DENR to validate Ocean Adventure’s environment certificate

By Katherine Adraneda The Philippine Star

Environment Secretary Michael Defensor is set to order the validation of the Environment Compliance Certificate (ECC) issued by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to Ocean Adventure, following the death of the third marine animal in the facility last week.

Defensor said the DENR would have to validate the ECC in order to ensure the living condition and welfare of the animals in the marine park that offers dolphin shows and interaction with false killer whales.

"From the start, I have always raised the issue of competence of the ecology center of the SBMA, which issues the ECCs," Defensor told The Star. "(But) the SBMA has always (taken) the position that they have competence."

Defensor said they will ask a report from SBMA’s ecology center on the death of false killer whales in the marine facility.

Last July 8, a 13-year-old female false killer whale named Hook died after days of illness. Initially, Hook was believed to have suffered from gastro-intestinal illness. But the Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium (SBME) is still conducting tests to determine the actual cause of death.

In July 2001, a juvenile male false killer whale named Deuce died in the park. This was followed by the death of a female killer whale named Coral in January 2004.

Advocates for the protection of animals, Earth Island Institute-Philippines (EII-Phils) and the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), have asked the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to conduct an investigation on the deaths of the animals.

The groups also urged the BAI, DENR and Department of Health to create a team that would check the facilities in the marine park and its use of marine mammals for amusement.

Trixie Concepcion, coordinator of the EII-Phils, explained that environmentalists have claimed that these animals die prematurely while in captivity since the animals are inherently not suited for confinement.

She said that in the wilds, dolphins and whales roam the sea for hundreds of kilometers in a day.

The abrupt change in their systems brought about by captivity disrupts the animal’s overall behavior and can affect its immune systems.

This, she pointed out, may explain why dolphins and whales in captivity are more susceptible to infections, and consequently live shorter lives.

Concepcion further noted that false killer whales live up to 62 year, but confinement in an animal park like Ocean Adventure will not allow them to reach maturity.

Ocean Adventure is a dolphin park operated by the SBME

FEDEX MUST STAY

Official Statement of Senator Richard Gordon

It PERSONALLY saddens AND PAINS me no end to have learned DIRECTLY from Federal Express officials that when their contract in Subic expires in 2007, they will move their operations to China. The loss of FedEx’s investment and presence in the Philippines is another blow to our efforts to attract and keep investments in the country.

Why the personal sadness and pain? As everybody is aware of (perhaps not so much the younger generation), Subic was a major source of employment and business for Central Luzon. In 1991 the U.S. Naval Base had an employment force of 46,000 people, generating Php 350 Mil annually in taxes with a very high pass on effect on business enterprises in the region.

All this was lost when 12 senators decided not to renew the U.S. Bases agreement without really giving any alternative to the people in terms of employment and income – a case of an air force with all air. The U.S. armed forces left the country – the U.S. Navy from Subic and the U.S. Air Force from Clark. Clark was not protected and was shamefully looted for which I will not go into details.

However, in the case of Subic, I immediately asked for volunteers to protect and maintain the facilities. Despite the problems of the Pinatubo eruption, the spirit of volunteerism and honor among the Filipino people came to the fore – the facilities in Subic were protected and the assets were maintained.

My next problem was how to use the facility in a proper, employment and income-generating manner? Clearly, the infrastructure was there – particularly, the hangars, the port and the storage facilities. It just needed investors. Thus, with the support at the time of former president Fidel V. Ramos, I promoted Subic as an ideal investment/export zone that also required air and sea capability to support locator factories in delivering their products to markets in a just in time basis.

Thus, one of the first groups I met was FedEx and Fred Smith, its President/CEO and major shareholder. I convinced Fred that the Philippines, in general, and Subic, in particular, was a good place to invest due to its strategic location, the infrastructure, but most importantly, Fred realized that there was a government (both at the national and local levels) that was supportive of his investment. Fred also had good memories of his stay in Subic as a young U.S. marine during the Vietnam war. Even at the time, Fred was aware of China and I recall his asking me if China had expansionary ambitions. I told him that China always thought of itself as being the center of the universe. When you look at its history, it does not invade or conquer but only expects recognition and respect for its culture, traditions and territory.

