Online newsletter for the citizens of Sagunto, Sison, Pangasinan, Philippines
(This comment was moved from the previous post of the congressman’s response to questions regarding taxes paid by NCC.)
FROM MARK O. COJUANGCO
Response to Jun Aquino, as well as my response to question 3.
Sorry, we are so busy with the campaign. There are 8 towns and 1 city in our district, 212 Bgys.
We get home past 12 every night.Yes. NCC pays all other forms of taxes. I suppose the largest would be; the expanded VAT (12%), Corporate Income Tax and, all other national taxes. And although I am not well versed in all of these, they are much larger than the local taxes paid.
And so, some of these taxes find their way back to Sison through the IRA (Internal Revenue Allotment) and in 2009 Sison received 52,751,488.00 or approximately 52.7 Million pesos worth of IRA. Of course the IRA system also spreads and distributes the taxes collected and gives it to all other LGUs (towns, cities and provinces) throughout the country.
RA 7160 or “THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE of 1991” was written during the time of then President Cory Aquino.Being a lengthy piece of legislation, and knowing how long it takes to do legislative work of this nature after now being a Congressman for almost 9 years, I know that the code took a long time to develop, maybe even encompassing the whole of the 8th Congress (5 years). And, I am sure that it entailed countless hours of hearings, committee deliberations, interpellation and debate in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
May I say that it (the code) is a product of the collective wisdom of all the members of the 8th Congress as well as that of President Cory Aquino, who signed it into law.
During the time of its writing, I was not yet a Congressman, in fact, at that time I never imagined that one day, I would be one. It was during this time (of the 8th Congress), that my family and I were peacefully living our lives and raising then small children while in exile in Long Beach Ca.., USA.
RA 7160 was signed into law by President Cory Aquino on September (?) of 1991. .
The wisdom of this law and its merits are only for my speculation and without studying the matter in depth, I am not qualified to really comment on it as I am not privy to the discussions and debate involved in its creation.
With regards to your comment on the tax being less than 1% of gross sales, may I say that it was the prerogative of the 8th congress when they crafted RA 7160. Giving only a small share to the locality and a much larger share to the whole country is a product of their then collective wisdom.
I myself am an advocate for a larger share of taxes being paid locally, so long as it does not increase the TOTAL (local + national) amount of taxes being paid. Meaning; OK lang sa akin na mabago and sharing between local and national, so long as the sum of the two or the total, does not change.
This is also the advocacy of our former NPC presidential candidate, Sen. Chiz Escudero who has proposed amending the “siting provisions” of our national tax laws to favor the localities where businesses are sited.
It would be interesting to hear what the readers would think about this. I mean, what they think the specific sharing ratio should be, and why.
I believe that NCC would also not be objectionable to this, so long as a fair and level playing field is maintained; ie; the same equal, total effective tax rate, for all manufacturers in the same industry, both foreign and domestic.
This is because increasing total taxes would increase the price of the product being sold thus rendering it less competitive in the market (for example as compared to say cement from another province that has had less taxes).
May I cite other industries with low local tax rates; rice and corn products; wheat or cassava flour, meat, dairy products, locally manufactured processed or preserved food, sugar salt and other agricultural, marine, and fresh water products, whether in their original state or not; cooking oil and cooking gas; laundry soap, detergents, and medicine; agricultural implements, equipment and post-harvest facilities, fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, and other farm inputs; poultry feeds and other animal feeds; school supplies; and cement
As well as one which I believe has no local tax at all ( I may be wrong); cell phone services although huge, have no appreciable local taxes (I think).
I suppose that there must be some sort of a balance in taxation because heavily taxing an “essential” (language used in the law) commodity like cement, would result in higher prices to the end consumer. It is something that you may not also want, nor may the people.
I suppose therefore that what constitutes a proper tax level, depends on one’s point of view. Whether one is a consumer who want’s cheaper prices, or a beneficiary of the tax who want’s more revenues, ultimately, in a democracy the competition of various ideas is settled by voting, as it was in the creation of RA 7160 during the 8th Congress between 1987 and 1992.
To answer question 2 and 3;
2. Can they post the balance sheet and cash flow of the town in a public place for everyone to see?
3. Are they aware of any environmental threat to Sison? If so, what are these and what have been done?Answer to 2;
I believe that the books are open for and, to all. I believe that the books are submitted yearly to the COA. The record is therefore public and open. You may view it because it is also posted on the bulletin board in front of the municipal building. This is according to Ms. Janet Gutierrez our municipal accountant. Please let me know if it is not so.
Also, COA certifies all municipal transactions.
