17 MARCH 2019

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8 METRO The incident scenario started with a loud explosion from an improvised explosive device By Neil S. Alcobar The Eastern Police District (EPD) mobile force battalion over the weekend conducted simulation exercises on how to handle bomb threats and Bomb drills test EPD’s emergency preparedness actual explosions at the Metrowalk parking lot in Pasig City. The bomb simulation exercise was aimed at testing the alertness and operational readiness of all mobile force battalion personnel particularly members of the district explosive ordnance disposal team. The incident scenario started with a loud explosion from an improvised explosive device, with first responders cordoning off the area while simultaneously relaying the threat to concerned offices like the Philippine National Police. The bomb-clearing operation and processing of the crime scene covering the tactical aspect of the investigation was conducted by the district explosive ordnance disposal team. The medical team, on the other hand, immediately evacuated the injured victims after getting clearance from the district explosive ordnance disposal team leader. The EPD stressed police operational procedures must be followed while adopting new techniques and constantly upgrading the skills of emergency personnel. In Marikina City, a tricycle driver was arrested in a drug buy-bust operation over the weekend. The suspect was identified as Owen Pama, alias Owen, 32, a resident of Barangay Nangka, Marikina City. He was nabbed by members of Marikina City Police John Henry Dodson, Editor Sunday, 17 March 2019 Daily Tribune Station drug enforcement unit at about 9:15 p.m. at 25 Alley 2, Area 1, NHA Balubad, Barangay Nangka. Seized from the suspect were three sachets of suspected shabu, P500 in buy-bust money and a coin purse. The suspect is now detained at Marikina police detention cell and is facing charges for violating Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2002. Bus kills crossing woman HAVING modern bomb-protection equipment is just half the equation: the other being proper training. ANALY LABOR “Scared” driver fled accident scene A provincial bus ran over a woman crossing the España-Maceda intersection in Sampaloc, Manila at dawn yesterday. The victim, who remained unidentified at press time, died at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center in the morning. The Manila Police District (MPD) traffic enforcement unit identified the driver of the Victory Liner bus with license plate CXS 954 as Nicasio Tumolva Jr., 38, a native of Ilagan, Isabela. Tumolva was charged with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide. The accident happened at 3:30 a.m. while the bus was en route to its terminal along Earnshaw Street. The victim was thrown a distance after being hit by the bus which then sped off. MPD Station 4 and Philippine Red Cross personnel brought the victim to the hospital but she died at about 7 a.m. Tumolva was arrested by policemen in a follow-up operation. The driver said he fled the accident scene because he was scared and did not know what to do, except to proceed to their terminal. Pat C. Santos Teen kissing bandit arrested Girl, 6, was sleeping when molested A 15-year-old was nabbed for acts of lasciviousness after he allegedly molested a six-year-old girl in Marikina City over the weekend. The suspect, whose name was withheld for being a minor or a child in conflict with the law, was arrested after he allegedly kissed the girl in the neck and lips while she was sleeping, authorities said. The incident occurred at about 8 p.m. Friday in a house along Singkamas St., Barangay Tumana, Marikina City. The girl’s mother immediately sought police assistance which led to the arrest of the minor suspect. The suspect, who is an out-of-school youth, was currently under police custody and will be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development. N.S. Alcober ELEAZAR By Anthony Ching 9 BI men linked to traffickers DoJ urged to investigate as DFA notes rise of undocumented Filipinos working abroad Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente has asked Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to investigate nine members of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) travel control and enforcement unit assigned to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). The nine were suspected of conniving with human trafficking syndicates that victimize Filipinos seeking job seekers abroad. By Elmer N. Manuel Posh enclaves also hide junkies Eleazar: Gated subdivisions pose challenges to anti-drugs campaign National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Guillermo Eleazar yesterday said the government’s anti-drug campaign targets poor and rich communities alike. Nonetheless, Eleazar admitted the NCRPO is encountering unexpected The investigation