Ducky Paredes

 “IBC-13 has been losing P80 million yearly and, on top of that, it has also had humongous labor problems.”

by Ducky Paredes

Among the businesses that the government took over through the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) was the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC-13).

IBC-13 began in 1961 as Inter-Island Broadcasting Corporation thru the tri-media conglomerate of RMN-IBC-Philippine Herald owned by Andres Soriano. In 1975, Inter-Island 13 was renamed Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) and moved to the Benedicto Group of Companies. IBC moved to its present site in Capitol Hills, Q.C. in 1977. Ten years later, it was taken over by the PCGG.

So far, this has been more of a headache to the government than anything else. It sometimes seems that companies and property that the PCGG recovered from the Cronies were millstones that government now has to carry. We punished the Cronies by took from them what would have been their problem investments.

When the PCGG first took over, costs increased and incomes dropped. A constant change of management only helped to bring down the station. Efforts to sell IBC-13 all failed.

IBC-13 has been losing P80 million yearly and, on top of that, it has also had humongous labor problems. Of course, interested serious possible investors are not too interested in throwing in good money after bad. Who would want to invest in a business that has to first resurrect and fully equip with state-of-the-art facilities before it can even begin to give a reasonable return. One would be better off starting from scratch than putting money into something that is already losing millions monthly.

The miserable financial state of the broadcast station made sure that no serious investor would come in.

That was until March 24, 2010, when IBC and developer Primestate Ventures signed the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) after more than a year of negotiations, and necessary approvals by various government agencies.

Joint Venture is one of the more widely recognized modes for otherwise idle government holding to become more profitable and contribute to the coffers of the government. Unlike privatization, a JVA does not involve sale of government properties; instead, assets are placed in the JVA as equity or investment.

The IBC-Primestate Ventures JVA complied with the NEDA-GPPB Guidelines pursuant to EO No. 423 or the Guidelines and Procedures for Entering into Joint Venture (JV) Agreements Between Government and Private Entities.

 Since the JVA does not involve any government guarantee, subsidies and undertakings, the IBC Board had the power to approve and enter into the said agreement. Further, the JVA went through a rigorous process before it was endorsed by all government agencies concerned prior to its approval.

IBC workers lauded the JVA saying it will improve the network’s standing in the media industry with the upgrading of its programming and technical capabilities and address the obligations to suppliers and outstanding benefits due them.

The JVA is a welcome development to IBC since the QC RTC in early 2010 rejected IBC’s petition to approve a corporate rehabilitation plan. Thus, the JVA was the only way for IBC to get out of the financial hole it found itself its sequestration.

Under the terms of the JVA, IBC contributes 3.6 hectares of the 4.1-hectare Broadcast City property to the JV. In exchange, IBC has a guaranteed P728 million, to be paid as follows: a) P278 million to be paid in cash to IBC employees both active and retired. The amount will be placed in an escrow account with the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) covered by post-dated checks; P450 million to be paid through the construction and delivery of a new six-story corporate building, two live studios and a commercial building for IBC situated in the remaining 5,000 square meter corner property in Broadcast City.

It is expected that in the next five years, IBC 13 will be transformed from a broadcast station with outdated and dilapidated structures and antiquated facilities, into a modern and competitive broadcasting entity that could rival the giant networks.

The joint venture agreement was signed recently in the presence of the IBC Employees Union and IBC Supervisors and Directors. Through their respective directors and officers, the two unions also signed with IBC-13 a memorandum of agreement, which allocated the full P278-million cash component of IBC-13’s expected revenues for the settlement of arrears in employee benefits.

Under the joint venture, IBC-13 stands to receive guaranteed revenues of P728 million, or roughly P20,000 per square meter.  This return is superior considering the P10,000 per square meter appraisal of both the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Quezon City government, and the P11,000 per square meter and P8,000 per square meter appraisals by IBC-13 independent appraisers.    

The investment of IBC-13 in the joint venture is fully secured by a performance bond, and is more than compensated by the delivery of a new corporate building for IBC-13, complete with live studios and network facilities sufficient to accommodate even the requirements of RPN-9, which also operates in Broadcast City, a commercial building which it can generate additional income, and the P278 million cash component which will be used to pay for the company’s outstanding obligations to its employees.

IBC-13 employees will be extended additional benefits in the form of special rates of discounts and additional income opportunities in the form of referral incentives for sales of the condominium units that will be put up by Primestate.

A self-contained residential hub of medium-rise condominium buildings will be constructed inside the Broadcast City complex where IBC 13 will have substantial share in the revenues that will be generated.

The JV does not involve government funds and instead relies on the goodwill of the developer to advance monies to settle management’s outstanding obligations to its employees.

IBC has been looking for partners since 2008 to help it modernize its programming and technical capabilities and address its burgeoning obligations to its employees and creditors amounting to some P650 million.

Twenty-four years after sequestration, IBC is set to regain lost ground and reclaim its place in the broadcast industry as a government station, unless in its new configuration, new investors may find it now a more interesting buy.

