Leyte Agri stops producing bio-fuel

THE high cost of molasses has forced Leyte Agri Corp. (LAC) to temporarily stop its production of bio-ethanol which is a suitable alternative to gasoline. LAC Chief Operations Officer Ruben Villanueva said planters prefer to convert their canes to sugar due to the comparatively higher buying price from sugar mills at P2,000 per 50 kgs. compared to LAC’s P1,600, 

Aside from the high cost of molasses, a major raw material for ethanol production, competition from imported ethanol also forced LAC to stop its production. “The government has failed to impose 20% tariff on ethanol and the local industry has been affected by this situation. I appeal to the national government to regulate the importation of ethanol and use molasses price as price index,” he adds.

Villanueva also said they stand to lose P45-50 million annually if they continue with their bio-ethanol production. “Bio-fuel industry has some potential but not today; maybe in the future. Unless cane production and efficiency increase, we cannot compete with imported ethanol,” Villanueva explained.

LAC’s P35 million facility in Ipil, this city previously produced 10,000 liters per day, though it has the capacity to produce 15,000-20,000 liters per day. Villanueva clarified however that being a small manufacturer of bio-ethanol, LAC does not reflect the problems of the big players in the industry.

Two other ethanol plants, San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. in San Carlos and Roxol Bioenergy Corp. in La Carlota, both in Negros Occidental, have also stopped producing ethanol Both plants have the capacity to produce 30 million liter annually.

In the meantime that LAC has stopped its bio-ethanol production, the plant continues to produce ethyl alcohol for the denatured market. “We can still revive our bio-ethanol production if it becomes viable this year,” Villanueva said. “We just need adequate support from government.” He also said the Bio-fuels Law of 2006 should be fully implemented which calls for a mandatory mixing of 5% ethanol in gasoline in the first four years, to be increased to 10% thereafter. By Reyan L. Arinto

(West Leyte Weekly Express, Jan. 10-16, 2011)

CA boosts Ormoc's protest against water extraction by LMC

by Felix N. Codilla III

THE Court of Appeals (CA) 19^th Division annulled the order of the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) to deny the opposition of the local government unit (LGU) of Ormoc on the Water Permit Application (WPA) of Lide Management Corp. (LMC) on technical grounds.

In a 14-page order decision handed down on Dec. 15 and signed by Chairperson Portia Aliño-Hormachuelos, and concurred by Associate Justices Edwin D. Sorongon and Socorro B. Inting, the CA lambasted the NWRB for abusing its discretion “in blindly adhering to technical rules of procedure by dismissing outright said petition (of the LGU).”

The case began when LMC filed WPA Nos. 38108-38111 on Jul. 3, 2003. The application seeks to draw an additional 262 liters per second (lps) of water from Ormoc on top of the 254 lps it already extracts or a total of 516 lps. As the administrator of Leyte Industrial Development Estate (Lide), LMC supplies water to the industrial locators of Lide in Isabel town 47 kms. away.

The Ormoc LGU opposed the WPA based on environmental concerns through Resolution No. 2003-111 which the 9^th Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP). However, the NWRB took more than a year to answer the SP resolution and advised Mayor Eric C. Codilla to file a formal complaint.

The LGU sought three extensions of time to file the complaint. It also requested for copies of WPA Nos. 38018-38111 along with supporting documents so it could prepare an intelligent complaint. But instead of granting the LGU’s request for copies of the WPA, the NWRB issued an order on June 6, 2005 denying the opposition.

The NWRB cited sec. 9 of the Water Code’s Implementing Rules and Regulations which grants 60 days to a protestant of a WPA to file the protest. “Worthy to note is the fact that two years had elapsed since the filing thereof and no formal opposition was filed on the subject applications,” the order read.

The LGU filed a motion for reconsideration which the NWRB denied on Oct. 10, 2005 saying the LGU did not present new. The case consequently reached the CA. According to the CA, the NWRB erred in saying that the LGU did not file a timely protest, considering it disregarded Resolution No. 2003-111 of the 9^th SP.