was sought after a complaint by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on the rising numbers of undocumented Filipino workers abroad, especially in the Middle East. In the past, unscrupulous immigration personnel had facilitated the departure of workers with fictitious travel and working documents either by turning a blind eye on the fake materials or even IMMIGRATION rules implementation need to be tightened to ensure only documented Filipino workers are able to leave for abroad. AFP problem areas in rich enclaves as it tries to beat President Rodrigo Duterte’s new deadline for a drug-free Philippines. “Gated subdivisions, for all you know, there are drug users there, but they aren’t noisy, they are not chaotic, there is no information,” Eleazar said. The NCRPO has seen a rise in the number of seizures of cocaine and party drugs — narcotics that are usually purchased by “can afford” people, he added. The police are having difficulty in accessing information inside upscale subdivisions because they cannot just enter them unless they are serving resorting to escorting them to the boarding area. The BI is under the Department of Justice (DoJ), along with the National Bureau of Investigation which can conduct the investigation as an arm of the anti-human trafficking council. Morente’s office declined to identify the nine immigration personnel pending the outcome of the investigation and pursuant to due process of law. Their names will be forwarded though DPWH sets road repairs The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undertook pavement repairs over the weekend along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) and other Metro Manila roads. The road reblocking which started on Friday will end tomorrow in time for the start of the working week. In an advisory of the DPWH, road reblocking works were undertaken on EDSA southbound, from New York Street to Monte de Piedad Street, third lane from the sidewalk; while on the C-5 southbound, the intersection of C-5 Road to Julia Vargas Avenue, intersection of C-5 to Lanuza Avenue and the area A pedicab driver, Pepito Pantaleon, 45, died at dawn yesterday while being treated at the Tondo Medical Center, a victim of multiple stabbing. A sister of the victim recounted to the police hearing a commotion at about 2 a.m. and seeing a man fleeing the street near the house of her brother. The witness rushed out of her own house across Pantaleon’s residence on C2 Road in Victor search and arrest warrants and other court orders. “The reason why there aren’t lots of operations there (posh subdivisions) is because our operations are evidence-based. You cannot operate without information, without a case build-up and without evidence. It is easy to get these in depressed areas,” Eleazar said. The NCRPO chief explained that it is the reason why almost all Tokhang visitations are in poor communities as police need information before they can come knocking on anyone’s door. “With the magnitude and so much information that we get, you will act to the DoJ so the investigation can commence. DFA reported there are thousands of undocumented Filipino workers in Middle East countries who left the Philippines using tourist visas. About 700 Filipinos had been repatriated from the Middle East in the past few months for working illegally in such countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain. fronting SM Aura. In Katipunan Avenue, road reblocking was undertaken at the corner of CP Garcia, second lane; also along the truck lane in Fairview Avenue, and the Atherton to Regalado Avenues, second lane from the sidewalk. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said that the trucks of concessionaires Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Company Inc. that will deliver water to residents affected by the current supply shortage in parts of Metro Manila are exempted from the number coding scheme. Korinah Saromines Pedicab driver stabbed dead Lopez, Tondo, but was met by barangay officials who informed her that he had been taken to a hospital. The sister said she heard chairs and bottles being smashed, prompting her to take a look at the window. Pantaleon succumbed to a number of stab wounds in his body at 3:50 a.m., according to attending physician Dr. Ryan Rey Villamayor. Henry Adasa II on information readily available, and these are from depressed areas that we easily penetrate,” Eleazar said. To recall, cops visited Forbes Park and Magallanes Village in 2016, but it wasn’t to track down drug suspects, but only to conduct an “information dissemination campaign.” He, however, argued that it does not mean that people in posh residences are immune to investigation. According to Eleazar, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Group and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group are constantly looking for the “big fishes” in the anti-drug campaign.
