BCDA Versus CJHDevCo: The Final Battle

       The dispute between Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevCo) is not yet finished. The both camp are still waiting for the final decision of the court to resolve their problems. But in previous weeks, BCDA head Arnel Casanova made a press release declared that the court was already gave their favor to them. Hence, he ordered CJHDevCo to get off from their position in Camp John Hay because they have no rights to operate their business anymore.

       Of course, the private company didn’t comply to Casanova’s order. For them, this is just a dirty tactic of the BCDA to discourage their group. But sorry to say they will not leave Camp John Hay unless the court will order it. To give their side, the developer also made a press release stating that it is not true that they are already lose with their case against BCDA. The BCDA accused the developer for not paying right with their rental. But the CHJDevCo denied the accusation, they are doing their obligation to the government. The problem is, BCDA is not giving them the right support. Instead to help them, this agency is not giving them permit to develop the land that they are leasing. This is one of the reason why they have a battle in court.

        I think, BCDA is abusing their power, they are trying to collect money bigger than what’s written in their agreement. Then, when the CHJDevCo didn’t give it to them, they were started to harras the developers. BCDA didn’t appreciate the contributions of CHJDevCo in Baguio Tourism through giving livelihood to the people. They built world hotel and other superb infrastractures in Camp John Hay. It seems that the agency wants to takeover it to make money out of it. If this is not the reason, why they want the developers to leave in Camp John Hay despite of their good job? There is humor that after they overtake Camp John Hay they will give the operation to other operation.

         For sure, there is a personal interest involved here. There is a report that the BCDA didn’t remit to the city of Baguio the full amount of money that they got from the lease payment of the developer. The developer already paid 1.44 billion to the BCDA, 25 percent of it will go to the city of Baguio. But the agency just remitted 256 million to their local government.

The Trouble in Camp John Hay

The conflict between the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), a government agency and CJH Develpoment Corporation, a private investor is continuous.  Recently, BCDA President Arnel Casanova said that the court had already made a decision which is favored for them.  He even issued a notice to CJH Devco which says that the Court of Appeals had lifted the injunction against their agency. It means that right now, they can stop CJH DevCo with their operation in Camp John Hay in Baguio City.

The two camps had file a case in court against each other because of some issues regarding to the business operation in Camp John Hay. BCDA accused CJH DevCo especially, their  head Robert Soprepena for not remitting rental payment to the government. They charged him an stafa case. Of course, Sobrepena denied the allegation of BCDA. What they knew is they are doing their part or responsibility. The problem is, the government is not cooperative with their projects. It has resemblance to the MRT issue, right? The government is convincing investors to invest to their properties, then they are only neglecting their private partners.

For the CJH DevCo, the notice letter of BCDA is just a dirty tactic. They just excerpt a small portion of a statement from the paper in court, then they already concluded that are already won in the battle. The truth is, their case is not yet finished because there is still a hearing on the court in Baguio and in the arbitration trial court in Singapore. To condradict the statement letter of BCDA, the CJH DevCo issued a warning letter for them. They remind BCDA that if they will forcibly takeover Cam John Hay, it is illegal or a criminal act. So, they should follow the due process of law and stop with their claim. It means that they should also wait the final decision of the court before they rejoice. But as of now, they don’t have a plan to return Camp John Hay in the hands of the government.  They already invested a huge amount of money to develop it. Then, all of a sudden BCDA want to throw away them. Where is the justice here?

What Caused MRT-3 Mishap?

                Last Wednesday the EDSA-MRT crashed in Taft Avenue and 38 people had been injured. Because of the incident, the MRT management is on fire again. They are under the criticism of the public because of their negligence. But DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya said that it is still safe to ride in MRT. He also blamed the two drivers of the train for not doing their duty well. He also added that it is our choice to ride or not in MRT.

                But who should be blamed in this tragedy? Of course, not the driver like what Sec. Abaya pointed out. It is very clear that is the fault of the MRT management, which is under the Department of Transportation and Communication. It is really hard to accept the fault if you knew that you only inherited the problems as what Sec. Abaya’s argument. But P-Noy appointed him as a head of transportation to organize our transportation system including the MRT. So, he should act as a true leader who takes all the responsibilities in his department.  If not, what’s the use of his power if he doesn’t improve the sub-satndarstand train system in our country?

