Smartmatic Gets Maintenance Contract for PCOS Machines

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) granted the maintenance contract of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines to Smartmatic –Total Information Management (TIM) Corporation, the same firm which provided the poll automation machines in the past two elections, informed sources disclosed yesterday.

Smartmatic – TIM earlier extended to Comelec an extended warranty for the PCOS machines. “It was decided by the en banc to give the project to Smartmatic-TIM,” the source said, adding that the decision of the en banc is expected to be published this week.

According to the source, except for Commissioners Luie Guia and Arthur Lim, all the other commissioners led by Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes voted for the extended warranty.

Another source said the commissioners are also concerned that holding a public bidding might affect the timetable of the preparations for the 2016 polls.

“We might not have enough time to prepare if there will be a bidding since there is also the danger of a failed bidding,” said the source.

The source said the commissioners were also not convinced if their Information and Technology Department (ITD) can do a better job than Smartmatic-TIM in refurbishing the more than 80,000 PCOS machines.

“The commissioners have doubts as to the complete capability of the ITD in refurbishing the PCOS machines. It’s too risky!” said the source.

Earlier, Smartmatic– Asia President Cesar Flores said it would be very beneficial if the poll body will award the PCOS repair project to them instead of holding a public bidding since they are the ones who have the exclusive right to the machines including the parts.

“If you open this (refurbishing project) to other bidders, the other bidders will try to (get) parts, which they cannot because we have exclusivity on those parts,” he said.

The Comelec Law Department earlier already issued a legal opinion saying the commission can just exercise the extended warranty provided by Smartmatic if they can prove that they are the only ones that can provide the necessary services to the PCOS machines.

                

Groups Plea for Animal Welfare as Boisterous New Year's Eve Revelry Nears

Speaking in behalf of their voiceless pets, environmental and animal welfare advocates gathered on December 28, 2014 (Sunday) in front of the Malate Catholic Church to exhort the public not to blow up firecrackers and pyrotechnics to usher in the New Year.

Co-organized by the EcoWaste Coalition and the Care for the Earth Ministry of Our Lady of Remedies Parish, the assembly of kids and grown-ups with their furry friends, highlighted the group’s continuing “Iwas PapuToxic” drive towards a cleaner, greener and safer celebration of the New Year.

Members of the Animal Kingdom Foundation Inc. (AKF), Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA Welfare Philippines) and the Philippine Pug Lovers Club came to the event with their pet dogs.

“Prolonged exposure to deafening noise, blinding lights and suffocating fumes may damage animals’ sensitive ears, powerful noses and keen eyesight,” explained Heidi Caguioa of AKF.

“Sudden firecracker explosions not only frighten small animals such as birds, cats and dogs, but also cause severe stress such as stomach upset, loss of appetite and decreased sense of direction that may result to animals getting lost or injured,” she added. The groups recommended the following tips to help your pet animals survive the noise and injuries during the New Year’s Eve festivities:

• Persuade members of your household to make your home a “no firecracker” zone. 
• Politely tell your neighbors not to light or throw firecrackers near your home.
• Exercise your pets during the days leading up to the New Year’s Eve and in the next morning when the festivities are over and the smoke has cleared. 
• Give your pets a physical outlet for their pent-up energy resulting from stress. 
• Manage the environment so it is as relaxing as possible and as less stressful as you can make it. 
• Provide your pets with a safe place to take temporary refuge. If possible, allow them to stay in a quiet room such as a bedroom.
• Close the windows, pull the curtains down and play relaxing music to neutralize the noise from the outside to help your pets feel secure.
• Ensure your pets’ access to drinking water. Make them pee or poo before the festivities happen.
• Do not yell or laugh at your pets when they are cowering or shaking in fear. This is a natural response to a threat that they do not understand and cannot avoid.

                  

Protest Against MRT-LRT Fare Hike Swells

Congressmen crossed party lines yesterday to join the swelling protest against government’s approval of a 50 to 87 percent fare hike on the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) systems starting January 4.

Reps. Sherwin Gatchalian (NPC, Valenzuela City) and Terry Ridon (Kabataan Partylist) were the latest to join the growing number of politicians who have assailed the planned fare increase.

