Philippines News

(Johannesburg) - The Zambian government should make comprehensive efforts to clean up the contaminated former lead mine in Kabwe, the capital of Zambia's Central province, Environment Africa and Human Rights Watch said today. The organizations released a video in which yo

THE Commission of Audit (COA) has flagged several infrastructure projects of the Cebu City Government, including a drainage project where “excessive” advance payment of P199.323 million was made in 2021 but whose construction remained to have zero progress as of the end of 2022, and others that were terminated four to five years ago without the City recouping the mobilization fees that have run up to P28.8 million.

COA said these flaws have compromised the interests of the City Government and the general public.

COA questioned the contract that the City Government awarded through a bidding process to a Manila City-based contractor for the design and construction of the drainage mains located in several streets across the city on April 19, 2021, as part of the City’s flood control program.

As per the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) report, the project was slated to start on April 27, 2021 and finished on November 17, 2022. But COA said the contractor failed to transition from the design phase to the construction phase even at the end of 2022.

The P1.3 billion project involved the construction of flood-mitigating interventions along Cabreros St. - N. Bacalso Ave. - V.H. Garces St.; A. Gabuya St; and Leon Kilat St.- Escano St., Cebu City.

The contractor delivered only seven of 27 documents and design plans to the City Engineering, which COA said may be from the contractor’s apparent lack of technical personnel as some deliverables had no signatures from various professionals and were made only by a single engineer.

The City Government made an advance payment of P199.323 million for the design phase on June 15, 2021 on the contractor’s request, as it was already equivalent to 15 percent of the total contract cost.

COA also questioned the “unreasonable and unjustifiable suspension” of the project that was done three times with ease, giving the impression that the contractor was given unwarranted favors.

From the start of official work, the first suspension was given on May 4, 2021; the second on August 3, 2021; and the third on September 3, 2021.

COA called “flimsy” the reasons that the contractor gave for the delays, which were travel restrictions, rigorous testing for cross-border travel, and unstable quarantine status in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The contractor also said it was having difficulty securing various data on existing drainage and utility infrastructure crucial for the work of the designers.

The state auditor said due to the importance of the project, the City Government should have exerted efforts to expedite its completion.

Not authorized

Furthermore, COA questioned why then city administrator Floro Casas Jr., acting behind the authority of the late mayor Edgardo Labella, entered into a contract for this project in 2021 without the authorization of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP).

The project was funded though the 2015 General Fund Lump Sum appropriation, specifically under the Repair/Construction of Drainage System label, but the state auditor stressed that the city administrator has no authority to bind the City Government into a contract using the Lump Sum without the authority of the SP.

Hence, COA made the recommendation to terminate or revoke the contract due to project delays of 247 days as of December 31, 2022.

The City Government must also recover the advance payment of P199.323 million and submit a detailed explanation on the excessive advance payment and leniency in the giving of time suspension.

Reply and rejoinder

In its reply, DEPW explained that due to rigorous travel restrictions during that period, people feared to travel across different regions in the country in case they got stranded, which he believed to be meritorious and justifiable due to the pandemic.

However, COA replied that despite the pandemic, the contractor should have made significant progress on the project, particularly since it took risks and accepted the contract at the height of the health emergency.

COA added that the contractor was given an advance payment at its request, showing that it saw the project to be feasible at that time.

Uncollected advance payment

As for the separate P28.8 million in uncollected advance payments for other projects, COA asked the DEPW, and the latter agreed, to retrieve these uncollected amounts from 13 infrastructure projects of the City Government from 2014 to 2016 that were already canceled or terminated and abandoned.

According to the subsidiary ledgers of Advances to Contractors account, an amount of P28.8 million of P46.3 million of the 15 percent Mobilization Fee remains uncollected.

These projects were terminated due to various issues such as lot ownership, presence of occupants, permits and clearances.

The state auditor first flagged the transactions in a 2017 audit report, which grew to 14 projects with uncollected advance payment in 2018; however, in 2019 the mobilization fee for only one project was fully settled.

COA said the City Government has made slow progress in retrieving the advance payment.

To prevent this from happening again, COA suggested, and DEPW agreed, to form a new Contract Review and Termination Committee (CTRM).

