MANILA, Philippines — A bill seeking to grant a franchise to San Miguel Aerocity Inc. that will allow it to build and operate a domestic and international airport in Bulacan reached the Senate floor on Tuesday.
Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate public services committee, endorsed for plenary approval the franchise bid of the San Miguel Corp. (SMC) subsidiary.
The franchise bill is contained in Committee Report 128, which was signed by 15 senators.
In sponsoring the bill, Poe cited the “overwhelming” need to build a new airport amid the “full and overloaded” state of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the country’s main gateway.
“Most countries are building airports for the future, we should do, too. But building a new airport is not just about the future. It is also an obligation past due,” Poe said.
“Like the public transport that crawls on its congested streets, Manila’s airport is now full and overloaded,” she added.
According to Poe, NAIA is five years past its maximum passenger handling capacity of 35 million people annually.
In 2019, she said NAIA handled 47.8 million passengers.
“The passenger volume is forecast to reach 71. 6 million passengers a year by 2030 and 101.5 million by 2040, a period equivalent to three senatorial terms,” she noted.
“This is the snapshot of the problem confronting the 39th busiest airport in the world, in the 11th most populous metropolis in the planet, in the 13th most populated country in the world,” she added.
Under the bill, the franchise applicant has an “obligation to maintain the airport city in a satisfactory manner at all times.”
“But knowing the proponent behind it, it will go above and beyond in terms of servicing the public,” she said.
“The standards for this new airport are at par with, if not greater, than the ones set for all other airports in the country,” she added.
The construction of the airport will begin within a year of the franchise approval, according to the senator.
“We shall have a brand new international hub within 12 years from now at the latest at no cost to the government. After the lifetime of this franchise, which is 50 years, the airport will be turned over to the government, again, at no cost,” Poe said.
The bill would meanwhile exempt the franchisee from all direct and indirect taxes and fees during the airport’s 10-year construction period.
“After the construction period and during the remaining 40 years of its franchise, it shall be exempt only from income and property taxes until it has recouped its investments,” the senator added.
“After which, it will be subjected to all taxes from thereon,” she further said.
The construction of the new airport, Poe added, would inevitably spur tourism and employment.
She said SMC had committed to prioritizing the hiring of residents and returning overseas Filipino workers for the construction of the airport.
“The residents of Taliptip, where it will be built, are all set to train under TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) for courses and skills specific to the needs of the airport’s construction,” Poe said.
“At a time where we are badly hit by the pandemic, employment and tourism generating projects are definitely most welcome,” she added.
Poe, meanwhile, assured her colleagues in the Senate that her committee had ensured that the franchise applicant has a history of compliance, the most recent certificates of good standing, tax clearances, audited financial statements and even feasibility studies “before they are even scheduled for a hearing.”
“A franchise is indeed a delicate balance of conditions and privileges,” she added.
Poe also endorsed for plenary approval the franchise bid of the following companies:
Cruz Telephone Company, Inc. — Operates a telecommunications system under Manila East Holding Corporation and J.S. Cruz Construction and Development Inc. Franchise expired on March 29, 2020, seeking renewal of 25-year franchise.
Tandag Electric and Telephone Company, Inc. — Operates a public domestic telecommunications. Franchise to expire on July 16, 2023, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
Bayan Telecommunications, Inc. — Operates domestic telecommunications, radiophones, broadcasting and telecasting under the same company name and Globe Telecom Inc. Franchise to expire on Aug. 9, 2021, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
FBS Radio Network — Operates radio and television broadcasting. Franchise expired on July 9, 2020, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
Century Communications Marketing Center Inc. — Operates radio and television broadcasting. Franchise expired on July 16, 2020, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
Caceres Broadcasting Corp. — Operates radio and television broadcasting. Franchise expired on July 9, 2020, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
Philippine Collective Media Corp. — Expanding to digital television. Franchise to expire on Nov. 14, 2034, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
Negros Broadcasting and Publishing Corp. — Operates radio and television broadcasting. Franchise expired on Sept. 23, 2020, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
Davao Light and Power Company — Operates electric light, heat and power system. Franchise to expire on Sept. 7, 2025, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
Metro Manila Turf Club Inc. — Operates racetrack for horse racing. Franchise expired on April 22, 2020, seeking a 35-year franchise.
“I thank my colleagues for their preliminary support for these measures, for signing the committee report in a very timely manner,” Poe said.
