DENR chief sets tighter screening of potential mining investors
By Katherine Adraneda
Publication Date: [Saturday, September 30, 2006]
The government will be implementing "stricter screening" for potential investors in the mining industry, Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes said yesterday.
Reyes said aspiring mining investors will have to be screened by a panel of environment officials and mining experts before engaging in any exploration or production activity.
He said mining investors would have to present before the panel their social and technical plans.
Reyes said the project presentations would enable the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to determine the serious investors as against "speculators. "
He said the presentations would serve as basis for the approval of their applications to undertake mining activities in the country.
Potential investors trooped to the DENR central offices in Quezon City yesterday to present their technical plans for approval.
Among those scheduled to present their projects are foreign-owned firms and companies with foreign equity.
These include the MRL Gold Phils. Inc., which is 99 percent Canadian; Edgerton Gold Phils. Inc., 40 percent Australian; Buena Suerte Mining Corp., which is also 40 percent Australian; and an Anglo-American firm, Manila Mining Corp.
Other firms include Colossal Mining Corp., Hard Rock Trading Inc., TMC International Corp., Itawes Mining Exploration Co., Norweah Metals and Minerals Inc. and Ninety Niners Development Corp., which is 40 percent British.
One mining applicant is a Filipino identified as Epetacio Beltran.
"We want to have a clear view of the proponent’s credentials and track record, particularly their financial and technical capability to undertake responsible mining," Reyes said.
"But more than that, we want to be certain that the mining investors put a premium on their social responsibility as this is a requisite in their activities," he added.
The DENR said a total of 17 firms have applied for mining of gold, iron, chromite and other minerals in various parts of the country.
The permits cover mineral areas in Surigao del Norte, Batangas, Ilocos Sur, Cebu, Leyte , Misamis Oriental, Bulacan and Rizal.
Government estimated a total of P228.5 million will be spent by mining companies in the next two years for exploration.
"It is therefore vital that only companies which can afford the social and environmental costs of mining would be allowed to operate here," Reyes said.
He stressed that the economy would be the principal beneficiaries of the 17 mining projects.
Reyes pointed out the mining industry is among the top job generators in the country.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Phinma unit mulls wind power plant project in NL
By Donnabelle L. Gatdula
Publication Date: [Saturday, September 30, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277641
Trans-Asia Renewable Energy Corp. (TAREC), a member of the Philippine Investment Management Inc. (Phinma) group, is exploring the possibility of putting up a wind power plant in Northern Luzon.
TAREC is a wholly-owned affiliate of Trans-Asia Power Generation Corp., the power-related arm of the Phinma group. It seeks to participate in the development of the country’s renewable energy resources.
Phinma president Ramon del Rosario Jr. said they are trying to increase their exposure in renewable energy sources.
"One of our first interests is in NRE (new and renewable energy). We are looking at a wind power project in Sual, Pangasinan," he said.
He said they are currently gathering basic wind power plant information. "We are conducting various tests on the feasibility of the project. We are determining if there are enough wind there to produce power," he added.
According to Del Rosario, they started the study on the wind power project last year and expect to finish it soon.
But he said they would only pursue the project if the government would provide incentives for NRE-related projects.
"Fiscal incentives and tax breaks should be there. We all know that developing NRE is very expensive," he said.
He also noted that it is also crucial to mandate the use of NRE in the country to be able to sustain the development of the sector. "
"First, we need a legislation that will mandate the NRE utilization," the Phinma official said.
There is a pending Renewable Energy Bill, which if passed, will help accelerate the development of RE resources, increase the utilization of RE by institutionalizing its use, and establish a framework for the grant of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to all RE activities and the program to increase its utilization.
At present, the installed capacity from renewable energy generation is 5,301.6 megawatts which represents 33 percent of the total installed generating capacity.
It is projected that generation from renewable energy will double by year 2013 with the passage of the renewable energy bill.
The country has more than enough potentials to be self-reliant on energy generation through renewable energy because it has a wind power potential of 76,600 MW, geothermal at 1,200 MW, hydropower over 10,000 MW, solar at an average of 5 to 5.1 MW, biomass at 900 MW equivalent and ocean at 170,000 MW.
Publication Date: [Saturday, September 30, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277641
Trans-Asia Renewable Energy Corp. (TAREC), a member of the Philippine Investment Management Inc. (Phinma) group, is exploring the possibility of putting up a wind power plant in Northern Luzon.
TAREC is a wholly-owned affiliate of Trans-Asia Power Generation Corp., the power-related arm of the Phinma group. It seeks to participate in the development of the country’s renewable energy resources.
Phinma president Ramon del Rosario Jr. said they are trying to increase their exposure in renewable energy sources.
"One of our first interests is in NRE (new and renewable energy). We are looking at a wind power project in Sual, Pangasinan," he said.
He said they are currently gathering basic wind power plant information. "We are conducting various tests on the feasibility of the project. We are determining if there are enough wind there to produce power," he added.
According to Del Rosario, they started the study on the wind power project last year and expect to finish it soon.
But he said they would only pursue the project if the government would provide incentives for NRE-related projects.
"Fiscal incentives and tax breaks should be there. We all know that developing NRE is very expensive," he said.
He also noted that it is also crucial to mandate the use of NRE in the country to be able to sustain the development of the sector. "
"First, we need a legislation that will mandate the NRE utilization," the Phinma official said.
There is a pending Renewable Energy Bill, which if passed, will help accelerate the development of RE resources, increase the utilization of RE by institutionalizing its use, and establish a framework for the grant of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to all RE activities and the program to increase its utilization.
At present, the installed capacity from renewable energy generation is 5,301.6 megawatts which represents 33 percent of the total installed generating capacity.
It is projected that generation from renewable energy will double by year 2013 with the passage of the renewable energy bill.
The country has more than enough potentials to be self-reliant on energy generation through renewable energy because it has a wind power potential of 76,600 MW, geothermal at 1,200 MW, hydropower over 10,000 MW, solar at an average of 5 to 5.1 MW, biomass at 900 MW equivalent and ocean at 170,000 MW.
Government to review Green Philippines program
By Aurea CalicaPublication Date: [Saturday, September 30, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277660
The government will review its program for a "green" Philippines after typhoon "Milenyo" uprooted trees and threw them across roads or crushed homes.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources would undertake a study.
Ebdane said he would check international protocols that place priority on road safety over planting of trees especially on highways.
"We will also see what should be done on trees near power transmission lines because they get damaged as well," Ebdane said in a meeting of the National Disaster Coordinating Council.
Ebdane said it was only right to assess and make proper coordination of the government programs for a safer metropolis.
The government is currently planting thousands of trees in line with its "Clean and Green Philippines" program.
On Thursday, however, falling trees caused most of the deaths in Metro Manila and other areas hit by Milenyo.
Power distributor Manila Electric Co. also said it has been having difficulty repairing transmission lines because of trees near electric poles.
Last Thursday, Milenyo’s high winds uprooted hundreds of trees and several large billboards that partially blocked roads in Metro Manila, tore off roofs, shattered windows, and knocked down power and telephone lines.
Roads across the capital turned into obstacle courses as vehicles avoided trees and large branches, prompting emergency crews to immediately keep roads clear.
Metro Manila’s normally traffic-choked streets were relatively empty after government employees were sent home and business either closed early or remained shut. School was suspended the day before.
But traffic was backed up in some major thoroughfares such as EDSA and C-5 because of fallen trees and downed billboards.
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277660
The government will review its program for a "green" Philippines after typhoon "Milenyo" uprooted trees and threw them across roads or crushed homes.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources would undertake a study.
Ebdane said he would check international protocols that place priority on road safety over planting of trees especially on highways.
"We will also see what should be done on trees near power transmission lines because they get damaged as well," Ebdane said in a meeting of the National Disaster Coordinating Council.
Ebdane said it was only right to assess and make proper coordination of the government programs for a safer metropolis.
The government is currently planting thousands of trees in line with its "Clean and Green Philippines" program.
On Thursday, however, falling trees caused most of the deaths in Metro Manila and other areas hit by Milenyo.
Power distributor Manila Electric Co. also said it has been having difficulty repairing transmission lines because of trees near electric poles.
Last Thursday, Milenyo’s high winds uprooted hundreds of trees and several large billboards that partially blocked roads in Metro Manila, tore off roofs, shattered windows, and knocked down power and telephone lines.
Roads across the capital turned into obstacle courses as vehicles avoided trees and large branches, prompting emergency crews to immediately keep roads clear.
Metro Manila’s normally traffic-choked streets were relatively empty after government employees were sent home and business either closed early or remained shut. School was suspended the day before.
But traffic was backed up in some major thoroughfares such as EDSA and C-5 because of fallen trees and downed billboards.
Senate urges DENR to stop Boracay land bidding
By Christina Mendez
Publication Date: [Saturday, September 30, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277659
The Senate urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to withhold the implementation of Presidential Proclamation 1064 which seeks to classify more than half of the world-famous Boracay island resort in Aklan into a public agricultural land open for public bidding.
Sen. Franklin Drilon, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, urged the DENR not to proceed pending the Supreme Court ruling on the petition filed by resort owners and landowners seeking the recall of PP 1064.
Drilon sought the commitment of Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes during the recent hearing of the Senate finance committee on the DENR budget earlier this week.
Reyes informed Drilon that the DENR has "not moved an inch closer to titling or bidding out" Boracay.
Reyes, however, warned they have the authority to demolish establishments in Boracay violating environmental laws.
Drilon replied that he disagreed with the DENR pronouncement calling on resort owners to bid for their own land under PP 1064.
"It is not fair that suddenly, these will be put to public bidding and cronies of this administration could dip their hands into these properties," Drilon said.
He added that "it would appear that the issuance of Proclamation 1064 is this administration’s last ditch effort to force their will on 629 hectares of Boracay lands, after exhausting legal remedies, which have resulted in unfavorable decisions against them."
Drilon stressed the issuance of PP 1064 could prejudice the resort owners and residents of Boracay who have worked to make the island resort into a world class tourist destination.
"At the very least, equity is in favor of these land owners in Boracay because they invested hundreds of millions of pesos to improve the property and make it a tourist attraction that it is now today," he said.
Drilon noted the resort owners and stake holders were forced to elevate their case before the Supreme Court after the government insisted on implementing PP 1064.
The petitioners initially won their case before the Kalibo regional trial court on July 19, 1999.
The government appealed the case before the Court of Appeals (CA) where the case was dismissed on Dec. 9, 2004 in favor of the resort owners and stake holders.
The CA said the resort owners and stake holders "cannot just be prejudiced by a declaration that the lands they have occupied since time immemorial is part of forest reserve."
The proclamation enables the government, through the DENR, "to dispose and alienate the said land classified as agricultural... at public bidding at their market value pursuant to law, with the occupant-claimant owner, being given only the preference to buy by matching the highest bid at the auction sale."
Drilon said PP 1064 would practically eject the resort owners and businessmen who have made big investments in Boracay.
Businessman Orlando Sacay, chairman of the Boracay Foundation Inc., led resort owners in filing the petition before the high court seeking the recall of PP 1064 on fears that they would be ejected out of the island and lose their land holdings.
Malacañang said they have no intention of taking back PP 1064.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita earlier asserted PP 1064 would put things in order and even work to the advantage of residents and resort owners in Boracay.
Sacay and the other petitioners argued that the implementation of PP 1064 will also destroy the tourism industry in Boracay.
Sacay said they have poured in billions of pesos to make Boracay the prime tourist destination in Asia but the government classification would practically wipe out their investments and their vested rights.
Publication Date: [Saturday, September 30, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277659
The Senate urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to withhold the implementation of Presidential Proclamation 1064 which seeks to classify more than half of the world-famous Boracay island resort in Aklan into a public agricultural land open for public bidding.
Sen. Franklin Drilon, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, urged the DENR not to proceed pending the Supreme Court ruling on the petition filed by resort owners and landowners seeking the recall of PP 1064.
Drilon sought the commitment of Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes during the recent hearing of the Senate finance committee on the DENR budget earlier this week.
Reyes informed Drilon that the DENR has "not moved an inch closer to titling or bidding out" Boracay.
Reyes, however, warned they have the authority to demolish establishments in Boracay violating environmental laws.
Drilon replied that he disagreed with the DENR pronouncement calling on resort owners to bid for their own land under PP 1064.
"It is not fair that suddenly, these will be put to public bidding and cronies of this administration could dip their hands into these properties," Drilon said.
He added that "it would appear that the issuance of Proclamation 1064 is this administration’s last ditch effort to force their will on 629 hectares of Boracay lands, after exhausting legal remedies, which have resulted in unfavorable decisions against them."
Drilon stressed the issuance of PP 1064 could prejudice the resort owners and residents of Boracay who have worked to make the island resort into a world class tourist destination.
"At the very least, equity is in favor of these land owners in Boracay because they invested hundreds of millions of pesos to improve the property and make it a tourist attraction that it is now today," he said.
Drilon noted the resort owners and stake holders were forced to elevate their case before the Supreme Court after the government insisted on implementing PP 1064.
The petitioners initially won their case before the Kalibo regional trial court on July 19, 1999.
The government appealed the case before the Court of Appeals (CA) where the case was dismissed on Dec. 9, 2004 in favor of the resort owners and stake holders.
The CA said the resort owners and stake holders "cannot just be prejudiced by a declaration that the lands they have occupied since time immemorial is part of forest reserve."
The proclamation enables the government, through the DENR, "to dispose and alienate the said land classified as agricultural... at public bidding at their market value pursuant to law, with the occupant-claimant owner, being given only the preference to buy by matching the highest bid at the auction sale."
Drilon said PP 1064 would practically eject the resort owners and businessmen who have made big investments in Boracay.
Businessman Orlando Sacay, chairman of the Boracay Foundation Inc., led resort owners in filing the petition before the high court seeking the recall of PP 1064 on fears that they would be ejected out of the island and lose their land holdings.
Malacañang said they have no intention of taking back PP 1064.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita earlier asserted PP 1064 would put things in order and even work to the advantage of residents and resort owners in Boracay.
Sacay and the other petitioners argued that the implementation of PP 1064 will also destroy the tourism industry in Boracay.
Sacay said they have poured in billions of pesos to make Boracay the prime tourist destination in Asia but the government classification would practically wipe out their investments and their vested rights.
DENR chief sets tighter screening of potential mining investors
By Katherine Adraneda
Publication Date: [Saturday, September 30, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277658
The government will be implementing "stricter screening" for potential investors in the mining industry, Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes said yesterday.
Reyes said aspiring mining investors will have to be screened by a panel of environment officials and mining experts before engaging in any exploration or production activity.
He said mining investors would have to present before the panel their social and technical plans.
Reyes said the project presentations would enable the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to determine the serious investors as against "speculators."
He said the presentations would serve as basis for the approval of their applications to undertake mining activities in the country.
Potential investors trooped to the DENR central offices in Quezon City yesterday to present their technical plans for approval.
Among those scheduled to present their projects are foreign-owned firms and companies with foreign equity.
These include the MRL Gold Phils. Inc., which is 99 percent Canadian; Edgerton Gold Phils. Inc., 40 percent Australian; Buena Suerte Mining Corp., which is also 40 percent Australian; and an Anglo-American firm, Manila Mining Corp.
Other firms include Colossal Mining Corp., Hard Rock Trading Inc., TMC International Corp., Itawes Mining Exploration Co., Norweah Metals and Minerals Inc. and Ninety Niners Development Corp., which is 40 percent British.
One mining applicant is a Filipino identified as Epetacio Beltran.
"We want to have a clear view of the proponent’s credentials and track record, particularly their financial and technical capability to undertake responsible mining," Reyes said.
"But more than that, we want to be certain that the mining investors put a premium on their social responsibility as this is a requisite in their activities," he added.
The DENR said a total of 17 firms have applied for mining of gold, iron, chromite and other minerals in various parts of the country.
The permits cover mineral areas in Surigao del Norte, Batangas, Ilocos Sur, Cebu, Leyte, Misamis Oriental, Bulacan and Rizal.
Government estimated a total of P228.5 million will be spent by mining companies in the next two years for exploration.
"It is therefore vital that only companies which can afford the social and environmental costs of mining would be allowed to operate here," Reyes said.
He stressed that the economy would be the principal beneficiaries of the 17 mining projects.
Reyes pointed out the mining industry is among the top job generators in the country.
Publication Date: [Saturday, September 30, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277658
The government will be implementing "stricter screening" for potential investors in the mining industry, Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes said yesterday.
Reyes said aspiring mining investors will have to be screened by a panel of environment officials and mining experts before engaging in any exploration or production activity.
He said mining investors would have to present before the panel their social and technical plans.
Reyes said the project presentations would enable the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to determine the serious investors as against "speculators."
He said the presentations would serve as basis for the approval of their applications to undertake mining activities in the country.
Potential investors trooped to the DENR central offices in Quezon City yesterday to present their technical plans for approval.
Among those scheduled to present their projects are foreign-owned firms and companies with foreign equity.
These include the MRL Gold Phils. Inc., which is 99 percent Canadian; Edgerton Gold Phils. Inc., 40 percent Australian; Buena Suerte Mining Corp., which is also 40 percent Australian; and an Anglo-American firm, Manila Mining Corp.
Other firms include Colossal Mining Corp., Hard Rock Trading Inc., TMC International Corp., Itawes Mining Exploration Co., Norweah Metals and Minerals Inc. and Ninety Niners Development Corp., which is 40 percent British.
