‘No to APSA 103’/Lawful grab proposals

 LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

Below is the English translation of a statement by Ampucao resident Alan Sabiano which he wrote in Kankanaey and posted on his Facebook page. Pardon me if the better translation was missed. Alan’s article simply presents their sincere concerns for their community as against what could probably occur once ISRI operates underneath their houses.
    “August 18 2023 was scheduled for signing MOA for APSA 103 but we told them we were not aware of the contents, still they insisted on rushing the signing even while we were pleading for negotiations to defer the signing so that we can study and insert our concerns.
    The community does not have enough time to oppose the application because we were unable to insert our concerns. While the MOA was under study we found out that part of Dalicno where residential houses stood at Upper Dontog, Mangganese, Tipong, Tukok and Tangke were within the Applied Mining Zone of ISRI. The water source of Mangganese and Dontog Tipong below Simpa are also within the Applied Mining Zone.   
    On September 7, 2023; we raised these matters at the dialogue between ISRI, NCIP and IIPO and agreed to conduct an ocular inspection of the water sources while we would decide to exclude or separate the Dalicno area or give our consent to the application.
    In one of the days after, an ocular inspection was conducted but there was no report as to whether the area of the water source was inside the Applied Mining Zone. The company could be silent because they found out that the water source is inside the Applied Mining Zone. Those concerned left the community to decide whether to exclude or give our consent which could be presented to them in another dialog to address livelihood concerns.
    On September 13, 2023 we requested a time for Atty as resource speaker in a meeting because there were more residents who were saying NO TO APSA but our own officials who could be on the side of the ISRI disrupted the meeting. But even while that happened, he should have allowed a time for the people against the APSA 103 to express their concerns so that they would know if these would be included.
    We were hopeful that the meetings and community dialogues were opportunities for all of us to respect the decision of each side since we are all affected by the project.   
    We have been hearing that there were some persons who had been negotiating for compromises or concessions but we respect their decision and we could not stop them since all of us are free to choose how to seek our own means of existence. 

But we who have water sources and residential houses that could be affected by the proposed mining operations underneath, especially at Upper Dontog Mangganese Tipong Tukok Tangke and our neighbors whose livelihoods are deemed to be affected, we ask that our decisions be respected, not disturbed or disrupted.   

We understand that you would go for YES (to APSA) with conditions but hopefully you should also understand why we are for NO TO APSA. It should not be us in this community who do not understand each other.

We vow to seek help from anyone who is able to assist us who are on the side of NO (TO APSA). You who are on the YES side may now fix your concessions with ISRI, but we ask that we should RESPECT each other.” (End of statement)

By the way, on August 18, 2023; mining residents of at least three sitios namely; Dalicno, Simpa and Lolita of Barangay Ampucao in the Municipality of Itogon averted the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that could have resulted to the approval of a pending Application for Production Sharing Agreement (APSA 103) by the Itogon-Suyoc Resources Inc. (ISRI).

In a petition letter dated August 16, 2023 and addressed to the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Itogon Indigenous Peoples Organization (IIPO), the petitioners claimed that their sitios were part of the areas inside the ancestral domain of Itogon that are affected by the APSA 103 of ISRI.

The three Ampucao sitios consisting of more than 2,000 residents feared that their water sources, small-scale mining activities, livelihood, properties and their safety would greatly be at risk without proper negotiations.

They claimed that a majority of the Ampucao residents, particularly those whose households and properties were within the three sitios were insufficiently informed as the negotiations through general assemblies and meetings were inadequate. To their knowledge, they were still in the process of consultation between ISRI and those concerned.

The petitioners did not give their consensus approval of the project (APSA) on the grounds that the MOA was already drafted when they had yet to be properly informed of its provisions and contents. Signing of the MOA by representatives of the IPs of the ancestral domain of Itogon, the IIPO, ISRI and NCIP could have pushed through if it was not stopped.

The proposed APSA 103 project covers 581 hectares that overlaps the ancestral domain of Itogon, particularly barangays Ampucao, Virac and Poblacion. If approved in a community consensus, an agreement would be signed that would allow ISRI to explore and develop the areas under a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement with certain conditions.

The Ampucao residents through their elders at Dalicno requested in their petition-letter to the IIPO and NCIP to uphold their rights as IPs of Itogon and ensure that their voices be heard prior to the signing of an agreement. Their plea was not heard.

The conduct of an FPIC (Free and Prior Informed Consent) with the physical presence of the IPs of the community affected by the ISRI project is required prior to the issuance of a certification precondition by the NCIP, certifying that a certain project does not overlap a part of an ancestral domain area.

Last Wednesday (September 20, 2023) at around 4pm, the MOA was signed despite the absence of final negotiations and despite a petition that was received and read by the signatories which included the NCIP.

It is quite understandable why the signatories were eager to finish the signing of the MOA. Prior to all events, aside from other concessions, I was shown a picture of a dummy check for a P10M fund allegedly to be managed by a group for barangay projects. Certainly, as they say, "money is the root of all evil!" 

