Friday, October 6, 2023

Retards in the Government 330

It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.

 

 

https://www.panaynews.net/for-inaction-on-city-hall-employees-coop-issue-trenas-declares-cda-6-director-persona-non-grata/

Mayor Jerry Treñas declared Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) Region 6 director Nora Patron a “persona non-grata” in this city for not intervening in the issues hounding the Iloilo City Government Employees Multipurpose Cooperative (ICGEMPC).

The CDA is a government agency in charge of the registration and regulation of cooperatives.

Executive Order No. 129 issued by Treñas yesterday states that Patron ignored the pleas for help of the city government and members of ICGEMPC.

The city mayor stressed that Patron instead issued Certificates of Compliance which were used by ICGEMPC officials to justify acts that the city government and cooperative members are questioning.

According to Treñas, as early as June this year the director had been requested for a consultative meeting to intervene and resolve the issues of the ICGEMPC but the requests were ignored.

ICGEMPC has been suffering from financial losses attributable to questionable loan transactions which to date amount to more than P31 million, and the dissipation of the capital share of its members, added Treñas, but that these matters have not been acted upon by the CDA, in violation of its mandate to coordinate with the efforts of local government units and the private sector in the development of cooperatives.

Treñas said the CDA-6 has indeed examined the financial records of the ICGEMPC but notwithstanding the identification of questionable loans still issued Certificates of Compliance.

And instead of enforcing the pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 6938 as amended by Republic Act No. 9520, as well as other pertinent issuances of the CDA, the CDA-6 ignored the pleas of the city government and ICGEMPC members, which have the effect of protecting questionable acts at CGEMPC, Treñas added.

This “hampers and disrupts the efforts of the members of the ICGEMPC to cleanse their ranks, and to recoup the funds of the cooperative,” Treñas’ EO stated.

Iloilo CDA-6 director has been declared persona non grata for not doing her job.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1974087/davao/local-news/tagum-city-councilor-puts-aide-to-prison

TAGUM City Councilor Leo Revita still has compassion for his assistant "Ligaya", but she said the latter should be imprisoned for stealing nearly P200,000 from the former.

Ligaya, Revita's assistant, was arrested on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 at the Tagum City Police Station after it was proven that she was responsible for stealing almost P200,000 from the councilor's e-wallet.

On Wednesday evening, the councilor went live on her official Facebook page, Team Hamloy, where she confirmed that Ligaya was indeed imprisoned.

The councilor clarified Ligaya's imprisonment and it is not part of their vlog content.

According to Revita, her patience with Ligaya has run out because of how many times she has stolen money, the most recent of which was the use of the councilor's Gcash.

"I think of Ligaya as a friend, family. But he didn't do it just once, I didn't announce anything to the viewers because I felt sorry for him, he will apologize, he will also admit his guilt," the councilor said.

The councilor added that on January 1 of this year, she lost P80k, which according to CCTV, Ligaya took. She confessed what she had done, and promised to pay the money slowly.

But Revita was even more upset because Ligaya kept charging her for what she owed.

"There are a lot of extortionists coming from the shops where he drinks, he still owes me money," Revita said.

Because of this, it came to the point that she kicked Ligaya out of her house and she will only go to her if they make content.

She, however, will still be given a salary, depending on her part in their sideline projects.

Revita admitted that she took pity on Ligaya's situation, but she wanted her assistant to learn a lesson through a legal procedure for stealing from her.

"I can't find anything, I will give him legalization, teach him a lesson," the councilor said.

A city councilor's aide continually stole from her but she did nothing until he stole too much. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1839023/former-bohol-gov-arthur-yap-faces-charges-over-p57-m-senior-health-kit-deal

Former Agriculture Secretary and Bohol Governor Arthur Yap and six others face charges of plunder and graft tied to an alleged anomalous purchase of senior citizen health kits valued at P57 million.

On Sept. 26, former Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, retired Judge Suceso Arcamo, former Provincial Prosecutor Macario Delusa, former Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Lim, and businessman Emmanuel “Willy” Ramasola asked the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate Yap and other respondents.

“In conspiracy with each other, the relatively young and able respondents committed corrupt practices that facilitated the plunder of the provincial government of Bohol in the amount of P56,816,444.25,” the complainants said.

Other respondents include lawyer Kathrin Fe Pioquinto, former provincial administrator; Giselle Quimpo, former chief of staff at the Governor’s Office; lawyer Julius Gregory Delgado, former provincial legal officer; Peter Ross Retutal, chief budget officer; Engr. Camilo Gasatan, chief provincial engineer; and Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez, officer-in-charge of the Provincial Health Office (PHO).

Delgado formerly chaired the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), with Quimpo serving as vice chair. Retutal, Gasatan, and Lopez were members.

Also named as a respondent was businesswoman Stella Marie Ancla, sole proprietor of Dextel Trading, a provincial capitol supplier.

Responding to the allegations on Facebook, Yap said the case was anticipated, criticizing the current administration of Bohol Gov. Aris Aumentado as vindictive. Aumentado beat Yap in the May 2022 elections.

“Plunder case? I was not shocked. Are you still surprised? We shouldn’t be shocked anymore,” Yap said.

“At the beginning of Aumentado’s administration, the first thing he did was to create a group tasked with persecuting and persecuting us. It was an indication of what the new administration of the provincial government has done. It is not to increase the life of our people but they increase the persecution and prosecution of us,” he said.

