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'Last trip': Individual traditional jeepneys to stop operations after June 30

 

James Relativo - Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — Individual operators of traditional jeepneys will no longer be allowed to continue their operations after June 30, 2023 — unless they start joining a cooperative or a corporation.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) shared this after approving Memorandum Circular 2023-013 last Monday, a move done amidst the calls of various transport groups and commuters to stop the much assailed phaseout of traditional jeeps.

"Individual operators may continue to operate by virtue of a [provisional authority], which is automatically extended until 30 June 2023 under this Memorandum Circular," said members of the board last Monday.

"Individual operators may join an existing consolidated entity until 30 June 2023. Only those individual operators who are able to join an existing consolidated entity on or before 30 June 2023 shall be allowed to have their PA extended until 31 December 2023."

The provisional authority of individual traditional jeeps in the National Capital Region was originally set to expire last April. The LTFRB earlier said the extension was already the "fourth and last time."

For routes without a "consolidated entity" (cooperative or corporation) or filed application for franchise consolidation, its application will only be entertained until October 31.

LTFRB chairperson earlier said that only 60% of the target number of vehicles for modernization have complied with the requirements under the program such as industry consolidation into cooperatives. The remaining 40% continue to ply routes using traditional jeepneys.

Cooperatives are being pushed at the moment to enable operators to afford the purchase of "modern jeeps" said to be worth at least P2.6 million each via loans from financial institutions.

The certificate of public conveyance (franchise) of individual operators who fail to join the exiasting consolidated entity after June shall be reverted to the State.

'High costs' of modernization prohibitive to operators

Mody Floranda, national president of transport group PISTON, last February 6 earlier explained that many jeepney operators continue to avoid entering into the PUV Modernization Program because of the high costs to change their vehicles, besides the posibility of losing their livelihood once they enter the franchise consolidation.

Floranda said that a reasonable way for the Department of Transportation and LTFRB to handle said concerns is to fully suspend the implementation of the DOTr Department Order 2017-011, which stipulates the rules and requirements of the PUVMP, and all its supplementing LTFRB memoranda while conducting a thorough review of the program.

"In the process of reviewing the whole program of modernization, the government must ensure that all jeepney drivers and small operators are consulted," he said in Filipino.

"Thousands of jobs are at stake, so it's important that we work together with the state in identifying how a proper transition towards modernization could be justly undertaken."

PISTON reiterated that they do not oppose modernizing traditional jeeps as long as the modernization program ensures and prioritizes a "fair and just transition for transport workers and all affected vulnerable sectors."

Manila faces worsening floods

By Agence France-Presse

BARAS, Rizal: From her house in a Manila suburb, Rowena Jimenez can't see the bare mountains around the built-up city. But she feels the impact of deforestation every time her living room floods.

Slash-and-burn farming, illegal logging, open-pit mining and development fueled by population growth have stripped the once-densely forested Philippines of much of its trees.

In Manila, where more than 13 million people live, low-lying areas are often inundated when storms lash the Sierra Madre mountain range, which lies east of the city and acts as a barrier to severe weather.

But without enough trees to help absorb the rain, huge volumes of water run off the slopes and into waterways that flow into the metropolis, turning neighborhoods into disease-infested swamps.

Jimenez, 49, has lost count of the number of times the Marikina River has broken its banks and flooded the ground floor of her family's two-bedroom concrete house, a few blocks from the water's edge.

"There is always fear that it will happen again," said Jimenez, who lives with her husband, youngest daughter, sister, nephew and mother.

"Your heart sinks because you realize the things you worked so hard to buy will be destroyed again."

Jimenez blames environmental "abuses" upstream in the nearby Upper Marikina River Basin — a catchment spanning roughly 26,000 hectares (64,500 acres) in the southern foothills of the Sierra Madre.

Only 2.1 percent of the watershed was covered by dense "closed forest" in 2015, according to a World Bank report.

Runoff from the mountains drains into the basin, which is critical for regulating water flow into Manila.

It was declared a "protected landscape" in 2011 by then-president Benigno Aquino, under a law aimed at ensuring "biological diversity and sustainable development."

That was two years after Typhoon "Ketsana," known in the Philippines as Tropical Storm "Ondoy," had submerged 80 percent of the city and killed hundreds of people.

But by then, many of the trees in the catchment had been cleared to make way for public roads, parking lots, private resorts and residential subdivisions.

