For the first time in over a decade, the Philippine economy is on the upswing and the Filipino people are realizing their potential. The world watches as the Philippines moves forward. A business feature produced by Asia Business Channel and broadcast on Channel News Asia in 2013, this program discusses recent developments in the Southeast Asian republic along with the successes and challenges it faces halfway into the Aquino administration. CLICK to watch the video.

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has blacklisted 32 local cargo forwarders and their 28 foreign counterparts following rising complaints of undelivered balikbayan boxes.

The DTI on Oct. 16 identified the following local freight forwarders as having no accreditation with the department’s Philippine Shippers Bureau, and as having been the subject of complaints on undelivered packages:

-         2GO Express Inc.;

-         Aerosend

-         Alas Cargo Phil

-         Associated Consolidation Express

-         Dausan International Forwarder

-         FACF Parcel Delivery

-         FRS Philippine Freight Services Inc

-         International Cargo Forwarder

-         J.J. Transglobal Brokerage

-         JAR Cargo Forwarders

-         Mail Plus Cargo Carriers

-         Manila Broker

-         Maru Cargo Logistics Phil

-         R&M Cargo Services

-         Rodah Cargo Manila

-         South Atlantic Cargo Inc

-         Trico International Forwarding (Phils) Inc

-         VCG Customs Brokerage

The following companies, while accredited, have been blacklisted and subject to DTI show cause orders because of complaints on undelivered balikbayan boxes:

-         D’ Winner Logistics Phil. Inc

-         LCSN Express Movers Inc

-         MC Plus Inc

-         Transtech Global Phil Inc

-         Wide wide World Express Corp

On Oct. 31 the DTI blacklisted eight more Philippine firms:

-         ABS-CBN Global Cargo Corp

-         Gen Ex Cargo

-         Jonar Cargo

-         Joseph Glenn L. Galo

-         Pacific Logistics International Cargo

-         Pentfast

-         RDN Marketing & Cargo Forwarder

-         REN International Services

Accredited cargo forwarder RRG Freight Services, meanwhile, is now one of two companies that have been issued show cause orders by DTI-PSB due to complaints regarding balikbayan boxes.

The PSB also advised OFWs to stop doing business with the following foreign principal/cargo consolidators for reports of undelivered balikbayan boxes and other violations.

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

-         Al Rodah Marine Cargo

-         Cityline Cargo

-         Dagupan Cargo Packaging Services

-         Express Link Cargo Services

-         Smooth Express

United States of America (USA)

-         AAA Cargo Express Inc.

-         ABS-CBN Star Kargo

-         Aerosend

-         Alas Cargo

-         Associated Consolidations Express (ACE Cargo)

-         FRS Philippine Freight Services, Inc.

-         Shipping Express

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)

-         Cargo Net Worldwide Services formerly FAL-World Express Cargo

-         Fil Asia Cargo Forwarders Philippines

-         Global Cargo

-         RJM Freight Cargo Forwarders

-         WRJ Freight Forwarders (A Division of Al-Zagel Cargo)

Singapore:

-         Hagibis Express Pte. Ltd.

-         Maru Cargo Logistics (s) LLP

Ireland:

-         Maharlika Enterprise Cargo Services

-         SCRL Cargo

Other countries:

-         Bayanihan Express in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

-         Dausan International Forwarder in Australia

-         Ford Cargo Internationaal (FCI) in Hong Kong

On Oct. 31 the DTI added six more foreign principals/consolidators to the blacklist:

-         Jasim Yaseen Al-Delam Air Cargo Services (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)

-         Pacific Logistics International Cargo (Kuwait)

-         Philand Ynterlink Ltd (United Kingdom)

-         Pentagon Cargo Inc (United States of America)

-         REN International (United States of America)

-         Star Xpress Forwarders (United States of America)

“Overseas Filipino workers who will send their balikbayan boxes and their consignees in the Philippines should book their packages only with reliable and PSB-accredited freight forwarders and Philippine agents to ensure that their packages will reach their destinations,” said Victorio Mario Dimagiba, DTI-PSB director-in-charge, in a statement.