Gatchalian, a member of the Malacanang-allied majority bloc, warned that whatever gains the public has been experiencing from a series of cuts in oil prices, the MRT and LRT fare hike will spoil.

Effective January 4, MRT-3 fare rates from North Avenue to Taft Avenue and vice versa in MRT-3 will increase to P28 from P15.  Fares from Baclaran to Roosevelt and vice versa (LRT-1) will increase to P30 from P20  and LRT-2 fares from Recto to Santolan and vice versa will increase to P25 from P15.

The announcement came at a time when the MRT-3 and LRT Lines 1 and 2 were accorded substantial government assistance in the soon-to-be signed General Appropriations Act, which includes the amounts of P4.65 billion in subsidy, P7.94 billion for MRT rehabilitation and P4.67 in unpaid MRT taxes.

The newly approved bicameral version of the Supplemental Budget, which will be immediately carried out in 2015, has the following items: P1.21 billion for MRT rehabilitation and capacity extension and P728 million rehabilitation fund for LRT 1 and 2.

“Instead of raising MRT and LRT fares, the government should first improve the services of the mass transport system amid frequent glitches and a serious accident last August where 40 passengers were injured after a wayward MRT train rammed through metal railings and a lamp post at Taft Avenue Station,” said Gatchalian, a senior member of the  Nationalist Peoples Coalition (NPC) .

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has justified the increase in mass transit fares as a move to reduce the P12 billion which the government spends to subsidies the MRT and LRT operations.

The DOTC said the hike will cut the subsidy by P2-B, an amount equivalent to the construction cost of  8,240 classrooms, or 11,440 hectares of irrigated farmlands.

Gatchalian, a former mayor and currently vice chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development lamented that “govt did not even wait for the holiday season to pass before announcing the  planned increase for MRT and LRT fares. This will definitely neutralize the positive effects of the recent jeepney fare rollback as well as the impending rollback in taxi and bus fares.” . 

At the Senate, Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate public services sub-committee demanded that DOTC defer the ‘’unnecessary and untimely’’ fare increase describing it as an “added insult and an injustice to the suffering riding public.”

“How could they be so insensitive to the millions of commuters and MRT and LRT  riders?’’ Poe lamented, stressing that DOTC has not met public expectations even for the basic facilities of the train system like elevators, escalators and comfort rooms.

To feel the daily burden of MRT commuters, Poe joined the long queue of passengers, bought her ticket and rode the MRT from its North Avenue station to Taft. .

“We must remember that a mass transport system such as the MRT is an essential government service,” Poe stressed.

“The sorry state of the MRT brought about to a large extent by government mismanagement and ineptness cannot justify an increase. The government is obligated to maintain the subsidy until the system’s services and safety are upgraded,” the senator added.

“While the MRT and LRT is in Metro Manila, the riders of these trains are mostly wage earners whose contribution to the national economy is far reaching and impacts productivity,” Poe stressed.

Labor and commuter groups slammed the fare hike and urged government to increase the subsidy since it benefits tax-paying workers, who contribute to the country’s coffers.

“To us, subsidizing at least 500 million rides of workers a year is more productive than subsidizing the comfortable travel of 500 VIPs in government,” Nagkaisa member Wilson Fortaleza said.

Nagkaisa is a coalition of at least 49 labor federations in the country.

But Malacañang stood firm on the rail fare hike.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma said the government has been subsidizing the MRT for years and it is just about time to correct the fare system.

He, however, said the Palace will leave it to Congress to decide on the matter.

              

Dept. of Justice Warns Telcos on Internet Services

 The Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday warned telecommunications companies (telcos) against imposing data throttling on consumers who avail of unlimited internet packages, which according to Justice Secretary Leila De Lima is punishable under the provisions of the Consumer Act of the Philippines. In a nine-page advisory, Sec. De Lima has also called on the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to monitor and penalize telcos who will impose the fair usage policy (FUP) on unlimited internet service.
FUP is being imposed by the companies to give end-users equal opportunities to access their services but heavy internet users who have exceeded their data limit are expected to experience slow internet connection.
In effect, the internet connection is throttled when usage reaches a certain volume of data bits, according to the DOJ.
De Lima added the imposition of FUP on unlimited internet service by the local internet service providers can be regarded as a form of misleading or unfair business practice.
She pointed out that it is tantamount to charging subscribers with unlimited data service for a consumable package.
“This case is an effective break of promise, a form of misrepresentation; the internet promo is packaged as unlimited in the first place,” De Lima said.
De Lima pointed out that under the provisions of Republic Act No. 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines, imposing data throttling is considered as a form of misleading or unfair business practice and is punishable with a fine of not more than P10,000 or imprisonment of at least five months to one year or both.
The Justice Secretary also stressed that non-compliance with the requisites of fair packaging can also be criminally penalized by a fine of not more than P20,000 or imprisonment of not more than two years.
With data throttling, according to the DOJ, “unli” data promo becomes inconsistent with their presentations of its packaging, hence, unfair and misleading.