One mining applicant is a Filipino identified as Epetacio Beltran.
"We want to have a clear view of the proponent’s credentials and track record, particularly their financial and technical capability to undertake responsible mining," Reyes said.
"But more than that, we want to be certain that the mining investors put a premium on their social responsibility as this is a requisite in their activities," he added.
The DENR said a total of 17 firms have applied for mining of gold, iron, chromite and other minerals in various parts of the country.
The permits cover mineral areas in Surigao del Norte, Batangas, Ilocos Sur, Cebu, Leyte, Misamis Oriental, Bulacan and Rizal.
Government estimated a total of P228.5 million will be spent by mining companies in the next two years for exploration.
"It is therefore vital that only companies which can afford the social and environmental costs of mining would be allowed to operate here," Reyes said.
He stressed that the economy would be the principal beneficiaries of the 17 mining projects.
Reyes pointed out the mining industry is among the top job generators in the country.
Friday, September 29, 2006
‘Forest classification on Boracay to affect RP tourist spots’
By Delon Porcalla
Publication Date: [Friday, September 29, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277501
The government proclamation classifying the island resort of Boracay into a public agricultural land will also affect the status of other tourist spots in the Philippines, a resort owner said yesterday.
According to Orlando Sacay, chairman of the Boracay Foundation Inc., the issuance of Proclamation 1064 which reclassified more than half of the world famous island resort in Aklan province into agricultural land would set a precedent.
Sacay led other resort owners and businessmen in seeking the recall of PP 1064 on fears that they will be ejected out of the island and lose their land holdings.
Sacay noted any ruling of the Supreme Court (SC) on their petition would be crucial since it will set on all other similarly situated land disputes.
"This issue not just affects Boracay but other tourist spots as well which have no titles," he said.
He said any similar move by the government to take over the lands developed by resort owners would scare away potential investors.
Sacay cited the case of investors who wanted to put up a business in Coron island in Palawan.
"The group (of investors) is holding in abeyance its full development until this issue is settled," he said.
Sacay’s counsel, Quirino Marquinez, also cited the case of Alfonso Nuguid, a Los Angeles-based Filipino who owns several condominiums in the US.
Marquinez said Nuguid decided to "hold off" the P40-million investment for a hotel in a 2,000-square meter lot in Boracay.
"I’m in a quandary what will I do with the investment," he quoted Nuguid as saying.
Marquinez, a former poll official, said he advised Nuguid to wait for the SC ruling on the issue.
Another case, he said, is the $75-million Shangri-La Hotel that sits on a 12-hectare property.
The leading hotel group in the Asia-Pacific region plans to put up a 170-room facility and 50 deluxe villas in Boracay.
But because of the proclamation, the investors wanted to clear up the issue before pushing through with plans, Sacay added.
Malacañang, however, is standing pat on PP 1064 which reclassifies 628 hectares, or 60.94 percent of the 1,032-hectare island of Boracay, as "alienable and disposable."
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said PP 1064 would put things in order and even work to the advantage of residents and resort owners in Boracay.
Presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor, a former environment secretary, said the residents and resort owners should urge Congress to come up with a law that would allow them to acquire land without a public bidding.
Defensor stressed the government was in a bind as far as the demands of the Boracay residents and resort owners were concerned.
He pointed out the absence of a law which would allow the residents and resort owners to acquire more than 1,000 square meters of land in Boracay without public auction.
Publication Date: [Friday, September 29, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277501
The government proclamation classifying the island resort of Boracay into a public agricultural land will also affect the status of other tourist spots in the Philippines, a resort owner said yesterday.
According to Orlando Sacay, chairman of the Boracay Foundation Inc., the issuance of Proclamation 1064 which reclassified more than half of the world famous island resort in Aklan province into agricultural land would set a precedent.
Sacay led other resort owners and businessmen in seeking the recall of PP 1064 on fears that they will be ejected out of the island and lose their land holdings.
Sacay noted any ruling of the Supreme Court (SC) on their petition would be crucial since it will set on all other similarly situated land disputes.
"This issue not just affects Boracay but other tourist spots as well which have no titles," he said.
He said any similar move by the government to take over the lands developed by resort owners would scare away potential investors.
Sacay cited the case of investors who wanted to put up a business in Coron island in Palawan.
"The group (of investors) is holding in abeyance its full development until this issue is settled," he said.
Sacay’s counsel, Quirino Marquinez, also cited the case of Alfonso Nuguid, a Los Angeles-based Filipino who owns several condominiums in the US.
Marquinez said Nuguid decided to "hold off" the P40-million investment for a hotel in a 2,000-square meter lot in Boracay.
"I’m in a quandary what will I do with the investment," he quoted Nuguid as saying.
Marquinez, a former poll official, said he advised Nuguid to wait for the SC ruling on the issue.
Another case, he said, is the $75-million Shangri-La Hotel that sits on a 12-hectare property.
The leading hotel group in the Asia-Pacific region plans to put up a 170-room facility and 50 deluxe villas in Boracay.
But because of the proclamation, the investors wanted to clear up the issue before pushing through with plans, Sacay added.
Malacañang, however, is standing pat on PP 1064 which reclassifies 628 hectares, or 60.94 percent of the 1,032-hectare island of Boracay, as "alienable and disposable."
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said PP 1064 would put things in order and even work to the advantage of residents and resort owners in Boracay.
Presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor, a former environment secretary, said the residents and resort owners should urge Congress to come up with a law that would allow them to acquire land without a public bidding.
Defensor stressed the government was in a bind as far as the demands of the Boracay residents and resort owners were concerned.
He pointed out the absence of a law which would allow the residents and resort owners to acquire more than 1,000 square meters of land in Boracay without public auction.
‘Milenyo’ shuts down Metro
Publication Date: [Friday, September 29, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277462
Typhoon "Milenyo" — the strongest to hit Metro Manila in 11 years — slammed into the metropolis and parts of Luzon and the Visayas yesterday, killing at least 15 people and leaving behind widespread destruction.
More than 40 million people were without electricity after the typhoon, packing winds of 130 kilometers per hour, destroyed power lines in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon.
The storm toppled trees and triggered landslides, blocking some provincial roads. School authorities suspended classes, flights were canceled, ferry boats were grounded, the country’s financial markets were halted, and officials were forced to suspend the operation of two commuter trains in Metro Manila as the typhoon wiped out all normal activity.
Classes at all levels in Metro Manila remain suspended today. Work in government offices, except those engaged in health, security and disaster relief and response, also remain suspended. Work in private companies is up to the discretion of employers, Malacañang said.
Milenyo was the strongest typhoon to directly hit Metro Manila in 11 years, after super typhoon Rosing, packing 260 kph, battered the metropolis and nearby provinces in November 1995, leaving 936 people dead.
President Arroyo ordered yesterday the release of P240 million from the calamity fund to be made available to local government units battered by Milenyo.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said that during a teleconference with Cabinet and disaster management officials, Mrs. Arroyo directed the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Metro Manila Development Authority to speed up the cleanup of debris, fallen trees and billboards on roads.
She also ordered Trade Secretary Peter Favila to deploy price monitoring teams in markets and stores to prevent undue increases.
Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. assured local officials in typhoon-ravaged areas of the immediate release of aid to repair damaged infrastructure.
Mrs. Arroyo also ordered Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral to provide quick relief operations in affected communities.
Favila told a press briefing at the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) at Camp Aguinaldo that the power outage was reported by the National Transmission Corp. at around 12:58 p.m. He said Transco is still determining the cause of the collapse of the entire Luzon grid.
The President was trapped by the typhoon at the Clark Special Economic Zone where she attended several engagements. She was able to return to Manila at around 4 p.m. and immediately inspected the damages and debris near Malacañang, including a giant acacia tree that was uprooted from the courtyard of the nearby St. Jude Church that blocked the entire J. P. Laurel street.
Ros Manlangit, spokesman for the Department of National Defense, said Cyril del Callar, president of the National Power Corp. (Napocor), had reported that the power plants were shut down following reports that transmission lines and electric posts were damaged in various areas.
Defense Undersecretary Ernesto Carolina said that the disaster response teams of the Armed Forces have been deployed to assist in the affected areas.
Debris and tree branches littered the streets around Metro Manila while trees and electric posts were uprooted in many areas in Bicol and most parts of Luzon where the typhoon passed.
Airport authorities in Manila suspended all flights around noon because of the power failure. Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced that normal operations will resume today.
All domestic and international flights will be operated according to published schedules, including three regional flights from Manila to Nagoya, Kansai and Narita, PAL said. The three flights were originally scheduled to leave yesterday but were reset for today due to the storm.
The Philippine Coast Guard reported that over 4,000 ferry passengers were stranded in various ports in the Visayas, Bicol, Central and Southern Luzon.
The much-awaited UAAP basketball championship game between the University of Sto. Tomas and the Ateneo de Manila University was also postponed.
Death everywhere
In Antique, three people were killed — a drunken man who fell into a river, a nine-year-old boy and an electrician — said acting governor Eduardo Fortaleza.
Fortaleza said rescue workers evacuated about 100 residents who were trapped on an islet in the middle of a raging river in Barbaza, Antique early Thursday.
A 16-year-old girl was crushed to death by a fallen tree in Lucena City.
Two other victims were killed in Laguna. They were identified as Jojo Pareyno of Barangay Pagsawitan in Sta. Cruz town; and Juliu Magsino of Barangay Limao in Calauan.
Two people reportedly drowned after they were swept way by floodwaters when the Bao River overflowed in Ormoc City.
The fatalities were identified as Arnold Fajardo, 23, of Barangay Curva; and Maximo Obida, 71, of Barangay San Jose.
In Albay, two persons were killed when a boat capsized off Rapu- Rapu Island and a house was swept by strong waves in Tiwi town.
Cedric Daep, chief of the Albay provincial disaster management office, said over 700 houses were destroyed while 844 others were damaged in Sto. Domingo town.
Philippine Ports Authority manager Rene Agaao said the ground floor of the port terminal was also damaged by strong waves and dozens of Catanduanes-bound passengers that were stranded at the port were transferred to the second floor of the building.
Arnel Capili, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, said more than 1,000 residents were evacuated from Catanduanes and Camarines Sur.
A girl and an elderly man were crushed to death when a wall of an adjacent abandoned warehouse collapsed on their houses in Muntinlupa City.
In Makati City, a driver was killed and several others were injured when a billboard collapsed along EDSA near corner Estrella street, hitting several vehicles including a passenger bus. The fatality was identified as Felipe Gumapon.
An hour later, another billboard collapsed also along EDSA near the Magallanes interchange hitting another passenger bus.
In Quezon City, a woman died after she was electrocuted while she was fixing the roof of her house at Barangay Sto. Domingo.
Nilda Epedo was repairing the roof of her house on Don Pedro St. when she touched a live wire.
Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. had earlier directed the city disaster coordinating council to implement contingency plans as Milenyo approached the metropolis.
Manuel Sabalza, chief of the city’s Department of Public Safety and Order, deployed quick response teams to assist in emergency situations.
Security guard Rufino Caigingan, 38, died after he was hit by a flying galvanized iron sheet near the Manila City Hall.
The Manila Police District Tactical Operations Center reported that more than 100 families were evacuated from their houses that were damaged by strong winds at Delpan, Tondo.
Police said many houses were damaged, most of them rendered roofless by strong winds along Pablo Ocampo, Bambang, V. Mapa, Road 10, Baseco, Benitez, Plaza Morga and Quirino streets.
Strong winds toppled a row of trees on Manila’s famous Baywalk beside Manila Bay and knocked down billboards near the US and Japanese Embassies along Roxas Blvd. where traffic was stalled for several hours.
Workers used chain saws to clear the roads amid howling winds and blinding rain.
Some residents in flooded areas used makeshift rafts and ferried people across streets through knee-deep water.
Manila Mayor Lito Atienza urged the city council to declare a state of calamity to pave way for the release of calamity funds.
Atienza inspected the city’s six districts and declared the capital in a state of devastation.
This is a devastation of the city, the trees were uprooted even the Meralco and PLDT posts were damaged," Atienza said.
In a statement, Napocor said the power outage in some areas of Luzon was caused by the tripping of transmission lines that were affected by strong the howling winds and heavy downpour.
"We have enough power. Power generation facilities are not as affected as transmission and distribution facilities. Power lines are exposed, making them more vulnerable to the elements,"
Napocor said. Napocor said the Department of Energy had placed on full typhoon alert, all agencies involved in providing power service.
"Transco, as well as the distribution utilities and electric cooperatives have been working round the clock since this morning to repair lines that have been affected by the typhoon. But this is an exceptionally strong typhoon, and it may take the necessary precautionary measures for their safety," Napocor said.
Transco vice president for systems operation Jescette Sulit said repair crews in Bicol and Southern Tagalog have been deployed to patrol and repair its high voltage facilities, which have been damaged.
"We are now conducting power assessment and restoration activities," said Sulit, but the firm cannot say how long it will take to restore power in affected areas.
Sulit said the entire Bicol region was isolated from the Luzon grid at around 3:51 a.m. when Milenyo made landfall in Central Bicol and knocked down electricity in five provinces.
Transco said the restoration of the North Luzon power will use Magat and Binga dams, both with hydroelectric power plants, while restoration of power in Central Luzon is ongoing, tapping Pantabangan Dam, another hydroelectric power facility.
– James Mananghaya, Donnabelle Gatdula, Michael Punongbayan, Sheila Crisostomo, Aurea Calica, Rainier Allan Ronda, Edu Punay, Non Alquitran, Nestro Etolle, Perseus Echeminada, Pete Laude, Cel Dematera, Evelyn Macairan, Miriam Desacada, Celso Amo, Ronilo Pamonag, AP,AFP
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277462
Typhoon "Milenyo" — the strongest to hit Metro Manila in 11 years — slammed into the metropolis and parts of Luzon and the Visayas yesterday, killing at least 15 people and leaving behind widespread destruction.
More than 40 million people were without electricity after the typhoon, packing winds of 130 kilometers per hour, destroyed power lines in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon.
The storm toppled trees and triggered landslides, blocking some provincial roads. School authorities suspended classes, flights were canceled, ferry boats were grounded, the country’s financial markets were halted, and officials were forced to suspend the operation of two commuter trains in Metro Manila as the typhoon wiped out all normal activity.
Classes at all levels in Metro Manila remain suspended today. Work in government offices, except those engaged in health, security and disaster relief and response, also remain suspended. Work in private companies is up to the discretion of employers, Malacañang said.
Milenyo was the strongest typhoon to directly hit Metro Manila in 11 years, after super typhoon Rosing, packing 260 kph, battered the metropolis and nearby provinces in November 1995, leaving 936 people dead.
President Arroyo ordered yesterday the release of P240 million from the calamity fund to be made available to local government units battered by Milenyo.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said that during a teleconference with Cabinet and disaster management officials, Mrs. Arroyo directed the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Metro Manila Development Authority to speed up the cleanup of debris, fallen trees and billboards on roads.
She also ordered Trade Secretary Peter Favila to deploy price monitoring teams in markets and stores to prevent undue increases.
Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. assured local officials in typhoon-ravaged areas of the immediate release of aid to repair damaged infrastructure.
Mrs. Arroyo also ordered Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral to provide quick relief operations in affected communities.
Favila told a press briefing at the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) at Camp Aguinaldo that the power outage was reported by the National Transmission Corp. at around 12:58 p.m. He said Transco is still determining the cause of the collapse of the entire Luzon grid.
The President was trapped by the typhoon at the Clark Special Economic Zone where she attended several engagements. She was able to return to Manila at around 4 p.m. and immediately inspected the damages and debris near Malacañang, including a giant acacia tree that was uprooted from the courtyard of the nearby St. Jude Church that blocked the entire J. P. Laurel street.
Ros Manlangit, spokesman for the Department of National Defense, said Cyril del Callar, president of the National Power Corp. (Napocor), had reported that the power plants were shut down following reports that transmission lines and electric posts were damaged in various areas.
Defense Undersecretary Ernesto Carolina said that the disaster response teams of the Armed Forces have been deployed to assist in the affected areas.
Debris and tree branches littered the streets around Metro Manila while trees and electric posts were uprooted in many areas in Bicol and most parts of Luzon where the typhoon passed.
Airport authorities in Manila suspended all flights around noon because of the power failure. Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced that normal operations will resume today.
All domestic and international flights will be operated according to published schedules, including three regional flights from Manila to Nagoya, Kansai and Narita, PAL said. The three flights were originally scheduled to leave yesterday but were reset for today due to the storm.
The Philippine Coast Guard reported that over 4,000 ferry passengers were stranded in various ports in the Visayas, Bicol, Central and Southern Luzon.
The much-awaited UAAP basketball championship game between the University of Sto. Tomas and the Ateneo de Manila University was also postponed.
Death everywhere
In Antique, three people were killed — a drunken man who fell into a river, a nine-year-old boy and an electrician — said acting governor Eduardo Fortaleza.
Fortaleza said rescue workers evacuated about 100 residents who were trapped on an islet in the middle of a raging river in Barbaza, Antique early Thursday.
A 16-year-old girl was crushed to death by a fallen tree in Lucena City.
Two other victims were killed in Laguna. They were identified as Jojo Pareyno of Barangay Pagsawitan in Sta. Cruz town; and Juliu Magsino of Barangay Limao in Calauan.
Two people reportedly drowned after they were swept way by floodwaters when the Bao River overflowed in Ormoc City.
