By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:30:00 03/27/2008
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--Despite assurances by the government that there is no rice shortage, Albay Governor Joey Salceda, a key economic adviser to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, is implementing austerity measures to generate savings for strategic rice buffer stocks.
Salceda said the Albay provincial government will impose a 10-percent reserve on Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) and a moratorium on the purchase of information technology equipment and motor vehicles.
To begin April 15, the austerity measures are expected to generate some P16 million to be spent for food security, said the governor.
“The savings generated will be earmarked for a strategic rice buffer. We have to ensure access of poor families to rice,” Salceda said.
However, lawyer Jose Guevarra, assistant regional director of the National Food Authority (NFA) in Bicol, said it is not yet necessary for such measures.
He said Bicol still has 480,000 bags of rice, which is good for 55 days. On April 2, 120,000 more bags from Vietnam are expected to arrive in the region.
“We have no problem with supply, you can see it in the markets. However, long queues might be seen on government rice, not because of shortage, but because commercial rice has increased [in price] to as much as P32,” Guevarra said.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, in a visit to Libmanan, Camarines Sur early this week, said there was no rice shortage, but only an increase in prices of the staple because of hiked fertilizer and oil prices.
"The price of fertilizer has increased by 150 percent while the price of oil in the world market has reached more than $110 per barrel," Yap said.
In Bicol, a ranking NFA official disclosed last year, unscrupulous traders are reportedly able to purchase as many as 1,000 bags of rice from the NFA at a higher price, re-mill this and sell it in markets for a hefty profit.
Yap said the NFA has began investigating officials suspected of colluding with unscrupulous traders.
Gueverra said they will not tolerate NFA employees involved in this anomalous trade but stressed that due process has to be observed. He said there are NFA officials in Naga City who are currently under investigation while their manager has been reassigned.
Earlier this week, the national government ordered the immediate re-licensing of rice traders nationwide.
There are over 3,000 rice traders in Bicol.
Guevarra said the re-licensing is aimed at getting rid of “fly-by-night” traders without affecting the current distribution system.
“The revalidation of license will make it easier to track unscrupulous traders who may be licensed but do not have outlets and stores, or who may have these facilities but have already stopped using them,” Guevarra said.
In terms of rice production, the provinces of Albay and Sorsogon in Bicol are self-sufficient while Camarines Norte, Masbate, and Catanduanes are deficient.
The only surplus area is Camarines Sur, which ranked No. 7 in the 2007 crop year, having produced a total of 560,809 metric tons.
Yap boasted of a 16.3-million metric ton increase in rice production in 2007, which, he said, was a record high.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
‘I never told Filipinos to eat less,’ says agriculture chief
By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:55:00 03/24/2008
INQUIRER.net
LIBMANAN, Camarines Sur, Philippines--Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap clarified here on Monday that he never meant to tell Filipinos to eat less when he urged fastfood outlets last week to offer half portions of rice because of a looming rice shortage.
"I never told Filipinos to eat less," said Yap, who was here in Camarines Sur province to grace the launching of the Church-formed Bicol Sustainable Agriculture Network (BiSAN).
Yap said it is every citizen's responsibility to conserve rice, especially that 25,000 bags of rice are wasted every day, based on a study by the Food Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology.
Yap said it was the National Food Authority's suggestion that he urge fastfood outlets to offer a "half-rice-serving" option to its consumers who cannot consume whole-rice serving.
However, he said, he did not do it because of an impending rice shortage but because conservation would be of big help amid spiraling prices of food commodities.
Yap said there was no rice shortage, but only an increase in prices of the staple as caused by the increase of fertilizer and oil prices.
"The price of fertilizer has increased by 150 percent while the price of oil in the world market has reached more than $110 per barrel."
Senators warned on Sunday that an impending rice crisis might backfire politically if government failed to devise effective solutions to prevent rice scarcity.
