Ducky Paredes

“If we don’t get serous about taking down the dyNASTIES, forget about a future for our children in this NASTY country.”

by Ducky Paredes

            The real problem with the new SM Mall right beside The Fort (at the boundary of the Fort on the Taguig side) is what is wrong with Political Dynasties, emphasis on the “nasties.”

            The family of the mayor of Taguig is also the family of her husband, which has two sitting senators, and I don’t know how many more dyNASTY members in various offices in government.

            Thus, when they (one guesses) asked for some land that the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) had taken from Fort Bonifacio, (which would have been part of Taguig if it were not part of Fort Bonfacio) where Taguig could build a civic center cum City Hall, what could the national government agency (under the Office of the President) do but give in.

            Where the BCDA failed was where the government could learn a few tricks from private landowners. Remember years ago when Rizal province was still intact (before the towns of San Juan, Mandaluyong, Makati, Muntinglupa, Paranaque, etc. were separated from the province) the Capitol of Rizal was Pasig.  Where the capitol building was built was on land donated by the Ortigas family with the proviso that in the event that the province no longer needed the land for that purpose, it would be returned to the Ortigases.

            This is what the BCDA could have added as an annotation to the donation.

            The BCDA was an innocent victim of the political dynasty that now controls Taguig. It should have made the donation of part of the military camp tied up to the use of the land for the purpose for which it was donated by the BCDA. Of course, the BCDA (unlike the Ortigas family) did not own the land that it gave away. Thus, although there was a clear understanding as to the use to which Taguig would put the land, the title given to Taguig did not have any annotation. Thus, it was bided out with a “clean title.”

            The trouble with having a City controlled by a Political DyNASTY is that the mayor feels that she can do what she wants and the Senators in their Taguig dyNASTY will agree with her. The judges who issue temporary restraining orders (TRO) will not get in the way of senators who can help them move up in the judiciary; and even the BCDA (unless Malacanang tells them otherwise) will not get n the way of the courts and the dyNASTY.

            Thus did Henry Sy become the innocent villain in this fairy tale. He now finds himself the most hated man for the greed of the dyNASTY that has ruled Taguig for at least two decades.

            If we could somehow get rid of these nasties, what a wonderful country we would have. If Taguig had a mayor unrelated to powerful others, she would not have dared pull a fast one on a government agency under the Office of the President. Of course having Nasties as relatives, she and those working in her city hall feel that they are untouchables who can pull off anything they want, for the good of their dyNASTY.

            Why not? After all, others have gotten away with much more. Have the Marcoses ben punished for what their father did? In other countries, the children of dictators are hanged from the nearest available tree. Here, they are revered. If we don’t get serous about taking down the dyNASTIES, forget about a future for our children in this NASTY country.

* * *

House Deputy Majority Leader and Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo is again coming to the rescue of poor college students. Roman calls “somewhat excessive” the 10 to 15 percent annual increase in tuition fees of many private institutions of higher learning.

 “Based on the 10 to 15 percent yearly upward adjustment in tuition fees, the cost of a college education has been rising three to five times faster than the prices of most goods and services. We find this rather exorbitant,” Romulo says.

 “If we look at the annual inflation rate, it has averaged only 4.82 percent over the last five years. In 2012 alone, the (inflation) rate stood at just 3.2 percent, and in the first four months of 2013, at an even lower 3.0 percent,” he points out.

The inflation rate refers to the (rate of) increase in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.

 “If colleges must jack up tuition fees every year in order to stay financially viable, they should at least try to keep the rate of increase within, if not closer to the inflation rate, which might be more acceptable,” says Romulo.

The 10 to 15 percent annual tuition fee increment at many tertiary schools means that the cost of college schooling doubles every five to seven years.

Romulo is author of a House-approved bill seeking to enable the country to churn out more college graduates via a bold new student loan program.

Under the program, a student obtains a low-cost bank loan to pay for the tuition fee of the college where the student has been accepted.

The loan would have an effective interest rate pegged to the 91-day Treasury bill rate, which last stood at 0.217 percent, or around one-fifth of one percent.

The bank may apply an add-on 3.0 to 5.0 percent annual interest rate. However, instead of the borrower paying for the extra interest expense, the bank may claim the corresponding amount as tax credit. The lender may then use the credit to pay for or offset its tax obligations.

 “We have to produce more college graduates at a quicker rate if we want our human resources to become even more competitive in the labor markets here and abroad,” Romulo said.

A previous Commission on Higher Education study showed that the country’s college graduates, estimated at 480,000 annually, stayed that level for some years now. The number of college graduates has not kept up to our population growth rate.

This means that our population is getting dumber by the minute!