It further criticized NWRB for ignoring the LGU’s request for a copy of the WPA with supporting documents and for that, the “petitioner was denied its fundamental right to due process.” The CA also enjoined NWRB from issuing WPA nos. 38108-38111.

(West Leyte Weekly Express, Jan. 10-16, 2011)

Court annuls NWRB order

I CAME across the decision of the Court of Appeals on the controversial water permit application of Lide Management Corp. (LMC) which the National Water Resources Board having granted the same allows LMC to extract groundwater from the aquifers in Brgys. Salvacion and Sto. Niño, both situated within the domain of the City of Ormoc. 

I always thought something was wrong with the NWRB’s decision to grant the application. More than enough was submitted to challenge the WPA by the City. An excerpt of the opposition passed by the Sangguniang Panglungsod unveils the destructive outcome, viz:

First, over-pumping of the groundwater from the aquifer will adversely affect the level of aquifer in the area and the runaway of Ormoc Airport.

Secondly, if new WPA is accepted, chances are the groundwater of Ormoc will be seriously depleted, endangering the lives of the inhabitants.

Thirdly, to draw another 262 liters per second (lps) would bring the total extraction to about 516 lps, even more than the total demand of the service areas of the City’s Waterworks System for the next 15 years.

The NWRB in its earlier decision on the protest stressed that it was filed out of time since two years had elapsed since the filing of the application way back March 12, 2003 and no formal opposition was filed on the subject WPA. As disclosed by the records of NWRB, it advised the City to file a verified complaint within 10 days from receipt of the order or until Feb. 24, 2005.

Notwithstanding, instead, a series of requests for extension of time to file the complaint was submitted stating its valid and justifiable grounds until an order of NWRB denying the City’s request for extension was issued and consequently gave due course to the WPA of LMC. The board also vehemently denied the motion for reconsideration as stated in its order dated Oct. 10, 2005. Hence, the petition for Certiorari, Prohibition and Mandamus, and the appellate court ruled in favor of the City of Ormoc.

It is noteworthy to say and as evidenced by the intent of the City to contest the extraction that the Court was correct in its finding that there was indeed a grave abuse of discretion committed by NWRB when it denied the City of its right to oppose solely on technicalities.

The former, as pointed out by the appellate court, should have instead evaluated the merits of the protest rather than dismissing on mere procedural lapses. As further stressed out by the court, the City has actually filed an initiatory protest as contained in resolution 2003-111 of the Sangguniang Panglungsod and the denial of it is a blatant violation to due process of law.

Be it noted that when the City filed its motion for reconsideration, it further requested that the city be furnished pertinent documents indispensable for the construction of its intelligent protest which NWRB failed to grant the same. Consequently, the court finds it in violation of the right to access of public records as mandated by the Constitution itself. Upon considering the facts and the law, the court had proclaimed to annul and set aside the assailed order of NWRB.

With this recent development, it bears stressing that I was correct in observing that something was wrong with the order of the Board. The latest update of the case has given away the triumph of the City of regulating the use of water resources in pursuit of preventing any detrimental effect not only to the affected area but to the community as well.

As I understand, this controversy predicated Tax Ordinance No. 96-01 which imposed a specific tax on the extraction of subterranean water within the territorial jurisdiction of Ormoc for commercial and/or industrial purposes, prompting Leyte Industrial Development Estate to question the validity of the same.

This, however was declared invalid, ineffective and unconstitutional by the Department of justice. In a separate occasion, the City enacted Ordinance No. 149, this time imposing a regulatory fee on the extraction of water in Ormoc City. A portion of such ordinance as herein provided requires persons who intend to extract or mine from the City of Ormoc to register with the City Waterworks office for monitoring purposes subject to the payment of fees pursuant to the provisions in section 8b of Tax Ordinance no. 96-01. With that, LMC continuously questioned the same.