The fatalities were identified as Arnold Fajardo, 23, of Barangay Curva; and Maximo Obida, 71, of Barangay San Jose.
In Albay, two persons were killed when a boat capsized off Rapu- Rapu Island and a house was swept by strong waves in Tiwi town.
Cedric Daep, chief of the Albay provincial disaster management office, said over 700 houses were destroyed while 844 others were damaged in Sto. Domingo town.
Philippine Ports Authority manager Rene Agaao said the ground floor of the port terminal was also damaged by strong waves and dozens of Catanduanes-bound passengers that were stranded at the port were transferred to the second floor of the building.
Arnel Capili, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, said more than 1,000 residents were evacuated from Catanduanes and Camarines Sur.
A girl and an elderly man were crushed to death when a wall of an adjacent abandoned warehouse collapsed on their houses in Muntinlupa City.
In Makati City, a driver was killed and several others were injured when a billboard collapsed along EDSA near corner Estrella street, hitting several vehicles including a passenger bus. The fatality was identified as Felipe Gumapon.
An hour later, another billboard collapsed also along EDSA near the Magallanes interchange hitting another passenger bus.
In Quezon City, a woman died after she was electrocuted while she was fixing the roof of her house at Barangay Sto. Domingo.
Nilda Epedo was repairing the roof of her house on Don Pedro St. when she touched a live wire.
Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. had earlier directed the city disaster coordinating council to implement contingency plans as Milenyo approached the metropolis.
Manuel Sabalza, chief of the city’s Department of Public Safety and Order, deployed quick response teams to assist in emergency situations.
Security guard Rufino Caigingan, 38, died after he was hit by a flying galvanized iron sheet near the Manila City Hall.
The Manila Police District Tactical Operations Center reported that more than 100 families were evacuated from their houses that were damaged by strong winds at Delpan, Tondo.
Police said many houses were damaged, most of them rendered roofless by strong winds along Pablo Ocampo, Bambang, V. Mapa, Road 10, Baseco, Benitez, Plaza Morga and Quirino streets.
Strong winds toppled a row of trees on Manila’s famous Baywalk beside Manila Bay and knocked down billboards near the US and Japanese Embassies along Roxas Blvd. where traffic was stalled for several hours.
Workers used chain saws to clear the roads amid howling winds and blinding rain.
Some residents in flooded areas used makeshift rafts and ferried people across streets through knee-deep water.
Manila Mayor Lito Atienza urged the city council to declare a state of calamity to pave way for the release of calamity funds.
Atienza inspected the city’s six districts and declared the capital in a state of devastation.
This is a devastation of the city, the trees were uprooted even the Meralco and PLDT posts were damaged," Atienza said.
In a statement, Napocor said the power outage in some areas of Luzon was caused by the tripping of transmission lines that were affected by strong the howling winds and heavy downpour.
"We have enough power. Power generation facilities are not as affected as transmission and distribution facilities. Power lines are exposed, making them more vulnerable to the elements,"
Napocor said. Napocor said the Department of Energy had placed on full typhoon alert, all agencies involved in providing power service.
"Transco, as well as the distribution utilities and electric cooperatives have been working round the clock since this morning to repair lines that have been affected by the typhoon. But this is an exceptionally strong typhoon, and it may take the necessary precautionary measures for their safety," Napocor said.
Transco vice president for systems operation Jescette Sulit said repair crews in Bicol and Southern Tagalog have been deployed to patrol and repair its high voltage facilities, which have been damaged.
"We are now conducting power assessment and restoration activities," said Sulit, but the firm cannot say how long it will take to restore power in affected areas.
Sulit said the entire Bicol region was isolated from the Luzon grid at around 3:51 a.m. when Milenyo made landfall in Central Bicol and knocked down electricity in five provinces.
Transco said the restoration of the North Luzon power will use Magat and Binga dams, both with hydroelectric power plants, while restoration of power in Central Luzon is ongoing, tapping Pantabangan Dam, another hydroelectric power facility.
– James Mananghaya, Donnabelle Gatdula, Michael Punongbayan, Sheila Crisostomo, Aurea Calica, Rainier Allan Ronda, Edu Punay, Non Alquitran, Nestro Etolle, Perseus Echeminada, Pete Laude, Cel Dematera, Evelyn Macairan, Miriam Desacada, Celso Amo, Ronilo Pamonag, AP,AFP
Mining investors present plans to officials today
First posted 05:44am (Mla time) Sept 29, 2006
Inquirer
http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=23782
PROSPECTIVE investors in the mining industry are to present this Friday to a panel of environment and mining officials their social and technical plans for their projects, which are required before they can be allowed to begin exploration or production, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo Reyes said.
“We want to have a clear view of the proponents’ credentials and track record, particularly their financial and technical capability to undertake responsible mining,” Reyes said in a statement. “More than that, we want to be certain that [they] put a premium on their social responsibility.”
Seventeen foreign companies have expressed interest in mining gold, copper, iron, chromites and other minerals in the country. Their presentations will serve as a basis for the government to enter into 10 mineral production sharing agreements with them and to give seven exploration permits.
Reyes said prospective investors would be required to make project presentations so the Department of Environment and Natural Resources could separate serious investors from speculators.
Four of the companies scheduled to make their presentations are MRL Gold Philippines Inc. (99.99-percent Canadian), Egerton Gold Philippines Inc. (40-percent Australian), Buena Suerte Mining Corp. (40-percent Australian) and Manila Mining Corp.-Anglo American.
The other interested companies are Colossal Mining Corp., Hard Rock Trading Inc., TMC International Corp., Itawes Mining Exploration Corp. and Norweah Metals and Minerals Inc.
With INQ7.net
Inquirer
http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=23782
PROSPECTIVE investors in the mining industry are to present this Friday to a panel of environment and mining officials their social and technical plans for their projects, which are required before they can be allowed to begin exploration or production, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo Reyes said.
“We want to have a clear view of the proponents’ credentials and track record, particularly their financial and technical capability to undertake responsible mining,” Reyes said in a statement. “More than that, we want to be certain that [they] put a premium on their social responsibility.”
Seventeen foreign companies have expressed interest in mining gold, copper, iron, chromites and other minerals in the country. Their presentations will serve as a basis for the government to enter into 10 mineral production sharing agreements with them and to give seven exploration permits.
Reyes said prospective investors would be required to make project presentations so the Department of Environment and Natural Resources could separate serious investors from speculators.
Four of the companies scheduled to make their presentations are MRL Gold Philippines Inc. (99.99-percent Canadian), Egerton Gold Philippines Inc. (40-percent Australian), Buena Suerte Mining Corp. (40-percent Australian) and Manila Mining Corp.-Anglo American.
The other interested companies are Colossal Mining Corp., Hard Rock Trading Inc., TMC International Corp., Itawes Mining Exploration Corp. and Norweah Metals and Minerals Inc.
With INQ7.net
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Hot air and wind energyFROM
THE STANDS By Domini M. Torrevillas
Publication Date: [Thursday, September 28, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277338
Kudos are in order to the House of Representatives for its speedy action on the Renewable Energy bill, a landmark legislation that places the Philippines among the world’s responsible stakeholders in the climate change campaign.
The move came on the heels of a multisectoral campaign by the Department of Energy, Philippine National Oil Co., Unocal and environmental groups urging lawmakers to rise above partisan interests for a good cause. Following a nationwide signature campaign, 120,000 Filipinos agreed that it’s about time for the country to have cleaner and cheaper energy. Our legislators’ response gives all of us something to smile about.
The Renewable Energy bill provides government incentives for the development and use of renewable energy sources, including hybrid systems. Under the proposed law, companies engaging in indigenous energy development will be exempted from tariff duties and value-added tax on imported machinery and equipment for the first 10 years of their operating contract; tax credit on their domestic capital equipment and services; special realty tax rates on their equipment and machinery; as well as income tax holiday and exemption for the first six years of their commercial operation.
It will all be worth it because the development of renewable energy sources — such as wind, geothermal, biomass, solar and hydropower — will minimize the country’s risk of plunging to an economic crisis due to the price fluctuations in the international markets. We all know how such fluctuations tend to overwhelm us with runaway prices not just at the local pump, but at the supermarkets, shopping malls, restaurants and our neighborhood sari-sari stores as well. Thank God we didn’t feel that pinch too much this year, despite zooming world crude prices at the height of the Middle East crisis two months ago. As they say, "nakaya ng powers natin."
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla points out that energy conservation has caught on in the Philippines, which had tempered the impact of the oil price volatility. Our net import bill during the first half increased by only 22 percent because we actually imported less crude, he noted. Lotilla revealed that our average daily consumption of petroleum products has actually been on the decline - from 314,100 barrels during the first half of 2005 to just 284,500 barrels as of June 2006. That’s certainly a long way off from our peak consumption back in 1997, when we were averaging 385,000 barrels per day.
Our increased use of alternative fuels has considerably helped us curb our oil dependence. For instance, biodiesel and bioethanol are available in all gasoline stations of Seaoil and Flying V nationwide, while Shell sells bioethanol in some of its stations in Metro Manila. With the impending legislation of the Renewable Energy bill, we will be closer to the goal of improving our energy mix to a more agreeable 70-30 ratio between indigenous and imported fuel sources. Currently, imported oil accounts for about 40 percent of our energy mix.
It helps, of course, that we have such a rich source of indigenous energy. According to international conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF), its PowerSwitch study for the Philippines shows that there’s more than enough renewable energy potential in the country: 1,200 megawatts (MW) for geothermal, 2,308 MW for hydro, 235 MW for biomass and 7,404 MW for wind.
Meanwhile, international environmental group Greenpeace recently indicated that the Philippines can play a leading role in Southeast Asia in wind energy development. According to the Global Wind Energy Outlook 2006 released by the group in Australia recently, we have the highest wind energy potential in Southeast Asia at 70,000 megawatts, which can meet the country’s energy demand seven times over, based on a study by the U.S.-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory. "The (Global Wind Energy Outlook 2006) report firmly places wind power as one of the world’s most important energy sources for the 21st century.
The Philippines has the potential to become a leading player in this field. But this requires political will on the part of the government to set legally binding renewable energy targets in the Renewable Energy bill," Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner Jasper Inventor was quoted to have said when the report was launched.
Greenpeace is urging the government to increase the share of renewable sources in the country’s energy mix to at least 10 percent by 2010, lamenting the current share of less than one percent in the overall mix. It also wants energy policies to overcome institutional and market biases for coal and fossil fuels. Currently, according to Greenpeace, we only have one wind farm of 25 MW, in Bangui, Ilocos Norte. What’s more, according to a recent study done by the University of the Philippines, which was commissioned by the Philippine office of international conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the country could save up to $2.9 billion from importing less fossil fuel such as coal and oil, if the government would increase the share of indigenous renewable energy in power generation mix to 41 percent.
Our solitary wind farm in Ilocos Norte is actually the first and largest in Southeast Asia, enhancing both the quantity and reliability of power supply in the northern region of the country. The project contributed significantly in reducing our dependence on imported fuel. Not only that, the 25-MW wind project of the Northwind Power Development Corp. recently emerged as the 1st runner-up in the on-grid category of renewable energy project competition for the Asean Energy Awards last August, for its significant environmental and societal contribution to the country.
The project’s emission reduction was the first carbon credit trading in the country under the World Bank Prototype Carbon Fund, through which an Emission Reduction Purchase Agreement was done last December 2004. "It is our hope that the application of energy efficiency concepts, systems and technologies become models not only here in our country but within the Asean region for wider replication and promotion of energy management practices and programs," Lotilla remarked when he lauded the Northwind Power Project’s citation for the Asean Energy Awards.
In citing the speedy political support for the landmark Renewable Energy Bill, WWF-Philippines Climate and Energy Programme acknowledged that the government is now more responsive to the needs of the communities. Which simply proves that sometimes, all that hot air circulating in Congress, when put to good use, can translate into something positive. Now, it’s the Senate’s turn at bat.
My email: dominimt2000@yahoo.com
Publication Date: [Thursday, September 28, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277338
Kudos are in order to the House of Representatives for its speedy action on the Renewable Energy bill, a landmark legislation that places the Philippines among the world’s responsible stakeholders in the climate change campaign.
The move came on the heels of a multisectoral campaign by the Department of Energy, Philippine National Oil Co., Unocal and environmental groups urging lawmakers to rise above partisan interests for a good cause. Following a nationwide signature campaign, 120,000 Filipinos agreed that it’s about time for the country to have cleaner and cheaper energy. Our legislators’ response gives all of us something to smile about.
The Renewable Energy bill provides government incentives for the development and use of renewable energy sources, including hybrid systems. Under the proposed law, companies engaging in indigenous energy development will be exempted from tariff duties and value-added tax on imported machinery and equipment for the first 10 years of their operating contract; tax credit on their domestic capital equipment and services; special realty tax rates on their equipment and machinery; as well as income tax holiday and exemption for the first six years of their commercial operation.
It will all be worth it because the development of renewable energy sources — such as wind, geothermal, biomass, solar and hydropower — will minimize the country’s risk of plunging to an economic crisis due to the price fluctuations in the international markets. We all know how such fluctuations tend to overwhelm us with runaway prices not just at the local pump, but at the supermarkets, shopping malls, restaurants and our neighborhood sari-sari stores as well. Thank God we didn’t feel that pinch too much this year, despite zooming world crude prices at the height of the Middle East crisis two months ago. As they say, "nakaya ng powers natin."
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla points out that energy conservation has caught on in the Philippines, which had tempered the impact of the oil price volatility. Our net import bill during the first half increased by only 22 percent because we actually imported less crude, he noted. Lotilla revealed that our average daily consumption of petroleum products has actually been on the decline - from 314,100 barrels during the first half of 2005 to just 284,500 barrels as of June 2006. That’s certainly a long way off from our peak consumption back in 1997, when we were averaging 385,000 barrels per day.
Our increased use of alternative fuels has considerably helped us curb our oil dependence. For instance, biodiesel and bioethanol are available in all gasoline stations of Seaoil and Flying V nationwide, while Shell sells bioethanol in some of its stations in Metro Manila. With the impending legislation of the Renewable Energy bill, we will be closer to the goal of improving our energy mix to a more agreeable 70-30 ratio between indigenous and imported fuel sources. Currently, imported oil accounts for about 40 percent of our energy mix.
It helps, of course, that we have such a rich source of indigenous energy. According to international conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF), its PowerSwitch study for the Philippines shows that there’s more than enough renewable energy potential in the country: 1,200 megawatts (MW) for geothermal, 2,308 MW for hydro, 235 MW for biomass and 7,404 MW for wind.
Meanwhile, international environmental group Greenpeace recently indicated that the Philippines can play a leading role in Southeast Asia in wind energy development. According to the Global Wind Energy Outlook 2006 released by the group in Australia recently, we have the highest wind energy potential in Southeast Asia at 70,000 megawatts, which can meet the country’s energy demand seven times over, based on a study by the U.S.-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory. "The (Global Wind Energy Outlook 2006) report firmly places wind power as one of the world’s most important energy sources for the 21st century.
The Philippines has the potential to become a leading player in this field. But this requires political will on the part of the government to set legally binding renewable energy targets in the Renewable Energy bill," Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner Jasper Inventor was quoted to have said when the report was launched.
Greenpeace is urging the government to increase the share of renewable sources in the country’s energy mix to at least 10 percent by 2010, lamenting the current share of less than one percent in the overall mix. It also wants energy policies to overcome institutional and market biases for coal and fossil fuels. Currently, according to Greenpeace, we only have one wind farm of 25 MW, in Bangui, Ilocos Norte. What’s more, according to a recent study done by the University of the Philippines, which was commissioned by the Philippine office of international conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the country could save up to $2.9 billion from importing less fossil fuel such as coal and oil, if the government would increase the share of indigenous renewable energy in power generation mix to 41 percent.
Our solitary wind farm in Ilocos Norte is actually the first and largest in Southeast Asia, enhancing both the quantity and reliability of power supply in the northern region of the country. The project contributed significantly in reducing our dependence on imported fuel. Not only that, the 25-MW wind project of the Northwind Power Development Corp. recently emerged as the 1st runner-up in the on-grid category of renewable energy project competition for the Asean Energy Awards last August, for its significant environmental and societal contribution to the country.
The project’s emission reduction was the first carbon credit trading in the country under the World Bank Prototype Carbon Fund, through which an Emission Reduction Purchase Agreement was done last December 2004. "It is our hope that the application of energy efficiency concepts, systems and technologies become models not only here in our country but within the Asean region for wider replication and promotion of energy management practices and programs," Lotilla remarked when he lauded the Northwind Power Project’s citation for the Asean Energy Awards.
In citing the speedy political support for the landmark Renewable Energy Bill, WWF-Philippines Climate and Energy Programme acknowledged that the government is now more responsive to the needs of the communities. Which simply proves that sometimes, all that hot air circulating in Congress, when put to good use, can translate into something positive. Now, it’s the Senate’s turn at bat.
My email: dominimt2000@yahoo.com
Minerals
FIRST PERSON By Alex Magno
Publication Date: [Thursday, September 28, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277335
The Philippines, it has often been said, is a rich country pretending to be poor.
The fact is, we are a rich country seemingly incapable of getting its act together. A slippery political arena, a permeable policy-making process, a murky Constitution littered with 19th century protectionist advocacies, and, for a time, a Supreme Court that liberally intervened in business issues all contributed to stunting our development potential. For many years now, the Philippines stood at the tail-end of Asia’s development race, receiving only a small fraction of direct investment flows in the region.