MOST INNOVATIVE BROADSHEET 2018 44TH PHILIPPINES BUSINESS EXPO RORY, TOMMY REAL CHUMMY P17 TELCOS UPGRADE SERVICE AHEAD OF THIRD PLAYER P11 DTI’S FOOD EXPO BOLSTERS MSME P10 Jun Vallecera, Editor Sunday, 17 March 2019 Daily Tribune SUNDAYBUSINESS 9 Commercializing coconut husks Around 25 million people live in the uplands, mostly depending from the forest for their livelihood and customary lifestyles By AJ Bajo The country’s Board of Investments (BoI) and representatives from a Swiss-based university are looking into the commercial possibilities for fiberboards made of coco coir and tannin products to up the country’s agricultural output. “Today, coconut husks have a negative value,” Dr. Sauro Bianchi, deputy head of the Bern University of Applied Sciences Department, said. “The Philippines accumulates annually about five million metric tons (MT) of husks from various coconut production facilities that are normally in heaps and just left to rot. A farmer could decide to sell them as ‘bunot’ or ‘pang-gatong’ and gets about P6 per sack.” But citing project results from their Philippine-Swiss research consortium, Bianchi said the coconut husk waste could be transformed into particle boards, or cocoboards, which are “ideally suited for applications into building materials like nonstructural wall, ceiling panels and insulation boards.” The study added that processing even just 15 percent of the five million MT of coconut husks into cocoboard could supply the country’s current needs, as cocoboards meet most international stands for wood fiberboards. The results also noted the alternative boards are highly resistant to wood decay insects such as termites, have low formaldehyde emissions and 30 percent cheaper than plywood. Bianchi said the proper integration of the coconut husk into the coconut value chain could increase its revenues per bag to P32 and accelerate the farmer’s average income by P35. A local partner for the project, Coco Technologies, We’re still deep in debt and stuck to simply trying to close the gap towards a balanced budget. Certainly, we’re not moving towards getting the right infrastructure investments going to power future growth Who says the Philippines is poor? There is a wide range of properties the Philippine government can easily dispose to pay off debts and close the gap towards a balanced budget. This practice of privatizing government assets is nothing new. It is best exemplified by the sale of Fort Bonifacio, which has since been redeveloped and converted into Bonifacio Global City, now Metro Manila’s second most important business district. In efforts to increase local and foreign investment, many such public assets have been privatized through the years. And do you know what is the hottest property nowadays? According to a property consultant, it is the reclamation area in Pasay and Parañaque cities with an area of 2,000 square kilometers which has caught the eye of developers following the much-ballyhooed rehabilitation of Manila Bay. A National Reclamation Plan that proposes to reclaim 26,000 hectares off the bay has reportedly been approved by the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA). It is expected, he says, to become the next center of development in Metro Manila to the chagrin of environmentalists who obviously are wary of the pollution these reclamations could bring to the bay known the world over for its famed sunset. A total of 22 reclamation projects are planned along Manila Bay that will affect and likely pollute a 22,000-hectare area of the historic bay, a PRA official admitted. Three of these 22 proposals have already been approved in principle — the 360-hectare Pasay reclamation project, the Camalig, has applied for a patent for the production of the cocoboard. On the other hand, the BoI said the tannin-based adhesive of cocoboards, extracted from biomass such as tree barks, twigs, roots, shells and fruit husks, present another industry opportunity instead of relying mostly on imports. The pilot tanning project in the Visayas State University in Leyte covers 1.75 hectares and will implement low-cost extraction technology using renewable energy sources. The university’s study includes locally-produced tannin, which can be maximized as adhesives for woods and boards, while its components are used in the process of tanning leather and producing wine, beer, cosmetics and pharmaceutical. The pilot tanning project in the Visayas State University in Leyte covers 1.75 hectares and will implement low-cost extraction technology using renewable energy sources, the BoI said. “Around 25 million people live in the uplands, mostly depending from the forest for their livelihood and customary lifestyles. Their incomes from conventional timber and crops trading are however limited. Developing tannin extraction from biomass such as bark, twigs, roots, shells and fruit husks will improve