Senator Manuel Roxas III on Monday also told the government to "get real" about the rice shortage problem and not to downsize the rice problem, which, he said, should be treated as a "calamity."
Yap, however, said simple market visits would tell if there is really an impending rice shortage.
"If you go to markets, do you ever see food rations and long (queues) of consumers? There is much supply of rice in varying prices and qualities," Yap said.
He also said harvest was increasing and boasted of a 16.3 million-metric-ton increase in rice production in 2007, which, he said, was a record high.
Yap said the NFA had committed 1.1 million metric tons of rice while a contract would be sealed with Vietnam on its commitment to import one million metric tons of rice to the country.
Yap said that despite an increase in harvest, production was still not sufficient, so distribution of rice in the market had to be strictly monitored by the NFA.
He said the NFA had begun investigating all its officials colluding with unscrupulous traders, who re-bag and re-mill government rice and sell it under commercial rates.
He said the country had a rice deficit of around 1.5 million metric tons of rice but was still 90 percent self-sufficient.
The BiSAN, a joint project of the Prelature of Libmanan Development Foundation Inc. and the Department of Agriculture, aims to support Bicol farmers and to promote organic farming.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:55:00 03/24/2008
INQUIRER.net
LIBMANAN, Camarines Sur, Philippines--Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap clarified here on Monday that he never meant to tell Filipinos to eat less when he urged fastfood outlets last week to offer half portions of rice because of a looming rice shortage.
"I never told Filipinos to eat less," said Yap, who was here in Camarines Sur province to grace the launching of the Church-formed Bicol Sustainable Agriculture Network (BiSAN).
Yap said it is every citizen's responsibility to conserve rice, especially that 25,000 bags of rice are wasted every day, based on a study by the Food Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology.
Yap said it was the National Food Authority's suggestion that he urge fastfood outlets to offer a "half-rice-serving" option to its consumers who cannot consume whole-rice serving.
However, he said, he did not do it because of an impending rice shortage but because conservation would be of big help amid spiraling prices of food commodities.
Yap said there was no rice shortage, but only an increase in prices of the staple as caused by the increase of fertilizer and oil prices.
"The price of fertilizer has increased by 150 percent while the price of oil in the world market has reached more than $110 per barrel."
Senators warned on Sunday that an impending rice crisis might backfire politically if government failed to devise effective solutions to prevent rice scarcity.
Senator Manuel Roxas III on Monday also told the government to "get real" about the rice shortage problem and not to downsize the rice problem, which, he said, should be treated as a "calamity."
Yap, however, said simple market visits would tell if there is really an impending rice shortage.
"If you go to markets, do you ever see food rations and long (queues) of consumers? There is much supply of rice in varying prices and qualities," Yap said.
He also said harvest was increasing and boasted of a 16.3 million-metric-ton increase in rice production in 2007, which, he said, was a record high.
Yap said the NFA had committed 1.1 million metric tons of rice while a contract would be sealed with Vietnam on its commitment to import one million metric tons of rice to the country.
Yap said that despite an increase in harvest, production was still not sufficient, so distribution of rice in the market had to be strictly monitored by the NFA.
He said the NFA had begun investigating all its officials colluding with unscrupulous traders, who re-bag and re-mill government rice and sell it under commercial rates.
He said the country had a rice deficit of around 1.5 million metric tons of rice but was still 90 percent self-sufficient.
The BiSAN, a joint project of the Prelature of Libmanan Development Foundation Inc. and the Department of Agriculture, aims to support Bicol farmers and to promote organic farming.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Yap says GMA has Vietnam vow for rice
LEGAZPI CITY--PRESIDENT Macapagal-Arroyo has secured a commitment from Vietnam to supply rice to the Philippines so there is no cause for concern over reports of a food crisis, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said.
Yap said his department’s main concern now was how to keep food prices down.
He said the commitment from Vietnam would help assure enough rice supply.