We might not be endowed with large rivers and enough land to make us an agricultural power. On the contrary, we face land and water shortages given rapid population growth. But that is compensated for by the fact that we have among the richest mineral deposits in the world.
A few decades ago, the Philippines stood among the world’s top ten mineral producers. We have among the largest known deposits of gold, nickel, chromium, copper and manganese. These mineral deposits are situated in some of the poorest provinces in the country – especially those provinces on the Pacific side of the archipelago, including the Bicol region, Samar and Leyte islands and eastern Mindanao.
A full redevelopment of our mining industry will bring prosperity to areas where prosperity is most scarce.
For too long a time, our minerals industry was stunted by the absence of a clear national policy. A mining law was indeed passed, but it was trapped at the Supreme Court for a decade over some issue about foreign investments in the mining sector.
After the Court finally cleared all judicial obstacles to the law, a deluge of international interest in our mining sector swept in. It was pleasant to imagine that the national economy could blossom quickly, like some oil producing country, driven by revenues from mining.
But the anti-mining fundamentalists, along with those who opposed foreign investments as a fanatical faith, would not rest. They grabbed every minor spill and every little accident as an occasion to rail against mining.
Politicians, of course, are quick to latch on to every environmental issue thinking this to be both safe and politically profitable to plumb. Sen. Pia Cayetano, for instance, made some strange noises about reviewing the Mining Act shortly after the Supreme Court finally removed all judicial obstacles to it. Those noises caused several hundred million dollars in investments to be put on hold.
Our Mining Act is among the best in the world. It is superior to the UK law in ensuring environmental protection. It is better than the US law in protecting indigenous people. It is stronger than the Canadian law in promoting corporate social responsibility. It is more effective than the Australian law in granting mining permits.
If we are able to ensure policy predictability for our mining sector, this part of our economy will provide a strong plank for economic take-off, along side our blooming tourism sector, our business processing outsourcing industries, our electronic manufacturing sector and our alternative energy base. These are the key fronts of economic opportunity that will lessen our dependence on remittances from exported labor by creating hundreds of thousands of employment opportunities where these are needed more.
The key person in opening up the great potentials of our minerals sector is DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes. It is his task now to facilitate investments in mining by clarifying the policy framework and assuring potential investors of a reliable policy horizon. This is indispensable, considering that investment in the minerals sector are of a long-term nature and involve large outlays.
In a word, Angelo Reyes ought to see his job more as an economic manager than just merely an environmental policeman.
Given new technologies and processes, mining should not be in conflict with concerns over environmental protection. It is simply a matter of getting the best players into our minerals future.
A few months ago, Reyes attended a meeting of major mining corporations in Africa and managed to convince the mining multinationals to come over and see our minerals sector up close. They did come the other week and were thoroughly briefed about our policies and were brought out to see our mining areas. Most of those who came were suitably impressed.
In his speech during that conference, Reyes did lay out a pretty clear policy, saying that the Philippines "fully adheres to the principle of sustainable development and steers our industry towards responsible operations using only the best practices in mining, mineral processing and environmental management."
That policy framework is clearly laid out in the Mining Act. It is reassuring that the main regulator of this industry, the DENR, is laying down clear rules of the game. That should reassure not only investors but all those anxious over the potential environmental implications of substandard mining operations.
We should understand, however, that the worst environmental damage will be caused, not by the modern mining corporations, but by poorly capitalized, under-equipped and small scale operators. Just look at the mess at Diwalwal, overrun by small-time mining concerns, and compare that with the Tampakan copper exploration project. The latter has produced an environmental catastrophe while the latter provides a global model for responsible minerals exploitation closely woven with the lives of the surrounding communities.
More than strictly enforcing laws protecting environmental integrity, the DENR should screen investments to ensure that only those ready to employ best practices are allowed to mine. An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of post-disaster regulation.
The mining concerns are now more sensitive to the demands of industrial excellence in a society that so jealously guards the integrity of its environment. By choosing the players well, we can build a stronger public consensus behind rebuilding our minerals industry.
With that consensus, we should be ready to open up what could be a very strong facet of our economic growth. Doing that is extremely urgent if we are to sustain the economic dynamism we have begun to demonstrate.
Publication Date: [Thursday, September 28, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277335
The Philippines, it has often been said, is a rich country pretending to be poor.
The fact is, we are a rich country seemingly incapable of getting its act together. A slippery political arena, a permeable policy-making process, a murky Constitution littered with 19th century protectionist advocacies, and, for a time, a Supreme Court that liberally intervened in business issues all contributed to stunting our development potential. For many years now, the Philippines stood at the tail-end of Asia’s development race, receiving only a small fraction of direct investment flows in the region.
We might not be endowed with large rivers and enough land to make us an agricultural power. On the contrary, we face land and water shortages given rapid population growth. But that is compensated for by the fact that we have among the richest mineral deposits in the world.
A few decades ago, the Philippines stood among the world’s top ten mineral producers. We have among the largest known deposits of gold, nickel, chromium, copper and manganese. These mineral deposits are situated in some of the poorest provinces in the country – especially those provinces on the Pacific side of the archipelago, including the Bicol region, Samar and Leyte islands and eastern Mindanao.
A full redevelopment of our mining industry will bring prosperity to areas where prosperity is most scarce.
For too long a time, our minerals industry was stunted by the absence of a clear national policy. A mining law was indeed passed, but it was trapped at the Supreme Court for a decade over some issue about foreign investments in the mining sector.
After the Court finally cleared all judicial obstacles to the law, a deluge of international interest in our mining sector swept in. It was pleasant to imagine that the national economy could blossom quickly, like some oil producing country, driven by revenues from mining.
But the anti-mining fundamentalists, along with those who opposed foreign investments as a fanatical faith, would not rest. They grabbed every minor spill and every little accident as an occasion to rail against mining.
Politicians, of course, are quick to latch on to every environmental issue thinking this to be both safe and politically profitable to plumb. Sen. Pia Cayetano, for instance, made some strange noises about reviewing the Mining Act shortly after the Supreme Court finally removed all judicial obstacles to it. Those noises caused several hundred million dollars in investments to be put on hold.
Our Mining Act is among the best in the world. It is superior to the UK law in ensuring environmental protection. It is better than the US law in protecting indigenous people. It is stronger than the Canadian law in promoting corporate social responsibility. It is more effective than the Australian law in granting mining permits.
If we are able to ensure policy predictability for our mining sector, this part of our economy will provide a strong plank for economic take-off, along side our blooming tourism sector, our business processing outsourcing industries, our electronic manufacturing sector and our alternative energy base. These are the key fronts of economic opportunity that will lessen our dependence on remittances from exported labor by creating hundreds of thousands of employment opportunities where these are needed more.
The key person in opening up the great potentials of our minerals sector is DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes. It is his task now to facilitate investments in mining by clarifying the policy framework and assuring potential investors of a reliable policy horizon. This is indispensable, considering that investment in the minerals sector are of a long-term nature and involve large outlays.
In a word, Angelo Reyes ought to see his job more as an economic manager than just merely an environmental policeman.
Given new technologies and processes, mining should not be in conflict with concerns over environmental protection. It is simply a matter of getting the best players into our minerals future.
A few months ago, Reyes attended a meeting of major mining corporations in Africa and managed to convince the mining multinationals to come over and see our minerals sector up close. They did come the other week and were thoroughly briefed about our policies and were brought out to see our mining areas. Most of those who came were suitably impressed.
In his speech during that conference, Reyes did lay out a pretty clear policy, saying that the Philippines "fully adheres to the principle of sustainable development and steers our industry towards responsible operations using only the best practices in mining, mineral processing and environmental management."
That policy framework is clearly laid out in the Mining Act. It is reassuring that the main regulator of this industry, the DENR, is laying down clear rules of the game. That should reassure not only investors but all those anxious over the potential environmental implications of substandard mining operations.
We should understand, however, that the worst environmental damage will be caused, not by the modern mining corporations, but by poorly capitalized, under-equipped and small scale operators. Just look at the mess at Diwalwal, overrun by small-time mining concerns, and compare that with the Tampakan copper exploration project. The latter has produced an environmental catastrophe while the latter provides a global model for responsible minerals exploitation closely woven with the lives of the surrounding communities.
More than strictly enforcing laws protecting environmental integrity, the DENR should screen investments to ensure that only those ready to employ best practices are allowed to mine. An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of post-disaster regulation.
The mining concerns are now more sensitive to the demands of industrial excellence in a society that so jealously guards the integrity of its environment. By choosing the players well, we can build a stronger public consensus behind rebuilding our minerals industry.
With that consensus, we should be ready to open up what could be a very strong facet of our economic growth. Doing that is extremely urgent if we are to sustain the economic dynamism we have begun to demonstrate.
Boracay classification stays — Palace
By Aurea Calica
Publication Date: [Thursday, September 28, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277339
Malacañang has no intention of taking back the proclamation classifying more than half of the world-famous island resort of Boracay in Aklan as a public agricultural land open for public auction, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita asserted yesterday.
Ermita stressed Proclamation 1064 would put things in order and even work to the advantage of residents and resort owners in Boracay.
"First of all, Proclamation No. 1064 is intended to really take care of the management of that jewel of property that we have, it’s already known around the world," he said.
"It (PP 1064) is intended really to benefit the general public so it’s not true and don’t even think it’s intended to favor a few," he said.
Ermita said those opposing PP 1064 were being too defensive and focused too much on acquiring ownership of the land.
He explained President Arroyo directed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Tourism (DOT) and other concerned agencies to ensure that PP 1064 would be properly implemented.
"We should not destroy the real purpose of the proclamation," Ermita said.
"Maybe it’s just their (residents and resort owners) defense mechanism. They are trying to preempt the government. The DOT and the DENR have not even made any action yet," he said.
According to Ermita, the government would still have to rationalize many issues concerning Boracay.
He noted the adverse reaction of resort owners and some residents who were even helped by local officials in seeking the recall of PP 1064 before the Supreme Court.
Resort owners led by Orlando Sacay, chairman of Boracay Foundation Inc., had filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking the recall of PP 1064 which reclassifies 628 hectares, or 60.94 percent of the 1,032-hectare island resort, as "alienable and disposable."
They argued the proclamation had introduced an element of risk for land owners and the general business climate in Boracay.
"So I think they are just making those statements because they want to be left behind once the ball is passed, so to speak, in the improvement of Boracay," Ermita said.
Sacay claimed the government concealed another method of granting land titles to residents of Boracay, in its effort to unilaterally take over the world-renowned beach resort.
Publication Date: [Thursday, September 28, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=277339
Malacañang has no intention of taking back the proclamation classifying more than half of the world-famous island resort of Boracay in Aklan as a public agricultural land open for public auction, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita asserted yesterday.
Ermita stressed Proclamation 1064 would put things in order and even work to the advantage of residents and resort owners in Boracay.
"First of all, Proclamation No. 1064 is intended to really take care of the management of that jewel of property that we have, it’s already known around the world," he said.
"It (PP 1064) is intended really to benefit the general public so it’s not true and don’t even think it’s intended to favor a few," he said.
Ermita said those opposing PP 1064 were being too defensive and focused too much on acquiring ownership of the land.
He explained President Arroyo directed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Tourism (DOT) and other concerned agencies to ensure that PP 1064 would be properly implemented.
"We should not destroy the real purpose of the proclamation," Ermita said.
"Maybe it’s just their (residents and resort owners) defense mechanism. They are trying to preempt the government. The DOT and the DENR have not even made any action yet," he said.
According to Ermita, the government would still have to rationalize many issues concerning Boracay.
He noted the adverse reaction of resort owners and some residents who were even helped by local officials in seeking the recall of PP 1064 before the Supreme Court.
Resort owners led by Orlando Sacay, chairman of Boracay Foundation Inc., had filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking the recall of PP 1064 which reclassifies 628 hectares, or 60.94 percent of the 1,032-hectare island resort, as "alienable and disposable."
They argued the proclamation had introduced an element of risk for land owners and the general business climate in Boracay.
"So I think they are just making those statements because they want to be left behind once the ball is passed, so to speak, in the improvement of Boracay," Ermita said.
Sacay claimed the government concealed another method of granting land titles to residents of Boracay, in its effort to unilaterally take over the world-renowned beach resort.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Law governing water districts questioned
First posted 10:55am (Mla time) Sept 27, 2006
Cebu Daily News
http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=23378
The Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) had filed a petition in 2002 that questioned the constitutionality of the provision of the law creating and governing the water district.
But the petition for declaratory relief was dismissed by the Regional Trial Court in November last year without ruling on who had the power to appoint the members of the MCWD board of directors.
Executive Judge Simeon Dumdum Jr. said in his decision that whoever has the appointing authority to the five board members does not affect the water district.
“It should not be of any moment to the MCWD where the appointing power lies. Either way no harm will result to it,” Dumdum, who took over the case from Judge Antonio Echavez who retired from the judiciary, said.
The MCWD filed the petition in 2002, asking the court to declare “unconstitutional” Section 3(b) of Presidential Decree 198 or the Provincial Water Utility Act of 1973 because it violates the principle of majority rule, which was 50 percent plus one.
Under the provision, the person empowered to appoint the board of director depends on the geographic coverage and the population makeup of the particular district.”
“In the event that more than 75 percent of the total active water service connections of a local water district are within the boundary of any city or municipality, the appointing authority shall be the mayor of the city or municipality, as the case may be; otherwise, the appointing authority shall be the governor of the province within which the district is located,” it added.
Should the court uphold the section as valid, the water district asked that it “interpret in the spirit and intention of the law empowering the Cebu City Mayor to appoint the members of the MCWD board of directors.”
MCWD also wanted the court to restrain the provincial governor from “usurping the power of appointment of the members of the board of directors of the MCWD.”
Named respondents in the petition were then Cebu governor Pablo Garcia and the province of Cebu.
The petition stemmed from a letter written by Garcia that questioned the authority of the Cebu City mayor to appoint the members of the MCWD board on the premise that the total number of water connections in the city had gone down to below 75 percent since 1996.
As such, he added the province should appoint the members of the board of directors of the water district as provided for in Presidential Decree 198.
Garcia's term ended in 2004 and his daughter, Gwendolyn Garcia, took over the helm of the Capitol.
In a decision dated November 29, 2005, Judge Dumdum said that while there was a question on who between the Cebu City mayor and the governor had the power to appoint the MCWD board of directors, the water district did not stand to be prejudiced of the controversy.
“Whichever will appoint the members of its board of directors will affect none of its rights. The MCWD has no legal standing,” he said.
Legal standing is defined as a personal and substantial interest in the case, such that the party has sustained or will sustain direct injury as a result of the challenged act.
Dumdum added that while the complaint for the declaration of Sec. 3 (b) of Presidential Decree 198 as unconstitutional, no notice was sent to the Solicitor General.
“In any action which involves the validity of a statute, executive order or regulation or any other governmental regulation, the Solicitor General shall be notified by the party assailing the same and shall be entitled to be heard upon such question,” he said.
When reached for comment, lawyer Pablo John Garcia, the former governor's son, said they had not received a “notice of finality of judgment.” He added the decision could still be appealed.
/Chief of Reporters Suzzane S. Alueta
Cebu Daily News
http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=23378
The Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) had filed a petition in 2002 that questioned the constitutionality of the provision of the law creating and governing the water district.
But the petition for declaratory relief was dismissed by the Regional Trial Court in November last year without ruling on who had the power to appoint the members of the MCWD board of directors.
Executive Judge Simeon Dumdum Jr. said in his decision that whoever has the appointing authority to the five board members does not affect the water district.
“It should not be of any moment to the MCWD where the appointing power lies. Either way no harm will result to it,” Dumdum, who took over the case from Judge Antonio Echavez who retired from the judiciary, said.
The MCWD filed the petition in 2002, asking the court to declare “unconstitutional” Section 3(b) of Presidential Decree 198 or the Provincial Water Utility Act of 1973 because it violates the principle of majority rule, which was 50 percent plus one.
Under the provision, the person empowered to appoint the board of director depends on the geographic coverage and the population makeup of the particular district.”
“In the event that more than 75 percent of the total active water service connections of a local water district are within the boundary of any city or municipality, the appointing authority shall be the mayor of the city or municipality, as the case may be; otherwise, the appointing authority shall be the governor of the province within which the district is located,” it added.
Should the court uphold the section as valid, the water district asked that it “interpret in the spirit and intention of the law empowering the Cebu City Mayor to appoint the members of the MCWD board of directors.”
MCWD also wanted the court to restrain the provincial governor from “usurping the power of appointment of the members of the board of directors of the MCWD.”
Named respondents in the petition were then Cebu governor Pablo Garcia and the province of Cebu.
The petition stemmed from a letter written by Garcia that questioned the authority of the Cebu City mayor to appoint the members of the MCWD board on the premise that the total number of water connections in the city had gone down to below 75 percent since 1996.
As such, he added the province should appoint the members of the board of directors of the water district as provided for in Presidential Decree 198.
Garcia's term ended in 2004 and his daughter, Gwendolyn Garcia, took over the helm of the Capitol.
In a decision dated November 29, 2005, Judge Dumdum said that while there was a question on who between the Cebu City mayor and the governor had the power to appoint the MCWD board of directors, the water district did not stand to be prejudiced of the controversy.
“Whichever will appoint the members of its board of directors will affect none of its rights. The MCWD has no legal standing,” he said.
