news The Manila Times


Experts find extent of oil leak in Makati


FIRST Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC) engineers and experts have determined the extent and the size of the petroleum leak along its pipe- line in Makati City.


Edmund Piquero, CH2M Hill Philippines Inc. project manager, said in a press briefing that the ex- tent of the petroleum that seeped underground covers an area of 9,000-square meters and an esti- mated volume of 8,000 grams of unrecovered oil products. “However, the good news is it is confined to the area along Osmena Highway going to the West Tower [condominium] and a portion of the service road,” he said. Besides the West Tower building, the leakage affects a handful of resi- dential establishments in Barangay Bangkal in Makati City. The extent of the leak was deter- mined after CH2M Hill, the US-based firmed tasked to do remediation, en- gineering works and rehabilitation by FPIC, bore several monitoring and catchment wells in the area. CH2M Hill had earlier said they will start the recovery of the leaked petroleum products in the early part of January 2011. “We have actually accelerated remediation because we have a chance to pump out fuel products. Everything is going on at much faster rate,” he said. So far, soil and water samples CH2M Hill recovered from the moni- toring wells have been sent to its labo- ratory in Malaysia for further analysis. Since the shutdown of the facil- ity in October, the supply of fuel products to Pilipinas Shell Petro- leum Corp. and Chevron Philip- pines Inc.’s Metro Manila outlets have been disrupted as the pipeline delivers an equivalent of more than 400 trucks of pump products daily. FPIC’s was earlier shutdown after petroleum products persistently leaked in the basement of the West Tower con- dominium in Makati City since July. Shell and Chevron (formerly Caltex) use FPIC’s pipelines to deliver more than half of their fuel products from depots in Poro, La Union and Tabangao, Batangas to Metro Manila. EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO


FRIDAY BY CRIS G. ODRONIA REPORTER


A 3


D e cember 10, 2010


RESIDENT Benigno Aquino 3rd on Thursday said his government would push for programs that will


improve the capability of the policemen in the country. President Aquino honored the


Program, Housing Program, Healthcare Program, Legal Assistance at Himlayan ng mga Bayaning Pulis. The government will also continue the initiatives being pushed by the ITP, such as the building of classrooms, dor- mitory, auditorium and other facilities. He added that Interior and Local


awardees of the Metrobank Founda- tion Search for the Country’s Out- standing Policemen in Service (COPS) in a ceremony held at the Malacañan Palace. In his speech, Mr. Aquino lauded


the awardees for their outstanding contributions to the community. “Just take the righteous path and I will take care of the rest,” the Presi-


dent said in his impromptu speech. The President said he had ordered Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Raul Bacalzo to improve the arms capability of the police force and increase its budget for training. He said the government has been continuing the Integrated Transfor- mation Program (ITP), which pro- vides PNP Educational Assistance


Government Secretary Jesse Robredo is currently coordinating with the National Housing Authority to fast track the application of the PNP for decent housing units.


The President cited the imple- mentation of Model Police Station Project to all the regions and prov- inces in the country.


The outstanding policemen in the commission officer category are Police Supt. Leo Francisco of Taguig City, Po- lice Supt. Florencio Ortilla of Davao


Other gases also affect global warming


CANCUN, Mexico: Low lying islands and vulnerable countries in developing nations are calling for fast action on climate mitigation after identifying that approximately 50 percent of global warming is caused by greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide (CO2), the usual culprit of climate change. In a side event at the 16th


Conference of Parties (COP-16) climate talks here, the Federated States of Micronesia led a panel discussion on near-term climate change mitigation, where scientists and policymakers emphasized the need to address non- CO2 climate forcers like black carbon soot, methane, tropospheric ozone and hydroflourocarbon to achieve fast mitigation. The panel included Micronesia Vice


President Alik Alik, Philippine Climate Change Commissioner Heherson Alvarez, Nobel Laureate Mario Molina, Veerabhadran Ramanathan of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Environment Officer of Sweden Katja Awiti and United Nations Environ- ment Program Executive Director Achim Steiner. Ramanathan explained that short-


lived gases, dark soot particles, methane, HFCs and lower atmospheric ozone contribute as much as 50 percent of CO2 to climate change. He said reducing non-CO2 pollutants by 50


SSS WEB SERVICES UNAVAILABLE 8 TO 5 OF DECEMBER 11 THE Social Security System (SSS) on Thursday announced that its website will not be


available at certain hours tomorrow, December 11. According to an advisory e-mailed to members of the state pension fund, the SSS Web services will be temporarily unavail- able on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to give way to systems upgrade. Normal access to the services can be expected after the upgrade.FRANCIS EARL A. CUETO


