“Circus of lies,” says OVP spokesman “WELL-FUNDED SPEAKING TOUR” FOR DETRACTORS SET

MANILA-The Office of the Vice President (OVP) today revealed that Renato Bondal, one of the complainants in the plunder complaint against Vice President Jejomar C. Binay, Mayor Jejomar Erwin S. Binay and several city officials, will go on a nationwide speaking tour starting with the Visayas region in the next few days.

Bondal will be visiting key cities in Region 6, 7 and 8, said Joey Salgado, spokesman for the Vice President. The tour also shows that the complainants are “apparently well-funded,” he said.

Salgado described the speaking tour as a “circus of lies” where Bondal will be repeating baseless attacks on the Vice President, who is the perceived frontrunner in the 2016 election.

“The Bondal roadshow is nothing more than a circus of lies. That he will be visiting the Visayas region, the first of several stops in a planned national tour, also shows that his group has graduated from local opponents to a well-funded demolition crew,” he said.

“Hindi lang sa Makati sila magkakalat ng kasinungalingan at paninira. Ngayon, gagawin na nila ito sa buong bansa. Lume-level up, in short,” he added.

Salgado reiterated the reply of the Vice President and Mayor Binay to the plunder complaint filed by Bondal alleging overpricing in the construction of  Building 2 of the Makati City Hall.

He said the 12-storey building is an office building with parking floors and not solely a parking building/facility as alleged by the complainants.  

“That they presented it as a parking building/facility shows their intention to mislead both the media and the public,” he said.

Salgado also said the project passed COA scrutiny.

“From the start until formal turnover, the project was subjected to COA audit. The project  passed all the audits,” he said.

He added that the COA did not issue any adverse findings for the project and in fact, found the contract price for the project reasonable.

Salgado also debunked claims that the project did not go through bidding.

“The project underwent bidding as prescribed by law, contrary to the claims of the complainants.  All budgetary releases for the project were approved by the City Council in several ordinances, contrary to the claims of the complainants. At no point did the Vice President during his term as mayor, and incumbent Mayor Jun Binay release funds without City Council approval,” he said.

He also said the National Statistics Office (NSO) is not the final arbiter on overpricing.



“To prove overpricing, an actual canvass of similar items is needed. This has been established by the courts and also part of COA rules. Not NSO statistics but an actual comparison of similar items,” he said.

The P7,000 per square meter construction cost claimed by the group as the standard building cost “is the approximate cost for a socialized housing unit, not an office building.”

VP BINAY OPTIMISTIC ON RESUMPTION OF STALLED PEACE TALKS WITH REDS

MANILA-Vice President Jejomar C. Binay has expressed optimism the release of  four policemen abducted by the New People's Army after a raid on a police station in Agusan del Norte will lead to a resumption of stalled peace negotiations.

Binay described it as a "good gesture," and broached the possibility of peace talks between government and the National Democratic Front gaining ground.

"It paved the way for the continuation of the peace talks," Binay said. 

Binay was also asked by local reporters in Butuan City if he would have been willing to go to Kitcharao where the rebels released the policemen.

"Sanay naman tayong makipaglaban sa mga coup. Nine-nerbiyos din ho ako pero ang sinasabi ko na lamang ho ang trabaho ho namin merong professional risks," Binay answered. 

The Vice President was in the city to award land titles to residents who were able to fully pay their obligations under the Community Mortgage Program of the Socialized Housing Finance Corporation. 

Binay is also set to inaugurate Senior Citizens Centers across Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur over the weekend. 

On Sunday, he will inaugurate the National Housing Authority Talacogon Tribal Village in Talacogon, Agusan del Sur.

Angara backs BIR's bid to be exempt from gov't salary cap

MANILA-The Senate ways and means panel chair today said he is backing the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s bid to be exempt from the Salary Standardization Law (SSL).

“If better pay would allow it to hire the best and reward the honest, then why not? But there should be performance benchmarks attached to any increase," Sen. Sonny Angara said.