This CRTM will demand or initiate legal action against contractors with unsettled advance payments, forfeit the letters of credit or guarantee performance bond of the contractors, and blacklist contractors who refuse to settle their balances.

The committee also has the authority to impose sanctions against the erring City Hall employees that caused the termination of the projects due to fault or negligence.

OVER 300,000 households in Cebu City will get an additional water supply if the Filinvest Group’s proposal to construct desalination and treatment plants is approved by the City Government.

The Gotianun-led conglomerate has recently proposed to the City to increase the city’s water supply through desalination, utilizing the seawater off the city. Its officials paid Mayor Michael Rama a courtesy visit to discuss sustainable solutions to the city’s water supply.

According to Filinvest Group, Rama told its officials that he supports their intent, as part of the city’s vision to achieve a “Singapore-like Cebu City.”

“This partnership will bring affordable and sustainable solutions to our current water shortage, and I believe it will contribute to the development and progress of our city,” Rama was quoted as saying in the company press release.

“With Filinvest’s expertise, we can address our water supply challenges, and most importantly, provide affordable water for all Cebuanos,” he added.

SunStar Cebu reached out to Rama on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, to get further details about the proposal, but he declined to comment. City Administrator Collin Rosell was separately asked about it, but he said he had no knowledge about it.

Assurance

Johnny Roxas, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Filinvest Hitachi Omni Waterworks (Flow), assured Rama that Flow has the experience and expertise in desalination technology.

He told the mayor that their firm’s water desalination and treatment plants in Lapu-Lapu City have been in operation for over five years.

“We are committed to support the development and progress of Cebu City by addressing its water supply challenges,” Roxas said in a press statement released to the media on Wednesday.

Flow is a joint venture between Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) and Singapore-based Hitachi Aqua-Tech Engineering that aims to provide desalination, recycled water, and sewage treatment facilities across the Philippines.

Backed by Hitachi Aqua-Tech’s expertise, Roxas said Filinvest is positioned “to provide long-term solutions to the water requirements of Cebu, possibly closing the gap on supply deficiency.”

FDC Water Utilities Inc., a wholly owned unit of FDC power and utilities arm FDC Utilities Inc., will operate the plants if the proposal is approved.

Tristan Las Marias, president and CEO of Filinvest Land Inc., joined Flow executives when they visited Rama.

“The Filinvest Group remains dedicated to enabling the dreams of the Cebuanos and further strengthening our presence in the city,” he said. “With the operation of these new water desalination and treatment plants, we aim to provide clean and sustainable water to the people of Cebu.” (with AML)

OVER 5,000 voter registrations were delisted in Cebu City’s South District in one week, said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, three months prior to the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).

Data provided by the Comelec-Cebu City South District showed that 5,162 more voters were delisted, bringing the total to 11,377, as of July 18.

Last week, the office reported that were 6,215 delisted voters, as of July 10.

Of the 11,377 delisted registrations, about 5,856 voters were found with two registered biometrics, followed by 3,801 deceased voters, 1,708 transferred individuals and 12 overseas voters.

Election Assistant Officer 2 Meguni Tapia said they started delisting in July 2022, two months after the national elections.

They have done three delistings already after the May 2022 elections.

In the North District, Comelec reported 2,682 delisted registrations from March 29 to July 12, 2023.

Of the number, 1,203 records were deleted due to two registered biometrics, 732 due to deaths, and 716 had transferred to another city or municipality, and 31 overseas voters.

A Cebu City North District election assistant who asked not to be named said these delisted voters came from the district’s 46 barangays.

The filing of the certificate of candidacy for BSKE will run from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2. Election Day will be on Oct. 30, and precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. (CNU INTERNS GK MARIE DEJACTO AND KIMBERLY GOC-ONG)

A TOTAL of P2.2 million in emergency cash transfer (ECT) was distributed to more than 100 identified fire victims in three barangays of Cebu City on July 13, 2023.

This happened after Cebu City South District Rep. Eduardo R. Rama, in coordination with the Cebu City Government, sent a letter to the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD 7) requesting it to conduct an assessment on the affected families.

DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Division said in a press release that 113 fire-affected families from the barangays of Mambaling, Sapangdaku and Guadalupe were ECT recipients.