“Senders may verify the company name of the Philippine sea freight forwarder counterpart at www.dti.gov.ph, or they may visit our Philippine Consulate offices abroad,” he said.

Dimagiba said foreign principals and cargo consolidators overseas must have local counterparts that are accredited by the DTI-PSB if it is a sea cargo forwarder and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines if an air cargo forwarder.

He also warned cargo senders from abroad against very low door-to-door rates that some foreign principals offer. “With low rates, they [foreign principals] do not have enough funds to bear the cost of transporting cargoes, and they fail to remit delivery funds to their Philippine freight forwarders, causing the shipments to be abandoned at the ports and not being delivered to consignees,” the DTI official said.

“For consignees in the Philippines who have not received their packages from freight forwarders, they may contact DTI (02-751-3330) or go to PSB office to file an immediate claim or complaint,” he added.

On September 21, forty years ago, President Ferdinand E. Marcos declared martial law. For almost 13-and-a-half years afterwards, the country suffered terribly from a brutal and corrupt dictatorship. Among the victims of the grave violations of human rights under martial law were the following: 3,257 “salvaged” (summarily executed), 35,000 tortured, and 70,000 incarcerated, as documented by historian Alfred McCoy. READ FULL STORY

Speech delivered by President Benigno Aquino III at Euromoney’s Philippine Investment Forum, held on March 27, 2012 at the Manila Peninsula, Makati City.

Once upon a time, the consensus among you was that we were the sick man of Asia. The diagnosis for this illness was as simple as it seemed insurmountable: a lack of political will; an entrenched system of corruption that could not be weeded out; and a feeling of utter impossibility among Filipinos and their leaders alike.

Since I am addressing you at a time when Filipinos are gearing up for Holy Week, I hope you permit me to state in a biblical vein: all it took was faith-healing to invoke, in political terms, the biblical injunction from the Gospel of Luke chapter 4 verse 23: “Physician, Heal Thyself.”

Let no one doubt that we are doing the three things which were previously thought of as impossible: we are calling people to account; we are putting closure to the controversies that had sapped our institutions of their vigor and had diminished their legitimacy in the eyes of our countrymen; in other words, we are exercising political will. We have reformed the manner in which we allocate and dispense public funds; we have thrown the book at the thieves; and we are collecting what the government is due. That is how we are fighting corruption, and making a mark. We have fought the culture of naysaying and negativity, and have given a sense of empowerment to our people, replacing the hopelessness of the past with a steadfast commitment to building a society that works. We have put an end to business as usual and proclaimed a country open for real business

And this, simply, has done wonders for our economy. Two years ago, for example, none of us could imagine the Philippine Stock Exchange index breaking the 4,000 barrier. Now, we have breached not just 4,000, but 5,000 as well. The PSEi closed at another record high just eleven days ago at 5,145.89 points. For those of you keeping score: that’s 21 record highs in the 21 months of our administration.

In our relatively short time in office, a significant number of respected international organizations have also given us thumbs up signs. The World Economic Forum, for one, bumped the Philippines ten places up—from 85th to 75th—in their latest Competitiveness Index. The Japan External Trade Organization, after conducting a survey among companies in our region, named us the best place to do business in Asia-Oceania, whether in manufacturing or service. HSBC even recently predicted that, by the year 2050, we will be the sixteenth largest economy in the world. And these are only a few of the companies and organizations that have already changed their mind about the Philippines—and have been very vocal about it.

This renewed confidence from the global community has reflected itself in real pesos and centavos invested in the country. Since we took office in July of 2010, we have seen 449.7 billion pesos in investments in the Philippine Economic Zone Authority. This accounts for 22 percent of all investments in PEZA since it was established in 1995—seventeen years ago. Likewise, in 2011, investment promotion agency-approved foreign direct investments grew by 30.6 percent to 256.1 billion pesos—the highest recorded level in sixteen years.

We are also performing quite well in the bond market. In January of this year, we issued 1.5 billion dollars in global bonds with a coupon rate of five percent—the lowest for an Asian sovereign for that tenor, and at better rates than several other investment grade sovereigns like Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, and even some EU countries like Spain.