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hvp 01.24512

Readers who missed a column can access www.duckyparedes.com/blogs. This is updated daily. Your reactions are welcome at duckyparedes@yahoo.com

 “If judges and justices are honest in their declarations on the SALNs, why should we be afraid? The SALNs can only be used against us if we don’t disclose the truth. It’s as simple as that.”

 

by Ducky Paredes

I came upon a presentation on traffic in Metro Manila from Benjamin de la Peña and Dinna Louise C. Dayao through their emails (bdelapena.online@gmail.com and dinnadayao@gmail.com).

They note that two huge road projects are being considered for Metro Manila — The MMDA’s P10 billion Skybridge  – 8.3 kilometers long utilizing the esteros from San Juan to Makati; and a P50 billion elevated EDSA — 22 kilometers long on top of the present EDSA.

They argue that “traffic congestion is just a symptom. The real problem we need to solve is ‘How do we make it easier to get around Metro Manila?’”

Acording to them, 8 out of 10 people in Metro Manila take public transportation.

They ask: “Will the new road benefit them? Or will it serve the needs of the few people who own and drive cars? Will it connect people to where they need to go?

“Makati is still the largest center of employment in Metro Manila. Yet newer hubs of employment—such as Bonifacio Global City, Eastwood, and the Mall of Asia—are also growing fast. Will the proposed road also serve the people going to these hubs?

“On the other hand, three out of every four people on the road are not on their way to work. They are going to schools, shops, hospitals, and other places. Will the new road serve their needs, too? How will the route of the proposed road affect the existing road network?

“Elevated highways will need off ramps and on ramps. If the connections of the new road to the existing network are not planned well, the ramps will generate traffic jams of their own. They may clog roads that work well now but will be flooded by new traffic trying to get to the ramps.”

They ask: “How will the new road fit into a long-term vision for Metro Manila? Will it put our megacity on the path to a more sustainable future? Will it encourage more dependence on fossil fuels? Or will it encourage more sustainable forms of transportation like walking and biking?”

They argue that new and more roads is not the solution. The problem, as they see it, is that Metro Manila grew “too fast, too soon.”

When we see traffic congestion, we think that this is because there are too many cars in Metro Manila. The easy solution that presents itself  is: Build More Roads!

They argue: “Every flyover on EDSA was built to relieve traffic congestion. The flyovers helped, at first, but the congestion quickly returned.

“We built C-5 to decongest EDSA, and it did, at first. But soon C-5 also quickly filled up with traffic.”

What did we learn from this experience? Would you believe, as the study suggests that: “New roads encourage more people to use their cars. Traffic experts call this ‘induced demand.’ Adding more road capacity actually induces more people to drive, which, in turn, creates more congestion.”

What is actually happening is that not only are more cars on the road but more motorcycles, affordable to anyone with a monthly income, are also on Metro Manila’s roads.

I have to agrees with them that we need to ask tough questions now before spending mega-billions on building still another road. We need to see further into Metro Manila’s future before committing to another one man’s folly.

The city planners in the 1930s had great plans for Metro Manila. Sadly, these were brushed aside due to greed and ambition of others who had plans for themselves and lands they had bought cheap and which they sold as subdivisions.

They profited from our runaway population — at the country’s expense. Will Metro Manila end up as a megapolis of condominiums with thin ribbons of slowly moving parking lots packed with cars going nowhere?

* * *

If the congressmen-prosecutors did exactly as the Chief Justice did with their SALNs, does that justify Renato Corona’s perfidy?

Cebu RTC Judge Meinrado Paredes does not think so. He says: “I see no reason why judges and justices should be exempted.

“If judges and justices are honest in their declarations on the SALNs, why should we be afraid? The SALNs can only be used against us if we don’t disclose the truth. It’s as simple as that.”

Republic Act 3019 (Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and Republic Act 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) say that the public has the right to know these assets, liabilities, net worth and financial and business interests including those of their spouses and of unmarried children under 18 years of age living in their households.

Paredes said a scrutiny of the SALN of government employees and officials helps prevent graft.

“The SC resolution on not making public the SALNs of judges and justices should be revoked. We cry for transparency. We (judiciary) should set an example,” he said.

* * *

Renato Corona’s SALN says that he borrowed P11 million from the company that was owned by his wife and her relatives — Basa-Guidote Enterprises, Inc. — which he paid back diligently over the years until it was extinguished. This could be his explanation of where he got the money to pay for all those expensive real estate purchases.

When one borrows from a corporation, there ought to be a resolution from the Board of Directors approving the loan. Is there? The company is no more. Its registration was revoked by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2003, the same year Corona got what he termed his “cash advance.”  The company ceased to operate legally by 2007. So, did he borrow from his wife? Is that his explanation for the “cash advance” he used to purchase so many pricey condos and lots?

No wonder that the wife’s relatives (owners of the company) now say that they never knew that they lent Renato anything.  They never did. He took the P11 million from the conjugal cookie jar! That’s why it was a “cash advance.” If it was truly a loan from an actual company, why not call it by its proper name — a loan?

