Energy 171, Nuclear power plants, many are old but still working with zero accident

This is an nteresting data. 125 out of 422 nuclear power reactors worldwide, or 99,447 MW out of 377,891 MW capacity, are more than 40 years old, and still operating as of March 2023.

How Old Are the World’s Nuclear Reactors?Published 4 days ago on June 29, 2023
By Govind Bhutada
Graphics/Design: Sabrina Lam, Clayton Wadsworth, June 29, 2023
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/how-old-are-the-worlds-nuclear-reactors

And no nuke accident, contrary to scare mongering by the anti-nuke power groups.

Some 3 1/2 months ago, I wrote this.

Sustained growth via stable and ample electricity

March 20, 2023, https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2023/03/20/511660/sustained-growth-via-stable-and-ample-electricity/

"The Philippines’ Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) has 620 MW in installed capacity. If the average capacity factor is 85%, then its dependable capacity is 527 MW. So, in one day, or 24 hours, it can generate 12,648 megawatt-hours (MWH) of electricity; in one year, or 365 days, it can generate 4.62 million MWH or 4.62 TWH.

If the BNPP was allowed to operate in 1985 or 1986, then it could have contributed or added 20% of total generation in 1985, and 4.2% in 2021 (See Table 2)."

---------------

See also:
Energy 168, News reports on Europe situation, June-August 2022, August 17, 2022
Energy 169, PH's WESM demographics, April 19, 2023
Energy 170, Electric cooperatives and NPC, May 07, 2023.

BWorld 616, Financing sustained growth: NAIA privatization

Financing sustained growth: NAIA privatization
June 27, 2023 | 12:02 am

My Cup Of Liberty
By Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr.
https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2023/06/27/530776/financing-sustained-growth-naia-privatization/

(Last in a four-part series)

The Philippines’ huge outstanding public debt — only P8.22 trillion in 2019, jumping to P13.81 trillion in 2022 and P13.91 trillion in April 2023, and these numbers exclude guaranteed debt — remains a significant fiscal drag that can inhibit the country from sustaining fast growth.

Over the last three years, the government has been forced to borrow abroad to supplement domestic borrowings. Foreign debt securities to finance the annual budget deficit were priced with interest rates of 4% to 10%, rather high. This is also reflected in the jump in the 10-year government bond, which was only 3.9% in late June 2021 but 6.3% in late June this year. Other Asian countries, excluding India and Indonesia, only have 0.4% to 3.9% (see the table).

NAIA MODERNIZATION AND PRIVATIZATION OF OPERATION

One recent development in Philippine modernization and infrastructure development is the unsolicited proposal (USP) by the Manila International Airport Consortium (MIAC) to develop the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from its declared capacity of 31 million passengers per annum (MPPA) to about 70 million. The consortium is composed of six conglomerates — Aboitiz Infrastructure, AC Infrastructure, Asia Emerging Dragon Corp., Alliance Global-Infracorp Development Corp., Filinvest Development Corp., and JG Summit Infrastructure Holdings Corp. Plus, a new foreign partner, Global Infrastructure Partners.

The MIAC plans a cost of P267 billion — a P57-billion concession payment to the government, and capital investment of P57 billion in the first five years, plus P154 billion over the next 20 years. Aside from the concession fee, the government is also projected to receive an additional P280 billion over the 25-year concession period from revenue sharing and taxes.

This looks too good to be true — one might wonder if there is a catch somewhere. Like passing the high cost to the airlines, passengers, and airport shops and contractors.

One option is to move from USP to government-solicited PPP in a faster procedure. In the USP PPP, private proponents make sure that the terms are in their favor whereas in the solicited PPP, the government has balanced perspective on all the parameters, terms, and conditions of the contract and can ask exactly what it wants from the bidders. The important thing is that NAIA rehabilitation and expansion should proceed at no cost to the government and taxpayers.

The solicited mode also has some P30 billion in upfront concession payments that can be used by the Department of Transportation (DoTr) to fund badly needed investments in the Air Navigation System. A solicited PPP can be awarded before the end of the year if things go well.

UP Professor Emeritus Epictetus Patalinghug also proposes that “DoTr should subject the NAIA Rehabilitation Project to a competitive bidding using the ADB NAIA PPP Framework as the comparator model which will form the basis for the bidders to offer a better rehabilitation plan.”

NAIA PRIVATIZATION OF LAND AND ASSETS

My favorite alternative for NAIA is not just the privatization of its management and operation while government retains ownership of the land. A better long-term option given the huge and burdensome public debt discussed above, is to privatize the entire land and assets of NAIA, with government to get the money and use it solely to retire some public debt. Reduce the debt from the current P14 trillion back to the P8 trillion level of 2019, or even lower.

