Positive News Media

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, April 15 (PNA) — The Puerto Princesa Subterranian River National Park (PPSRNP), located in sitio Sabang, barangay Sabang, some 81 kilometers north from the city, is being nominated as one of the candidates in the ongoing worldwide search for “New Seven Wonders of Nature”.

Declared as World Heritage Site by the United Nations Declared as World Heritage Site by the United Nations Environment, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the national park is currently rank 270th in the live ranking among the nominees.

With the inclusion of city’s national park, the country has presently represented by four nature sites in the new seven wonders search which the voting runs until Dec. 31, 2008.

The other three nominees are, Chocolate Hills in Bohol, Tubbataha Reef also in Palawan and Mayon Volcano in Legaspi City.

Chocolate Hills and Tubbataha Reef are currently settled at 7th and 9th posts, respectively.

The PPSRNP, which houses the 8.2 kilometers “Underground River”, considered the world’s longest navigable underground river.

Its most outstanding natural feature is the ever flowing water beneath the spectacular karst of mountain before emptying into the South China Sea.

Cathedral-like chambers, wide hallways and other interesting geological formations welcome wide-eyed visitors to the grotto beneath the St. Paul Mountain or the under ground river. At the mouth of the cave, ancient trees growing right in the water’s edge frame a clear lagoon. Monkeys, large monitor lizards, and squirrels find home on the beach forest near the cave.

The city government, led by Mayor Edward Hagedorn, has embarked on a campaign to make the cut of 77 nominees by yearend via internet voting, and get into the second round of selection for the top 21 nature sites to be announced in January.

It was declared a premier ecotourism destination and has been inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage lists for its outstanding universal value and ecological significance as a natural site of intense beauty.

Record showed that tourist arrivals in the park has continued to rise, with 63,271 visitors recorded in 2007, increasing by 17,003 or 36.75 percent compared to 46,268 visitors in 2006.
For those Filipinos worldwide who want to support for the country’s four nature sites, may cast their vote by logging on to the website www.new7wonders.com. (PNA)

The Philippine Star

Quezon City has joined the ranks of Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei as one of the Top 10 Asian Cities of the Future.

Quezon City was ranked No. 7 among more than 200 Asian cities, based on a survey commissioned by the London Financial Times through AsiaBiz Strategy, an investment and trade promotion consultancy based in Singapore.

Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei were the top three.

Consistently figuring in the top 10, and practically outranking other Philippine cities except in one category, Quezon City was assessed No. 5 in the category “Best Economic Potential.” It was third best in Asia in terms of “Cost Effectiveness,” sixth best in terms of “Best Human Resources,” and 10th best in terms of “Quality of Life.”

Analyzing the reasons for Quezon City’s splendid showing, the think tank Advocacy for Empowered Local Governments (AELG) cited the city government’s ability to parlay the most cumbersome challenges into assets for development. Studying the city’s growth over the past two decades, AELG noted the rapid rise in investor interest over the past five years.

Among the reasons consistently cited by business owners is the credibility of the local government whose governance initiatives have made it a favorite case study of international institutions like the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Add to that the huge resources being invested by the city government for infrastructure improvement, which has prompted a taxpayer to remark, “At least in Quezon City, we can see where our taxes go.”

Mayor Feliciano Belmonte’s forward-looking management style has been able to make the most of the city’s strategic assets – its large and generally young, 2.4 million population, its central location at the heart of Metro Manila, as well as its location of choice for media operations, schools and training centers and medical facilities.

While other cities and municipalities would view a huge population as a burden and a drain on public services, Mayor Belmonte views the city’s young population both as a large, trainable human resource pool as well as a big consumer market. While previous administrations regarded the city’s 16- hectare expanse as a problem of uncontrolled blight, Belmonte has transformed it into an investment attraction.

The results have been policies and programs that have attracted a continuous inflow of education and training institutions (counting just colleges and universities, the city now has 65), shopping malls in practically every community cluster, and information technology companies that find real estate values in Quezon City very competitive.

