Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – US-based energy giant AES Corp. is pouring in $2 billion for the expansion of its coal-fired power plant in Zambales and for the development of an energy storage project in the Philippines, its top official said yesterday. In a roundtable discussion with US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, who is in Manila for a visit, AES president and chief executive officer Andres Gluski said as a reflection of US business interest in the Philippines, AES is expanding its 600-megawatt Masinloc plant and investing in an energy storage project. “We’re very impressed with renewed economic growth. We’d like to support the development of the Philippines. We have about $2 billion in projects. Some of them our expansion and some of them are new technologies such as for storage of energy,” Gluski told reporters during the roundtable meeting hosted by the US Embassy in Manila. Of the $2 billion, AES will invest $1.2 billion for the expansion of the Masinloc plant by another 600 MW. “We have projects of up to $2 billion more in the pipeline. One is a plant expansion of Masinloc. Then we have the energy storage project,” Gluski said. The energy storage, he explained, could help support renewable energy projects in the Philippines as this would serve as “batteries” that can work on islands around the country. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “These can help provide ancillary services. Those are interesting. They’re very well adapted to the Philippines. They work very Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and IBM today unveiled a new intelligent operations center to provide a central point of command for disaster management. The new center will help the Philippine government better manage ongoing and future disaster response and recovery efforts following Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. Immediately following the typhoon, IBM donated an impact grant of technology and services. As part of the grant, IBM, in collaboration with trusted business partners, delivered the IBM Intelligent Operations Center (IOC) with an Integrated Communications System (ICS) that will facilitate better and more coordinated disaster management efforts with the DOST and across various government agencies. The integrated solution will pull data from disparate sources into a common view, providing emergency managers with critical information such as; advance warning for extreme weather events, feedback from first responders on the number of casualties and affected families, condition of buildings, roads, and infrastructure.  These distributed data sources provide analytics and scenario planning to streamline and integrate the government’s response to disasters. In addition, the solution will enable advanced communications for first responders and emergency personnel.   “Building on a trusted, long term relationship between IBM and our National Government, IBM acted quickly to mobilize and launch an Impact Grant with two critical solutions: an Intelligent Operations Center for Emergency Management and an Integrated Communications System,” said Science Secretary Mario Montejo.  “IBM’s grant comes with two years of support, including an IBM-led transition team. This will ensure that we have the skills Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Local banks may now easily extend their banking hours to provide more services to their clients after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas issued new regulations that liberalized operating hours for banks. In a statement, the BSP said it had approved a new framework that makes it easier for banks to extend their banking hours. “The new framework recognizes the evolving needs of financial consumers, especially those who require banking services beyond current regular business hours,” the central bank said. “This is firmly in line with the BSP’s thrust of empowering financial consumers, which is essential to fostering the stability of the financial system,” it added. The central bank currently requires banks to open for business for a minimum of six hours a day, and five days a week, except for holidays. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The BSP said this is different from their provision of e-banking services and automated teller machine operations. Under the new framework, banks wanting to change or lengthen the schedule of their operations will only need to send a “prior written notice” to the central bank. Providing full banking services during the extended period is also allowed under the new framework which means banks may conduct check processing, bank certification, payment orders, check reorders, bills and loan payments, and other services. Previously, banks are required to get a BSP approval for changing the schedule of their banking hours, for carrying on services other than their core functions during Read More …

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales was supposed to have said there is enough evidence to convict Senators Enrile, Estrada and Revilla. But she said she is still studying their motion for reconsideration and “only God knows if they will be indicted in court.” She also said she does not have a time frame to sign the charges against the senators. I hope she was just not quoted well. Maybe the lawyers know exactly what she means. But to us who are not lawyers, the Ombudsman has done a perfectly good job of confusing us. If there is enough evidence, why not file the cases at the Sandiganbayan already? Time is of the essence. The public, indeed the world, needs to be reassured we have what it takes to punish public wrongdoing among our officials. But the Ombudsman says she is not concerned about the time frame for prosecuting the senators. The fact that she is on a junket to the United States while the Napoles revelations have gone into overdrive can’t be a good indicator of how seriously she regards these cases. I realize due process demands she first acts on the merits of the motion for reconsideration filed by the respondent senators. But it is not reassuring to hear the Ombudsman saying that “only God knows if they will be indicted in court.” We all know how slowly our justice system works. Still, the Ombudsman should not douse hope among our people that, in this case, the wheels of justice Read More …