be further emboldened,” it added.
On March 17 last year, the Philippines submitted to the United Nations secretary-general its withdrawal from the Rome Statute, which created the ICC. Earlier, on Feb. 8, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced the start of a preliminary examination of Mr. Duterte’s alleged crimes against humanity over his war on drugs.
Opposition senators in May last year and PCICC the next month asked the SC to void the withdrawal from the ICC. The SC held two oral arguments on the petitions, one in August and October.
But there has been no action taken since. March 12 was the last en banc session before the withdrawal takes effect.

DoH: Q1 dengue cases rise

THE Department of Health (DoH) said dengue cases from January to March 2, 2019 increased drastically compared to the same period last year and reminded the public to help prevent the illness.
In a press release the DoH said its Epidemiology Bureau reported 40,614 dengue cases from the said period. That total is 16,383 cases or 68% higher compared to the same period last year with 24,231 cases.
The department called on the public to help prevent dengue by implementing the enhanced 4-S strategy in their homes, including: search and destroy of mosquito-breeding sites, self-protection measures such as wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants and use of mosquito repellents, early consultation, and fogging/spraying in hotspot areas.
“We are encouraging the public to practice the 4-S strategy, especially now that there are more opportunities for the mosquitoes to make stagnant water around these water containers their breeding places,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III was quoted as saying.
The DoH also cited an advice by the World Health Organization that there is no specific treatment for dengue but early detection and access to health care can lower fatality rates to below 1%. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Duterte vetoes bill strengthening OSG

By Charmaine A. Tadalan, Reporter
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has vetoed the bill strengthening the Office of the Solicitor-General, citing benefits granted therein may be “too onerous” for the government.
“The new benefits granted in addition to the benefits enjoyed by other government offices would erode the National Government’s thrust to standardize and rationalize the current compensation framework in the bureaucracy,” the President said in his veto message.
The letters addressed to Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III were sent on Friday.
The President also urged Congress to review the measure, in a way that will strengthen the OSG without undermining equality across executive branches.
“It will create too much disparity and inequality among the public servants in the executive branch,” the President said.
He also noted the provisions in the measure will undermine the “equal pay for work of equal value” principle.
Among others, the measure mandates the OSG to be an independent and autonomous office attached to the Department of Justice, as opposed to existing law that a Solicitor-General represents the government in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and before other court proceedings.
The proposed law will also automatically increase all pension benefits of retired Solicitors-General, Assistant Solicitors-General, and State Solicitors, whenever there is an increase in the salary and allowance in the same position from which they retired. It will also grant death and survivorship benefits.

DBM recommends amendment to EO to activate salary increases for gov’t workers

By Karl Angelo N. Vidal, Reporter
THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has recommended that President Rodrigo R. Duterte amend an executive order (EO) increasing government workers’ salaries, amid the 2019 national budget impasse.
In a statement on Friday, the Budget department said it has recommended to the Office of the President the amendment of EO No. 201 or the fourth tranche of state employees’ salary adjustments signed by then president Benigno S.C. Aquino III in 2016.
“This amendment will authorize government agencies to utilize available appropriations under the re-enacted budget in the meantime to meet the funding requirements of the salary adjustments, subject to existing budgeting, accounting and auditing rules and regulations,” the DBM said in the statement.
“With this measure, the long overdue compensation hike that our public servants have been looking forward to can finally be granted.”
The fourth tranche of adjustments in the salaries of government employees would have had its funding sourced from the 2019 national budget.
However, lawmakers remain in deadlock over details of the P3.757-trillion spending plan for the year, with the Senate accusing the House of Representatives of making last-minute adjustments to the ratified budget measure.
The government is currently operating on a reenacted 2018 budget, which leaves new programs and even big-ticket infrastructure projects unfunded.
“[G]iven current developments constraining the endorsement of the Enrolled Bill by Congress, the Department of Budget and Management needed to prepare a contingency plan to meet the funding requirements of the salary adjustments,” the statement from the DBM read.

Gov’t, port operators agree on moving out unclaimed cargo

By Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio, Reporter
CARGO left unclaimed at port terminals beyond 30 days will be transferred to the port operators’ inland container yards at the expense of the consignees beginning Sunday.
This is part of efforts by the government, together with private port operators International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) and Asian Terminals Inc (ATI), to facilitate faster cargo movement and reduce congestion in port areas.
“We realized that by moving those overstaying cargoes out, bumilis ang pullout (Pullout has been faster). Gumanda ang [yard] utilization, talagang nagkakaaberya sa atin is really those cargoes that have been cleared which are not pulled out by the consignees (Yard utilization has improved. Cargoes that have been cleared which are not pulled out by the consignees are really in the way),” Jay Daniel R. Santiago, General Manager of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), told reporters in Manila on Friday.
The PPA, together with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Bureau of Customs (BoC), signed a manifesto with ICTSI, ATI, and the Association of International Shipping Lines (AISL) to improve port efficiency.
Stated in the manifesto is that ICSTI and ATI should provide information to the government regarding containers which have stayed for at least 30 days at the port, from the arrival date.
“ATI and ICTSI shall transfer to their respective Inland Container Depots any containers that have already been cleared by the BIC, but were not removed from the port by cargo owners, shippers, consignees, logistics operators and customs brokers within 30 days from arrival,” the manifesto read in part.
“International shipping lines have the obligation to promptly evacuate containers from the Philippines within the period prescribed by the BOC, either by their regular call vessels or by sweeper vessels and the BOC shall regularly dispose of seized or abandoned containers to ensure that MICT (Manila International Container Terminal and SH (South Harbor) remain healthy.”
“The inflow of traffic will be dependent on our trade activity, it will depend on that but so far, as efficiency and productivity are concerned, we will be able to improve the productivity of our terminals because we will be able to move cargoes faster…The reason you have which contributes to nill waiting time is they can come in, they can unload then they can move out,” Mr. Santiago said.
“We hope that the consignees pull them out immediately. They really have to pull them out. If they don’t pull them out, we will move them,” he added.
“The terminal operators, ICTSI and ATI, have their own inland container yards in Laguna. We will expand the capacity of the terminal in those container yards. We will move the cargoes there where they would be pulled out. Those who do not pull out their cargoes here [in Manila] shall pull them out from Laguna at their cost. It is advisable that if you have cargoes then, pull them out now.”
“The day after tomorrow, you will start seeing trucks from South Harbor and MICT, those overstaying cargoes down to Laguna.”

