Tambuling Batangas Publication January 31-February 06, 2018 | Page 8

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PRRD appoints Medialdea as
OIC during India trip
PASAY CITY -- President
Rodrigo Roa Duterte has
designated
Executive
Secretary Salvador Medialdea
as
officer-in-charge
of
the Executive branch of
government during his visit
to India on 24-27 January
2018.
“The
Executive
Secretary shall act as OIC to
take care of the day-to-day
operations in the Office of
the President and to oversee
the general administration of
the Executive Department,
and he shall, if necessary,
act for and on behalf of the
President, except on matters
that the President is required
by the Constitution to act in
person, during the time that
the President is outside the
Republic of the Philippines
from 24 January 2018 to 27
January 2018,” his Special
Order No. 64 reads.
President
Duterte
is set to visit India, his first
foreign trip of the year,
to attend India’s Republic
Day and the Association of
Southeast Asian
Nations
-
India
Commemorative
Summit with other regional
leaders.

The
President
is
also set to join Indian Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
in a bilateral meeting and
will witness the ceremonial
exchange of the Memoranda
of Understanding (MOU) on
various areas of cooperation
between the Philippines and
India.

Dialogue
relations
between the ASEAN and
India started in 1992 until the
mula sa pahina 3
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers pre-departure speech at NAIA, appeals to Kuwait and other Middle East countries hiring
overseas Filipino workers to treat them with respect. (Photo courtesy of RTVM)
Start of jeepney phaseout protested,
pushed
junk all the current running jeeps
Mayon evacuees in need of alternatives
in batches in three years, 2018 to
The apprehensions and the stiff jeepney drivers on the road
2020, and force its replacement
fines have prompted operators and imposed fines citing their
food, aid
with new units costing at
to temporarily sideline their dilapidated vehicles.
A
non-government
organization, the Tarabang para
sa Bikol, Inc. (TABI), noted
that evacuees complain of
inadequate food supply. During
the first week of evacuation,
each family received only ten
kilos of rice.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
MANILA — More than 55,000
people are taking shelter in 59
evacuation camps in Albay,
Bicol since Jan. 15 after
the Philippine Institute of
Volcanology and Seismology
(PHIVOLCS) warned against
Mayon Volcano’s eruption.

On Jan. 22, PHIVOLCS
raised the alert level to four,
which means that hazardous
eruption is imminent. Lava
fountains measured as high as
200 meters. On Jan. 23, two
explosions were recorded. The
country’s most active volcano
has been emitting an average
of 992 tons of ash per day for
the past week.
Classes
were
suspended in 17 cities and
municipalities in the provinces
of Albay and Camarines Sur.
A total of 11 international
flights and 45 domestic flights
were cancelled since Jan. 23,
according to the National Risk
Reduction and Management
Council (NDRRMC)’s latest
update.

A
non-government
organization, the Tarabang para
sa Bikol, Inc. (TABI), noted
that evacuees complain of
inadequate food supply. During
the first week of evacuation,
each family received only ten
kilos of rice.

In its rapid assessment,
TABI observed overcrowding
in evacuation centers, with 20
to 30 families cramped in one
regular sized classroom.
Some evacuation centers lack
kitchen facilities, bathrooms
and toilets. Inadequate hygiene
supplies was also noted,
according to TABI.

The NGO noted that
while most evacuation centers
have enough drinking water
supply, domestic water supply
is limited and those with small
water containers are not able to
store enough water.
Moreover,
some
evacuation centers are not safe
from ash fall. According to the
local Department of Health
(DOH), 65 percent of their
patients in the affected areas
suffered from acute respiratory
sundan sa pahina 3
jeepneys, resulting in reduced
number of jeepneys plying the
streets thereby creating more
difficulties for commuters.
By MARYA SALAMAT
MANILA – Members and allies
of Pagkakaisa ng Tsuper at
Opereytor Nationwide (Piston)
and the No To Jeepney Phaseout
Coalition staged a protest
rally on January 24 from the
Quezon Memorial Circle to
the headquarters of the Land
Transportation and Franchising
Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
They made it clear that it was
not a transport strike, a response
to what they described as
misrepresentation and “paranoid”
responses of transport officials of
the Duterte administration. Still,
as they gathered, they noted
formations of policemen trying
to intimidate the rallyists. At one
point, the police tried to direct an
empty bus into parking where the
jeepney drivers were holding a
program.

The
drivers
were
protesting the actions of the
Inter-Agency Council on Traffic
(I-Act) under the LTFRB, saying
this is the start of the costly,
unacceptable
and
anti-poor
jeepney phaseout. Since January
8, the LTFRB has apprehended

The apprehensions and
the stiff fines have prompted
operators to temporarily sideline
their jeepneys. The result is
less number of jeepneys plying
the road. In turn, it resulted
in increased difficulties and
higher transportation costs for
commuters, and reduced to no
income for drivers and operators.
Ruben Baylon, general secretary
of Piston in the National Capital
Region, said almost all routes in
the capital are being “blighted”
(perwisyo) everyday by I-Act.
Asked what charges the I-Act
cites when it apprehends drivers
and imposes fines, Baylon
said the lowest violation with
P10,000 fine is about “defective
accessories.”

Piston said they are also
for modernizing and improving
their vehicles, but they are
proposing a cooperation with the
government in rehabilitating the
current jeepney instead of the
forced phaseout. However, their
proposal has consistently been
rebuffed by transport officials.
The attempt of the January 24
protest to bring the jeepney
rehabilitation proposal was also
rebuffed.

Drivers for jeepney
rehabilitation
Under the government’s jeepney
“modernization” plan, they will
least P1.5-million ($29,520)
each. The LTFRB’s Omnibus
Franchising Guide has no place
for small operators with few
units. Operators must enter a fleet
management system if they own
just one or a few units.

To the drivers’ groups
this provision is another way
for corporations to corner the
routes of today’s jeepneys. If
this happens, they said, they
will lose their livelihood and the
commuters will lose a relatively
affordable mode of transportation.
They said that through jeepney
rehabilitation, it can be prevented
from happening. But in an
impromptu dialogue with LTFRB
chairman Martin Delgra III a the
gates of the LTFRB on January
24, Delgra rejected the drivers’
proposed jeepney rehabilitation.

There is an estimated
60,000 to 70,000 public utility
jeepneys in Metro Manila alone,
and 200,000 all over the country.
Under the “5-6-7” offer of the
Duterte government to jeepney
operators, the government will
finance the needed five percent
equity per unit. The government
promises to release public funds
directly to banks to start the
processing of each loan of any
willing (and qualified) driver or
operator. The latter is required to
pay it back at six percent interest
sundan sa pahina 6