Early this month, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, economic analyst and Ms Arroyo’s key adviser, said the country would face a food crisis starting this month, warning it could be “a far bigger disaster than the ongoing sociopolitical crisis.”
Salceda said the increase in prices of food crops was imminent after oil prices hit new highs this month.
Oil struck a record $109.20 per barrel on Tuesday.
Salceda said the price of corn in the world market had gone up by 88 percent, coconut oil by 96 percent, rice by up to 54 percent, soybean by 103 percent, soybean meal by 85 percent, and wheat by 148 percent.
Yap, in a press statement sent to the Inquirer, however, said he did not see the food crisis, which would mean “an absence of food or rationing and food lines.”
He said the DA was confident that the 2008 rice production target of 17.33 million metric tons, which is equivalent to a 92-percent national sufficiency level, can be met.
He added that, based on field reports, palay planting schedules were on track while rains brought by the onset of the La Niña phenomenon would benefit farmers in over a million hectares of land.
He admitted, however, that one area of concern was the spike in the prices of rice as caused by spiraling prices in the world market.
“Demand is growing but supply is not catching up that much because of climate change. We have to accept that climate is really changing,” Yap said. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
Yap said his department’s main concern now was how to keep food prices down.
He said the commitment from Vietnam would help assure enough rice supply.
Early this month, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, economic analyst and Ms Arroyo’s key adviser, said the country would face a food crisis starting this month, warning it could be “a far bigger disaster than the ongoing sociopolitical crisis.”
Salceda said the increase in prices of food crops was imminent after oil prices hit new highs this month.
Oil struck a record $109.20 per barrel on Tuesday.
Salceda said the price of corn in the world market had gone up by 88 percent, coconut oil by 96 percent, rice by up to 54 percent, soybean by 103 percent, soybean meal by 85 percent, and wheat by 148 percent.
Yap, in a press statement sent to the Inquirer, however, said he did not see the food crisis, which would mean “an absence of food or rationing and food lines.”
He said the DA was confident that the 2008 rice production target of 17.33 million metric tons, which is equivalent to a 92-percent national sufficiency level, can be met.
He added that, based on field reports, palay planting schedules were on track while rains brought by the onset of the La Niña phenomenon would benefit farmers in over a million hectares of land.
He admitted, however, that one area of concern was the spike in the prices of rice as caused by spiraling prices in the world market.
“Demand is growing but supply is not catching up that much because of climate change. We have to accept that climate is really changing,” Yap said. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Floods isolate 11,000 Catanduanes families
VIRAC, CATANDUANES--LANDslides and floods blocked all access to villages in this province where 11,000 families await aid that would be delivered by a Navy boat.
The Philippine Navy will provide the boat to bring rice and other food items to the families who had been isolated since Monday.
Joseph Cua, governor and chair of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Committee (PDCC), said the boat would leave the port of Legazpi City in Albay for the town of San Andres.
From there, the PDCC and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will transport the government-procured rice and food packs to the families.
More rice
Cua said the PDCC was requesting an additional 1,000 bags of rice from the DSWD. The department earlier allotted 400 bags of rice and 400 food packs on Feb. 29. The items were delivered to Caramoran town by a Philippine Air Force helicopter.
Cua said 700 bags of rice had already been delivered to Caramoran and another town, Pandan, last week. The Church radio station Veritas is helping, too.
The government, through the National Food Authority, was selling rice directly to consumers to help prevent a food shortage. “We are in the same situation as Eastern Samar, only that we do not have many casualties,” Cua said.
The governor said he saw for himself the situation in two villages, Sipi and Binanuahan in Bato town, where families were in danger of starving as a result of floods brought by continuing rains since Feb. 16.
Abaca farmers were not able to dry their fiber, while rice farmers failed to dry their harvest of “palay,” he added.
Strong waves prevented fishermen from going out to sea, he said.
Roads closed
Major roads were closed, preventing the delivery of rice to the towns and the capital municipality of Virac.