“The bottom line here is to give incentives based on merit. So it can be outside or within the SSL framework. But once it is given, the recipient should live by the rule that to those much is given, much will be required," the senator stressed.

The idea of exempting the biggest revenue agency from the SSL, which sets salary caps in the bureaucracy, was first broached by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima in his speech during BIR’s 110th anniversary rites last Aug. 1.

In pushing for BIR’s exemption, Purisima cited the example of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas which was able “to professionalize its ranks when freed from the rigid salary structure of the law.”

BIR Commissioner Kim Henares welcomed the finance chief’s proposal but admitted that “higher salaries would also mean higher responsibility and accountability.”

Angara proposed to put in place an accountability mechanism, such as a tax advocate office, against corrupt and abusive BIR officials.

The lawmaker also urged the BIR to strictly implement Republic Act 9335 or the Lateral Attrition Law which provides for a system of reward and punishment for BIR officials and employees depending on their performance.

Under the law, officials and personnel of government collection agencies may receive financial incentives for surpassing collection targets but may be relieved or dismissed from their post for failing to meet the goals.

Nevertheless, Angara said he is open to whatever track will be pursued in raising BIR personnel pay.

“It can be a set of special incentives that is tied to meeting quotas or a law exempting it from the SSL," he said.

But if Angara will have his way, “the BIR’s bid should be taken within the context of reviewing the whole SSL structure.”

“The SSL is ripe for a review. If we raise the taxman’s pay, we must also raise the salary of taxpayers in the public sector, meaning the teachers, policemen and others," he pointed out, hinting of pushing for a new SSL for government workers.

On funding incentives while waiting for the SSL law, Angara said the BIR should be authorized to convert its annual P1 billion savings from its personal services budget to additional pay to its deserving employees.

“The BIR has authorized ‘permanent positions’ for 13,578 workers but only about 10,071 are filled. So instead of spending P3.74 billion for salaries, it only spends about P2.78 billion. Perhaps we can use the difference in augmenting pay,” he said.

The neophyte senator said the BIR deserves a higher compensation budget as 75 percent of government’s revenue is raised by the agency.

For 2015, the BIR is expected to collect P1.72 trillion from this year’s programmed P1.456 trillion. With BIR's proposed budget of almost P8 billion, the BIR is expected to collect P21,500 for every P100 of its budget.

Since 1989, three Salary Standardization Laws have been passed, the first being Republic Act 6758 in August 1989.

The next two were via joint resolutions of Congress in March 1994 and the latest in June 2009, which Angara co-authored in the Lower House when he was congressman of Aurora.

The SSL prescribes the government’s “Compensation and Position Classification System" which features 257 position classes spread out in 33 salary grades with each salary grade having eight steps.

Angara said he welcomed the DOF’s position as “this is a radical departure from its no pay hike, no tax break position” if no sources of financing are identified.

“This is a major thaw of its standard cold responses. Hopefully this ushers the era in which the DOF will be more amenable to tax breaks which have the same intention as pay hikes which is to put more in pay envelopes," he added.

Angara is author of a bill compressing the net taxable income brackets from the present seven to five, and lowering tax rates across-the-board.

Under Angara’s Senate Bill 2149, the “no tax zone” will be raised to P20,000. He wants to slash the current highest tax bite of 32 percent for income above P500,000 to 25 percent by 2017.

Increase OFW assistance fund to P 1 billion – Recto

MANILA-Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto said the proposed 2015 budget of P527 million for the assistance of Filipinos in distress abroad is grossly inadequate in light of unstable conditions in strife-vulnerable countries which could anytime trigger the evacuation of Filipinos.

Recto said this emergency assistance fund should be raised to at least P1 billion.

The amount he said is “a drop in the bucket or one-tenth of one percent of the P1.115 trillion pesos” that overseas Filipinos remitted through formal channels last year.

The emergency fund for OFWs should be a dividend of what they plowed back last year, he said.