The NAIA is said to have 646 hectares. I tried to check the official website of its administrator, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA, https://www.miaa.gov.ph/) but the website is down — proof that even in website administration, the government airport service is not efficient.

Using a conservative price of P100,000/sq.m. or P10 billion/hectare for NAIA’s land, multiplied by 646 hectares, that is a whopping P6.46 trillion in potential revenue over the long term and hence, avoiding the need for more borrowings and more taxation.

NAIA as it is will be closed down after some time and converted to other uses by the consortium of new owners. The new and/or upcoming airports in Clark, Bulacan, and Sangley in Cavite will absorb the international and domestic air traffic.

If the Marcos Jr. administration and the economic team will consider this, then the NAIA rehabilitation and management privatization can be shrunk down to a concession period of only 15-20 years.

Drastically reduced public debt means a drastic reduction in interest payment, savings can be used for more rural and provincial infrastructure. Which will further disperse business and investments to more parts of the archipelago, spurring faster growth and sustaining it for the long haul.
---------------

See also:
BWorld 613, Financing sustained growth: Tax reforms, June 29, 2023
BWorld 614, FDI in the Philippines and the energy mix, June 30, 2023
BWorld 615, The law of diminishing marginal utility and public policy, July 01, 2023.

France riots, burning, looting and disrespect of property

Several days of riots in Paris and other cities of France, after the shooting of a 17 yo immigrant who disobeyed the police to stop. Initially the riots were anti-police, attack against police stations and police cars, but later moved towards burning private cars, looting shops and malls and burning of private property. No longer political riots, just criminal stealing and destruction of property. 

France and other countries should look more on their internal problems. Citizens and immigrants who do not know how to respect private property, how to work to improve their lives and not resort to stealing. Instead of focusing a big portion of their time and resources on wars elsewhere, like Ukraine.

Fourth night of violence in France after deadly police shooting of teen
Young rioters clashed with police and looted stores Friday in a fourth day of violence in France triggered by the deadly police shooting of a teen, piling more pressure on President Emmanuel Macron after he appealed to parents to keep children off the streets and blamed social media for fueling unrest. 30/06/2023
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230630-%F0%9F%94%B4-live-third-night-of-violent-clashes-between-police-and-protesters-in-france-hundreds-arrested

French riots: 2 off-duty police officers ‘beaten like dogs’ by mob in brutal video
French police union warns: “We are at war”
JOHN CODY June 30, 2023
https://rmx.news/crime/french-riots-2-off-duty-police-officers-beaten-like-dogs-by-mob-in-brutal-video/

Macron calls for parents' 'responsibility' amid riots in France
Protests erupted after police shot dead a 17-year-old boy on Tuesday, feeding deep-seated concerns about police violence and systemic racism inside the country.
By Euronews  with AFP  •  30/06/2023
https://www.euronews.com/2023/06/30/667-people-arrested-amid-looting-fires-and-violence-in-france

France Deploys 'Armored Military Vehicles' To Combat Nationwide Riots
Tyler Durden JUL 01, 2023
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/france-has-fallen-dramatic-footage-shows-social-unrest-spreading-third-night

Bus carrying 41 China passengers attacked in France (+VIDEO)
Jul 1, 2023
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/202646/Bus-carrying-41-China-passengers-attacked-in-France-VIDEO

French Police Say "We're At War With Vermin" As Nationwide Riots Spread Like Cancer
Tyler Durden JUL 01, 2023
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/french-police-say-were-war-vermin-nationwide-riots-spread-cancer

Sporadic violence, but calmer night in France after family buries teenager
By Benoit Van Overstraeten and Horaci Garcia. July 2, 2023 https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-deploys-45000-police-armored-vehicles-amid-riots-2023-07-01/

Meanwhile...

