The Surge is here

Don’t look now, but there’s quite possibly a big government infrastructure coming soon in your direction.

      

That's because the government appears to be accelerating approvals of big-ticket infra projects with less than a year to go before a new administrations kicks in.   The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board recently approved five new projects in the transportation and energy sectors worth P131.4 billion.
      

The approved projects, according to Malacañang, underscore the importance of improving the country's infrastructure to sustain long-term economic growth.
      

Among the NEDA approved projects are the new passenger terminal building at the Clark International Airport, which is being built to meet its expansion requirements. The project costing P15.3 billion will allow Clark International Airport to accommodate up to three million passengers a year.

      

The Naga airport expansion project in Camarines Sur costing P3.5 billion is geared towards meeting growing tourism demand.

      

NEDA also approved the construction of the P64.7 billion LRT Line 6, a 19-kilometer elevated rail facility from LRT Line 1 extension in Bacoor that will go southward through Imus and up to Dasmariñas. LRT Line 4 costing P42.8 billion will be built from EDSA Ortigas to Taytay City, on an elevated rail facility covering a distance of 11 kilometers.

      

Apart from these, NEDA also approved the P4.8-billion energy program that will  provide grant assistance for solar home systems and rural power generation facilities.

      

But the accelerated infrastructure development program, particularly the two LRT projects, is being questioned by critics who claim that these are loaded with sovereign guarantees, or provisions in government contracts that ensure a certain level of profits for investors at public expense. Moreover, they are saying that these could be "midnight" deals to be awarded just before the elections.

      

Be that as it may, we believe the government is on the right track in getting more infrastructure projects off and running. After all, one of the main gripes of potential  investors, both local and foreign, is the lack of adequate infrastructure. We just have to ensure that the rules are not changed in midstream, and that contracts are duly respected, even with a change in administration. –End-

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Cutting overspeeders down to size

We've had one too many vehicular accidents caused by reckless drivers with absolutely no  respect for human life and who put their passengers at grave risk by overspeeding on our thoroughfares.

      

Such wanton disregard for public safety could be a thing of the past with the recent passage by the House of Representatives of a measure requiring all public utility and certain types of vehicles to install speed limiters to address the problem of overspeeding, a major cause of traffic accidents.

      

House Bill 5911, to be known as “Speed Limiters Act,” requires all public utility vehicles (PUVs), shuttle services, closed vans, haulers, cargo trailers and tanker trucks to install a standard speed limiter before they can register at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) or be given franchise by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

      

With the installation of a speed limiter in public utility vehicles and multi-wheeler cargo trucks, every driver will have to drive under a calibrated and calculated speed, thus reducing speed-related accidents.

      

Under the measure, the driver, operator or owner of vehicles with non-functioning, tampered or without the speed limiter with a fine of P50,000.

      

Aside from the fine, the driver’s license shall be suspended for one month for the first offense, three-month suspension of driver’s license for second offense, and revocation of license for third offense.

      

Likewise, the franchise of the motor vehicle of the offending owner or operator of the vehicle shall be suspended for three months for first offense, six months for the second offense, and suspension of operation for one year.

      

Any person guilty of tampering the speed limiter shall suffer a penalty of Imprisonment of not more than three years and a fine of P30,000.

      

Congress is on the right track in passing this bill on public safety.  While we cannot prevent maniacal overspeeders and homicidal drivers from getting behind the wheel, we can at least prevent them from  careening  down the streets at murderous speeds and killing or maiming those who find themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time. –End-

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Taxed to death

It’s been said that death and taxes are the only two certainties in life. But the high tax rates in the Philippines may well hasten the death of many Filipinos if not for their coping mechanism -- finding happiness wherever.

Before a bill to lower income tax could gain traction in the House of Representatives, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima quickly dealt it the coup d’ grace by saying any tax rate reduction would slow down the economy.

It did not matter to Purisima that as per the 2014 report of the Tax Management Association of the Philippines (TMAP), Filipinos are the most heavily taxed in all of Southeast Asia.

By the way, a recent survey also says that Filipinos are the most happy with their jobs despite having one of the lowest salaries in Asia.

To others, the low salaries and high taxes would be enough of a double black-eye to have anything to smile about. But Filipinos see silver linings in all dark clouds and smiling or laughing is part of their coping mechanism.

According to TMAP, an annual salary of P500,000 is taxed a whopping 32 percent in the Philippines, while its equivalent is only taxed 2 percent in Singapore, 11 percent in Malaysia, 12 percent in Laos, and 20 percent in Vietnam and Cambodia.

The tax rates in the Philippines for  fixed income earners in the various other tax levels are also highest in Southeast Asia, affecting both the poorest 10 percent and the richest 10 percent of Filipinos.

In the Philippines, there are only two certainties – death and VERY HIGH taxes. And no, lowering taxes would not hobble the Philippine economy if only billions of billions of pesos of taxes paid by Filipinos are not stolen by the corrupt in government and their cohorts in the private sector who rig contracts and pocket more than half of the funds allocated for public projects. –End-

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What? Family planning to be practiced in Bangsamoro?

We can at least be sure that if the Bangsamoro region finally gets up and going—nobody knows when since the deliberations on the Bangsamoro Basic Law in both the Senate and House are still ongoing—the people in Muslim Mindanao will not be multiplying like rabbits.      

According to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), it fully supports the delivery of reproductive health services to women in Bangsamoro communities, especially in conflict areas. 