Might I add: all this is happening amidst global economic uncertainty. If these facts and figures tell us anything, it is that the Philippines’ success has been nothing less than heroic—that we have experienced high after high in our investment story.

So many people in government continue to work endless nights to make certain that we build on our momentum—that we continue along this path to progress.

Suffice to say: we are proud of the progress we have made, but we are not satisfied with just this. We Filipinos know just how much potential this country has; and we are working even longer nights to fulfill this potential.

So what’s next for the Philippines? The plan for this year involves focusing on three specific sectors—sectors that will have the largest impact on our economy, and in the lives of our people—that will create much-needed jobs in the timeliest manner, namely: agriculture, infrastructure, and tourism.

I have always maintained that our farmers should be given enough incentive to do their jobs well. Right now, while our farmers account for 33 percent of total employment, they only account for 13 percent of GDP. This isn’t right; and our administration fully intends to increase farmer productivity and help facilitate the trade of produce.

We have increased the budget of the Department of Agriculture by more than fifty percent to 53.3 billion pesos. The bulk of this money will go to more irrigation projects, more farm-to-market roads, and more buying posts—projects that will directly impact the lives of those who find their livelihoods in agriculture, and will move us closer to our goal of reaching rice self-sufficiency in 2013, which we believe extremely doable.

Our infrastructure programs have been getting a move on as well. As of the 15th of March, I am told that the Department of Public Works and Highways has bidded out nearly ninety percent of their 2,128 projects worth 63 billion pesos this year. 91% percent of these projects have already been issued notices to proceed; and we are confident that, very soon, we will reach 100 percent.

I am also happy to report that last week, that our administration has approved 133 billion pesos worth of projects for different sectors. Most prominent among them is the LRT Line 1 South Extension Project, worth 61.53 billion pesos. The plan is to extend LRT Line 1 by almost twelve kilometers, from Baclaran, through Paranaque and Las Pinas, to Bacoor, Cavite. I have full faith that Transportation and Communication Secretary Mar Roxas will have this extension operational at the soonest possible time. That, in a little while, we will be able to expand transportation, and open the gates a little wider between Metro Manila’s and Cavite’s economies.

Tourism is another industry that has made leaps and bounds. I’ve always said that tourism is a low-lying fruit for the Philippine economy that has long gone unpicked. But thanks to a re-energized Department of Tourism care of Secretary Mon Jimenez—and thanks to an excellent marketing campaign, coupled with a liberalized aviation industry—in January alone, the Philippines welcomed more than 400,000 visitors. This is the highest monthly visitor count in our history. And if we can sustain this, we are set to welcome almost 4.8 million visitors this year. This is really close to five million. We are still quite a way from our target of 10 million yearly visitors by 2016, but imagine: two years ago we were expecting just around three million visitors a year; and now there is the possibility of welcoming five million. We still have four years and three months left to reach our target—and we know that, each year, we can grow our number of visitors closer and closer to our goal.

From the beginning, the secret to our success has been simple: we want to make it easier for people to do business here; and that means creating a level playing field, curbing corruption, and eliminating inefficiencies. This explains many of our initiatives, particularly the Philippine Business Registry. Instead of our entrepreneurs running around from agency to agency just so they can set up shop here, we have given them a one-stop-shop, where they can transact with multiple government agencies at once. This reduces the time it takes to register a business from several days to just twenty to thirty minutes. More than that, it vastly reduces opportunities for corruption.

The bottom line here is: if we want businesses to set up shop here and create jobs for our people, we have to be competitive. We have to focus on industries where there are actual opportunities for mutual benefit. The world is getting increasingly smaller, and we find ourselves pitted against countries who have very competitive business propositions. We cannot compromise our position by making life more difficult for companies because of corruption or red tape. We cannot sacrifice the jobs created by these businesses, because it is our people who will take the brunt of the hit if these businesses choose to operate elsewhere. We need to continue fostering a good environment for business—one that is both stable and predictable. I assure everyone here today: this belief will always be a core principle of our administration; and I invite all of you to ride this wave of optimism early, and invest in our country, be it in agriculture, infrastructure, tourism, or any other sector. We are eager to work with all of you.

