PIA Dispatch - Friday, March 19, 2010

PGMA orders work on W. Samar road

SAN JOSE DE BUAN, Western Samar – President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Friday ordered Western Samar Gov. Milagros Tan to immediately implement the road pavement project on the Lokiloan-San Jose De Buan provincial road.

Western Samar Rep. Sharee Ann Tan will release P5 million from her congressional fund for the project.

San Jose de Buan Mayor Melania Rebato said paving the 38.5 kilometer provincial dirt road, which takes almost four hours to travel by land using either 4X4 vehicles or trucks, will bring investors to the fifth-class mountain municipality rich in natural resources.

Braving the stormy rains, the President was here to inaugurate several Kalayaan Barangay Program (KBP) projects consisting of two units of two-classroom schoolbuildings, two healthcare centers, and the barangay street lighting system.

The KBP projects here, with the total cost of P4.7 million, were funded by the President’s Social Fund.

Started in August 2009, the projects were completed last November by the 53rd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.

The President also inaugurated the new Municipal Executive Building, a two-storey structure funded by the local government unit (LGU) and implemented in two phases. Phase I was started in August 2007, and Phase II in June 2009. Total project cost was P1.5 million.

 

Retired CA justice says PGMA can't be prevented from appointing next Chief Justice

Retired Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Regalado Maambong said on Friday President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cannot be prevented from appointing the successor of Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Reynato Puno.

"There is no way that we can prevent the President to appoint the (next) Chief Justice," said Maambong, who is also a delegate to the 1986 Constitutional Commission that framed the 1987 Constitution.

Maambong noted that the SC, by a majority vote of nine justices, has already given the President the authority to appoint the next Chief Justice.

"There's no problem about the SC decision," he said.

The SC also ordered the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to submit its shortlist of nominees to President Arroyo on or before Chief Justice Puno's retirement on May 17, 2010.

Maambong said the JBC cannot evade its duty to submit its nominees to the President.

On the other hand, former Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that the decision of the Supreme Court is very clear that the President can still appoint the next Chief Justice of the SC.

 

DOH supports workplace for adopting ‘AIDS IN THE WORKPLACE’ program

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday revealed that the Philippines witnessed a sharp increase in the number of diagnosed HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) cases in the last three years.  Majority of these recorded cases belong to the economically-productive age group.

“In 2000, an average of one new case is diagnosed every three days.  In 2007, it rose to one new case per day.  Last year, there were two new cases diagnosed in a day,” Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said.

Due to the rising trend and because most infections can be found among economically-productive individuals, Cabral explained that the business sector is in a position to help curb the rising trend in HIV infections by setting up policies and programs in the workplace.  This program is also in consonance to provisions in Republic Act 8504 or the AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998.

The health chief added that HIV/AIDS programs in the workplace is a vital response because the disease increases business costs like increased burden of healthcare provision, lower productivity of infected employees, loss of skilled workers, increased risks in the workplace and indifference among employees.

The midterm assessment of the Philippine AIDS Medium Term Plan IV recommended the strengthening of partnership with the private sector. However, the Philippine Business for Social Progress noted in 2008 that private sector involvement and response to HIV/AIDS in the workplace has yet to be strengthened.

Few companies led by Chairperson of Shell companies in the Philippines Ed Chua has taken the role of being the ‘Business Champion for Health of the Philippines to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.’  As a result, several companies had signified their interest to establish ‘AIDS in the Workplace’ program.

Organizations that support the ‘AIDS in the Workplace’ program include Philippine Business for Social Progress, Pilipinas Shell Foundation, International Labour Organization, UNAIDS, and the Philippine National AIDS Council.  A partnership agreement is envisioned to be drawn to describe the roles and responsibilities of each organization for this initiative.

“The rising number of HIV cases in the workforce makes it imperative for business to take drastic action to prevent new infections in the labor sector,“ Cabral stressed, adding that the tripartite workplace sector (including government-management-labor sectors) should highlight interventions targeted to address risky behaviors, because this sector also includes a vast number of customers and clients, which may include the most-at-risk populations.

Meanwhile, a one day National HIV/AIDS Summit will be held on 12 April 2010 at the Manila Diamond Hotel to inform national leaders on the current state of HIV/AIDS in the country and the need for urgent action towards meeting the Millennium Development Goal 6, particularly HIV.  The workplace sector is one of the sectors to attend this event.

MECCA . . . A New and Innovative Approach for an Efficient and Reliable Electric Service in Tawi-Tawi

The Tawi-Tawi Electric Cooperative, Inc.(TAWELCO) has been able to come up with an out-of-the-box practice which they tagged as MECCA or Marginalized Electric Consumers Community Association to provide electric service to poorest of the poor in its coverage area. The project aims to address the prolonged socio-economic problem pervading the area and thereby effect development. 

MECCA is one of the formal frameworks of TAWELCO’s Corporate Social Responsibility program which aims to extend affordable electric services to the indigent and marginalized households within its coverage area.

The creation of MECCA was prompted by the proliferation of enterprising consumers by offering lightings through series connections and charge exorbitant monthly power rates to the already impoverished families.  These consumers tamper their own Kwhr meters so that they pay less to TAWELCO which contributes to its high system loss. 

“We commend Tawelco for coming up with an innovative solution to uplift the living conditions of people in Tawi-Tawi. By making available the basic service of electricity to poor families, Tawelco has taken the first step of giving hope to these people. NEA will definitely extend its support to this worthy endeavor,” said Administrator Edita S. Bueno 

MECCA shall be composed of five (5) to ten (10) Cluster Cell Households strategically and geographically adjacent to each other and willing to be organized into such.  TAWELCO will provide the appropriate distribution system with a common Kwhr meter to determine the electric consumption of the Cluster Cell Household on a proportionate billing scheme.  Payment of power bill shall be due and payable to TAWELCO nine (9) days after serving the Statement of Account to MECCA.

A MECCA shall have a set of officers which shall provide the support to TAWELCO by policing its own members from any pilferage of electricity that may cause the MECCA to be disconnected.  Moreover, the officers shall be the representatives of TAWELCO in all aspects of its operation and management. 

To illustrate the concept of MECCA, below is a diagram and sample computation how payment of electric consumption will be shared by the members:

PSALM sets sale of BacMan geothermal plant package

The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corporation formally launched the sale process for the 150-megawatt (MW) BacMan geothermal power plant package located in the provinces of Albay and Sorsogon with the publication of the Invitation to Bid (ITB) today (17 March 2010).

The ITB, which will run until Friday, 19 March 2010, specifies that the sale will include the BacMan I Geothermal Power Plant located in Manito, Albay, and the BacMan II geothermal power plants situated in Sorsogon City, Sorsogon.

Prospective bidders have until 26 March 2010 to submit a Letter of Interest, which is a prerequisite for the bidding. The interested parties also must execute a Confidentiality Agreement and an Undertaking with PSALM, and pay a non-refundable participation fee of USD2,000.00 not later than 5 p.m. of 29 March 2010 to signify further participation. The Bidding Package will then be issued by PSALM.

The Pre-bid Conference for the Bicol region-based geothermal power plants will be held on 06 April 2010 to discuss the Bidding Procedures. The Bid Submission Deadline is on 05 May 2010.

The BacMan I geothermal plant consists of two 55-MW turbines, which were both commissioned in 1993. BacMan II, on the other hand, consists of two 20-MW units namely, the Cawayan located in Barangay Basud and the Botong in Osiao, Sorsogon City. The Cawayan unit was commissioned in 1994 and the Botong unit in 1998.

The Philippine National Oil Company-Energy Development Corporation supplies the steam fueling the BacMan geothermal power plants.