Legal standing is defined as a personal and substantial interest in the case, such that the party has sustained or will sustain direct injury as a result of the challenged act.
Dumdum added that while the complaint for the declaration of Sec. 3 (b) of Presidential Decree 198 as unconstitutional, no notice was sent to the Solicitor General.
“In any action which involves the validity of a statute, executive order or regulation or any other governmental regulation, the Solicitor General shall be notified by the party assailing the same and shall be entitled to be heard upon such question,” he said.
When reached for comment, lawyer Pablo John Garcia, the former governor's son, said they had not received a “notice of finality of judgment.” He added the decision could still be appealed.
/Chief of Reporters Suzzane S. Alueta
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Reyes, Defensor defend gov’t takeover of Boracay properties
By Helen Flores
Publication Date: [Tuesday, September 26, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=276970
Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes said yesterday that resort owners on Boracay island have "technically illegally" acquired their property, since they bought their land prior to the issuance of Presidential Proclamation 1064.
"You cannot own a property until it is declared alienable and disposable, so it is impossible that they have ownership over that land," he told a regular media forum.
Reyes said any disposal of government land before the declaration of "a and d," or alienable and disposable, is illegal.
"Kaya po ‘yung nagbenta sa kanila, binenta sa kanila nang walang karapatan (So those people who sold the land to them, sold the property to them without having the right to do so)," he added.
PP 1064, which was issued in May, classified 60 percent of lots on the island as "forest and agricultural land."
Reports said that the proclamation will pave the way for the government to bid out prized Boracay land even if there are resorts and other business establishments built on them.
Reyes said the declaration of PP 1064 favors resort owners because they will have the right to acquire their land through a public bidding.
However, he also said resort owners have opposed this idea.
"Ang gusto nila ibigay sa kanila — either pre-patent, walang bidding — kasi daw pag nagbidding wala silang pera na pantapat (What they want is for the lots to be given to them — either by pre-patent or without bidding — they said that if there is a bidding process, they will not have the funds to match the bids)," Reyes said.
He also said that only the indigenous people on the island may avail of the land.
He also said that resort owners presented only tax declarations as evidence of occupation, not land titles.
It was earlier reported that former environment secretary and now presidential chief of staff Mike Defensor will get no votes in Boracay island and the entire province of Aklan if he runs for senator in the May 2007 elections due to the government’s stand on the matter of land ownership in Boracay.
"He (Defensor) will get a zero vote from the whole island of Boracay and we will make sure that he gets nothing from the whole of Aklan province as well," Boracay Foundation Inc. chairman and businessman Orlando Sacay said.
Boracay residents and resort owners believe Defensor was the brains and the force behind PP 1064.
Defensor ranked 18th in the June 24 to July 8 Pulse Asia survey for senatorial hopefuls. If the midterm elections push through next year, only 12 senators will be elected to serve for a fixed six-year term.
It was during Defensor’s tenure as environment secretary in 2005 that problems of Boracay residents began. He said their land can be titled, but that the lots should first be auctioned off to potential investors.
On May 22, when Defensor was no longer DENR chief, Mrs. Arroyo signed PP 1064, declaring 628 hectares of the island as forest and agricultural land despite the absence of mangroves and farmland.
Sacay, along with other resort owners and residents, complained that declaring their lots alienable and disposable is unfair. They argued they have "prior vested rights" having developed and improved the island for some 30 years.
Defensor hit back at the group of resort owners and residents criticizing him for the reclassifying of Boracay into "alienable and disposable" and "forest and agricultural land" and justified the issuance of Proclamation No. 1064 by saying it was the only way to give the island’s resort owners and residents, including future investors, an opportunity to own land there.
Land classified as alienable and disposable will be disposed of either through direct selling or public auction — even if there are existing resorts and other business establishments on them.
Defensor said the protesters, particularly Sacay, were being too personal and emotional in trying to protect their structures, which are now classified as standing on government land.
He said it was unreasonable for the resort owners and residents occupying more than 1,000 square meters of land in Boracay to ask the government to just allow them to buy these lots without a public bidding as stated in the Public Land Act.
"That is the only law that we have now on alienable and disposable lands. If you have occupied the land for more than 30 years already, you have the option to buy but if it is 1,000 square meters or more, it should undergo a bidding," Defensor said.
Defensor said the resort owners and residents won before the regional trial court and the Court of Appeals in their petitions seeking land titles, but only "in accordance with the laws, rules and regulations."
"The government owns the land," he said. "The proclamation opens the avenue and opens the opportunity for them to apply for a title. Why would they get mad at me now?"
Defensor said that if the resort owners and residents are afraid to bid for their land, they could also put a value on their structures to discourage others from competing with them: "It will be difficult to bid (out) the structures, so maybe they will get to keep the area they occupy."
He also said that only Congress can pass a law that would allow the Boracay resort owners and residents to own the land in the area by "virtue of time," though he added that "there is nothing like that, except for indigenous peoples."
Defensor said local and foreign investors would want titles for their bank loans and joint ventures to expand operations.
"If they do not want to bid to own the land, it’s okay despite the proclamation," he added. "They can stay there, but without a title. What is their problem with that?"
"Those who would want to shortcut the process, they should not stop those who want to go through a bidding and have a title," Defensor said.
He also urged Sacay to be more circumspect in his pronouncements: "I hope Mr. Sacay will be more honest in what’s happening. He should reveal his true personal situation." — With Aurea Calica
Publication Date: [Tuesday, September 26, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=276970
Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes said yesterday that resort owners on Boracay island have "technically illegally" acquired their property, since they bought their land prior to the issuance of Presidential Proclamation 1064.
"You cannot own a property until it is declared alienable and disposable, so it is impossible that they have ownership over that land," he told a regular media forum.
Reyes said any disposal of government land before the declaration of "a and d," or alienable and disposable, is illegal.
"Kaya po ‘yung nagbenta sa kanila, binenta sa kanila nang walang karapatan (So those people who sold the land to them, sold the property to them without having the right to do so)," he added.
PP 1064, which was issued in May, classified 60 percent of lots on the island as "forest and agricultural land."
Reports said that the proclamation will pave the way for the government to bid out prized Boracay land even if there are resorts and other business establishments built on them.
Reyes said the declaration of PP 1064 favors resort owners because they will have the right to acquire their land through a public bidding.
However, he also said resort owners have opposed this idea.
"Ang gusto nila ibigay sa kanila — either pre-patent, walang bidding — kasi daw pag nagbidding wala silang pera na pantapat (What they want is for the lots to be given to them — either by pre-patent or without bidding — they said that if there is a bidding process, they will not have the funds to match the bids)," Reyes said.
He also said that only the indigenous people on the island may avail of the land.
He also said that resort owners presented only tax declarations as evidence of occupation, not land titles.
It was earlier reported that former environment secretary and now presidential chief of staff Mike Defensor will get no votes in Boracay island and the entire province of Aklan if he runs for senator in the May 2007 elections due to the government’s stand on the matter of land ownership in Boracay.
"He (Defensor) will get a zero vote from the whole island of Boracay and we will make sure that he gets nothing from the whole of Aklan province as well," Boracay Foundation Inc. chairman and businessman Orlando Sacay said.
Boracay residents and resort owners believe Defensor was the brains and the force behind PP 1064.
Defensor ranked 18th in the June 24 to July 8 Pulse Asia survey for senatorial hopefuls. If the midterm elections push through next year, only 12 senators will be elected to serve for a fixed six-year term.
It was during Defensor’s tenure as environment secretary in 2005 that problems of Boracay residents began. He said their land can be titled, but that the lots should first be auctioned off to potential investors.
On May 22, when Defensor was no longer DENR chief, Mrs. Arroyo signed PP 1064, declaring 628 hectares of the island as forest and agricultural land despite the absence of mangroves and farmland.
Sacay, along with other resort owners and residents, complained that declaring their lots alienable and disposable is unfair. They argued they have "prior vested rights" having developed and improved the island for some 30 years.
Defensor hit back at the group of resort owners and residents criticizing him for the reclassifying of Boracay into "alienable and disposable" and "forest and agricultural land" and justified the issuance of Proclamation No. 1064 by saying it was the only way to give the island’s resort owners and residents, including future investors, an opportunity to own land there.
Land classified as alienable and disposable will be disposed of either through direct selling or public auction — even if there are existing resorts and other business establishments on them.
Defensor said the protesters, particularly Sacay, were being too personal and emotional in trying to protect their structures, which are now classified as standing on government land.
He said it was unreasonable for the resort owners and residents occupying more than 1,000 square meters of land in Boracay to ask the government to just allow them to buy these lots without a public bidding as stated in the Public Land Act.
"That is the only law that we have now on alienable and disposable lands. If you have occupied the land for more than 30 years already, you have the option to buy but if it is 1,000 square meters or more, it should undergo a bidding," Defensor said.
Defensor said the resort owners and residents won before the regional trial court and the Court of Appeals in their petitions seeking land titles, but only "in accordance with the laws, rules and regulations."
"The government owns the land," he said. "The proclamation opens the avenue and opens the opportunity for them to apply for a title. Why would they get mad at me now?"
Defensor said that if the resort owners and residents are afraid to bid for their land, they could also put a value on their structures to discourage others from competing with them: "It will be difficult to bid (out) the structures, so maybe they will get to keep the area they occupy."
He also said that only Congress can pass a law that would allow the Boracay resort owners and residents to own the land in the area by "virtue of time," though he added that "there is nothing like that, except for indigenous peoples."
Defensor said local and foreign investors would want titles for their bank loans and joint ventures to expand operations.
"If they do not want to bid to own the land, it’s okay despite the proclamation," he added. "They can stay there, but without a title. What is their problem with that?"
"Those who would want to shortcut the process, they should not stop those who want to go through a bidding and have a title," Defensor said.
He also urged Sacay to be more circumspect in his pronouncements: "I hope Mr. Sacay will be more honest in what’s happening. He should reveal his true personal situation." — With Aurea Calica
Environmentalists score big win in House
First posted 04:38am (Mla time) Sept 26, 2006
By Blanche RiveraInquirer
http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=23084
Editor's Note: Published on page A7 of the September 26, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
ENVIRONMENTALISTS scored a major victory with the approval on third reading by the House of Representatives of the Renewable Energy bill that is designed to combat climate change and reduce the country’s overdependence on imported oil.
The bill, which hurdled the House committee on energy on Sept. 19, promotes the use of clean and renewable indigenous sources of energy, resulting in lower carbon dioxide and other toxic emissions from power generation through fossil fuel.
The World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines, a member of the Renewable Energy Coalition actively campaigning for the passage of the bill, said the landmark legislation would benefit not only the Philippines but the entire planet as the adverse effects of climate change are increasingly being felt.
“This will help prevent dangerous climate change while enhancing the country’s energy security through renewable energy sources like wind, geothermal, biomass, solar and hydropower,” WWF Climate and Energy Program head Raf Senga said in a statement.
A University of the Philippines study commissioned by the WWF-Philippines estimated that the country could save up to $2.9 billion from importing less fossil fuel such as coal and oil if the government increases the share of indigenous renewable energy in power generation mix to 41 percent.
Less than one percent of the entire energy needs of the Philippines are currently sourced from renewable sources such as wind, sun and modern biomass.
The Renewable Energy Bill offers fiscal and non-fiscal incentives such as zero value-added tax and priority dispatch for wind power and other projects that use renewable indigenous energy sources to promote the use of cleaner energy sources.
The passage of the bill in the Lower House came as a new study by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) composed of some 1,500 companies, organizations and institutions in over 50 countries, confirmed the Philippines’ vast wind power potential.
The “Global Wind Energy Outlook 2006” launched in Australia by the GWEC and Greenpeace International said the Philippines had the highest wind energy potential in Southeast Asia.
“The report firmly places wind power as one of the world’s most important energy sources for the 21st century. The Philippines has the potential to become a leading player in this field,” Greenpeace Southeast Asia Climate and Energy campaigner Jasper Inventor said in a separate statement.
The US-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory has placed the Philippines’ wind energy potential at 70,000-MW, which is enough to meet the country’s current energy demand seven times over, according to Greenpeace.
The Renewable Energy Coalition, which kicked off its multi-sectoral campaign for the Renewable Energy Bill last year, has gathered 300,000 signatures from concerned individuals worldwide for its Positibong Alternatibo ang Renewable Energy (P.A.R.E. ni Juan) signature campaign.
By Blanche RiveraInquirer
http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=23084
Editor's Note: Published on page A7 of the September 26, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
ENVIRONMENTALISTS scored a major victory with the approval on third reading by the House of Representatives of the Renewable Energy bill that is designed to combat climate change and reduce the country’s overdependence on imported oil.
The bill, which hurdled the House committee on energy on Sept. 19, promotes the use of clean and renewable indigenous sources of energy, resulting in lower carbon dioxide and other toxic emissions from power generation through fossil fuel.
The World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines, a member of the Renewable Energy Coalition actively campaigning for the passage of the bill, said the landmark legislation would benefit not only the Philippines but the entire planet as the adverse effects of climate change are increasingly being felt.
“This will help prevent dangerous climate change while enhancing the country’s energy security through renewable energy sources like wind, geothermal, biomass, solar and hydropower,” WWF Climate and Energy Program head Raf Senga said in a statement.
A University of the Philippines study commissioned by the WWF-Philippines estimated that the country could save up to $2.9 billion from importing less fossil fuel such as coal and oil if the government increases the share of indigenous renewable energy in power generation mix to 41 percent.
Less than one percent of the entire energy needs of the Philippines are currently sourced from renewable sources such as wind, sun and modern biomass.
The Renewable Energy Bill offers fiscal and non-fiscal incentives such as zero value-added tax and priority dispatch for wind power and other projects that use renewable indigenous energy sources to promote the use of cleaner energy sources.
The passage of the bill in the Lower House came as a new study by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) composed of some 1,500 companies, organizations and institutions in over 50 countries, confirmed the Philippines’ vast wind power potential.
The “Global Wind Energy Outlook 2006” launched in Australia by the GWEC and Greenpeace International said the Philippines had the highest wind energy potential in Southeast Asia.
“The report firmly places wind power as one of the world’s most important energy sources for the 21st century. The Philippines has the potential to become a leading player in this field,” Greenpeace Southeast Asia Climate and Energy campaigner Jasper Inventor said in a separate statement.
The US-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory has placed the Philippines’ wind energy potential at 70,000-MW, which is enough to meet the country’s current energy demand seven times over, according to Greenpeace.
The Renewable Energy Coalition, which kicked off its multi-sectoral campaign for the Renewable Energy Bill last year, has gathered 300,000 signatures from concerned individuals worldwide for its Positibong Alternatibo ang Renewable Energy (P.A.R.E. ni Juan) signature campaign.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Petition vs Vizcaya mining project dismissed
Publication Date: [Monday, September 25, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=276809
BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — A judge here has dismissed the petition of a local environmental group to stop a multimillion-peso mining project in Kasibu town for allegedly having an illegal environmental compliance certificate (ECC).
Judge Vincent Panay of Regional Trial Court Branch 30 found the petition of the Didipio Earth-Saver Multi-Purpose Association (DESAMA) without basis, saying the group failed to exhaust all administrative measures in opposing the ECC issued to the Australasia-Philippines Mining Inc. (APMI), proponent of the gold-copper project in Barangay Didipio, Kasibu town.
The Didipio project, a joint venture between the national government and APMI’s mother company, Climax-Arimco Mining Corp., formally started this month.
It was the first large-scale project granted an ECC following the passage of the Mining Act of 1995.
Last March, with the backing of Catholic bishops in Northern Luzon, DESAMA and other anti-mining advocates led by Bayombong Bishop Ramon Villena filed the special civil action for mandamus, asking the court to cancel APMI’s ECC, in effect stopping the mining venture.
But in his ruling dated Aug. 29, Panay said DESAMA prematurely filed the petition as it apparently could not wait for the decision of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which is mandated to grant, revoke and suspend ECCs.
DESAMA, according to Panay, clearly failed to "exhaust all administrative remedies." — Charlie Lagasca
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=276809
BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — A judge here has dismissed the petition of a local environmental group to stop a multimillion-peso mining project in Kasibu town for allegedly having an illegal environmental compliance certificate (ECC).
Judge Vincent Panay of Regional Trial Court Branch 30 found the petition of the Didipio Earth-Saver Multi-Purpose Association (DESAMA) without basis, saying the group failed to exhaust all administrative measures in opposing the ECC issued to the Australasia-Philippines Mining Inc. (APMI), proponent of the gold-copper project in Barangay Didipio, Kasibu town.
The Didipio project, a joint venture between the national government and APMI’s mother company, Climax-Arimco Mining Corp., formally started this month.
It was the first large-scale project granted an ECC following the passage of the Mining Act of 1995.
Last March, with the backing of Catholic bishops in Northern Luzon, DESAMA and other anti-mining advocates led by Bayombong Bishop Ramon Villena filed the special civil action for mandamus, asking the court to cancel APMI’s ECC, in effect stopping the mining venture.
But in his ruling dated Aug. 29, Panay said DESAMA prematurely filed the petition as it apparently could not wait for the decision of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which is mandated to grant, revoke and suspend ECCs.
DESAMA, according to Panay, clearly failed to "exhaust all administrative remedies." — Charlie Lagasca
Saturday, September 23, 2006
RP has highest wind energy potential in Southeast Asia, new study reveals
By Katherine Adraneda
Publication Date: [Saturday, September 23, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=276615
The Philippines has the highest potential for harnessing wind energy in Southeast Asia, a recent industry study on renewable energy showed.