I was delighted when Fred advised me that FedEx would locate its Asian hub in Subic. Together with my young lawyers, we faced the grizzled veterans of the New York law firms and, in less than 8 months (even shorter than the gestation period for a baby), President Ramos and I signed FedEx’s investment license. Having FedEx in Subic helped in the subsequent investment drives – Subic became interesting to locators like Acer since FedEx was present to allow them to deliver their products to clients on an immediate basis. Fred was also delighted because the more locators I was able to bring into the zone, the more business for FedEx. Thus, zone management and FedEx had mutually beneficial relationship that was good for FedEx, good for the locators and, more important, good for the country not so much in terms of investments but in terms of employment and income generation. Thus, barely two years after FedEx set shop, Subic had a total employment of 70,000, even more than during the time of the US Bases. This success was a continuous inspiration to my young volunteers.

I believe that the contributory cause to the loss of FedEx was the lack of continuity after my forced departure as administrator – my successor did not provide the continuity in supporting the locators. There was no active promotion in bringing in more investments. Even of more importance, while the Asian crisis was ongoing, there was no caring for the investors such as maintaining basic infrastructure (ex., simple painting and maintaining of buildings) including peace and order – a visit to Subic would prove my case. Thus, Thompson, BICC Cables and a lot more left and half of Acer went to China. In the meantime, my successor looked inward and focused on domestic concerns which many people are aware of.

From a business perspective, the loss of FedEx reduces the country’s promotional clout while also resulting a loss of rental income and landing fees.

Again, it pains me and slices my hear to the core to remember all the efforts of the volunteers, the people who watched the houses, maintained and protected the grounds and facilities, who negotiated with veteran investors and financial wizards and protected the interests of the country while also being supportive of the investors. All this is slowly trickling away with FedEx being the best example.

However, we must move on – as senator, I shall continue to promote our country and attract other investments in place of FedEx (if we cannot convince it to stay). Even more importantly, we must continue to support the current locators – one approach I suggest is that Philippine Airlines and the government work together to provide the current locators with a capability similar to that being provided by FedEx and UPS.

While I recognize the significantly larger market of China and her vast potentials, we could have exerted extra efforts to convince FedEx to stay in the Philippines with our inherent strategic location and hardworking highly-skilled English speaking work force --- at the very least move to the Clark Special Economic Zone --- after their lease contract expired in Subic and in consideration of the larger airfield facilities that Clark utilized by the U. S. Air Force has over Subic to accommodate and handle FedEx’s growing requirements.

In summary, we have two (2) years to convince FedEx to stay. I was told by my source that it’s almost impossible to reverse their decision. But we must remain hopeful and the challenge is now on the SBMA. The administration thereat must entail the similar vigor, spirit and dynamism of the volunteers and pioneers in attracting foreign investors. Freeport incentives, infrastructure enhancement and maintenance, strict enforcement of rules and procedures that we laid out and established in the beginning must be maintained. Furthermore, corruption, smuggling and the constant changing of the rules over the past 6 years must be stopped.

More Asian airlines set to mount flights from Clark airport to Hong Kong, Macau

Two more Asian airlines will soon mount regular flights to and from Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here, while another one is set to open new route to serve passengers in Central and Northern Luzon.

This was announced by Clark Development Corp. (CDC) Executive Vice President and COO Victor Jose I. Luciano who said that Hong Kong Express Airways Ltd. (HK Express) and Far Eastern Transport Corp. (FETCo) are the latest additions to the growing number of airlines that fly to DMIA.

HK Express is a feeder airline to China from the former Crown Colony, while FETCo is one of Taiwan’s oldest airlines.

Likewise, Tiger Airways of Singapore — one of the best low-cost carriers in Asia — will be opening a Macau-Clark-Macau flights. The airline currently has five-a week flights to and from Clark.

Luciano said that HK Express will fly to Clark twice weekly from the former British colony starting on Aug. 7. HK Express is Hong Kong’s newest airline.

From its base at Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok airport, HK Express Airways intends to operate services between Hong Kong and popular cities in Mainland China, using the new EMBRAER 170.

With the new flights, the number of tourists to Hong Kong is expected to double, Luciano said.

The new airline will be the second airline to fly the HK-Clark-HK route. Earlier, China Rich Airways launched a thrice-weekly flights to Clark from the Special Administrative Region of China.

Likewise, Luciano said FETCo, Taiwan-based airline with 48 years in the service, will fly to Clark three times a week starting at the end of the month.

FETCo was a recipient of Best Airline awards from the Civil Aeronautics Administration, especially in the area of maintenance quality in 2000. The airline will use either Boeing 757s or MD 80s aircraft in the Taipei-Clark-Taipei route starting July 31.