Answer to 3;
NCC complies with the DENR regulations covering the operations of cement plants.
Every year, DENR goes through a process to certify that NCC is in compliance. In fact, NCC would be unable to operate without such a certification.
I suppose therefore, that it is you who should first comment on what specifically is it, that is your notion of the “environmental threat” that NCC is causing to Sison. Only then, would I be able to venture an answer.
But in the interest of saving time, let me speculate about your concern. Is it the emission of dust?
Of course, even the most stringent standards anywhere in the world are never 100%. We (society as represented by DENR) are always seeking to impose higher standards, balanced by the reality of cost that society is willing to pay for the products produced.
NCC will always rise to the challenge of meeting such standards, otherwise, it will be unable to operate.
Let me just say that; to make cement, it costs a lot of money to grind the rocks. It does not profit NCC to just allow the crushed rocks to be lost as dust. NCC therefore, has invested large amounts of money, to implement the technology (electrostatic precipitator) that captures as much of this dust as possible. It is in NCC’s economic interests to capture the dust, because the dust is money. And, it does all it can to do so.
To answer one of the other posted comments (by emz) ; NCC operations has nothing whatsoever to do with the water supply anywhere in Sison. I can not see any connection regarding water. If you disagree, please post your disagreement and cite the specific case. I will try to address it.
From Mark O. Cojuangco Responds to Question Regarding NCC Taxes, 2010/04/21 at 2:02 PM
Join other Sagunto STARS on facebook!
Sagunto Star
Promote Your Page Too
Hon. Congressman Mark Cojuangco;
This is by far, in my opinion, the most honorable reading I have gotten from these discussions because I was touched by your candor and you seemed as forthcoming as a regular guy, no offense intended. Please indulge us more with your open-book action plan and share with us a little bit of history how and why your family became Sisonians, if this does not intrude in your personal privacy too much–but, if I am this curious now, I would think that our other kailians, all friends and foes alike, would be gratified to know that you are that likeable guy (just because your wife, Mayor Kimi, is already that likeable gal).
Respectfully,
Leopoldo R. Barrit
wen nga agpayso kunak man no taga LAOAG ni Apo Farinas? sabagay kunana diay local govt code nga basta nagdyan ka ti 6 nga bulan ti maysa nga lugar ket
mabalen ka nga agkandidato..
saan gayam nga 6 months ,,, sus madama ak to met nga agkapkape..
An elective local official must be a citizen of the Philippines; a registered voter in the barangay, municipality, city, or province or the district where he intends to be elected; a resident therein for at least one (1) year immediately preceding the day of the election; and able to read and write Filipino or any other local language or dialect. ..isu mabalen gayam nga agkandidato ni bulog ken tibot,, awan laeng ah pundo da nga agkampanya ken declare da nga nuisance..hehehe
yes right that is the qualification of a candidate running for a position…but if you are applying for a job as a street cleaner in metro manila one qualification is must be a high school graduate can read and write etc. while traffic enforcer must be a college graduate wow!
wen mabalin amin nga tumaray ania ketdin aya!
I think the time log of the Sagunto Star may be in error.
It seems to be reading pm instead of am.
My previous post was done at 2:02 am.
Regarding the post of Rhose Aquino alleging that her father was offered 16 million pesos not to run in 2007.
May I just say Rhose; Your imagination astounds me, as does your inventive mind.
My choice of candidate for vice in that election had always been, Ben (Sakio) Marinas.
For your information, when our then Vice Mayor Ben Marinas Sr. died in Dec., 2001 (was it?), it was I who became instrumental in pushing his son’s (Ben Sakio’s) papers through the appointment process for the position of COUNCILOR (to replace the vacancy created in the 8th slot of the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) when Dr. Reynard Madriaga, as the then #1 kagawad, assumed the Vice Mayorship). I got invloved because of the foot dragging by the local leadership (mayor) then, who was more intent on divying up the salary and benefits of the vacant councilor slot than in filling in the position.
I did that because it was my duty as District chairman of the NPC, the party to which I belong (Ben Sr, being a member of the NPC as was the 8th kgwd; it is suggested by law that the vacancy be filled up by also a member of the same party, in this case NPC. And also, in keeping with our customs and traditions, by kin of the deceased).
For the following elections in 2004, it was ONLY Ben Sakio who filed under NPC as Councilor. The others, pandering to and preferring to play political games with then Mayor Lagmay, filed both Lakas and NPC as their party, leading to their being listed officially as Lakas candidates.
It seems that at that time, this was a ploy of then Mayor Lagmay to undermine, by deceit, my leadership as Congressman, in the eyes of the national leadership (show others that there were no NPC candidates in Sison, and yet still be able to tell me that he and his group filed as NPC).