      

MILF chief Al Haj Murad  considers the partnership between the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to improve the delivery of reproductive health services— especially maternal and infant care – to residents in conflict areas as a "very good move because it will enlighten and will give the right information to our people regarding reproductive health.”

      

We're glad that the UNFPA will closely coordinate with Muslim religious leaders in Mindanao to provide a better contextualization of family planning in relation to Islam. “While reproductive health is very much welcome as far as MILF is concerned, there are biases against family planning among the Muslim population because of issues that are not fairly addressed,” Murad explained.

      

Under the campaign “Ligtas Buntis,” maternal care (pre- and post-pregnancy) and family planning services will be made available in 10 major MILF camps.

      

At the same time, health personnel will also be trained on basic emergency obstetric and newborn care.

      

UNFPA will develop an existing health center at Camp Darapanan to become a birthing center for women in nearby communities. This center will serve as a model for rolling out these services in other areas.

      

We most point out that Muslim  Mindanao is one of the poorest regions in the country, with no less than 47 percent of families living below the poverty line.  Armed conflict since the 1970s has exacerbated the poverty problem since socio-economic development programs could not be undertaken in conflict areas.

      

With self-governance for the Bangsamoro a distinct possibility—that is, if the law creating it gets past the legislative mill—and the MILF fully supportive of reproductive health programs, Muslim Mindanao can concentrate on socio-economic programs that will uplift the quality of life of everyone. It’s about time. –End-

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Not for the Dense

Only 10 percent or 1,343 out of 13,334 examinees passed the entrance examination for candidate Police Officer 1 conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) last April.

The low number of qualified applicants partly explains why the PNP is finding it difficult to fill up its authorized troop ceiling of 174,410 this year, leaving 23,820 positions vacant.

It may also be deduced from the low passing rate that the PNP could not seem to attract the best and brightest college graduates to join its ranks even if the starting salary of policemen has become competitive.

That or Philippine education has so deteriorated to the point that many college graduates could not pass the PNP exam, which while not easy is not known to be tough either.

The low number of college graduates qualified to train to become policemen certainly raises questions on a proposal by PNP chief Director General Ricardo Marquez to allow high school graduates of the K-12 program to join the PNP.

If many college graduates are not good enough to become policemen, how could high school graduates fare better than those with four or five years more years of college level schooling?

The PNP should not dumb down its examination either just to increase the passing percentage of the examinees.

Police work requires making life-and-death decisions and as such cannot be left to the judgment of recruits with questionable aptitude or intelligence. –End-

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Light at the end of the tunnel?

Commuters have every reason to be optimistic that their daily ordeal in taking the  MRT3 along EDSA would soon be over.

That's because the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Metro Rail Transit management have already begun the assembly of the new train set prototype from a Chinese company, CNR Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co. Ltd. 

The prototype of three train coaches will still undergo a series of tests until the end of the year. After it passes the series of tests conducted by MRT engineers, 48 train coaches will be added to the current 73 available train coaches. This means that at peak hours on day and night there will be 30 train sets compared to the 20 train sets currently running.

An estimated 540,000 commuters use the MRT Line 3 at peak hours daily but once the new train sets undergo testing, the transit system would be able to accommodate 900,000 commuters.

By the first half of next year, when the new train sets begin operation, then we can expect riding the MRT, which has seen better days and already prone to frequent breakdowns, to be more comfortable.

But will the imminent upgrade of the MRT3 improve the transport system and reduce traffic congestion in Metro Manila, and therefore we can see light at the end of the tunnel? We really hope so.

Meantime, commuters and motorists will simply have to have the patience of Job and wait for the transport and traffic situation to improve. That is, if the DOTC and other concerned government agencies are able to get their act together and deliver what is expected of them.

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Do we really need another expense?

The proposal by a business leader for the government to appoint a Cabinet-level "traffic czar" who will be in charge of all traffic-related concerns looks good on the surface, but may actually be unnecessary or perhaps even counter-productive.

      

Traffic congestion in Metro Manila has grown more horrible in recent years due in part to a situation  where there are more vehicles on the road and few new roads being built.

      

But that's only one aspect of the problem. The MMDA has been reinforced with more traffic constables but they seem unable to cope with the bigger number of vehicles on the road and the lack of discipline among our drivers.

      

The traffic problem cannot be solved piecemeal. You can have a traffic czar who attends Cabinet meetings, but wasn't that the main responsibility of the MMDA chairman who now wants to be senator?

      

Designating a Cabinet-level person as the solution to horrendous traffic is too simplistic. 

      

Remember that a former  senator was designated as Cabinet-level rehabilitation czar for Tacloban and other Yolanda-hit areas, but wasn't given any budget. Result: he could not get anything done except a comprehensive plan for rehabilitation and reconstruction that would cost tens of billions of pesos, and resigned in a huff.  

      

That's what's exactly going to happen with a traffic czar who simply cannot get past the DPWH or DOTC secretaries and dictate to them what he feels is needed to solve the traffic problem.

      

What we need to do is to upgrade and expand the light rail system to cover more areas. Can the traffic czar do this? No.

      

We also need to build more road infrastructure, which is part of the function of  DPWH.  Will DPWH allow the traffic czar to have his way in building new roads? We seriously doubt it.  

      

Traffic also becomes unbearable because of floods that take place during half of every year. What can the traffic czar do about floods? Absolutely nothing.

      

We don’t need another Cabinet-level person to handle traffic. Let the police and the MMDA do the job of untangling traffic, but first weed out the undesirables, the misfits and scalawag in their ranks. –End-

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