FETCo was founded in 1957 as the first privately owned airline in Taiwan. It now operates 11 domestic routes and four international routes, served by a fleet of 16 jet aircraft.

Luciano said the decision of FETCo to make DMIA a regular destination came after some Taiwan’s key officials saw the potential of Clark airport as a viable destination for the growing tourism industry in Chinese-Taipei.

In October, Tiger Airways will launch its daily Macau-Clark-Macau flights after the airline was able to secure approval for the route from Macau authorities.

Singapore’s budget carrier increased its flights to the Philippines to five a week from the present three flights

8 suspects arrested for illegal fishing in Subic

A team from the 3rd Police Regional Maritime Office arrested eight fishermen for illegal fishing off the coast of Sitio Nagyantok, Barangay Cawag, Subic, Zambales, the other day.

Chief Inspector Jesus F. Fernandez, head of the unit, identified the arrested fishermen as Rene Bautista, 55, captain of fishing boat; Bogoy Arong, 35, boat engineer; Jake Makinaya, Vicente Royal, Rodolfo Camacho, Richard Megarcos, Dodong de Dosen, and Lando de los Santos, all residents of Sitio Nagyantok, Ba­rangay Cawag, Subic.

According to the report, a team headed by Senior Police Officer 3 Albert Hong was on sea patrol when they spotted the fishermen.

Hong alleged that the fishermen hastily threw away three improvised explosive devices into the water when they saw the police patrol approach their boat.

When the police boarded the boat, they found three more bottles containing home-made explosives inside the fishing vessel.

The fishermen’s catch also showed signs of dynamite fishing, such as blasted bellies.

Further investigation showed that the fishermen and the boat’s skipper and engineer did not have the proper licenses.

Police brought the fishermen’s catch to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources office, where it was found that the fish were caught through the use of explosives.

The suspects were charged with illegal possession of explosives and illegal fishing before the Municipal Trial Court of Subic, Zambales.

Olongapo Quarry Ordinance on its 3rd and final reading

Readers are encouraged to submit their comments
by sending eMail to: sangunian@subicbay.ph

To view the full text of the proposed ordinance in PDF format, please follow link:
http://subicbay.ph/Olongapo/Quarry_Ordinance.pdf

or this link if you prefer to read the text using your explorer:
quarrying_ord_of_ejp_Rev3.doc

DENR, Zambales sign MOA on forest

By Mark Louie Roxas, MT Central Luzon Bureau

SAN FERNANDO CITY, Pampanga: Environment authorities here and local officials of Zambales on Friday signed a memorandum of agreement to strengthen community-based forestry as a strategy to address the twin problems of poverty and forest degradation and achieve sustainable development in Zambales.

Regidor de Leon, DENR-Central Luzon executive director, said the agreement sets forth the form of cooperation between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the local government in sustainable forest management by empowering communities and local people.

He said the memorandum would strengthen the five-year enhancement of the community-based forest management project, expected to be completed by 2009.

“The task of reversing the trend of forest destruction requires the department to forge creative partnerships with local governments to protect and manage our dwindling forest resources,” de Leon said during a regular session of the Sangguniang Bayan in Botolan.

Under the Local Government Code, local governments are mandated to share with the national government the responsibility in the management and maintenance of ecological balance within their jurisdiction.

Mayor Rogelio Yap of Botolan vowed to provide environment and legislative support to the project to show the support and gratitude of the Zambaleño to the Japanese government and the environment office for selecting the Loob-Bunga.

The 174-hectare Loob-Bunga project site is managed by the Loob-Bunga Settlers Association Inc., a federation of nine people’s organizations of about 1,000 members, mostly Aetas displaced by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991.

Hideki Miyakawa, chief adviser of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, disclosed that only five out of the 22 proposed model sites in Central Luzon met the criteria set by the Japanese government, which include peace and order, political will of the local government to support the project, and the commitment of local communities to the project.

In 2004 the environment department launched the five-year program, which received technical assistance of P250 million from the Japanese government through JICA.

Ricardo Calderon, DENR deputy director for forestry, said the project covers five model sites in Magalang and Sapangbato, Pampanga; General Tinio, Nueva Ecija; and Botolan, Zambales.

This is the second major forestry project of the Japanese government in the Philippines since 1976, the first being the RP-Japan forest development project in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija.

Third Whale Dies at Subic Dolphinarium

Time and again, environmentalists and animal welfare organizations are being proven correct in advocating against the captivity of dolphins and whales for human amusement.