Ignacio T. Odiaman, district engineer, told the PDCC yesterday that a circumferential road that links several towns had been rendered impassable.
Raging waters from swollen rivers washed out spillways in the towns of Pandan and Viga, while landslides blocked roads in San Andres, Baras and Gigmoto towns.
The PDCC received a report that four houses were buried by a landslide in one village in Gigmoto. In Baras town, floodwaters were a meter deep in the poblacion as of 4 a.m. yesterday.
Calamity
In two Albay towns, more than 3,500 families have been evacuated and 18 people were reported missing as heavy rains yesterday brought flash floods, less than 12 hours after an earthquake shook the Bicol region and the Visayas, provincial disaster officials said.
Jukes Nuñez, operations officer of the Albay PDCC, said 10 fishermen in Tabaco City and eight fishermen in Tiwi town were reported missing.
A total of 3,500 families in 47 villages in Tabaco were moved to 25 evacuation centers.
In Tiwi, he said, 73 families had already been evacuated as of 10 a.m. One house was reported damaged.
Swollen rivers and falling rocks were also reported in Barangay Joroan. A spillway was damaged in Barangay Nagas.
Floodwaters swallowed a bridge in Malilipot town, blocking the main route to Tabaco. All types of vehicles were barred from passing through the poblacion of Malilipot.
Tabaco Mayor Krisel Lagman, in a mobile phone interview, described the floods in downtown Tabaco as “waist-deep” and the river was just “almost one foot from under the bridge.”
Gov. Joey Salceda ordered the suspension of all elementary and high school classes in the province.
The floodwaters started to rise after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake shook Bicol and the Visayas past 10 p.m. Monday.
Albay is still in a state of calamity after officials warned that many communities are still under threat of landslides and floods.
A 6.5 magnitude earthquake shook parts of Eastern Visayas Monday night although no damage was reported.
Myra Dolina of the Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology station in Palo town, Leyte, said the tremor was located northeast of Catarman, Northern Samar. Fernan Gianan and Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon; and Joey Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas
The Philippine Navy will provide the boat to bring rice and other food items to the families who had been isolated since Monday.
Joseph Cua, governor and chair of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Committee (PDCC), said the boat would leave the port of Legazpi City in Albay for the town of San Andres.
From there, the PDCC and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will transport the government-procured rice and food packs to the families.
More rice
Cua said the PDCC was requesting an additional 1,000 bags of rice from the DSWD. The department earlier allotted 400 bags of rice and 400 food packs on Feb. 29. The items were delivered to Caramoran town by a Philippine Air Force helicopter.
Cua said 700 bags of rice had already been delivered to Caramoran and another town, Pandan, last week. The Church radio station Veritas is helping, too.
The government, through the National Food Authority, was selling rice directly to consumers to help prevent a food shortage. “We are in the same situation as Eastern Samar, only that we do not have many casualties,” Cua said.
The governor said he saw for himself the situation in two villages, Sipi and Binanuahan in Bato town, where families were in danger of starving as a result of floods brought by continuing rains since Feb. 16.
Abaca farmers were not able to dry their fiber, while rice farmers failed to dry their harvest of “palay,” he added.
Strong waves prevented fishermen from going out to sea, he said.
Roads closed
Major roads were closed, preventing the delivery of rice to the towns and the capital municipality of Virac.
Ignacio T. Odiaman, district engineer, told the PDCC yesterday that a circumferential road that links several towns had been rendered impassable.
Raging waters from swollen rivers washed out spillways in the towns of Pandan and Viga, while landslides blocked roads in San Andres, Baras and Gigmoto towns.
The PDCC received a report that four houses were buried by a landslide in one village in Gigmoto. In Baras town, floodwaters were a meter deep in the poblacion as of 4 a.m. yesterday.
