PHILIPPINE MYTH, LEGENDS, FABLES, AND HISTORY: News

AIR QUALITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
Just how clean (or dirty) is the air in the Philippine?

The title might be a little presumptuous, as it denotes that the Philippines is polluted. But is this really the case though?

A fair question to start off is to know, how air quality is being measured. What are the metrics?

Total Suspended Particulates

Total suspended particles (TSP) is an archaic regulatory measure of the mass concentration of particulate matter (PM) in community air. It was defined by the (unintended) size-selectivity of the inlet to the filter that collected the particles.

The air quality of our country is still dirty but improving in terms of TSP. For 2008, TSP level is 99ug/Ncm, for a 29% reduction from 2004 to 2008.

In 2015, National Capital Region reached 130 micrograms per normal cubic meter (µg/Ncm).

The acceptable level is 90 ug/Ncm – annual air quality guideline value for Total Suspended Particulates (TSP).

Salient Features of the Philippine Clean Air Act

The State shall pursue a policy of balancing development and environmental protection. To achieve this end, the framework for sustainable development shall be pursued. As such, it shall be the policy of the State to:

Formulate a holistic national program of air pollution that shall be implemented by the government through proper delegation and effective coordination of function and activities;

Encourage cooperation and self-regulation among citizen and industries through the application of incentives market-based instruments;

Focus primarily on pollution prevention rather than on control and provide for a comprehensive management program on air pollution;

Promote public information and education to encourage the participation of an informed and active public in air quality planning and monitoring; and Formulate and enforce a system of accountability for short and long term adverse environmental impact of a project, program or activity.

This shall include setting up of a funding or guarantee mechanism for clean-up and environmental rehabilitation and compensation for personal damages.

The buzz of the day has been the capture of General Jovito Palparan. But who is he, and why does it matter?

Retired Major General Jovito Palparan was arrested by authorities early Tuesday after nearly three years of evading prosecution for alleged kidnapping of two University of the Philippines (UP) students in 2006.

The NBI agents said Palparan, 63, was arrested at an informal settlement. The retired general was brought to the NBI headquarters in Manila at around 4 a.m. He will remain there while authorities are waiting for a commitment order from the court.

Palparan is wanted for the disappearance of UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño. He is facing two counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention.

Malacañang on Tuesday said President Benigno Aquino III has now fulfilled his promise to capture retired Army Major General Jovito Palparan, one of the five top fugitives in the country.

Biodata Sheet/Resume
JOVITO S. PALPARAN, JR.
Commanding General of the 8th ID, PA, AFP
Camp Lukban, Brgy. Maulong, Catbalogan, Samar

Demographic Profile:

Name: JOVITO S. PALAPAN, JR.
Date of Birth: 11 September 1950
Place of Birth: Cagayan de Oro City
Date Entered the Military Service: 30 June 1973

Educational Background:

Civilian Education:

· BS Business Administration @University of the East (graduated on 28March/May 1971)
· Master in Management @ Philippine Christian University (graduated on 31July1994)
· Master in National Security Administration @ National Defense College of the Philippines (graduated on 31Aug1999)

Military Schooling:

· Infantry Basic Training Command @ Philippine Army (graduated on 29April1977)
· Infantry Advance Course @ United States [US] Army Infantry School, CONUS (graduated 13June1989)
· Command and General Staff Course @ Armed Forces of the Philippines [AFP] Command and Staff College (graduated on 03May1994)
· Joint Service Staff Course @ Australia (graduated 28June1996)

Designation/ Work Experience:

· Second Lieutenant designated at the 24th IB, PA (assigned at Brgy. Tagbak, Indanan Sulu in 1974)
· Platoon Leader of Charlie Company of 24th IB, 11ID, PA (from 17Feb1976 to 01July1976)
· Commander of the Strike Force of the 24th IB, PA (from 01July1976 to 13 Dec1976)
· Commanding Officer of the Delta Company of the 24th IB, PA (from 20Aug1977 to 20Aug1978)
· Intelligence Operations Officer of the 24th IB, PA (from 20Aug1978 to 10April1981)
· Battalion Ex-O of the 24th IB, PA (from 10April1981 to 15Aug1981)
· Battalion Commander of the 24th IB, PA (from 03Dec1989 to 30June1993)
· Commander of the Counter-Terrorist Force of the AFP-NCR (from 16Aug1995 to 20Dec1996)
· Inspector General (IG?) of the TRADOC, PA (from 01Jan1997 to 17Dec1997)
· Commanding Officer (CO) of the PHILCONPRU J3, GHQ-AFP (from 28Jan2000 to 20May2000)
· Commanding Officer (CO) of Task Force Banahaw (TFB), Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM), AFP (from 23May2000 to 13Aug2001)
· Commanding Officer (CO) of the 204th Infantry Brigade of the PA (from 15Aug2001 to ______)
· Commanding General of the 8th ID, PA, AFP (designated at Camp Lukban, Brgy. Maulong, Catbalogan, Samar from 10 February 2005 [his formal assumption into office] to present).

