NGCP holds forum on ancillary services, explains true cost of electricity

By Beth Ladaga, NGCP-Iligan

Mindanao - In a move to shed light on the significant increase in ancillary services charges billed to its direct customers, power system operator and transmission utility National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has been holding dialogues with its direct customers in Mindanao to fully explain the dynamics of its billing and charging procedures.

NGCP bills and collects ancillary services charges from its direct customers then remits these collections to the ancillary services provider per an Ancillary Services Procurement Agreement (ASPA) approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). As the collecting agent, NGCP does not get revenues from the said fees.

Transmission rates per se have remained stable in the past few months. Charges for ancillary services, on the other hand, have increased from P77/kW in December 2009 when the supplying power barges were still owned by the National Power Corp. (NPC) to around P607/kW in April 2010.

Ancillary services charges in Mindanao are based on prevailing world market prices for fuel used in running the power barges which supply the ancillary services. The charges are not subsidized anymore by the government and thus reflect the true cost of electricity per current market forces.

NGCP reiterates that its billing computation and collection for these ancillary services remitted to the ancillary services provider have been duly approved by the regulatory body. Power customers in the Luzon and Visayas grids likewise pay for their own ancillary services per separate ASPAs approved by the ERC.

Ancillary services refer to power supplier-driven services that are necessary to support the transmission of electricity from power resources to load customers and to maintain the reliability of power services.

NGCP’s direct customers are these load customers which include distribution utilities (private utilities, electric cooperatives, government-owned utilities, ecozones), and large industries, government and non-government companies directly connected to the grid.

Amidst the ordinary power customers’ growing concern over the increase in power charges to be recovered by the distribution utilities and electric cooperatives serving their area, widespread power interruptions lasting from 4 to 9 hours daily continue to be experienced in Mindanao. These outages are attributed to a “generation deficiency” or lack of power supply generated by plants. If the ancillary services provider’s power barges are not connected to the grid, outages are estimated to last for a minimum of 9 hours daily in Mindanao.

pjtremedal@gmail.com website:www.onlinemindanao.tk 2010

Amnesty calls on new government to address justice gap in the Philippines

by Francis Marcial, AIph-Zamboanga City

Amnesty International Philippines is touring eight major cities around the Philippines this June to launch its Report 2010 on the State of the Worlds Human Rights, which documents abuses in 159 countries and territories around the world, including the Philippines. Amnesty International’s human rights report comes at a time before the officials of national and local governments start their governance following the May 10 elections.

“We want to share our report to the widest possible audience in our country in order that the new government, national as well as local, can consider the human rights trends in the Philippines and the world in shaping the governance of our nation in the next six years. We also want to show how civil society organizations and journalists have contributed to human rights even as they face repression and sometimes death,” said Dr. Aurora Parong, Section Director of Amnesty International Philippines.

The report exposes evidences of repression, injustice, oppression and poverty in various parts of the world. Amnesty International highlighted abuses in the country that worsens the situation of the poor and marginalized.

“The Amnesty International Report for the year 2009 highlights a global justice gap that is made worse by power politics. Powerful governments are blocking advances in international justice by standing above the law on human rights, shielding allies from criticism and acting only when it is politically convenient. Repression and injustice have flourished in the justice gap and power politics in the Philippines. There is politicizing of justice and pushing for accountability mainly when politically expedient. In the last nine years, the Arroyo government has widened the justice gap in the country. The tortuous road to justice for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre is a good example,” explained Parong.

According to the report:
• Estimated 125,000 internally displaced people in Maguindanao province with only 20% of them living in centers for the displaced while many lived in tents unsuitable for long-term shelter, especially given typhoons and floods. It further said that living conditions were poor, with unclean water, inadequate sanitation and high levels of malnutrition.

• Unlawful killings by paramilitary groups, private armies and un-identified assailants continued with impunity, highlighting the killing of anti-mining activist Eliezer Billanes of South Cotabato, suspected MILF Katog Sapalon in Maguindanao province, human rights defender priest Father Cecilio Lucero in Samar, and the Maguindanao massacre.

• Indigenous Peoples living in remote areas throughout the country, and the Moros were particularly affected. Indigenous Peoples suffered both as a result of the conflict and from forced evictions from their lands in the interest of extraction industries. About 100 armed police and a demolition crew violently dispersed protesters in a site in Didipio, Nueva Vizcaya where indigenous peoples were forcibly evicted.

• The government accused activists and left-leaning NGOs of being MILF or communist supporters, some of whom were subjected to torture.