The study, conducted by the United States-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory, says the Philippines’ wind energy potential of 70,000 megawatts can meet the country’s existing energy demands seven times over.
The report titled "Global Energy Outlook 2006" by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and Greenpeace International said one-third of the world’s electricity can be supplied using wind power, the worldwide use of which may be the key to stopping climate change.
"The report firmly places wind power as one of the world’s most important energy sources for the 21st century," Greenpeace-Southeast Asia climate and energy change campaigner Jasper Inventor said. "The Philippines has the potential to become a leading player in this field."
However, shifting to renewable energy sources like wind power "requires political will on the part of the government to set a legally binding renewable energy target in the renewable energy bill," Inventor added. "Energy policies must also overcome institutional and market biases in favor of coal and fossil fuels."
The country’s peak energy demand is almost 9,000 megawatts a day, Inventor said, adding that only one wind farm of 25 megawatts is installed in the country in Banguil, Ilocos Norte.
Inventor said that while President Arroyo recently secured a commitment from Denmark for Danish assistance in the expansion of the existing wind farm, the Philippines still has a long way to go towards effectively exploiting its substantial wind energy potential.
He added that the country is still a long way from making inroads towards the government-set target of generating just 417 megawatts by harnessing the wind within the next 10 years.
"Greenpeace is calling on the Philippine government to embrace a target that increases the share of renewables to at least 10 percent of the country’s energy needs by 2010," Inventor said. "This is a win-win option for a developing country like the Philippines, which is most vulnerable to the impact of climate change, as well as to threats from rising fossil fuel prices."
He added that less than one percent of the Philippines’ energy needs is taken from renewable resources, such as the wind, sun and biomass. The Philippines also makes use of geothermal and hydroelectric energy as well.
"The renewable energy bill being deliberated in Congress lacks definite targets, which could trigger the much-needed, massive uptake of renewable energy in the country," Inventor said.
GWEC chairman Arthouros Zervos said wind power is the most attractive solution to the world’s energy challenges, as it is clean and fuel-free.
Zervos also said wind power is indigenous and that wind technology is not a dream for the future: "Enough wind blows across the globe to cope with the ever-increasing electricity demand. This report demonstrates that wind technology is not a dream for the future — it is real, it is mature and it can be deployed on a large scale."
Inventor said wind power will significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which is vital in the fight against climate change. Harnessing wind power will also address other challenges faced by developing countries like the Philippines, such as security of energy supplies and the increasing volatility of fossil fuel prices in the world market.
Publication Date: [Saturday, September 23, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=276615
The Philippines has the highest potential for harnessing wind energy in Southeast Asia, a recent industry study on renewable energy showed.
The study, conducted by the United States-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory, says the Philippines’ wind energy potential of 70,000 megawatts can meet the country’s existing energy demands seven times over.
The report titled "Global Energy Outlook 2006" by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and Greenpeace International said one-third of the world’s electricity can be supplied using wind power, the worldwide use of which may be the key to stopping climate change.
"The report firmly places wind power as one of the world’s most important energy sources for the 21st century," Greenpeace-Southeast Asia climate and energy change campaigner Jasper Inventor said. "The Philippines has the potential to become a leading player in this field."
However, shifting to renewable energy sources like wind power "requires political will on the part of the government to set a legally binding renewable energy target in the renewable energy bill," Inventor added. "Energy policies must also overcome institutional and market biases in favor of coal and fossil fuels."
The country’s peak energy demand is almost 9,000 megawatts a day, Inventor said, adding that only one wind farm of 25 megawatts is installed in the country in Banguil, Ilocos Norte.
Inventor said that while President Arroyo recently secured a commitment from Denmark for Danish assistance in the expansion of the existing wind farm, the Philippines still has a long way to go towards effectively exploiting its substantial wind energy potential.
He added that the country is still a long way from making inroads towards the government-set target of generating just 417 megawatts by harnessing the wind within the next 10 years.
"Greenpeace is calling on the Philippine government to embrace a target that increases the share of renewables to at least 10 percent of the country’s energy needs by 2010," Inventor said. "This is a win-win option for a developing country like the Philippines, which is most vulnerable to the impact of climate change, as well as to threats from rising fossil fuel prices."
He added that less than one percent of the Philippines’ energy needs is taken from renewable resources, such as the wind, sun and biomass. The Philippines also makes use of geothermal and hydroelectric energy as well.
"The renewable energy bill being deliberated in Congress lacks definite targets, which could trigger the much-needed, massive uptake of renewable energy in the country," Inventor said.
GWEC chairman Arthouros Zervos said wind power is the most attractive solution to the world’s energy challenges, as it is clean and fuel-free.
Zervos also said wind power is indigenous and that wind technology is not a dream for the future: "Enough wind blows across the globe to cope with the ever-increasing electricity demand. This report demonstrates that wind technology is not a dream for the future — it is real, it is mature and it can be deployed on a large scale."
Inventor said wind power will significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which is vital in the fight against climate change. Harnessing wind power will also address other challenges faced by developing countries like the Philippines, such as security of energy supplies and the increasing volatility of fossil fuel prices in the world market.
Biophysical Aspects of the Solar I-Oil Spill off Guimaras: A StatementThe Philippine Star
09/23/2006
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200610079801.htm
The August 11, 2006 oil spill off Guimaras was such a disaster that it generated unprecedented response, including rapid response from local governments and communities, national government agencies, NGOs and other sectors. However it is a complex problem such that the response should be science-based and properly coordinated.
The oil spill has increased public awareness of oil spills but has also led to many misconceptions. An example of the latter is that the use of dispersants in shallow water habitats and on the organisms themselves is good. There were also contradicting statements issued by certain sectors. Expertise is available but this needs to be harnessed and coordinated. More than a month after the oil spill, the question remains: Are there sufficient resources for response and mitigation?
Given this situation, we the undersigned:
• Recommend an objective analysis of the technical aspects of the oil spill, its impacts and the response (i.e., the science of an oil spill), so that we may learn from it and minimize impacts of future spills.
• Such analysis will evaluate actual Guimaras events against the established first line of action in preventing arrival of the oil along the shoreline by means of containment and removal while at sea; and failing that, regulated application of acceptable dispersants within hours of the spill event. The decision to use dispersants should be done collectively with proper consultation.
• We strongly recommend that the use of dispersants in shallow water habitats such as mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral communities should be avoided given that bunker fuel is not amenable to treatment with dispersants, the toxic effects of dispersants, and their contribution to spreading the impacts over a wider area.
• In these shoreline habitats, the recommended line of action is mechanical or manual removal (following biosafety protocols) followed by bioremediation, in that order. The application of bioremediating agents should follow assessment protocols under the supervision of DOST, DENR and UP Visayas. Application of approved bioremediation could entail simple addition of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers in appropriate doses at appropriate times, as in the successful case studies of the 1978 Amoco Cadiz and 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spills.
• We recommend that a national protocol for responding to spills be formulated with clear responsibilities, accountability, and transparency of the agencies identified.
• We support the designation of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas as the coordinating institution for research.
• We also urge the authorities to remove the remaining oil in the sunken vessel as soon as possible given the likely complications that will occur with the impending shift in the monsoon winds. Note that the option of pumping out of oil is associated with many risks.
• All this must be done with renewed sense of urgency given the likelihood that additional delay until the Northeast monsoon season will further spread the oil to the south and west of Guimaras Strait - to similarly critical areas unaffected so far. This will exacerbate the situation with regards to the environment, and consequently livelihood and human health. Signed by the Participants of the Scientific Meeting on the Biophysical Aspects of the Solar I-Oil Spill off Guimaras, this 15th day of September 2006 at the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department, Tigbauan, Iloilo
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200610079801.htm
The August 11, 2006 oil spill off Guimaras was such a disaster that it generated unprecedented response, including rapid response from local governments and communities, national government agencies, NGOs and other sectors. However it is a complex problem such that the response should be science-based and properly coordinated.
The oil spill has increased public awareness of oil spills but has also led to many misconceptions. An example of the latter is that the use of dispersants in shallow water habitats and on the organisms themselves is good. There were also contradicting statements issued by certain sectors. Expertise is available but this needs to be harnessed and coordinated. More than a month after the oil spill, the question remains: Are there sufficient resources for response and mitigation?
Given this situation, we the undersigned:
• Recommend an objective analysis of the technical aspects of the oil spill, its impacts and the response (i.e., the science of an oil spill), so that we may learn from it and minimize impacts of future spills.
• Such analysis will evaluate actual Guimaras events against the established first line of action in preventing arrival of the oil along the shoreline by means of containment and removal while at sea; and failing that, regulated application of acceptable dispersants within hours of the spill event. The decision to use dispersants should be done collectively with proper consultation.
• We strongly recommend that the use of dispersants in shallow water habitats such as mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral communities should be avoided given that bunker fuel is not amenable to treatment with dispersants, the toxic effects of dispersants, and their contribution to spreading the impacts over a wider area.
• In these shoreline habitats, the recommended line of action is mechanical or manual removal (following biosafety protocols) followed by bioremediation, in that order. The application of bioremediating agents should follow assessment protocols under the supervision of DOST, DENR and UP Visayas. Application of approved bioremediation could entail simple addition of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers in appropriate doses at appropriate times, as in the successful case studies of the 1978 Amoco Cadiz and 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spills.
• We recommend that a national protocol for responding to spills be formulated with clear responsibilities, accountability, and transparency of the agencies identified.
• We support the designation of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas as the coordinating institution for research.
• We also urge the authorities to remove the remaining oil in the sunken vessel as soon as possible given the likely complications that will occur with the impending shift in the monsoon winds. Note that the option of pumping out of oil is associated with many risks.
• All this must be done with renewed sense of urgency given the likelihood that additional delay until the Northeast monsoon season will further spread the oil to the south and west of Guimaras Strait - to similarly critical areas unaffected so far. This will exacerbate the situation with regards to the environment, and consequently livelihood and human health. Signed by the Participants of the Scientific Meeting on the Biophysical Aspects of the Solar I-Oil Spill off Guimaras, this 15th day of September 2006 at the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department, Tigbauan, Iloilo
Friday, September 22, 2006
Senate urged to pass oil pollution bill
Publication Date: [Friday, September 22, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=276463
The Senate was urged yesterday to pass an anti-oil pollution bill in the wake of the Guimaras oil contamination that is destroying the environment not only in that province but in neighboring areas as well.
In making the appeal, Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas said the House passed Bill 4363, or the proposed Oil Pollution Compensation Act, on Nov. 14, 2005 and transmitted it to the Senate that same month.
It has since been awaiting the senators’ action, he said.
The measure, principally authored by Bataan Rep. Antonino Roman, seeks to incorporate as part of Philippine law the provisions of the 1992 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage and the 1992 International Convention on the Establishment of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPCF).
Under the bill, owners of ships that "cause pollution damage or create a grave and imminent threat of causing such damage" would be liable for expenses incurred in cleanup operations at sea or on shore, costs for preventive measures, loss of earnings suffered by owners or users of contaminated areas, damage to human health or loss of life, and environmental damage and cost of rehabilitation and restoration.
Gullas, who is also a House deputy majority leader, said despite the enactment of the Clean Water Act of 2004, which lays down the principle that "polluters must pay," the proposed Oil Pollution Compensation Act must be approved "to effectively enforce liability claims and penalties."
He said the measure would require entities that haul oil in Philippine waters to contribute to the IOPCF.
"In the case of the massive oil spill from the ill-fated MT Solar I in Guimaras, we were lucky that Petron Corp. has been pitching in to the IOPCF. Otherwise, the parties ruined by the spill would have trouble getting immediate and adequate compensation," he said.
The International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund is part of an international regime of liability and compensation for oil spill damage. Under this scheme, the owner of a tanker and/or its insurer is liable up to a certain limit for damage following a spill. If that amount does not cover all admissible claims, further compensation is available from the IOPCF.
The fund is financed by levies on certain types of oil carried by sea. Petron earlier said the fund would make available a total of $315 million to cover "pollution damage" as a result of the Guimaras incident. The amount would cover cleanup costs, spoiled property and consequential losses.
Bill 4363 also defines the liability of ship owners in maximum amounts based on international standards, and depending on the volume of oil discharged and the vessel’s gross tonnage.
It requires a compulsory insurance system for ship owners to cover potential oil spill damage. It would ban from Philippine waters ships carrying over 2,000 tons of oil without valid financial security. — Jess Diaz
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=276463
The Senate was urged yesterday to pass an anti-oil pollution bill in the wake of the Guimaras oil contamination that is destroying the environment not only in that province but in neighboring areas as well.
In making the appeal, Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas said the House passed Bill 4363, or the proposed Oil Pollution Compensation Act, on Nov. 14, 2005 and transmitted it to the Senate that same month.
It has since been awaiting the senators’ action, he said.
The measure, principally authored by Bataan Rep. Antonino Roman, seeks to incorporate as part of Philippine law the provisions of the 1992 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage and the 1992 International Convention on the Establishment of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPCF).
Under the bill, owners of ships that "cause pollution damage or create a grave and imminent threat of causing such damage" would be liable for expenses incurred in cleanup operations at sea or on shore, costs for preventive measures, loss of earnings suffered by owners or users of contaminated areas, damage to human health or loss of life, and environmental damage and cost of rehabilitation and restoration.
Gullas, who is also a House deputy majority leader, said despite the enactment of the Clean Water Act of 2004, which lays down the principle that "polluters must pay," the proposed Oil Pollution Compensation Act must be approved "to effectively enforce liability claims and penalties."
He said the measure would require entities that haul oil in Philippine waters to contribute to the IOPCF.
"In the case of the massive oil spill from the ill-fated MT Solar I in Guimaras, we were lucky that Petron Corp. has been pitching in to the IOPCF. Otherwise, the parties ruined by the spill would have trouble getting immediate and adequate compensation," he said.
The International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund is part of an international regime of liability and compensation for oil spill damage. Under this scheme, the owner of a tanker and/or its insurer is liable up to a certain limit for damage following a spill. If that amount does not cover all admissible claims, further compensation is available from the IOPCF.
The fund is financed by levies on certain types of oil carried by sea. Petron earlier said the fund would make available a total of $315 million to cover "pollution damage" as a result of the Guimaras incident. The amount would cover cleanup costs, spoiled property and consequential losses.
Bill 4363 also defines the liability of ship owners in maximum amounts based on international standards, and depending on the volume of oil discharged and the vessel’s gross tonnage.
It requires a compulsory insurance system for ship owners to cover potential oil spill damage. It would ban from Philippine waters ships carrying over 2,000 tons of oil without valid financial security. — Jess Diaz
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Angelo Reyes’s caveat FROM THE STANDS
By Domini M. Torrevillas
Publication Date: [Thursday, September 21, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=276287
Following in the heels of the successful Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ greening of Philippine highways program, Secretary Angelo T. Reyes is again set to prove that he is the country’s No. One protector of the country’s natural resources. I am referring to his invitation to the world’s 350 leading mining companies to consider investing in the Philippines – but with a caveat. And that is that the Philippines would only welcome mining investments whose proponents (both local and foreign), would strictly follow the country’s mining laws and adopt the best international mining practices. This means that not any Tom, Dick or Josie can start mining operations without observing the country’s laws.
At the opening of the four-day 10th Indaba Mining Conference held in Makati recently, Reyes made it clear that the Philippine government intends to make sure that wealth generation from the mining sector would redound to the good of all – the investors, the government, local communities, and the general population.
Reyes said that the Philippines’ commitment to revitalize mining in the country while ensuring the protection of the environment, as well as social equity in the sharing of the proceeds from mining activities.
The sharing of mining resources can be done, he said, if the country’s metallic and non-metallic mineral resources can be used by downstream Philippine industries as raw materials for finished products, which are ideal for export. The country has about nine million hectares of mineral-rich land.
The conference was attended by investors from mining companies based in Africa and other countries. Local mining players also attended the conference.
Reacting to Reyes’ statement that the govern-ment reserves the right to declare as abandoned mining projects that have failed to take off the ground and to farm them out to others, Martin Benjamin Romualdez, president of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (CMP), said the Chamber of Mines supported Reyes’ "use-it-or-lose-it-policy," and thanked the Secretary for his "recommitment and stream-lining of the government bureaucracy that is essential in moving mining applications and mining projects because this has been the latest stumbling block in the mining industry’s recent history."
As to social equity, Reyes said that local mining contractors are required to spend at lest 10 per cent of their initial capital investments on environment-related infrastructure projects, and three to five per cent of direct mining and milling costs for annual environmental protection. Mining companies, he said, are also now required to conduct test runs under the supervision of the DENR to prove that their operations do not harm the environment.
At the same time, he stressed that the rights of indigenous communities will also be protected by seeking the consent of tribal minorities for mining projects located in their ancestral lands, and by providing them royalty payments each year amounting to at least one per cent of gross revenues form the mine sites.
* * *
Each time I visit my hometown, Gingoog City, I make it a point to have a chat with the mayor. Two weeks ago, I was in the office of Ruth L. Guingona.. Ruth is married Tito Guingona of Butuan City, who became a senator, and then Vice-President.
Now she calls the shots at this city with a voting population of 58,000. A big headache for Ruth is not having enough funds to support projects to give people jobs and improve the city’s infrastructure projects.