Funds which can be tapped to assist an estimated 10 million Filipino nationals abroad are lodged in three items in the proposed P2.6 trillion national budget for next year.

The biggest is the Assistance to Nationals Fund or ATN Fund managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs. It has a proposed funding of P350 million next year, up from P300 million this year.

The Department of Labor and Employment has two programs: Welfare Services to OFWS with a proposed budget of P187.7 million, and an Emergency Repatriation Program for which P50 million has been budgeted.

“In all, there’s this kitty of P537 million which the government can dip into in helping a Filipino who is in trouble with the law or Filipinos who must be evacuated from places in turmoil,” Recto said.

“This comes up to about P1.48 million a day. Kulang na kulang. Kung P20,000 ang pamasahe sa eroplano ng isang OFW na maysakit, na kailangan ibalik sa Pilipinas, mga 70 lang kada araw ang kayang pauwiin. Eh sa Middle East pa lang daang libo na ang backlog,” Recto said.

And in a world where civil strife could worsen living conditions of OFWs and trigger their evacuation overnight, as in the case of Libya, the amount cannot fund their mass departure, Recto said.

“Sapat ba ang pondo na pang-arkila ng barko tulad sa kaso ngayon sa Libya? Do we have funds to charter planes in the event that we need to bring Filipinos out of the next hot spot?” Recto said.

“Kung merong 13,122 OFWs sa Libya at sa kahit P10,000 lang ang ayuda bawat isa, aabot na ng P131 milyon ang kakailanganin. Dyan pa lang said na ang ATN fund natin,” Recto said.

Recto said the ATN Fund is not just used to fund mass repatriation “but is tapped to help Filipinos battling challenging circumstances as diverse as being in trouble with the law, or victimized by abusive employers, or incapacitated by a debilitating disease.”

Just to cite an example, an estimated 3,732 Filipinos were languishing in jails in 53 countries at the beginning of last year.

DBM urged to use GAA format in reporting status of projects

MANILA-Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph G. Recto today batted for a “new budget accountability form” that will promote transparency by showing if a project, activity or program authorized in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) had indeed been implemented.

Under his proposal, the government will be following the same text and format used in the GAA to prove that it had implemented its provisions.

“The idea is for the executive to return to us the same GAA but this time it will be in annotated form. Every funding item in the GAA of the previous year will carry a corresponding note indicating when it was completed and the amount spent for its completion,” Recto said.

“If a line-item in the GAA says that P100 million is appropriated for this road, then what we want is for the government to submit next year the same GAA with a status report opposite the line-item,” Recto said.

“If the GAA authorizes the recruitment of, say, 10,000 new policemen and 50,000 new teachers, then what we want is for the executive to superimpose in that GAA a note stating the actual number of policemen and teachers hired, “ Recto added.

“Sa post-implementation, GAA format pa rin ang gagamitin, pero modified na kasi nakasaad na doon kung ang proyektong ito ay naimplement nga ba o hindi,” Recto said.

“Sa madaling sabi gusto natin ang GAA ang siya ring magsilbi bilang checklist kung natupad nga ba ang nakasaad dito,” Recto explained.

“The beauty of this approach is that lump-sum funds can be disaggregated. Kung halimbawa block fund ang Calamity Fund, sa proposal ko itemized na sa post-budget reporting kung saan pumunta,” Recto said.

Recto noted “that at present it is hard for Congress or for its constituents to check whether a specific project authorized in the GAA has indeed been completed, or has been realigned or has had its funds impounded.”

The reason for this is that the familiar budgeting format used during the first two phases—Budget Authorization and Budget Execution—is not applied during the Budget Accountability phase.

He was referring to three of four budgeting phases:

1. Budget Authorization, when the budget is being debated in Congress,

2. Budget Execution, when the GAA is being implemented; and

3. Budget Accountability, when projects funded by the GAA are audited.

The first phase, budget preparation, is when details of next year’s spending are hammered out in the executive and collated in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) or the President’s Budget.