France builds new military hospital in preparation for war
The hospital is being built to “prepare France for a possible high-intensity war”
MANDINER June 29, 2023
https://rmx.news/france/france-builds-new-military-hospital-in-preparation-for-war/

Hungary: EU budget amendment to supply Ukraine with €50 billion is ‘ill-considered’
Hungary wants to know how much has been spent on Ukraine so far
MAGYAR HÍRLAP  June 28, 2023
https://rmx.news/european-union/hungary-eu-budget-amendment-to-supply-ukraine-with-e50-billion-is-ill-considered/

‘The EU is on the brink of bankruptcy,’ says Hungary’s Orbán at EU summit
The money that was approved to be spent and was supposed to be there for the next five years has already been spent, says Hungary’s PM
MAGYAR NEMZET June 30, 2023
https://rmx.news/hungary/the-eu-is-on-the-brink-of-bankruptcy-says-hungarys-orban-at-eu-summit/

BWorld 615, The law of diminishing marginal utility and public policy

The law of diminishing marginal utility and public policy
June 22, 2023 | 12:02 am

My Cup Of Liberty
By Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. 
https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2023/06/22/529956/the-law-of-diminishing-marginal-utility-and-public-policy/

One of the important contributions of Economics in public policy is the marginal (or extra, additional, incremental) analysis in the increase in cost and revenues, satisfaction and dissatisfaction, welfare and “diswelfare.” And this applies to both private (household, corporate, civil society) and public (national, local government) institutions.

The “law of diminishing marginal utility” means that all else being equal or constant, as consumption of a product or service increases, the marginal utility or satisfaction or happiness derived from each additional unit declines. Or, the more units of an item are used or consumed, the less satisfaction one gets from each additional unit consumed.

An example would be going to an eat-all-you-can restaurant at a fixed price. The first two plates would give high satisfaction as the person tastes more viands. The third, fourth, or fifth plates would give less satisfaction as the person might suffer indigestion and discomfort.

Here we analyze two public policies using the marginal cost and revenue analysis: legislated minimum wage hike, and legislated tobacco tax hikes.

CASE 1. RISING MINIMUM WAGE VIA LEGISLATION

As inflation rises, the clamor for a government-mandated or legislated minimum wage hike also rises. Is this a reasonable public policy response or not?

We take as an example a restaurant with several personnel (cooks, waiters, cashier, driver/shopper). The restaurant owner decides whether to have six, eight, 10, 12 or more personnel based on the projected total costs and total revenues of running the restaurant and getting the marginal or incremental costs and revenues per additional worker employed.

The marginal cost (MC) per additional worker is simply getting the difference between the total cost of having another worker. The marginal revenue (MR) per additional worker is also getting the difference between the total revenue of having another worker.

In the example below (see Table 1), if the restaurant gets only eight or nine staffers, the MR is larger than MC (MR > MC) meaning there is more revenue and profit to be made if the restaurant hires another worker, making the customers wait less time and hence be satisfied with restaurant service.

Then at the 10th worker, MR = MC at P270,000. That is also what economic theory says: profit is optimal when MR = MC. If the restaurant decides to hire an 11th worker given the same space and number of tables, MR < MC, or P240,000 vs. P310,000 respectively and the restaurant will lose money. There will be more losses if it hires a 12th and 13th employee.

When the government legislates another minimum wage hike, say from P600/day to P800/day, this raises the total costs of the restaurant and hence, the MC per worker with no assurance that total revenue and MR per worker will also rise.

We show this in another set of columns in the table. MR per worker remains constant but MC has gone up, the MR = MC situation occurs at P350,000 at the 8th worker. Meaning the restaurant must lay off two workers.

That is why a constantly rising legislated minimum wage is anti-worker, not pro-worker. It tends to reduce demand for labor as entrepreneurs use more technology and machines and hire more skilled workers, one staffer who can do the job of three to five workers and pay that staffer twice or thrice the prevailing minimum wage.

The real minimum wage is not P600/day or P800/day. The real minimum wage is zero, when no one hires a person given his/her physical, mental, educational, and other conditions. So, the unhired person must hire himself/herself via informal sector work, like being an ambulant street vendor, jeepney barker, do manual laundry, etc. where income is lower and unstable.

Variants of the law of diminishing marginal utility are the “law of diminishing marginal returns” in corporate profit, and “law of diminishing marginal tax revenue” in government. As the tax rate increases, the marginal tax revenue initially rises and after some time, declines. It happens in income tax — that is why there is not a single successful socialist economy because as industrious people’s income rises, the less is their take home pay, so many of them either work less or they continue working and under-declare their real income. Either way, the socialist government’s revenue declines, and it starts the implosion of a socialist economy, or it allows a hybrid capitalist system to survive, like what China and Vietnam are doing. Politically socialist but economically capitalist.

CASE 2: RISING TOBACCO TAX

Among the so-called “sin products” — alcohol, mining, petroleum, sugar, tobacco — the latter is the most heavily taxed. The tax hike is annual, and the tax rate alone constitutes about half of the retail price already. This year for instance, the cheapest legal cigarette is P125-P130/pack (Chesterfield, Mighty, Camel), of which P60 is excise tax alone.