Former governor of Bohol and several others are facing charges of plunder and graft.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/30/23/ex-ilocos-norte-mayor-arrested-in-laguna

Marynette Gamboa, former mayor of Dingras in Ilocos Norte, was arrested on Saturday in Laguna for murder charges, police said. 

Gamboa, deemed second most wanted person in the Ilocos Norte province, stands accused of being the mastermind of Lorenzo Rey Ruiz's death in 2009.

Ruiz was president of locos Norte Electric Cooperative at the time. 

The Regional Trial Court in Batac City, Ilocos Norte on July 11, 2022 ordered Gamboa's arrest, with no bail recommended. 

Gamboa is also the "alleged mastermind in the ambush of Dingras mayor-elect Jeffrey Saguid and Sangguniang Panlalawigan board member Robert Castro in December also in 2009," a report from the National Capital Region Police Office showed. 

The former mayor earlier said some powerful politicians in Ilocos Norte wanted her removed from her post.

A former mayor has been charged with murder. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/9/30/ex-surigao-del-norte-town-mayor-convicted-for-delayed-liquidation-of-p3-m-intelligence-funds

The Sandiganbayan has convicted former mayor Constantino Bernardo Navarro IV of Del Carmen town in Surigao del Norte for delay in the liquidation of the P3 million intelligence funds he took from the municipality in two tranches in 2010.

Since the prosecution allowed Navarro to plead guilty to a lesser offense under Section 89 of Presidential Decree No. 1445, the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines, and considering that he had settled his accountability, the anti-graft court imposed fine of P1,000 in each of the two cases.

Navarro was originally charged with two counts of violations of Article 218 of the Revised Penal Code for failure to render accounts in the P750,000 intelligence fund he got on Jan. 7, 2010 and P2,250,000 he took on March 18, 2010.  

When Navarro's cases were heard last Sept. 25, the prosecution and the Sandiganbayan allowed him to withdraw his plea of not guilty to the original charges and accepted his plea of guilty to a lesser offense under PD 1445.  

Section 89 of PD 1445 mandates the liquidation of a cash advance as soon as the purpose had been served, and no additional cash advance should be allowed until the previous amount had been liquidated.

"According to the prosecution, the civil liability in these cases has already been settled. The Court hereby authorizes the release to accused Navarro of the cash deposited as bail for his provisional liberty less the amount of P2,000 which shall be applied to the payment of fine imposed upon him conformably with Section 14, Rule 114 of the Revised Penal Code," the court said.

A former mayor has been convicted of not liquidating intelligence funds in a timely manner. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1839483/consumer-groups-file-graft-charges-vs-gma

Two electricity consumers groups have filed graft and malversation cases against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is now Pampanga representative, over the disbursement of P38.8 billion of the Malampaya funds that they said started during her presidency.

In a 24-page complaint filed on Sept. 28 at the Office of the Ombudsman, the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (Nasecore) and the Boses ng Konsyumer Alliance Inc. (BKAI) complained of 96 counts of graft and 96 counts of malversation against Arroyo.

The groups cited Presidential Decree No. 910 which created the Energy Development Board in 1976 and aimed to “intensify, strengthen, and consolidate government efforts relating to the exploration, exploitation and development of indigenous energy resources vital to economic growth.”

Pursuant to the decree, several service contracts were entered into by the government for the purpose of achieving “self-reliance” in the country’s energy requirements primarily through “intensified and coordinated exploration, exploitation and development” of indigenous energy resources to accelerate overall economic growth.

“From 1976 to early 2000, no President dared to circumvent the purpose for which this law was enacted; at least, not until respondent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo came into power,” said the complainants Petronilo Ilagan of Nasecore and Rogelio Reyes of the BKAI.

According to them, one of the service contracts was the Camago-Malampaya Reservoir, or the natural gas project in Palawan.

The complainants said that between January 2002 to June 2013, the project contractor was able to remit a net share to the government of P173.280 billion from the proceeds of the petroleum operations, later known as the Malampaya Fund, P38.8 billion of which were disbursed as of May 21, 2012.

The disbursements, according to the complainants, started during the presidency of Arroyo, whom they accused of “taking advantage” of a provision of PD 910.

In particular, they said that the funds were released from 2006 to 2012.

The provision they were referring to was on the decree’s appropriations provision, which stated that the special fund formed shall be used to “finance energy resource development and exploitation programs and projects of the government and for such other purposes as may be hereafter directed by the President.”

Arroyo “willfully and unlawfully disregarded” the law when the funds were disbursed for other purposes like agriculture and irrigation programs, calamity rehabilitation projects, relocation and housing projects, infrastructure projects, transportation, national security rehabilitation and improvement projects—the “Pantawid Pasada Program,” among others—according to the complainants.

“A closer scrutiny of the … disbursements from Malampaya fund would show that all had nothing to do with ‘energy resource development and exploitation programs and projects of the government,’” the complainants stressed.

Former President GMA is facing 96 counts of graft and 96 counts of malversation. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1838880/13-more-cops-suspended-for-slay-of-navotas-teen

Thirteen more police officers in Navotas City have been recommended for suspension in connection with the killing of a teenager last month in a case of mistaken identity.

Meanwhile, eight other officers already dismissed because of the same case were cited for another set of offenses.

