PHL govt working ‘double time’ to save seafarers’ jobs

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

“We may even have to move heaven and earth, if need be, to ensure these European standards are satisfactorily met,” Bautista said. “It’s about time this decades-old issue is resolved and put to rest.”

An interagency committee was formed to take up the EC’s impending action through the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). Aside from the DOTr, the panel includes the Departments of Migrant Workers, Labor, Foreign Affairs, the Commission on Higher Education and the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina).

MIF...

The 2022 Philippine response supposedly gave details of the remedial actions Marina put in place as well as the short and long-term measures it would carry out later.

Bautista said given the Philippines’ shortcomings, the agency pushed for a “more comprehensive plan or a template to address the EMSA findings and related issues.”

“So much is at stake here, not only jobs and much-needed remittances, but also our credibility and competence as a maritime regulator”, he said.

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“As a result of the scarring effect of the pandemic, upskilling and retraining of our young population have high social and economic payoff. In an aging world population, our young people—tech-savvy, easily trainable, and mostly English speaking—are our most formidable asset,” he added.

Diokno also emphasized that the MIF may finish key infrastructure projects like a mass transit system and energy transition from coal to renewables faster than the usual funding routes the national government is currently undertaking.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the EC will determine in April or May whether or not to

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Moreover, delegates to the wouldbe Con-Con are barred under his proposal from being appointed to public positions while it is in session and up to a year after the ratification of the proposed Charter changes in a plebiscite, Villafuerte said.

The House Committee on Constitutional Amendments chaired by Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus

Rodriguez resumed last January 26 what the chairman had described as “marathon” panel hearings and public consultations on pending proposals to amend the 1987 Charter, recognize the Philippine-issued Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW). including the Con-Con bills introduced separately by Villafuerte and Rodriguez.

In House Bill (HB) No. 4926— otherwise known as the “Constitutional Convention Act”—Villafuerte proposed that the would-be Con-Con members tasked to study amendments and revisions to the 35-year-old Charter be elected simultaneously with either the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections (BSKE) this October 30 or the midterm balloting for legislators and local executives due in May 2025.

“A lot more work needs to be done” even after Marina had submitted the Philippine Response to the EMSA in March 2022, Bautista said.

Villafuerte said past Charter Change initiatives took place in the second half of the terms of past governments. This, he added, accounts for the suspicions of a hidden political agenda to lift term limits or extend the terms of the thenincumbent officials from the President down to local elective executives.

To side-step speculation about self-serving or partisan interests of the would-be delegates, Villafuerte said HB 4926 bans them: (1) from being appointed to public positions while the Con-Con is in session and up to a year after the ratification of the proposed amendments or revisions, and (2) from running in the next balloting.

An EMSA ban, he warned, will trigger a “domino effect and the rest of the world will look down on the Philippine seafaring industry and probably affect its dominant place in the global market.”

As Villafuerte filed HB 4926 last year, Rodriguez himself filed House Joint Resolution (HJR) No. 12 establishing a Con-Con to specifically review and amend the economic provisions of our Constitution.

HB 4926 calls for the election of Con-Con delegates—at one representative for each of the 243 legislative districts.

The bill seeks to disqualify the following persons from being candidates for Con-Con delegates: (1) All incumbent elected officials of the government, including but not limited to the President, Vice President, members of the bicameral Congress, and local government officials; and (2) Persons who have been declared by any competent authority as insane or incompetent, or have been sentenced by final judgment for subversion, insurrection, rebellion or for any offense for which they have been sentenced to a penalty of more than 18 months or for a crime involving moral turpitude—unless they have been given plenary pardon or granted amnesty. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

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Efforts to push for food security in the medium term include decreasing stunting to below 20 percent in the medium term as part of efforts to address the triple burden of malnutrition, according to the Philippine Development Plan (PDP).

The Marcos administration aims to bring down the prevalence of stunting among children under five years of age to 25.2 percent this year; 23.8 percent in 2024; 22.3 percent in 2025; 20.8 percent in 2026; 19.4 percent in 2027; and 17.9 percent in 2028. The baseline in 2021 was pegged at 26.7 percent.

The triple burden of malnutrition, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), includes undernutrition, overweight and obesity, and micronutrient deficiencies.

Wasting and stunting does not only compromise the health of Filipinos, but also their ability to excel in school and potential to earn a decent living in the future. Obesity, meanwhile, makes children susceptible to diseases.

The government aims to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition or wasting for children under five years from 5.5 percent in 2021 to 5.3 percent this year; 5.1 percent in 2024; 4.9 percent, 2025; 4.7 percent, 2026; 4.5 percent, 2027; and 4.3 percent in 2028.

Overall, the PDP aims to increase the proportion of households meeting 100-percent recommended energy intake from the 21.8 percent baseline in 2018-2019.