A group from China indicated the desire to build a pharmaceutical plant which would hire thousands of workers, but she turned down the offer when she learned that a planned incinerator would cause a lot of health problems for the city residents. "I don’t want people to think of me for many, many years, as the cause of the population’s ill health," she said.
The mini-hydro electric plant that had been on the drawing boards of past administrations still need completion, and she hopes that a study being made by a Swiss group would be finished soon.
People have been lining up for government jobs, Ruthie said .To accommodate requests, she came up with a one-year program of hiring people for one month. Some college graduates settle for cleaning canals and sweeping the public market floors and grounds just to have a few pesos for meals.
The city, though, has become even cleaner. The mayor won and lost friends when she got fruit and vegetable vendors off the streets, saying there was a lot of selling space inside the market. A plan to privatize the market could add revenues for the city.
The city wharf cannot be dredged for lack of money, to allow inter-island vessels to dock, so Ruthie converted it into a pahayahay (a place for relaxation), where families hold picnics and get-togethers, with a band playing and stores selling goodies.
She has started making a dream-jamboree city in Lunotan, near Mt. Balatukan, where boy scouts and other groups can hold camping/conferences.
When she assumed office, there was little, if at all, money in the city coffers. The city budget is only P300-million – definitely not enough to meet the needs of the city. There was only one ambulance, so she had to buy two pick-up trucks, had they air-conditioned, to serve as ambulances. The fire department had no fire trucks, so she bought five units with borrowed money. There were only two dump trucks to service 79 barangays. She still has 400 kilometers of roads to be cemented; right now one lane is being constructed to allow habal-habals to pass through.
In the works are plans to rehabilitate the old market and set up stores for products with the Tatak Gingoog label. People are encouraged to plant lawi (a species of bamboo) for broomsticks which can be marketed outside of the city. To help farmers there is a goat, carabao, piglet and chicken dispersal program.
"I ask the people to have a little patience," she said. "Development will come, but it will come slowly because of lack of funds."
She comes to the office before 7 in the morning, and she enjoys having a "social hour" with the kagawads every Thursday afternoon. They tell jokes and about the next day’s session. The meetings, she said, has resulted in "harmony among members of the city council."
"The job of mayor is no fun," Ruthie said. But she would like to run again in the next election in order to continue the programs started in her time. She has asked husband Tito, who has been complaining that she has no time left for him, to allow her to run a second time.
* * *
The Wild Bird club of the Philippines (WBCP) is sponsoring the 2nd Philippine Bird Festival with the theme, "Endemik: Dito Lang sa Pinas" aimed at focusing attention on conserving endemic bird species of the Philippines, bird-watching and responsible appreciation of nature.
The festival will be held September 22 and 23 at the Crossroad 77 Convenarium, Mother Ignacia Ave., cor. Scout Reyes St., Q.C., It will feature exhibits of WBCP) and 14 participating conservation groups and social development foundations, screenings of award winning entries of the 2006 Moonrise Film Festival, free public lectures on bird-watching and nature conservation, merchandise, and an arts activity center for the young.
There are more than 570 species of birds in the Philippines, no fewer than 180 species are found only in the archipelago. The endemic birds include the Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker and the White-Eared Brown Dove which are present in a number of parks and wooded areas in Metro Manila.
* * *
My email: dominimt2000@yahoo.com
Publication Date: [Thursday, September 21, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=276287
Following in the heels of the successful Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ greening of Philippine highways program, Secretary Angelo T. Reyes is again set to prove that he is the country’s No. One protector of the country’s natural resources. I am referring to his invitation to the world’s 350 leading mining companies to consider investing in the Philippines – but with a caveat. And that is that the Philippines would only welcome mining investments whose proponents (both local and foreign), would strictly follow the country’s mining laws and adopt the best international mining practices. This means that not any Tom, Dick or Josie can start mining operations without observing the country’s laws.
At the opening of the four-day 10th Indaba Mining Conference held in Makati recently, Reyes made it clear that the Philippine government intends to make sure that wealth generation from the mining sector would redound to the good of all – the investors, the government, local communities, and the general population.
Reyes said that the Philippines’ commitment to revitalize mining in the country while ensuring the protection of the environment, as well as social equity in the sharing of the proceeds from mining activities.
The sharing of mining resources can be done, he said, if the country’s metallic and non-metallic mineral resources can be used by downstream Philippine industries as raw materials for finished products, which are ideal for export. The country has about nine million hectares of mineral-rich land.
The conference was attended by investors from mining companies based in Africa and other countries. Local mining players also attended the conference.
Reacting to Reyes’ statement that the govern-ment reserves the right to declare as abandoned mining projects that have failed to take off the ground and to farm them out to others, Martin Benjamin Romualdez, president of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (CMP), said the Chamber of Mines supported Reyes’ "use-it-or-lose-it-policy," and thanked the Secretary for his "recommitment and stream-lining of the government bureaucracy that is essential in moving mining applications and mining projects because this has been the latest stumbling block in the mining industry’s recent history."
As to social equity, Reyes said that local mining contractors are required to spend at lest 10 per cent of their initial capital investments on environment-related infrastructure projects, and three to five per cent of direct mining and milling costs for annual environmental protection. Mining companies, he said, are also now required to conduct test runs under the supervision of the DENR to prove that their operations do not harm the environment.
At the same time, he stressed that the rights of indigenous communities will also be protected by seeking the consent of tribal minorities for mining projects located in their ancestral lands, and by providing them royalty payments each year amounting to at least one per cent of gross revenues form the mine sites.
* * *
Each time I visit my hometown, Gingoog City, I make it a point to have a chat with the mayor. Two weeks ago, I was in the office of Ruth L. Guingona.. Ruth is married Tito Guingona of Butuan City, who became a senator, and then Vice-President.
Now she calls the shots at this city with a voting population of 58,000. A big headache for Ruth is not having enough funds to support projects to give people jobs and improve the city’s infrastructure projects.
A group from China indicated the desire to build a pharmaceutical plant which would hire thousands of workers, but she turned down the offer when she learned that a planned incinerator would cause a lot of health problems for the city residents. "I don’t want people to think of me for many, many years, as the cause of the population’s ill health," she said.
The mini-hydro electric plant that had been on the drawing boards of past administrations still need completion, and she hopes that a study being made by a Swiss group would be finished soon.
People have been lining up for government jobs, Ruthie said .To accommodate requests, she came up with a one-year program of hiring people for one month. Some college graduates settle for cleaning canals and sweeping the public market floors and grounds just to have a few pesos for meals.
The city, though, has become even cleaner. The mayor won and lost friends when she got fruit and vegetable vendors off the streets, saying there was a lot of selling space inside the market. A plan to privatize the market could add revenues for the city.
The city wharf cannot be dredged for lack of money, to allow inter-island vessels to dock, so Ruthie converted it into a pahayahay (a place for relaxation), where families hold picnics and get-togethers, with a band playing and stores selling goodies.
She has started making a dream-jamboree city in Lunotan, near Mt. Balatukan, where boy scouts and other groups can hold camping/conferences.
When she assumed office, there was little, if at all, money in the city coffers. The city budget is only P300-million – definitely not enough to meet the needs of the city. There was only one ambulance, so she had to buy two pick-up trucks, had they air-conditioned, to serve as ambulances. The fire department had no fire trucks, so she bought five units with borrowed money. There were only two dump trucks to service 79 barangays. She still has 400 kilometers of roads to be cemented; right now one lane is being constructed to allow habal-habals to pass through.
In the works are plans to rehabilitate the old market and set up stores for products with the Tatak Gingoog label. People are encouraged to plant lawi (a species of bamboo) for broomsticks which can be marketed outside of the city. To help farmers there is a goat, carabao, piglet and chicken dispersal program.
"I ask the people to have a little patience," she said. "Development will come, but it will come slowly because of lack of funds."
She comes to the office before 7 in the morning, and she enjoys having a "social hour" with the kagawads every Thursday afternoon. They tell jokes and about the next day’s session. The meetings, she said, has resulted in "harmony among members of the city council."
"The job of mayor is no fun," Ruthie said. But she would like to run again in the next election in order to continue the programs started in her time. She has asked husband Tito, who has been complaining that she has no time left for him, to allow her to run a second time.
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The Wild Bird club of the Philippines (WBCP) is sponsoring the 2nd Philippine Bird Festival with the theme, "Endemik: Dito Lang sa Pinas" aimed at focusing attention on conserving endemic bird species of the Philippines, bird-watching and responsible appreciation of nature.
The festival will be held September 22 and 23 at the Crossroad 77 Convenarium, Mother Ignacia Ave., cor. Scout Reyes St., Q.C., It will feature exhibits of WBCP) and 14 participating conservation groups and social development foundations, screenings of award winning entries of the 2006 Moonrise Film Festival, free public lectures on bird-watching and nature conservation, merchandise, and an arts activity center for the young.
There are more than 570 species of birds in the Philippines, no fewer than 180 species are found only in the archipelago. The endemic birds include the Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker and the White-Eared Brown Dove which are present in a number of parks and wooded areas in Metro Manila.
* * *
My email: dominimt2000@yahoo.com
Petron ships out 500MT of oil-covered debris from Guimaras
By Donnabelle L. Gatdula
Publication Date: [Thursday, September 21, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=276293
Petron Corp. reported yesterday that it has shipped out some 500 metric tons (MT) of oil-covered debris as part of its overall clean-up operations in Guimaras.
In a press statement, Petron said a landing craft tanker (LCT) with a capacity of 2,000 metric tons left the Cabalagnan Wharf in Nueva Valencia last Wednesday.
The LCT will bring the debris to Holcim Philippines‚ Lugait plant in Misamis Oriental where it will be used as an alternative fuel and raw material in cement production without compromising the quality of cement.
The oil firm noted that the high technology plant will convert the oil-covered debris into energy without producing any hazardous compounds or fumes.
Petron said Holcim has had experience in handling, storing and co-processing of similar materials locally and globally. The global cement manufacturing company is committed to the safe and proper co-processing of waste without compromising the quality of its product and the environment. Holcim’s operations are supported by its compliance with all requirements, permits and environmental regulations by government.
Since the end of August, Petron has deployed 15 dump trucks to haul the debris collected from the affected barangays in Guimaras. The company aims to complete disposal operations as soon as possible.
"As we have earlier stressed, we are committed to the people of Guimaras and we will continue our clean-up operations. We have been working closely with the provincial government, the DOH and DENR to expedite the transfer and disposal of the waste from the island," Petron’s health, safety and environment manager Caloy V.
Tan said. Tan said the company has secured the necessary environmental permits to transport the debris. The vessel has also been cleared by the Marina, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine Ports Authority and the EMB-DENR.
Earlier, Petron released "A Guide for Recovery and Disposition of Oil Debris" which was approved by the Environment and Natural Resources Office of the Guimaras provincial government (PG-ENRO).
Publication Date: [Thursday, September 21, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=276293
Petron Corp. reported yesterday that it has shipped out some 500 metric tons (MT) of oil-covered debris as part of its overall clean-up operations in Guimaras.
In a press statement, Petron said a landing craft tanker (LCT) with a capacity of 2,000 metric tons left the Cabalagnan Wharf in Nueva Valencia last Wednesday.
The LCT will bring the debris to Holcim Philippines‚ Lugait plant in Misamis Oriental where it will be used as an alternative fuel and raw material in cement production without compromising the quality of cement.
The oil firm noted that the high technology plant will convert the oil-covered debris into energy without producing any hazardous compounds or fumes.
Petron said Holcim has had experience in handling, storing and co-processing of similar materials locally and globally. The global cement manufacturing company is committed to the safe and proper co-processing of waste without compromising the quality of its product and the environment. Holcim’s operations are supported by its compliance with all requirements, permits and environmental regulations by government.
Since the end of August, Petron has deployed 15 dump trucks to haul the debris collected from the affected barangays in Guimaras. The company aims to complete disposal operations as soon as possible.
"As we have earlier stressed, we are committed to the people of Guimaras and we will continue our clean-up operations. We have been working closely with the provincial government, the DOH and DENR to expedite the transfer and disposal of the waste from the island," Petron’s health, safety and environment manager Caloy V.
Tan said. Tan said the company has secured the necessary environmental permits to transport the debris. The vessel has also been cleared by the Marina, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine Ports Authority and the EMB-DENR.
Earlier, Petron released "A Guide for Recovery and Disposition of Oil Debris" which was approved by the Environment and Natural Resources Office of the Guimaras provincial government (PG-ENRO).
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
ANALYSIS - Policy drift slows mining revival
First posted 04:05pm (Mla time) Sept 20, 2006
By Dolly Aglay Reuters
http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=22092
INSURGENCIES and lawlessness have not completely deterred mining companies seeking to invest in the resource-rich Philippines, but uncertainty over the country's policies for the industry has cast a pall.
The Philippines, believed to have $1 trillion worth of unexplored copper, gold and nickel, has secured only $500 million from mostly foreign firms in 24 priority mining projects since last year.
In January last year, the government finally enforced a new, investor-friendly mining act after it was caught up for years in courts. But it has now ordered a review of the law after challenges by powerful local interests.
Analysts say the government has to speed up the review if it wants investors to pour the bulk of the $6.5 billion Manila says the country needed to revive its once lucrative minerals sector.
"The interest in mining is overwhelming," Astro del Castillo, managing director at local investment firm First Grade Holdings, said.
"However, investors' patience is thinning due to regulatory issues such as the proposed revision of the Mining Act and challenges posed by the church and environmental groups," Castillo added.
The Philippines' mining revitalization campaign was sidetracked by two cyanide leaks in October at the copper and gold mine run by Australia's Lafayette Mining Ltd. in Rapu-Rapu island, southeast of Manila.
Under pressure from the powerful Roman Catholic church, Manila said in May this year it would review its 1995 Mining Act that allows foreign firms 100-percent ownership in local projects from 40 percent previously.
Environmental safeguards were cited as an issue. That review remains pending in both houses of Congress, and it may take months before investors can gauge whether there will be drastic changes in the law.
"I think it's not so much politics, but policy uncertainties, that will affect investment, as we are a little unsure on where the government stands right now," said Peter Wallace, head of private think-tank Wallace Business Forum.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who last year weathered an impeachment attempt over charges of vote-rigging and graft, is pushing for the revival of mining to cut the government's $79 billion debt but must be careful to stay on good terms with the bishops.
POLICY SHIFT?
The problems hounding mining investment in the country was brought into the open last week, when a letter of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines was leaked to the media.
The chamber said it had postponed its scheduled mining conference on Oct. 3-5 this year to 2007 because of "a seeming policy shift from active promotion of the previous two years to one of cautious re-consideration of policy reforms."
The chamber said Manila had announced a moratorium on new projects outside the 24 priority ones.
A promised one-stop shop in granting permits is also not happening, and four provinces in the country have passed resolutions banning mining in their areas, the chamber said.
The perceived policy shift "has led mining companies to believe and confirm their early suspicions that investment policies in the Philippines are not stable and are heightened by high political risks," chamber president Benjamin Philip Romualdez said in his letter to Arroyo dated Aug. 29.
Other industry executives say red tape in the approval of permits by both local and national governments and opposition by small-scale miners are also slowing the rehabilitation of existing mines and the development of new ones.
Many foreign companies have been put off in previous years by political turmoil, corruption, and insurgencies by Muslim and communist rebels. Many areas rich in mineral deposits are in the south of the country, where Muslim rebels, communist insurgents and bandits operate.
UNFAZED
Despite the risks, mining majors looking to expand production because of high gold and industrial metal prices in the world market are keen to break ground in the Philippines.
These investors included Rio Tinto, the world's second-largest mining firm, and Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd., the world's fifth-biggest gold producer.
Other new investors who have expressed interest in the Philippines are Canada's Chemical Vapour Metal Refining Inc. and Jilin Nickel Group, China's second-largest nickel producer.
China's largest nickel producer, Jinchuan Group Ltd., and its largest steel producer, Baosteel Group, have already agreed to invest $1 billion to reopen the shuttered Nonoc nickel refinery in the southern Philippines.
"There are very few countries where there are no risks, so you have to weigh up the risks and you have to see whether you can accept those risks, manage those risks, and still end up with profitable mining operations," said Terry Burgess, head of the business development division of Anglo American Plc.
Anglo is in a joint venture with Philex Mining Corp. to develop the Boyongan copper deposit in the southern Philippines, one of the government's 24 priority projects.
"Mining companies are used to operating in very difficult conditions, both geographically and politically," Wallace said.
"But I still want to see the actual money coming in and the commitment made before I am fully convinced."
By Dolly Aglay Reuters
http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=22092
INSURGENCIES and lawlessness have not completely deterred mining companies seeking to invest in the resource-rich Philippines, but uncertainty over the country's policies for the industry has cast a pall.
The Philippines, believed to have $1 trillion worth of unexplored copper, gold and nickel, has secured only $500 million from mostly foreign firms in 24 priority mining projects since last year.
In January last year, the government finally enforced a new, investor-friendly mining act after it was caught up for years in courts. But it has now ordered a review of the law after challenges by powerful local interests.
Analysts say the government has to speed up the review if it wants investors to pour the bulk of the $6.5 billion Manila says the country needed to revive its once lucrative minerals sector.
"The interest in mining is overwhelming," Astro del Castillo, managing director at local investment firm First Grade Holdings, said.
"However, investors' patience is thinning due to regulatory issues such as the proposed revision of the Mining Act and challenges posed by the church and environmental groups," Castillo added.