Police Brig. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., director of the National Capital Region Police Office, has already received a resolution handed down by the Internal Affairs Service (IAS) directing him to implement the sanctions, Philippine National Police spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said at a press briefing on Friday.

The IAS recommended the suspension of Executive Master Sergeant Jose Elizalde Oriendo; Staff Sergeants Rondell Sauza, Johnvir Tagacay, Melvin Napay, Mervin Villanueva, Rolan Orbita, Kenneth Amangan, Jorge Boco Jr. and Ever Layco; and Corporals Aldrin Pascual and Mark Joseph Quillan.

The 11 were found to have violated the 2021 Revised PNP Police Operational Procedure, particularly on the use of lethal force, during their pursuit operation against a murder suspect on Aug. 2. They were looking for Reynaldo Bolivar but ended up killing 17-year-old Jerhode “Jemboy” Baltazar, whom they mistook for the suspect. More dismissals

The remaining two officers in the group, Capt. Juanito Arabejo Jr. and Chief Master Sergeant Aurelito Galvez, were found guilty of neglect of duty for failing to subject the other concerned officers to a paraffin test. Arabejo heads the investigation section of the Navotas police while Galvez is his subordinate.

Tagacay was also recommended for further suspension lasting 59 days for failing to turn on his body camera during the manhunt for Bolivar.

13 more cops have been suspended over the death of teenager in Navotas City. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1210970

State prosecutors have filed criminal charges against six Navotas police officers implicated in the death of 17-year-old Jerhode Jemboy Baltazar.

In the charge sheet dated Sept. 15, Assistant City Prosecutor Arvin Carael and City Prosecutor Armando Cavalida named the respondents to the murder charges as Executive Master Sgt. Roberto Dioso, Staff Sgts. Gerry Maliban, Antonio Bugayong, Jr., and Nikko Esquillon, Cpl. Edmard Blanco and Pat. Benedict Mangada.

It has been filed before the Navotas City Regional Trial Court.

No bail was recommended for the temporary liberty of the police officers, who were all assigned at the Navotas City Police Station.

Charges have been filed agains six cops in connection with the killing of a Navotas City teenager. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/10/2/4-bacolod-lawmen-in-p15-m-recruitment-scam-probed

Four policemen in this city are being investigated for their alleged involvement in a P15-million Philippine National Police recruitment scam in La Castellana, Negros Occidental.

Police Col. Noel Aliño, Bacolod police director, in a media interview, said that these policemen surrendered their firearms after they were relieved from their posts pending the investigation.

A Non-Uniformed Personnel assigned to the Bacolod City Police Office was also implicated in the case.

The case broke out after several complainants recently showed up accusing an incumbent official of La Castellana and his female companion of asking a certain amount in exchange for an assured slot in the PNP.

Aliño said he learned that the incident started in 2016. He did not elaborate further while the Provincial Internal Affairs Service (PIAS) is conducting an investigation.

“We will not tolerate this,” he said, adding that it’s time that this scam should end. 

Aliño said that the burden of proof should come from these personnel so that they can clear their sides. 

He said that he will implement whatever the outcome of the investigation. 

Four cops are being investigated for a recruitment scam.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/884001/ex-sra-chief-serafica-ordered-charged-over-delayed-procurement/story/

The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of charges against former Sugar Regulatory Administrator (SRA) Hermenegildo Serafica over alleged violation in the Government Procurement Reform Act.

The case stemmed from the almost two-year gap between the awarding of the contract on March 19, 2018 for the procurement of farming equipment in 2017 and the issuance of the notice to proceed with the procurement on September 3, 2020.

The equipment in question were 25 units of ripper harrower.

"In this particular case, this Office cannot turn a blind eye on the three year period it took to issue a notice to proceed," the Ombudsman said in a 21-page resolution.

"The delayed award, by itself, could have only amounted to Simple Neglect of Duty and Misconduct but the protracted period to notify the supplier to proceed with the delivery of the harrows is a badge of (1) want of even the slightest care, or a conscious  indifference to consequences, and (2) flagrant disregard of an established rule," it added.

"As such, there is probable cause to indict Serafica under RA 9184 (Procurement law), specifically under Section 65 (a) (2) thereof for delaying the award and implementation of the contract beyond the prescribed periods of action."

The Ombudsman also said Serafica, who resigned from the SRA in 2022 following a sugar importation controversy, failed to show that such ripper harrowers were particular and compatible only to the tractors procured in 2020.

The Ombudsman has ordered charges against the former SRA head. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/10/4/sandigan-affirms-graft-malversation-conviction-of-ex-davao-del-norte-lawmaker

The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the conviction of former Davao del Norte congressman Arrel R. Olaño for the misuse of his P7.72 million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in 2007.

Olaño had been convicted of three graft and three malversation charges together with businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.  He was also found guilty in one case of direct bribery. He filed a motion for reconsideration which was denied by the anti-graft court.

The cases against Olaño arose from his receipt of P3.175 million from Napoles for endorsing Philippine Social Development Foundation, Inc. (PSDFI) and Countrywide Agri and Rural Economic Development Foundation, Inc. (CARED) as "project partners" in the implementation of livelihood projects for barangays in the 1st district of Davao del Norte.