Investors have always been a significant component of our vision for this country. But perhaps we go by a more expansive definition of the word investor. While we value the confidence of potential investors; and while we value the businesses that have chosen to set up shop here; above all, we value those who have invested their lives, their work, and their families in this country—the Filipino people.

As their government, the people are our ultimate shareholders. And we are bound to work in their interest. This is the driving principle behind all our efforts to be competitive. At the end of the day, we want our economy’s growth to redound to better lives for people. We want to leave no one behind on the straight and narrow path to progress, because we know that the success of our story—of the Philippines’ story—is dependent on the success of each and every one of the characters who play a part in it: from the farmer who gets up before sunrise every day, to the men and women who clock into work at 9AM, to you, the investors who have placed your bets on the Philippines.

Thank you and good morning. May you have a productive forum.

By F Sionil Jose

In the past 100 years, three important events have tested us as a people — the revolution of 1896 and the Philippine-American War; the Japanese Occupation in 1942; and the declaration of martial law in 1972 by Ferdinand Marcos. We failed all three; in the process, after each climactic event, our moral fiber was frayed. READ FULL STORY

By Pepper Marcelo

Unknown to many, the Philippines is a major hub and outsourcing center of the global animation industry for decades. Local artists have literally had a hand in developing and producing world-renowned, beloved cartoons such as Scooby-Doo, The Jetsons, Popeye, X-Men and Dragon Ball Z.

Locally, animation is $105-million industry, with approximately 50 small and medium-sized animation studios employing some 5,000 people. Industry players are service providers, local sub-contractors and non-commercial producers. Specializing mostly in 2-D animation, the Philippines once controlled 90% of animation outsourcing in the world.

The country’s comparative advantages are many – cheaper production cost, the Filipinos’ proficiency in English, and understanding of American culture and nuance – which have attracted American clients such as Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, Hanna- Barbera, Marvel Comics, and the Cartoon Network.

“The Filipino is quite close to western culture, in terms of language, sense of humor – we’re able to capture those things more than our counterparts in the region,” says Miguel del Rosario, president and CEO of Toon City Animation, one of the country’s leading animation studios.

Operating for 15 years now, Toon City specializes in animation production services for feature animation, direct to video (DTV), TV series, and short programs for Walt Disney, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros. and Universal Studios, among others. Some of the popular programs they’ve worked on include Tom and Jerry, Curious George, Kim Possible, and Lilo and Stitch.

The company, with a staff of up to 1,000 animation artist and technicians, is housed in a huge 30,000-square-foot warehouse-like studio in Mandaluyong City in Manila. It offers complete production services, including traditional, hand-drawn 2-D animation, layout, animation, clean up, and inbetweening, computer generated and traditional background services, and digital ink paint.

“Our latest success is a preschool TV show, Curious George,” Del Rosario tells Planet Philippines in an interview. The program, based on the popular children’s book, has been nominated five times for the prestigious Emmy Award in the US, winning once. Unfortunately, the program is not televised locally. “The local networks don’t carry it,” he says.

With the rise of rise of computer-generated, three-dimensional animation (3-D), however, local animation companies have found it difficult to compete with other countries due to budgetary constraints. The necessary tools required to produce quality 3-D animation, principally the cost of the software, is beyond the budget of small and medium-sized local animation houses. Other Asian nations, like South Korea and India, have steadily lured away interest from local studios.

“As far as quality is concerned, we’re ranked way up there, [but] in terms of volume, unfortunately not, because Korea and India are there. India, because of the advent of CGI. They’re a technical people, so they know how to manipulate the computer, so they’re good in their discipline. They persevere in getting it right. What the Indians lack is in animation, meaning the movement of people, the expression. That is the advantage of the Filipino,” Del Rosario explains.

As a response to foreign competition, local animation companies have begun to ramp up their own 3D facilities, while still plying 2-D-style cartooning. Toon City itself is planning to hire more than 200 artists, animators and digital technicians this year to provide Flash and 3-D animation services for Disney and other major foreign film studios.