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

Lawful land grab proposals

In many conflict cases involving lands, there are circumstances where one is obviously more powerful than the other in terms of application of laws, financial resources and outside support. The weaker party wins only a small part of the bargain or stands to lose considerably. Although in some instances, it is able to hold on until a new negotiation opens.
    The 2016 arbitral ruling by the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration over the South China Sea was overwhelmingly in favor of the Philippines as it said that major elements of China’s claim, including its nine-dash line, land reclamations and other activities in Philippine waters were illegal.
    Since then, the UN ruling was always raised by the Philippines and its neighbors in response to China’s maritime aggression. Although, recently China produced a new map which changed its nine-dash line to “ten-dash line”. This latest development virtually made the whole South China Sea their claim.
    Just like the nine-dash line that the UN tribunal declared as unlawful, the new 10-dash line has no legal basis except that China is still living up to its age-old vision of expansionism, or for selfish and greedy reasons.
***
Last week, the BCDA (Bases Conversion and Development Authority) at Camp John Hay opposed a proposed Baguio City ordinance to declare the Ibaloy Ancestral Domain of Happy Hallow as a heritage site for preservation purposes.
    It also petitioned the Supreme Court through the Solicitor General to cancel the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) issued in 2006 to Ibaloys who had occupied the area since time immemorial.
    Assuming that BCDA’s actions were supported legally, the conditions of the communities prior to the crafting of the law were diverse, and therefore its implementation would have to be applied on a case to case basis.
    The argument is based on government facts and figures that the Happy Hallow community of indigenous peoples existed even before the Americans came to occupy the land that they converted into a rest and recreation center for military employees and called it Camp John Hay.
    Under the BCDA law, former military reservations, including Camp John Hay, Clark and Subic, etc. would be converted into alternative productive uses and to raise funds by selling these properties. The money would be spent for the development and conversion of these lands to productive civilian use.
    The law further allows the BCDA to reclaim or undertake reclamation projects in areas adjacent or contiguous to the converted land. For John Hay and Happy Hallow, the scenario would be a “late comer visitor grabbing the land of its host IP community” that has been there for the longest time.
    Certainly, this is awkward but it is the law. But again, it does not follow that just because it is lawful, it can be applicable anywhere. That was why I thought that the application of the BCDA law should be on a case to case basis.
***
Another case to consider is the issue involving properties inside the three sitios of Dalicno, Simpa and Lolita of Barangay Ampucao in the ancestral domain and municipality of Itogon.
    The residents claimed that their water sources, small-scale mining activities, livelihood, safety of the people and properties would greatly be at risk with the approval of a pending Application for Production Sharing Agreement (APSA 103) by the Itogon-Suyoc Resources Inc. (ISRI).
    What surprised many was that a signing of an agreement (MOA) was scheduled sometime on August 18, 2023 while the affected residents have yet to know what was written in the documents to be signed.
    In other words, the MOA has been drafted already without the collective agreement of the Ampucao residents who claimed to be insufficiently informed as the negotiations through general assemblies were inadequate. To their knowledge, they were still in the process of consultation with ISRI and those concerned.
    The MOA signing which could have led to an approval of the APSA and displacement of a community did not push through due to heated discussions by the opposing parties. The Ampucao petitioners did not give their consensus approval of the project, otherwise they could have given away their properties for free.
    The derailing and delaying of rightful consultations by the agencies concerned through enterprising minions are plenty.     Lately, in an assembly last Thursday, there were attempts to silence news publicity by passing around unwritten “house rules” that would limit the movement of media personalities who would attend to cover the event.
    I was informed that an ocular inspection on the ground would soon be scheduled to determine the areas to be affected by the APSA. At least that would avert an attempt to “lawfully” operate mines, just like the way mining companies did in other countries a century ago.
    By the way, I am reminded of 2008 about the landowners affected by the operations of the Asin Hydro-electric plants and the government officials of Tuba, Benguet who expressed opposition to the claim of Baguio officials that the city owned the hydro-electric plants.
    Although the Asin Hydro in Nangalisan, Tuba was built by mayor Halsema for the benefit of the city and the mining companies, it does not follow that it should now be owned by the city. No single document certified such actions. 
    In their opposition, then Tuba official Blas Dalus opposed the request made by Baguio City to transfer water permits from the Baguio Water District to the City Government of Baguio and to change the permit from domestic to power generation, arguing that the move needs a Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC).
    The former IP representative in the Benguet provincial board also questioned the claim of ownership by the city of the hydro-electric plants in Tuba saying no document shows that the Americans turned over the facility to the city.
    The Asin Hydropower Plants 1, 2 and 3 were built, operated and administered in the 1920’s when the Philippines was colonized by the Americans. The plants ceased operations in 2012 but still remained within the territorial jurisdiction of the Tuba town.
    A check with the offices of the Tuba and Benguet assessors also revealed that Baguio does not own any property in the municipality, meaning, no taxes are paid by the city to Tuba or the province.
    Even while there is no basis and the claim by the city is not clear, city officials still insist on operating a property they do not own. It is a picture of an LGU squatting on the property inside another LGU.
 
 
 
 

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Idle farmlands on Labor Day

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY -- After retreating to Pangasinan for a short break from a boring city schedule, I am back and refreshed by the knee-deep seawater flowing between the Tanduyong Island and that part of Tundol in the island town of Anda.
    Seated up front on Sammy’s mini Suzuki van, I get the widest view of the moving landscape through both corners of my eyes. On both sides of the road from Alaminos to Bani, from Lingayen and Bolinao to Anda, I saw agricultural fields uncultivated and thick with wild grass.
    There are valid reasons for this sorry sight. One, harvest has just been finished and the farmers cannot prepare the soil right away because it has to be irrigated. Irrigation canals are on all sides but no water flows on them.
    This cannot be a yearly scene. At least, farmlands should be useful for eight to 10 months of the year. Or else, both farmers and consumers would keep recycling old grievances of food insufficiency.
    Another reason why farmlands stay idle is because farmer-landowners are short of finances as many of them have money for only one cropping cycle. A sad consequence is when loan sharks take advantage of the situation by lending capital on easy terms until the land ownership changes hands.    
    This is where the government and non-government can help. The easiest, simplest and most doable proposal that both congress and the executives in Malacañang can do is to rent the land from the owners and hire them as workers at the same time just to make it operational all year round.
    The circumstances require thousands of workers, therefore helping alleviate unemployment problems. More importantly, those farmlands will no longer be idle as they will surely keep producing the food we need. That could kill food importation and the criminals involved in the act.
            **
May Day or International Workers’ Day or Labor Day or whatever it is called, they are one and the same. It was started in 1889 to commemorate the Haymarket general strike of workers in Chicago on May 1, 1886 for the eight-hour workday.
    Three days later, the police dispersed a public assembly in support of the strike after an unidentified person threw a bomb.
    The police responded by firing on the workers. Seven police officers and at least four civilians were killed in the incident; 60 policemen and an unknown number of civilians were injured.
    On the same day, hundreds of strike leaders and supporters were rounded-up and four were executed by hanging. A day later, the state police in Wisconsin fired on a crowd of strikers killing seven, including a schoolboy and a man feeding chickens in his yard.
    In 1904, a labor conference attended by socialist and communist political parties and even revolutionary groups called on all Social Democratic Party organizations, trade and workers’ unions of all countries to hold street demonstrations on every first day of May for the demands of the working class and for universal peace.
    2019 in Manila, union members supported by students and the usual bystanders took to the streets on Labor Day demanding wage hikes, the implementation of the Expanded Maternity Leave Act, the junking of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law and calling for an end to contractualization.
    After marching to Mendiola, the groups Sentro, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, Federation of Free Workers, and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines were joined by the left-leaning Kilusang Mayo Uno and proceeded to a political rally in support of Labor Win candidates seeking Senate seats in the elections on May 13.
    The Labor Win coalition is composed of Bukluran ng mga Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) head Leody de Guzman, Federation of Free Workers (FFW) president Sonny Matula, Kilusang Mayo Uno founder Ernesto Arellano, labor lawyer Allan Montaño and former Bayan Muna representative Neri Colmenares.
    With the workers’ votes, will any of the Labor Win political bets win?
    A big percentage of the Filipino population equivalent to 41 million Filipinos are composed of workers, enough to catapult any of them to the senate or presidency.
    But, despite the backing of workers’ groups, senate bet De Guzman admitted that based on their estimates, active union members who would vote for senate bets are only around 4% of the number of employed Filipinos, or about 1.3 million.
    Furthermore, workers and sympathy votes are not enough and street rallies sometimes give negative results.     They need resources to mount a nationwide campaign.
    Pre-election surveys also told us that none of the candidates landed in the Magic 12. This was due to the fact that even experts talk about a “dim chance” of winning because of “weak and non-existent” workers’ vote.
    This means, evenwhile the senatoriables and their supporters rally for pro-worker policies, they still have to find a convincing reason why they should be elected; unless the truth is that they do not want to win.
    Common sense should tell them that burning effigies and attacking government personalities have never been rewarding campaign strategies. These actions drive away voters. Dirty campaigning does not gather votes.