“Human rights organizations and human rights defenders came under attack in many countries. Amnesty International highly recognizes the contributions of civil society organizations and journalists to improve human rights situations of countries, thus we are particularly concerned that the government’s failure to fulfill its obligations to resolve human rights issues negate efforts made by human rights defenders. Inadequate protection for sectors like the media and other activist organizations is a weakness in governance. Many of these human rights violations are preventable under a rights-based governance where the people are at the center and accountability at its heart,” added Parong.

Locally, Zamboanga City and its neighboring provinces served as an arena for clashes between government troops against Muslim insurgents fighting for the secession of the Bangsamoro Nation.

“Zamboanga became the deployment center of military troops tasked to curb armed attacks. That being the situation, the presence of highly acclaimed peace advocate groups increased. The city now plays a very important role in forwarding the peace talks becoming the usual venue for negotiations between the MILF and GRP,” Parong reported.

Although, the relations between Muslim rebels and the government has been improving, there still have been reports of unlawful killings, illegal detention and migration due to displacement as a result of armed conflicts in neighboring areas.

“These reports of human rights violations are not unique in Mindanao alone but the rest of the country as well. Amnesty International calls on the incoming Aquino government and local government units (LGUs) to ensure that no one is indeed above the law in the Philippines and that all the long-standing problems of internal displacement, counter-insurgency campaign-related abuses, unlawful killings, torture and ill treatment, enforced disappearance and repression will be adequately and promptly addressed. The responsibility of setting a good example to end human rights violations lies heavily on the national leadership,” added Parong.
In a campaign on Making Human Rights a Priority in the yet to be concluded May 2010 elections, a human rights agenda for presidentiables were put forward by Amnesty International. The Manila launch of the report also appealed to Presidential front-runner Noynoy Aquino for a concrete first 100 days human rights agenda.

Despite failures in justice last year, Amnesty International recognizes some progress in various parts of the world. In the Philippines, Amnesty International welcomes the passage of an Anti Torture Law and a law penalizing crimes against humanity, genocide and other violations of international humanitarian law. But enforcement must be ensured and the Indigenous Peoples’ rights to Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) must not be circumvented or denied in practice.

“For us in the Philippines, the need for justice is a key lesson in the last nine years. Justice provides fairness and truth to those who suffer violations, it deters human rights abuses and ultimately delivers a more stable and secure Philippines.” concluded Dr. Parong.

pjtremedal@gmail.com website: www.onlinemindanao.tk

Special Report: Media payola noise in Iligan

by Frank Dosdos, Manggagawang Media Ng Mindanaw

There would no longer be a need for the Freedom of Information Bill to become a law if Media men in government agencies do their job of disseminating information rather than collaborate with the crooks in hiding anomalies from the public eye.

Iligan is now rocked by the discovery of young but daring Broadcaster Alberto Loyola that some Media men in Iligan are under the employ of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) apparently paid considerably high rates of pay for doing nothing.

Late in November 2009, Loyola discovered that the Sangguniang Panlungsod had a budget for various services amounting to an aggregate sum of P40 million. To him it was enormous considering that the budget for medicines in the City Hospital was only P6 million. He started asking why the situation came about and how was the money spent.
Loyola asked the Vice Mayor why the budget for services was that big and how it was spent but he was referred to the Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Appropriation of the Sangguniang Panlungsod. The latter replied that the preparation of the budget was done by the Mayor and that the SP’s job was just to pass the Appropriations Ordinance.

Despite the obvious buck-passing that Loyola was subjected to, he asked the Mayor why the SP needed P40 million for that services. The latter said that the amount was allocated for the SP Committees because under his policy of power-sharing Councilors would need funds for the expenditures of the Committees. He said, however, that the funds must be spent prudently.

The broadcaster asked one of the Councilors how he spent his budget. The latter replied that it was used for expenses of his committee such as food served during hearings. Loyola was not satisfied with what he thought was a flimsy explanation. He asked an assistant in the City Accountant’s Office how the P40 million for services was spent and he was told it was exhausted in paying wages of casual employees. Hence, he asked in his Radio program, all the Councilors to reveal the names, positions and rates of their casuals but he was met with indifference.

Finally, he called one of the councilors a liar (butboton). The councilor, irked at Loyola’s remarks, attacked the latter while he was on board as Anchor of RJ Patrol, a public affairs program of AM Radio Station DXRJ. He threw punches at the broadcaster and attempted to choke the latter. Luckily, listeners hearing the commotion broadcast on their radio sets, came and stopped the violent attack on the broadcaster.
Though Loyola filed a case in court against the Councilor, he was surprised to hear only very few Media men sympathizing with him.

