Olongapo City?Twenty teams participated in the 3rd ArtCycle, an environmental, educational, recycling art competition organized by Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. at SM Olongapo Riverwalk on Friday.

The teams were composed of students with their respective advisers from the different elementary and high schools in Olongapo City, Castillejos, and Subic, Zambales.

This year’s winning team in high school division is Nagyantok High School with their Collage Portrait of Mother Earth made with different recyclable pieces. The entry of Sta. Rita Elementary School is Recyclable Can Stove with Blower and Paper Charcoal won first place in the grade school division.

“Besides teaching them how to upcycle, we are teaching kids how to be problem solvers. With the right amount of support, and a healthy dose of competition, they can make a difference,” said Jason Gavina, Corporate Social Responsibility head of RP Energy.

“I am inspired by the creativity of these young people. We hope that they take this beyond the competition and sustain their projects to help the environment,” said RP Energy VP for Construction Avin Maharaj.

The artworks were judged based on functionality, creative use of materials, replicability, and design.

Judges came from partner organizations that included Lando Garcia from Department of Environment and Natural Resources-CENRO Olongapo, SBMA Ecology Center Protected Area Division Chief Lilia Alcazar, Umicore EHS Coordinator Jofelson Ruiz, Subic Enerzone Reputation Enhancement Specialist Jeff Steve, and JCI Olongapo VP for Community Paulo Mayo.

The art pieces were also auctioned out to the public. Proceeds from these bids went to the school. One art piece got sold for P5,500.

Redondo Peninsula Energy, Inc. is a consortium composed of MERALCO PowerGen Corporation, Aboitiz Power Corporation, and Taiwan Cogeneration Corporation.

It is the developer of an environment-friendly and state-of-the-art 2×300-megawatt coal-fired power plant at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The plant is expected boost the power supply in the Luzon grid when it starts commercial operations.

Source: manilastandard.net

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By: REYNALDO G. NAVALES

CLARK FREEPORT — AirAsia continues to expand its network from Clark International Airport with the addition of three times weekly flights to Seoul, Korea starting 19 January 2019.

Captain Dexter Comendador, chief executive officer of AirAsia Philippines said it is an exciting time for travelers from Metro Manila, Central and Northern Luzon wanting to experience winter in Seoul as the carrier begin to offer new flights from Clark in January.

“AirAsia is expanding our network in Clark to provide the much-needed connectivity and convenience,” Comendador said.

The World’s Best Low Cost Airline is offering introductory promotional fares for Clark to Seoul from as low as P1,990 now available for booking at airasia.com starting today until November 10, 2018 valid for travel on January 19 to March 30, 2019.

AirAsia offers several flights from Clark to Cebu, Davao, Puerto Princesa, Caticlan (Boracay), Tacloban, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Taipei, Taiwan.

AirAsia in the Philippines started with only two aircraft in 2012 when the airline began its commercial operation in Clark, Pampanga, and currently operates a fleet of 21 Airbus A320s from hubs in Manila, Cebu, Kalibo and Clark.

Source: sunstar.com.ph

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The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said Monday that students in universities, colleges, and other higher education institutions will be subjected to mandatory random drug test next academic year.

According to Mariz Umali’s report on State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, CHED released Memorandum Order 18 to implement such intervention.

“Ang ginagawa natin sa loob ng mga pamantasan ay mag-create ng environment ng healthy lifestyle. Huwag nating hintayin na umabot sa punto na masyadong talamak na ‘yung problema bago tayo mag-intervene,” said CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera.

The implementing guidelines of the memorandum order states that consultations should be done with the students and their parents.

The Board of Regents and Student Governing Boards shall also express agreement to it.

The schools shall present the policy for mandatory drug testing to its students and the drug test shall only be administered by DOH-accredited facilities, physicians, and private medical practitioners.

Some student groups, however, expressed concern over the confidentiality of the drug test results.

“It’s possible din that the school admin will go… may previous disciplinary cases ka, how do we ensure din na even ‘yung treatment ng students who might yield positive results they are not discriminated upon,” said USC Councilor Basilio Claudio.

De Vera explained that the results of the mandatory random drug test will not be disclosed to the public.

He underscored that the results would not be used against the students who will be found positive on drug use but rather to identify students who need health intervention.

Fear over possible conduct of anti-drug operations in schools was also raised as these will be allowed as long as the Philippine National Police (PNP) coordinates with the school.

“When we have drug raids that really don’t follow basic rules of procedures we don’t really see why we can trust this government to conduct these drug operations in a way that follows due process,” the student leader Claudio said.

The PNP, on the other hand, assured that there will be no human rights violations in such operations.

PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said, “We will not come in na parang magco-conduct ng buy-bust. No, we will not do that. We will surely coordinate with the faculty, administrator, or sa mga security managers nila sa mga different schools.”

Source: gmanetwork.com

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SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority has created an anti-littering task force to effectively implement its no-littering policy and has set fines to discourage violations.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the agency has begun enforcing a policy that prohibits littering, and dumping or throwing of garbage, rubbish or any kind of waste in parks, roads, beach, forests, rivers, streams or on any open or public place in the Subic Bay Freeport.