Jimenez still shudders at the memory of the water reaching 23 feet (7 meters) high and forcing her family to huddle together on the roof of their house.

"We didn't salvage anything but ourselves," she said.

More Filipinos opened bank accounts last year

By The Manila Times

February 23, 2023

ALMOST 6 million Filipinos were able to open their very first bank account last year after completing the Step 2 registration for the national ID, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday.In partnership with the state-run Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank), the PSA said 8.4 million unbanked Filipinos were onboarded in 2022. 

Of this number, 5.8 million were able to open transaction accounts."The opening of a bank account is the first step toward financial inclusion, which is one of the benefits from PhilSys," PSA Undersecretary and National Statistician Dennis Mapa said in a statement."In partnership with LandBank, millions of Filipinos were able to open their very first bank account that they can use for savings, safer and faster money remittance, payment of bills, and other online transactions," Mapa said.The PSA and LandBank achieved this goal through a co-location strategy, where registered persons were able to open transactional accounts with LandBank in PhilSys registration centers after their Step 2 registration.

.This service is free and provides those registered access to financial services with the issuance of a banking card that requires no initial deposit and no maintaining balance.PhilSys registrants who were issued LandBank Prepaid Cards used their accounts for various financial transactions.As of Dec. 31, 2022, the bank recorded 108,473 transactions made by registered persons through its mobile banking application, point-of-sale and over-the-counter transactions through various LandBank branches amounting to P275.8 million.

PSA and LandBank continue to work together in opening accounts for registered persons via LandBank's agent banking partners nationwide and through the mobile app LANDBANKPay.The bank will also continue to issue prepaid cards to registrants who have transactional accounts but have not yet been issued prepaid cards during the onboarding and co-location.

Marcos boosts PH culture; vows aid to Filipino artists

Published February 23, 2023, 8:37 AM

by Argyll Cyrus Geducos

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. reiterated his continuous commitment to promoting Philippine culture and preserving and protecting the country’s cultural heritage.

President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (Malacañang photo)

Marcos said this at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Ani ng Dangal (Harvest of Honors) awarding ceremony in Malacañang on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

In his speech, the President told the artists that the government was there to support them. 

“Makaaasa kayo na kaisa ninyo ang pamahalaan at administrasyong ito sa pagsusulong at pagpapayaman ng ating sining at kultura (Rest assured that the government is one with you in promoting and enriching our culture and arts),” he said.

“Nagtitiwala ako na kung pauunlarin natin ang industriyang ito, higit tayong makatutulong sa paglago ng ating ekonomiya, at maiangat ang Pilipino saan mang dako ng daigdig (I believe that if we can grow the industry, we can help grow our economy and lift Filipinos wherever they are),” he added.

Marcos called on NCCA to support Filipino artists who significantly contribute to developing and promoting Philippine culture and the arts.

He likewise urged Filipino artists to show the country’s culture and identity and feature the Philippines’ rich artistry and cultural heritage.

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“Hiling ko na lalong magtulak ito sa inyo na ipagpatuloy ang inyong mga nasimulan upang mapangalagaan ang kultura at pagkakakilanlan ng ating sining at bayan (I wish that this recognition will push you to continue what you started to porotect our culture, arts, and the country),” Marcos said.

“Sa inyong patuloy na paglikha at pagsulong ng ating orihinal na mga katha, pinapa-unlad ninyo ang ating industriya ng sining at pinakikilala ang ating lahi sa buong mundo (With your continued creation of original crafts, you enrich the arts industry and introduce our race to the world),” he added.

Ani ng Dangal honors natural-born Filipino artists or groups who have received international awards and accolades in nine categories — Architecture, Cinema, Dance, Dramatic Arts, Literary Arts, Music, Visual Arts, Folk Arts, and Broadcast Arts — over the past year.

The awardees under Architecture and Allied Arts were: The Penthouse (Best Residential Interior Apartment); The Galleon Residences Showroom (Best Residential Show Home); Equilateral House (Winner for Innovative Architecture); Batangas Forest City (Best of the Best for Innovative Architecture.