Tobacco tax revenue has been steadily rising, even during the COVID-19 lockdown years 2020 and 2021. But in 2022, as the tax rate has increased to P55/pack, total tax revenue declined and thus, marginal tax revenue has turned negative by P16 billion (see Table 2).

If plotted on a graph, revenue follows a bell-shaped curve, initially rising then peaking at some point, then declining after. This was shown in this column on May 22, “The Laffer Curve of Philippine tobacco taxation.”

There are a number of reasons why this happened, but the most proximate explanation is tobacco smuggling. As legal tobacco becomes more expensive because of the higher tax, the alternative, illegal tobacco, becomes cheaper. Or, as government tobacco tax revenue declines, the smugglers and criminal groups’ income rises.

The other day I went to Ongpin St., Binondo, Manila, and I saw smuggled tobacco on sale on the sidewalk. The average retail price is P80/pack and can be bargained down to P70/pack. Which is theoretically impossible because the tax alone is already P60/pack. Some brands have no graphic warning, other brands are purely Chinese products with Chinese names and also sport no graphic warning.

The new Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Romeo Lumagui, Jr. recognizes the problem of tobacco smuggling and he started legal proceedings against certain smugglers. See these recent reports in BusinessWorld: “Government losing P500 billion to tax evasion — BIR” (Feb. 21), “Excise tax collection below target due to illegal tobacco — BIR” (May 18), “Philippine tobacco traders face P1.8-B tax complaints” (May 25).

Good move, Commissioner Lumagui. You deserve public support, especially from tax-dependent welfarist groups and sectors like the various health NGOs, consultants, and patients.

But fighting illicit trade and smuggling will not be successful if other lead implementing agencies do not do their work — the Philippine National Police, the Coast Guard, the Customs Bureau, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the LGUs.

And the tax policy itself needs review and assessment. If higher tobacco taxes lead to the decrease, not increase, in tax revenues, then a pause in the annual increase in the tax rate should be considered.
--------------

See also:
BWorld 612, Financing growth, fiscal discipline and Maharlika fund, June 28, 2023
BWorld 613, Financing sustained growth: Tax reforms, June 29, 2023
BWorld 614, FDI in the Philippines and the energy mix, June 30, 2023.

Mining 64, Mining taxation in PH

I stumbled on a paper by the National Tax Research Center (NTRC), "A Review of the Taxation of the Philippine Mining Industry" in 2019, https://ntrc.gov.ph/images/journal/2019/j20190102a.pdf.

 

PH's gold, copper and nickel deposit and reserves seem to be large. Government is unwise in putting many roadblocks for their exploration, discovery and extraction. Modern, large scale and corporate mining, not "small scale" mining, is now more sophisticated in reducing other environmental destruction outside of the mining area. Extracting those metals, create many jobs for workers, profit for shareholders, and high tax revenues for government, there are many benefits from mining. Government should liberalize it, not restrict it.
-------------

See also:
Mining 61, PH lifting mining ban via EO 130, April 20, 2021
Mining 62, Open pit mining should continue and expand, January 09, 2022
Mining 63, Consumer applications of mineral products, February 06, 2022.

BWorld 614, FDI in the Philippines and the energy mix

FDI in the Philippines and the energy mix
June 20, 2023 | 12:02 am

My Cup Of Liberty
By Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr.
https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2023/06/20/529550/fdi-in-the-philippines-and-the-energy-mix/

Last week, the government economic team held the 7th Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) in the Singapore Fullerton Hotel. The first PEB in Singapore was held on Sept. 9, 2022 and led to investment pledges of $6.5 billion.

SOURCES OF FDI

Singapore is the most appropriate place to invite more foreign direct investments (FDIs) into the Philippines because it was the country’s number one source of FDIs in 2020-2022, larger than Japan, and six times larger than the US (see Table 1).

Among the declarations made at the Singapore PEB were the following. Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said “this is the moment”; Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said “the Philippines will not only be the darling but also the Sweetheart of Asia.” Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the President desires to expand opportunities and partnerships for trade and bilateral relations rapidly. Central Bank Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila, Jr. added that cash remittances, BPO revenues, FDIs, and international reserves will cushion the Philippine economy against global headwinds.

DBS Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Piyush Gupta said that Philippines is among the top 10 nations of interest for Singapore investors. Good.

More investment means more businesses and job creation, more modernization, less poverty, and less dependence on the state for welfare by the citizens.