Calamity
In two Albay towns, more than 3,500 families have been evacuated and 18 people were reported missing as heavy rains yesterday brought flash floods, less than 12 hours after an earthquake shook the Bicol region and the Visayas, provincial disaster officials said.
Jukes Nuñez, operations officer of the Albay PDCC, said 10 fishermen in Tabaco City and eight fishermen in Tiwi town were reported missing.
A total of 3,500 families in 47 villages in Tabaco were moved to 25 evacuation centers.
In Tiwi, he said, 73 families had already been evacuated as of 10 a.m. One house was reported damaged.
Swollen rivers and falling rocks were also reported in Barangay Joroan. A spillway was damaged in Barangay Nagas.
Floodwaters swallowed a bridge in Malilipot town, blocking the main route to Tabaco. All types of vehicles were barred from passing through the poblacion of Malilipot.
Tabaco Mayor Krisel Lagman, in a mobile phone interview, described the floods in downtown Tabaco as “waist-deep” and the river was just “almost one foot from under the bridge.”
Gov. Joey Salceda ordered the suspension of all elementary and high school classes in the province.
The floodwaters started to rise after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake shook Bicol and the Visayas past 10 p.m. Monday.
Albay is still in a state of calamity after officials warned that many communities are still under threat of landslides and floods.
A 6.5 magnitude earthquake shook parts of Eastern Visayas Monday night although no damage was reported.
Myra Dolina of the Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology station in Palo town, Leyte, said the tremor was located northeast of Catarman, Northern Samar. Fernan Gianan and Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon; and Joey Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas
Monday, March 03, 2008
Salceda: Looming food crisis worse than political one
By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
LEGAZPI CITY--ALBAY GOV. Joey Salceda expects a major spike in food prices to hit the country in the first quarter of this year, warning it could be “a far bigger disaster than the ongoing sociopolitical crisis.”
In a provincial disaster meeting with Albay mayors here, Salceda said hike in the prices of food crops was imminent after oil hit a new high of $103 per barrel in the world market.
Salceda, an economic analyst, said the price in the world market of corn had gone up by 88 percent, coconut oil by 96 percent, rice by up to 54 percent, soybean by 103 percent, soybean meal by 85 percent and wheat by 148 percent.
He foresees the development would adversely affect food prices in the country and its effects, especially on the poor, would be felt as early as this month.
“At this point, people might not feel (the effects of the food crisis) yet because we are still using our cheap inventory. But once the government has run out of stock, it will be very challenging for the poor,” Salceda said.
He said the looming food crisis also poses a big challenge to the administration – how to mitigate hunger and put more money in people’s pockets.
However, Salceda was confident the administration was focused on addressing the issue, citing the Arroyo administration’s track record of having been able to lower the hunger rate in the fourth quarter of 2007, at the same time self-rated poverty was reported at its lowest level.
“The government, with or without the sociopolitical context, must simply address the food security problem by putting in place additional resources to increase agricultural production,” Salceda said.
The three-term former Albay congressman said urgent countermeasures would have to be implemented like lifting some tariffs on imported food crops, increasing food subsidies; augmenting the budget for agriculture, reducing import duties on soybeans, wheat and corn, and enacting the cheaper medicines law.
“As an economist I haven’t seen this for the longest time where everything is all happening at the same time – rising oil prices, receding US economy and increasing food prices,” Salceda said.
He said he was seeing stagflation, where there are “lower volumes and yet higher costs,” which is risky to the economy.
Salceda told the Albay mayors not to “neglect their social services.”
“Even while the nation is trying to sort out political tensions, local government units must continue to prepare strategies to confront the emerging food crisis,” he said.
Inquirer Southern Luzon
LEGAZPI CITY--ALBAY GOV. Joey Salceda expects a major spike in food prices to hit the country in the first quarter of this year, warning it could be “a far bigger disaster than the ongoing sociopolitical crisis.”
In a provincial disaster meeting with Albay mayors here, Salceda said hike in the prices of food crops was imminent after oil hit a new high of $103 per barrel in the world market.