Aquino honors outstanding policemen P


City, Police Supt. Noel Ponsaran of Davao City and Police Supt. Sidney Villaflor of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija. Awardees in the noncommissioned officer category are Police Officer 3 Edilberto Euraoba 3rd of Negros Ori- ental, Police Officer 3 Shella Mae Sangrines of Iloilo City, Police Officer 3 Zoraida Aripin of Zamboanga City, Police Officer 3 Joey Castillon of Tobias Fornier, Antique, Senior Police Officer 2 Hermie Raymundo of Lingayen, Pangasinan; Police Officer 3 Roel Padernal Paclibar of Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat. Each awardee received a trophy and a cash prize worth P250,000 courtesy of Metrobank Foundation, and the Medalya ng Katangi-tanging Gawa from PNP.


Metrobank Foundation President


Aniceto “Chito” Sobrepeña said the 2010 COPS are all model citizens that can inspire fellow Filipinos to take the straight and righteous path that the Aquino administration is now promoting.


“These outstanding policemen


and women are a testament to our police force’s dedication to their sworn duty and professionalism to- wards performing their responsibili- ties,” Sobrepeña said. The awarding for the country’s outstanding policemen was origi- nally scheduled in August this year but the ceremony was deferred. The Metrobank Foundation had said that the deferment had noth- ing to do with the August 23 hos- tage crisis that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.


MMDA wants stricter motorcycle rider attire


■ Philippine Climate Change Commissioner and panel Co-Chairman Heherson Alvarez, Swedish Environment Officer Katja Awiti, Nobel Laureate Mario Molina, Veerabhadran Ramanathan of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Federated States of Micronesia Vice President Alik Alik and United Nations Environment Program Executive Director Achim Steiner (standing) discussed global warming gasses during a crucial side event at the 16th Conference of Parties climate talks in Cancun, Mexico from November 28 to December 10.


percent would ensure we stay below the 2ºC target.


Alik Alik said his country’s COP-16


proposal entitled “Work Program on Near-Term Climate Change Mitiga- tion,” addresses emission reductions of non-CO2 pollutants. He stressed that the proposal is not meant to take away from efforts by nations to reduce CO2 but should be viewed as a short-term solution. Commissioner Alvarez supported the


Implementing rules on employee suspension


Dear PAO, I’ve been working in a travel agency for eight years.


After working with a team whom I thought are re- ally professionals, they exaggerated telling our big boss about the usage of company’s Internet, made an issue out of it and thus, if I commit even mini- mal mistakes in my work, would result to an emer- gency meeting and heated arguments with my boss. Our company is just a small organization, where our per- formance evaluation is based on ver- bal observations and comments from clients and our doc. manager (a good friend of my boss). So after receiving verbal comments from our doc. manager, my big boss sus- pended me for two months. Now, my question is, is there such a thing as two months suspension?


Sincerely yours, Marifi


Dear Marifi,


There is such a thing as suspension from employ- ment in a private company or corporation. Suspen- sion may be ordered either as a means of facilitating and protecting the integrity of an investigation or as a penalty. You failed to mention in what context you were suspended. Thus, we shall discuss both. The Implementing Rules of the Labor Code as


cited by the Supreme Court states to wit: “Sections 8 and 9 of Rule XXIII, Book V of the Implementing Rules provide as follows: Section 8. Preventive suspension.—The employer


may place the worker concerned under preventive suspension if his continued employment poses a serious and imminent threat to the life or property of the employer or his co-workers. Section 9. Period of Suspension—No preventive suspension shall last longer than thirty (30) days. The employer shall thereafter reinstate the worker in his former or in a substantially equivalent position or the employer may extend the period of suspension provided that during the period of extension, he pays the wages and other benefits due to the worker. In such case, the worker shall not be bound to reim- burse the amount paid to him during the extension if the employer decides, after completion of the hear- ing, to dismiss the worker. As succinctly stated above, preventive suspen- sion is justified where the employee’s continued employment poses a serious and imminent threat to the life or property of the employer or of the employee’s co-workers. Without this kind of threat, preventive suspension is not proper.” (Artificio v NLRC, GR 172988, July 26, 2010) Thus, if there is no showing that you pose any threat to your employer or co-employees, the pre- ventive suspension is unjustified. Further, if the pre- ventive suspension ordered exceeds the period pro- vided for under the law, as in your case, the Supreme


