‘Only Congress can amend state banks’

By Rio N. Araja

ONLY Congress can grant legislative charters to operationalize governmentowned and controlled corporations (GOCCS), amend their charters, or abolish or merge GOCCs, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman on Sunday said.

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) was created under Republic Act No. 2081 of 1958 and

Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) was established by RA No. 3844 of 1963. Both have separate legislative mandates. The proposed merger of DBP and LBP necessitates the amendment of their charters by Congress. Only Congress can amend or repeal statutes, Lagman stressed. The projected merger cannot legally be effected by a mere executive order, he added. Legislative enactment, not executive fiat, is mandatorily required to operationalize the proposed merger of DPB and LBP, he said.

Earlier, Senator Risa Hontiveros called for an investigation into the proposed merger of the DBP and LBP.

In a proposed Senate Resolution No. 570, Hontiveros emphasized that the merger “raises concerns on the potential risks and benefits it may bring to the economy, the stability of the financial system, and various stakeholders, including the employees of both institutions.”

On March 28, Finance Secretary

Benjamin Diokno announced that the government was contemplating a merger between the two state-run financing institutions, with LBP as the surviving entity. This would also create the largest banking institution in the country, with more than P4.179 trillion in assets.

If the merger pushes through, according to Hontiveros, the welfare and livelihood of thousands of employees of both institutions may be at risk. PSR No. 570 also underscored the concerns raised by The Land Bank of the Philippines Employees Association (LBPEA) and DBP Employees’ Union (DBPEU), stating that the LBP and the DBP violated the terms of their Collective Negotiations Agreements by failing to consult with the unions beforehand. “As the two banks merge operations, it is possible that certain jobs will be eliminated or reduced in size. It will negatively affect employee morale and job satisfaction. Changes in leadership, organizational structure, and company culture can create anxiety.

Villanueva says PBBM trips paying off in investments, jobs

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

DUE to reports that American firms will hire at least 75,000 Filipino seafarers in the next 3 to 4 years, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva lauded the efforts of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on finding employment opportunities for Filipinos in the President’s trips abroad.

“The President is indeed the best salesman of the country,” Villanueva said, adding that “we thank him for reaping investments and jobs for our people from his foreign trips.”

President Marcos was also able to yield $ 1.5 billion in investment pledges and 6,700 jobs in the Philippines on his latest trip to the United States.

“This is a welcome development, especially in addressing the unemployment in the country, which is at 4.8% equivalent to 2.47 million, as of February 2023,” Villanueva said.

Villanueva also said that Mr. Marcos’ attendance at the coronation of King Charles

III continues to put the Philippines in the conversation for investments and trade partnerships with other nations.

The government will continue to strengthen the economy and provide employment to the Filipinos.

At the same time, it would still embark on missions to look out into the world for opportunities that could bring stability and prosperity into the people’s lives,” he said.

Pushing for his Senate Bill No. 2035 that will establish the Trabaho Para sa Bayan (TPB) plan, the majority leader said the country needs to institutionalize more targeted policies to address the employment struggles of the people.

The measure aims to serve as the country’s long-term employment generation and recovery roadmap. The bill targets to provide the employment policy that is comprehensive, coherent, and future oriented, to be able to address the dynamic changes in the labor market.

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has named new appointees to several government agencies, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said.

According to the PCO, the following officials have been appointed effective April 28: Annabelle Ploteña as acting member of the Board of Directors of Southern Philippines Development Authority; Maria Lourdes Saluta as Director III of National Economic and Development Authority Tariff Commission; and Maria Blanca Kim Lokin as undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry

Also appointed were the following;

Eugenio Paguirigan as Director IV of the Department of Transportation’s Office for Transportation Security; Avelino Caraan Jr. as member representing the labor sector in the Department of Labor and Employment’s Technical Education and Skills Development Authority

THE privatization of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and other airports would not solve the worsening condition of these facilities, Senator Risa Hontiveros said on Sunday.

Instead of pushing for the airports’ privatization as proposed by fellow legislators, Hontiveros suggested that the government should focus on improving management and greater accountability of local airports.

“Privatization is not the correct prescription to solve the worsening problems of service within our airports," Hontiveros said in a news release.

Operations at NAIA and other local airports will never improve even if the private sector runs them unless management systems are reformed, she said.

Hontiveros issued the statement after some colleagues in the Senate brought up the idea of

Palace names new appointees to several key gov’t departments

Board; Shirley Vicoy-Yorong as member representing the labor sector in DOLE’s TESDA Board; Teodoro Gatchalian as undersecretary of the Department of Science and Technology; Romela Ratilla as Director IV of DOST; and Ronald Cabute as Director II of Department of Information and Communications Technology’s National Telecommunications Commission.

The PCO further said additional appointments include: Nelson Cañete, Director II of DICT’s NTC; Ma. Victoria Deypalubos as Director II of DICT’s NTC effective April 28; Anthony Alcantara as special envoy on transnational crime under the Office of the President; Michael Wesley Poa as undersecretary of the Department of Education; Sunshine Charry Fajarda as assistant secretary of DepEd; and lastly, Mohammed Hussein Pangandaman as administrator of the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan.

privatizing the airport.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri even suggested allowing a foreign firm to run the problematic airport. But the opposition solon disputed such a claim, adding that allowing international firms to manage the airport does not guarantee better services. Worse, they could bring an additional toll on the traveling public. She said well-maintained airports around the world like Doha’s Hamad International Airport, Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport, Korea’s Incheon International Airport, Paris’ Charles de Gaulle, and Istanbul Airport are all managed by their respective states.

“The majority of the best airports in the world remain state-owned. There are plenty of good practices in airport operations for us to emulate if the government is indeed serious about fixing our airports,” Hontiveros said.

‘Privatizing NAIA will not solve airport issues’ Solon files bill to hike incentives for DepEd teachers

The senator echoed the earlier call of House Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto and other officials for an immediate technical system audit of NAIA operations so the government can proactively identify and address its weaknesses.

Manila International Airport Authority officer-in-charge Bryan Co said in a statement Friday that with the assistance of power distributor Manila Electric Company (Meralco), the electrical audit of the NAIA Terminal 3 has started following an outage on May 1 that disrupted flights and affected about 9,300 passengers. Meralco said the outage was caused either by faulty wiring or short circuit, which resulted in a high amount of power current and fault indicator.

By Rio N. Araja

MAKATI City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. has filed a bill seeking to increase to P3,000 the annual World Teachers’ Day Incentive Benefit payable to every public school teacher employed by the Department of Education (DepEd).

Under House Bill No. 7840, the benefit would be bumped up from P1,000 to P3,000.

“Our bill merely seeks to augment the value of the WTDIB and make permanent via legislation the grant of the incentive benefit,” he said.

Campos is the House appropriations committee vice chairperson.

He invoked the mandate of the 1987 Constitution for the State “to ensure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available talents through adequate renumeration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment.”

At present, a public school teacher receives only P1,000 every year as his or her WTDIB.

The incentive benefit is currently being paid to them every Oct. 5, which is celebrated annually as World Teachers’ Day to pay tribute to those engaged in the teaching profession.

Public school teachers first enjoyed the WTDIB four years ago when Congress inserted the incentive benefit as an item in the 2019 national budget with an initial funding of P800 million.

This year, the incentive benefit has a funding of P900 million in the 2023 General Appropriations Law.

Congress has provided an aggregate of P4.4 billion in funding for the WTDIB since 2019, according to Campos.