Last 8 July 2005, a third false killer whale died at Ocean Adventure, a dolphin park operated by the Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium (SBME). According to SBME, the animal, a 13-year old female false killer whale named 'Hook', was suffering from a 'gastro-intestinal illness'. SBME is still conducting tests to determine actual cause of the death.

It should be recalled that Deuce, a juvenile male false killer whale, was the first one to die in the park on July 2001. This was followed by the death of Coral, also a juvenile female false killer whale on January 2004. The death of the third whale brings down to two the number of surviving false killer whales in the facility.

For years, environmental and animal welfare groups have been educating the public with regards to the true nature of dolphins and whales. Environmentalists claim that these animals die prematurely while in captivity since they are inherently unsuited for confinement. In the wild, dolphins and whales evolved as free swimming animals that roam the sea for hundreds of kilometers in a day. Abrupt change in their systems such as captivity disrupts their overall behavior and can affect their immune systems. This may explain why dolphins and whales in captivity are more susceptible to infections, and consequently, to shorter lives.

According to Trixie Concepcion, Coordinator for Earth Island Institute-Philippines, "The height of animal cruelty is to deprive an animal of its life. In the wild, false killer whales live up to 62 years of age, but confinement in Ocean Adventure will make sure that none of these animals live to reach maturity."

Earth Island Institute-Philippines (EII-Phils) and the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) are urging the government, through the Bureau of Animal Industries (BAI) to conduct an investigation on the continuing deaths of animals in the facility.

For years, both EII and PAWS had been advocating the closure of the facility for the violation of the Animal Welfare Act (RA 8485) and the Environmental Impact Statement System (PD 1586). The SBME is currently facing charges in court for the violation of these laws. Since its operation in 2001, it has failed to secure an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) in violation of PD 1586, and it has also failed to register with the BAI, in violation of the Animal Welfare Act (RA 8485).

Reference: Trixie Concepcion - 9263139; 0927-5254951

Chavez, Gordon clash over Cam

By Efren L. Danao, MT Senior Reporter and Patricia Esteves, Reporter

Emotions ran high Tuesday at the Senate inquiry into the proliferation of jueteng after former Solicitor General Frank Chavez protested the way Sen. Richard Gordon was questioning his client Sandra Cam, and Gordon asked that Chavez be cited for contempt.

“If they want to declare me in contempt of the Senate, then so be it. But I’d rather be declared in contempt of the Senate than be in contempt of justice,” Chavez told reporters after the hearing.

Sen. Manuel Villar, cochair of the hearing with Sen. Lito Lapid, did not act on Gordon’s motion to cite Chavez for contempt before adjourning the hearing.

Villar said the motion has to be acted upon by the Senate Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs, which he heads, and the Committee on Games, Amusement and Sports, headed by Lapid. The two committees will meet Thursday to discuss and other issues related to the hearing.

Ironically, the flare-up took place after Gordon had complained that the hearings had been droning on and with some witnesses even being insulted. He had wanted an immediate end to the hearings because he believed the committee had gathered enough materials to recommend prosecution by the Ombudsman and to come out with a recommended legislation.

Gordon was asking Cam if she knew some persons and if she had been charged with violations of the bouncing checks law and forcible entry. Chavez protested that Gordon was “derogating” Cam.

“His pattern of questioning was meant to create distrust in my client. He was already arguing with my client, who is a resource person. When a senator argues with a resource person, then the resource person is at a disadvantage,” Chavez explained later.

Gordon shrugged off Cha­vez’s flare-up, saying it was a lawyer’s technique whenever a client gets caught.

“I am a lawyer. Am I supposed to accept all her words?” he asked.

Cam was the only one among the witnesses presented by Archbishop Oscar Cruz of Lingayen-Dagupan to testify that she had personally delivered jueteng payoffs to Rep. Mikey Arroyo of Pampanga and Rep. Ignacio Arroyo of Negros Occidental.

She was crying when Villar suspended the hearing. She said later she would court being cited for contempt by the Senate should Gordon do the same thing again to her in the next hearing.

Cruz announced he would present two witnesses who will testify that jueteng payoffs funded attempts to rig last year’s presidential election.

Cruz said their disclosure would be more damaging than the supposed wiretaps of the President talking to an election official while the ballots were still being counted.

Cruz vouched for the credibility of the witnesses, who he said are former politicians.

He said they had attended group meetings before the elections and witnessed the exchange of money to fund election returns that would be used in rigging the poll results.