It is also illegal under the policy for anybody to urinate, defecate, dispose of cigarette butts, or spit in public places.

To ensure the effective implementation of the no-littering policy, the SBMA chief issued an order creating the SBMA Anti-Littering Task Force, which is manned by marshals from the SBMA Ecology Center, Law Enforcement Department, Maintenance and Transportation Department, and Tourism Department.

Eisma said these personnel are deputized to apprehend violators and recommend issuance of Notice of Violation (NoV) to any Subic Bay Freeport Zone establishment caught violating the policy.

She also said the agency has imposed a fine of P1,500 and four hours of community service for individual offenders and pet handlers found violating the policy.

The same fine of P1,500 and four hours of community service will be imposed for Subic Bay Freeport residents for littering, or improper or untimely stacking of garbage outside their residences.

Meanwhile, stiffer penalty will be given to violators among business establishments in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone: P50,000 per day of violation for each count of littering, improper or untimely stacking of garbage outside the establishment, and for garbage with leaking foul odor.

Eisma urged the public to help in enforcement and report incidents of littering, including the license plate number of violators, to the Law Enforcement Department at 911 (landline) or 9111 (mobile) or to the “No Kalat” hotline at 09176852528.

The no-littering policy took off from SBMA’s War on Waste (WOW) program, as well as the agency’s thrust to enhance public awareness on environmental “malasakit” (empathy).
Last month, the SBMA banned single-use plastic like stirrers, forks and spoons, straws, cups, and take-out food bags inside SBMA workplaces. Accordingly, the SBMA advised canteens, stores and other food establishments here to use alternative food packaging.

“We should show good example and walk the talk,” Eisma said, as she encouraged SBMA employees and Freeport companies to join the “straw-less” drive, the ban on single-use plastics, and the agency’s recyclables collection program.

Source: manilastandard.net

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Consortium of China Telecom and Uy firms the only qualified bidder

By Emmie Abadilla

The National Telecommunication Commission (NTC)’s Selection Committee tonight declared Mislatel, a consortium of Udenna Corp., Chelsea Holdings, and China Telecom as the provisional New Major Player (NMP) as the consortium will still be subjected to the Document Verification Phase.

Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) conduct the opening and evaluation of selection documents for the new major telecommunication player that will be entering the Philippines at the NTC Head Office in Quezon City on Wednesday.(ALVIN KASIBAN/ MANILA BULLETIN)

From a group of 30 telcos, which originally signified to join the NMP bidding, 10 purchased the P1 million per set bid documents, showing their serious intent while four were supposed to submit official bids before two of them joined forces.

As a result, three submitted their bids before the government’s 10 a.m. deadline Wednesday.

The other two were Sear Telecom of politician Luis “Chavit” Singson and Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (PT&T), both of which were disqualified by the NMP Selection Committee.

The committee declared Sear Telecom’s documents “incomplete” because they reportedly failed to submit the required P700 million letter of credit.

The committee also disqualified PT&T for reportedly failing to submit a certification that it has been in operation on a national scale for the last 10 years.

Sear and PT&T said they will file a motion for reconsideration in three days. In addition, Sear is filing a case against Mislatel which could derail Mislatel’s final selection as the NMP.

Mislatel can’t allow its telecom franchise to be used by anyone else without the consent of Digiphil, a member of the Sear consortium, Sear’s Legal Counsel, Raoul Creencia said.
Digiphil has a right of first refusal, which Mislatel should have invoked but did not.

If the court rules that Mislatel breached its contract with Digiphil, it is not eligible to partner with Udenna of business tycoon Dennis Uy for the NMP. “That’s a fatal flaw,” Sear’s Legal Counsel stressed.

On the other hand, a number of consortia, like Teltech, KT Corporation and Converge decided not to join the bidding.

Skewed TOR?

While market and industry outlook are financially viable, the conditions imposed for participation render the venture commercially unviable, they said in a statement.

The NMP is required to incur an inordinate amount of funds and carry out commitments at a pace that was not required of the current dominant service providers.

Failure to comply is subject to penalties which are not even graduated to consider substantial compliance.

The current telecom duopoly were not subjected to comparative commitments, penalties or forfeiture of licenses.

The Terms of Reference (TOR) was reportedly skewed to encourage the NMP to compete in a territory already served by providing services that are costlier to maintain, driving competition at a higher end but smaller range of the consumer market.

Dominant players are not required to face such forfeiture of franchises if they don’t meet minimum speed requirement.

Now Telecom is also out of the running although they insist that “the fight is not over yet”.

Now Telecoms the other day received an order from the RTC of Manila Branch 42 denying its prayer for an injunction. However, the telco vowed to exhaust all available legal remedies.

The third license, which could be awarded by year-end, comes at the behest of President Duterte and aims to boost the country’s notoriously patchy services and end a domestic duopoly long accused of being uncompetitive.

Duterte, who has made strong business ties with China his top foreign policy priority, had repeatedly expressed a preference for a Chinese telecoms firm to enter the Philippines, and even verbally “offered” the license to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

Uy’s ties to the president are well known having contributed to the Duterte’s 2016 campaign. He also hails from Davao, the city where Duterte was mayor for 22 years.

Source: business.mb.com.ph

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