“I hope that we can deliberate these with the public need in mind,” she added.
[atm]
MANILA, Philippines—At least 23 sailors aboard a Philippine Navy ship tested positive for coronavirus and showed COVID-19 symptoms after the vessel, which has not been identified, docked in La Union province.
Respiratory samples were taken from the 23 crew members last Sept. 25 and test results showed all were infected with SARS Cov2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and had symptoms of the disease, according to the Naval Forces Northern Luzon (Navfornol) in a statement on Tuesday (Sept. 29).
The total number of crew members on the ship was not immediately known.
But the Navfornol statement said all those who tested positive were transported to military treatment facilities in Metro Manila early on Tuesday for quarantine and proper care.
The vessel arrived at San Fernando City, La Union on Sept. 11 after undergoing maintenance at the Philippine Navy base in Sangley Point in Cavite province, the Navfornol said.
A few days after the vessel’s arrival in La Union, some of the crew members started showing COVID-19 symptoms, like cough and colds. They were immediately isolated from the rest of the vessel’s crew.
The other crew members, who did not test positive, would be put on 14-day quarantine inside the ship, Navfornol said.
The entire ship would be disinfected.
Navfornol said all camps within its jurisdiction have had no active COVID-19 case.
MANILA, Philippines — At least two senators on Tuesday warned the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that the pending destruction of tons of illegal drugs in its inventory could trigger a “temptation to recycle” among law enforcement agents.
Senator Panfilo Lacson and Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon raised concerns over PDEA’s “huge inventory of confiscated drugs” during the Senate hearing on the proposed 2021 budget of the agency.
Upon the questioning of Drilon, PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva said the agency has 2.82 tons of illegal drugs in its present inventory, 1.867 tons of which are methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu).
“We always ask this question because we are concerned about the huge inventory of confiscated drugs,” Drilon said.
Lacson, meanwhile, said: “That’s a very valid concern aired by the Senate minority leader kasi dito nagsisimula yung (because this triggers the) temptation to recycle because this involves big amounts of money.”
According to Villanueva, PDEA destroyed 2.1 tons of shabu worth an estimated P13.36 billion in August.
PDEA is scheduled to destroy another 300 kilograms of shabu in November, he added.
Villanueva said they are still awaiting a court order that would allow them to destroy the said volume of shabu.
“We are still awaiting the order of the court. This is still pending, yung (the) case in court,” the PDEA chief said.
But Drilon, a former justice secretary, pointed out that the “pendency of the case is not a justification for not implementing the law.”
Under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, the court should conduct an ocular inspection of confiscated illegal drugs and paraphernalia within 72 hours. Consequently, PDEA should proceed with the destruction of the seized evidence within 24 hours.
Further, Drilon said the Supreme Court had earlier initiated a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with PDEA “in order to facilitate the burning of this inventory of illegal drugs.”
“It is not correct that you are waiting for the order of the court to implement this because there is already an order from the court administrator to facilitate this,” the minority leader said.
Drilon then recalled an incident involving the “recycling” of narcotics, which eventually led former Philippine National Police chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde, who was then the Pampanga police chief, to relinquish his post.
“We do recall the famous Pampanga episode, which somehow dragged the name of Gen. Albayalde,” the senator said.
“A good number of kilos of illegal drugs disappeared after it was confiscated by the raiding team…This is the reason why we are particular about implementing this provision of the law, which requires the destruction of the contraband,” he added.
Lacson, who presided over the hearing, advised Villanueva to inform PDEA’s agents on the ground about the MOA between the Supreme Court and the agency in order to expedite the destruction of seized drugs.
In response, Villanueva committed to the immediate destruction of illegal drugs stored in its inventory.
“We will be writing to all the lower courts who have the jurisdiction of the dangerous drugs and ask for the destruction para sumabay sa (so we can include this in) November. That’s what we will do,” the PDEA chief also said.
Drilon, likewise, asked Villanueva if “recycling” activities among law enforcers is still a problem within the agency.
“We raised this every budget time, but in fairness, I have not heard in the news about the recycling business of law enforcement officers as we have seen before and is that a correct assumption? That we don’t have that much, recycling is not that much of a problem today?” Drilon asked.
Responding to this, Villanueva said PDEA has been strict when it comes to this issue, saying that even rumors of “recycling” within the agents are being looked into.