In his motion for reconsideration, Olaño argued that the memoranda of agreement and liquidation papers presented during the trial were not properly authenticated. He also denied endorsing CARED and PSDFI because he said it was the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) that selected the said non-government organizations (NGOs).

He also pointed out that even if he wished to endorse CARED and PSDFI, it was ultimately the TLRC that approved their partnership.

But the Sandiganbayan junked his allegations.  The court said his arguments lacked merit because the prosecution was successful in establishing how he endorsed CARED and PSDFI as project co-implementers even without undergoing competitive public bidding.

"In sum, the totality of evidence established that in consideration for the kickbacks he received, accused-movant Olaño misused his position to select and endorse CARED and PSDFI as supposed co-implementers of non-existent PDAF funded projects without the benefit of public bidding nor authorized by any appropriation law or ordinance with the end of eventually funneling the proceeds thereof through said entities for the benefit of accused Napoles and of his own," the court said in its resolution.

The Sandigan has reaffirmed the conviction of a former Congressman for graft and malversation.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1841425/cop-faces-murder-illegal-possession-of-gun-raps-for-alleged-shooting-in-a-bar

Criminal complaints were filed against a police officer who was arrested for allegedly shooting and killing a man during a brawl inside a bar in Quezon city on October 3.

According to Quezon City Police District chief Brigadier General Redrico Maranan, Patrolman Edwin Rivera is facing charges of murder and illegal possession of firearms, along with two others.

Rivera is a 26-year-old police officer assigned to the Regional Mobile Force Battalion of Philippine National Police (PNP) – National Capital Region.

(The suspect is currently in jail and has been charged with murder and illegal possession of firearms in relation to Omnibus Election Code for gun ban.)

(Others who are also charged with the case are his two companions, Joshua Balisalin and a John Doe, who are both at large.)

Based on the police report, the shooting incident occurred around 4:45 a.m. on Tuesday after a fight ensued between Rivera and the victim at the Spotlight Beer Bar and Cocktail Lounge in Barangay Novaliches Proper.

The service crew who witnessed the incident sought the assistance of Novaliches Police Station operatives, who immediately responded and apprehended the suspect.

Rivera is currently under the custody of PNP – Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit.

The cases against him were filed before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.

A cop has been charged with murder. 

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/531575/rats-coa-report-bares-lack-of-cleanliness-of-dswd-warehouse

The Commission on Audit (COA) discovered that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has failed to maintain the cleanliness of the warehouse where it stores relief goods, causing it to be infested with rodents and cockroaches and resulting in eventual spoilage.

In a 238-page special audit report on the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management funds, state auditors called out DSWD’s Metro Manila regional office on the sorry state of the facility where it stores relief items.

Made public on Sept. 18, a copy of the consolidated audit report on disaster funds was submitted on Aug. 30 to Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who concurrently serves as chair of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

The COA also listed several observations on the storage facility supervised by the DSWD’s National Capital Region (NCR) office, including the disorganized piling system for the relief goods.

Based on their inspection of the warehouse, the audit team said pallets or square timbers were not used as base for the piled stocks and the relief goods were “stacked haphazardly with no clear organization or label of items.”

The state auditors’ inspection also showed that most of the goods meant for repacking were no longer in their original boxes, which made it difficult for the warehouse staff to locate and retrieve the required items for repacking.

“The food packs were stacked on top of each other with no proper labeling, which resulted in some food packs being damaged or expired,” the audit team said in its report.

Even worse, the goods, especially coffee and cereals, had to be transferred due to the presence of cockroaches and rats in the facility, it added.

The infestation was due to the absence of regular pest control measures in the facility, according to the state auditors, citing what the warehouse staff members told them.

“The Audit Team encountered difficulty in conducting a physical count of the goods due to the disorganized piling system,” the auditors admitted in their report.

From their partial inspection, they found that a total of 249 cereals and handwash liquid soaps had already expired in the camp management kit.

“The lack of cleanliness and organization in the storage area increases the risk of spoilage, damage and loss of goods, which could result in financial losses to the government,” the COA noted.

Apart from the disorganized relief goods, auditors found that the DSWD storage facility was already in a “state of disrepair” and could soon be “unfit” to accommodate relief goods for emergency situations.

Auditors observed that the external structure of the storage facility of the NCR field office of the DSWD already had visible signs of “wear and tear,” which included broken windows, damaged roofing, and even a missing part of the entrance door.

It also pointed out that there was a lack of security when it came to the main entrance of the facility, as the warehouse staff held their office along the aisle of the building’s main entrance.

“This area is not conducive for working as it was neither properly enclosed nor sufficiently protected against intrusion by unauthorized persons,” the auditors stressed.

They also noted that the door for the main entrance was defective, posing a risk of theft.

Meanwhile, food packs and family kits were stored only in a tent outside the building, the auditors noted.

These shortcomings observed on the storage facility of the DSWD’s Metro Manila office could likely affect the agency’s quality of service, according to the COA.

“Likewise, the poor fencing of the facility poses a risk of theft, vandalism and other security breaches that could compromise the safety of the staff and the stored goods for distribution,” the audit team added.

The special audit report did not specifically pinpoint the exact location of the warehouse being used by the DSWD-NCR office, but based on the Inquirer’s search, the Metro Manila field office has its main warehouse in Pasay City.

State auditors recommended that the head of the General Services Section conduct regular pest-control measures to prevent contamination and wastage.