IBM and eTelecare, which decided to locate their largest Philippine facilities in Quezon City, cite the city’s large population, wide choice of available locations and real estate prices, as their main reasons for expanding in the city.

Ayala Land, which has invested P3.5 billion in the TriNoma Shopping Mall along North Avenue, and the UP North Science and Technology Park, reportedly capitalized at P1.2 billion, believes that Quezon City is the strategic door of development for northern Metro Manila.

TriNoma marks the start of development of the City’s 250-hectare Central Business District (CBD) set to rise over the North and East Triangles and Veterans Memorial area of Quezon City.

Belmonte saw the waste of government assets just across City Hall where the national government owns about 95 percent of the properties. He envisioned a modern, mixed-use community to rise in these 250 hectares that would make the most of its broad EDSA frontage and its multiple transportation access points.

This attracted the World Bank to commission a framework plan for development. President Arroyo gave the national imprimatur by creating a management team called the Urban Triangle Development (TriDev) Commission, co-chaired by the mayor, to direct the development of this CBD.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines – Two electricity-powered jeepneys or e-jeepneys began plying a set route in Makati City yesterday, part of a two-month pilot test run to fine tune their adaptability as a commercial public transport.

The e-jeepneys, presented to the public last July 4 by the Makati City government, Green Independent Power Producer (GRIPP) and Greenpeace, will be picking up passengers in Bel-Air Village and unloading them at Rockwell Center and vice versa.

This is the first public route to be used by the e-jeepneys which offer free rides to commuters.

Greenpeace-Southeast Asian and GRIPP officials, however, criticized the Land Transportation Office for the delay in the issuance of the vehicles’ registration papers.

In a statement, Greenpeace said the e-jeepneys’ route was limited to private roads as the LTO has not yet classified the vehicle.

The LTO said it must first get a certification from the Department of Science and Technology on the specifics of the e-jeepneys before it can formulate the rules on registering this type of vehicle.

GRIPP and Greenpeace called on concerned government agencies to fast track the classification and registration of the electric jeepneys and to create the right regulatory framework and environmental policy so that the vehicles could start plying commercial routes.

“The climate problem exacerbates urban environmental challenges for our cities. The national government should take this seriously and heed the international scientific community’s findings that governments should quickly find and implement climate solutions of which the e-jeepney is an example,” said Jasper Inventor, a climate and energy campaigner of Greenpeace.

Inventor said Makati had shown leadership by pioneering projects that address air pollution and climate change.

Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said he was “very optimistic” about the e-jeepneys’ test phase and that the vehicles would soon become a common sight in the city.

“The e-jeepneys will offer a cheaper fuel alternative to jeepney drivers while creating a positive impact in the city’s air quality,” he added.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines – Water lilies won for Las Piñas City the “Best Practice Award for 2006” given by the Dubai International Awards and the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN Habitat).

The aquatic plant used to clog the 56-kilometer stretch of the Las Piñas and Zapote rivers.

For five years, members of the “Sagip Ilog project” dredged and cleaned the city’s dying rivers. They cleared the waterways of garbage and planted bamboo and other plants along the riverbanks.

Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar added a twist to the river rehabilitation program—finding profitable uses for the water lilies.

“No one liked the task of taking the water lilies out of the water. But by using the water lily stalks as raw material, people saw they would get something out of it,” Villar said.

The congresswoman marked her 57th birthday yesterday by opening another basket-weaving center at the second Las Piñas City Water Lily Festival.

The award came as a surprise to Villar, who said she did not know the Department of Environment and Natural Resources had nominated the Sagip Ilog project.

The Dubai International Award for Best Practices (DIABP) honors admirable efforts in environmental management, infrastructure, communication and transportation in over 140 countries.

Unlike other dredging projects, Sagip Ilog combined cleaning, greening, and livelihood to stand out among 650 nominees.

ABS-CBNNews

Gas-guzzling, smoke-belching Philippine public transport icon the jeepney is going green.