Salceda, an economic analyst, said the price in the world market of corn had gone up by 88 percent, coconut oil by 96 percent, rice by up to 54 percent, soybean by 103 percent, soybean meal by 85 percent and wheat by 148 percent.
He foresees the development would adversely affect food prices in the country and its effects, especially on the poor, would be felt as early as this month.
“At this point, people might not feel (the effects of the food crisis) yet because we are still using our cheap inventory. But once the government has run out of stock, it will be very challenging for the poor,” Salceda said.
He said the looming food crisis also poses a big challenge to the administration – how to mitigate hunger and put more money in people’s pockets.
However, Salceda was confident the administration was focused on addressing the issue, citing the Arroyo administration’s track record of having been able to lower the hunger rate in the fourth quarter of 2007, at the same time self-rated poverty was reported at its lowest level.
“The government, with or without the sociopolitical context, must simply address the food security problem by putting in place additional resources to increase agricultural production,” Salceda said.
The three-term former Albay congressman said urgent countermeasures would have to be implemented like lifting some tariffs on imported food crops, increasing food subsidies; augmenting the budget for agriculture, reducing import duties on soybeans, wheat and corn, and enacting the cheaper medicines law.
“As an economist I haven’t seen this for the longest time where everything is all happening at the same time – rising oil prices, receding US economy and increasing food prices,” Salceda said.
He said he was seeing stagflation, where there are “lower volumes and yet higher costs,” which is risky to the economy.
Salceda told the Albay mayors not to “neglect their social services.”
“Even while the nation is trying to sort out political tensions, local government units must continue to prepare strategies to confront the emerging food crisis,” he said.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Clean water for Albay, but poor griping
17 January 2008
By Ephraim Aguilar
Legazpi City
A MULTIMILLION-PESO FACIlity to deliver clean water from a river to more than 17,000 households in Legazpi City may be a superb idea, but not so for the poor who cannot afford to pay for it.
Philippine Hydro (Phil-Hydro) Inc., which will undertake the P300-million bulk water project for the government-owned Legazpi City Water District (LCWD), will charge consumers P13.50 per cubic meter, or an increase of almost half of the present rate.
This would mean a jump of P198 this year up to 2009 in the existing monthly minimum rate of P135 for a consumption of not more than 10 cubic meters. More increases are scheduled until 2015, when the rate will be pegged at P238.
According to LCWD officials, the rate increases are necessary if the consumers want a quality and stable supply of water.
Water from river
Under the new system called “High-rate Permanent Media Filtration Technology,” water will be tapped from the Yawa River, an 11-kilometer channel where volcanic gullies converge and extend up to the Albay Gulf, instead of from springs around Mayon Volcano.
“Water coming from the Yawa River will pass through embedded perforated pipes that shall serve as a natural filtration system. The new system operates modern equipment that will ensure the required water quality is met before distribution to the public,” says Desiree Michelle Barcelon, LCWD public relations assistant.
She says the spring water is now discolored because of its high iron content. She cited studies conducted by the LCWD and the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).
It is reddish and smells like fish—characteristics of water from artesian wells that is not potable—says chemical engineer Junel Borbo, a professor at the Bicol University College of Engineering. At higher levels of contamination, it looks a little slimy, he adds.
Barcelon also cites another study showing a periodic scarcity of water due to climatic and topographical changes commonly affecting springs. For example, the erstwhile popular hot springs in Tiwi town in Albay, home to the Chevron geothermal plant, have already dried up, leading to the closure of many resorts.
Biggest in the country
The new clean water technology is the biggest of its kind in the country and the first to be run by Phil-Hydro, says its chief operating officer, Rolando Mangulabnan. It converts surface water, such as that from rivers, into water of “bottled quality,” he says.
PhilHydro is committed to supply at least 20,000 cubic meters of water per day.