A perusal on the pronouncement of the honorable court of appeals reveals that NWRB acted misguidedly on the mandates of the law when it denied the City’s right to due process of law, or may have been ignorant of the law so to speak, by standing its decision on procedural law rather than considering the merits of the complaint of the City.

Jurisprudence dictates that due process consists of substantial due process and procedural due process. Denial of any of the two renders a decision a patent nullity. Furthermore, there is no complete disposition of a case absent a discussion of factual and legal issues.

Upon order of the Court of Appeals contained in the dispositive portion of the decision enjoining the NWRB from issuing the Water Permit Application of LMC, the City of Ormoc has its chances of continuing its battle of protesting the WPA be it on environmental and other reasonable justifications. The clash between the two parties is not yet over and definitely the bout will start all over again and this time, a new set of intelligent protests and defenses will be opened for argument.

(West Leyte Weekly Express; Jan. 10-16, 2011)

SP asks DOTC to dismantle antenna tower at gov't center

by Rommel Quilantang

THE City Council passed a resolution this week requesting the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) to remove the communication antenna tower at the abandoned DOTC building in Anubing cor. Narra Sts. at the Government Center.

Authored by Councilor Jose C. Alfaro Jr., chairman of the committee on public safety, the resolution states that the antenna poses as a traffic hazard considering some of its guy wires are fastened at the sidewalk across Narra St., thereby compromising the safety of motorists that are increasing in number now that the New City Hall is fully operational.

(West Leyte Weekly Express, Jan. 10-16, 2011)

Why the Church is against family planning

(Continued from last issue)

WHAT is infallibility of the pope? According to Catholic dogma, the pope is God's representative on earth and God guides him as he cares for His flock. When the pope formulates a doctrine, he is simply transmitting this dogma on God's behalf. Therefore, the teaching cannot possibly be in error. Thus, the pope's teachings are absolute, final and infallible.

Such an arrangement placed enormous control and power in the hands of the pope over hundreds of millions of Catholics all over the world. The power and control of the Vatican extends not only across the national borders (Italy), it also went even beyond the borders to every side of the globe.

Even though the Pope could no longer control the laity by means of its governance as it had in the Papal States which would later become Italy, the Holy See could exercise control directly by adopting a policy of psychological coercion founded on a new doctrine: papal infallibility.

This was a brilliant concept and it worked for a century. But since its introduction in 1870, the Catholic intelligentsia, among them theologians, historians and bishops, recognized that at some point in the future, this principle would lead to self-destruction of the institution. Times were certain to change and in unpredictable ways.

They were convinced that one day, encumbered by pope’s unchangeable position, the Church would find itself down a blind alley from which there would be no escape and faced with inevitable self-destruction as a result of a grave loss of credibility. These distinguished scholars were strongly opposed to this principle, and as a consequence, many of them left the Church. The blind alley turned out to be the issue of birth control—contraception and abortion.

Since the adoption of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae (Pope Paul VI, July 25, 1968), there has been a hemorrhage in the Church's credibility. Humanae Vitae ruled out any change of the Church's position on artificial birth control for all time. However, it did allow natural birth control as the only method available to married couples. It must be understood that prior to the encyclical Humanae Vitae, even natural birth control was not allowed by the popes.

The proponents of papal infallibility could not imagine the population explosion of the last half of this century. In the late 20^th century Catholic Scholars and the critics argued: “We find it hard to believe in those who claim moral leadership while implacably resisting any serious solutions to the population problem worldwide. Just as its critics (in 1870) had predicted, institutional self-destruction is now well under way. But, as it stands now, the Church cannot change its position on birth control without undermining all of its dogma. The Vatican is now obliged to protect the fundamental doctrine of papal infallibility at all costs.”