Asked if the witnesses would implicate Mrs. Arroyo in their testimony, Cruz replied, “I can’t say right now but I just know that they’re telling the truth.”

28 kompanya sa SBMA nagsara na

Ang Pilipino STAR Ngayon 07/10/2005

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Kabaligtaran ang isinusulong ni Pangulong Arroyo na makapagbigay ng trabaho sa mga naghihikahos na mamamayan dahil libong manggagawa ang tuluyang nawalan ng trabaho dahil sa pagsasara ng mga kumpanya dito sa ginawang pagpigil ni Anti-Smuggling Task Force (ASTF) chief ret. Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim na mag-isyu ng import permit. Aabot sa 10,000 manggagawa mula sa 28-kumpanyang nakabase sa Subic Bay Freeport na may kinalaman sa negosyong importasyon ng sasakyan ang nawalan ng trabaho na karamihan ay pawang mekaniko, painter at electrician.

Ang pagsasara ng ilang kumpanya ay bumaba rin ang koleksyon ng Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority at maging ang Bureau of Customs (BoC) dahil sa walang nagbabayad ng karagdagang buwis na magmumula sa mga importers ng mga sasakyan ng P50-milyon kada buwan. Sa kabila nito, patuloy pa rin ang talamak na smuggling ng mga kontrabando na ipinupuslit sa gate ng Tipo kung saan ilang tauhan ng Law Enforcement Dept. at SWAT ng SBMA ang kasapakat. (Ulat ni Jeff Tombado)

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This blogger believes in the number of companies that closed shop BUT does not believe that up to 10,000 workers lost their jobs. At the most, it would be less than 2,000 but these workers does not necessarily lost their jobs because they remain on their jobs - subcontracting projects. Its just that they now have less contracts. By the way, yesterday I saw Lito Soriano walking by Sta Rita Road, I stopped-by to give him a ride, he told me that the van they bought from Subic Auctioneers have a sub-standard steering mechanism after it was converted from right-hand drive to left-hand drive. He and his family were lucky that they were not in a hi-speed road when the steering mechanism failed, otherwise, it would have been a tragic accident.

Former FPJ Leader, Vice Gov Lacbain Joins Calls For Rule Of Law

Subic, Zambales. Zambales Vice Governor Ramon G. Lacbain II who run under the opposition Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) and gave Fernando Poe Jr. and Loren Legarda more than 70,000 lead each over President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Vice President Noli de Castro during the last elections has joined the calls for the rule of law.

“I symphatize with Ms. Susan Roces and the other opposition leaders for what they feel after hearing the wiretapped conversations between the president and a COMELEC official but I believe it is best for this nation’s interest as well as the Filipino people’s that we follow the rule of law.

If indeed violations of existing laws have been committed during the last elections as can be suspected from the wiretapped conversations, then let both Houses of Congress of the Philippines do their duties as provided for by law and go through the legal process to determine all violations and to impose appropriate penalties.”

Lacbain, who is also the executive vice president of the League of Vice Governors’ of the Philippines (LVGP) has had his sad experiences for the past two (2) people power revolutions.

When former president Ferdinand Marcos was removed by EDSA revolution in 1986 Lacbain was also removed as president of the Kabataang Barangay of Zambales and as member of the provincial board representing the youth sector.

When former president Erap Estrada was removed by another people power in 2001, he was also removed as spokesman and media relations officer of former executive secretary Edgardo Angara.

“What have we gained for the past people power revolutions? We were able to change leaders and the government system but as far as the attitudes of the people are concerned, we have remained the same.

Poverty has remained our greatest problem as a nation. Although we were able to show to the whole world that we can change leaders through bloodless revolutions but still we remained underdeveloped. We have now institutionalized people power as the shortest and easiest way of removing the president and then all the other leaders in government.

We have existing laws that must govern our way of life. After all so much of government’s money from taxes paid by the people have been spent to make these laws. Why don’t we follow and respect these laws? Let the rule of law prevail and make those who violated them answer for them”, quipped Lacbain who was given a zero budget for the vice governor’s office for this year by Zambales governor Vic Magsaysay.

Fil-Am Friendship Month

The Philippines and the United States: An enduring alliance

Filipino and Americans have been friends for more than a century. Americans have enjoyed longer, closer and more cordial relations with Filipinos than with any other people in Asia. These ties are firmly based on shared historical experiences, on a common commitment to democracy, and on the heritage of free and open societies.

Follow link to read in full the speech of Dr. Alberto G. Romulo, Secretary of Foreign Affairs , at The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C.