“It will be environment-friendly if we stop drilling holes. Surface water, unlike groundwater, is free from salt intrusion. Nowhere in Metro Manila is this US technology used,” he says.
Water from the rivers can be put to good use before it is flushed out to the sea to mix with salt water, says Mangulabnan, who is an environmental engineer and a former agrarian reform undersecretary.
In opposing the project, the Legazpi City Slumdwellers Federation Inc. (LCSFI) claims that no proper public consultation was held regarding the changes in water supply system and rates. The group has 3,000 members, according to the Community Organization of the Philippines Enterprise (COPE) Foundation.
Together with COPE, the LCSFI plans to file a petition to the city council asking for a comprehensive investigation of the project.
“The rate increase is unjustifiable since many of the people here are in the brink of poverty, especially after the series of calamities that hit the province,” says Numeriano de la Torre, COPE’s assistant regional coordinator. He adds that a rate increase is not a solution for an efficient water service.
But Barcelon says a careful study on the city’s water supply situation was made before the LWUA recommended a “justified” increase. Nine of the city’s 33 villages have less or no supply of water during peak hours, while five still do not have distribution lines, she says.
A public hearing was held on Dec. 21 last year to discuss the increase, but only 128 consumers came, she adds.
It was not a public consultation at all, De la Torre says, and the place was not accessible to many people.
According to Barcelon, LWUA representatives were there to listen to the sentiments of the public. “It is only after the public hearing that the LWUA can confirm the increase for implementation. Until now, we are still waiting for the confirmation,” she says.
Gonzalo Gomez, 53, one of the water district subscribers from Barangay Baybay, does not favor the increase. “Due to poverty, no one will be in favor of any increase. Money is hard to earn these days,” he says in the vernacular.
“I will just reinstall our old water pump, if we could no longer pay our water bill.”
By Ephraim Aguilar
Legazpi City
A MULTIMILLION-PESO FACIlity to deliver clean water from a river to more than 17,000 households in Legazpi City may be a superb idea, but not so for the poor who cannot afford to pay for it.
Philippine Hydro (Phil-Hydro) Inc., which will undertake the P300-million bulk water project for the government-owned Legazpi City Water District (LCWD), will charge consumers P13.50 per cubic meter, or an increase of almost half of the present rate.
This would mean a jump of P198 this year up to 2009 in the existing monthly minimum rate of P135 for a consumption of not more than 10 cubic meters. More increases are scheduled until 2015, when the rate will be pegged at P238.
According to LCWD officials, the rate increases are necessary if the consumers want a quality and stable supply of water.
Water from river
Under the new system called “High-rate Permanent Media Filtration Technology,” water will be tapped from the Yawa River, an 11-kilometer channel where volcanic gullies converge and extend up to the Albay Gulf, instead of from springs around Mayon Volcano.
“Water coming from the Yawa River will pass through embedded perforated pipes that shall serve as a natural filtration system. The new system operates modern equipment that will ensure the required water quality is met before distribution to the public,” says Desiree Michelle Barcelon, LCWD public relations assistant.
She says the spring water is now discolored because of its high iron content. She cited studies conducted by the LCWD and the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).
It is reddish and smells like fish—characteristics of water from artesian wells that is not potable—says chemical engineer Junel Borbo, a professor at the Bicol University College of Engineering. At higher levels of contamination, it looks a little slimy, he adds.
Barcelon also cites another study showing a periodic scarcity of water due to climatic and topographical changes commonly affecting springs. For example, the erstwhile popular hot springs in Tiwi town in Albay, home to the Chevron geothermal plant, have already dried up, leading to the closure of many resorts.
Biggest in the country
The new clean water technology is the biggest of its kind in the country and the first to be run by Phil-Hydro, says its chief operating officer, Rolando Mangulabnan. It converts surface water, such as that from rivers, into water of “bottled quality,” he says.