It also directed the DSWD to instruct the warehouse staff to install pallets or square timbers as a base for all the stocks.

The agency was also told to implement appropriate shelving and labeling systems for the goods and, if necessary, request steel racks for easier access, inventory and monitoring.

The audit team also recommended a regular cleanup of the DSWD facility.

The COA says several DSWD warehouses are unclean. 

Thursday, October 5, 2023

Coronavirus Lockdown: GrabPet Returns, Food Label Changes, and More!

More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government. 

Residents of Metro Manila will once again be able to order a Grab ride with their pets. 


https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/pet-life/2023/09/28/2299683/grabpet-returns-select-metro-manila-areas

Ride-hailing and delivery platform Grab Philippines has brought its back GrabPet feature for users wishing to travel around particular parts of Metro Manila with their furry or scaly friends.

This specialized on-demand service — partner drivers have undergone pet-handling training with a certified pet trainer — allows platform users to have more convenient rides to the groomer, the veterinarian, a pet cafe or park, and more.

The service was first tested in 2019 but halted when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and since then it was up to drivers whether they would accept pet passengers.

Officially re-launched last September 25, GrabPet rides come with added insurance for pet passengers up to P15,000, and rides will come with pet-friendly equipment on the partner six-seater vehicles at a base fare of P55.

The service has some limitations, such as a service area currently encompassing the Makati-Bonifacio Global City central business district, the Shaw-Ortigas area, the Mall of Asia area, areas around Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals, Manila (Malate and Ermita), and San Juan City.

The ride-hailing app is still working on expanding the service to rest of the National Capital Region in its entirety.

Another limitation is the kind of pets the service will allow, currently only available to dogs, cats, turtles, hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, and fish, and must be in the given containers:

  • Dogs - carrier, wearing a diaper
  • Cats - carrier or crate
  • Hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs - crate
  • Fish - closed fish tank or sealed bag
  • Turtles - closed container

Pet passengers must be accommpanied by a human. The maximum is four human passengers but it will be up to the driver's discretion if they will allow more.

Drivers may choose to cancel a ride if pets display aggressive behavior. It is the responsibility of passengers to load, unload, and ensure their pet's proper behavior.

It must surely be more comfortable than riding to the vet in a jeepney. 

Pet ownership has actually increased because of the pandemic. 


https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1840334/the-why-behind-the-rise-of-pet-parenting-in-ph

A “parent” to three dogs, Beatrice Pinlac said looking after them is not easy, but “[they give] the kind of love that doesn’t ask or demand too much,” so she’s still keeping them despite the challenges.

“I feel loved even on days I don’t have much to give,” she told INQUIRER.net.

Pinlac said “our family got pets during the pandemic, but we’ve had pets before.” She said “this time around, though, I think I took on the role of being a fur parent more seriously because I’m much older and I’m already earning my own money.”

Last week, Social Weather Stations said based on a survey that covered the first quarter of 2023, 64 percent of households in the Philippines have pets, with dogs (78 percent) and cats (50 percent) considered as the most popular.

Back in 2021, a year after the start of the COVID-19 crisis, research by the iPrice Group revealed that Filipinos have the highest interest in owning pets in Southeast Asia, saying that overall searches for pets by Filipinos on Google hit almost seven million in September that year.

Dr. Karen Sacdalan, a psychologist, told INQUIRER.net that the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 put people on a new kind of life, which was quite unpleasant because almost everything changed.

Because of this, she said “we create many coping ways to go about the acceptance [of] and adjustment to [the] change[s].” As she stressed, some people turned to pets to cope with the crisis.

Sacdalan, chairperson of the PAP’s Special Interest Group for Persons with Disabilities, pointed out that pets have “therapeutic value,” which became more evident when the lockdowns were imposed.

“There is really human-animal interaction and it has impacts on our psyche, the total package of our human experience, especially because it gives pleasure. It invites a sense of satisfaction when we have an animal companion,” she said.

Would you rather be locked inside with your family or with your dog?

53,000 health workers have yet to receive their allowance from the DOH.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1837141/complaint-over-delayed-p5-8-b-allowances-filed

A group of private healthcare workers has filed a complaint against several regional offices of the Department of Health (DOH) with the Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta) over the delayed disbursement of P5.8 billion in allowances for over 53,000 medical frontliners who served at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the United Private Hospital Unions of the Philippines (UPHUP), the amount covers the Health Emergency Allowance (HEA) that should have been given as far back as 25 months for healthcare workers who went on duty in 155 private hospitals during the pandemic.

The group, which has 26 hospitals as union members, invoked Republic Act No. 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, when it filed its complaint with Arta on Monday.

Aside from the UPHUP’s member hospitals, 129 other healthcare institutions with no unions sought the group’s help for the same reason.

In a letter addressed to Arta Director General Ernesto Perez, the UPHUP said it had “initiated inquiries [with] the DOH regional offices regarding the unpaid HEA benefits” of their healthcare workers through an email sent on Aug. 25.

Since then, only five Centers for Health Development (CHDs) — which are in charge of the distribution of COVID-19 allowances to hospitals per region — have responded, the group reported.

On the other hand, 11 other CHDs, namely in Metro Manila, Ilocos, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen and Bangsamoro, have yet to reply.

