Group urges Aquino to address problems via national summit

THE Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Sunday called on President Aquino to take the lead in addressing the problems besetting the country by convening a “national summit for jobs program” and a “national summit on power, water and public transport” to rally the support of the people.

“The TUCP believes that all sectors of society will rally behind the President once he takes the cudgels for the real issues that plague the country today: unemployment, the power crisis, the impending water crisis and the public-transport breakdown,” TUCP Executive Director Luis Corral said in a statement.

The TUCP appeals to Mr. Aquino not to be distracted by the political noise and get down to the task at hand of creating decent jobs and addressing power, water and mass-transport problems.

“It is the President who has a mandate. He has only to convene all groups so that they—and not the proxy poor, the proxy peasant and the proxy marginalized—can speak for themselves. Currently, the jobless see themselves as without hope. And ordinary consumers see apathy from government as the days without power, without water and rolling coffin trains creep upon them,” Corral stressed.

He said even as the clogged ports has led to some 20,000 workers both in the forward and backward supply chain being laid off, ordinary workers risk death and amputation everyday as they take the dilapidated trains daily.

On the other hand, the National Water and Resources Board is playing deaf, even as the El Niño Phenomenon threatens water supply for drinking purposes, agricultural use and electricity generation, he added.

“These are the problems where we need the President to inspire us, to rally us toward collective solutions, especially where collective sacrifice is needed. The political noise of naysayers and the gimmickry of apologists is not a substitute for presidential leadership,” TUCP Spokesman Alan Tanjusay said.

“Let us focus on the task at hand, and have the President convene and lead summits to address job creations so that workers can feed their families; a summit to ensure reliable and affordable power so that industries can grow, reliable water so that we can live lives with some dignity and mass transport that unclogs our roads and delivers both people and goods safely to their destinations.”

TUCP insisted that a national summit on jobs and also on consumer issues will catalyze the silent majority, who placed their trust in an Aquino presidency. - Jonathan L. Mayuga /Business Mirror

President urged to convene summit on water crisis

The country’s largest labor group urged President Aquino to convene a National Summit, which will discuss solutions for national economic problems, particularly the imminent water shortage next summer.

In a statement, Trade Union Congress of Philippines (TUCP) Executive Director Luis Corral said other issues which should also be included in the proposed meeting would be the looming power shortage, public transportation woes, and the still significantly high unemployment rate in the country.

“Aquino should get down to the task at hand, creating decent jobs and squelching the deficit in power, water and mass transport,” Corral said.

TUCP issued the statement yesterday amid the apparent lack of government preparation for the imminent calamity.

“The high officialdom is playing deaf to the cries of the National Water and Resources Board (NWRB) that El Niño threatens our water supply for drinking purposes, agricultural use and electricity generation,” TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.

Water concessionaires earlier warned they may resort to water rationing by next year as the levels in the Angat, which supplies the water in Metro Manila, is expected to further decline with the onset of the El Niño weather phenomenon before the end of 2014.

“The TUCP believes that all sectors of society will rally behind the President once he takes the cudgels for the real issues that plague the country today,” he said.

Corral said the proposed summit would yield better recommendations compared to some of his advisers from the organization, which are “proxy poor, the proxy peasant and the proxy marginalized” as well as those, who want to “lead the country from behind.”

“We appeal to the President not to be distracted by those who wish to waylay economic gains and not to be hijacked by those who wish to take advantage of him when too much of his political capital is being wasted in the legal equivalent of saloon brawls,” Corral said. - Manila Bulletin / Yahoo

55 Chinese nationals detained for lack of working permits

BUREAU of Immigration (BI) agents arrested on Tuesday 55 Chinese nationals believed to have been working without proper permits.

The Chinese nationals, who were nabbed in raids in Manila, Quezon City and Malabon through a tip by the BI's anonymous source, are allegedly working in construction sites and retail establishments illegally.

BI spokesperson Elaine Tan said Wednesday these raids are part of the bureau's ongoing campaign to curb the number of foreigners suspected of working in the Philippines without the necessary documents.

"All apprehended subjects are presently being investigated whether the initial information against them are true," said Tan, adding the arrested foreigners are currently at the bureau's holding center in Bicutan, Taguig City.

"If the foreign national fails to present any document to support his employment, he will be issued the necessary charge sheet and will eventually be deported," Tan said.

She said that the efforts to identify the "bad guys" among foreigners in the Philippines are a work in progress.

"Based on our records, the 'bad guys' only comprise one percent of the foreign national population in the country. However, as their numbers are very minimal, the chance of locating them at the point of entry is like finding a needle in a haystack," Tan said.

The BI is presently pushing for a law to allow the Advance Passenger Information System to provide identification of the "bad guys" before their aircraft lands in the Philippines.

It is also planning to coordinate with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to formulate measures in screening foreigners prior to issuance of entry visas to the Philippines.

Last week, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) asked the Senate and the House of Representatives to act on resolutions seeking to conduct an inquiry on the issue.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago called for a hearing as early as December last year while TUCP party-list Representative Democrito Mendoza filed a similar resolution last February.

"There is indeed a clear, continuing and growing violation of our domestic laws. This undermines the job security in the country, as they compete with the already limited jobs generated for the Filipinos in our homeland," said TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay.

He added that the presence of the illegal foreign workers has forced local job seekers to either seek employment abroad or just remain unemployed. (Sunnex) By Virgil B. Lopez

TUCP sees gloom for power users

Every household in Luzon may have to pay P1,600 to P1,800 more per month for their electricity once the energy crisis kicks in next year, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) warned on Sunday.

If this projection holds true, the country’s residential electricity rates would be among the highest in the world, TUCP Executive Director Louie Corral said.

Corral lambasted Energy officials for their alleged lack of concrete and enforceable plans and strategies to avert a power crisis.

“We, and that means all of us, should know the merits and specifics of the recommended strategies, where the suggestions are coming from, and what the taxpayers and the consumers will end up paying for,” he said.

The TUCP and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) agree that there must be a comprehensive set of policies to combat the crisis while also working to bring power rates down.

Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla earlier admitted that a power crisis may be felt by March or May 2015, affecting 10.4 million households if the projected demand of 9,011 megawatts for next year is not met.

As a solution, Petilla is planning to rent expensive diesel-run power barges for two to three years.

The power barges will be run by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) for 20 days and whenever there will be yellow alert status.

“Under this scheme, the generation charges from these plants, excluding transmission and distribution charges, will easily hit P15 to P18 per kwh. This will dramatically drive up household rates,” explained Alan Tanjusay, TUCP spokesman.

Also proposed was the use of the Interruptible Load Program (ILP), which is being pushed by some business lobbies so that there is no longer any need to resort to emergency powers for President Benigno Aquino 3rd. ILP allows mall owners to run their generators to provide electricity to their stores.

“These groups are now lobbying to bring up the current cost of 66 centavos per kwh, which the ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission[ allows the ILP participating companies to charge to all Meralco customers for running their own generators rather than getting their power from Meralco. Talks are rife that they also want commercial rates in the neighborhood of P15 to P18 per kwh. We remind all that what we face is not just a supply problem but a cost problem. If we are not competitive in Asean we will lose out. Jobs will be lost and no new jobs will be created,” Tanjusay said.

Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) groups the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

According to Tanjusay, higher electricity “will have a very painful effect on ordinary workers.”

“It will also have dire political consequences for the Aquino administration and derail the economic takeoff of the country,” he also warned. -by JING VILLAMENTE