Ostensibly, this may have been part of an effort on his part, to pander to the interests based in Binalonan.
Let me also remind you that we (NPC), in 2007, had no opponent for Mayor, having had a coalition of many forces on our side. Candidate Kimi could and did devote all of her time, campaigning for her whole slate. This resulted in an overwhelming victory for the NPC candidates.
16 million pesos is much more than enough to fund even a nationwide “party list” campaign with a potential for 3 seats in the House of Representatives.
It makes absolutely no sense to spend that much money on a Mayoral, much less a Vice Mayoral position, for the size of town and the population that Sison has. Again, your innuendo and insinuations are malicious, but upon close analysis by the reader, they will be found out to be, baseless.
Let me assure you that we did not even spend 10% of that for the campaign of the whole slate in 2007.
May I also inform the readers that it was your family, including yourself and your father, who made several strong, vociferous (your self), and threatening (politically) visits and representations to myself at my residence, all in an effort to coerce me into selecting your father as my vice mayoral candidate.
That I would turn my back on the then inexperienced Ben Sakio, after his showing of fidelity to the party under tremendous pressure from trad pols, and further after meeting with you and your father, was out of the question.
Please don’t take it personally, but my choice of Ben then, had a lot to do with learning what Ben was all about and what you and your father were not.
The rest, is history.
Regarding Ben Aquino, your Uncle;
It is not lost on many that after he died, your father and your good self went against his widow and her family, practically ostracizing them.
I found this to be very strange as your father poses to be the rightful heir or beneficiary of Ben Aquino’s political legacy. How does this work?
Please know that before he died, the late Ben Aquino and I were on very good terms (you can check this out with his family if you are in speaking terms already). The then Vice Mayor was intent on moving forward, and so was I, as I am today.
Before he died, the topics of our discussions were inevitably blue sky thinking and brainstorming about possibilities of various ideas and concepts for Sison’s development, and how he could help from within the SB.
Rhose ayan mon ading? nakaturog kan san, ag komentar kan ta daytuyen ti tiempo a masungbatan dagiti saludsud tayo nga grupo ni Abeken leo ken dadduma pay nga sisonians maipanggep kadigiti intay inpo-post nga naka-ad-addo nga litrato maipanggep ti NCC taxes, pollution ken damuma-duma pay..umay kan ditoy ading..
Congressman, welcome again to SS. The time stamp is set to my time zone which is EST, exactly 12 hours difference from Philippines time. That’s why I knew you were up late or rather early in the morning and said so on my announcement on the Sisonians group on Facebook.
This is wonderful dialogue, and I appreciate you taking the time to address the various issues that has been floating around. I learned a lot just reading this, your recent comments. Thank you.
wow… scoop daytoy ahhhhh…. sabagay dignidad daytan masapol nga itakderan..
swak na swak….
to quote from iteristing topic ”
” May I also inform the readers that it was your family, including yourself and your father, who made several strong, vociferous (your self), and threatening (politically) visits and representations to myself at my residence, all in an effort to coerce me into selecting your father as my vice mayoral candidate.
That I would turn my back on the then inexperienced Ben Sakio, after his showing of fidelity to the party under tremendous pressure from trad pols, and further after meeting with you and your father, was out of the question. “
Wen ngarud ading Rhose umay kan ditoy ta adda met ditoy ni devilzadvocaten nga kadwa tayo..agkaysa tay man ditoyen SS ta datoyen ti tiansa tayo maka dengeg ti sungbat dagiti buribor nga ah saludsud kadarata eleksyon..
THIS IS NOT A COMMENT FROM MR. BARRIT – PLEASE REFRAIN FROM USING OTHER PEOPLE’S NAME TO POST COMMENTS OR ANY FUTURE COMMENTS WILL NO LONGER BE PUBLISHED
interesting.. kunak kuma ta mayat nga agpayso..
THANK YOU Congressman Cojuangco for such a timely reply and quite an eye-opener at that. We truly appreciate your candor and your openness in regards to Sisonians’ questions and addressing their concerns.
As you are well aware I have met with Mayor Kimi when she visited Long Beach. Early on in her campaign, I was one of the many detractors with numerous questions regarding the role of NCC and its effects on surrounding environments, etc. She, as you are now doing for others, answered all my questions which we video taped and posted here. Over her tenure (and past interviews) I have learned of the extensive retro-fits that NCC has done to lessen the pollution, the re-greening of areas sorrounding the plant, etc.