The villages were placed under a state of calamity due to the degree and impact of the damage caused by fires in Guadalupe on March 7, which affected 10 families; Sapangdaku on March 14, 48 families; and Mambaling on April 19, 55 families.

DSWD 7 information officer Leah Quintana told SunStar Cebu on Wednesday, July 19, that the Cebu City Government provided the list of affected families.

The cash assistance distribution to fire victims was determined by two classifications: those with destroyed houses and those with damaged houses.

According to the DSWD 7, families whose houses were declared as destroyed received 75 percent of the regional wage rate (P326) for a total of 62 days, while those whose houses were declared as damaged will receive the same amount for 31 days only.

Of the ECT distributed, P1.9 million was given to the 95 families whose houses were declared as destroyed, while more than P181,000 was given to the 18 families whose houses were declared as damaged.

DSWD 7 had also extended a total of P2 million in cash assistance through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program and provided food, as well as non-food assistance worth P881,000.

The agency said ECT is an adaptive strategy for bridging the gap between immediate disaster relief, humanitarian response, and early recovery support in disasters and emergencies through cash assistance.

The cash assistance aims to augment the basic needs of the affected families, which include medicine, clothing, hospitalization, transportation, educational support and food.

The Northern Sea Route cuts transportation times to Asia's biggest economy by 30%

A Russian tanker loaded with crude is heading through Arctic waters to China as Moscow seeks to expand the use of the Northern Sea Route in the face of Western sanctions, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

The Aframax-class tanker Pri

(Austin, Texas) - Texas laws rewriting election rules in Harris County, which includes Houston, create unnecessary barriers for voters and improperly single out the state's largest Black population, Human Rights Watch said today.

Governor Greg Abbott signed two measures into law in June 2023, as the state legislative session ended. One, Senate Bill 1750, eliminates Harris County's nonpartisan election administrat

The Government is partnering with Fonterra to cut coal use at its dairy factories, delivering massive emissions reductions, and future-proofing New Zealand trade and exports.  

Fonterra has committed to undertaking a complex range of projects to cut coal use across six manufacturing sites - resulting in approximately 2.1 million tonn

Retail prices of vegetables, particularly highland farm produce, soared amid the impact of rains spawned by Tropical Depression Dodong and the southwest monsoon.

President Marcos thanked the country’s diplomats for their service, praising them for the “quiet yet extremely complicated” job they do for the nation.

President Marcos promised more public transportation development projects during the inauguration of the new Light Rail Transit Line 1 4th generation light rail vehicles in Pasay yesterday.

President Marcos has named former lawmaker Vigor Mendoza II as chief of the Land Transportation Office.

Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto yesterday cleared former president Rodrigo Duterte of any breach of protocol with his recent visit to China.

More than 2,000 guests have confirmed attendance at President Marcos’ second State of the Nation Address at the House of Representatives in Batasang Pambansa complex, Quezon City on July 24.

To address issues in the country’s main gateway, the National Economic and Development Authority Board yesterday approved the P170.6-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport rehabilitation project.

The newly enacted Maharlika Investment Fund should be given a chance to work, according to its principal author Sen. Mark Villar, who assured critics of its potential to generate 350,000 jobs and boost the overall economy.

President Marcos has named Army commanding general Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner as the next chief of the country’s 150,000-strong Armed Forces, Malacañang announced yesterday.

Former press secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles has been suspended by the Supreme Court from practicing law for six months over the inappropriate choice of words in a pleading she filed in a case before the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court.

As many countries around the world are facing threats from deadly extreme heat, public health officials should ensure pregnant people are considered among those most at risk. Journalists and others investigating public health responses to the heat waves should also monitor that pregnancy health is considered.

Many studies have shown that ex

GCASH is poised to give more users access to affordable formal credit as it launches innovations for GCredit, in partnership with digital banking services provider, CIMB Bank PH.

The two companies are set to introduce new features for GCredit which aim to help current users manage finances even better and make it accessible for more users.

GCash and CIMB lowered the monthly minimum amount due to 10 percent of the principal loan amount plus interest and fees in line with making the service more accessible.

GCredit now offers a higher maximum credit limit of up to P50,000.

Moreover, the two firms are working together to make GCredit available for Paleng-QR Ph transactions.

There are about two million customers now empowered by GCredit. (PR)