AS part of its environmental sustainability initiatives, Aboitiz Construction recently partnered with National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) to adopt a 1.6-hectare tree planting site in the Makiling-Banahaw Geothermal reservation area for three years. 

Under NAPOCOR’s Energy Sector Carbon Sequestration Initiative, private companies are encouraged to participate in this climate change mitigation program by adopting a rehabilitation site based on priority areas for restoration. 

Aboitiz Construction has funded Mt. Malaraya Environmental Protection Council, Inc. (MMEPCI), a Southern Luzon-based people’s organization, to conduct reforestation activities in the said area. The program will provide livelihood opportunities for community members under MMEPCI for their maintenance and plantation duties in the designated site.

A total of 2,600 native trees will be planted and monitored within the three-year partnership period. A Technical Working Group composed of representatives from Aboitiz Construction, NAPOCOR, and MMEPCI will be tasked to monitor the progress of the activities and implement the program based on the agreed reforestation plan.

“Anchored to our purpose of building for business to prosper and communities to thrive, we remain committed to helping enrich and protect our environment and provide jobs for many Filipinos. We also aim to promote environmental awareness among our team members and encourage them to volunteer in our future tree-planting activities,” said Aboitiz Construction Executive Director Antonio Peñalver.

Aboitiz Construction continues to promote its commitment to environmental sustainability. Last year,  Aboitiz Construction Inc. partnered with Envirotech Waste Recycling Inc. to better manage plastic waste across all its project sites nationwide.|

THE government must be willing to invest larg amounts of time and resources in future-proofing the Philippines’ power sector if it is serious in resolving the energy supply interruptions that inflict damage to the economy, according to a new study.

The report, which delves into the electricity supply issues in the Philippines, notes that power outages remain a big problem and discusses how unreliable electricity is affecting businesses in the country.

It cited the latest World Bank Enterprise Survey in which company representatives signified that electricity supply issues continue to be one of the factors affecting the business environment in the Philippines.

The surveyed firms shared that they were losing 0.8% of their annual sales, on average, due to power outages. Consequently, owning or sharing generators appeared to be a defensive mechanism.

More than 40% of firms in the Philippines were dependent on generators, where they sourced around 39% of their power supply. Generator ownership was particularly high in Metro Cebu at 66%, says the document.

“Generally, this informa-tion from the World Bank Enterprise Survey implies that doing business in the country is more costly due to unre-liable electricity,” said study author and PIDS research fellow Kris Francisco in an online forum this month where she presented the results of her research.

The discussion paper identifies at least three major causes of power interruptions in the country: lack of power supply, technical issues, and environmental factors such as natural events.

Of these, environmental factors trigger a big portion of the disruptions, with “major storm disaster” as the biggest issue and a cause for concern since the Philippines is a typhoon-prone country.

Meanwhile, technical-related issues constitute the second largest factor affecting power interruptions.

Insufficient supply of power to electric cooperatives is also a big issue in itself, where utilities in the Visayas are suffering the most.

The research observes that past efforts to address these problems appear lukewarm. “Electricity supply interruptions, despite the enormous disturbance it causes the economy, have historically received little attention from our policy-makers,” it says.

It reports that in 2021, consumers on average experienced around 5.7 power interruptions a year, translating to a total of 8.8 hours of no electricity. Consumers in Luzon experienced more frequent power interruptions, while consumers in Visayas endured longer hours of no electricity.

Among the list of causes, insufficient supply of power to electric cooperatives or ECs emerges as the main driver of frequent and long hours of power interruptions.
Meanwhile, it takes around 1.5 hours to restore electricity after a power outage, and supply takes the longest time to restore when the damage is done by a major storm disaster, says the paper.

In his message to the forum, PIDS president Aniceto Orbeta Jr. also pointed out that the Philippines has some of the most expensive energy prices in Asia, noting that the country’s rates are between 25% and 87% higher than some of its neighbors in Southeast Asia.
He added that it does not help that the country is heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels, with the high cost of importation often passed on to consumers.

The expected depletion of the Malampaya natural gas field by 2024 will likely exacerbate this impending energy crisis, he warned.