The UPHUP said that under the Ease of Doing Business Act, there should only be a maximum of 20 working days for applications or requests involving activities that impact public health, safety, morals, policy, and other highly technical subjects.

“The nonresponsiveness of these regional offices stands in direct contradiction to these legal provisions,” the group noted in a statement.

“The lack of action from a government agency that should be addressing the problems faced by healthcare workers is not only disappointing but also deeply frustrating,” said UPHUP lead convener Ferdinand Gan, also vice president of the Alliance of Filipino Workers.

How many years will it take for them to get their money. 

COVID restrictions have been lifted but employees who have to take time off after contracting COVID still have leave benefits. 

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2023/09/25/2298750/

Employees who contracted COVID may still enjoy sick leave and other medical benefits even after the government lifted the state of public health emergency due to the pandemic, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said in an advisory yesterday.

Employers and employees should agree on provisions of sick leave benefits and access to medical insurance coverage as well as other assistance during isolation, the DOLE said.

The agency also encouraged employers to provide COVID-infected workers with paid leave for vaccination unless there are more favorable existing company policies and provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.

“To further ensure safe and healthy working conditions, employers shall promote vaccination among all employees, including contractors’ deployed workers and their families,” Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said.

He said employees who refuse or fail to get vaccinated shall not be discriminated against in terms of tenure, promotion and other benefits.

But aren't most employees vaccinated? Of course vaccination does not prevent infection. 

The BSP has given banks until June 2024 to submit their recovery plans. 

https://www.philstar.com/business/2023/09/29/2299747/banks-given-until-june-2024-submit-recovery-plans

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reminded mid-sized banks to prepare and submit their recovery frameworks against extreme stress scenarios to restore viability of banks and ensure continuity of operations.

BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said in a pre-recorded message during the 2023 annual convention of the Chamber of Thrift Banks (CTB) that the recovery plan requirements, which were previously applicable only to domestic systemically important banks (DSIBs) or depository corporations, were expanded to apply to all banks, including thrift banks.

“Banks should have recovery plans in place to be able to respond quickly, effectively, and credibly to situations of financial stress to protect depositors and, in turn, safeguard the stability of the financial system,” Fonacier said.

Fonacier said the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore the need to ensure that all banks have the ability to restore themselves to financial soundness in a timely and orderly manner.

To give time to develop their frameworks, the BSP official said banks were granted a transition period to submit their first recovery plan on or before June 30, 2024.

Recovery planning is an important process to reduce the potentially significant risks posed by a bank’s distress or disorderly failure to the stability of the financial system and the economy.

It seems like everyone is planning for another pandemic these days. 

The aviation sector is recovering a a faster pace. 

https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/10/02/business/top-business/ph-aviation-sector-recovering-at-a-faster-pace/1912822

THE Philippines and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region's aviation market is quickly recovering after the global pandemic, according to industry experts.

Yuli Thompson, area manager for Southeast Asia International Air Transport Association, said passenger traffic trends for international flights in the Philippines were logged at 75 percent of 2019 levels as of June 2023.

As for the Asia-Pacific passenger forecast, Yuli added that domestic travel will fully recover this year, while international travel will occur sometime in 2026. Furthermore, Asia-Pacific is seen to lead in traffic growth in the next 20 years.

However, overcoming current challenges and riding on the current momentum and meeting full recovery will require strong interventions from all players in the aviation sector.

Lei Apostol, Cebu Pacific vice president for Customer Service Operations, said they are looking to encourage travel by ensuring a positive customer experience, aiming to optimize their operations.

"Overcoming industry complexities and challenges while maximizing growth opportunities is achievable by looking at existing technology, keeping the passenger at the heart of what we do, and communicating to our passengers at every step of their journey," Apostol said during the 2023 Aviation Summit.

It just means more tourists. 

The pandemic has caused food labels to be changed. 

https://www.foodnavigator-asia.com/Article/2023/10/02/philippines-updates-policies-governing-sodium-limits-and-caloric-labelling-in-pre-packaged-food-products

The Philippines Food and Drug Authority (FDA) has announced new changes to sodium content limits and how caloric values are to be displayed on the packaging of pre-packaged processed food products in the country.

In September 2023, the Philippines FDA issued a formal circular highlighting that food manufacturers and distributors in the country will need to adhere to updated labelling requirements for pre-packaged processed food products.

These changes were based on the Recommended Energy and Nutrient Intakes (RENI) nutritional system dietary standards used in the Philippines, which has been in force since 2002 but saw major updates based on advances in the understanding of energy and nutrient requirements back in 2015.

Many adjustments were made to the area of Recommended Energy Intake / Recommended Nutrient Intake (REI/RNI), which is commonly displayed as a %REI/RNI value on food packaging, but adherence to these were not officially mandated in local regulations until this time.

The Philippines is the latest in a long string of Asian countries implementing updates to local food labelling laws after the COVID-19 pandemic, in keeping with rising consumer awareness of health and nutrition and in an attempt to broaden the scope of this awareness to all socioeconomic classes.

Well, it's not as if the government really cared about public health during the pandemic. The lockdowns caused people to stay sedentary and eat unhealthy foods from food ordering apps. 

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Yes, Bongbong, the Philippines Does Have A Damaged Culture

At a recent awards ceremony for Outstanding Filipinos President Marcos declared that the Philippines does not have a damaged culture. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/9/28/marcos-we-are-not-a-damaged-culture

Honoring 10 outstanding Filipinos made President Marcos reflect that the Filipino people do not have "a damaged culture."

