BIZ BUZZ: Pushback vs DENR chief

It’s been a long while since the legitimate mining industry in this country has had a break, especially with government regulators seemingly eager to tighten the noose around miners that are operating legally while being either powerless or uninterested in clamping down on illegal mining operations that have been raking it in.

But all that has changed, apparently, with large local mining firms now feeling optimistic about their prospects given the new leadership at the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Biz Buzz hears that mining firms—especially those that make up the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines—are excited to start collaborating with the industry’s regulators, especially with the new “science-based approach” that Environment Secretary Toni Yulo-Loyzaga has implemented at the DENR.

Loyzaga’s policy initiatives are creating waves in the industry, including those that leverage off new technologies to help the government enforce environmental laws and protect the country’s natural resources.

For example, she’s a big advocate of using near-real time satellite imaging technology to monitor the country’s shrinking forest cover, as well as to monitor reforestation efforts, including those being promised and implemented by mining companies engaged in open pit mining.

In the past, this kind of monitoring was done only by forest rangers of which there are too few in the DENR’s employ, given its limited operating budget of only P24 billion in total for the coming fiscal year—a far cry from what the department needs to faithfully fulfil its mandate.

“One forest ranger is assigned to guard thousands of hectares of land,” Loyzaga said, explaining that it was simply impossible for one person (who isn’t even armed) to protect all those forests against exploitation.

And illegal mining activities—which earn billions but don’t contribute to the national coffers by way of taxes and royalties—are in her crosshairs, while creating an environment that is favorable to miners who comply faithfully with the law.“She looks at the data dispassionately and does not let her emotions get in the way,” said one mining industry official, clearly relieved to be able to talk rationally with the head regulator for a change.

All these reforms aren’t happening smoothly, however. Biz Buzz hears that Loyzaga is encountering a lot of “pushback” from entrenched interests in the DENR and its sub-agencies, many of whom are seeing their … uhm … “livelihoods” affected by her new way of doing things.

All this is making industry observers ask: Will these reforms take root? Will the secretary last? Abangan! —Daxim L. Lucas

Converge brings high-speed Wi-Fi to Naia

Busy travelers waiting to board their flights no longer have to worry about missing social media posts or important work e-mail as fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. led by Dennis Anthony Uy will roll out 1-gigabit per second fiber connectivity as part of its free Wi-Fi project at the country’s gateways.

The Converge co-founder and CEO tells BizBuzz that intermittent and slow Wi-Fi has always been a nagging complaint among travelers and Converge decided to do something about it.

Converge thus committed to roll out the free Wi-Fi program last year with the signing of the memorandum of agreement with the Department of Transportation and various agencies including the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the Manila International Airport Authority.

The listed fiber company has made good on that promise as starting today, travelers going through terminal 4 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) will enjoy faster Wi-Fi connection at speeds up to 1 Gbps and free for two hours. Soon, Converge will extend the service to other major airports such as those in Cebu and Davao. —Tina Arceo-Dumlao 

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