“As for Toon City, we have been a 2-D studio. We remain in that nice for a long time,” ads Del Rosario. “With the advent of CGI and 3-D, we thought it would be wise for us, business-wise, to grow in CGI. Our advantage is that we’re offering training to our 2-D artists to embrace CGI. If we perfect this, I think we’ll have a winning combination.”

The global economic recession of 2008 hit the local industry hard. Although Toon City had contracts to finish that year, by 2010, overseas-based animation studios were eventually affected as well. “Animation was hit, so we had to retrench. It was a dry spell for us,” says Del Rosario. Toon City had to scale back to a minimal “skeleton crew,” but has been gradually building back its staff since last year. But it had difficulty retraining its staff, since many of the old ones had left for other jobs, mostly in call centers.

Del Rosario says the government must be take a more active role building infrastructure, providing funding and supporting animation in schools. “In Korea, the reason why animation is big is because they have a domestic market. In the Philippines, it’s not much,” he says.

Consequently, he continues, because the market is big in Korea, their artists and animators have the necessary training and skills, and there are enough funds and resources to service global clients. “Unfortunately, The Philippines has no government program to help promote animation, but that’s something we would like to work on.”

To be sure, there have been remarkable strides in the local scene as evidenced by the production of Urduja, a traditional, hand-drawn 2-D feature, and RPG Metanoia, a full-length 3-D CGI film. Local animation companies, however, still have a long way to go, particularly in terms of training and upgrading the skills of local animators to make them up to par with current techniques and technology in developed countries.

Foreign companies have made available animation courses in local schools. La Consolacion College Manila (LCCM), for example, offers a two-year, 3D digital animation course related to computer programming, thanks to Digimation UK, an animation school based in Great Britain.

PHINMA Properties Holdings Corporation, the mother company of Toon City, is introducing animation courses in some of the schools it owns and operates, which include the University of Pangasinan, Auraullo University in Nueva Ecija, Cagayan de Oro College, and the University of Iloilo.

Del Rosario hopes animation becomes the next big industry, akin to call centers and other BPOs (business process outsourcing companies). “I hope animation makes the Philippines a creative capital of the world, and there’s no reason why not. We have fashion designers, car designers – how I wish Filipinos could be recognized. I hope the Philippines could be a significant player.”

How do we move our government leaders and other public servants so they may give their best and work very hard every day until they find the solution to our nation’s ills? READ FULL STORY

By KC M. Abalos

When we post the highlights of our days online, we are informing the whole world. Yes, the whole world. Such is the power of the internet. So when Jay Jaboneta posted a status on the most popular social networking site, Facebook, about a story which tugged at his heart, the whole world listened or read and commented and donated.

When we like, comment or post anything on our wall, we rarely think about the consequences of our virtual actions. Jay is the New Media Head under the Presidential Communications Operations Office which is responsible for leading the team that manages President Noynoy Aquino’s official website and Social Media presence. So yes, one can say that Jay is in the social networking business. It is no wonder then that it is the tool that he utilized to make it all happen.

“I am really passionate about using social media or digital tools that impact communities and make a difference for our country and Filipinos everywhere,” Jay says.

Of course, he never imagined that a simple Facebook post can really make a significant impact on people’s lives.

Post it

But let us begin at the very beginning. Jay was at the Mindanao Blogging Summit last October 2010 when he heard a story about a bunch of kids in Mampang, Layag-Layag in Zamboanga City who literally wades their way across a shallow body of water every day to get to Talon-Talong Elementary School. Every day.

He relates: “I was really touched by the story.  We often hear of affluent kids in Manila who skip school to go swimming and here were kids who go swimming to go to school.  They are the true heroes of this story.  I didn’t expect anything to happen. I just wanted to share it.”

And share it he did. It wasn’t even that difficult a process. Instead of writing about what he had for breakfast that morning or posting some funny video, Jay posted about the Zamboanga children who inspired him to do something, anything. And the internet being the way it is, no one can really predict where one click can lead.