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hvp 05.22.13

“(I)t’s just too bad that all those foreign investors with their large trove of dollars, attracted to Asia by Asia’s “rising star” take just one look at the Philippines before deciding to put  their dollars elsewhere in Asia, where it’s s much easier to start up businesses.“

by Ducky Paredes

Henry Sy’s latest shopping mall, the SM Aura Premier at the Bonifacio Global City, formally opened its door to the public May 17, 2013. Not all is well, however. There is still  the land issue between the property owner Taguig City government and the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) that, until now, has yet to be solved.

SM Aura Premier, the country’s upscale shopping complex that houses a mall, recreational facilities, convention center and a tower building for both private and government offices, is caught in the middle of the dispute between the local government of Taguig and BCDA for the Taguig’s decision to lease its property to SM.

It’s just unfortunate that SM is caught in the middle of an  issue where SM is the proverbial innocent bystander — a mere lessee of 3.3 hectare or about 33,975 square-meter of the Taguig City property which was donated to Taguig by BCDA “without any restrictions” for the local city government’s future use.

When BCDA officially turned over the property to Taguig City in 2008 through a Deed of Conveyance, the city government decided to lease the area through a public bidding which SM won, after which the construction of the shopping complex began.

The BCDA, however, had been opposing the construction of the structure, citing various reasons on how the property should be used by Taguig City. this was strange since the donated titles to the Taguig City are “clean titles” bearing no restrictions at all.

But more than the land use issue, SM and its contractors are also experiencing harassment from BCDA that won’t allow the mall developer to construct a portion of the McKinley Parkway, the road that leads to Forbes and would provide access to SM Aura Premier. So,  for the public to get to the mall, they need to go around instead of going straight because of the unfinished road that has also been barricaded with concrete barriers.

The big question here is: Why BCDA (and also Taguig City) allow SM to finish the construction of the P3.5 billion investment before BCDA made a big fuss over the land use issue?

It seems to me as if BCDA wanted the mall to be done and ready for business before pulling the plug. That would make SM  a willing victim because it needs the BCDA’s cooperation before it can operate. Is this all SM’s fault, as BCDA would have us believe?

If there is something wrong (illegal or amoral) about Taguig City’s decision to lease out the property, why di not BCDA seek a legal remedy by seeking, for instance, a court order to stop the project. They could have done that even before SM started to build the shopping complex. Of course, however, the property had been turned over to Taguig  “without any restrictions.”

Thus, the “clean title” that Taguig was given meant that the city could do the property anything it wanted .

Too bad that this situation definitely sends bad signals to investors. Why  does PNoy allow things like these that derail the country’s progress into cementing its new image as the “Rising Star of Asia”?

Among the major complaints of both local and foreign investors about investments in the Philippines is not only our circuitous process that results in unnecessary red tape but also the constantly changing rules and policies. If this ingrained system continues under this administration despite its so-called “Daang Matuwid” campaign, one doubts how that brighter future can be  anywhere in the future of our Philippines.

One suspects that there is actually no legal issue regarding the area that SM leased. Clearly,  the rightful owner is no longer the BCDA but the Taguig City government.

I suspect that the real issue here is that SM Aura’s location is right beside and is competition to the Ayalas’ prime BCDA attractions — “Market Market” and “Serendra”. Could BCDA simply be playing interference for BCDA’s prime lessees?

There are also speculations that BCDA’s harassment of  SM may have something to do with the TRO that the largest mall developer sought and got  from the Supreme Court against BCDA on some 30-hectare land within BCDA. The contract for the development of the property was originally awarded to SM through a negotiated contract but was later cancelled by the BCDA, prompting SM to seek for a TRO.

While we can wait and see what will happen next and enjoy the battle between big business and big government, it’s just too bad that all those foreign investors with their large trove of dollars, attracted to Asia by Asia’s “rising star” take just  one look at the Philippines before deciding to put  their dollars elsewhere in Asia, where it’s s much easier to start up businesses.

* * *

Wow, the DoE is actually looking at renewables. Three wind power plants have ben approved: Trans-Asia Renewable Energy Corp. will set up 54 megawatts in Guimaras; Energy Development Corp., 87 MW in Ilocos Sur; Altenergy Wind One Corp., 67.5 MW in Pilillia, Rizal.

That’s a start. Still, this country ought to be moving faster in embracing recyclables. Our power rates are among the highest in the world and this at a tine when solar and wind are getting cheaper and more efficient. To attract investors, one way is to make cheaper power available.

The cost of electricity is one factor in deciding where to put up manufacturing plants.

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hvp 05.20.13

Malaya (05.16.13)

“‘On a personal level, the President and Mayor-elect Joseph Estrada are in good terms,’ said Lacierda.”

by Ducky Paredes

Joseph Estrada is the next Mayor of Manila. He beat incumbent Mayor Alfredo Lim by more than 35,000 votes, a very slim margin, considering that Manila has been very badly run. It has been downhill all the way for the “Pearl of the Orient, since Lim decided to dismantle Mayor Lito Atienza’s Baywalk, purely out of spite.