          

Luzon Might Suffer 300 MW to 1,000 MW Shortage Next Summer

Luzon might endure as much as 1,000-megawatt power shortage next summer should the government fail to contract additional capacity to boost the country’s power reserves, President Aquino warned yesterday.

The President laid the grim energy scenario as he urged anew Congress to pass a joint resolution giving him extra powers to prevent such shortage.

“If we do not adjust accordingly, Luzon might experience a shortage of a minimum of around 300 megawatts, to a maximum of 1,000 megawatts next summer,” the President said during the launch of the solar rooftop project of SM Supermalls at SM City North Edsa in Quezon City.

“Rest assured that government is doing everything in its power to overcome this challenge. Just recently, the House of Representatives Committees on Energy and Ways and Means approved a joint resolution authorizing the national government to contract additional generating capacity to prevent this shortage. We are hopeful that both the House and the Senate will approve the joint resolution we requested sooner rather than later, in order to give the national government enough time to contract the necessary reserves,” he added.

President Aquino has been seeking the congressional nod to grant him special powers under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) to contract additional power capacity to prevent energy shortage in Luzon in the summer of 2015.

But with the delayed passage of the joint resolution, Aquino had earlier admitted that the government’s original plan to contract power generating sets was no longer feasible since their installation would take six months. Some lawmakers eventually tweaked Aquino’s proposal and recommended instead the use of the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) for the Luzon grid. 

The President, in his speech during the SM event, acknowledged the government cannot overcome the imminent power deficit in Luzon alone so it is working with other sectors to address this issue.

Citing an example, Aquino said under the ILP, the SM group will deload 57.9 megawatts during critical times when supply falls short of demand. “This might not be enough to address that shortage, but it is a step forward, and will hopefully spur other businesses to follow suit,” he added.

In the long term, Aquino said the administration aims to ensure “a reliable, preferably clean and reasonably-priced, power supply,” citing initiatives to balance the use of traditional and renewable sources of energy. “We are on our way towards achieving that goal,” he said.

From 2014 to 2018, Aquino said an additional 5,098 megawatts are expected to come online nationwide, while government continues to encourage investments into power.

Renewable energy is a welcome addition to the county’s energy mix but Aquino recognized its limitations such as high cost.

“There is a need for government to take into consideration all these factors: for instance, how do we ease the financial burden on our countrymen, while ensuring that we have enough power for homes and industries? How do we do all this while maintaining our low-emission status?” Aquino asked.

“Our goal: to diversify the energy mix, and strike the right balance between renewable and traditional sources of energy,” he added.

To address this, Aquino said the government intends to attract investments into renewable energy by providing incentive such as tax holidays and duty-free importations on materials and equipment.

The President also lauded the SM Group for the launch of the 1.5-megawatt solar power system in SM City North Edsa. The shopping mall became the first SM branch in the country to run using the solar energy. “Given the amount of energy that the mall requires to run, such a percentage will generate savings of over P2 million a month,” he said.

Leandro Leviste, Solar Philippines Commercial Rooftop Projects Inc. president, said the 5,700 solar panels could generate 1.5 megawatts of power which is enough to provide energy to 1,000 households; or light 150,000 10-watt light bulbs; or charge 214,285 cellular phones or power 170,000 30-watt electric fans.

The installation of the solar panels will provide power to 16,000 lighting fixtures and 59 escalators and 20 elevators at the SM North Edsa.

Leviste, son of Sen. Legarda, said the scale of the project makes it competitive with conventional power facilities.