“We just started posting a call for donations in our Facebook account.  Surprisingly, a community of my friends pitched in to raise funds and build them a boat,” he shares eagerly.

Friends pitch in

Having lots of friends on any social networking site is usually a point of pride for some and sometimes even becomes a competitive thing among friends. But in Jay’s case having lots of friends resulted in more people wanting to get involved and simply wanting to help. Because more often than not, people do want to reach out no matter how little they themselves have in terms of material possessions. But because of the lack of information, they don’t really know where to begin in how they can share a part of themselves to others in their community. Social networking sites serve a big role in connecting people in general—why not connect for the purpose of really helping out?

The trend is catching. When the Ondoy tragedy happened, people went online to see how they can help others who were not as fortunate as they were. When the tsunami struck Japan, even online games did their bit. One can buy a virtual plant or animal, for example, and the proceeds will go to organizations which helped the victims.

The internet is a cheap way of communicating and it is so easy to organize and mobilize people through blogs, SNS (Social Networking Sites), messaging, and the like. It is no wonder then that it is an essential tool for literally and figuratively reaching out to others.

New hope

After posting a simple status, the boat project snowballed. Jay’s post paved the way for the Zamboanga Funds for Little Kids. They were able to raise US$1,600, more than enough for a new school boat.

Last March 27, Jay saw and met the community he was able to help for the first time when they turned over Bagong Pag-Asa or New Hope, the customized boat they built for the kids. The boat had to be built specifically for their community since the children live in an islet where mangroves make it difficult for larger water vessels to travel in. Needless to say, the community was grateful.

“They welcomed us with open arms and they are also part of the solution by volunteering to maintain the boat and spend for its upkeep,” Jay recalls the experience.

As for the people who have helped Jay, his own friends and network buddies, “they also felt surprised that our little fundraising campaign in Facebook helped built a boat for the little kids who swim to school. They now want to help more. Helping is really easy. We just have to keep trying.  Pray. Pursue. Persevere.”

He continues, “We didn’t really know we will end up building a boat and now we’ve raised enough to build two more boats!”

More projects

Because of its unexpected success, there are now more projects on the way. The group—yes they are now a group and you can join them via Facebook—is in the process of helping the kids’ parents improve their seaweed farming operations that is their main livelihood.  According to Jay, there are about 500 families living on houses on stilts in Layag-Layag and the group would like to help them provide for their families and also keep their projects environment-friendly as they live in a mangrove area.

“We have connected with other individuals and groups who are willing to provide scholarships for the kids, school supplies and books,” he shares.

Last May, Jay was featured on Facebook Live, the official live streaming channel of the popular networking site. Jay was interviewed by the Facebook team because of their group’s inspiring story. Such stories are indeed amazing. Even those who were involved are surprised that doing the littlest thing can actually make a world of difference.

“It really gave me a great sense of fulfillment that a single Facebook post can make a difference like this.  We’ve given the community hope.   When I went to sleep that night, it was as if I saw God smile back at me.”

If God had a Facebook page, we’re pretty sure He is “liking” Jay and all his friends.

By Jason Gutierrez                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Agence France-Presse

Benigno Aquino III won the Philippine presidency on a battle cry to crush corruption and ease deep poverty, but a year into his term he is seen by many to be straining under the weight of his own promises.

At a creek-side slum in the outskirts of Manila’s financial district where Aquino was hugely popular during last year’s election, residents said his vow to lift them out of their misery appeared to have fallen by the wayside.

“We thought we had found a savior, but one year after we voted for him to win, what do we have? Nothing,” said Jennifer San Gaspar, a 36-year-old mother of nine children.

San Gaspar said she remained an Aquino supporter until a few months ago when she and her neighbors were turned away from a government welfare scheme that distributes billions of pesos to poor families on condition they get health checkups and the children go to school.

“They did not tell us why we were disqualified, the social worker who interviewed us never came back,” she said. “So here we are, nothing has changed. We are still poor.”

San Gaspar’s sentiment is apparently shared by many across the impoverished nation as the 51-year-old bachelor president marked 12 months in office last June 30 with his popularity still high but dropping steadily.