“Talagang mahigpit tayo. Ang PDEA is mahigpit talaga right now as far as recycling. Kahit yung tsismis lang ng recycling ay talagang pinu-pursue natin yung information,” he said.
(We are really strict. PDEA is really strict when it comes to recycling. Even rumors of such activities, we will pursue the information and look into it.)
“Right now, wala kaming naririnig ng something about recycling of dangerous drugs,” Villanueva added.
(Right now, we have not heard something about recycling of dangerous drugs.)
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Friday expressed alarm over the use of Facebook by security forces to attack alleged “enemies of the people.”
But the Armed Forces of the Philippines warned that the social media giant may be unaware that it was also being used by “enemies of the state.”
The emerging controversy over the use of the social networking platform follows Facebook’s move to take down more than 100 accounts and pages, including those on Instagram, which were linked to the AFP and the Philippine National Police that targeted activists and dissidents.
“The alleged link of the removed accounts to the Philippine military and the Philippine police is alarming. If this is true, the [CHR] categorically states that this goes against the best interest of the public,” CHR Commissioner Karen Gomez Dumpit said in a statement.
“In these times when cyber militias and troll farms are reported to drown out legitimate dissent and haphazardly label individuals and organizations as ‘enemies of the people,’ such allegations cast doubts on the agenda of these institutions,” she said.
Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s cybersecurity police chief, on Tuesday said Facebook had also taken down over 150 accounts based in China that supported President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter Sara Duterte’s possible presidential run in the 2022 polls.
The Philippine and China groups of accounts were removed because of their “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” which violated Facebook’s community standards, he said.
“In each case, the people behind this activity coordinated with one another and used fake accounts as a central part of their operations to mislead people about who they are and what they are doing, and that was the basis for our action,” Gleicher said.
Dumpit said that if these activities were proven to be state-sponsored propaganda, the CHR would go after those responsible.
She said Facebook’s disclosures show the need for laws against the systemic disinformation. People also need to improve their digital literacy and critical thinking when navigating the internet to minimize the effects of disinformation, she added.
Dumpit lamented that the social network “has been weaponized against democracy and freedom of expression,” and that Facebook’s policies were not grounded on the rights to information and free speech.
Facebook has a responsibility to protect the rights of its users since it has been widely used for dissent and exchanges of opinion, she said. But it is also a platform for trolls to attack dissenters and critics of the current administration, she said.
“The policy of Facebook should be anchored on human rights, the foremost of which in this case is the right to receive and impart information and the right to freedom of expression,” Dumpit said.
Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, the AFP spokesperson, on Friday said Facebook was also being used by antigovernment forces.
“Although Facebook owns and dictates the policy, they should review it,” Arevalo said during Friday’s Laging Handa forum. “They may not be aware that in taking down these accounts, they are being partisan and are being used by the enemies of the state.”
“They might be victims of ‘CIB,’ or coordinated inauthentic behavior, because these enemies of the government are working together in getting Facebook to take down our very important organizations,” he added, without elaborating.
The AFP and the PNP earlier said that none of their official Facebook accounts had been taken down and openly disowned those that were removed.
But the AFP protested against the takedown of one account — Hands Off Our Children (HOOC), which was administered by Capt. Alexandre Cabales, the chief of the Philippine Army’s Social Media Center.
Arevalo also slammed the manner in which Cabales’ identity was disclosed, saying it was a “breach” of his personal identity and security.
“He was not even given the chance to explain his side. His life and reputation was endangered. Captain Cabales was branded as an administrator of fake news,” he said.
He called on Facebook and Digital Forensics Research Lab (DFRLab), the independent analyst that disclosed Cabales’ activity, to review their privacy policy.
DFRLab of the US-based Atlantic Council found that the officer was also the operator of a network of fake accounts that had been “demonizing leftists and youth organizations” and “Red-tagging the President’s critics.”
Arevalo pressed Facebook and DFRLab to provide the military with a list of pages and accounts that were taken down so that the AFP could investigate any allegation that military personnel violated its social media policy.
Chief of Staff Gen. Gilbert Gapay had asked Facebook’s officials in the Philippines to restore the HOOC page, saying that although it was not an official AFP page, it advocated views of the military.
HOOC represents a group of parents whose children had allegedly been recruited by the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Arevalo said Cabales did not violate the military’s policy on social media use because he only reposted “legitimate, real and authentic” content, which did not deserve the sanction.
“So far, up to this time, we don’t see any violation of any AFP social media policy and use for him to be charged,” Arevalo said. “You can see from his posts that he did not post any fake news.”