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hvp 01.24.12

Readers who missed a column can access www.duckyparedes.com/blogs. This is updated daily. Your reactions are welcome at duckyparedes@yahoo.com

 “This would end the reconciliation process and Caloocan could finally settle with the GSIS! In March, 2011, Caloocan submitted the first batch of 305 3mployees for uploading by the GSIS membership department.”

by Ducky Paredes

Call it unfair; or, maybe Mayor Enrique “Recom” Echiverri’s own predictions came true. After all, in defeating actor and former mayor Rey Malonzo in the election, Recom must have called him every awful adjective he could think of. Malonzo turned out to be even worse. He left a can of worms for the new mayor.

Barely a year into Recom’s election as Mayor in 2004, a collection letter from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) informed the new mayor that this was already the “Third Notice on Past Due Compulsory Premiums.”  Ray Malonzo had not been remitting to the GSIS the premiums that the city had been deducting from its employees’ paychecks.

(Actually, this was not the only account that Malonzo had not serviced. Caloocan was also saddled with unpaid power bills from Meralco, unpaid telephone ills due Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and unpaid water bills, among others.)

After paying for arrearages in the last three months of Malonzo’s term — P4,072,880.51 for March 2004 on March 2, 2006; P4.097,119.50 for April 2004 on April 5, 2006; and P4,138,175.00 for May 2004 on April 25, 2006 — as per GSIS, Caloocan still owed the government’s insurance provider P126,506,221.82!

The actual unpaid principal was only P15,290,171,12 (just about four months of actual unremitted collections)! What was killing Caloocan was the running interest that was due from previous accumulated unsettled accounts during Malonzo’s term!

To do what was right by Caloocan, Mayor Recom decided that the only way was to negotiate with the GSIS! He submitted a Request for Condonation of penalties, interests and other surcharges and another request for the amortization of what was due the GSIS.

From 2006, Caloocan and the GSIS have been in talks. Both discovered that their records — Caloocan’s and the GSIS’ — did not match. In a meeting at the GSIS offices with EVP Felicidad Gutierrez, Recom agreed that before any Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) could be signed, a reconciliation of records had to be worked out.

For instance, several Caloocan employees who had retired, resigned and even expired were still in the GSIS list and the City was still being dunned their premiums. This was found to be 634 persons for whom Caloocan was still being charged.

Thus in November 2006, the City Treasurer submitted the updated service records of city employees in order that reconciliation with the GSIS records could be done!

* * *

A year later, in September 2007, GSIS informed Caloocan that the GSIS’ IBM computers broke down and all records submitted by Caloocan disappeared. (This was a big problem between the GSIS and IBM that we wrote about in previous columns. See http://www.duckyparedes.com/blogs/2009/05/27/gsis-vs-ibm-philippines/)

Another year later, in November 2010, Caloocan submitted to GSIS another list of 647 personnel no longer on city hall’s payroll who were still on GSIS’ collection list and for which the city was still being billed.

GSIS Senior Vice President Cecil Feleo informed Caloocan at that time that the GSIS system had also improved to the point that GSIS would provide the city a format under their new computer system, which would henceforth automatically compute the premium for each city employee.

So, finally, after all that, Caloocan could now update all of the service records or all employees from 1997 to 2010 and their records would automatically match those of the GSIS. This would end the reconciliation process and Caloocan could finally settle with the GSIS!

In March 2011, Caloocan submitted the first batch of 305 3mployees for uploading by the GSIS membership department.

* * *

On July 7, 2011, after Recom started on his second term as Caloocan Mayor, Vice Mayor Egay Erice filed a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman seeking the preventive suspension of the mayor. The Ombudsman issued and order of suspension for the reason that “(t)o date, the respondents still failed and refused to remit the premium contributions of the employees of the Local Government of Caloocan City.”

That order was also implemented by the Department of Interior and Local Governments. 

The status of this, at the moment, is that the Executive Judge of Caloocan RTC # 128 has taken cognizance of Mayor Recom’s Prayer for Declaratory Relief, which has been raffled and is presently being heard at the regional trial court level. In the meantime, the order for preventive suspension will have to wait until the Regional Trial Court is done with its hearings.

Who is Vice Mayor Egay Erice? He is a politician who ran for Mayor in 2004 and lost, for congressman n the 2nd District of Caloocan and lost. He was a virtual had-been who was given a chance to resurrect his political career when Recom invited him to run as Mayor Recom’s vice mayor in 2010.

Why has he turned against Recom? Obviously, he is preparing another run for mayor in 2013. If he can be sitting as mayor before the elections, he probably figures that he has a slim chance to make it and claim to have solved the GSIS problems of the city.

* * *

For me, Mayor Recom must be doing well. Caloocan is among the few places in this country where one can apply for and/or renew a business permit on-line. Considering that I had to start at the rear of the line where I live for the same thing that one can do on-line in Caloocan, I do sometimes wish that I were living in a place where dealing with the LGU on-line is an accepted practice.

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hvp 01.18.12

Readers who missed a column can access www.duckyparedes.com/blogs. This is updated daily. Your reactions are welcome at duckyparedes@yahoo.com