The NEP later evolves into the General Appropriations Bill which in turn becomes the General Appropriations Act.

“The problem is that what should have been a seamless progression of the budgeting process is interrupted in the accountability phase because there is no feedback as to the status of the projects, programs and activities sought to be funded,” lamented Recto.

“Kung meron man, mahirap ma-flesh out. Pero kung GAA pa rin ang format, mas madali,” he explained.

Recto said that the Commission on Audit need not make the status report. “DBM, whose recent radical reforms allow it to keep tabs on each and every project, can render the report,” he said.

“At ang status report na gusto natin ay hindi kilometric ang haba. One-liner lang or one brief sentence pwede na. In some cases, pwede nilang sabihing “fully implemented” and that would already suffice,” Recto said. 

Instead of piecemeal amendments, better to codify budget laws and rules - Angara

MANILA-Instead of piecemeal amendments to budget laws, Congress should instead "codify" laws, rules including “best practices and reforms” on public sector budgeting, Senator Sonny Angara emphasized, in reaction to reports that Malacanang will push for a bill redefining budgetary savings and governing its use.

“The time has come to revisit all laws on public expenditures,” Angara said, explaining that the two principal laws guiding budgeting were conceived “when desktop computers were still alien in the bureaucracy.”

The senator, who is a lawyer by profession, was referring to the 37-year-old Presidential Decree 1177, issued by Ferdinand Marcos in 1977, and Executive Order 292, or the Administrative Code of 1987, which came into force a year after Corazon Aquino assumed power. 

“In fact, according to budget experts, whole sections of PD 1177 were attached to the Administrative Code. To a large degree, the portion on national government budgeting, which is Book VI, was copy-pasted from PD 1177," the lawmaker said.

Angara also noted that the two measures were “executive issuances.”

“They were not products of the legislative branch, but by a presidency possessing lawmaking powers,” he said.  

“But that should not be the excuse for consolidating all laws pertaining to government budgeting under one code. The main reason should be the wealth of experiences, reforms, initiatives, lessons of the Philippine budgeting system,” Angara pointed out.

“For example, in 1987 when the present Administrative Code took effect, the national budget was P121 billion. It has grown by 21-fold since. For next year, the proposed budget is P2.6 trillion,” he said.

Another factor which was not there when the two budget laws were drafted is the revolution in information technology, Angara said.

“Wala pang e-budgeting and paperless transactions noon. Budget issuances then were sent through snail mail. ‘Di tulad ngayon na hindi lang emailed, nasa Twitter pa. It won’t hurt if new technologies would be supported by a new legal infrastructure," the former congressman from Aurora said.

Angara explained that judicial decisions on budget aspects, such as the nullification of DAP and PDAF, might also require some corresponding adjustments in the law.

"There is also the need to future-proof the budget against an executive branch who will treat the “treasury as its own personal piggy bank,” the neophyte senator said.

“Ayos lang kung matino ang nakaupo. Pero paano sa darating na panahon kung merong gusto umabuso sa kaban ng bayan?" he exclaimed.

INCOME DISPARITY A ROADBLOCK TO INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT Rosy economic outlook must be coupled with institutional, labor market reforms

MANILA-The economic gains in the 5^th State of the Nation Address by President Benigno Aquino III must be coupled with reforms that will promote inclusive, broad-based development. This includes reforms to even out the rural-urban wage gap, which remains a barrier to many sectors of the population from enjoying the fruits of economic reform.

In his penultimate SONA, President Aquino touted the upgrade in the country’s investment grade rating, saying the country is now more open to business. He also emphasized the improved revenue collection efforts and said the country’s debt to Gross Domestic Product ratio went down, and thus funds for interests went to social services.

Experts note, however, that the Philippines’ overall ratio of rural-urban wage gap at 67 percent has remained constant over the last decade. Differences in labor policies between commercial industries and rural labor reinforce the disparity.

Such income disparity has brought about social inequalities between the rural and urban populations. Reversing this pattern of uneven development requires initiating policies and institutional reforms.

