Senate: PhilHealth bleeding; reserves may go dry by 2022. Inquirer Newsletter. September 5, 2020

No images? Click here   FRIDAY PRAYER   Hundreds of Catholics join the celebration of the first Friday Mass in September outside Quiapo Church in Manila, which restricted the entry to not more than 10 percent of its capacity in accordance with health regulations to contain the spread of COVID-19. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ     News Vaccine talks held with Pfizer, Russians Government officials met separately with pharmaceutical company Pfizer and with the Russian Embassy on Friday to discuss arrangements for the Philippines once a vaccine for the new coronavirus becomes available. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the meetings were part of the negotiations with various manufacturers to ensure adequate vaccine supply for Filipinos. —Story by Jovic Yee Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net/Jovic Yee   News This Yule, Pinoys seen rewarding selves Lacking the legal personality to impose sanctions on the University of Santo Tomas basketball team, the government body probing the Tigers’ alleged violation of health protocols during a “bubble” training in Sorsogon has elevated the case to the Department of Justice. “We don’t have legal personality to [mete out] sanctions,” said Games and Amusements Board Chair Baham Mitra, who is part of the investigation team. —Story by Denison Rey A. Dalupang Read more: sports.inquirer.net/Denison Rey Dalupang   Lifestyle His bride refused to carry fresh blooms—so he made her paper flowers What started out as a patient gesture to solve a future wife’s bouquet worries has turned into a neat little business called ThePaperblooms. —Story by Ruth L. Navarra Read full story: lifestyle.inquirer.net/his-bride-refused-to-carry-fresh-blooms-so-he-made-her-paper-flowers/   Lifestyle How not to panic during a pet medical emergency Worried about your lovable animal companion’s health? Here are some signs that tell you it might be time for a visit to the vet. —Story by Dr. Maricelle Licuanan Read full story:  lifestyle.inquirer.net/how-not-to-panic-during-a-pet-medical-emergency   Newsletter / Join us Has this been forwarded by a friend? Subscribe now to the Philippine Daily Inquirer Newsletter and get your latest news and important updates on COVID-19 and the enhanced community quarantine. Subscribe     Get an Ipad with Inquirer Plus subscription   Banner story DENR ‘white sand’ haul alarms Cebu officials By Dale G. Israel and Nestle Semilla CEBU CITY — Officials of Cebu province are looking into the reported extraction of dolomite rocks that were pulverized into “white sand” to cover and beautify a small part of the Manila Bay shoreline under a much-criticized P349-million rehabilitation project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). “We were caught by surprise. This is alarming,” Provincial Board Member John Ismael Borgonia told reporters on Friday, a day after Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda disclosed, without providing further details, that the sand being used for the “beach nourishment” of Manila Bay was actually crushed rocks sourced from Cebu. Borgonia, who chairs the provincial board’s committee on environment conservation and natural resources, said that “even if the project was undertaken by the national government, the local government of Cebu should have been informed. They [national government] should have asked for the necessary permit and consent.” “It’s like Cebu was robbed,’’ he added. “We didn’t even have an idea about it.” He said he had requested the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office to investigate where exactly in Cebu were the dolomite rocks had been extracted. “This is a classic example of getting something from our resources but the province did not have anything in return,” Borgonia said. DPWH matter Earth movers and other heavy equipment started covering a 500-meter stretch of Manila Bay with the sand on Thursday. News of the operation, as announced by the DENR, immediately set off a firestorm of criticism from netizens and environmentalists who questioned the costing and sustainability of the project, as well as its timing in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Critics also dismissed the so-called whitewashing of the Manila Bay coastline near Manila’s Baywalk strip along Roxas Boulevard as a mere cosmetic job following a major cleanup that removed tons of trash from the shores last year. Antiporda earlier said the sourcing of the dolomite rocks from Cebu was a matter handled by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Defending the project in an ANC interview on Friday, the DENR official said engineering interventions like geotubes had been installed to protect the new layer of sand from being washed away during storm surges or high tide. He said the new layer of sand would be a meter thick and cover a total area of “one hectare.” No permit Edgar Tabacon, director of the DPWH-Central Visayas (Region 7) office, did not respond to phone calls on Friday when the Inquirer sought his comment. Another