For Cinema, the awardees were Jeric Gonzales (Best Actor); Dolly De Leon (Best Supporting Performer); ‘Di N’yo Ba Naririnig (Golden Kinabalu Award for Best Documentary): The Flight of Banog (Golden Kinabalu Award for Best Indigenous Language Film); Geraldo B. Jumawan (Best Actor); Black Rainbow (Best Short Film); Joaquin Ditan Domagoso (Best Actor); The HeadHunter’s Daughter (Grand Jury Prize); It’s Raining Frogs Outside (International Award); Days of the New (International Competition Grand Prix); Leonor Will Never Die (World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award).

For Dance, the awardees were Billy Crawford, ELECTRO GROOVERS, Halili-Cruz School of Ballet, and Bayanihan. 

Meanwhile, the list of awardees under the Music category includes Ryle Custodio, Darwin J. Lomentigar, Rafael Adobas Bayog, Ily Matthew Maniano, Theodore Julius Chua Tan, Adrik Cristobal, Jeanne Rafaella Marquez, Far Eastern University Chorale, Michael Valenciano, and Danikka Dy.

Albert Reyes, Mariah Zamora, and Froiland Rivera received honors for Visual Arts, while A Thousand Cuts, a film by Ramona Diaz, was honored as the Outstanding Social Issue Documentary.

300 learning tablets to reinforce education for DdO's Out-of-School youths

A total of 300 learning tablets were handed over by the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) sa Mindanao to the Unlad Kabataan Program (UKP) beneficiaries or the DepEd's Alternative Learning System-Education and Skills Training (ALS-EST) learners during the ceremonial joint signing of the Memorandum of Agreement for the Abot Alam Intensified Program (AAIP) between PLGU-Davao de Oro and DAP sa Mindanao held at the Activity Hall, Provincial Capitol. 

Parts of the AAIP program are the ALS-EST project and the provision of digital learning tablets, thereby reinforcing quality education for the vulnerable and marginalized Out-of-School Youths (OSYs) in the province.

DdO Youth Development Office Division Head Alexis Micutuan, in his message, underpinned that the UKP program, together with the AAIP Program, aimed for the development of disadvantaged youth in terms of spiritual, psychological, and social development.

"Our goal in UKP is to establish 3 exit points for the OSYs, first; to enroll in college or technical skills education, second; to engage in entrepreneurial activity and become an entrepreneur, third; to increase employability. We wanted to provide competent and skilled na mga young people dito sa probinsya" Micutuan said.

Micutuan added that for the school year 2022-2023, there are already 1000 learner-beneficiaries under the program and they will be enjoying the digital tablets coming from DAP as well.

In a speech by DAP Senior Vice President Bernardo Dizon, he expressed gratitude to the local government, TESDA, DepEd, and DSWD among others for the support given in the realization of the program.

"Salamat for your cooperation, these efforts enabled DAP to provide some assistance to your local government. ALS-EST project is indeed one of the approaches that look into how the lives of our chosen beneficiaries can be improved" Dizon said.

Meanwhile, Jemmar Mangapas, one of the learner-beneficiaries, extended his appreciation to the governing bodies for the provisions given such as the skills training interventions and most especially, the chance to continue their education.

Governor Dorothy Gonzaga represented by Acting Provincial Administrator Fatima Montejo congratulated the beneficiaries for taking the risk of allowing themselves to improve their lives. "Since this is a given opportunity, you should utilize it well and hopefully maayu inyung kahimtang after all of these activities.  The government will support as always in whatever we can provide as long as needed sa mga tao ang serbisyo" PA Montejo said.

On September 1, 2022, DAP sa Mindanao already turned over 300 learning tablets also intended for the UKP learner-beneficiaries. 

(Jaynus Fernandez, Photos by A. Dayao)

I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS THE PHILIPPINES

I had not expected the island of Coron to be the most beautiful place I've ever been. In fact, I can't believe I didn't know this is what The Philippines looks like! Watch my reaction to Palawan as every single site blows me away in this Coron travel vlog. On our boat tour around Coron Palawan we visited:

Maquinit Hot Spring

Twin Lagoon

Coral Garden

CYC Beach

Balinsasayaw Beach

Skeleton Wreck

Barracuda Lake

Kayangan Lake & View Deck

Coron is full of must-see destinations, and I'm so grateful we got to see so many of the best things to do in Palawan!