Notice the big jump in 2022 FDI coming from Malaysia, Russia, Germany, Kuwait, and Switzerland, while there was a big decline in FDI coming from China, the Netherlands, and the Cayman Islands.

The Philippines and the rest of Asia should focus on trade and investments, and global and regional peace via commerce, tourism, and modernization. We should not follow Europe and the US that are fixated on endless wars.

MANY ENERGY ISSUES

There have been many energy-related issues that cropped up recently. I have arranged them into sub-topics, with all stories published in BusinessWorld and mostly written by Ashley Erika Jose, my favorite objective energy reporter.

1.) Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and distributors: “ERC issues 33 show-cause orders against power co-ops, distributors” (May 31), “ERC orders distributors to explain higher-than-approved power charges” (June 8).

2.) Department of Energy (DoE) and renewables: “DoE calls for fair treatment of poor countries in transition to green-energy technology” (June 6), “Energy dep’t clarifies on-grid rollout procedures for renewables” (June 6), “DoE registers P6.8B worth of investments in energy efficiency” (June 13), “DoE may impose up to P100M in fines for RPS violations” (June 14).

3.) Decarbonization and unstable energy: “Philippine fast-track decarbonization seen costing $133 billion until 2040” (June 8), “Napocor hoping to convert off-grid unit to 100% renewable” (June 11), “New power projects to stabilize electricity supply in 2-3 years” (June 12), “Gas-fired power still critical for PHL amid green-energy transition — Fitch Solutions” (June 13).

4.) Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) blackout and Meralco: “NAIA power outage caused by MServ personnel’s lapse” (June 12), “Meralco sees easing power rates as rainy season starts” (June 12).

Last week, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) held a briefing. Since there is endless push to have more intermittent solar and wind power in the national grid, I used the IEMOP data and computed the implied capacity factor (ICF) of all energy sources — fossil fuels, conventional renewables, and intermittent renewables — to see where we can really get energy security and stability. Here are the results.

One, for the period February-May 2023, the average capacity factor — actual generation over potential generation capacity  —  for the Philippines overall is only 46%.

Two, geothermal has the highest ICF — it produced 67% of its potential capacity, meaning the other 33% of power plants were on maintenance shutdown or unscheduled, prolonged maintenance. Coal came in second with 64%, third was natural gas with 48.5%.

Three, hydro has a low ICF of only 24.5% because February-May is within the non-rainy season. Solar on average has an ICF of only about 15%, but those months already in the dry, generally sunny season so it reached 21%. Oil-based plants are used only as occasional peaking plants and are not running regularly.

Four, coal’s share in installed capacity is only 46% of the total but it contributed 64% in actual electricity generation. In contrast, solar and wind have a 7.5% combined share in installed capacity but contributed only 3.7% of actual electricity generation (see Table 2).

So, the intermittent sources are not dependable, are not reliable for electricity users and it will be dangerous if they dominate the grid. All those “decarbonization” efforts, which are very expensive and subsidy-dependent, will only lead to degrowth and blackout economics.

The half-hour blackout at the NAIA on June 9 was an accident. MServ, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Meralco, was doing a comprehensive technical audit to improve NAIA Terminal 3’s electrical system following the outage that hit the terminal on May 1. It was a pro-bono effort by Meralco, at no cost to NAIA or the airport passengers. An MServ worker accidentally left grounding conductors attached to a piece of electrical equipment during a testing activity, which triggered an electrical fault that subsequently caused the power interruption of NAIA Terminal 3.

Meralco Spokesman Joe Zaldariaga quickly issued a statement explaining what happened and humbly made the public apology. I saw and read the press statement; the apology was sincere. No alibi, no blame game. They tried to help — for free — improve the airport’s electrical system, then an accident happened. Good move, Mr. Zaldariaga.

On a related note, I support the privatization of NAIA operations. Make it more professional and less political. There is no “market failure” in airport operation, even ownership. If a private airport frequently conks out, then passengers and airlines will avoid it and the private owner and operator will lose money.
-----------------

See also:
BWorld 611, Declining inflation and Germany’s energiewende, June 24, 2023 
BWorld 612, Financing growth, fiscal discipline and Maharlika fund, June 28, 2023
BWorld 613, Financing sustained growth: Tax reforms, June 29, 2023.

LGBTQ++, cancel culture and UPSEAA board double talk

Last Saturday June 24, I shared this observation with some friends and the UPSEAA Viber Community:

This afternoon I saw huge "Pride" parade, supporters of LGBTQ++ advocacies. JP Rizal st Makati. Many young folks, mostly middle class.