Self-destruction as a result of loss of credibility is underway but the hemorrhage is progressing slowly. Every pope remains hopeful he can turn this around. He is convinced that if he changes the Church's position on birth control and destroys the principle of infallibility, self-destruction will be very swift. We know that this matter was the focus of his attention for several years in the 1960s.
(West Leyte Weekly Express Jan. 10-16, 2011)

Mga NGOs ug kooperatiba sa Ormoc

DILI malalis ang dakung natampo sa mga kooperatiba ug NGO sa panginabuhi ug pagkabutang sa ubay-ubay tang kaigsoonan dili lang dinhi sa pinangga tang dakbayan kun dili sa ubang syudad, munisipyo ug probinsya. Apan yuna pa, dili hinoon ang tanang NGO ug kooperatiba ang malampuson ug sinserong mituman sa ilang tagsa-tagsa ka mission and vision.

Duna hinooy ubang kooperatiba ug NGO nga human sa ilang pagpanumpa sa katungdanan sa ilang opisyales, ug ato usab nabatian nga human makadawat og daku-dakung kantidad sa salapi gikan sa laing NGO sa gawas sa nasud, kalit kining nahilum ug wala na nato hibati-i ang ilang kalihokan.

Si Mr. Lungsuranon gibati’g kasibut paghisgot niini human nako ikahinabi ang pipila ka higala nga matud pa nila dili na sila modali-dali pag-apil og mga NGO ug kooperatiba tungod sa ilang dili maayong salapi. Karon wala na sila makasabut kun buhi o patay na ba ang ilang grupo.

Kita dinhi sa Ormoc atong dakung kalipay nga duna tay kooperatiba nga takus tang ikapasigarbo – ang Ormoc Community Credit Cooperative Inc. (Occci). Ang Occci atong ikatanding sa usa ka gamay nga kahoy nga gialimahan sa makugihong mga kamot sa iyang mga miyembro, gibisibisan sa tumang pagmahal. Kini mitubo ug nanalingsing, ug ang iyang mga sanga miabot na sa ubang munisipyo, syudad ug probinsya.

Sa mga opisyales, board of directors ug mga miyembro sa Occci, si Mr. Lungsoranon mokuyog sa baga-baga nang hut-ong sa katawhan nga nakapahimulos ug nakatilaw sa inyong tabang ug serbisyo sa paghinaut nga ang tuig 2011 mahimong saksi sa padayong pagtubo sa inyong kooperatiba.

Laing kooperatiba nga dili maayong kalimtan paghisgot mao ang CFI nga mitunol sa Ilang mga kamot pagtabang sa mga kaigsoonan tang nanginahanlan. Mga magtutudlo, mga barangay kapitan ug konsehales ug ubang mga empleyado pribado ug sa gobyerno, mga negosyante, ila usab nga mga kliyente sa CFI. To all CFI officials, board of directors and members, more power.

Si Mr. Lungsoranon manghinaut nga niining atong paghisgot sa kalampusan nga nakab-ut sa Occci ug CFI mahimo kining inspirasyon ug hagit sa ubang mga opisyal ug miyembro sa ubang kooperatiba nga mora’g nahikatulog sa ilang gihuptan nga kaakohan. Ato silang hangyoon pag-double time aron dili sila hibiyaan ning atong biyahe sa kauswagan.

Karon, atong isunod paghisgot ang mga NGO. Si Mr. Lungsoranon mangayo’g pasaylo daan nga tingali’g nasayop ako nga dinhi sa Ormoc wala pay NGO nga nakahimo og dako-dakong kalihokan nga napahimuslan sa ubay-ubay tang kaigsoon. Duna tay nabatian nga pipila ning maong mga NGO nakadawat na’g minilyong gahin gikan sa funding agency sa gawas. Hain kini padulong? Walay usa kanato ang nasayud. Mao ray klaro niini ang ilang mga opisyal. Ang gigamitan sa kuwarta nga ilang nadawat hanap-hanap. Matud pa sa akong higala ang mga opisyal visible, ang proyekto invisible. He he he.