                The root cause of the mishap in the MRT 3 is because of poor maintenance and not because the train is has been already old. It is just 15 years old compared to LRT which is already 30 years old. But do they have a problem like MRT in terms of maintenance? There is an allegation that Sec. Abaya gave the favor to the PH Trams-Vitangcol group just because of their connection with the secretary and not because they are the best maintenance group. Before PH Trams-Vitangcol group entered, the MRT don’t have a major technical problem. But since they took over it, the condition of the train becomes worst.

                The Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC), a company under of Metro Holding Rail Transit Holdings (MHRTH) and a partner of MRT-3 was not favored with PHILMAR-Vitangcol group because they were not undergoing in the right process. Beside that, they have only a total capitalization of 5,000 pesos, but they gained monthly contract worth of 45 million pesos. Hmm, what’s the basis of DOTC for choosing this maintenance company and how’s the result of their work? But don’t worry folks, their contract will be already expired.  In year 2012, the MRTC requested that they would like to conduct a technical inspection to know the true condition of our train system. But DOTC rejected their request although their intention was for the benefits of the public.  And now, the Philippine government wants to take over the full operation of MRT despite of their mismanagement.

BCDA, an Ally or an Enemy of Baguio City?

                

                Baguio City is known for being a tourist attraction because it its beautiful views. There are many inrastructures built through the joint effort of the local government and national government agencies. But now, there’s a dispute between Bases Conservation and Development Authority (BCDA) and Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevCorp.) These two agencies had been partners of the city government for how many years to development Baguio. But the sad thing, they battled each other in the court because of some issues.

                Recently BCDA President Arnel Casanova wrote an open letter to Baguio Mayor Mauricio Domogan to remind the local government how they helped their city. He wants to prove that they are an ally and not an enemy. They contributed a lot of revenue from their generated income. They strengthen the tourist arrivals in Baguio because of some changes they made. Mr. Cassonava empahised also that they produced a lot of job opportunities for the people of Baguio.

            Mayor Domogan answered the letter of Mr. Casanova. He believed that BCDA is their partner for the development of their city. But they doesn’t comply all of their agreements with their terms and conditions. The Mayor admitted that they collected 256 million from BCDA; but it was derived from previous officials, not under the term of Mr. Casanova. He questioned, why they are not still giving the 25 share of the city government from the leased rental that they had collected? Why they also don’t give even centavo from their earnings from Ayala company who operates Ayala Techno Hub. Besides these, there are still many projects that the BCDA has not yet still finished.

                It is good for Mr. Casanova if he talked first one on one with the Baguio local government and CJVDevCorp. rather that to write an open letter. It seems that he is just looking an attention of the media. Based on the letter of Mayor Domogan, BCDA has the problem and not the local government nor the CJVDevCorp. Mr. Casanova should do his obligations, not only to their partners, but to the people of Baguio. If BCDA is a true friend, be sincere and settled all the problems they had caused. So, both parties should benefit from their actions. Remember that if you’re a friend to someone, selfishness and self-interest has no room in your mind.

The Multi-Billion Peso Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike Project

            In his State of the Nation Address last July 28, President Benigno S. Aquino III expressed his excitement about the government major projects. One of their plans is to build Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike that will connect from the coastal area of Laguna de Bay to Taguig. This project has an estimated cost of 36.7 billion pesos. The government made an alliance with the Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the dike construction.

  What a brilliant idea! There’s an expressway on the top of the dike. At first, it seems that it is good to hear this kind of program. But since 2012 we already heard about this promise from the President and until now nothing has been started. What happened?  Does the president is lack of political will or this is just an image beautification? He said that this is not easy to do it because it needs a long time of preparation. Then, the construction of that dike will may start in 2015 and it would end in 2021. Wow, what a long period of time they need before they finish that said project!

             The President believed that the huge dike is a long term solution to control the flooding in Laguna and to some part of Metro Manila. Why they don’t solve first the flooding problem in Metro Manila before they make such a big project? I’m not saying that they should forget the flooding in Laguna. But do we really need to build a huge dike or what we need is just dredging around the Laguna lake shore? By doing this, they can lessen their expenses and they could use it for other important projects. How about the affected fishermen of Laguna de Bay or the residence of that area, what’s their plan for them? Where they do relocate them and there’s a livelihood waiting for them? Do they want to sacrifice thousands of people to pave the way for this ambitious project?