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Tinglayan is ‘red’ on map

 LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

The town of Tinglayan in Kalinga, particularly Barangay Buscalan, was recently “put on the map” so to speak, due to good and bad events that took place recently.
    First, the bad news. CIDG files criminal cases against Tinglayan village head.
    The punong barangay of Buscalan of this town in Kalinga Province was accused of leading some 150 bolo-wielding residents in forcibly taking away five persons who were arrested by the local police for marijuana cultivation last April 25.
    As a result, Police officers of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Field Unit of Kalinga/Apayao and the Kalinga Provincial Police Office filed administrative and criminal cases against Punong Barangay Leon Lammawen Baydon of Barangay Buscalan in Tinglayan.
    An administrative case for Grave Misconduct was filed by the CIDG against Baydon before the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon on May 20, 2022; then a criminal case for obstruction of justice under PD 1829 docketed as NPS 11-10-INV-22E-00045 was also filed against him before the Kalinga Provincial Prosecutors Office on May 23, 2022.
    CIDG Cordillera RD Juliet G. Salvador who forwarded a news item to this column said that on April 25, 2022; members of the PNP Regional Mobile Force Battalion 1502nd Maneuver Company who were patrolling a mountainous terrain in Buscalan caught five persons in the act of cultivating marijuana.
    They were arrested for violating RA 9165, RA 10591 and the Comelec Gun Ban since the police also confiscated from the five marijuana cultivators illegal firearms in violation of the nationwide gun ban.
    While the troops and the arrested persons were moving towards the police station at Centro Buscalan, they were blocked by PB Baydon who led some 150 residents armed with bolos who forcibly took custody of the arrested individuals.
    Although provoked and apparently outnumbered, the PNP patrol remained calm during the tense situation to avoid inflicting unnecessary bloodshed or injury among the relatives of the arrested individuals.
    The unexpected confrontation could have turned into a bloody fight between the bolo-wielding residents and the policemen had the latter insisted on bringing the five arrested marijuana cultivators to the police station.
**
Now, the good news. 10,000 tourists and still counting flock to Tinglayan. The Municipal Tourism Office recently said that since a decreasing number of Covid patients has been reported nationwide, more than 10,000 local and foreign tourists have dropped by tattoo artist Whang-od since January.
    The 96-year old Maria Oggay, Kalinga’s oldest living tattoo artist, more popularly known internationally as “Ina     Whang-od” reopened her home to tourists in January after the number of visitors dwindled for the last two years during the Covid-19 pandemic.
    Reopening her tattoo home shop to local and foreign tourists is certainly a blessing not only for barangay Buscalan but for the whole town of Tinglayan that has been looking forward to the revival of the LGU’s economy and sources of livelihood.
    Ina Whang-od of Barangay Buscalan applies her art the traditional way by using a thorn from a citrus tree that is attached to a wood handle, and ink from natural dye and soot.
    The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) noted that Whang-od’s art is not only prominent in Kalinga and the Philippines but recognized internationally, hence, she and the art that she continues to pursue are treasures that must be preserved.
    Ina Whang-od was conferred the “Dangal ng Haraya Pamanang Bayan” award (Intangible Cultural Heritage) on June 2018 by the NCCA for promulgating and preserving the Butbut-Kalinga traditional tattoo called “Whatok”.
Jocel Baac who was then governor said that certainly Ina Whang-od’s irreplaceable traditional artistry has contributed and continues to contribute to the awareness about the Kalinga culture and had made impact to the country’s culture and arts. 
    NCCA officials also saw that people who had visited her were not only fascinated by the ancient practice, they noticed how kind and hospitable the artist’s family was in welcoming and accommodating villagers and visitors alike.
    Aside from Ina Whang-od’s tattoo shop, the other “hot” spots in Tinglayan that tourists can visit are the rice terraces of Ngibat, Tulgao and Dananao. Then there is the Tulgao Hot Spring, Dananao volcano, Palang-ah Falls, and of course the Chico River that winds down below, following the Bontoc-Kalinga highway.
    With these natural tourism attractions, Kalinga has to establish tourist information shops, sell or rent out camping gear and train tour guides to ensure the safety of tourists.