Since, the members of the SP appeared unwilling to reveal the names, positions and rates of their casuals, Loyola filed a case of Mandamus before the Court against the members of the SP, the City Treasurer and the Head of the City Human Resource Office. Shortly, after the May 10 elections, the City Human Resource Officer submitted to the Court copies of the Job Orders of the SP casuals. The City Treasurer also manifested before the Court that she will submit to the Court copies of the documents pertaining to the wages of the SP Casuals.

Two weeks ago, the documents submitted by the City Human Resource Officer to the Court were turned over to Broadcaster Loyola. Albert found the reason why very few media men sympathized with him. Some of them had job orders and receiving wages as high as P585 per day.

Now, in retrospect, Albert Loyola could not have suffered following the long and winding road towards knowing who the casual employees of the SP were. Those media men in the employ of the SP should have clarified the questions asked. If the hiring and appointment of casuals are necessary for the best interest of public service, why was Albert so scornfully treated?

As of this writing Albert is still sorting the voluminous bundles of Job Orders of SP Casuals. It is not yet clear whether those media men with Job Orders were really working or were simply hired on 15-30 basis – coming to CT Hall only to collect wages on the 15th and 30th day of the month – in order to keep silent and hide the truth from the public?

Already, a reporter of GMA 7 was heard to have cried foul. His name appeared on one of the Job Orders but he was not employed and he did not receive wages. Who collected the money? If this reporter is a ghost employee as he seemed to be one, then how many more ghosts are or were employed by the SP?

A string of questions are still following. But why are the media men in the SP Payroll very silent. If they are working as PR men of SP members why do they pretend to be part of the mainstream media? In fact, Philip Ken Jaudian whose name appears on one of the Job Orders prides himself as the President of Iligan Tri-Media Association (ITMAI). Does he still deserve be called a media man? Aside from Jaudian, who are the others in the so-called Iligan SP Payola?

Malindang Tribune through the Manggagawang Media Ng Mindanao Reportorial Team will follow this story to the end.(Frank Dosdos is the Vice President for Internal Affairs )

pjtremedal@gmail.com website:www.onlinemindanao.tk 2010

Security for Filipino people depend on 4 P’s terminated? Political or not?

Misamis Occidental——The Holy Bible said Esau lost his birthright by selling it for a bowl of meat to his brother Jacob thereby losing the blessing. This is what happened here where some 82 beneficiaries of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s “Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program otherwise known as 4Ps lost their blessing when they sold their cash card/ATM to a losing mayoralty candidate as a collateral for the P500 as a exchange for their votes last May 10, 2010 election.

This developed when reports reaching the provincial government that political leaders of losing mayoralty candidate Diego Ty of Plaridel, this province has been conducting house–to–house campaign urging beneficiaries of 4Ps to surrender their cash card/ATM card in exchange of P500 before the May 10, 2010 election.

According to one of the Municipal Social Service Officers, Liezl A. Racho, “we immediately conducted an operation warning the people not to surrender their cash cards because it is a violation of the existing policy of 4Ps not to use the cash card as a guarantee for a loan or whatsoever debt the beneficiaries have.”

“But to no avail, the beneficiaries will not listen our pleading and even some of them said, “wala man na namo saligi” so they were forced to report to Regional Director Atty. Araceli F. Solamello of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region X who ordered Josie Q. Subingsubing, the Municipal Link officer to conduct on the spot inspection to verify if the reported turning–over of cash card is true as we continue warning the beneficiaries not to do this because it is a violation of the existing rules or policy of the 4Ps,” Racho added.

The inspection team discovered that some 82 4Ps beneficiary cash cards were missing after they conducted on the spot inspections in some barangays of the said town.

“Giaway pa gyud mi sa dihang amo silang gipapirma nga wala sa ilang position ang mga cash cards unya gihulga pa gyud ug wala pa gyud matagbaw, ila pa gyud ming gipa-blotter sa police pero wala gyud mi mahadlok kay gatrabaho lang mi sa among trabaho,” Racho further said.

But despite the warning not to surrender their cash cards to the leaders of the losing mayoralty candidate, the 4Ps’ beneficiaries still surrendered their ATM cards even after the reports that DSWD X RD Solamello recommended the termination of their benefits.

Subsequent on the spot inspection, the Municipal Link still discovered that some 4Ps’ beneficiaries have still surrendered the cash card/ATM to the said losing mayoralty candidate before and on the day of the election and when asked why they surrendered it for a measly P500 than the much bigger P1,500 monthly or depending in the family members which they received in quarterly basis, they replied “nga dugay pud maabut ug wala mi ipalit ug bugas”.