After recording the biggest landslide win in Philippine election history, Aquino’s popularity rating dropped from a peak of 74 percent in November to 64 percent in June, pollster Social Weather Stations said.

While his ratings are still relatively strong, analysts said the slide reflected disappointment that he had not done more to fulfill his chief campaign promises of eradicating corruption and ending poverty.

Nevertheless, they pointed out that it was impossible for anyone to quickly fix the enormous economic and corruption problems that festered under his predecessor, Gloria Arroyo, during her nine years in power.

“The bar was set very high for him, and from the very start the cards were stacked against him,” said Antonio Contreras, a political scientist at Manila’s De La Salle University. “He was painted as a symbol of clean government, a hope for a country after a disastrous administration.”

Contreras said that while he was disappointed overall with Aquino’s first-year performance, the president had at least brought back a sense of ethics and professionalism in public service.

Aquino remains almost unanimously regarded as personally incorruptible and voters feel comfortable he will not use his six years in power to build a personal fortune.

This holds particular importance in the Philippines where leaders from national to village level have for decades sought to pilfer state coffers for personal benefit.

Global corruption watchdog Transparency International, which ranks the Philippines as the 44th most country in the world, rated his administration’s first-year efforts an eight out 10.

He has also proved his leadership mettle for many by standing up to the powerful Roman Catholic Church and backing a controversial reproductive health bill that seeks to promote the use of contraceptives for the poor.

On the economic front, Aquino’s team has so far been given credit as solid managers, with global rating agencies Fitch and Moody’s recently upgrading their investment outlooks for the Philippines.

Economic growth has slowed but remained strong with an expansion of 4.9 percent in the first quarter, while two interest rate hikes have for now put the brakes on inflation.

Nevertheless, Contreras and other analysts said Aquino had not yet started to tackle the roots of the country’s corruption and poverty problems, and those were the issues he would ultimately be judged on.

“All he has done is to start off his year with symbolic stuff, crushing corruption, but nothing really concrete yet,” Contreras said.

Political analyst Ramon Casiple said the public should have patience and realize that a president’s first 12 months in office were a learning curve, a time to consolidate power and lay the foundations for the next five years.

“However, people will want to see real progress from the second year,” said Casiple, executive director of Manila-based think-tank Institute for Political and Electoral Reform, giving Aquino a pass mark of six out of 10.

“What people are waiting for is a real programmed of governance. He needs to focus.”

By Pepper Marcelo

With rising oil prices and worsening air pollution, Filipinos are looking into clean and green technology as the only viable option for the country’s transport industry. This is gladly manifested in the people’s growing fascination with and acceptance of the electric jeepney, or e-jeepney, that environmentally-friendly version of the iconic, World War II-era public vehicle.

Spearheading the move to propagate the e-jeepney is the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (iCSC), a non-government, non-profit organization working on sustainable energy solutions and fair climate policy. iCSC is the proponent of the pioneering Climate-Friendly Cities (CFC) initiative, which integrates waste management, energy generation and sustainable transport programs for sustainable, climate-resilient city and community development.

The e-jeepney is a central part of the CFC initiative. After the e-jeepney’s debut in the Makati financial district in 2007, iCSC has widened the deployment of electric public utility vehicle transport alternatives in the country through the development of eTrike, eQuad and eCoach applications as well as different e-jeepney models.

“We chose the electric jeepney not because we’re fixated with jeepneys, but because we wanted to start with something that makes us go the distance. That means choosing a vehicle that has iconic status in the minds of public, realizing that there could be other applications in tricycles and buses,” says Red Constantino, iCSC Executive Director Red Constantino.

He adds: “Compared to private vehicles, mass transport by itself – whether it be rail or individual vehicles like the jeepney – already reduces pollution. But of course, they even out because most of the jeepneys in Manila are terribly inefficient, which also means they produce a lot of pollution.”

iCSC’s studies have shown that every liter of diesel avoided results in a reduction of 3,140 grams of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and 16 grams of NOx (nitrous oxide) that are released to the atmosphere. At excessive levels, these harmful emissions could result in climate change that has recently been blamed for the typhoons and floods that wreak untold havoc and destruction all over the world.

iCSC believes that sustainable transport should not be driven by technology, but by city planning and systems. In other words, their initiative is more than about the inventions themselves, but rather their application.