Call for electoral reforms

March L. Fianza

Everyone I talked to about the last national and local elections agreed that it was time Congress amended the Omnibus Election Code. Each one had new suggestions that were never heard of since the framers wrote the first provisions of the law.
    To me, these suggestions were reflections of the defects or weaknesses of the law that tied us to grievances every election season. We never stopped grumbling because our election guidelines were lacking or needing revisions.
    There was a suggestion to revert back to elections every four years because three years of holding an elective office was too short. Working politicians barely warmed their seats when the next election was around the corner again.
    On the other hand, a non-performing politician who, by all crooked means gets reelected for a second term will occupy his office for another three years. And he or she will continue to receive taxpayers’ money which does not correspond to his or her efforts if there are any.
    To curb election spending for campaign materials, the Comelec has to introduce reforms on campaign financing. In the last three or more elections, the Comelec was overwhelmed by the violations committed in displaying campaign posters.
    One proposal is for candidates to remit an amount to the Comelec upon filing their CoCs and for the latter to announce the names of the candidates and the positions they are aspiring for in newspapers, radios, televisions and on their website. For designated poster areas, candidates must strictly follow the required sizes and to paste only one poster.
    Concerning personalities in movies and sports like Robin Padilla and Manny Pacquiao, a colleague came up with the proposal that such individuals should be disqualified from being candidates unless they stop their trade a year before filing their certificates with the Comelec.
    Movies portraying them as heroes or villains should also be banned within the same period. Remember, Pacquiao skipped senate sessions in July to September last year to fight Cuba’s Yurdenis Ugas in Las Vegas, USA. With that, he actually started campaigning for president even before he filed his CoC.
    Also, congress should not be tired of proposing to adopt the hybrid election system where voting will still be by shading an election ballot but counting will be done manually at the precinct level using the old “tara” style of counting votes.
    Whatever is counted manually in a locality is transmitted by electronic servers to the next recipient. It is hybrid.     The manual counting at the precinct level will ensure transparency and the security of our votes.
    Manual counting was the old system that we used before 2010, and there was transparency then, until someone in Malacanang proposed the use of electronically manipulated vote counting machines for money and control of winning votes. With electronic elections, fraud has become digitized.
    By the way, Luisa’s Café denizen Norway of Ecotherm Water Heater noticed that a voter is no longer required to place his thumbmark corresponding to a voting number where he signs his name.
    That means a security feature that guarantees the sanctity of the ballot has been removed. Comelec should explain why this part of the process was taken out. Please bring back the thumbmarks.
    For congressional districts, a political caretaker should be disqualified from running for congressman of that province because he was only appointed to the position to finish the unexpired term of a deceased congressman.     There was no previous intention to be a resident in the area, a factor that Comelec should look into.
    Regarding electoral protests, the law requires a protestant-candidate to name the precincts where a physical examination of the ballots is done. Then a wider recount is conducted in case anomalies were found in the precincts that were identified.
    But this manner is unwarranted as the protestant may not identify the right precincts where fraud possibly happened. If the precincts that were identified failed to reveal substantial anomalies, the court will no longer allow a wider recount even if there are documented reports of cheating in other areas.
    What should be done is for Comelec to do a recount in all precincts of a certain polling school for example, to take out from the protestant the risk of misidentifying the particular precincts where election fraud possibly happened.  
    Another factor that congress should discuss is why the Comelec programmed the machines to check only whether the ballots were satisfactorily shaded or not. Certainly, the voting machines cannot scrutinize sufficiently pre-shaded ballots.
    Resolving electoral protests should be systematic. A protest does not have to be filed. To make the process more democratic, recounts should automatically proceed in cases where the difference of votes falls within a certain range.
    Congress should already include a considerable percentage amount in the election budget to shoulder expenses for any vote recount so that a protestant-candidate does not have to spend, unless a recount goes beyond the margin allowed by law.
    Political dynasties can be stopped if congress wants to. How can we have electoral reforms? First, we should stop voting the same names to avoid having family affairs in our political institutions.
    But what have we done? Because of our votes, members of political clans in the country have just won seats in the Senate.
    Half-brothers JV Ejercito and Jinggoy Estrada recently were proclaimed senators and returned to the upper chamber together.
    Then incumbent Senator Pia Cayetano will be joined by his brother Alan Peter Cayetano for a seat in the Senate. Aside from Cynthia Villar, her son Mark Villar would also be a new member of the Senate. 

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Light moments amid the deadly delta coronavirus

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

David March L. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY -- September 1, Wednesday was exceptionally a blessing in disguise as it hosted an unexpected small and first ever reunion of former editors of the Baguio Midland Courier (BMC), or “Midland” for brevity, admittedly one of the longest running weekly community newspapers in the Cordillera or the Philippines.
    The day was actually booked for more serious events such as the 112th anniversary of the American colonizers’ law called the Baguio City charter that legitimized the land grabbing and sale of Ibaloy lands since 1909.
    There were other on-going incidents that day, including the forcible entry of a self-styled new management into the offices of the Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) along South Drive and the speech of Mayor Benjie Magalong at the Baguio Convention Center.
    But I found it more essential to meet up with colleagues in the media, considering that the Covid-19 pandemic has kept us from seeing each other even before the Luzon-wide lockdown was announced in March 2020.
    I do not know what went into the brain of People’s Television network (PTV4) boss Richard Valdez or why he suddenly wanted to host last Wednesday’s informal get-together. Although, he was not in a hurry to retire as I am sure he still had a few years to spend in government service.
    Richard has been in public service since his KB (Kabataan Barangay) days in the late 70s. I never got bored listening to his funny and sometimes risky exploits, including that time when then Martial Law strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos scolded him.
Fast forward to the years after the killer earthquake of 1990, we spent most of our time feeling like immortals on roads that led to news coverage in Kalinga, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Abra and the Ilocos provinces.
    For days, we moved in and out on the narrow and dusty Bontoc-Tinglayan road while police officials waited for Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) cadres to come down from the hills to return hundreds of M-14 Armalite rifles that were loaned to them by Cory’s revolutionary government in their fight against the New People’s Army (NPA).
    The news coverage continued for days until the police realized that it was pointless to be waiting for CPLA men who would never fulfill their promise to return the rifles in exchange for livelihood assistance. In the beginning, it was already a mistake to loan rifles to the paramilitary organization.
    For weeks on another news coverage in 1992, we occupied a room at the Chico Inn at Bontoc to stay close to the negotiation for the release of seven Tadian policemen kidnaped by the “nice people around”. The hostaged policemen were released after almost a month of dialogue.
    Eliral Refuerzo, publisher-owner of The Baguio Reporter (TBR) was with us last Wednesday. Eli or “Pedped” as he is known in other circles is the “jolly good fellow nobody can’t deny”. The guy in the song would never reveal what worries him in the expression of his face or by the movement of his body.
    But be alert when you are with him for a night out. Because Pedped is one who will pull out his gun, either for fun or to protect a friend in need. In all those times spent till the wee hours, his accounts of life will keep you awake.
    As fast as he could reach home before the big earthquake hit, Eli left Midland to lay out the maiden issue of TBR.
Northern Philippine Times (NPT) publisher Alfred P. Dizon skipped editorial work to join the group last Wednesday. When I left Midland to focus on another chapter of life, Alfred was there to stop me from worrying that the weekly paper might not hit the streets on Sunday.
    After years of putting to bed a weekly newspaper during sleepless weekends, Alfred in 2000 left to publish NPT. I am quite sure that just like Pedped, me and the earlier editors and news reporters who were ahead, he was grateful for the opportunity to edit Midland.
    Journalism is love of work, satisfies a newsman’s heart, exciting and challenging, and never boring. Although in comparison, news coverage before the pandemic was easier for all media formats. Suddenly, the conditions became more challenging because of Covid-19.
    Mainly due to the pandemic, online news, in addition to radio and television broadcast, is more prevalent compared to news print. However, I have the strong suspicion that newspapers will never be out of circulation because these can be kept in one’s drawer while news online could be deleted and radio-TV broadcasts could be forgotten next week.
    On rice fields, hills and mountains where the internet is not an animal and www.com does not exist, the newspaper is the main link to the outside world. An old newspaper yellowed through time is always good to read. The news is immortalized as long as the newspaper hard copy is kept.
    At least, that was my answer to the question of Leia Fidelis Castro-Margate, another ex- Midland editor who came to gather views from Richard, Pedped, Alfred, Ed Carta and I regarding news coverage amid the pandemic.
    It was a rare occasion to see Leia, a former editor, interview other former editors and PTV4 boss Richard, and to see that they were all looking healthy with their masks on. 
    Not only that, the lunch hosted by Richard at the Baguio Country Club was healthy too. Let’s do this more often. 