When the news of the regional director’s recommendation for termination reached the beneficiaries especially after the election where the candidates they supported lost the electoral process, they realized their mistakes, but it is too late for them.

The beneficiaries lambasted Plaridel Mayor-elect Agnes Carabal–Villanueva for terminating their 4Ps where in fact, Villanueva has nothing to do with their predicament because it is the Local Social Welfare Development and the Regional X office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development which recommended their termination after they were caught violating existing policy of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program otherwise known as 4Ps.

In other hand, political supporters of losing mayoralty candidate Diego Ty alleged that they were harassed by Mayor Villanueva after the Plaridel Water District cut out their supply of water, but upon verification, the complainants had not paid their accounts for many months.

“The Plaridel Water District (PWD) is only doing its job in shutting off their services for those who failed to pay their obligations,” an employee of the said agency said.

Meanwhile, even though the ashes of the May 10 election has already settled, supporters of losing candidate Diego Ty in Plaridel still claimed that Mayor Agnes Carabal–Villanueva has been harassing them by tumbling the market stools they occupied, but on the spot inspection showed a different things, no market stools had been tumbled but the policy of first come first serve basis is being implemented.

“We are doing the legal thing and it is not political harassment. If you are caught violating the law, then you suffered the consequences of your action, meaning what you sow, you reap,” Villanueva said. (PJTremedal and the MT News Network)

pjtremedal@gmail.com website:www.onlinemindanao.tk 2010

Palace official thanks prelates for citing PGMA gains, but disagrees with other comments

Manila -- Presidential Deputy Spokesman Gary Olivar today expressed gratitude to members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for recognizing and endorsing in their recent survey the achievements of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in infrastructure development, economic growth and stability and her administration‘s pro-life policy.

But Olivar said Malacanang remains puzzled by the “failing marks” the CBCP members supposedly gave the President in other key national concerns, when surveys and figures he said, showed indicative gains by the Arroyo administration.

In a press briefing in Malacañang today, Olivar said the government is thankful for the CBCP’s “support and recognition of the President’s principled stand against aggressive population management.”

“We wish to thank the bishops of the CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines) for their recent endorsement of the President’s achievements in infrastructure and economic growth and stability,” Olivar said.

“We also thank them for their support and recognition of the President’s principled stand against aggressive population management which, in turn, is consistent with economic theory about the demographic dividend and the advantages of having a large domestic market of your own—advantages which we saw in practice during the recent global recession when our country was able to maintain positive economic growth throughout,” he added.

Text of Olivar’s statement read during the Malacanang press briefing:

“We wish to thank the bishops of the CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines) for their recent endorsement of the President’s achievements in infrastructure and economic growth and stability.

We also thank them for their support and recognition of the President’s principled stand against aggressive population management which, in turn, is consistent with economic theory about the demographic dividend and the advantages of having a large domestic market of your own—advantages which we saw in practice during the recent global recession when our country was able to maintain positive economic growth throughout.

We accept the bishops’ criticisms that much remains to be done in education even though the President has already built more classrooms, distributed more textbooks and scholarships, and trained more teachers than any president before her.

Educational outcomes were still mixed as of few years ago which is why the President formed the Presidential Task Force on Education to overhaul the entire educational strategy and also the reason why education reforms is at the very top of her legislative agenda as a neophyte congresswoman in the 15th Congress starting July.

But we are puzzled at the bishops’ failing marks for the President on poverty considering the improvement over the years in poverty statistics with self-rated poverty of 43 percent last quarter at its lowest since the Marcos years as well as the wide array of anti-poverty programs that cushioned our poorest countrymen through the depths of the recent global recession.

I am reminded of all those candidates in the recent campaign who said they couldn’t believe they were behind in the surveys because of all the large crowds they were seeing at their rallies.

Likewise, the daily images we see of hunger and poverty around us can be compelling but they cannot controvert the numbers which tell a different story—one of slow but sure improvement in the lot of the poor.

We are likewise puzzled at the failing marks given by the bishops on environment for our President who sets aside half a day every week on environmental issues, who is building one materials recovery facility (MRF) in each and every one of our barangays, and who has received international acclaim for a strategy of sustainable development in the original advocacy against climate change.

Perhaps it is a case of the bishops being opposed to any kind of exploitation of nature’s resurges such as true large mining projects, no matter how equitable or ecologically-sensitive these projects might be.

If so, if this is in fact the point of view of the bishops who are critical, they should remember that nature exists for the use of man and that denying this truth regarding nature as some kind of earth-mother or Gaia, veers too close to the heresy of pantheism.

Lastly, we will simply have to agree to disagree with the bishops about issues that long-preceded and will long survive the Arroyo presidency such as our political culture of patronage or issues about her personal likeability and popularity.