“Solar has gained the reputation of being expensive, not because of the technology, but because previous efforts were too small to benefit from economies of scale. By building the country’s largest projects, we’ve become the first local company to make solar cost-competitive with fossil fuel,” Leviste said. 

Aquino also encouraged the private sector to study their options and act before the cap on renewable energy is met. He recalled that San Carlos Solar Energy plant, inaugurated last May, became the first large-scale commercially-financed and commissioned solar power plant in the Philippines under our administration.

Aquino said the Department of Energy has also taken deliberate steps to promote the use of renewable energy. Under the Solar PV Project for Private Academic Institutions (PAI), Aquino said the energy department links private schools to solar suppliers precisely to install facilities.

“For the first few pilot areas under the project, schools did not have to shell out a single peso for the purchase and installation of the solar panels, which suppliers also maintain over the contract term of 15 years. Over this time, the schools are able to pay off suppliers through installments, just from the savings of electricity generated by the 1 to 2-peso difference between the cost of solar power and normal power rates,” Aquino said.

Aquino recognized that renewable energy can be “a competitive choice for power,” adding that the use of such energy represents a long-term investment.

“It plays to our country’s strengths, provides insulation from fluctuations in the international oil market and thus allows us to be more self-sufficient, generates savings in terms of electricity costs, and also contributes to the preservation of the environment and mitigates the effects of climate change,” he said.

President Aquino, meantime, was pleased to hear that SM plans to install solar panels in SM Dasmariñas and Mall of Asia.

Meanwhile, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. is asking President Aquino to certify as urgent the approval of the joint resolution granting him the authority to provide for the establishment of additional power generating capacity to effectively address the projected power shortage during the summer months of 2015.

“It would be better if the President certifies the joint resolution as an urgent measure,” he said.

Mandaluyong City Rep. Neptali Gonzales II and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali expressed confidence that President Aquino would certify the resolution as urgent since he asked Congress last September to immediately enact a measure to help the government deal with the power crisis.

        

Summit on Small Scale Mining Held

“Always respect, conserve and use properly the bounty of mother nature by being responsible all the time,” exhorted Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado, as he called on the small-scale miners to strictly comply with existing environment laws and support  the government’s environment-protection programs during the recent Mining Summit. This was jointly hosted by the Bulacan Environment and Natural Resources Office (BENRO), headed by Ely Apresto and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau-Region 3 of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) at the Hiyas ng Bulakan Convention Center here.

Small-Scale Mining (SSM), also known as “Minahang Bayan,” refers to any single unit mining operation having an annual production of not more than 50,000 tons of ore; artisanal, open cast, or shallow underground mining, without the use of sophisticated mining equipment; heavy reliance on manual labor, and the contracts with a duration of two years renewable for the same period.

Alvarado said that teams from BENRO are strategically deployed in key areas to ensure that environmental laws are strictly observed. A task force also conducts regular inspection of mining areas to monitor illegal mining practices.

During the summit, BENRO made a presentation on the implementation of  E.O. 79, which included, among others: Clarifying the areas closed to mining applications; full enforcement of environmental standards; review of the performance of existing mining operations and cleansing of non-moving mining rights holders; freeze in grants of mineral agreements pending new legislation on revenue sharing; and mining rights through competitive public bidding.

It was also pointed out that a safety organization shall be headed by safety inspector duly accredited by the appropriate government agency.

          

Meaning in a Selfie, 1 Year After Super Typhoon Yolanda

The Saavedras waited for death as Typhoon Haiyan tore at their roof, knocked down walls and unleashed torrents of seawater below them. All they could do was pray, say “I love you” one last time and take a picture.

David Saavedra raised his cellphone in the chaos to snap a group selfie to record their final moments. He took it for his eldest sister in Manila, hoping to show that at the end, her family was together — even serene.

That explains his smile, incongruous against the wind-ripped scene and the terror-stricken faces of his younger sister, Veronica, and their mother.

The picture was intended to go on top of David’s coffin, but instead it is a reminder of the family’s immense luck, and of the obligation they feel to help neighbors who weren’t nearly as fortunate when the massive typhoon hit Nov. 8, 2013.

More than 7,300 people died or went missing when Haiyan slammed the central Philippines, including the Saavedras’ laidback farming town of Tanauan, as one of the most ferocious typhoons ever to hit land. The monster storm displaced about 4 million people and turned a large swath of densely populated regions into a wasteland.