Within this context, the Angara Centre for Law and Economics presents the second roundtable discussion of the Andrew Tan Lecture Series on the topic “Promoting Inclusive Growth: Identifying Opportunities for Focused Reform” on 20 August 2014, Wednesday, at the Malcolm Hall, College of Law, University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

This lecture is part of a joint study undertaken by the Angara Centre with the World Bank to identify the areas of persistent underperformance and inequality in the Philippines.

Among the questions the roundtable will center on are: 1) What is the extent of disparity between regions? 2)What is the response of labor markets? and 3) How do political institutions limit reform and distort the outcome of economic policies?

Teams of economists and leading researchers from the Philippines and abroad will present their study and recommend actionable policy initiatives. Leading this lecture are Dr. James Robinson of Harvard University, Dr. Pablo Querubin of New York University and Dr. John C. Nye, Frederic Bastiat Chair in Political Economy at the Mercatus Center, George Mason University and Research Director at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

Legarda Laments Low Conviction Rate on Media Killings

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda renewed her call for continuous inquiry on the increasing incidents of media killings in the country as she lamented the low conviction rate in cases of slain journalists.

Legarda, a former broadcast journalist, filed anew a Resolution calling on the Senate to conduct an inquiry on incidents of media killings and said that, “the unresolved killings of media practitioners in the country will remain a threat to the constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms of expression and of the press - two elements which are critical for genuine democracy to flourish.”

In a Senate hearing on media killings conducted last May, the Philippine National Police reported that of the 48 incidents of media killings recorded since 2001, only six were resolved with convictions even as 36 cases were filed in court and 12 are on trial. Six of the cases were archived, five were dismissed and four were resolved with acquittal by the courts.

Legarda noted that the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) 2014 Global Impunity Index ranked the Philippines third among countries “where journalists are slain and the killers go free.”

Iraq and Somalia ranked first and second, respectively.

Meanwhile, the 2013 Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, which monitors the attitude and intention of governments towards media freedom, ranked the Philippines 147^th among 179 countries covered by the report.

“We have to put a stop to the killing of journalists and media practitioners. We need to know what hinders the immediate resolution of these cases so we can find solutions and propose appropriate measures. We cannot condone these crimes and we must not tolerate a culture of impunity,” said Legarda.

ONLINE OAV for 2016: Drilon

MANILA-Senate President Franklin M. Drilon urged today the Commission on Election (Comelec) to already make a reality in the 2016 national elections what overseas Filipino dream about – to be able to register and vote online under the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) Act of 2003 which he principally authored.

“It is high time that the Comelec adopt all the necessary technologies that would empower the about 10 to 12 million overseas Filipinos to use the internet to register and vote in 2016 and onwards, without leaving their jobsites or residences abroad,” stressed Drilon.

Drilon expressed his own frustration about the very low turnout of OAV registrants, more so of actual voters despite the huge funds and enormous efforts poured in all past elections.

He pointed out the perennial complaints from OFW groups, as well as from Filipino immigrants, seafarers and Filipino students abroad qualified to vote, that travelling far to OAV centers in Philippine embassies and consulates have discouraged many of them from participating in electing the country’s leaders in the past.

 “Overseas Filipinos risk their lives even in strife-torn countries like Libya now not only for their families, but also to prop up our economy with their over US$20 billion in remittances each year. We should make it easier for them to vote and to participate in all democratic processes by utilizing the power of the internet. Technological advances should already be utilized to surmount all overseas voting challenges in the past. The bigger voice of overseas Filipinos must be heard now!," he stressed.

“Online absentee registration and voting is already practiced in about 20 countries, including the US, France, Germany, Italy and Australia. So, I see no reason anymore why it can’t be done in the Philippines as well,” said Drilon, who added that the security of online registration and voting can be addressed through the use of sophisticated data encryption and other available technologies.