This is the stuff of transient surveys only and not the impartial judgment of history which even now is already unfolding and will look only at how all the numbers posted under this President brought about a permanent upliftment in the lives of our people.” (PIA9/Pagadian City)

PHILIP JAMES MONGAYA TREMEDAL

Haribon troops, civil society groups start poll mess clean-up

Soldiers under the army’s 103^rd (Haribon) Brigade and members of civil society groups here started cleaning-up the mess left behind by candidates during the first-ever automated national and local elections.

With the theme, “Kawal at Mamamayan, Nagkaisa Para sa Kalinisan,” the clean-up drive is initiated by the 103^rd brigade and the civil society groups to bring back orderliness in the different parts of the city and the province.

BGen. Rey C. Ardo, 103^rd Brigade Commanding Officer, said he directed his troops to remove election posters, streamers, stickers and other campaign paraphernalia left posted along the major roads in their area of responsibility.

The operation also includes tidying-up all the poster-plastered walls, trees, and electric posts.

He added that the cleanliness drive is a continuing operation until the election is over.

Meanwhile, the 55^th IB of the the 1^st Infantry Army Division also showed support to the cleaniliness drive in Misamis Occidental especially in the 1^st District.

Said troopers was also joined by other Non-government organizations and PO’s to clean the environment from posters, traps, paper materials posted on tress, walls and even stones along the highways of the province. (Apipa P. Bagumbaran / PIA-Marawi and PJTremedal-BNDNews Bureau MisOCC

PHILIP JAMES MONGAYA TREMEDALCALL OR TEXT ME : E-MAIL ME : pjtremedal@gmail.comvisit my website: www.pag-enews.tk

World Press Freedom Day: Let us Celebrate

By NUJP

Tomorrow, May 3, is World Press Freedom Day.

Tomorrow, let us not forget how the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has, through sins of commission and omission, laid waste to press freedom and freedom of expression in this country.

Let us not forget that the nine years Arroyo has reigned have been the most murderous for the Philippine media.

Let us not forget that of the 137 journalists and media workers murdered since 1986, 100 were slain under this administration, 32 of them in the November 23 Ampatuan massacre, the worst single attack on the media ever.

Let us not forget that it was under this administration that the Philippines officially became the most murderous for journalists in the world.

Let us not forget that this is the only administration since the Marcos dictatorship that has actually attempted a wholesale clampdown on the press when Arroyo declared a state of national emergency in 2006.

Let us not forget that this is the only administration since the Marcos dictatorship whose security forces have openly branded media organizations as "enemies of the state."

Let us not forget the 46 journalists slapped with libel cases by Arroyo's husband, Jose Miguel, in a brazen abuse of his influence.

Let us not forget the more than 50 journalists unceremoniously cuffed and hauled to jail for the crime of practicing their profession when they covered the Manila Peninsula siege in 2007.

Let us not forget Congress's shameless attempt to control news content through the Right of Reply Bill even as it killed the Freedom of Information Bill and tried to pull a fast one by crafting a bill that is far worse than the already draconian libel law in existence.

Tomorrow, let us commemorate World Press Freedom Day and, yes, let us celebrate it as well. For if the Philippine media are free, it is no thanks to this administration but because Filipino journalists have chosen to be free. Let us celebrate as well the unprecedented unity the media community has found in the face of the continuing threats.

Just as important, let us commemorate World Press Freedom Day with a solemn vow to make this and all other administrations that would seek to trample on the freedom of the press and of free expression accountable.

Let us wear black.

Let us roll a black runner or runner with black ribbon in the lower thirds of tv newscasts, or reserve a black space in the first page of print and online news with text that says, “Today, as we observe world press freedom day, let us remember all media practitioners killed with impunity and vow to fight until justice is achieved."

Let us observe a minute of silence in newsrooms, radio booths, beats, coverages, meetings or assemblies when the clock strikes at 6 pm. For those who cannot attend the different media gatherings, light candles outside media offices.

Let us gather at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani to say a prayer, offer songs and light torches and candles to remember fallen colleagues at 5:30 pm.

NOTE: NUJP CHAPTERS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, TOGETHER WITH OTHER LOCAL MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS, WILL BE HOLDING ACTIVITIES TO COMMEMORATE WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY. KINDLY COORDINATE WITH LOCAL NUJP OFFICERS AND MEMBERS FOR DETAILS. SALAMAT!

PHILIP JAMES MONGAYA TREMEDALCALL OR TEXT ME : E-MAIL ME : pjtremedal@gmail.comvisit my website: www.mindanao-online.tk