Oil/energy crisis, hunger/food crisis, population crisis, NCDs crisis, garbage crisis, climate crisis, virus crisis,... next is gender crisis? Ano main agenda, population control? More same sex union with no children?

Next day Sunday June 25, a member of UPSEAA replied. Here are our exchanges.

D: more same sex union with no children? ang homophobic ng comment mo @Bienvenido

Me: Hi D, pls explain why it's homophobic. Thank you.

Anyway D, it is not homophobic, it is biology.

Male+male = no child. Men cannot get pregnant. Never. Ever.

Female+female = no child. No male sperm to fertilize female ovum.

Few same sex union is fine. But when many via mass propaganda with large parades, legal and judicial measures,it is dangerous and wrong. 

People shd breed and continue human reproduction. That's nature. That's biological science. 

Narrative that people shd discontinue Hunan reproduction via so many same sex union, that's political science. And it is evil.

D: surrogacy or adoption ang sagot dyan.
parenthood is not synonyomous na biologically sa kanya galing ang bata.
heterosexual.marriage does not also mean reproduction. some also adopts or resort to surrogacy due to difficulty in having the baby.
by your end statement na " it is evil" eh homophobic na yun. paaano mo icacategorize yun.

Me: (re surrogacy) O yon Pala, we shd encourage more human reproduction, more male+female union.

Problem is that not many couples will want their babies adopted by other people who in the first place have no plan to have babies on their via same sex union

D: at sino nga nagdiscourage? madami  single by choice so ilalagay mo din sila sa category na yan dahil ayaw magreproduce?

Me: Discouraging more human reproduction is evil. It is not homophobic. It is anti nature.

D: its their choice..bakit mo impose standard mo sa kanila

Me: Deception is like coercion. Deceiving people that sex change, organ mutilation, taking puberty and testosterone blocking medications and procedures are ok. No. It is not ok. It is deception and dishonest

In the US, Canada etc, males who declare themselves as females can enter female Cr, female shower rooms, join and compete in female sports.

If a man enters a female Cr saying he's a transgender and hence justified and my daughter is inside the Cr, hehe, mKakatikim ang trans na yan sa akin na di nya magugustohan.

May male Cr naman pero papasok sa female Cr, dapat turuan ng leksyon. Turuan ng good manners.

I know that my term "evil" referring to discontinuance of human reproduction is rather strong. Should have not used that word. But I have read a number of articles of the dangers or damages of sex change and promotion of transgender even among children. See for instance these reports:

1. Anguished parents of trans kids fight back against ‘gender cult’ trying to silence them
Dana Kennedy. May 11, 2022
https://nypost.com/2022/05/11/meet-the-parents-of-trans-kids-fighting-gender-cult/ 

2. ‘I literally lost organs:’ Why detransitioned teens regret changing genders
Rikki Schlott. June 18, 2022
https://nypost.com/2022/06/18/detransitioned-teens-explain-why-they-regret-changing-genders/

3. California ex-trans teen backs Florida ban on Medicaid funds for transgender medical interventions
Chloe Cole said she may not be able to have children and is at higher risk for cancer because of transgender medical interventions
Tyler O'Neil July 10, 2022
https://www.foxnews.com/health/california-ex-trans-teen-backs-florida-ban-medicaid-funds-transgender-medical-interventions

4. California school broadcasts sexually explicit books, some covering 'pedophiles,' kink and pornographic images
Some of the passages in the California public school library appeared to discuss 6- and 8-year-old kids engaging in sex acts
Hannah Grossman | October 24, 2022
https://www.foxnews.com/media/california-school-broadcasts-sexually-explicit-books-covering-pedophiles-kink-pornographic-images

5. Kindergarteners expected to understand gender identity, sexuality in Oregon district
 KRISTINA WATROBSKI | October 26th 2022
https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/kindergarteners-expected-to-understand-gender-identity-sexuality-in-oregon-district-beaverton-school-bsd

6. Even progressive Europe won’t go as far as America in child transgender treatments
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb and Dr. Miriam Grossman. January 30, 2023
https://nypost.com/2023/01/30/even-progressive-europe-wont-go-as-far-as-america-in-child-transgender-treatments/

7. Detransitioner Chloe Cole announces lawsuit against hospitals 'for pushing her into medical mutilation'
A prominent detransitioner sued a nationwide medical group and its doctors who she said 'decided to perform a mutilating, mimicry sex change experiment' on her
Kendall Tietz February 23, 2023
https://www.foxnews.com/media/detransitioner-chloe-cole-announces-lawsuit-hospitals-pushing-medical-mutilation