Some may accuse me of bias (in favor of you and Mayor Kimi) and say that I haven’t done enough research nor lived in the town to know better prior to supporting endeavors promoted by our Mayor. They may be right about not living there, no doubt, but I can judge from past performance that you and Mayor Kimi have done a lot more improvements for Sison than any other past mayors, for that I thank you. I’ll take my share of lumps from others whose opinions may be different from mine, but I have no regrets in my support for you and your wife. Thank you again for your response.
With sincere respect and appreciation,
Ophelia Glasser
PS: As a side-note, this is in partial response to one who stated that I haven’t done my research prior to expressing my opinion on the NCC matter, tax revenues (paid by the corporation), etc. I think I’ve done more research on the subject than most who actually do live there. As I have always stated ,I try to remain neutral when it comes to local Philippine politics but I hate nothing more than when accused of not knowing what I’m talking about!
Wen Ading Rhose umayka ditoyen.
apay sabali met ti turong nan…do you think a congressman can be threatened and coerced by such an ordinary person, and that an ordinary or a commoner can threat a Congressman???Or was it a not???
Whatever it is, one thing is for sure, some politicians (especially those who are in power) can go on sabotaging characters of their opponent, playing their dirty tricks and waving their magic wands, never minding whoever they hit as long as they could perform their magic tricks.
iti paggugura iti pamilya ket problema ti pamilya. Ti Apo laengen ti makaamo kadakuada.
Thank you Congressman for taking the time to reply to the many queries on this thread. Your detailed explanations are what we really need. We are of course, also waiting for the response of the other side and various other parties to join in our virtual gathering here.
As with issues on the complicated tax system, we are not really fully versed with how and what DENR checks in companies, and what provisions, recommendation, awards or certificates especially to mining companies like NCC they grant. Could you please just cite some examples of past recommendations DENR had always requested or demanded NCC to accomplish, and how it was able to meet such requirements? What areas were you ever rated as poor?
We are not only curious, but we intend to use such measures to educate our younger generations of the techniques and “state-of-the-art” methods you employ. The DENR are the “expert caretakers” of our environment, and of course, would always be expected as direct monitors of what happens especially in our immediate surroundings. Too sad, we are not always around to see the further effects of our activities like cutting of trees and non-protection of cliffs, mountain and hills from erosion, and our people are not always updated with current hards to envionment. Our small activities as community dwellers, though small in scale, would amount to great devastation if their effects are magnified and if they eventually spread causing difficulties in our search for water. Don’t you know that every year, we have to dig deeper and deeper to find any good source of drinking and agriculture water?
Well, I think I should not ask you that question. Of course you know these, Sir…we have heard of your projects and often frustrations in drilling water wells for our communities. We’d like you to know that we are so thankful for all your drilling efforts, and hope you continue helping our farmers and barangays with machinery to dig water. More machines like the ones you “demonstrated” around Sison are needed in every barangay. But have you ever wondered what may be causing this difficulty of reaching the water shed?
Climate change, deforestation, lack of green projects, chemicals flowing into our rivers, etc…etc. Our community people are guilty of many of these. And what about NCC? Isn’t NCC contributing at some degree to the degradation of our environment? Google luckily captures some details of Sison town which gives us assurance that somewhat… NCC has done some effort. But we need more. And we need you, congressman and our mayor more in educating especially our people in the avoidance of bad practices and activities to our environment.
What is your honest personal belief of the impact NCC is doing to our environment? Can you honestly tell our young ones that NCC is a good example? With due respect, dear Congressman, I request you tell us your sincere evaluation of NCC’s role to the preservation of our environment. Give us specific details of what NCC has been doing to counter the wiping of lots of forest life, as well as land resources. We have long forgotten how our DENR works, and what aspects they focus. I’d respect what you’d say and believe what you can proudly claim, as long as you can honestly tell us that NCC is not a nuisance to our environment but a friend to Earth, and an advocate to good life.
Thank you in advance for your attention and concern. Hope you don’t find our questions as too much prying on NCC. These are the many questions we want clarified for our peace of mind. We hope you understand.
Emz
THIS COMMENT WAS RECEIVED FROM MR. JUN AQUINO. TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, JUN, I HAVE VERIFIED THAT THE COMMENT IS AUTHENTIC. IT IS FROM THE CONGRESSMAN HIMSELF.
ala ading Jun sumardeng tayon ta napirdi unay ti nagan tayon nga pamilya ditoy..please plase uston kadin ading…
Sis Emz, tama na din please…haba haba ng sinulat mo..mag concede na tayo at tama nga na mali ang ating naumpisahan dialogo dito mula sa FB sinonians group na umabot na dito SS..