The Governmet Wants to Take Over MRT 3

The government buying out the Metro Manila Rail Transit line 3 (MRT) because they want to take over it in the 3^rd quarter of this year. They already ignored their 1999 BLT agreement which stated that they allowed the MRT Corp. (MRTC) to control the EDSA rail line. This private company has also a right to choose any contractor for the train development. The government has chosen the lone bidder, which is the Dalian Automotive & Rolling Stock Co. This company serves as their supplier to the equipments they need.

The government is very confident that they solve any problem about this issue although the MRTC didn’t favor with their plan. They are the one who developed the MRT 3, then the government thrown away them. They already filed a cased against the government in attribution court in Singapore. But the government not minding this; they explained that everything will be alright because some of the board members of MRTC are also people from the government.

Department of Transportation and Communication Secretary Joseph Abaya said that they will buy 48 new railway coaches. This will be added to their 72 coaches. So, it has a total of 120 coaches, but some of it was not functioning anymore. Secretary Abaya was very happy because these coaches have great benefits to the commuters. As what we already knew, MRT is overcrowding. MRT is loading 600,000- 700,000 thousand passengers every day.

This time, the action of the government is very rare because we always hear from them that they are planning to privatize some of the government assets. Their reason they want to improve the system or services and they can’t handle it anymore. So, they need the assistance of the private sectors. Aside from that, they don’t need to release funds for the operation. But now, they want to take over MRT? Are they sure that they can handle it properly? How they can improve the train system in our country? Have they already concrete plan for this? This take over cost 56 billion pesos and they will get it to 2015 national budget. Let us hope that they can use the money wisely or else the Filipino people could suffer if their system doesn’t become successful. Let us hope also that there is no personal interest behind this buy out.

Does SONA of P-Noy Has an Impact to Ordinary People?

            The public has different views about the 5th State of the Nation Address of President S. Benigno Aquino. Some were contented to his speech while other people considered this as a rhetorical remarks and it has no overall impact to the lives of many Filipino people. In SONA 2014, he praised his other member of his cabinet for being successful with their various programs and attacked his critics.

               Of course, P-Noy is not just ‘noynoying’ or do nothing to his position. He reported some accomplishment of his administration. First, they are fighting really the corruption on the government. He said that he made major changes to the system of the Bureau of Customs and Department of Public Works and Highway by appointing official who have a fighting spirit to reform the agencies. Although they knew that the corruption there were already deep. This is very good, because for the first time there is an administration became very aggressive to fight the long tradition of corruption in the government. P-Noy supported the abolition of PDAF although many lawmakers didn’t agree with this. The only problem is, Sec. Butch Abad made DAP which declared by the high court as illegal. Maybe their intention is good, but they didn’t became transparent from their action. That’s why the Aquino Administration shaken due to this issue. Although they already explained to the public where they used the fund. He was also proud when he announced that they helped many scholars under the program of TESDA funded by DAP.

              The President also said that the tax collections of the BIR increased compared to the previous years. This is also very good, it means that the government has a sufficient fund that they can use for public service like giving health assistance, road widening, etc. P-Noy boasted that they made a lot of national hi-way and farm to market roads that the people would benefit. Some of the road projects he cited was already finished and the others are still under construction. But despite of this, why there are still places in the Philippines that don’t have a concrete road? Hope that P-Noy would also look their situation. He can castigate the mayor or governor for neglecting their people. There were reports that some abandoned road and bridge projects. They only started a small portion of it, then they left it. Is this a fault of the politician or the DPWH officials?

                  P-Noy said also that under his term we reached economic growth. This is a good sign that our economy is in a tough situation. Because of this, credit foundations has a trust to lend us again and our country could attract foreign investors. So, it would make a job opportunities for our countrymen. Maybe this is good in the eyes of the business man? But if you will ask ordinary people they say that they didn’t not feel any changes in their lives. What they feel is, their lives become more miserable compared before. They can’t afford to eat three times a day because every basic needs doesn’t stop from increasing. For them, it is really hard to survive in the Philippines. The Pantawid Pamilya Program of P-Noy is not an answer to stop decrease poverty. The jobs that they created is not enough to accommodate all the unemployed P-Noy.

