Arellano windfall?

The demise of former Social Security Systems (SSS) chief Carlos “Chuckie” Arellano last week was mourned by colleagues and artist-friends, many of whom have reportedly run to him for financial help. Chuckie was one of the closest pals of former president Joseph Estrada who appointed him as SSS chief. The friendship suffered when Arellano turned state witness against Estrada during the latter’s plunder trial. But Erap has since forgiven his boyhood friend, going to Chuckie’s wake and seen in a close huddle with the latter’s son Noel.

Sources say Carlos was “too generous” in the sense that he reportedly placed many properties in the name of “friends,” one of whom is rumored to have sold PLDT shares placed by Carlos in his trust for P120 million. Sources are wondering whether the Arellano kids know of this alleged financial windfall presumably owned by their father.

Philex reopening hailed

The resumption of Philex Mining Corporation’s operations in Benguet is good news for shareholders, including SSS that has over P18.7 billion invested in the country’s biggest gold producer. No one will be surprised if in the days to come, Philex will be getting a big boost in the stock market. The mine’s reopening will also make a big difference in the remediation and rehabilitation efforts in areas affected by the tailings pond spill triggered by the unusually heavy downpour in August last year.

Philex paid over P1 billion for the accidental discharge of sediments from the tailings pond in Itogon (shown in the photo prior to the leak), and had spent P4 billion for rehabilitation measures including operating expenses and losses. But as they say, there is opportunity in crisis and the discharge became an opportunity for Philex to show that it walks the talk as far as corporate responsibility and responsible mining is concerned. In any case, this positive development is expected to make the mining company even more strict and vigilant in its adherence to responsible mining practices.

Our mineral resources are said to be the envy of many countries in the world – which is why issues that are delaying the passage of the proposed mining law should be addressed because the country is losing billions of dollars worth of investments.

Manila prepared for the worst

Anticipating the onset of the rainy season once again, Manila Mayor Fred Lim recently inaugurated a four-storey disaster center in Tondo aptly dubbed the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Building. We’re told Manila is the first in the country to have such a building, strategically located in Del Pan because it is accessible to many disaster-prone areas in Manila such as Parola 1 and 2, Smokey Mountain, Isla Puting Bato and the optimistically named Happyland.

The center can house 3,000 evacuees at any given time, but what makes it really “ground breaking” are the facilities that include a central kitchen, stockrooms, laundry area, paging systems, CCTV cameras as well as a monitoring room equipped with flat screen TVs and computers courtesy of the Rotary club.  More importantly, the building has lifts for the elderly and disabled, medical clinics, numerous restrooms for male and female including a separate one for the disabled – all of them distributed within the four storeys of the building whose top floor is designed like a dormitory that can accommodate 40 people per room.

This evacuation center is definitely a far cry from the warehouse-type buildings or schools where evacuees are often housed like sardines, making it easy for viral infections to spread compounded by the lack of comfort rooms that make the conditions even more pitiful and squalid. MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino who was guest of honor during the inauguration is certainly happy since the building can serve as a showcase for the Asian Disaster Conference here in July. Mayor Lim said a bigger evacuation center is being constructed in Baseco, another flood and disaster prone area in Tondo.

Sore losers

People are getting confused over the DOTC-LTO P8.2-billion IT project because of erroneous reports claiming that a winning bidder has already been selected – wrongly assuming that the lowest bidder becomes automatically the winner. Worse, some quarters are imputing irregularity in the bidding because the lowest bidder was disqualified over failure to submit basic requirements.

That’s the problem in this country where there are never only losers – with people trying to drag down everything and everybody in the process. One reason why it’s getting very difficult to get competent people to serve in government is the tendency of sore losers to engage in all kinds of harassment, with some even going to the extent of filing nuisance suits just to delay the process.

The DOTC should not allow itself to be blackmailed and should just go ahead and do what is right – choose the most credible supplier who can offer the best service at the most feasible price. This IT project has been delayed long enough and meantime, it’s the public that continues to suffer.

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