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Apologia and DepEd’s urgent need for action

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

David March Fianza

Our apologies to whoever felt upset with the topic last week on the vaccination to fight the Delta variant that is causing exponential increase in infections and more deaths in the NCR+ areas which is under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
    The intention of the article was to bring awareness to the importance of getting jabbed because as health authorities said, vaccines bring more benefits than not having it. There was no intention to spread fake news or instigate unvaccinated citizens to rush to vaccination sites and Baguio is under GCQ, not ECQ.
    By the way, as early as two or three days before my Delta variant article came out last Saturday, national papers already had it in the news. The title of one article said, “MMDA: ‘No vaccine, no ayuda’ rumor caused ‘unruliness’ at jab sites in Manila, Las Piñas”.
    This was why MMDA chair Benhur Abalos asked the NBI to go after the sources of misinformation that only those vaccinated for COVID-19 will receive cash aid as the NCR reverts to ECQ. Abalos clarified that the distribution of ayuda for each person worth P1,000 or P4,000 per family is not attached on whether one has been vaccinated or not.
    Even President Duterte was not spared from the ruckus as he was blamed for an announcement he issued. On July 29, just a day before the announcement that NCR+ will be under a two-week ECQ, he said that a law for unvaccinated persons should be passed, but that he could not wait for it.
    “This is my order: You will be returned to your house,” the President stated. “So if you want to go out, get vaccinated.” There is no law or official order to back this but the President’s statement added to the confusion and subsequent panic anyway as people rushed to vaccination sites before the break of dawn, eager to get a jab and for fear they will be apprehended. The Manila PIO found out about this.
    Presidential spox Harry Roque, insan Ronald Perez’s idol and friend, quickly defended his boss and apologized for him, of course. That is the difference between people in Malacanang and we who are at the bottom of society: They have people who apologize for them and they are not investigated, while we have to apologize and defend ourselves.   
****
    In this age of the worldwideweb.com, schoolchildren have been pulled away from their books by their cyber gadgets. I agree with Marcial Lami-ing’s article and asked his permission to have it printed in my column.

The urgent need for action

When DepEd-CAR launched its READ to LEAD project last year which aims to advocate every learner a reader in every grade level, I came to realize this project is really very timely. It was very delightful to note that even the DepEd secretary came to grace the said launching as a gesture of support.
    Reading skill is one of the macro skills needed to be developed in the K to 12 Curriculum. It is considered as one of the vital skills that a Filipino learner needs to develop since it will lead him to the global community. Failure could lead to catastrophe, but that is another story.
    It is basic for literacy. As such, educators have long made reading instruction a priority in the school curriculum. (Roe, Smith, & Burns, 2011). Teachers, parents, students and other members of the learning community are one in asserting the importance of reading to effective functioning in today’s complex, technological world.
    On the other hand, the ability to read is vital to effective functioning in a literate society. Thus, there is a need to ignite their interest in reading and help them realize that it is a life skill that is essential to their future success. Their exposure to gadgets and social media should be regulated giving a balance to time for reading.
    Looking at the result of the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) administered to all Grade 7 during the School Year 2019-2020 in the Baguio City Division was alarming. Among the 22 Secondary schools that submitted reports, all showed a very low result.
    With 5,070 Grade 7 learners who took the test; 2,043 or 40% belong to the Frustration level or very low readers. While 1,159 or 23% belong to the Instructional level or average readers. These were the pre-test results that were the basis of the interventions made by Grade 7 reading teachers.
    As per District result, Lucban-Mabini and Baguio Central/West Baguio recorded the highest percentage of Frustration level with 56% and 55% respectively with Quezon and North Quezon running 3rd with 50% with BCNHS and its annexes recording only 33%.
    This is not mean that we have dumb learners. These figures only show that something has to be done. As frontliners and leaders in Education, these figures should serve as eye-openers for us in strategizing best interventions to improve these figures.
    Ideally, our learners should be Independent if not Instructional readers. Having Independent readers means that they are perfect oral readers with excellent comprehension while Instructional readers know how to follow instructions from their teachers.
    The Phil-IRI result reflecting the reading level of our learners needs urgent action especially for school heads. We need to think of better and doable strategies to lessen, if not to eradicate the numbers of Frustration readers. We know our school and the learners. Even in this time of pandemic, we can improve.
    Our English teachers can innovate by maximizing online reading activities during their synchronous classes. Strengthen partnership with our PTA since they are the ones now directly supervising their children at home.
    Make constant communication with them regarding the reading habits of their children. Orient them to practice the DEAR or Drop Everything and Read Time at home. We can also tap the services of volunteer teachers under the Project Kalayaan of DepEd.
    Reading does not come naturally by the students unless they are required to do so, (Padilla, 2016, Patawid di Adal). The action revealed that the process of reading has to be taught to students where the teacher and knowledge source in the household has to model reading tactics, which ultimately will be practiced by students without reluctance.
    In a recent development, the conduct of Brigada Eskwela 2021 National Kick off last August 3, 2021 emphasized on school readiness come school year 2021-2022.
    Director Leila P. Areola of the Bureau of Learning and Delivery hinted a new program, the   “Brigada Pagbasa”. She added that the 2021 Brigada Eskwela must focus on literacy and numeracy.  Brigada Pagbasa is an acknowledgement that reading is an important tool that serves the foundation upon which all the instructional programs are based.
    Accordingly, the gift of reading is what we can give to the learners as they try to be motivated so that they can read and write better, learn independently and think creatively and critically. Thus, the Brigada Pagbasa must be an essential activity of today’s Brigada Eskwela. – Marcial L. Lami-ing