rural livelihood,” Dr. Bianchi added. The study was financially supported by the Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development, jointly organized by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation. Consumers warned vs online scam The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) issued a warning against transacting with unregistered online gadget sellers suspected of using fake government document to lure customers. The business name certificate is not proof to warrant the legitimacy of a business. The DTI-Agusan del Norte Provincial Office Consumer Protection Division Money for nothing, kicks for free? 140-ha. Solar City project and the Navotas Boulevard Business Park. Another government-owned property that was awarded with finality by the Supreme Court to the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) after a lengthy battle with the Navy Officers’ Village Association (NOVAI) is the 47-ha. property inside the Navy golf course at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. Three years ago, the village property was said to be ready for disposition should the Duterte administration need to generate revenues. The BCDA is said to be planning to initially auction off five hectares of the property which are now valued at an estimated P47 billion. The bravery of our people is truly priceless. And sale of such assets, to us, is downright criminal. Do we really have to sell whatever is left of our patrimony? Just recently, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana ordered the return of that portion of the Navy Golf Course at Fort Bonifacio to the qualified owners from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police. That property, consisting of over 2 million square meters, has been declared as the AFP Officers Village in 1965 by then President Diosdado Macapagal through Proclamation 461 but sadly has not been turned over by previous administrations TURNING wastes into money. The Duterte administration wants to use coco husks as alternative fiber boards. accused HRA Gadgets Cellshop and Accessories, operated by a certain Rodante Paradero Aquino, of selling gadgets through social media, particularly in Facebook, using “fictitious government document to lure consumers into buying discounted/low-priced cellphones, gadgets and accessories.” “We would also like to inform everyone that a DTI business name certification involves only registering a Business Name. It is not a permit or licenses to do business as this can only be given by the local government unit through a mayor’s permit since. Also up for possible grabs are the Bonifacio South Point also at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig (33.13 hectares) which is the subject of a legal battle between the BCDA and the SM group, the Water Fun Amusement Park in West Service Road, Muntinlupa City (33.13 hectares) and the 6,470-square meter lot of the former Manila Jai-Alai bldg. along Taft Ave. in Manila. More than two decades since the privatization of government assets started, the country is far from accomplishing what it had set out to do. We’re still deep in debt and stuck to simply trying to close the gap towards a balanced budget. Certainly, we’re not moving towards getting the right infrastructure investments going to power future growth. It was during the time of President Ramos that hefty amounts exchanged hands. During Ramos’ term, Philippine Air Lines was sold to tobacco mogul Lucio Tan for P9.65 billion. The 160-hectare Fort Bonifacio property was tendered for P34 billion to the Metro Pacific consortium. Property developer Fil-Estate bought Camp John Hay in 1994 under a long-term lease agreement for an estimated P50 million a year in rentals. The following year, Malaysians, as investors, acquired National Steel Corp. The government also privatized Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System in 1997, with Ayala’s Manila Water Company Inc. operating the east zone concession and the Lopez’s Maynilad Water Services Inc. getting the west zone. Manila Hotel was likewise auctioned off in 1997 and is now owned by the late businessman Emilio Yap who also runs the Manila Bulletin. Manny Angeles where the business is operating,” the DTI’s advisory further read. The trade agency added the business name certificate is not proof to warrant the legitimacy of a business. Consumers were advised to take caution in transacting online more so if the sellers are not established and have no verified marketing platforms. “With digital and Internet technologies nowadays, scammers and fraudsters have become wiser to defraud unsuspecting individuals,” the DTI stated. AJBajo Under Joseph Estrada’s short term, several assets were slated for the auction board. But nothing much moved. Thus, state-owned entities like IBC-13, RPN- 9, the Journal Group and Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Corp. remained