official from Tabocon’s office, who declined to be named for lack of clearance to speak to the media, said they could not give any statement since the project was undertaken by the DPWH central office. Joel Garganera, a councilor of Cebu City, which is administratively independent from the provincial government, said he had sought clarification from DENR-7 Director Paquito Melicor Jr., who told him that no permit had been issued in the province to extract and transport dolomite for the Manila Bay project. “DENR-7 wants to know where the information [came from] that the dolomite [was] from Cebu. They are actually conducting an investigation if indeed these dolomites were taken from Cebu,” said Garganera, who heads the council’s environment committee. ‘Waste of money’ Also on Friday, maritime experts weighing in on the Manila Bay project warned about its risks. In an interview with the Inquirer, Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea of the University of the Philippines, said the new layer of sand would require structures to protect it from erosion. The dumping of foreign material, he added, would create turbidity or affect the relative clarity of the waters on Manila Bay, which in turn would have a short-term effect on its sensitive marine life. He likened the project to “painting a dirty wall with a water soluble paint—superficial and a waste of money.” It also remains to be seen how the dolomite would interact with other wastes and metals that had contaminated the waters, he noted.  Marine biologist Benjamin Vallejo said sand sourced from quarrying would likely have an effect ”especially [on] the substantial mollusk biodiversity” found on the bay’s sand flats. ‘Washed out’ “Cleaning up the bay involves a holistic approach which includes reducing sewage outfalls by sewage treatment, restoring habitats like mangroves and putting a hold on reclamation projects,” said Vallejo, who has been studying the Manila Bay ecosystem for years. Disaster scientist Mahar Lagmay pointed out that sand deposited on beaches always shifts and is eventually transported elsewhere. “If you put white sand there, chances are during storms and high tide when the waves are high because of strong winds, all this sand will be washed out and transported,” he said on ANC. “It’s really going to be expensive if you want to continuously replenish the white sand because it is foreign material and the beach should really be gray just like that kind of sand that is common in that area.” In many countries, Lagmay said, beach nourishment is an expensive effort aimed at protecting high-end properties near coastlines. This is not the case in Manila Bay, he said, citing Antiporda’s explanation on Thursday that the project was carried out for beautification. Isko: ‘We are happy’ In an online press briefing late Friday afternoon, Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso expressed appreciation for the project, saying “we are happy that the DENR went beyond [its call] to make the city a more vibrant Manila. We agree [with] it. We support DENR.” “DENR, on its own, knows it better to protect our environment. I don’t think a person in his right mind—in particular, an agency [tasked] to protect the environment—will pollute the environment. This is my presumption,” the mayor said. —WITH REPORTS FROM NIKKA G. VALENZUELA, JULIE M. AURELIO AND JODEE A. AGONCILLO   Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net   Editorial Time's up for 'pastillas time' And now for some sweet news: The National Bureau of Investigation has filed graft charges against 19 immigration officials assigned at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) who were involved in the so-called pastillas scheme that exploded in the news early this year. The scheme allowed the illegal entry into the Philippines of Chinese nationals without proper documents or permits, who then ended up as workers in offshore gaming operators. Why "pastillas"? Because the money given to the enterprising immigration personnel were rolled up in bond paper, like the famous local sweets. Sen. Risa Hontiveros, citing Bureau of Immigration (BI) figures, earlier said that an estimated 1.8 million Chinese nationals entered the Philippines in the last four years. Of these, 800,000 entered with authentic tourist or student visas, while 1 million came through the "pastillas" scheme—which would amount to a staggering P10 billion in kickbacks. From January to March this year, the NBI said, 194 Pogo workers managed to enter the country, translating to almost P2 million "pastillas" money over only three months. The filing of charges against these corrupt officials is a welcome development, but more crucial than throwing the book at erring BI personnel is making the charges stick. The NBI and government lawyers need to prosecute to the hilt, to ensure that the culprits in this case get their just deserts. Read full story: opinion.inquirer.net   Copyright © 2020 PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: P.O. Box 2353, Makati Central Post Office, 1263 Makati City, Philippines.   Share    Tweet    Share    Forward  Preferences  |  Unsubscribe