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Diaz saves day during Du30’s boring SONA

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March Fianza

As millions of Filipinos were glued to their TV screens, listening to President Duterte’s long, boring and incomprehensible state of the nation address, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz of Zamboanga pulled the rag from under the feet of the president and made our day.
    Hidilyn lifted 127 kilos of barbell in the Tokyo Olympics on July 26, 2021; beating the all-time winner in female weightlifting from China. Although, I have seen male porters load 40-kilo sacks of rice on trucks at the Baguio market, they can carry two sacks at least, equivalent to 80 kilos.  I imagined, Ms. Diaz carried an equivalent of three 40-kilo sacks of rice, plus seven kilos extra.
    Ms. Diaz snatched the gold in the weightlifting event in the Tokyo Olympics and put the Philippines on the sports world map. This was the first Olympic gold that the country grabbed by the first female to win it. With that, we all seemed to have forgotten that it was still raining cats and dogs that evening.
    On that lucky day, 30-year-old Ms. Diaz became the latest Filipina millionaire, not because she will be P40-million plus richer, but because she won a million admirers from all over the world, maybe billions.
    Gifts did not stop coming as President Duterte promised her a house and lot in Zamboanga, another guy gave her a house and lot in Tagaytay, still another will give a condominium unit worth P14 million, a Foton van, and many more.
    Her winning should make us weigh our country’s status in sports. It is certainly not an easy task to participate in world sports. Just by looking at your opponents makes you feel like packing up to go home because your rivals are bigger and well-trained with up-to-date equipment.
    Hidilyn’s win should make us think of seriously crafting a national sports program, maybe pour more funding but seeing to it that it is spent wisely.    
    While children, whether enrolled or out-of-school are interested in basketball, I have not seen a basketball court that was completed with the necessary features. In most cases, the facility is constructed in trickles.
    I recall annual sports competitions for public and private schools. During the opening parade of delegates, we see elected and appointed officials together with all school officials from the highest directors and superintendents down to the referees and coaches.
    Of course, they are happy to join the parade to display their new made-to-order and personalized colorful uniforms; complete with caps, T-shirts, jackets and jogging pants. But observe, during the actual competitions, the athletes who directly compete do not have the proper gear. No running shoes and no mitts for track and field athletes, sad to say.  
    On the same day that Ms. Diaz was competing, President Duterte was delivering his SONA that was not easy to comprehend by the ordinary man on the street. It was even more incomprehensible because of the unnecessary clapping by the audience of lawmakers and public officials.
    They were applauding even before Duterte made his point which drove him to express disapproval by asking why they were always clapping. This was aside from a teleprompter that was not working well as it was always hanging and pausing.
Duterte’s last SONA was long and boring as those he mentioned were not what the ordinary man on the street wanted to hear. His first five SONAs were more interesting as he was his own person with his dirty language. That was what millions of common people who can relate with him wanted to hear – his foul language.
    He is known for bad mouthing, and hoodlums love him for being natural. They relate with him as one among them or as any backstreet thug who has no pretensions. To an extent, he admitted his closeness to President Xi Jin Ping of China even while he knew that such closeness irked his political enemies
    Understandably, the opposition would always be unsatisfied with SONAs and naturally they would not hear from any President what they expect to hear. It is even much harder to make him act and talk the way they have seen previous presidents talk.
    For Duterte, he has become the most talked about president, just like Trump. But all presidents are criticized especially if s/he does not act the way they want him to. Because of their own styles, the good things delivered during their incumbency are set aside.
    Presidents are incomparable as they are totally different individuals with different mindsets. The audience has to go inside the mind of the speaker to understand his person and what he is talking about. Duterte’s original style of delivering a speech was to talk, saying what he wants to say without thinking about the effect on his audience.
    This time he did not mention Federalism when it was this topic that catapulted him to Malacanang. He did not talk about Mandanas law which increased the internal revenue allotment of LGUs from the national wealth. As an ordinary local chief executive, he won as president.
    He did not talk about a roadmap to get out of the Covid-19 pandemic problem. Just like any LGU executive, he knew that nobody could predict how the dreaded virus will act in the future. It is a problem that has to be analyzed as it comes.
    But he thanked the frontliners, government agencies and the private sector who are fighting the pandemic, hinting that there is a need to unite in order to win the fight against the virus.
What caught my attention was when the president said, there were times he wanted to go out of Malacanang but the Presidential Security Group prevented him from doing so. He said, the PSG has to obey the law on keeping a president safe and secure. This only shows that it is not easy to be president and head a nation. It is lonely at the top.

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Posturing amid Covid-19 pandemic

 LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

Despite the insistence of the president’s spox that his boss would rather do his job of battling the Covid-19 pandemic instead of facing problems of a looming split in his political party, the public sees the opposite. At present, disorganization is the word to describe the PDP-Laban, presumably the major party of President Duterte's coalition.
It shows that in more than a couple of months, the problems haunting the PDP-Laban metamorphosed into an impending political party collapse, even quicker than the mutation of the coronavirus Alpha variant into the Delta variant.  
    The vicious power struggle among top leaders of the ruling PDP-Laban should warn voters on who to vote for in 2022. Only recently, the public witnessed the exchange of allegations and accusations between Sen. Manny Pacquiao and Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi with the backing of Sen. Koko Pimentel and President Rodrigo Duterte, respectively.
    The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–Laban) that was founded in 1982 in Cebu City by Nene Pimentel Jr. and a group of activists against the government of Ferdinand Marcos, became the ruling party in 2016 when it took under its wing President Rodrigo Duterte when he decided at the last minute to join the presidential race and won. Later, he was designated as chairman of the party.
    But while it is now the ruling party, it is in truth a mix of politicians belonging to other political parties, including those coming from the Liberal Party (LP) and even the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) of the late President Ferdinand Marcos.
PDP–Laban is the merger between the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino and Lakas ng Bayan. In 1983, PDP initially coalesced with Lakas ng Bayan party founded in 1978 by former Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. Then in 1986, the two groups merged to form the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan or PDP–Laban.
    The newly formed PDP–Laban alliance became the single biggest opposition group during that period to run against Ferdinand Marcos in the 1986 snap presidential election. Corazon Aquino, the widow of the late senator Benigno Aquino Jr., became the party's nominee to run for President.
    Later, PDP–Laban aligned with Salvador Laurel’s UNIDO. But after the EDSA Revolution of 1986 which led to an Aquino - Laurel proclamation as President and Vice President, respectively; UNIDO was dissolved.
    Then prior to the 1988 local elections, PDP-Laban was criticized for its loose policy in accepting members of the KBL party which is largely composed of Marcos loyalists and sympathizers. This led to PDP–Laban split into two factions which were the Pimentel Wing and the Cojuangco Wing of Jose Cojuangco Jr.
    Meanwhile, the Cojuangco Wing and the Lakas ng Bansa party of House Speaker Ramon Mitra, Jr. merged in 1988 to form the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino party (LDP).
    The rest is history. Senator Koko Pimentel, the son and namesake of the party founder Nene Pimentel Jr., was party president until he designated Senator Pacquiao in 2018 as acting president while he assumed the position of executive vice chairman. Energy secretary Cusi was vice chairman.
    Then an internal rift in the party started in early 2021, when Pacquiao criticized Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's policy regarding the South China Sea dispute.
    PDP-Laban chairman Duterte chided Pacquiao's criticisms and took offense to the senator’s statement that his administration was more corrupt than his predecessors’ terms. Pacquiao also came into conflict with PDP-Laban vice chairman Cusi.
    On July 9, 2021; the Pimentel-Pacquiao faction expelled vice-chairman Cusi, allegedly for violating provisions of the party's constitution by showing allegiance to a political party apart from PDP-Laban. President Duterte refused to recognize the expulsion of vice-chairman Cusi.
    A week later on July 17 in Clark, Pampanga; the rift took a new turn when Pacquiao was ousted as acting president while Cusi was elected in his place during the party's national assembly, attended mostly by the Duterte-Cusi faction.
    Certainly the Pacquiao-Pimentel faction will organize its own national assembly next month as it claimed that the “national assembly and election of the new PDP-Laban officers were unauthorized” under the party’s by-laws.
    I see this early free-for-all as posturing for the 2022 elections. For the president, and as a seasoned politician, he knows that in his last year in office, he is considered a lame duck president that is why he had to announce that he would run for vice president in May 2022.
    Which reminds me of my professor in Political Science who said that the 1987 Philippine Constitution is the lousiest that was written by the framers who think they are the best and oppose all proposed amendments.
    He said, the framers should have written in the Constitution that “outgoing presidents cannot run for the position of vice president,” saying further that what is not prohibited by the Constitution is allowed.
    The framers should have also maintained the four-year term and one reelection for all political positions to allow politicians to stay in public office if they are performing well, or get rid of corrupt elected officials by not reelecting them.
    President Duterte was accused of liability over the occupation of the Philippines' exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea by the Chinese, and also faces an investigation by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity over the killing of thousands of victims of his war on drugs.
    But Sen. Pacquiao has income tax issues to settle, too. His anti-corruption posturing cannot make the public forget his wrongdoing. Same thing with former Sen. Trillanes who is facing several criminal cases.
    The cheapest way for Trillanes and Pacquiao, both of whom might run for president, is to have their names recalled by the electorate by accusing their rivals without having to file cases in court as people will be hearing the allegations while election fever is in the air.
    All statements by politicians, not only Duterte and Pacquiao, expose the genuine intentions in running for public office. Many, if not all of them seek public office for personal reasons. 
    The public can expect more drama as the filing of certificates of candidacy nears. But what the country needs are politicians who would not get elected just to escape liabilities.  

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A ‘handful of mountain people’ in rainy July

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

David March Fianza

BAGUIO CITY -- Heavy rains this July, coupled with threats of Covid-19 infections make distant communities more difficult to reach, thereby making the fight against the pandemic and the government’s vaccination program more challenging. PAGASA said that July is when the rain falls for more than 20 days with the most rainfall experienced in the NCR including its surrounding provinces. Despite the rains, the average heat index in the lowlands is at a sweltering 39.9°C (103.8°F). People are advised to take precautions as heat exhaustion and heat cramps are expected.
    Certainly, many have experienced riding on a bus where all seats are occupied and passengers are sweaty because the air condition system is struggling to balance the lowland heat while the sky is generous in pouring gallons of rain.
    Amid dry spells in lowland regions in Asia, parts of Europe, North and South America, wet season is continuing in July, with a larger portion of the Philippines experiencing significant rainfall, especially in the afternoon.

Also, heatstroke may occur with lengthy activity and exposure to direct sunshine that increases heat index by up to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. That is why even while regions are experiencing rains, there are reports of deaths due to heatstroke, meaning, the body cannot disperse the excessive heat and body temperature has reached hyperthermia levels.

The heat index is the estimated temperature of how hot the weather feels when the moisture in the air is factored in, in consideration of natural factors like wind, a person’s body mass, height, shape, and activity that influence one's impression of the weather. Thermal conditions above 37.5°C (99.5°F) to 38.3°C (100.9°F) are life-threatening.

Amid uncooperative weather and threats from Covid-19 variants of concern, newspaper columnist Ramon Tulfo asks the question: “Which comes first, the interests of millions of households and establishments in Luzon that would suffer from power outages as a result of the closure of the plants, or the welfare of a handful of mountain people?

His side jab is in relation to the three hydroelectric plants that were shut down last week by the LGU of Bakun, Benguet following a cease-and-desist order (CDO) issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) against Hedcor that is running the plants.

This is in the midst of reports that power consumers in Luzon are presently suffering from power shortages that are maliciously being attached to the Bakun hydro issue. But I bet my non-existent monthly pay, there will always be blackouts, brownouts, power outages and shortages even when the three Bakun hydroelectric plants are contributing power to the Luzon grid.

Btw, my sympathies were with Mr. Tulfo when celebrities Raymart Santiago and Claudine Barreto and company ganged up on him at the NAIA in 2012. Despite claims of being a martial arts expert, I took his side because he was alone and belittled. But that changed today after he called the Bakun IPs as a “handful of mountain people”.

In most press releases that were sent to newspapers all over, there is insinuation that the IP organization and Bakun LGU are liable for the stoppage of the operation of the three hydroelectric plants, especially during this pandemic.

It is a fantastic argument. The company and DOE cannot pass on to Bakun and its people their failure to produce power. Much less, the health department cannot blame the “handful of mountain people" in Bakun if vaccinees do not get jabbed because of a sudden power outage.