To all we are very sorry..
THIS IS NOT A COMMENT FROM MR. BARRIT – PLEASE REFRAIN FROM USING OTHER PEOPLE’S NAME TO POST COMMENTS OR ANY FUTURE COMMENTS WILL NO LONGER BE PUBLISHED
Aysus kadi ading Jun, huston,please please ta napirdi unayen ti nagan tayo ditoy..nairamraman pay ketdi ni Unclen nga Victor.
At least kakabsat naidanun tayo metten ti kayat tayo nga ibaga ken ti pakpakay tayo, ket ni ading jun awan met ti dakes nga ibagbaga na nga pakadadaelan ti nagan tayo wenno nagan nyo, nu kitaen tayo ket nasayaat met ti sumsumbat na kenni congressman ket ammo na met pay ti agpasalamat isu nga anya kuma ti madi idjay?
awan met ti personal nga sinasao or kinomento na kasta met uray sikayo met kakabsat nasayaat met laeng ti imbagbaga yu. Ken adda met iti imbitasyon ni Jeanette nga mabalin uray sinno iti agsaludsud wenno agkomento basta awan ti dakkes nga sasao wenno bulgar nga panagsasao apo.Adda amin ti karapatan tayo nga agsaludsud ken agsao basta nasayaat lakitdi ti panagsao tayo kabsat.
nasayaat met daytoy panagsaludsud tapnu amin ket malawlawagan ita. Nasagot man wenno saan ken kontento man tayo wenno saan ti sagot da at least naipadanun tayo iti rikna tayo through Jeanette. Thank you Jeanette ken iti kakabsat ditoy.
ney! ay syay.. adda agusar sabali nga nagan? awan originality na ah no kasta kitaem naka red post ka..hahaha.. kasla agila ti mata ni apo mangiturturong makita na amin nga agpang-pangep, isu nga usaren yo diay usto nga nagan yo..
awan met nga agpayso ti madi no agdamag tayo di kadi.. ngem no kitaen tayo nya kakadwa, 1968 pay gayam nga napatakder dayta planta…ket mano nga dekada ngayen nga maulet-ulit dayta nga tungtongan kada tyempo eleksyon? baw, nabayagen ahh adda payen asawan ni tingeg ket tatta baron diay putot nan ,isu (ncc) pay latta ti topic met piman.. gapo na ngamin ta awan sabalin nga mapagtutungtunganen ..
sige ngarud ituloy tayo narugian metten,,
happy earth day!!!!
Ngamin, apo, dayta “power” ken “politics” ken “business” iti kangrunaan nga makamtan no adda iti election manen.
Kitaen yo, no saan koma nga nag-politics da Cojuangco sada nagturay, saan met koma nga nadaksan dayta naganda ken business da. Nagbanglo koman aya dayta taptapok ti NCC.
Sa ket pay ta adu dagidi damdamag ken/wenno pammadakes nga naar-aramid kanu nga panagiruwar iti armas ken kuarta, nga panangbutbuteng ken pananggatgatang kadagiti tao ken botos.
Isu nga nanipud pay la idi karugrugi dayta NCC ken iti pannakibiang da Cojuangco iti pammataray iti Sison, immadun dagiti nagsaosaon ken immapal ken kimmontra.
Ket dayta iti napalabas. Ngem ita, adda da pay latta. No koma baybay-an da laengen dayta politics ti Sison, sa da la agbaybayad laengen iti justo nga buwis da–ay, apo, isu da koman a iti patron ti ili tayo. Lalo ket ta nataraki da a tattao–ay, apo, isu da koman iti santo ti bantay ken karayan ken ti highway ken ti amianan ken daya ken laud ken abagatan. Nagsayaat met la koman, baw. Ngem saan met ta adda tayo manen ditoy nga agdengngeg kadagitoy amin nga istorya.
Ibaga yo man ngarud kadagita candidato tayo nga ilaksid dan ita iti konneksyon da kada Cojuangco ken ta NCC? Dawaten tayo man kada Cojuangco nga puteden dan iti konneksyon da dita presidensiya? Basta isudanto lattan iti Big Benevolent Benefactors iti ili nga Sison–ngem, pangpanga-asi da koma ta “hands-off” dan manipud ita. Kitaen tayo man no maipaypayso da nga agbalin nga Good Corporate Citizen, ania?
Inkayon, apo, nga agdamag ken agdawat iti pannaikadua nga biag ti ili nga Sison. Ibaga yo nga saan datayon nga bekbekkelen. Amen?