                 The President has two years to finish his presidency. Hope that he could continue to serve the people. There are still many things that he can do. As what he said he was only human, so, don’t treat him as Superman. As a citizen of this country we should do our part and of course P-Noy should do also his obligation as a father of our country. We can’t say what would be the output of his remaining years as a president. It would become better or worse? Let us just wait his last SONA in 2015!

Coup Plot Against P-Noy: True or Just a Hallucination?

Credited to betterphilis.blogspot.com

                According to the rumors, there is a destabilization plot againts the Aquino Administration. According to Sen. Trillanes, there are retired generals who want to dethrone the president from his seat. They are recruiting armies secrectly to join their forces. Because this general wants to back from the power. They already planned this before, when P-Noy was just new to his position. Their only problem is they can convince the armies to cooperate with their plan.

                But Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, former AFP Chief under the Arroyo Administration denied the rumor. They don’t have a plan to destabilize the Aquino Administration by forming coup. They were already retired from service, so how can they said that. But the Gen. Espiron said that sometimes he with the companion of some retired generals. They are only discussing about the current situation of the country, not a coup plot. They want to mislead the perception of the public from the current situations. Former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo denied also that accusation. According to him the Aquino administration just making a story to cover up the mistakes of the government. While Atty. Ferdinand Topacio said that Sen. Trillanes is just experiencing a hallucination. To stop this, he sarcastically advice that stop from taking up illegal drugs.

                The Aquino Administration is not worrying about the coup. They are very confident that it will not become successful with their plan. Because the armies have a high moral under the Aquino Regime. It means there is no reason to make a revolution because they are trusting the president. If this is the case, why they need to announce that there are groups of general wants to destabilize the government? Is this a part of the psy war of the administration to destroy the image of their enemies in politics? Or they just want to show that the coup has no room to the Aquino Administration.

You're the Man!: The Sex Video Scandal of Paolo Bediones

             
              News Anchor Paolo Bediones is facing controversy nowadays. Last Saturday, his sex video started to spread over the internet. At first, it was not already confirmed if he is in the photo because it is so blurred. In the photo, he is naked and making romance with unidentified woman. According to the report, Paolo already admitted that once he had sex video but he is confident that he already destroyed it. He didn’t believe that it could leak anymore. But now, he is surprised because he is very wrong with when he though that it could not seen by anyone.

                But TV5, the home network of Paolo is still showing their support from him. They said that they don’t want to interfere with this issue because that is a personal life of their talent.

                This kind of incidence is not new anymore. It is still fress in the mind of the public the sex videos of Katrina Halili and Hayden Kho, Chito Miranda and Neri Naig, Wally Bayola and EB Babe Yosh, etc. The celebrities are advice not to take video while they have love making. Because even they delete it, it could still be recovered by someone who has a knowledge how to recover files. They were all said that their private video was stolen. So, they should avoid from doing that. If they want to see it again their beautiful experience, just refresh with their mind; not by the video.

                 They should also aware that the their are people who have bad intention. Not only to destroy their reputation; also because they really love to make controversy. Because they know that people would love to watch a video scandal where the celebreties are the stars. Imagine, you can watch a private moment of a celebrity! When they post the video it will become a trending in an instant. Even Mahal became a victim of this maliscious intent. No, it’s not about the sex video of her but her video while she was taking a bath. At least now, the question of other people is already answered if Paolo Bediones is a straight or not. To Paolo, you’re the man!

DOH TV Commercial: An Eye-Opener to the Filipino Families

            Until now there are many Filipino families that having a big family is really great. They  believed that if you have many children, you’re also investing. Because when they grow up, they could help their family. And the children could also help them when the parents are going older. They also defend their belief that this is the commandment of God when he said that go and be multiplied. That’s why they hate the population control of the Department of Health.

     As of now the DOH has a TV campaign; it gives awareness to the Filipino family. In their commercial, their is a girl kid singing about the situation of her family. Every year her mother is becomes pregnant until their family member expanded. Because of this, the child stopped from her studies. Her parents could not support her needs anymore. Hence, she became a street vendor. In her song, she is asking her parents if they really love their children? If yes, why they chose to have more children although they don’t have a financial capacity. 

   The message of this commercial is very clear. The parents should be responsible, plan their lives very well. Having many children could lead them into a greater poverty. This is very logical, if you have many children, your expenses would also become bigger. What if you don’t have enough money to sustain tall of their needs?How can yopu feed them and send them to the school? So, just limit the number of your family.