Francisco suggests three major areas of intervention, all requiring the putting in of large amounts of time and investment in the power sector.

Her first recommendation is to “improve the access of electric cooperatives to sufficient power supply to improve their services” to households outside of Metro Manila.

Finally, the country must work towards climate-proofing the energy infrastructure to protect it from damage and shorten the duration of downtime so that “when typhoons strike, it will take us a shorter time to restore the power,” said Francisco.| – PhilExport News & Features

A new executive order (EO) will be released by the end of 2023 to ensure the “good” implementation of the Supreme Court (SC) ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia case, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Friday.

Marcos made the pro-nouncement during the fourth general assembly of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) at the Royce Hotel in Clark, Pampanga.

In his speech, Marcos ensured that his administration will include the local government “in all of our plans,” adding that there will be a series of consultations with local executives.

“Kailangan maging mahusay ang (There should be a good) coordination between the local and national government. Asahan ninyo na (Expect that) you are not working in a vacuum. You are not working in a vacuum. We are watching, we are asking, we are consulting with you,” he told the governors.

“And in that way, we will come out with a good EO at the end of the year for a good implementation of the very important Supreme Court decision now we call the Mandanas ruling to even further strengthen the coordination and the partnership between the local government and the national government,” Marcos added.

Marcos acknowledged anew that the full devolution of certain functions of the executive branch to the local government units (LGUs), as directed by existing EO 138, could not be done.

EO 138 was signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte in June 2021 to ensure the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia case and strengthen the auto-nomy and empowerment of LGUs.

Under EO 138, the func-tions, services and facilities should be fully devolved to the local government no later than the end of 2024.

Identifying ‘hybrid’ areas
Marcos said his administration is currently identifying the functions that belong to the LGUs, as well as the services that should be carried out by the national government.
He noted that there are also “hybrid” areas such as health and education that the national and local governments must work together.

“I think that’s the right way to do it na ang titignan natin, talaga naman very easily identifiable ang mga services na dapat talaga eh manggaling sa probinsya (that we look at the very easily identifiable services that should be done in the provinces),” Marcos said.

“Meron din diyan na hybrid. Hindi lang probinsya (There are also hybrid services that could not be done by the provincial governments alone). It is supposed to be a joint effort between the province and the national government. So, that is what we are trying to calibrate,” he added.

‘Extra’ funding
Marcos said the national government is also working toward providing “extra” funding to LGUs.

This emphasized the importance of giving the local governments a “breathing room” in carrying out their mandate, he added.

“It does not mean na walang made-devolve. Merong mga made-devolve na functions pero ang kaibahan dito, yung pag-devolve na functions, may kasabay na item, may kasabay na funding, may kasabay na training (It does mean that there will be no devolution. Functions will be devolved but the difference here is there will be items, funding and training),” Marcos said.

“The original concept was mabigyan ng extra funding ang mga local government, lalo na ‘yung mga highly dependent sa IRA (to give extra funding to local governments, especially those that are highly dependent to IRA [or Internal Revenue Allotment]),” he added.
Under the Mandanas ruling, the national government is mandated to expand the share of LGUs in tax collection.

On the other hand, LGUs are required to handle the responsibility of operating social services like agriculture, connectivity and health within their jurisdictions.

The ruling is a result of two separate petitions filed by Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas and former Bataan governor Enrique Garcia Jr., requesting that the basis of computation of the LGUs’ IRA be adjusted to include national taxes.

Heading in ‘right direction’
Marcos expressed confidence that his administration is on the “right” track, as it seeks closer cooperation and collaboration with the LGUs.

He also believed that the government is making progress in the fight against corruption since his administration already laid out its “very clear” initiatives.

“There is no slippage. There is no wastage. Even the level of corruption will go down because very, very clear ang gusto nating gawin (what we want to do is very, very clear),” he said.

“I think we are headed in the right direction. We will get there. With your help, we will get there. This will be to the benefit of all our constituents. So, let’s keep that partnership strong and let’s work hard. And I’m sure that we will succeed to the benefit of those who are in need of our help and of our services as public servants,” he added.| – PNA