Dugang kasayuran nga atong nadawat nga dunay opisyal sa NGO nga dako na’g yuta sa bukid, gipabuhatan na’g swimming pool, nindot na’g sakyanan, apan ang iyang mga miyembro baktas-baktas lang gihapon. Pastilan, kun kining maong mga opisyal maoy magdaghan, diyutay ra.

Hangtod sa sunod semana…salamat.
(West Leyte Weekly Express Jan. 10-16, 2011 issue)

Nakakita og katapat

Dear Ate Ruby,

Ako si Rico, minyo ug dunay liwat. Naa koy asawa ug anak apan naa koy naibgan nga laing babaye. Ganahan kaayo ko ka niya kay maayo siya muatiman sa iyang pamilya. Ubay-ubay na pod iyang anak pero na-maintain man gihapon niya ang iyang figure.

Taud-taud na nga ganahan ko ka niya ug karon makaingon ko nga na-in love na gyud ko kay mingawon naman ko kung dili ko makakita sa iya. Wala man hinuon nako biyai akong pamilya kay sikreto ra man ning akong pagkagusto sa iya. Okey sad ang iyang treatment ka nako.

Lambing kaayo siya sa iyang inistoryahan ug linihukan mao nga usahay ma-imagine nako nga nag-uban mi nga kami rang duha. Kung naa gani siyay ipamarayeg sa ako nga botang o duna siyay isugo, musugot dayon ko kay ganahan lage ko nga silbihan siya ug mura’g kalami gyud niya panggaon. Magkasumpaki man gyud mi sa rason ug sa ubang botang sa akong asawa pero sa kini nga bayhana mura’g mapildi gyud ko sa rason pirmi. Mao nga nakaingon ko nga nakakita ko’g katapat kay bisa’g maglagot ko ka niya dili man ko musupak. Mao nga mangeta na lang ko’g paagi nga mapatumanan gyud nako siya.

Unsa man, padayunon pa ba ni nakong pakigsood ani nga bayhana? Dili ko gusto mawala siya sa akong kinabuhi. Okey na nako nga naa siya diha pero ang problema lage kay mura’g nagselos na akong asawa. Tambagi daw ko be.                                                                                                                   Rico

Dear Rico,

Dili man problema ang imong sitwasyon. Mubo ra gyud akong ikasulti sa imo. Naa man kay asawa unya kini pod nga babaye kaha naa may pamilya. Ayaw na himui’g komplikado pa. Kanang imong pagkagusto sa iyaha, ipusa na lang na diha kanimo labi na karon nga magselos naman kaha nang imong asawa. Tengali pod intawon og mabugnuan ni nga babaye sa imong asawa sa walay hinungdan.

Medyo naglibog lang ko sa imong geingon nga mangeta ka’g paagi nga mapatumanan siya sa iyang gusto. Ngano man diay, naa na siyay gipangayo sa imo nga mga botang? Kung mga pamalihog lang nga ginagmay okey ra siguro pero kining imong geingon mura’g dako-dako na gyud ni nga botang.

Ganahan ka sa iya kay tengali ma-challenge ka sa iyang reasoning power kay nakakita ka man lage kaha og katapat kay ang imong asawa madala ra man sab tengali nimo sa hurat. In love sab siguro kaayo sa imo ang imong asawa mao nga siya ang angay pagbalingan nimo og pansin.

Hinaot naklaro na gamay ang imong huna-huna. Kung unsa man nang imong gibati ana nga babaye, buhi-i na kay wala kay padulgan ana. Sa atong mga tigbasa, giawhag mo nako sa pagpadala sa inyong mga suliran ginagmay man o dinagko, pangetaan na nato og kasulbaran. I-text ko sa 0948-700-2557 o i-email sa espina_ruby@yahoo.com.

(West Leyte Weekly Express Jan. 10-16, 2011 issue)