Let us hope that Erap finds a way to make the once “Distinguished and Ever Loyal City” again a to-go place for business and consumers, who now prefer doing their things in Makati, Pasig, QC and Mandaluyong rather than go to the old city by the bay.

“I thank the great people of Manila for putting a true son of Manila at the helm of the Philippine capital city. Today, you have all shown that you want to see the rebirth of Manila as the Queen City of the Pacific, the Pearl of the Orient. Dear Manileños, I will not fail you. I was born in Manila, and I will die working to bring back the glory and pride to Manila,” said Estrada on being informed of his victory.

“This is both a challenge and a full weight of responsibility hanging over all our shoulders, mine especially, and of the set of officials you have elected into office. I am dedicating the last few years of my life to uplifting the lives of poor.”

Mayor Estrada’s first order of business: Peace and Order: “Ano mang bayan o lungsod, lalawigan o bansa, hindi uunlad kung walang kapayapaan.”

Erap extended a conciliatory gesture to Lim, 86, who once served under his administration as secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government but left Malacanang during the time that Estrada was about to be ousted, showing up at Edsa to join the forces that would hand over Erap’s presidency to the now-jailed Gloria Arroyo.

Eventually, Lim asked Erap for the former President’s political endorsement in Lim’s run for the Senate. Lim still got it!

Estrada, after establishing himself as a movie actor, began his political career as mayor in his hometown of San Juan in 1967. He was mayor of San Juan for 17 years before becoming Senator after the 1986 People Power Revolution, then Vice President in 1992 and President of the Philippines in 1998.

Estrada’s running-mate and incumbent Vice Mayor Isko Moreno was proclaimed as vice mayor beating Councilor Lou Veloso by more than 160,000 votes.

Actually, Estrada and Moreno went to the canvassing center at about 1:30 a.m. to await their proclamation which was deferred due to the objection of Lim’s legal counsel, Alicia Risos-Vidal who claimed that there were still too many votes uncounted.

Malacanang, which backed Lim, seemed to take its loss in stride. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda points out that President Aquino and Estrada are good friends even if they belong to different political parties.

 “On a personal level, the President and Mayor-elect Joseph Estrada are in good terms,” said Lacierda.

* * *

The biggest surprise in the election was the newbie who topped the list of winning senators, Mary Grace Sonora Poe Llamanzares or Grace Poe, served as the chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) from 2010 to 2012.

Her life is a fairy tale, the stuff of movies. Born in Iloilo and abandoned by her biological mother, Grace was adopted by Fernando Poe, Jr. (FPJ), the King of Philippine Movies, and his wife Susan Roces, who raised her in Manila as their only daughter.

Educated in the Philippines and the United States, where she was a graduate of Boston College, Poe spent much her adult life in the United States before returning to the Philippines in 2004, when her father died months after a controversial presidential election against then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Following her return to the Philippines, Grace received national attention as she campaigned against electoral fraud, both in the election where her father ran, as well as in subsequent elections. She was appointed in 2010 by President Benigno Aquino III to serve as chair of the MTRCB.

Two years later, in 2012, Poe resigned from the MTRCB after deciding to run in the 2013 senatorial election as an independent candidate under the administration Team PNoy coalition.

Grace attended Assumption College San Lorenzo for her high school. She took Bachelor of Arts in Development Studies in University of the Philippines Manila (UPM). While in UPM, she was elected Chairperson of the College Freshman Assembly (1986–1987) and Sophomore Batch Representative to the Student Council (1987–1988).

She also has a political science degree from Boston College. In the US, she co-founded the Filipino Cultural Club of Boston College.

Following the death of Fernando Poe Jr in 2004 and the accusations of election fraud against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, she became active in numerous protest rallies in various parts of the Philippines. Later, Grace led various groups to organize Kontra Daya, a coalition of civil society groups and movements to oppose electoral fraud in the 2010 presidential election.

In 2010, President Benigno Aquino III appointed Grace Poe as Chair of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).

Grace admits that her biggest positive in the campaign was her surname. She says that her surname Poe is insufficient for her to be elected simply on that alone.

Grace Poe pushed for an eleven-point platform focused on poverty alleviation, youth opportunity and electoral reform, promising to continue the legacy of her father.  Specific policies she has advocated in the course of her campaign include the reintroduction of the national elementary school lunch program, the installation of closed-circuit television cameras in government offices, and stricter penalties against child pornography.

Clearly, in Grace Poe, our number one senator, we are getting more than just an adopted daughter of the man who would have been president were it not for the work of that infamous pair of Garci & Gloria.

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hvp 05.15.13