The first electronic jeepney was unveiled Wednesday in the Makati financial district, where it will be test driven for the next three months in a project environmentalists said could revolutionize public transport in the country.

Already 50 have been ordered for the island of Negros.

The P550,000 (US$11,956) electric jeepney was built by Solar Electric Co. (Solarco) and costs around the same as the conventional model.

Solarco president Robert Puckett said the electric jeepney would seat 10 to 12 passengers comfortably and cost P150 a day to run compared with around P800-P900 a day using diesel.

The truck-based mini-buses popularly known as jeepneys are among the biggest polluters on Manila’s roads and there are some 400,000 of them in the capital.

“Every day tens of thousands of commuters pack into the backs of jeepneys breathing in toxic fumes,” Puckett said.

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GMANews

Makati City will host on July 4 a test run of the electric jeepneys, the first in Metro Manila, but second only in the entire country, after Bacolod City took the lead last June 14 by testing two electric jeepneys.

Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said the “e-jeepneys” will be previewed before Binay and other city officials and representatives from environmental groups and the private sector on at the Ayala Center.

Binay said the e-jeepneys will ply the Central Business District (CBD) starting this month on a test run basis, in coordination with representatives of jeepney drivers and operators, who will be considered as stakeholders of the project.

Binay said Makati would lease two e-jeepneys from Green Renewable Independent Power Producer (GRIPP), the main proponent of test run, which is part of its Climate Friendly Cities (CFC) project.

“If the test runs show that the project is feasible, additional units will be leased by the city,” Binay said.

Makati will also start promoting e-jeepneys all over Metro Manila, with the help of GRIPP and its other partners, namely Greenpeace and Solar Electric Co. (SolarCo).

“This project is an innovative way of addressing two major concerns of cities, namely pollution and waste reduction. Makati is very keen on this project considering the volume of vehicle that we have in our CBD and the organic waste generated by households and commercial establishments here” Binay said.

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Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — The jeepney’s electric-powered version will soon be weaving through the streets of Bacolod City to pick up passengers.

A multisectoral group is importing two electric jeepneys (E-jeeps) from China this month in an effort to introduce a low-carbon but sustainable transport system in the city.

Once the E-jeep becomes viable, more of them will be shipped to Bacolod for commercial operations. Who knows, this may be replicated in other cities across the country.

But the E-jeep is just the icing on the cake. The real magic lies in the fact that the jeep will be running on electricity produced by a renewable energy power plant from the city’s market and household wastes.

Green Renewable Independent Power Producer Inc. (GRIPP) conceived of the 1-million euro (P61.88-million) project — the first in Southeast Asia — to further cement Negros Occidental’s move to go for clean energy five years ago.

GRIPP is the same network of civil society groups, business sector, local government units and green groups that led Negros’ campaign to foil the construction of coal plants in the province and stay clean.

Logical choice

The province gets its power mainly from geothermal energy. That’s why Bacolod is the most logical choice for the pilot-testing.

“The concept grew out of a desire to complete the clean energy campaign for Negros. We thought it fitting to complete that by adding a transport component,” Athena Ronquillo-Ballesteros, founding member of GRIPP, said.

The idea, eventually, is to have a fleet of 50 E-jeeps plying the secondary routes, or those streets not covered by the 3,000 to 3,500 locally-made jeepneys.

After getting 300,000 euros (P18.56 million) for the entire fleet from the Dutch institution Doen, GRIPP ordered two E-jeeps worth 6,000 euros (P371,280) each from Langqing Electric Vehicle Co. Ltd. in Guangzhou.

It plans to run six E-jeeps for the initial tests from three to six months beginning July. Once it has a clear idea how well the operation runs, GRIPP will go into full commercial operations by July next year.

“Our dream is that in three to five years, they can increase the fleet from six to 50, and eventually, 100, so we can break 10 percent of the market,” said Ballesteros, also Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner. Greenpeace is part of GRIPP.

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