Dios ti agngina kanya yo amin,
El-Ar “Franco” Barrit
To some impostors in search of amusement and who easily get tired reading “novel-like” posts…this is not your site. We have more serious objectives aimed for, more than any entertainment you may be expecting here. This is not a fashion magazine. This forum was created on a certain purpose. The posts are long to contain details that could easily convince people. If you are tired of reading complaints, ideas, comments in good faith, simply find your playground somewhere else. Saguntostar aims to improve situations or support ongoing projects for the good of the citizens of Sison and Sagunto. If you find the comment long, just scroll down or stop reading. If you can’t understand some, read your dictionary. If you are ever offended, we are very very sorry. We are trying our best to be clear, direct and honest…All we do here, as long as we stick to the purpose of the website, are good. Be patient! This is not a competition. We have younger generations to think about. If you think we are attacking certain people who you dearly support under negative intentions, think again. This is for everyone to attain peace, unity and cooperation…once and for all. Thank you for your patience.
ay syay… kasla nagrigat dayta inka idawdawat kabagis manong chief amo, nga
dagiti kakandidato ket putden da ti koneksyon da kada apo ncc agraman cojuancos ? aglalo ta NPC party ket dakkel nga political party..ken maysa tumartaray da nga awit da ti takyag da ti political party baner NPC. . kasla kuma kadagiti aksyon,LP, ken lakas.. mabalin cguro nga ag change party da ngem adda latta dayta partido political nga sibubukel.. ken diay putden da koneksyon da dita presidensya wenno munisipyo kasla metten ah innekat tayon ti gundaway da nga makidap-ay kadatayo, kasta kadi? ti pag sayaatan na piman ti demokrasya ket adda ken mabigbig ti karbengan ti tunggal maysa..lalo unay daytoy nawaya nga panang iyebkas ti kapanunotan tayo ket naadaw iti dayta freedom nga kunada ( adda aya)..hehe.. ngem anya ngay ngata no kasparegan ket mapasamak dayta opinyon ni manong ko diay senaryo nga awan ti political party ditoy laeng ah sison, amin nga tumaray ket independenti.
gundaway ket ngatan dagitoy addaan kwalting nan..ta kabailan da nga paandaren ti political machinery da usar da sarli da mismo nga pundo, ayee piman masapol met nga gumastos ka nga agkampanya lalo ta masapol nga likmoten ti intero nga ili agkakaadayo ken kabangibang nga barangay..sure ball ah diay adda lugan na nga bus (partas sa met daydiay wenno farinas?) ken piman met diay awanan ta agusar pasagad nalpas ton ti iliksyon agliklikmot pay laeng hehe..
siguro nu haan tayo maala ken mamati dagiti vision ni Cong. MC para ti ili tayo nga sison, sitayo nga dda abroad may-mayat pay siguro nga agurnong tayo ti dakkel ditoy abroad ta agbalay tayon jay Pozzurobio wennno Rosario laengen..What you think El-Al?tapno han tayon ma stress ken ma hi-blood kadagitoy nga ban-banag..
ay..ay..ay! saanko nga isukat sison kabagis (Don san diego) , hahaha.. awan ti kastoy nga istorya idiay maboring kan ahh..
kun-kunank met laeng ah lakay Ipe..hehe..uray siak isukat ko ket ti sisonen??
Kontra ak la tay idea ni apo El-Ar, ta ti pinagkitak ket seryoso dan para ti Ili ti Sison. Malas laeng tay minanok ta idi ta nag corrupt samet nga nag corrupt. ay-yaket baw!
Puro ar-artistan met ngamin kanayon diskurso na.
EMZ;
“Of course you know these, Sir…we have heard of your projects and often frustrations in drilling water wells for our communities. We’d like you to know that we are so thankful for all your drilling efforts, and hope you continue helping our farmers and barangays with machinery to dig water. More machines like the ones you “demonstrated” around Sison are needed in every barangay. But have you ever wondered what may be causing this difficulty of reaching the water shed?”
RESPONSE FOR EMZ;
I believe that you may have a misconception of what is a “watershed”, but I am happy that you used the word because it now gives me an opportunity to elaborate on this important concept and reality.
The ff links may help;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watershed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drainage_basin
Also; the ff picture would give a good visual idea of what a watershed area is/means;
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.chescocooler.org/images/watershed_800.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.chescocooler.org/watersheds.shtml&h=602&w=800&sz=204&tbnid=_8jEE_GeXd2WmM:&tbnh=108&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwatershed&usg=__pXDTUL8QXpf2F0TnlcUypJOuglU=&ei=-yfTS6P_Io72sQOOmOTPCQ&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=10&ct=image&ved=0CCcQ9QEwCQ
Of special significance in this picture is the concept/reality of “Divides” or “water divides” (also means; ridge line, crest, among others).