"We not only honor you but through you, we honor Filipinos. And we remind our countrymen, this is what a Filipino is," Marcos said as he addressed the 2023 Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos on Thursday, Sept. 28.

"We are not a damaged culture. I hate that. We are a great people, and you are the example of that greatness," he stressed.

 The President expressed this after bestowing the medallion of excellence to Filipino teachers, soldiers, and police officers who have been conferred the 2023 Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos.

Marcos said in his speech that the awardees have taken the extra mile and pushed the limits in contributing to the development of their respective institutions and advocacies.

The awardees, he stressed, is a reflection of Filipino greatness. The excellence that they have demonstrated in their pursuits "is truly worth emulating," he added.

"Your exemplary work as academicians, soldiers and police officers are oftentimes the most demanding —not oftentimes, I take it back — are always the most demanding, exhausting, and wearisome professions that we have to undertake," he said.

The idea that Philippine culture is damaged stems from an article published in The Atlantic in 1987.

https://cdn.theatlantic.com/media/archives/1987/11/260-5/132615503.pdf

The gist of this article is that despite the ouster of Marcos and the beginning of a new era under Cory Aquino the Philippines remained backwards and stunted because Filipino culture is fundamentally flawed. Here are a few choice observations.

Unfortunately for its people, the Philippines illustrates the contrary: that culture can make a naturally rich country poor. There may be more miserable places to live in East Asia—Vietnam, Cambodia—but there are few others where the culture itself, rather than a communist political system, is the main barrier to development. The culture in question is Filipino, but it has been heavily shaped by nearly a hundred years of the “Fil-Am relationship.” The result is apparently the only non-communist society in East Asia in which the average living standard is going down.

Still, for all the damage Marcos did, it’s not clear that he caused the country’s economic problems, as opposed to intensifying them. Most of the things that now seem wrong with the economy—grotesque extremes of wealth and poverty, land-ownership disputes, monopolistic industries in cozy, corrupt cahoots with the government—have been wrong for decades. 

AM I SHOOTING FISH IN A BARREL? SURE—YOU COULD work up an even starker contrast between Park Avenue and the South Bronx. But that would mean only that the United States and the Philippines share a problem, not that extremes of wealth and poverty are no problem at all. In New York and a few other places the extremes are so visible as to make many Americans uneasy about the every-man-for-himself principle on which our society is based. But while the South Bronx is an American problem, few people would think of it as typical of America. In the Philippines the contrasting extremes are, and have been, the norm.

What has created a society in which people feel fortunate to live in a garbage dump because the money is so good? Where some people shoo flies away from others for 300 pesos, or $15, a month? It can’t be any inherent defect in the people: outside this culture they thrive. Filipino immigrants to the United States are more successful than immigrants from many other countries.

If the problem in the Philippines does not lie in the people themselves or, it would seem, in their choice between capitalism and socialism, what is the problem? I think it is cultural, and that it should be thought of as a failure of nationalism.

Individual Filipinos are at least as brave, kind, and noble-spirited as individual Japanese, but their culture draws the boundaries of decent treatment much more narrowly. Filipinos pride themselves on their lifelong loyalty to family, schoolmates, compadres, members of the same tribe, residents of the same barangay. The mutual tenderness among the people of Smoky Mountain is enough to break your heart. But when observing Filipino friendships I thought often of the Mafia families portrayed in The Godfather: total devotion to those within the circle, total war on those outside. Because the boundaries of decent treatment are limited to the family or tribe, they exclude at least 90 percent of the people in the country. And because of this fragmentation—this lack of nationalism—people treat each other worse in the Philippines than in any other Asian country I have seen.

For more than a hundred years certain traits have turned up in domestic descriptions and foreign observations of Philippine society. The tradition of political corruption and cronyism, the extremes of wealth and poverty, the tribal fragmentation, the local elite’s willingness to make a separate profitable peace with colonial powers—all reflect a feeble sense of nationalism and a contempt for the public good. Practically everything that is public in the Philippines seems neglected or abused. On many street corners in downtown Manila an unwary step can mean a broken leg. Holes two feet square and five feet deep lurk just beyond the curb; they are supposed to be covered by metal grates, but scavengers have taken the grates to sell for scrap. Manila has a potentially beautiful setting, divided by the Pasig River and fronting on Manila Bay. But three-fourths of the city’s sewage flows raw into the Pasig, which in turns empties into the bay; the smell of Smoky Mountain is not so different from the smell of some of the prettiest public vistas. The Philippine telephone system is worse than its counterparts anywhere else in non-communist Asia—which bogs down the country’s business and inconveniences its people—but the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company has a long history of high (and not reinvested) profits. In the first-class dining room aboard the steamer to Cebu, a Filipino at the table next to mine picked through his plate of fish. Whenever he found a piece he didn’t like, he pushed it off the edge of his plate, onto the floor. One case of bad manners? Maybe, but I’ve never seen its like in any other country. Outsiders feel they have understood something small but significant about Japan’s success when they watch a bar man carefully wipe the condensation off a bottle of beer and twirl it on the table until the label faces the customer exactly. I felt I had a glimpse into the failures of the Philippines when I saw prosperous-looking matrons buying cakes and donuts in a bakery, eating them in a department store, and dropping the box and wrappers around them as they shopped.

