Public transport drivers and operators opposed a city council proposal to build a public bus system, saying this would displace 22,500 jeepney and trycicle drivers in the city.
“The Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission are useless when it comes to defending the interests and welfare of the Filipino people. In fact, these government agencies are merely being used by power companies to defend their rate hikes,” the militant group, Bayan, said in a statement emailed to news organizations.
A partylist lawmaker said they “fear” that the island-wide Mindanao blackout early morning today “will once again be used by the Aquino government to once again project a phantom power crisis and push or fast tract the privatization of the remaining government power assets like the Agus-Pulangi power complex.”
The campaign to increase renewable energy (RE) production will need “more aggressiveness” on the part of government “or else non-RE sources will just naturally come-in”, the government socio-economic planning unit for Mindanao has said.
A surprise inspection by transportation agents on terminals in the city discovered irregularities in the registration of some buses and passenger vans.
Non-government organizations and consumer groups in Mindanao castigated government on its alleged mishandling of the affairs of the energy sector that they said only allowed corporations to dominate the field rather than being clipped of their powers to monopolize.
Five business chambers in Mindanao urged the Department of Energy to modify portion of the controversial Electric Power Industry Reform Act to prevent monopoly in the energy sector.
Members of women organization here used dances yesterday to demonstrate their indignation over a string of government policies and announcements of increased welfare premium, calling instead on prosecuting corrupt officials and stopping further privatization of remaining government institutions such as hospitals.
Workers and members of militant groups threw tomatoes at the Social Security System and PhilHealth offices here to condemn the government’s recent round of premium hikes that they said add to the “increasing list of New Year miseries.”
The use of mobile phones, laptops and other electronic devices for passengers during flights will be allowed on “conditional basis” in 2014.