PhilHydro is committed to supply at least 20,000 cubic meters of water per day.
“It will be environment-friendly if we stop drilling holes. Surface water, unlike groundwater, is free from salt intrusion. Nowhere in Metro Manila is this US technology used,” he says.
Water from the rivers can be put to good use before it is flushed out to the sea to mix with salt water, says Mangulabnan, who is an environmental engineer and a former agrarian reform undersecretary.
In opposing the project, the Legazpi City Slumdwellers Federation Inc. (LCSFI) claims that no proper public consultation was held regarding the changes in water supply system and rates. The group has 3,000 members, according to the Community Organization of the Philippines Enterprise (COPE) Foundation.
Together with COPE, the LCSFI plans to file a petition to the city council asking for a comprehensive investigation of the project.
“The rate increase is unjustifiable since many of the people here are in the brink of poverty, especially after the series of calamities that hit the province,” says Numeriano de la Torre, COPE’s assistant regional coordinator. He adds that a rate increase is not a solution for an efficient water service.
But Barcelon says a careful study on the city’s water supply situation was made before the LWUA recommended a “justified” increase. Nine of the city’s 33 villages have less or no supply of water during peak hours, while five still do not have distribution lines, she says.
A public hearing was held on Dec. 21 last year to discuss the increase, but only 128 consumers came, she adds.
It was not a public consultation at all, De la Torre says, and the place was not accessible to many people.
According to Barcelon, LWUA representatives were there to listen to the sentiments of the public. “It is only after the public hearing that the LWUA can confirm the increase for implementation. Until now, we are still waiting for the confirmation,” she says.
Gonzalo Gomez, 53, one of the water district subscribers from Barangay Baybay, does not favor the increase. “Due to poverty, no one will be in favor of any increase. Money is hard to earn these days,” he says in the vernacular.
“I will just reinstall our old water pump, if we could no longer pay our water bill.”
Camarines Norte poachers arrested
16 January 2008
LEGAZPI CITY—Police arrested 10 men found poaching off the Calaguas Group of Islands in Vinzons, Camarines Norte, on Sunday.
Supt. Eliciar Bron, Bicol police spokesman, said the suspects were in a commercial fishing boat named Janica and were caught in the act of using fine mesh net, or “buli-buli.”
Fisheries laws ban the use of fine mesh nets and impose fines ranging from P2,000 to P20,000 or imprisonment of six months to two years.
Bron identified those arrested as Wilfredo Lamadrid, 32; Ruel Magat, 42; Johnny Miranda, 36; Jimmy Romero, 40; John Castel, 23; Leo Alvarez, 23; Christian Abasola, 19; Dondon Barcena, 25; and Angel Burce, 21.
The boat captain, identified as Wilfredo Napal, was also arrested.
A certain Joel Rafael owned the boat, added the police, who also recovered fishing paraphernalia and two containers of assorted fish.
Calaguas is two hours by boat from the Vinzons coast. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
LEGAZPI CITY—Police arrested 10 men found poaching off the Calaguas Group of Islands in Vinzons, Camarines Norte, on Sunday.
Supt. Eliciar Bron, Bicol police spokesman, said the suspects were in a commercial fishing boat named Janica and were caught in the act of using fine mesh net, or “buli-buli.”
Fisheries laws ban the use of fine mesh nets and impose fines ranging from P2,000 to P20,000 or imprisonment of six months to two years.
Bron identified those arrested as Wilfredo Lamadrid, 32; Ruel Magat, 42; Johnny Miranda, 36; Jimmy Romero, 40; John Castel, 23; Leo Alvarez, 23; Christian Abasola, 19; Dondon Barcena, 25; and Angel Burce, 21.
The boat captain, identified as Wilfredo Napal, was also arrested.
A certain Joel Rafael owned the boat, added the police, who also recovered fishing paraphernalia and two containers of assorted fish.
Calaguas is two hours by boat from the Vinzons coast. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
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