This article is now 36 years old but the phrase "damaged culture" continues to resonate today. Clearly the author James Fallows is casting a wide net when addressing the failure of the Philippines to attain the same kind of success as its neighbors South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. Fallows is discussing society as a whole while Marcos is limited to a few individuals who have achieved greatness in their field. It is a comparison of apples to oranges. It is NOT the same. 

Let's take just one of Fallows' many observations.

But when observing Filipino friendships I thought often of the Mafia families portrayed in The Godfather: total devotion to those within the circle, total war on those outside. Because the boundaries of decent treatment are limited to the family or tribe, they exclude at least 90 percent of the people in the country. And because of this fragmentation—this lack of nationalism—people treat each other worse in the Philippines than in any other Asian country I have seen.

Filipinos are loyal to their own but not to those outside their circle. Can there be a better reason why political assassinations take place nearly every single week? Where is the nationalism and pride in killing your political enemies rather than working with them?

Fallows also mentions that peculiar Filipino trait of delicadeza. 

The Filipino ethic of delicadeza, their equivalent of saving face, encourages people to raise unpleasant topics indirectly, or, better still, not to raise them at all.

Indeed politicians especially do not like having to answer unpleasant questions and will do their best to smear their opponent if they believe they have been attacked. We have seen this recently with the debate over Sara Duterte's enormous Confidential Intelligence Fund. Rather than give a straightforward answer as to how the money was spent both she and her supporters have held in utter contempt those who would dare question her. For instance take this guy who thinks being held accountable counts as an attack. 


This attitude of delicadeza is what acts as a cover for the most blatant kinds of corruption. As Fallows notes Marcos didn't cause the Philippines' economic problems as much as he exacerbated them. To even question the source of the Marcos family wealth these days and assert the fact that such wealth has been deemed to be ill-gotten is to court scorn from those who support the Marcos family. 

And how about this observation:

Practically everything that is public in the Philippines seems neglected or abused. On many street corners in downtown Manila an unwary step can mean a broken leg. Holes two feet square and five feet deep lurk just beyond the curb; they are supposed to be covered by metal grates, but scavengers have taken the grates to sell for scrap. Manila has a potentially beautiful setting, divided by the Pasig River and fronting on Manila Bay. But three-fourths of the city’s sewage flows raw into the Pasig, which in turns empties into the bay;

Roads and sidewalks (or the lack thereof) are often filled with holes.  Electrical poles are often rotting and leaning while being overburdened with too many wires. Manila Bay remains a foul cesspit and the government's reclamation attempts have been proven to be totally ineffective and worthless. 

It's not just Manila Bay either. The problem of pollution is nationwide. Floods happen every year because the sewers become clogged with garbage. People dump their garbage on the side of the road and they casually litter without a second thought. As Fallows observes:

 I felt I had a glimpse into the failures of the Philippines when I saw prosperous-looking matrons buying cakes and donuts in a bakery, eating them in a department store, and dropping the box and wrappers around them as they shopped.

I cannot count the amount of times I have witnessed people litter without blinking an eye. And who can ignore the men publicly urinating all over the city? Such a thing would never happen in South Korea, Japan, or Singapore. If it did the person would be apprehended immediately. So what is the difference in the Philippines if not the culture which allows it to happen? There is not even a store of social capital here as everyone lives behind a fence or a gated compound in order to keep out thieves. 

Fallows is smart to point out that none of these observations are new but go back over a hundred years.

For more than a hundred years certain traits have turned up in domestic descriptions and foreign observations of Philippine society. The tradition of political corruption and cronyism, the extremes of wealth and poverty, the tribal fragmentation, the local elite’s willingness to make a separate profitable peace with colonial powers—all reflect a feeble sense of nationalism and a contempt for the public good.

I would argue that they go back even further. In the year 1720 Gaspar de San Agustín wrote at length about these traits. Reading through them one is shocked to see how Philippine society and culture has not changed in 300 years.  

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=miun.afk2830.0001.040&seq=187

Fallows is sure that this decrepit culture is linked to "a feeble sense of nationalism" but he never gets to the root of that issue. The fact is the Philippines does not exist except as a political fiction. Before the Spanish these islands were inhabited by various warring tribes with their own customs, religion, and languages. It was the Spanish who untied these tribes together and dubbed them "The Philippines." 

But when has ever a Filipino seen himself as one member of a united whole? Sure you might have Benigno Aquino Jr. say the Filipino is worth dying for but that doesn't tell us much. Filipinos are divided by region and dialect. Tagalog, Cebuano, Visayas, Solid North, Solid South, etc. Unity, even in the face of a common enemy like China, is fragmented and divided amongst ones own people as was noted above. There is "a feeble sense of nationalism" because there is a "a feeble sense of" nationhood. This is why a revolution will NEVER change a thing.

If the culture does not change then the state of the nation will never change. But don't get me wrong. I am not advocating for a culture change. I am saying that a culture change is never going to happen. 

And yet we are supposed to forget what Filipino culture is all about because a few individuals received a medal of excellence. That is ridiculous. It's like pointing to Manny Pacquiao, Lucio Tan, Imelda Marcos, and the unmined gold in the ground and declaring Filipinos aren't poor they are actually rich!