Cabales also handles Kalinaw News, the Army’s online news platform, under the supervision of the Civil Military Operations Regiment.
Kalinaw News, which has not been taken down, reports the Army’s activities, such as offensives against communist rebels and terrorists, as well as its community engagements.
Cabales’ personal Facebook account, where he regularly shared Kalinaw News content, was taken down by Facebook.
MANILA, Philippines — If everything goes according to schedule, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said a COVID-19 vaccine might be available in the country as early as April next year.
But FDA Director General Eric Domingo pointed out that this timetable rests entirely on manufacturers being able to complete clinical trials and analysis of results of their vaccine this year and their prompt submission of requirements for product evaluation and registration.
“At the earliest, we believe that [they] would be able to complete their Phase 3 clinical trials in December. That means there’s a possibility that by the end of the year or toward the first quarter of next year, we already have applicants for registration,” Domingo told reporters on Friday.
Once the clinical data and registration requirements are submitted to the FDA, it will take around 45 to 60 days for the agency to process the registration.
Domingo said only applications from those that completed their Phase 3 trials and have complete documents and dossiers would be processed.
“If clinical trials are completed by December or January, and a company would file an application with FDA, it’s possible that by April 2021 we will have an approved vaccine,” Domingo said.
MANILA, Philippines — At least 201 drug suspects were killed during the pandemic, data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) showed.
PDEA on Friday said that as of Aug. 31, 5,856 drug suspects were killed under President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war since July 1, 2016, but human rights groups claim that the death toll could be as high as 27,000.
The latest death toll is higher by 46 from the 5,810 deaths recorded in July 31.
“It is true that 155 deaths were recorded from March to July but out of that, 82 recorded deaths happened in Mindanao, which represents 52 percent of the total recorded deaths for the period,” PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva told the Inquirer in a text message.
From the 155 deaths, 46 deaths were added from July 31 to Aug. 31 this year, bringing the total death toll to 201.
Villanueva reacted to the Sept. 8 release of the New York-based Human Rights Watch that a total of 155 people were killed in antidrug operations from April to July 2020 during the pandemic, almost 50 percent higher than the 103 deaths recorded from December 2019 to March 2020.
“We cannot just make an intelligent analysis by just looking at numbers at hand without finding out what those numbers represent,” he told the Inquirer.
He said the “drug war in Mindanao is different from any areas in the country,” citing the death of five PDEA agents in an ambush in Kapai town Lanao del Sur in October 2018. He said “no one made a big fuss out of it.”
Data from PDEA showed that a total of 176,777 anti-illegal drugs operations were conducted from July 1, 2016 to Aug. 31, 2020, adding that 256,788 drug suspects were arrested.
During a press conference in Quezon City on Friday, Villanueva said “Oplan Tokhang” would resume after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For now, it isn’t easy to deal with COVID. Right after the pandemic, we will start with the Tokhang,” he said.
Villanueva clarified that Oplan Tokhang means visiting suspected drug users in their homes and urging them to surrender and undergo drug rehabilitation.
The drug clearing operations by local government units slowed down due to the new coronavirus, Villanueva said.
“Our barangay clearing operations slowed down because of the pandemic. The local governments became busy because of COVID-19, so our rehabilitation program was stymied. But it will not stop us from clearing barangays,” he said.
The PDEA chief said he already talked to Police Gen. Camilo Cascolan, the Philippine National Police chief, to focus on curbing illegal drugs at the barangay level.
The latest numbers on drug war deaths released by the PDEA has proved that the war on drugs has worsened amid a global pandemic, an official of Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday.
The death toll was also significantly higher compared to the number of reported deaths four months before the country was placed on lockdown in March to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease. The average monthly death rate then was at 26, said Phil Robertson, deputy director of HRW’s Asia division.
“This shows that the number of ‘drug war’ deaths recorded in August is almost double the number of average monthly deaths before the lockdown, which started in mid-March. What this shows is the police are treating suspects on their lists like sitting ducks who are pinned down in place by the COVID-19 lockdown and associated checkpoints and other restrictions,” said Robertson.
The increase of deaths brought by drug operations amid lockdown measures is another “clear reason” why the United Nations Human Rights Council should be allowed to investigate the reported human rights violations in the Philippines, he said.
Philippines News © 2015 | Distributed By My Blogger Themes | Designed By Templateism