The Philippines' mining revitalization campaign was sidetracked by two cyanide leaks in October at the copper and gold mine run by Australia's Lafayette Mining Ltd. in Rapu-Rapu island, southeast of Manila.
Under pressure from the powerful Roman Catholic church, Manila said in May this year it would review its 1995 Mining Act that allows foreign firms 100-percent ownership in local projects from 40 percent previously.
Environmental safeguards were cited as an issue. That review remains pending in both houses of Congress, and it may take months before investors can gauge whether there will be drastic changes in the law.
"I think it's not so much politics, but policy uncertainties, that will affect investment, as we are a little unsure on where the government stands right now," said Peter Wallace, head of private think-tank Wallace Business Forum.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who last year weathered an impeachment attempt over charges of vote-rigging and graft, is pushing for the revival of mining to cut the government's $79 billion debt but must be careful to stay on good terms with the bishops.
POLICY SHIFT?
The problems hounding mining investment in the country was brought into the open last week, when a letter of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines was leaked to the media.
The chamber said it had postponed its scheduled mining conference on Oct. 3-5 this year to 2007 because of "a seeming policy shift from active promotion of the previous two years to one of cautious re-consideration of policy reforms."
The chamber said Manila had announced a moratorium on new projects outside the 24 priority ones.
A promised one-stop shop in granting permits is also not happening, and four provinces in the country have passed resolutions banning mining in their areas, the chamber said.
The perceived policy shift "has led mining companies to believe and confirm their early suspicions that investment policies in the Philippines are not stable and are heightened by high political risks," chamber president Benjamin Philip Romualdez said in his letter to Arroyo dated Aug. 29.
Other industry executives say red tape in the approval of permits by both local and national governments and opposition by small-scale miners are also slowing the rehabilitation of existing mines and the development of new ones.
Many foreign companies have been put off in previous years by political turmoil, corruption, and insurgencies by Muslim and communist rebels. Many areas rich in mineral deposits are in the south of the country, where Muslim rebels, communist insurgents and bandits operate.
UNFAZED
Despite the risks, mining majors looking to expand production because of high gold and industrial metal prices in the world market are keen to break ground in the Philippines.
These investors included Rio Tinto, the world's second-largest mining firm, and Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd., the world's fifth-biggest gold producer.
Other new investors who have expressed interest in the Philippines are Canada's Chemical Vapour Metal Refining Inc. and Jilin Nickel Group, China's second-largest nickel producer.
China's largest nickel producer, Jinchuan Group Ltd., and its largest steel producer, Baosteel Group, have already agreed to invest $1 billion to reopen the shuttered Nonoc nickel refinery in the southern Philippines.
"There are very few countries where there are no risks, so you have to weigh up the risks and you have to see whether you can accept those risks, manage those risks, and still end up with profitable mining operations," said Terry Burgess, head of the business development division of Anglo American Plc.
Anglo is in a joint venture with Philex Mining Corp. to develop the Boyongan copper deposit in the southern Philippines, one of the government's 24 priority projects.
"Mining companies are used to operating in very difficult conditions, both geographically and politically," Wallace said.
"But I still want to see the actual money coming in and the commitment made before I am fully convinced."
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
World Bank under scrutiny over mining investment
First posted 04:01pm (Mla time) Sept 19, 2006
Agence France-Presse
http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=21890
SINGAPORE -- The World Bank came under pressure Tuesday to justify its investment in mining projects which non-government organizations (NGOs) charged does little to alleviate poverty and wreaks environmental havoc.
"Mining does not have a good record of contributing to sustainable development or poverty reduction," said the report from non-governmental organizations including British-based Oxfam International.
It referred to one of the Bank's own studies in 2001 which said that countries dependent on mineral exports tend to have lower growth rates and living standards, and higher rates of poverty and income disparity.
Mining also causes significant environmental damage. A typical modern gold mine uses large open pits and cyanide to extract gold from ore, the NGOs said.
"Pollution caused by mining can last for thousands of years, destroying forever land and water resources that local communities depend on for their livelihoods," said the report, handed out at the International Monetary Fund-World Bank (IMF-WB) annual meeting.
The Bank's private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), currently releases a broad report on its investments in the mining industry but the NGOs urged it to provide more in-depth information to spell out any benefits.
"We challenge the IFC to prove its development impact and account for its ongoing investment throughout the past five decades in one of the world's most socially and environmentally destructive industries: gold mining," they said.
They cited a recent study published by the journal Environmental Science and Technology which found that chemical residues from mining more than 800 years ago are still contaminating water supplies in southern France.
The IFC, a World Bank unit that provides loans and equity investments to the private sector, argues that revenues from the mining industry enable governments to fund programs aimed at reducing poverty.
Mines also provide employment and has spillover development effects in the communities around them, it says.
But the NGOs argued that it was difficult to gauge whether the IFC-supported gold mining projects actually deliver the benefits claimed because the IFC refuses to publicly report the results on a project-by-project basis.
The IFC has invested more than 100 million dollars in Newmont Mining Corp.'s Yanacocha gold mine in Cajamarca in Peru and 45 million dollars in the Marlin gold and silver mine in Guatemala, the report said.
It also approved loans totaling 125 million dollars to Newmont Mining's Ahafo gold mine in Ghana and the Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan has received 40 million of dollars in loans and equity investments.
"In none of these cases has the IFC demonstrated that poverty reduction and development benefits generated by the projects outweigh their negative impacts," the NGO report said.
Mine operations also typically require only a small number of skilled workers for positions not usually suited to poor local workers, it said.
Agence France-Presse
http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=21890
SINGAPORE -- The World Bank came under pressure Tuesday to justify its investment in mining projects which non-government organizations (NGOs) charged does little to alleviate poverty and wreaks environmental havoc.
"Mining does not have a good record of contributing to sustainable development or poverty reduction," said the report from non-governmental organizations including British-based Oxfam International.
It referred to one of the Bank's own studies in 2001 which said that countries dependent on mineral exports tend to have lower growth rates and living standards, and higher rates of poverty and income disparity.
Mining also causes significant environmental damage. A typical modern gold mine uses large open pits and cyanide to extract gold from ore, the NGOs said.
"Pollution caused by mining can last for thousands of years, destroying forever land and water resources that local communities depend on for their livelihoods," said the report, handed out at the International Monetary Fund-World Bank (IMF-WB) annual meeting.
The Bank's private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), currently releases a broad report on its investments in the mining industry but the NGOs urged it to provide more in-depth information to spell out any benefits.
"We challenge the IFC to prove its development impact and account for its ongoing investment throughout the past five decades in one of the world's most socially and environmentally destructive industries: gold mining," they said.
They cited a recent study published by the journal Environmental Science and Technology which found that chemical residues from mining more than 800 years ago are still contaminating water supplies in southern France.
The IFC, a World Bank unit that provides loans and equity investments to the private sector, argues that revenues from the mining industry enable governments to fund programs aimed at reducing poverty.
Mines also provide employment and has spillover development effects in the communities around them, it says.
But the NGOs argued that it was difficult to gauge whether the IFC-supported gold mining projects actually deliver the benefits claimed because the IFC refuses to publicly report the results on a project-by-project basis.
The IFC has invested more than 100 million dollars in Newmont Mining Corp.'s Yanacocha gold mine in Cajamarca in Peru and 45 million dollars in the Marlin gold and silver mine in Guatemala, the report said.
It also approved loans totaling 125 million dollars to Newmont Mining's Ahafo gold mine in Ghana and the Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan has received 40 million of dollars in loans and equity investments.
"In none of these cases has the IFC demonstrated that poverty reduction and development benefits generated by the projects outweigh their negative impacts," the NGO report said.
Mine operations also typically require only a small number of skilled workers for positions not usually suited to poor local workers, it said.
Australia boosts Guimaras aid fund
Publication Date: [Tuesday, September 19, 2006]
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=275940
Australia is contributing $147,400 in emergency aid to the Philippines following a major oil spill in waters off Guimaras province that displaced thousands of residents and damaged pristine marine environments.
The Australian embassy said the fund would be used to provide shelter, food and school supplies for children in the worst-affected areas. The money would also be used to fund day-care centers and buy tents, medicine, water and sanitation equipment, the embassy statement added.
The aid package was pledged after the tanker Solar I sank in rough seas off Guimaras island on Aug. 11, spilling some of its 500,000 gallons of industrial fuel oil and forcing 39,000 people from their homes.
The oil spill has affected residents in 58 villages of Guimaras and the nearby province of Iloilo, and threatens 37 more towns in Iloilo and two other provinces, according to the latest figures released by the National Disaster Coordinating Council.
The spill has damaged 1,143 hectares of marine reserve, 234 kilometers of coastline, 478 hectares of mangroves, and nearly 16 square kms of coral reef, the agency added.
Some P68.65 million have been spent so far to assist displaced residents and to clean up the environment, the NDCC said.
Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said yesterday a fact-finding panel is now looking at the possible involvement of ship captain Norberto Aguro and his crew in the smuggling of oil through pilferage.
At a press conference, Gonzalez said the hole in the sunken M/T Solar I off Guimaras was man-made and had been deliberately punctured.
Gonzalez said a report of Justice Undersecretary Fidel Esconde Jr. quoted maritime industry sources as saying that an underwater video survey of Solar I taken by the Japanese ship Shinsei Maru showed that the tanker was used in oil pilferage.
"The video allegedly showed the following: a hole of triangular shape in the port side of the M/T Solar I, scratches on different parts of Solar I, and open valves on some compartments where the transported oil was stored," Gonzalez quoted Esconde’s report, dated Sept. 15.
Esconde said these findings bolster the theory that another ship was traveling alongside Solar I when it sank, and it probably caused the triangular hole in the hull of Solar I.
"Moreover, these findings also point out to the possibility that the unknown vessel traveling alongside M/T Solar was engaged in paihi operation," he said.
"Industry sources claimed that the people behind the paihi operation most likely used submersible pumps, the same type of pumps used to dewater M/T Solar I, to illegally pilfer bunker fuel oil."
Esconde also told Gonzalez that the video taken on the sunken ship allegedly showed that the valves for the compartments where they stored oil were open.
"The valves are supposed to be closed and are even sealed to prevent pilferage," he said.
"To verify all these reports, the Special Task Force on Guimaras oil spill will issue a subpoena to the Philippine Coast Guard to produce a copy of the said video currently in their custody," he said.
Gonzalez said aside from Aguro, the fact-finding panel will also call back to testify Aguro’s crew and some officials of the Sunshine Maritime Development Corp., owner of Solar I.
"That is an angle that they are looking at now because there had been many complaints of smuggling through the same process, except in this case, the boat sank," he said. "All these circumstances point to smuggling."
If this was the case, Petron which leased the Solar I could be the victim, being the owner of the oil that was pilfered, Gonzalez said.
On the other hand, Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes has ordered the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) to "take cognizance" of the oil spill off Guimaras island.
Lawyer Jonas Leones, PAB secretary and legal counsel, said the order of Reyes means that the PAB could now assume jurisdiction over the pollution cases involved in the oil spill.
The PAB is a quasi-judicial body of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to hear pollution cases, he added.
Meanwhile, the regional office of the Environment Management Bureau (EMB) yesterday submitted its report, including assessment of the pollution impact of the oil spill, and recommendation to the PAB.
The report and recommendation might serve as a complaint against Sunshine Maritime Development Corp. and Petron Corp., said Julian Amador, DENR Western Visayas executive director.
"But we will still be discussing the strategy with the PAB... whether to consider the report and recommendation as the complaint," he said.
Leones said that the report and recommendation of the regional office would be used as the basis of the PAB for the imposition of fines and sanctions, possibly against SMDC and Petron.
"Our laws are not that clear (specifically) on jurisdiction issues so we have to be careful on dealing with this," he said, pointing out the authority of other government agencies like the Marina on the incident.
Leones said the PAB would meet on Thursday to calendar the discussion on the report and recommendation of the DENR and EMB in Western Visayas.
"But we are ready for this and we will give due course on this," he said.
Initially, violation of Republic Act 9275, the Clean Water Act, and Presidential Decree 979 banning marine pollution would be looked into in the PAB’s investigation of the incident, Leones said.
Leones said under the Clean Water Act, violators might be slapped with fines from at least P50,000 to as much as P3 million per day.
As for the impact of the oil spill on marine life, the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau is still conducting its assessment, he added. Leones said sanctions on the impact of the oil spill on marine life could be based on Republic Act 9147, the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act and Wildlife Resources Conservation Act. The SMDC and Petron might not be sanctioned under Republic Act 6969, the Toxic and Hazardous Waste Act because the transport of the bunker oil was not illegal, he added. — AP,
Jose Rodel Clapano, Katherine Adraneda
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=275940
Australia is contributing $147,400 in emergency aid to the Philippines following a major oil spill in waters off Guimaras province that displaced thousands of residents and damaged pristine marine environments.
The Australian embassy said the fund would be used to provide shelter, food and school supplies for children in the worst-affected areas. The money would also be used to fund day-care centers and buy tents, medicine, water and sanitation equipment, the embassy statement added.
The aid package was pledged after the tanker Solar I sank in rough seas off Guimaras island on Aug. 11, spilling some of its 500,000 gallons of industrial fuel oil and forcing 39,000 people from their homes.
The oil spill has affected residents in 58 villages of Guimaras and the nearby province of Iloilo, and threatens 37 more towns in Iloilo and two other provinces, according to the latest figures released by the National Disaster Coordinating Council.
The spill has damaged 1,143 hectares of marine reserve, 234 kilometers of coastline, 478 hectares of mangroves, and nearly 16 square kms of coral reef, the agency added.
Some P68.65 million have been spent so far to assist displaced residents and to clean up the environment, the NDCC said.
Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said yesterday a fact-finding panel is now looking at the possible involvement of ship captain Norberto Aguro and his crew in the smuggling of oil through pilferage.
At a press conference, Gonzalez said the hole in the sunken M/T Solar I off Guimaras was man-made and had been deliberately punctured.
Gonzalez said a report of Justice Undersecretary Fidel Esconde Jr. quoted maritime industry sources as saying that an underwater video survey of Solar I taken by the Japanese ship Shinsei Maru showed that the tanker was used in oil pilferage.
"The video allegedly showed the following: a hole of triangular shape in the port side of the M/T Solar I, scratches on different parts of Solar I, and open valves on some compartments where the transported oil was stored," Gonzalez quoted Esconde’s report, dated Sept. 15.
Esconde said these findings bolster the theory that another ship was traveling alongside Solar I when it sank, and it probably caused the triangular hole in the hull of Solar I.
"Moreover, these findings also point out to the possibility that the unknown vessel traveling alongside M/T Solar was engaged in paihi operation," he said.
"Industry sources claimed that the people behind the paihi operation most likely used submersible pumps, the same type of pumps used to dewater M/T Solar I, to illegally pilfer bunker fuel oil."
Esconde also told Gonzalez that the video taken on the sunken ship allegedly showed that the valves for the compartments where they stored oil were open.
"The valves are supposed to be closed and are even sealed to prevent pilferage," he said.
"To verify all these reports, the Special Task Force on Guimaras oil spill will issue a subpoena to the Philippine Coast Guard to produce a copy of the said video currently in their custody," he said.
Gonzalez said aside from Aguro, the fact-finding panel will also call back to testify Aguro’s crew and some officials of the Sunshine Maritime Development Corp., owner of Solar I.
"That is an angle that they are looking at now because there had been many complaints of smuggling through the same process, except in this case, the boat sank," he said. "All these circumstances point to smuggling."
If this was the case, Petron which leased the Solar I could be the victim, being the owner of the oil that was pilfered, Gonzalez said.
On the other hand, Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes has ordered the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) to "take cognizance" of the oil spill off Guimaras island.
Lawyer Jonas Leones, PAB secretary and legal counsel, said the order of Reyes means that the PAB could now assume jurisdiction over the pollution cases involved in the oil spill.
The PAB is a quasi-judicial body of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to hear pollution cases, he added.
Meanwhile, the regional office of the Environment Management Bureau (EMB) yesterday submitted its report, including assessment of the pollution impact of the oil spill, and recommendation to the PAB.
The report and recommendation might serve as a complaint against Sunshine Maritime Development Corp. and Petron Corp., said Julian Amador, DENR Western Visayas executive director.
"But we will still be discussing the strategy with the PAB... whether to consider the report and recommendation as the complaint," he said.
Leones said that the report and recommendation of the regional office would be used as the basis of the PAB for the imposition of fines and sanctions, possibly against SMDC and Petron.
"Our laws are not that clear (specifically) on jurisdiction issues so we have to be careful on dealing with this," he said, pointing out the authority of other government agencies like the Marina on the incident.
Leones said the PAB would meet on Thursday to calendar the discussion on the report and recommendation of the DENR and EMB in Western Visayas.
"But we are ready for this and we will give due course on this," he said.
Initially, violation of Republic Act 9275, the Clean Water Act, and Presidential Decree 979 banning marine pollution would be looked into in the PAB’s investigation of the incident, Leones said.
Leones said under the Clean Water Act, violators might be slapped with fines from at least P50,000 to as much as P3 million per day.
As for the impact of the oil spill on marine life, the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau is still conducting its assessment, he added. Leones said sanctions on the impact of the oil spill on marine life could be based on Republic Act 9147, the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act and Wildlife Resources Conservation Act. The SMDC and Petron might not be sanctioned under Republic Act 6969, the Toxic and Hazardous Waste Act because the transport of the bunker oil was not illegal, he added. — AP,
Jose Rodel Clapano, Katherine Adraneda
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