The present modes of registration and voting under the OAV law (Republic Act 9189 as amended by RA 10590) – through mail or personal appearance at the Philippine embassies or consulates abroad – limit overseas voter registration and actual voting.

In fact, only  2.5 percent or a little over 200,000 of the estimated 10-12 million overseas Filipinos (including OFWs, dual citizens, seafarers, etc.) have cast their votes in past national elections.

While Filipinos overseas  in countries like Hong Kong or Singapore have easy access to OAV centers, the same is not true for their counterparts in many countries in the Middle East and even in the US and Europe, where Philippine consulates and embassies may be located far away from many worksites or residences.

The Comelec Advisory Council (CAC) recommended “the use of new technologies such as, but not limited to, Online Voting and recent innovations in Direct Electronic Recording (DRE) equipment.”

“If we are to have online registration and voting in 2016, then we must already do the spadework now, starting with looking at the different technologies being utilized by countries where Internet voting is already practiced, and implement it right now in time for 2016," said Drilon.

According to Drilon, in France alone, more than 1.5 million absentee voters cast their votes through the Internet, which means it is doable.

Registration under the OAV has been low that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has issued Foreign Service Circular No. 16-2014 instructing Philippine foreign service posts to determine if overseas Filipinos applying for passport renewal are registered under the OAV. Despite such efforts, registration turnout was dismal and voting percentage did not improve significantly.

“If the (passport) applicant is not registered, the post shall register him or her as an overseas voter first before proceeding with the renewal of the passport. This procedure applies to all Filipino immigrants, overseas workers, seafarers, dual citizens and qualified students studying abroad,” said the DFA in its circular.

  

Drilon has called on the CAC and the Comelec to work closely to ensure that online registration and voting be implemented soonest. He likewise assured them of the Senate's unequivocal support to jumpstart the plan.

"The Senate is behind the Comelec in making sure that there are no more disenfranchised overseas Pinoys come 2016. Let’s make it happen!" said Drilon. 

Aurora Police Arrested Big Time Drug Pusher

DIPACULAO, Aurora-As the fight against illegal drugs continue, Dipaculao Police and operatives of the anti-illegal drugs operation task group (AIDSOTG) led by Police Inspector Robert Prado arrested a suspected drug pusher who is also a big time businessmen in his motorcycle spare parts store at Brgy. South Poblacion, in this town, last Thursday afternoon in coordination with PDEA.

Police identified the suspect as Danilo Manzanillo y Diego, businessman, former brgy. councilor at Brgy. South Poblacion, 49, married, a resident of Barangay South Poblacion, this municipality.

Report disclosed that the police conducted a buy-bust operation at the said place where the suspect sold a sachet of Methamphetamine Hydrochloride locally known as shabu to the authorities.

The operation resulted to the recovery of two small sachets of alleged shabu weighing 0.0315 grams and 0.2405 grams and the P1,000 marked money bill bearing serial number DX447000 from the possession of the suspect.

The suspect is temporarily detained at Dipaculao Police Station while the case for violation of R.A. 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, is readied against him in court.

The confiscated drug items were forwarded to the Crime Laboratory Office at Brgy. Calabuanan, Baler, Aurora for the qualitative and quantitative examination. (Jason de Asis)

RAPED PINAY NURSE IN LIBYA NOW IN PHL EMBASSY CUSTODY – VP BINAY

MANILA-Vice President Jejomar C. Binay Friday assured that the Filipino nurse reportedly raped in Libya is now under the custody of the Philippine embassy in Tripoli.

“Na-contact na namin ‘yong ambassador natin sa Libya at nasa embassy na ngayon ‘yong OFW at binibigyan ng kanyang mga pangangailangan,” Binay said in an interview in Butuan City.

“Talagang peligroso ngayon d’yan para sa buhay n’yo dahil sa higpit ng labanan,” he added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had raised alert level 4 in Libya.

As Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFW) Concerns, Binay appealed to OFWs to heed the government’s call for them to come back home.

“Nananawagan ako sa ating mga kababayan sa Libya na sundin ang tawag ng DFA para sa immediate and mandatory evacuation,” Binay said.