Court has ruled that “ . . . preventive suspension which lasts beyond the maximum period allowed by the Implementing Rules amounts to constructive dis- missal.” (Maricalum Mining Corp. v Decorion, GR 158637, April 12, 2006) In that case, you may file the appropriate complaint against your employer before the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC). On the other hand, if the suspension ordered against you is already the penalty imposed for your alleged infractions, your employer before meting out said penalty as with the imposition of all other penal- ties, must have complied with the due proc- ess requirements under the law, which ba- sically gives the employee the right to be heard in relation to the charges leveled against him/her. Thus, the employee must have been given notice of the complaint or existence of an apparent basis for disci-


plinary action against him/her. Also, the employee must be given the right and reasonable opportunity to an- swer the complaint and allegations against him/her. In fact, the Supreme Court has highlighted the importance of giving the employee the first written notice especially in cases involving possible termi- nation or dismissal. It held that: “The first written notice to be served on the employ- ees should contain the specific causes or grounds for termination against them, and a directive that the em- ployees are given the opportunity to submit their writ- ten explanation within a reasonable period. “Reason- able opportunity” under the Omnibus Rules means every kind of assistance that management must accord to the employees to enable them to prepare adequately for their defense. This should be construed as a period of at least five (5) calendar days from receipt of the notice to give the employees an opportunity to study the accusation against them, consult a union official or lawyer, gather data and evidence, and decide on the defenses they will raise against the complaint. Moreo- ver, in order to enable the employees to intelligently prepare their explanation and defenses, the notice should contain a detailed narration of the facts and circumstances that will serve as basis for the charge against the employees. A general description of the charge will not suffice. Lastly, the notice should spe- cifically mention which company rules, if any, are vio- lated and/or which among the grounds under Art. 282 is being charged against the employees.” (Benjamin and Consolacion v Amellar Corp., GR 183383, April 5, 2010, citing King of Kings Transport v Mamac) Thus, if your employer failed to comply with the substantive and procedural due process require- ments provided under the law, you may then file the appropriate complaint before the National Labor Relations Commission.


Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net or via text message (key in: Times dearpao <YOUR QUESTIONS> and send to 2299).


reduction of non-CO2 pollutants and said his country has already been successful in reducing CFCs and other countries can follow suit. “Cutting non-CO2 pollutants can


provide immediate relief to the climate problem. It is doable. If we have a will to address climate change, we need to immediately take fast action strategies that will result in significant emissions reductions in the near-term,” he said.


IN a bid to curb the climbing death toll from road accidents involving motorcycles, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Thursday said they are pushing for the enactment of legislative measures re- quiring motorcycle riders to wear ap- propriate safety attire. MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino presented the idea during the Trans- port and Traffic Summit held last week at the Philippine Social Sci- ence Center in Quezon City. In addition to the appropriate safety


attire, Tolentino said the use of good quality helmets which conform to in- ternational standards should also be strictly enforced among riders, as well as the prohibition of a third passenger. “There is an existing policy on this


by the Land Transportation Office [LTO], as well as other similar city or- dinances in effect. But unfortunately, there is laxity in the enforcement of these rules. I believe it is best to turn this policy into law for it to have more teeth,” Tolentino explained. LTO Administrative Order AHS-


2008-015 prescribes rules and regu- lations on the use and operation of motorcycles on highways. Under the policy, failure of the


driver and/or the passenger or back rider to wear the standard helmet would have him fined P1,500. Driv- ers must also not wear flip flops,


sandals or slippers or drive bare- footed or be fined of P500, P700 and P1,000 and revocation of driv- er’s license for the first, second and third offenses, respectively. In line with this, Tolentino or- dered the agency’s traffic enforcers to strictly implement the “no hel- met, no travel” policy on major thoroughfares and secondary roads. The MMDA chief stressed that this is for the protection of the rid- ers and warned that violators will be apprehended and meted the corre- sponding penalties.


“I’m appealing to the local gov- ernment units to likewise be strict on this matter and introduce other measures that will promote the safety of the riders,” Tolentino said. As an additional safety feature,


Tolentino also wants motorcycles to have a system where the headlights automatically switch on during en- gine ignition. Tolentino explained the motorcy- cle headlights should be on even during daytime to allow maximum visibility in the roads.


“I understand that several manu- facturing firms have been putting this feature on their motorcycles. We hope that this will become a standard regu- lation among companies manufactur- ing and selling motorcycles,” he said. SAMMY MARTIN


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18