E-jeepneys comprise one-third of a far bigger project in iCSC’s Climate Friendly Cities Program; the other two being a “biodigester” that is fed with biodegradable solid waste and decomposes it into gas, as well as a depot and terminal that transforms the gas into electricity which then powers the public vehicles.

Already, more than 30 e-jeepneys are operating in Makati City and Puerto Princesa City in Palawan. Launched in July 2007, the Makati Green Route (MGR) project is expected to help reduce noise and air pollution in the country’s central financial district.

The e-jeepney is powered by lead acid batteries which takes approximately eight hours to charge. It can run for about 65 kilometers at a maximum speed of 35-40 kph after every full charge. Though it might seem slow, Constantino argues that speed is relative, especially commuting within a typically congested area.

“Say you live in Metro Manila and drive a Porsche or the latest Audi. I drive an e-jeepney, with a maximum speed of 40 kph. Let’s go out at the same time, 8 a.m. to go to Makati. I might even get there before you if I drive well,” he points out.

E-jeepneys can comfortably seat 14 passengers and have a dwell time of only 10 seconds per stop, so as not to contribute to traffic. Aside from being emission-free, the e-jeepney offers a far more comfortable ride because it has less noise and vibration than the traditional jeepney.

“It’s very easy to ride. Because it’s lighter, the jeepney drivers who are so used to the heavy diesel engines will feel a little weird at first, but it only takes a short while to get used to it,” said Panch Puckett, president of Solar Electric Co., manufacturer of the lead acid batteries that power e-jeepneys, at the launch of Makati’s MGR project.

“You do not hear the engine running. It’s very silent and there’s even a radio for you to check if it’s on,” noted Joey Salgado, Makati city’s information and community relations department chief, on the same occasion.

As with any new and game-changing concepts and projects, e-jeepneys face a number of obstacles. For one, there is the matter of numerous administrative and bureaucratic regulations in registering them. “It took us two years just to get registration plates because the papers required [the vehicle] to have a tailpipe and an engine number, which electric vehicles don’t have,” Constantino says.

Ultimately, iCSC worked patiently with government to come up with regulations catering to the new model. “We started with classification categorizing them as low-speed vehicles. That’s just the start, because there are a whole lot of regulations that need to be revised over time,” he adds.

E-jeepneys also carry an enormous tag price that many divers and operators may scoff at: ranging from Php350,000 to 400,000. But Constantino argues that over time the savings of switching to electric will eventually add up. “A typical driver would be paying Php450 in gas for every 100 kilometers. For electric jeepneys, you only pay Php150. That’s the savings you get.”

He adds: “People have grown used to a certain way of dong things. Economics are skewed towards things that harm us. For instance, when you drive a vehicle, the big costs are off the books – health costs, the pollution, the noise, fuel price fluctuations. Maintenance is staggering. People are so used to things that are artificially cheap, because the companies that involved in these efforts have passed on the costs to the consumer.”

Constantino emphasizes that the e-jeepney should not solely be looked at as an environmental option, but a financial opportunity that could provide great dividends to businesses and the government willing to invest in a sustainable public transport.

“We’re trying to focus on telling people we have economic alternatives. Green alternatives, that’s an add-on. Even though we’re an institute for climate change, we would like these transport options to be seen as making commercial sense. If it helps the environment, that’s a bonus, he says”

He adds that utilizing the new technology can potentially benefit many sectors of society. “It can boost income in the locality, whether it be tourism, or a better workplace for professionals and working class Filipinos.”

Now more than ever, eco-friendly vehicles such as the e-jeepney are the “steady green hand” that can confront the escalating problems of a “jittery oil market,” Constantino concludes. “We face a future that is more constrained. With the kind of resiliency a locality needs in the face of uncertainty like energy security, we feel that the time of electric-powered vehicles has come.”