Groups lift transport strike, LTFRB pushes talks B L S. M @lorenzmarasigan
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RANSPORT groups Manibela and Piston decided on Wednesday to cut short their supposed weeklong strike after they received a “commitment” from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that the government will review and revise the Public Utility Vehicles Modernization Program (PUVMP). “We are not against the modernization program, but we hope that this will be implemented in a manner that does not leave anyone behind—humane and just. We will hold President Marcos Jr. to his commitment that the government is open to discuss and revise the
implementation of the PUVMP to ensure that the livelihood of our PUV drivers and operators will not be disrupted. For this, our group has decided to stop the transport strike together with Piston and ply our routes again starting tomorrow,” Manibela Chairman Mar Valbuena said. Manibela and Piston was supposed to conduct a weeklong strike starting Monday in protest of the PUVMP, particularly its features on consolidated franchising, the limited choices of suppliers for “modern” jeepneys, and the financing terms for drivers repaying bank loans for the vehicles. Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Teofilo E. Guadiz III wel-
comed the decision of transport groups, as this will “benefit commuters who were likewise deeply affected” by the two-day strike. “We have never wavered in asking our friends from Manibela and Piston to sit down with us, to thresh out their concerns about the PUVMP and the modernization of the public transportation industry. We are glad they listened to our President,” Guadiz said. He added that Manibela and Piston can take this “opportune time to finally sit down and help each other come up with an effective public transportation modernization program that is responsive and inclusive not only of their needs but also that of the commuting public, who will ultimately ben-
efit from a modernized, progressive, efficient, comfortable and safe commuting experience.” Officially introduced in 2017, the PUVMP is a 10-point program that ultimately involves the phaseout of the old PUVs to make way for more modern and environmentally-friendly vehicles. While its proponents say enough time has been given the sector since 2017, the fact is that the pandemic disrupted the transport sector, throwing tens of thousands of drivers out of jobs amid the lockdowns. One crucial step toward the vision for transitioning from old PUVs to modern, clean ones, is the consolidation of individual fran-
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Thursday, March 9, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 145
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GOLD PRICES, DEBT PULL ■
P. | | 7 DAYS A WEEK
$ RESERVES BELOW $100B B C U. O
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@caiordinario
OWER gold prices in the international market as well as the government’s debt payments pulled down gross international reserves (GIR) to below $100 billion in February, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The BSP’s preliminary data showed the country’s GIR settling at $99.3 billion at the end of February 2023 from the $100.7 billion in January 2023. The GIR was at $107.8 billion in February 2022. The BSP’s reserve assets consist of foreign investments, gold, foreign exchange, reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and special drawing rights. “The month-on-month decrease in the GIR level reflected mainly the National Government’s [NG] net foreign currency withdrawals from its deposits with the BSP to settle its foreign currency debt obligations and pay for its various expenditures, and downward adjustments in the value of the BSP’s gold holdings due to the decrease in the price of gold in the international market,” BSP explained. The latest GIR level, BSP said, represented a more than adequate external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.5 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. GIR is deemed adequate if it can finance at least three months’ worth of the country’s imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. Further, BSP said the GIR in February is 6.1 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.1 times based on residual maturity. The BSP said the net international reserves, which refers to the difference between the BSP’s reserve assets or GIR and reserve S “G,” A
READY TO BREAK THE CODE
SM Supermalls President Steven T. Tan joins Philippine Commission on Women Executive Director Atty. Kristine Yuzon-Chaves, Philippine Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, UN Resident Coordinator Mr. Gustavo Gonzalez, and UN Women Philippines DaCountry Programme Manager Ms. Lenlen Mesina are seen during the International Women's Day event at the SM Aura Premier Samsung Hall on Wednesday. With them are French Embassy’s Ines Ferrer, European Union’s Stephanie Carette, Canadian Embassy’s John Lok, British Embassy Manila’s Iain Cox, Hungarian Embassy’s Ambassador H.E. Dr. Titanilla Toth, Argentinian Embassy’s Minister Plenipotentiary Andrea Repetti, Japanese Embassy’s Minister Nihei Daisuke and first Secretary Kanno Chihiro. The whole-day event titled “Breaking the Code: Equality for All Through Technology and Innovation,” puts the spotlight on bridging the digital gender gap and promoting equality for girls and women in digital education and technology sectors. SM SUPERMALLS
BETTER ENERCON DRIVE TO CUT P91-B UTILITIES, FUEL BILL OF GOVT–RECTO B J M N. D C @joveemarie
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O help reduce power demand nationwide even as the government’s utilities costs are surging, a leader of the House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the Marcos administration to relaunch a better version of the “enercon campaign” implemented in the 1970s. Surging inflation or not, the government’s P91-billion annual utilities and fuel bill should prompt President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to relaunch a better version of his father’s 1970s “enercon cam-
paign,” according to House Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto. On Tuesday, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno proposed measures to address high inflation. Part of the proposal was to change the work schedule for government workers to a 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. shift and to maintain the temperature in public offices to 25 Celsius to dampen power demand nationwide. If Marcos wants tips on how to implement a campaign of recent vintage, Recto said in a statement he can get them from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo whose two orders in 2004 successfully
pared down electricity use in government offices. “It should be comprehensive. A national framework of which a four-day workweek, as proposed by the Finance secretary, is but one component,” Recto said. “Economics and environment should be the driving force behind the campaign. For the people to support it, it should be framed as saving money and saving the Earth at the same time,” he said. In 2019, Recto said before the pandemic “turned the lights off ” in public buildings, the govS “E,” A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES US 55.0810 ■ JAPAN 0.4017 ■ UK 65.1718 ■ HK 7.0170 ■ SINGAPORE 40.6772 ■ AUSTRALIA 36.2543 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 14.6750 ■ EU 58.1105 ■ KOREA 0.0418 ■ CHINA 7.8997 Source: BSP (March 8, 2023)