The picture may also be the basis to demonstrate (if you look at and analis the topo maps of Sison) that the watershed area where NCC is located, is isolated from the bigger part of Sison.
In fact being this watershed is only a very very small part of the town. NCC is more a part of the Pozzorubio and downstream town’s and communities’ watershed area.
This is because the NCC plant site is bounded by an upper branch of the Aloragat river which serves as a boundary or “Divide” of the NCC watershed area (meaning, the area across the bridge from NCC is no longer part of the NCC watershed area). This river passes right in front of the plant, effectively cutting it off from the rest of Sison.
The areas that “with some vigourous stretching of reasoning” may still be considered as part of the same NCC watershed area are; Bgys Calunetan, Killo, and Alibeng. We have found good water there, and the population there is enjoying the good, high quality (as good as or better than bottled) water from the special “artesian” wells which we (through my congressional funds. And, I will ask my engineer to post the technical details, description and cross sectional drawings of these wells in the Sison website for your perusal) have provided.
EMZ; “But have you ever wondered what may be causing this difficulty of reaching the watershed? “
In any case, it is not a “watershed” that is reached by drilling. Rather, what we try to reach by our drilling is called a; “confined aquifer”.
Please see;
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/hydrosphere/aquifer_USGS.gif
and;
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/hydrosphere/aquifer_USGS.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/hydrosphere/subsurface_water_groundwater.html&usg=__U4mygV4nMmfmTcG_Y4_9n7trKFc=&h=255&w=489&sz=65&hl=en&start=16&itbs=1&tbnid=Tk5MSC9z6jjGTM:&tbnh=68&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Daquifer%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26tbs%3Disch:1
both links are from the USGS (United States Geological Survey), and provide a picture illustration of what is a “confined aquifer”.
A confined aquifer is a strata of porous rock, gravel, sand or porous soil with enough pore space to allow water to flow. All the confined aquifers which are located under the ground in Sison were already there millions of years before NCC came into existence.
It is not NCC’s fault that these confined aquifers are deep or are deeper than in other towns. It is God who made it that way. It is because Sison is located at the foothills of a mountain range. As almost all people know, water is hard to find in some parts of mountains like in Baguio, because of the way rocks and soil are structured and layered in mountains.
The reason we have trouble finding water in some places in Sison are twofold.
Firstly, we are trying to find clean, potable, drinking water of high purity. By definition, this is located in a confined aquifer which is much below the much shallower surface or “open” aquifers (please see the illustrations in the USGS links above). Open aquifers are commonly reached by several lengths of tubo and “jetmatic” in what is referred to as a “Water table well”.
“Water table wells” are prone to contamination by septic tanks, sewer drains, runoff from poultry, piggeries, garbage piles etc.. If I were a tradpol, I would be content with giving the people these, never mind if they get sick, so long as I can easily claim accomplishments and patronage.
But we are not tradpols, and what we want is to give the people quality. What we are installing for the community are what is referred to as; “artesian wells” or wells which tap the much deeper “confined aquifers” (please see the links above to understand what are “artesian wells” and where under the ground do they draw water from).
Giving Quality wells turns out to be much harder to accomplish, specially in Sison because of the structure of the underlying earth. The misinformation coming from some quarters does not help either.
Secondly, The difficulty with drilling in Sison is that since much of the town is situated at the foothills of a mountain range, what is beneath us is often solid rock (bato) or clay (pila) or other non porous materials. This strata is not water bearing because rock and clay have no pores, and so can hold no water nor allow any significant water to flow.
This means that we have to drill much deeper to find the confined aquifer in any particular location, if there is any at all. Sometimes there may/will be non at all. This has been the case in Artacho where we already reached 1,000 ft. Don’t forget that we don’t want “water table wells” and so we go deeper that the “open aquifer” to find the “confined aquifer”, so that we can have real “artesian wells”
Because of this case and what happened in Artacho, we decided to purchase a special drill rig for cases and situations like what we find in Sison. Our new rig will allow us to reach 2,000+ ft.
The rig (very heavy duty), was bought specifically for Sison’s use by the district (ie; my congressional funds) and it cost 10 million + pesos. It will now be a permanent capability that we (the district) now have the means to reach the deeper water in Sison. It took me years to set aside enough funds to purchase this for the town, I only hope that no other political reasons will get in the way of our actually using it to drill in Sison.