8. Woman pressured into breast removal at 13 under ‘erroneous belief’ she was transgender: lawsuit
Jacob Geanous June 17, 2023
https://nypost.com/2023/06/17/woman-sues-hospital-for-removing-her-breasts-when-she-was-13-years-old/

9. Number of 'Non-Binary' Students in New Jersey Up 4,000 Percent Since 2019
41 of 675 self-identified ‘non-binary’ students are in elementary school, state enrollment figures show
Alec Schemmel June 19, 2023
https://freebeacon.com/campus/number-of-non-binary-students-in-new-jersey-up-4000-percent-since-2019/

10. Schools Are Now Allowing Children To Identify As Cats, Horses, Dinosaurs And All Sorts Of Other Things
Michael Snyder June 20, 2023
http://themostimportantnews.com/archives/schools-are-now-allowing-children-to-identify-as-cats-horses-dinosaurs-and-all-sorts-of-other-things

11. Video: LGBTQ Activist Cannot Answer Question ‘Is There A Difference Between Men And Women?’
“I’m trying to get a yes or no. I’m not trying to get a speech.”
Steve Watson 22 June, 2023
https://summit.news/2023/06/22/video-lgbtq-activist-cannot-answer-question-is-there-a-difference-between-men-and-women/

12. Europe Does About-Face On Transgender Therapy For Children
Tyler Durden JUN 22, 2023
https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/europe-does-about-face-transgender-therapy-children

On male transgenders who enter female CR and if my daughter is inside, I doubt she (or other young girls) can protect herself/themselves if those men would oogle if not sexually attack her/them. The case of a man who transitioned to a "woman" to compete in female swimming competition in the US is an example. See for instance this report,

‘Don’t Talk To The Media’: Former UPenn Swimmer Says College Silenced Trans Swimmer’s Teammates
HAROLD HUTCHISON June 19, 2023
https://dailycaller.com/2023/06/19/dont-talk-to-the-media-former-upenn-swimmer-says-college-silenced-trans-swimmers-teammates/

That Sunday afternoon to evening me and my wife were in Philippine Arena, Bulacan to watch Bruno Mars concert. After the concert, going out of the Arena, I saw these posts.

R: Disappointing is an understatement for the way UPSEAA is tolerating @Bienvenido’s bigotry, homophobia, transphobia (among other things) in this group chat.

If you’re just choosing to spread hate and your outdated ways, go elsewhere. Nobody wants to hear it. This isn’t your column. No one’s paying for it.

You rambling and giving your opinion when no one asks for it is one thing. A lot of us younger alumni have already muted this chat because of that.

But is UPSEAA really gonna stand for this bigotry that actually translates to violence against the LGBTQ+ community? You don’t deserve a platform. Not here, not anywhere.

J: Go!!!  Full support!  Thank you for your brave words

I composed a brief reply, clicked Send, then a message popped out,

"You can't send messages in this Community because you're no longer a member."

So I was blocked, removed, cancelled. A pm from UPSEAA admin confirmed that I have been removed.

I checked UPSEAA Community Rules, among these:

1."Offensive posts and messages may be removed." 

Fine. But in my case, they did not remove my posts, they instead removed a member, me.

2. "messages that insult, threaten and degrade a fellow member are prohibited."

And R personally attacked me, "@Bienvenido’s bigotry, homophobia, transphobia (among other things)." And the Board finds it ok.

Double standard. Double talk. Rules are applied arbitrarily.

Now the board is implicitly saying these:

1. Do not say or argue that:

Male+male = no child. Men cannot get pregnant.
Female+female = no child. No male sperm to fertilize female ovum. 

One can be accused of homophobia for saying that. And the board will be on the side of the accuser, remove you from the community. Just stay silent, do not question the LGBTQ narratives.

2. Do not say or argue that:

Sex change, organ mutilation, taking puberty and testosterone blocking medications and procedures are  not ok.
Male trans cannot enter female CR, cannot join female sports, etc.
You can be accused of transphobia for saying that. And the board will be on the side of the accuser and remove you from the community. Just stay silent.

The purpose of having a community is to practice tolerance, to raise tolerance level of people to contrary, opposing views. So long as no one is urging physical harm (burn, die,...), opposing ideas should be welcome. Now the game has changed. Remove opposing ideas by removing members or people who will espouse the opposing ideas.