Skills/Outputs:

* Conceptualized

Awards and Decorations:

· Minadanao, Sulu Campaign Medal
· Combat Commander “K” Badge
· Military Merit Medal (MMM) with 3rd Bronze Spearhead Device (BSD) – gained in the February 1974 burning of Jolo, Sulu after he “led a reinforcement that repelled the Moro National Liberation Front attack on the 24th IB, PA headquarters at Brgy. Tagbak, Indanan, Sulu)
· Gold Cross Medal – gained after he, as “commander of the Delta Company [of the 24th IB, PA] led the assault of the insurgent strongholds at Mt. Sinumaan, Patikul, Sulu on 21 January 1978”. He was also promoted to the rank of captain .
· Martial Law Citation Badge
· MMM with 1st SAL
· Bronze Cross Medal
· Bronze Service Medal
· Long Service Medal
· Best Distinguished Service Star

1. Palparan is a decorated soldier and led various military units
Palparan was born on September 11, 1950 in Cagayan De Oro City. He has a wife and father of five children. He graduated with a degree of BS Business Administration in the University of the East and was commissioned to the Armed Forces of the Philippines in 1973.

He first served as a lieutenant in Basilan and Sulu and he later served as the Commanding Officer of the 24th Infantry Battalion, 8th Infantry Division in Eastern Samar and in the 7th Infantry Division in Mindoro.
He was awarded with the Gold Cross medal and the Gawad sa Kanluran medal, along with other military distinctions.

2. He was labelled as “The Butcher” by human rights groups and political activists
Palparan was tagged as “The Butcher” because he was accused of being the chief architect of alleged torture and killing of political activists during his term in the military. According to human rights group Karapatan, during his stint as the Commanding Officer of the 7th ID in Mindoro, Karapatan listed 71 victims of extrajudicial killings, 14 victims of frustrated killing, and five incidents of massacre.

As early as 1991, he was implicated in various cases of torture and extrajudicial killings when he led the 24th Infantry Battalion (IB) in Central Luzon, according to Karapatan. In September 1991, about 100 townspeople from Sta. Cruz, Zambales were arrested, interrogated and forced to sign “affidavits of surrender” by elements of the 24th IBZ

Karapatan also said that Palparan allegedly orchestrated the killing of human rights defenders Eden Marcellana and peasant leader Eddie Gumanoy in Southern Tagalog; UCCP Pastor Edison Lapuz, Leyte; Atty. Fedelito Dacut, Leyte; and Supreme Bishop Alberto Ramento of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente.

3. Palparan served as a congressman in the House of Representatives
Three years after he retired from the service on September 11, 2006, Palparan ran and won a seat in the 14th Congress as the representative of the party-list group The True Marcos Loyalist (For God, Country and People) Association of the Philippines, or Bantay in short. Bantay party-list, according to its Facebook page, is “a group of pro-democracy advocates committed to save Philippine Republic against communist terrorism.”

4. He was promoted and recognized by former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Palparan was said to be favored by the Arroyo administration as he was promoted twice during Arroyo’s term: in 2003, from colonel to brigadier general, and in 2004 from brigadier general to major general. He was also mentioned in Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address speech in 2006 when she praised Palparan for his efforts in the counter-insurgency campaign of the Arroyo administration.
palparan

5. Palparan was credited for his “effective” counter-insurgency campaign in Samar in 2005

From February to September 2005, Palparan was the Commanding General of the 8th Infantry Division stationed in Eastern Samar. He claimed that he reduced rebel presence in the area by 80 percent.
However, Karapatan-Eastern Visayas documented 40 cases of evacuations in this island which affected 2,433 individuals or 1,786 families due to the alleged bombing of Palparan’s forces in an attempt to flush out suspected rebels in the area.

With this claim, former president Arroyo awarded Palparan a Distinguished Service Star medal in March 2006.

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