“I said ‘I love you’ to my parents because I felt at that time that it was our last day alive,” Veronica Saavedra said in an interview in the family’s old house, now partially cleaned up and repaired. “I was so afraid I was trembling and I said, ‘Lord, if this is my last day, forgive me for everything.’”

The 21-year-old college student said even while praying, she was terrified by the loud hissing of the wind, and memories of the rising water hounded her sleep for months.

The Saavedras — David, Veronica, their brother JR, their mother and their father — all survived. Three other siblings were in Manila, and one was in Kuwait.

Many other families had much different fates. In a nearby village, all but two members of a 45-member clan are buried in a mass grave.

When the rain and wind finally subsided hours after the storm hit, David, a 26-year-old accountant, left the cramped hallway on the second floor of the wood-and-concrete home where he and his family were huddled while hell broke loose. He saw bodies floating on the street outside. The next-door neighbors were drenched and shuddering on the second floor of their house, its walls gone. One paraplegic neighbor was clinging to a post near the roof of his house. Others were crying, many in shock. 

“In just one click, everything can be snatched from you,” David said, tears welling in his eyes. “But the feeling that you are still alive after that is really overwhelming.”

For four days the family lived on 2 kilograms (4 pounds) of fish and pork that they found inside their refrigerator that floated in the flood; its door luckily remained shut. A stack of soda in their mother’s small store quenched their thirst.

At the same time, David and Veronica’s sister Sarah Songalia was in anguish in Manila, where she owns an accounting firm. There was no news from her hometown for three days, with telephone and power lines down and roads blocked by debris.

“I said, ‘Lord, just keep them all alive. I will do everything so our town can rise again,’” said Songalia, the eldest of the family’s seven children.

With no news coming their way, Songalia and her officemates put up a Facebook community page in hopes that people from her hometown could send updates. They and other volunteers gathered relief supplies, turning Songalia’s office in the heart of the Makati financial district into a relief operations center.

Her family was able to board a bus and reach Manila five days after the typhoon. They have since relocated closer to Songalia, and have helped her with the relief effort. Only Veronica is still living in their home province of Leyte — she’s staying with relatives in Tacloban, the provincial capital — but their parents plan to move back when the father retires in two years.

The nonprofit group Songalia founded, Burublig Para Ha Tanauan, has started projects to help villagers recover, powered by volunteers.

The projects include distributing boats to fishermen who lost their vessels and training women to sew hospital scrubs and school uniforms. Drivers who lost vehicles known as tricycles — actually bicycles with canopied sidecars — have been given replacements.

Residents are organized into cooperatives. They get the equipment they need on an operate-to-own basis, paying back the cost in installments.

One of the new boat owners is Gerardo Barcilla, who now can earn 400 pesos to 1,000 pesos ($9-$22) a day from his catch of fish and crabs. The 47-year-old fisherman lost his home, his boat and his 19-year-old son, one of five children, to Haiyan.

He and his son had taken shelter in a school, but the storm surge swamped the building. The pair clung to a beam. Barcilla held on as another wave pounded over him, but when he surfaced, his son was gone. He remains missing, and his father still holds out hope that he might be alive.

Barcilla said the boat has given him hope: “I was able to start again through this.”

“I think I will pull through, but I will never forget the past,” he said, wiping away tears from his sunburnt face.

            

The first e-tree with Wi-Fi and AC power for charging smartphones will come soon in GREECE

Unfortunately their fruit is not ... money, so we can purchased at any hour and moment. This does not mean, however, that certain trees can not offer us ... WiFi or  or electricity!  In this idea, the Israeli company Sologic , created the first eTree in which you can stop those who want to relax, to connect to the Internet or those who want to recharge their cell phones.  The eTree is an impressive tree trunk, but instead leaves it has solar panels that block the light from outside and offer shade and many more.  In particular, the eTtree offers  Internet WiFi, charging portable devices via ports USB, water for people and for dogs and the evening light.  All the above are in a closed circuit as the tree activates all functions without having to be connected to the electricity grid.  The eTree is designed for use in residential and urban areas, such as schools, universities and parks and can be tailored to the requirements of each space is located.Sologic said soon will come in GREECE. watch the video