DENR says documents lacking for Kaliwa Dam ECC application

By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-Editor
THE Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) has not yet submitted complete documentation for its Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) application covering the proposed Kaliwa Dam, which means the project cannot move forward, the environment department said.
“The project has no ECC but we don’t have it yet. The documentation isn’t complete,” according to Undersecretary Benny D. Antiporda of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), in a news conference in Quezon City on Friday.
Mr. Antiporda said he has spoken to the MWSS regulatory office and is looking forward to better coordination. But documents such as the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) of indigenous occupants of the land must be submitted, he added.
“We can fast-track but we cannot short-cut,” Mr. Antiporda said.
Kaliwa Dam is meant to be a medium-term water source for Metro Manila, complementing the current main source, Angat Dam, which supplies about 96% of the Philippine capital’s requirement. Kaliwa is expected to add 600 million liters per day (MLD) to augment the 4,000 MLD from Angat.
In November, MWSS estimated the cost of the project at P12.1 billion, of which 85% will be funded by official development assistance (ODA) from China amounting to P10.2 billion, while 15% will be shouldered by the agency.
On Wednesday, the MWSS head repeated his call for the issuance of the ECC for the project, an appeal he has made several times in the past year.
“On the Kaliwa dam, MWSS is calling on the DENR for the approval of the ECC so as to commence the construction of the 600 MLD water project targeted for completion in 2023,” MWSS Administrator Reynaldo V. Velasco said in news conference in Makati City.
Mr. Antiporda said MWSS did file an application before but this was returned because of the absence of the required documents, including the endorsement of local government units (LGUs), and the FPIC.
The DENR-issued ECC allows a project to proceed to the next stage of project planning, which includes securing approvals from other government agencies.
Water sourced from Kaliwa dam once it has stabilized will be equally shared by Metro Manila’s two water concessionaires — Manila Water Co., Inc. for the east zone and Maynilad Water Services, Inc. for the west zone.
At present, of Angat dam’s 4,000 MLD, up to 2,600 MLD is allocated to Maynilad and 1,400 MLD to Manila Water. Since last week, customers of Ayala-controlled Manila Water have been experiencing water shortages, which the company attributed to demand of 1,740 MLD outpacing supply.
The company has been drawing from La Mesa, its buffer reservoir, to meet customers’ needs, but the reserve water remains deficient. Panic hoarding of water worsened the situation, the company said.
Measures are being worked out as stop-gap solutions, including cross-border water flow of at least 32 MLD from Maynilad to Manila Water, the operation of a new water treatment plant in Cardona, Rizal at 50 MLD by month’s end and 100 MLD by August, and the activation of deep wells.
Mr. Antiporda said DENR-attached agency National Water Resources Board (NWRB) will identify deep wells that can be activated to provide 30 MLD by April and another 50 MLD until October.
In the same news conference, he said the DENR will comply with the order of President Rodrigo R. Duterte for the immediate release of water from Angat dam.
“We will make sure that the released water does not overflow and be wasted in the face of El Nino.
Separately, MWSS Chief Regulator Patrick Lester N. Ty said he expects water supply from Manila Water to stabilize this month and normalize by April.
“It will be faster if it rains, but we can’t just rely on God for that one so we have to be able to address that situation on our own,” he said in a news conference.
“Hopefully, all these solutions that we have provided if they are on track can get things back to normal by April,” he said.
Meanwhile, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) offered to supply Manila Water’s East Zone concession area with treated water from its Bulacan Bulk Water Treatment Plant, which is intended to service the water needs of the province of Bulacan.
The company said in a statement that it holds an untapped water allocation from Angat Dam and estimated its ability to deliver to the capital at 140 MLD.
It said it is seeking the approval of the MWSS to provide the water.
In January, SMC launched Stage 1 of the Bulacan Bulk Water Project. Once fully completed, the company is mandated to supply water to 24 Bulacan water districts at P8.50 per cubic meter, which it claims is the lowest bulk water rate in the Philippines.
Phase 1 of the project has a production capacity of 200 MD. However, as many water districts have yet to upgrade and prepare their facilities to receive water from the plant, only about 60 million liters per day is currently in use.
It estimated the 140 MLD as sufficient for the needs of two million people or about 455,000 households, but will require between 7,000 and 14,000 tanker trips per day, depending on the capacity of the tanker.

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