It is very noticeable in our country that the poor family has many family member compare to the rich family. Even the richest family have all the resources in the world, they are limiting the number of their family. Because they know that is the right thing to do. Why the poor family, their happiness is to make children. They truly believe that is okay to live with a miserable life. The most important is they are happy with each other. As what they said, the more the merrier? But how can be you totally happy if you’re living below the poverty line?

 Kudos to the DOH for their eye-opener commercial although there are groups didn't happy with this.

P-Noy: In the Name of DAP

               

P-Noy is still tough in his principle that Disbursement Acceleration Program DAP is legal although the Supreme Court already made their decision. They declared this as illegal because it is unconstitutional. Contrary to the belief of the President; they said that it has a basis according to the constitution.

                For the Aquino Administration, they are not breaking any rule of law.  As a President, he has a prerogative to make a decision if he thinks that there is an emergency. For him, he don’t want to wait for too long before to get a budget that he need it. It is a very complicated process because it needs to undergo to the Congress. During his State of the Nation Address, P-Noy said that their action was like you’re parking in a no parking zone because there is an emergency. He elaborated that it is not a mistake if he shortcut the process because their only intention is to save lives.

                It seems that P-Noy is blaming the Sereno Court because he would not continue the projects they started by using the funds from DAP. Maybe now, he is regretting because he appointed Chief Justice Maria Lordes Sereno in Supreme Court and other justices, then they don’t support DAP. It only means that they can make their own decision. What’s the sense of their action against former Chief Justice Corona? If we could remember, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said that the Aquino Administration used DAP to bribe the senators to get their support for the impeachment trial of Corona.

                P-Noy stop from his advocacy to continue the implementation of DAP. If he supported the abolition of PDAF, why he don’t want to thrash DAP? Why he didn’t accept the resegnation letter of Budget Secretary Abad? It does mean that he is protecting his ally? If he would accept that DAP is illegal it also means that his administration has made a big mistake. Instead of declaring war against the Supreme Court, why he don’t respect the decision of the high court and re-arrange their system? It seems that he is not worrying although their are groups served impeachment trial to the court. Maybe, it would not take him off to his position; but in the long run the history would judge him. His parents were known for being an icon of democracy, but what would be his legacy to the Filipino people- the DAP?   

DAP: An Instrument for Hidden Agenda?

          
              Credited to capizdateline.com

         President Noynoy Aquino now is on fire because he is battling against the Supreme Court. He don’t want to accept their decision that Disbursement Acceleration Program is illegal because it doesn’t undergo to the legal process. Because of this issue the integrity of his administration was questioned by the public. If they are against PDAF, why they made an another form of pork barrel?

          Why does he still want to pursue DAP, if this is being already declared as illegal? It seems that he don’t know that the Judicial Branch has the final say such a complicated case like DAP. It is normal to appeal for the loser camp, but to attack the high court is unusual. Does the President is power tripping or he want to protect someone like Budget Secretary Buth Abad, the creator of that controversial policy? Let us say that their intention is good; but they are not become transparent. That’s why their actions became doubtful for many people.

           The important question is who benefited from DAP. Is it the public or the allies of P-Noy? The Aquino Adminstration was already explained that they used the funds from DAP for important projects that the public could benefit. Maybe yes, because they made a lot of beautiful projects like police modernization, relocation resettlement of the informal settlers, building insfracture and many more. He also said that the administration didn’t selective from giving fund from DAP. They don’t care about the political affiliation; eitheir it is color yellow or other color. But all of this will put in vain if the source of funds is not according to the law. It might also be used for personal interest.

             Based on the news that propagated, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas is the biggest recipient of funds from DAP. He accepted about 10 billion pesos. But Sec. Roxas said that he used that money to implement projects in DILG and he denied that he is using it for the preparation of his candidacy in 2016. According to him, his political enemies want him to put in shame and to wreck his personality. Even P-Noy was accused that he also used money from DAP. The Department of Agrarian Reform said that they released 5.4 billion pesos and it was used for the payment of landowners including Hacienda Luisita.

             So, P-Noy should stop from his claim that DAP is legal. If he still insist it, the public would conclude that they are only protecting their personal interest, not the interest of the people.