"Agaran kayong makipag-ugnay sa mga opisyal natin sa embahada nang masiguro ang kaligtasan ninyo,” he added.

The Philippine Embassy in Libya is in KM 7 Gargaresh Road, Abu Nawas, Tripoli. Embassy staff may be reached at (+218) 918244208, (+218-21) 483-3966, as well as tripoli.pe@gmail.com and tripoli.pe@dfa.gov.ph. 

Legarda: Industries Should Innovate, Go Green to Adapt to Climate Change

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda today said that the corporate sector should innovate towards sustainability and green development, or continue to face the growing threats of climate change.

Speaking before more than a hundred advertisers representing different companies, Legarda named industries, such as building and construction, finance, and food and beverage, which are threatened by risks posed by environmental trends.

“In general, climate change affects operating costs, markets for products and availability of raw materials, and the changing weather patterns and extreme weather events could also cause business interruption and infrastructure damage,” she said at the General Membership Meeting of the Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA).

Citing a 2013 report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), GEO-5 for Business: Impacts of a Changing Environment on the Corporate Sector, Legarda said that the increasing temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere, while seen as a threat, should actually promote ingenuity and innovation in the private sector.

For instance, in the building and construction industry, higher material costs due to availability constraints will be a challenge. But there will be a growing demand for green and sustainable infrastructure and buildings that are disaster-resilient.

Green building designs can generate up to 30% in energy savings, reduce carbon emissions by 35%, reduce water use by 30 to 50% and save 50 to 90% in waste output.

Meanwhile, in the insurance industry, a great concern is the increased cost of insurance claims resulting from extreme natural hazards. Re-insurer Munich Re experienced a 38 percent quarterly drop in profit partly due to the severe floods in Australia in 2010 to 2011, when claims exceeded US$350 million.

The industry can adapt by developing insurance products that would promote climate change adaptation and mitigation such as paying claims that encourage rebuilding homes and commercial buildings that are more energy-efficient after a loss.

The UNEP study also showed that the food and beverage industry is likely the most exposed to the effects of climate change because it is dependent on water resources and various raw materials from agriculture, livestock and fisheries.

“Companies should know and make known the risks and how climate change could affect their business. Mitigate and adapt to the changing climate by reducing the company’s negative impact on the environment. Create business strategies that advocate for ecosystems protection and consider the environmental changes ahead. Have a business continuity plan (BCP) that ensures business resilience and the welfare of employees following the impact of a disaster. Mainstream disaster risk reduction into corporate planning and investment decision-making. Work with the government and other sectors in finding solutions,” Legarda explained.

“The changing environmental landscape poses various challenges that would likewise transform the business landscape, but forward-thinking companies will see adaptation as an opportunity to innovate and contribute to improving the environment,” she added.

PNoy appoints NE Governor as RPOC Chair

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga-President Benigno Aquino III has appointed Nueva Ecija Governor Aurelio Umali as the new chair of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC).

 

“Your role as RPOC Chair of Region III is very significant in the light of the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police’s efforts to keep the streets of Central Luzon free from crime and lawlessness.  Ensuring peace and order and public safety is a common goal that we share, and we look forward to a fruitful and productive partnership with you as we continue to keep the communities of Central Luzon safe and sound,” Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas told Umali in a message read by Regional Director Florida Dijan.

 

Moreover, Police Regional Director CSupt. Raul Delfin Petrasanta was appointed Vice Chair of the council.

 

“RPOCs, per Executive Order Nos. 739 and 773 are responsible for the orchestration of internal security operations efforts of civil authorities, agencies, military, and police at the subnational level,” Dijan explained

 

Its membership is made up of all provincial governors, mayors of highly urbanized cities, chapter presidents of municipal mayor’s league, regional directors of national government agencies, a representative from the mayors of component cities, infantry division commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the area, and three representatives from the private sector. (Carlo Lorenzo J. Datu)