The government aims to increase this to 25.2 percent this year; 23.8 percent in 2024; 22.3 percent, 2025; 20.8 percent, 2026; 19.4 percent, 2027; and 17.9 percent in 2028. Cai U. Ordinario

Diokno said the national government has no problem financing the initial $5-billion fund of the MIF.

He listed the possible funding sources for the sovereign wealth fund as follows: P100 billion from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, P50 billion from Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank), P25 billion from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), and P100 billion to P150 billion from privatization proceeds of the national government.

“Financing through the [General Appropriations Act] is lengthier and risky since this is subject to political review and approval; the ODA, private sector solicited and unsolicited proposals are by nature, time-consuming, subject to lengthy negotiation and court challenges, and more careful appraisal, will continue,” he explained.

Ongpin...

Diokno noted that the investments from the LandBank are just 3.8 percent of the bank’s P1.3-trillion investible fund while DBP’s counterpart would be 3.1 percent of its total P800-billion investible fund.

Diokno pointed out there are also other potential sources of the MIF such as, but not limited to, foreign-exchange denominated infrastructure bonds and the royalties from the mining sector.

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Ongpin, along with his brother Jaime, was able to attend school through a scholarship. After graduating from Ateneo High School, he went on to finish cum laude at Ateneo de Manila, earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree.

He later earned a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. He subsequently led SyCip Gorres and Velayo to become Asia’s largest accounting firm.

Since 1988, Ongpin has funded thousands of full scholarships to Ateneo de Manila University, in the name of his brother, Jaime, who served as Finance secretary in the post-Marcos administration of Corazon C. Aquino, and passed away in 1987.

The brothers had attended both Ateneo and Harvard on scholarships from anonymous donors, Apa said.

He was the youngest Minister for Trade and Industry at age 42. It

PPA...

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Santiagosaidhowever,”Obviously, numbers are being bloated to scare the people and to discredit the program. Anybody who knows basic mathematics would conclude that P980 is smaller than P30,000 under any circumstance. We are curious where they are getting their numbers because ours is based on actual statistics and documentation.”

Under TOP-CRMS, only container deposit insurance and monitoring fee worth P980 and P3,408 empty container handling service fee must be paid by importers compared to almost P30,000 container deposit in the current existing system, he noted.

Santiago also disputed Lopez’s statement on the refund for returned containers.

“A lot of complaints from customs brokers and importers relate to the extreme delay of return of these container deposits ranging from 6 months to more than a year before anything is returned but with deductions and a lot of times not at all,” he said.

Santiago added that based on reports and statistics, less than 10 percent of containers incur any material damage in the hands of importers before they are returned to the shipping lines.

“So the question is, how come the general sentiment of stakeholders is that it takes so long to give these deposits back if at all?” he asked.

He clarified that the P980 fee already includes the P250 container deposit insurance, of which the provider may be chosen freely by the importer or was a position he held from 1979 to 1986, when the strongman’s twodecade presidency was ended by the EDSA Revolution.

During his seven years as Minister, Ongpin had to help steer a deteriorating economy as political instability made funding from international agencies and banks difficult for the government.

Apa wrote: “After leaving government, he built and rebuilt empires, including making the deals that brought the Shangri-La Group into the Philippines, Tagaytay Highlands, PhilWeb, and culminating in Alphaland Corp., where he built his crown jewel, Alphaland Balesin Island Club. He has been expanding to the neighboring island of Patnanungan, which he planned to formally open this year.” broker from a list of accredited insurance companies.

Apa said his uncle’s remains will be brought to Manila.

“The family will make an official announcement when wake details have been decided,” Apa said.

The TOP-CRMS will be pilot tested at the international ports in the Port of Manila namely South Harbor and Manila International Container Terminal and only for foreign inbound containers, the PPA has said,.

“It will not be immediately implemented in all ports in the country and if ever, will only be implemented in PPA ports as part of its mandate to ensure efficient terminal management,” Santiago noted.

Shiptek Solutions won the contract to implement the P980-million TOP-CRMS.

The program is expected to generate as much as 84 percent savings for importers, shippers, truckers, and customs brokers, Santiago said, noting that if the system was implemented in 2022, they could have only paid P1 billion for 1.1 million inbound containers, instead of P23 billion.

“Bottom line is these people want the status quo. But it is indisputable that the status quo is problematic for us Filipinos. Look at the current costs of logistics in our country. It is paralyzing. It is easily determinable where the bulk of these costs can be found. The status quo benefits those opposing the program to the detriment of the ordinary Filipino,” Santiago added.

He emphasized: “They don’t want this to succeed because it will disrupt the status quo from which they have benefited from for decades, and yet look at where we are.” Lorenz S. Marasigan