© Claire Hawkins 2023

Spielberg channels inner child at Berlin film festival

by Agence-France-Presse

Steven Spielberg (AFP)

BERLIN (AFP) – Three-time Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg on Tuesday said childhood trauma had shaped almost all of his work as he prepared to accept a lifetime achievement award at the Berlinale film festival. 

Spielberg, 76, said he was “obviously… very traumatised” by the experience of conflict in his family home and his parents divorce.

That was why “I’d be attracted to subjects like ‘Empire of the Sun’,” in which a young boy is torn away from his family in China and sent to a Japanese war camp, he said. 

“I’m sure had my parents not gotten a divorce, I would not have chosen ‘Empire of the Sun’ as a film to direct,” he said. 

The Hollywood A-lister also spoke of still feeling the same inspiration he did “as a little kid” when he makes films today.

“All those decades later, I feel… the same level of excitement when I find a book or a script or come up with an original idea that I think could make a good movie,” he said. 

– ‘Heart of a child’ – 

French director Francois Truffaut had ultimately persuaded him to make “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” by telling him he had “the heart of a child”, Spielberg said.

“Truffaut was the one that said, you gotta make a picture with kids,” he said.

Spielberg is to collect an honorary Golden Bear for his life’s work on Tuesday evening at the Berlinale, Europe’s first major cinema showcase of the year.

The festival is also screening a retrospective of his work, including classics such as “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “Jaws” and “Schindler’s List”, as well as his latest project, the semi-autobiographical film “The Fabelmans”.

“The Fabelmans” tells the mostly true story of Spielberg’s own childhood and introduction to film-making in post-war America.

The film, starring Paul Dano and Michelle Williams, has already received wide critical acclaim, picking up top nods at both the 2023 Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. 

It has also been nominated for five Oscars.

Talking about the film, Spielberg said it was the “most emotional” project he had ever worked on.

“I was telling a story with a lot of funny parts but with a lot of parts that were very traumatising,” he said.

The star director also revealed that he is pressing ahead with a television mini-series about Napoleon, based on a screenplay by Stanley Kubrick.

The project, first floated in 2013, is being planned as “a seven-part limited series”, he said.

Germany working on new immigration law to attract more Filipino workers

Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — Germany is hoping to attract more workers from the Philippines through a new immigration law, citing the profound contributions of Filipino workers to their local industries who have since relocated there.

Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany Annalena Baerbock, in a joint press conference with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, said they are grateful that there are “many people in the past [that] traveled from the Philippines to Germany and stayed [there] in order to work.” 

“Thousands [of] skilled and qualified personnel from the Philippines work in Germany as I’ve said and we felt the qualifications and expertise of these people,” Baerbock said on Monday.

In 2013, Berlin and Manila inked a deal called the Triple Win Program, which facilitates the deployment of workers in the healthcare industry to Germany. 

More Filipino healthcare workers may be deployed to Germany as the two countries inked another deal that will open up more opportunities for Filipino healthcare workers, skilled workers, and other professionals. 

“As a federal government, we are drafting and working on a new law on immigration, especially with an eye to attracting skilled labor and qualified labor,” Baerbock said.

“Thus, our cooperation with you in that area is of the greatest importance. It’s also very much about ensuring equal conditions and standards for skilled labor.”

Manalo was in Germany to attend this year’s Munich Security Conference. While there, Baerbock also underscored the importance of following international law when it comes to matters related to maritime claims. 

Climate change support

Aside from labor and securing the rights of migrant workers, the two leaders also discussed the importance of climate change and its impact on the population.

“The Philippines, by virtue of its geographic circumstances and location, is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world, which is why making the country climate-smart and disaster-ready is a priority of the Philippine government and we know we have a reliable partner in this regard with the German government,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Manalo said. 

Berlin also pointed out that Manila, despite having “relatively low” CO2 and gas emissions, bears the brunt of its consequences. Baerbock noted the importance of putting up a loss and damage fund. 

She also said the Philippines is already among the priority countries of its International Climate Initiative, Germany’s climate financing commitment to help countries adapt to the impacts of climate change and over €50 million has been allocated to support the Philippines. 

“[The Philippines] also set out on an ambitious course in the field of energy transition and focus more on getting electricity from renewables,” Baerbock noted. 

Both officials also recognized other aspects of the bilateral relationship, such as working with Gemany on the peace process in Mindanao and in ensuring that international rules-based order is abided by parties in the West Philippine Sea, and in improving the human rights protections in the Philippines. 

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