With this new rig, we will drill again in Artacho and God willing, we will find water, and so hopefully also in Sagunto and Agat. I am taking a/the political risk in that.
The difficulty of finding water in some parts of Sison, has nothing to do with NCC. It would also be exactly the same case/situation if say NCC had never existed. There is no connection.
The lower lying towns of the 5th district are another case altogether. Most of them are located in alluvial plains which have porous soil layers under the surface confining layer. These areas even have gravel and sand (of about 20 feet thick) starting at about 200 feet deep (as in the case of Urdaneta, Villasis, Sto. Tomas, Alcala, Bautista, Laoac, including large parts of Pozzorubio and Binalonan). Our results in these areas have been very good indeed.
You must realize that some places on earth are really difficult sources for water with many having none at all. Even strata with porous rock may have no water or unusable water, For example, if it is sloping the wrong way. For example, from the sea to inland, instead of from inland to the sea. However, in the Philippines, this is the exception rather than the rule. And, I am optimistic of finding good quality water in most places in Sison if not all, if we drill deep enough.
REGARDING THE COMMENTS OF JUN AQUINO:
Yes. NCC is now compliant.
The limit by DENR for dust is 300 ug/NCM.
At 3 specific sampling sites, the readings for 2006 were at; 201 ug/NCM in Sitio Saguitlang, 6 ug/NCM in Inmalog and 37 ug/NCM in Labayog, the average being 81.33 ug/NCM.
These sampling sites are close to the plant. The other Bgys therefore are for all practical purposes, untouched, as the readings fall rapidly with distance from the plant.
Please find a copy of a certification of compliance (to be sent to Janette and hopefully posted within 2 days as a pdf file, maybe Jeanette can post it). And yes, NCC is now a blue color rating. It also was in; 2006, 2007, 2009.
In 2008 there was no rating as the independent 3rd party contractor who takes the samples for DENR encountered equipment failure, and did not conduct any sampling for that year.
In 1995, NCC spent 238 Million pesos to purchase 2 units of then new EPs from “LURGI” in Germany, which were much larger than the old ones from KHD.
In 2005, the EP (electrostatic precipitator) systems (the new ones) were probably giving some trouble. They have since been reconditioned.
In addition, NCC undertook to add EP capacity in 2008, by making operational one of the old KHD EPs. This is in addition to the new LURGI units. NCC spent 12.2 Million pesos to do this.
NCC will again be spending an additional 12.2 Million, for a second expansion in EP capacity by way of reactivating the second old KHD EP. This should be operational by the end of 2010 or early 2011.
These improvements and investments can only mean lesser and lesser dust.
In the Philippines, NCC is the pioneer of the dry process as opposed to a wet process cement plant. It is the first plant of this type to be built in the Philippines in 1966 – 67. All other plants built in the Philippines after NCC are also dry process plants. Also, all of the wet process plants were converted to dry process in the 80′s and 90′s, because they could not compete with the dry process plants in terms of cost and energy consumption.
NCC therefore; does not use water in the cement making process and so it has no “effluent” discharge.
NCC’s water usage is for cooling purposes only. And so, water does not go out of the plant but is rather consumed in the plant by evaporation. There is NO effluent. The DENR rules on effluent water quality are irrelevant to NCC operation although they do apply to all kinds of manufacturing plants.
The total cooling water usage by NCC is; 210 GPM. This is not such a large requirement (ie; it can easily be accommodated by a 3 or 4 inch pipe).
This is supplied by impoundment (NCC has since 1966, dug up and maintained an impoundment pond within its property to capture rain water during the rainy season), and by a deep well as back up when summer is long.
RESPONSE TO KIKO;
I am sorry if the word “threatened” was too strong for you. That is why I added the qualifier word “(politically)” to try to give you my sense of what transpired. Maybe I should have said; “ultimatized” (hehe!, invented word) or; “given a political ultimatum”.
And yes, Mr. Aquino wanted me to choose and endorse his good self as our Vice Mayoral candidate in 2007.
Let me assure you that the only “magic wand” which I have, is the power that comes with the use of; solid evidence and logical objective reasoning. You too have access to this power. It would manifest itself if you were to; avoid conjecture and speculation, stick to the facts, and reason objectively.
Let me also assure you that everything which I have stated or state in this post is done so only with goodwill and the desire to inform. If I have managed to hurt anyone’s sensibilities, I am sorry for that. It is/was not my intention to do so.
Comments to this post have been closed. The congressman’s comment above has been moved as a post of its own for your comments here: http://saguntostar.com/2010/04/26/congressman-cojuangco-answers-environmental-impact-of-ncc/
Click on the link to continue this discussion. Thank you!