with government. The stellar performance thus far, when talking about privatization, came during the Arroyo administration. In 2006 alone, revenue from privatization totaled some P120 billion. This helped keep the budget deficit during the year to only P62.2 billion, almost half of the target maximum of P125 billion. Roppongi property is not like any other, having been given to the Filipino people in reparation for the lives of our soldiers during the Japanese occupation. q q q Just how did these frenzy for selling government property start? In 1990 during the time of then President Cory Aquino, government already tried to sell off the Roppongi property in the upscale Fujimi district in Tokyo where the Philippine Ambassador to Japan resides. It is considered a patrimonial property paid for with “blood money” under the 1956 Reparations Agreement with Japan as payment for the suffering and loss of lives of Filipinos during World War II. The intended sale was vehemently opposed by the late Vice President Doy Laurel since there was very strong public opposition against the attempt. Laurel, it is said, argued that the Pagcor mulls TRO against QC The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) is planning on taking the Quezon City government to court to question the legality of a city ordinance regulating gaming operations in its jurisdiction, effectively limiting access to the P40-billion Solaire resort hotel and casino on the 1.57-hectare Ayala Vertis North complex. In a press statement, the gaming regulator said the agency is seriously contemplating a temporary restraining order (TRO) to bar the implementation of Quezon City government’s proposed gaming regulatory ordinance. “PAGCOR maintains that not taking this next important step is tantamount to the dereliction of its duties as gaming regulator,” the statement said. “We also would like to reiterate that with regard to regulation of gaming in local government units (LGU), PD Number 771 ‘revokes the authority of LGU to issue license permit or any form of franchise to operate, maintain and establish forms of gambling.’” The statement cited Presidential Decree (PD) 1869 and Republic Act 9487 mandating Pagcor as the national government agency to regulate all games of chance in the country. PAGCOR maintains that not taking this next important step is tantamount to the dereliction of its duties as gaming regulator. In a memorandum from the Office of the President dated 17 April 1996, then Executive Secretary Ruben Torres directed all local government units and other concerned agencies that “only the national government has the power to issue licenses or permits for the operation of gambling since the power of the local government units to regulate gambling through the grant of franchise, license or permit was withdrawn by PD 771 as early as 1975.” The agency added, “Given the provisions of the law, it is clear that Quezon City’s proposed gaming regulatory ordinance is a violation of national law. With the filing of TRO, we are not only upholding the rule of law but also ensuring that people’s welfare are protected and LGU will not be given a chance to abuse their authority.” Roppongi property is not like any other, having been given to the Filipino people in reparation for the lives of our soldiers during the Japanese occupation. It is, he said, a monument to the bravery and sacrifice of the Filipino people in the face of an invader. It is therefore unpatriotic, he added, to expect economic or financial benefits from them. Laurel’s argument obviously carried weight for Supreme Court Associate Justice Hugo Gutierrez Jr. who penned a decision upholding the Laurel petition to stop the sale of the 3,197-square meter Roppongi property. Indeed, a monument to the bravery of our people is truly priceless. And sale of such assets, to us, is downright criminal. Do we really have to sell what ever is left of our patrimony? Just asking. q q q TITTLE-TATTLES: Motorcycle groups are reportedly up in arms against the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Law, denouncing it as downright stupid. The recentlysigned measure, intended to curb riding-in-tandem crimes committed using such vehicles, requires owners to place big plates in front and at the back of motorcycles for easier identification of suspects. The groups argue that placing big plates in front of the bikes is virtually impossible since it would cover the headlights and affect the vehicles’ aerodynamics. It could also injure the rider should it get blown off. They reportedly are ready to bring their case all the way to the Supreme Court… For comments, feedbackand information, e-mail us at mannyangeles27@gmail.com.
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Page 21 and 22: Dinah S. Ventura, Editor SPOTLIGHT

17 MARCH 2019

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