Ray of hope

A very important piece of proposed legislation hurdled its biggest stumbling block last week after the Senate approved the biofuels bill, many months after the House gave its imprimatur to the measure.

The Biofuels Act of 2005 mandates an initial five percent blend of bioethanol to gasoline as a starting point of a fuel ethanol program that is looked upon as a measure to help the government achieve rural development, environmental protection, and energy security.

Of course, the domestic sugar industry will have a very important role to play in the envisioned National Bioethanol Fuel Program. Even worldwide, sugarcane provides one of the cheapest feedstock for bioethanol production.

With the enthusiasm local sugar farmers have showed towards increasing production to meet anticipated demand brought about by a bioethanol program, there is no problem producing sugarcane both for food and fuel.

The Sugar Regulatory Administration has identified new areas of about 326,596 hectares for expanding local sugarcane production, mostly in Mindanao as well as in Luzon, particularly Central Palawan and Cagayan/Isabela.

The eventual passage of a biofuels law is expected to be the more lasting solution to the problems of sugar farmers. Governor Joe Zubiri, national president of the country’s largest group of sugarcane farmers, Confed, says that an average farmer producing 60 tons per hectare at 160 to 170 kilos sugar per ton cane nets P20,000 per hectare a year at the prevailing price of P1,050 per bag. Producing sugarcane for ethanol could easily double his income to P40,000 per hectare per year. This price estimates could be higher considering that domestic sugar prices are now very low and with the high cost of production, sugar farmers are barely making ends meet.

Let’s all hope that the biofuels bill does not run into any more trouble at the bicameral conference committee. Because not only will this bill help the sugar industry as well as other possible sources of feedstock. The multiplier effect of a reduced dependence on imported fuel is something too hard to ignore.

Wake up call

After last week’s piece, the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) had finally realized that it had mandated responsibilities in the maritime industry to fullfill after all.

Now that it is out in the open, Carlos A. Gothong Lines, Inc.’s (CAGLI) ship breakdowns far outweigh their operational efficiencies.

Marina sources passed on this bit of news that Atty. Glenn Cabanes, Marina Cebu District head and where CAGLI vessels are homeported, was caught unaware that something was amiss with the shipping company’s vessels. But Cebu sources say it would have been impossible for Cabanes not to notice what has been happening in his own turf unless the reports he has been receiving from his people about the operations of CAGLI are downright fiction.

Ever the true Marina District head that he is, Cabanes was reported to have immediately ordered CAGLI to explain said breakdowns in writing. Now, as to when Cabanes is expected to receive CAGLI’s report is another story, but he has been hinting aloud in Cebu that he acted even before being told by his boss in Manila on what should be done.

In addition, to make it look like that Marina Cebu is finally doing its job, Cabanes according to Marina sources ordered an audit be undertaken on CAGLI specifically, on its compliance to the International Ship Management Code. Now, this would be an interesting sidelight, CAGLI can’t even run its ships efficiently what more on its meeting international ship standards!

For now, keen Cebu Maritime observers await another fiction packed ISM compliance report by CAGLI.

But all doesn’t end here, this matter being is as much the responsibility of the Marina administrator as well as its board of directors in Manila. Typhoon Milenyo seems to have erased from the memory of Administrator Vicente Suazo, Jr. and the distinguished members of the board the very recent M/T Solar I incident. Antiquated ships with way below par safety standards practised onboard can only spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R in any which way you look at it.

Unless Administrator Suazo and the Marina Board get their acts together fast, we will soon not only be witness to miles of pristine beaches spoiled as in the case of M/T Solar I, but more lives lost at sea because of their indifference.

From the readers

I am a Philippine Ports Authority employee but would like to request that my name be kept in confidence as I react to your column entitled "Modus Operandi" about the PPA.

That column of yours surely hit a very raw nerve within the PPA. Corruption sadly is deeply ingrained within the systems of PPA that it would take short of a miracle to stop it. For any transaction in PPA, there is surely to be an equal compensation or renumeration for those people who handle a particular project. This has been the practice since time immemorial in the PPA and I seriously doubtsomething can be done about it.

The case of the lawyer you wrote about is a concrete example of how deeply ingrained the corrupt system is within the PPA. True enough, the manager of the legal services department stripped this lawyer of his "contract review" responsibilities after your column came out which allowed him to demand "contract processing fees" from contractors but that lawyer is still there. No case has been filed against him and it seems they are just bidding their time until this issue cools off.

Perhaps the legal services department manager does not realize that that lawyer reports to a higher authority who gives his blessings for this lawyer’s nefarious trade and shares in the take he gets from contractors? Or, this legal services department manager himself is part of the take and just doesn’t have the heart to permanently sack this lawyer for corruption? Well, it seems only they can tell...

I just wonder also if our General Manager is aware at all of these things. But, for the greater common interest of the whole PPA and its employees I very much hope that he looks more deeply into this expose’ of yours and does something concrete to arrest this very negative perception of the PPA.—Name withheld upon request

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