Hedcor says it recognizes the concerns of the Bakun IPs and it is open to a “tongtongan” (dialogue), but is it? For issuing a cease and desist order (CDO) to the Hedcor management of the three Bakun hydroelectric plants for violating the rights of the LGU and the IPs, the NCIP is sued in court.

And even with a case filed against it, NCIP officials claimed they continued to facilitate communication lines and rekindle negotiations between Hedcor and the Bakun IP organization. However, the situation has become bitter to a point where both sides need to cool off.

Now, how can “tongtongan” proceed if Hedcor resorts to filing cases in court against people and agencies who should be considered their allies in resolving issues between them and a “handful of mountain people?”   

The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) requires that project developers may acquire permits and licenses only after receipt of a Certificate Precondition (CP) from the NCIP manifesting consent from a “handful of mountain people” in a community hosting the project.

Thus, the CDO may be lifted only after Hedcor secures a CP after holding the free prior informed consent (FPIC) with the IPs of Bakun as required under the IPRA of 1997.

Then Mr. Tulfo asks, “Which government agency is higher in stature: DOE or NCIP?” A simple answer that my simpleton brain produced is “no one is higher than the other.” The DOE sees to it that Mr. Tulfo, you and I get our electric power supply, while the NCIP sees to it that IPs in the country are not marginalized and their rights protected.

The three hydroelectric plants operated by Hedcor have a combined capacity of 11.9 megawatts (MW). Hedcor operates 21 other hydropower plants supplying 258 MW of renewable energy. This is the basic information that we know so far.

The profit-oriented company that operates the hydroelectric plants that exploit the natural resources, particularly the rivers of Benguet, are not telling Bakun LGU and the “handful of mountain people” how much they earn from the hydroelectric plants.

There is no transparency in their operation. They are not honest to the host community or the “handful of mountain people” that they talk to. Our turn to ask Mr. Tulfo a question: “Should Hedcor in Bakun pack up and leave?”

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Why a PCOO Asec in a Beneco tussle?

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

Town mayors representing Itogon, Tuba, Tublay and Kabayan finally signed last week their respective Memorandum of Agreement with the Benguet Electric Cooperative for the repair and maintenance of unmetered streetlights under the account of the municipality.
    Under the MOA, the Second Party represented by Beneco shall be responsible for the administration, maintenance and repair of the unmetered streetlight systems of the municipality, including lighting fixtures, bulbs and photo switches.
    The First Party municipality will engage the services of Beneco for the purpose of hastening maintenance, delivery and repair of the unmetered streetlights within the municipality, and will pay the Second Party (Beneco) the equivalent of 14 burning hours of electric consumption of the unmetered streetlights from the date of execution of the MOA until 2028.
***
The popular Tagalog saying “Ako ang nagsaing, iba ang kumain” defines the situation the Beneco is presently in following endorsements and letters sent to the National Electrification Administration for it to approve recommendations on who should sit as new manager.
    Beneco officials, managers and employees urged the NEA board to endorse OIC manager engineer Melchor S. Licoben as general manager who is highly qualified, more competent and more dedicated to the EC that he helped improve as he rose from the ranks in his more than 30 years of work.
    At the same time, they disputed the credentials of ASec. Anna Marie Rafael Bana-ag of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) and opposed her application as Beneco general manager.
    They have valid reasons to do so considering that they know the real situation for being in the electric business for the longest time.
     Now, Beneco officials and power consumers are mystified why an assistant secretary of the PCOO headed by Sec. Martin Andanar is applying as GM. Maybe the good Sec. Andanar knows why.
    Anybody who does not have the necessary training and work experience in a power company should have the common sense to discern if s/he is fit for the job or not. The Beneco BOD knows that. But conversations with the applicants can twist choices, depending on personal priorities.
    Anybody can apply to an open position on the basis of listed requirements. But the first consideration of a job applicant to any position is to be honest in assessing oneself if s/he is qualified based on what is called for by the real situation on the ground.
    The top position in an electric utility is better left to the more qualified experts who have worked in that field all their life, unless the requirements to the position are waived by the endorsing body, and that interviews are for compliance only.    
    That is why in their letter to the NEA, the Beneco officials said they are curious to find out how the PCOO assistant secretary could have hurdled the qualifications they described as “pass or fail” category, for which she could have failed.
    Certainly questions related to the management of distribution lines, power generation and consumption in the franchise area, and the nitty-gritty in operating an electric utility, if these were asked could not have been answered by the applicant.
That is why the Beneco letter to NEA said they are “interested to know the points gathered by both applicants and how the work experience and qualifications were factored into the selection.”  
    Citing NEA Memorandum No. 2017-035, a general manager must have at least five years of experience with proven track record in effective management of a successful electric utility-related business enterprise, held two or more senior management positions involving business leadership or managerial functions and must have no derogatory or adverse administrative record in any previous employments.
    Beneco officials are now in a quandary as to how Asec. Bana-ag possessed the foregoing qualifications which are mandatory. The Beneco letter further noted that both applicants may possess dedication and high integrity, but there must be competence which means “know-how, skills and experience” where for sure, Licoben is above par.
    The Beneco executives noted that the selection of a GM under NEA Memo No. 2017-035 provides two options – one, to recruit through publication; and two, for the BOD to choose from the department managers. The Beneco board chose the second option and endorsed  Licoben to be directly appointed as GM.
    This could have spared NEA the time spent for recruiting a new GM since it is the BOD itself which made clear its decision for Licoben to take the helm of the EC following the provisions of the memorandum that NEA approved on Oct. 24, 2017.
    By the way, I read a statement by PCOO Asec. Bana-ag on the messenger chat group of the media that dragged the former management into the tussle with an insinuation about how Beneco was managed in the past. I thought that was unnecessary and unfair because the one alluded to is no longer around to answer.
    NEA officials should seriously consider that Licoben has the support of the consumer-owners of Beneco; including LGUs in the franchise area, organizations and other sectors that wrote endorsements through resolutions, copies of which were earlier furnished to NEA.
    NEA knows that there are ECs around the country that are barely surviving and need more assistance, including those in Abra, Kalinga and Mountain Province. If there are applicants who think they have the expertise, then they can be endorsed to the position.
    Through the years, NEA saw how Beneco officials and the workers who have been with the utility for the longest time struggled to make the EC what it is now. The support to the affairs of Beneco by its member-consumers who own the EC must not be ignored, unless NEA thinks otherwise.

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