Checking through recent news reports, enjoy these:

1. Video: Biden Trans ‘Health’ Official Claims Gender Surgery On Kids Is “Literally Suicide-prevention Care”
Also declares that ‘Pride’ now lasts the entire Summer
Steve Watson 27 June, 2023
https://summit.news/2023/06/27/video-biden-trans-health-official-claims-gender-surgery-on-kids-is-literally-suicide-prevention-care/

2. Trump Vows to Sign a Bill Barring ‘Child Sexual Mutilation in All 50 States’
Jack Phillips June 26, 2023
https://www.theepochtimes.com/trump-vows-to-sign-a-bill-barring-child-sexual-mutilation-in-all-50-states_5357673.html

3. Video: Biden Department of Education ‘Pride’ Seminar Advocates Puberty Blockers For Kids
Features children talking about teachers hiding their ‘transitions’ from parents and reporting students who ‘misgender’ them
Steve Watson 28 June, 2023
https://summit.news/2023/06/28/video-biden-department-of-education-pride-seminar-advocates-puberty-blockers-for-kids/

4. Watch: New York Pride March Chants "We're Coming For Your Children"
Tyler Durden JUN 28, 2023
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-new-york-pride-march-chants-were-coming-your-children

5. 250 Hollywood Celebrities Sign Letter Demanding Big Tech Censor Anyone Who Opposes Trans Surgeries On Kids
They call for action “akin to election and COVID-19 mitigations and rules”
Steve Watson 28 June, 2023
https://summit.news/2023/06/28/28685/

6. Pride Month is bad public policy
Being Right
By Jemy Gatdula June 30, 2023
https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2023/06/30/531417/pride-month-is-bad-public-policy/
--------

I like UPSEAA then. I mentioned it several times in my column in BusinessWorld, like

1. UPSE Homecoming 2022 (Sept. 26, 2022), https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2022/09/26/476692/peb-in-nyc-upse-homecoming-and-transport-liberalization/

2. UPSEAA lecture by Secs. Pernia and Diokno (Jan. 28, 2019), https://www.bworldonline.com/editors-picks/2019/01/28/211311/growth-by-elections-and-fdis-by-psa-liberalization/

3. UPSEAA lecture by Sec. Mon Lopez (June 19, 2019), https://www.bworldonline.com/editors-picks/2019/06/19/237531/more-investment-liberalization-needed/

4. UPSEAA lecture by Robina Gokongwei (Nov. 11, 2019), https://www.bworldonline.com/editors-picks/2019/11/11/263647/john-gokongwei-and-q3-gdp/

5. UPSEAA support for UP PGH, UP Medical Foundation (April 27, 2020), https://www.bworldonline.com/editors-picks/2020/04/27/291534/some-heroes-against-the-virus-hysteria/

6. UPSEAA lecture by Dr. Iggy Agbayani (Nov. 11, 2020), https://www.bworldonline.com/editors-picks/2020/11/11/328243/gdp-contraction-cdc-ph-and-medicine-taxes/

7. UPSEAA lecture by Andrew Masigan (March 1, 2021), https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2021/03/01/347594/global-economic-impact-of-lockdowns/.

I also blogged some lectures there, like:

....
UPSEAA Lecture 6, Ferdie Constantino and SMC infra, August 28, 2020 
UPSEAA Lecture 7, Dr. Butch Arroyo, October 17, 2020 
UPSEAA lecture 8, Dr. Iggy Agbayani, November 04, 2020
UPSEAA Lecture 9, Andrew Masigan on PH and VN, Feb. 24, 2021.

This LGBTQ++ thing, UPSEAA removed me via double standard application of its own rules. So be it. Babuu.

Finally, I am not against gays, etc. I have many friends, relatives who are gays. They live their own lives. What I am against is large scale campaigns, parades, even legislations to "protect a marginalized" sector that will later morphe into things like organ mutilization, implicit war on population expansion, etc.

See also: Jemy Gatdula on LGBTQ++, June 24, 2023.

BWorld 613, Financing sustained growth: Tax reforms

Financing sustained growth: Tax reforms
June 15, 2023 | 12:02 am

My Cup Of Liberty
By Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr.
https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2023/06/15/528674/financing-sustained-growth-tax-reforms/

(Third of four parts)

The government economic team or the members of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) will hold another Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) today in Singapore with a clear goal of attracting more foreign investments to create more jobs in the country. The economic team also went to Singapore and Jakarta for the first PEB in the second week of September last year.

Very likely among the important announcements to be made by the team will be on the recently enacted economic liberalization measures like the Public Service Act Amendment and Retail Trade Liberalization, the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund, and taxation policies.

I checked the revenues/GDP ratio of some ASEAN countries and saw that the ratio is generally similar among them — 15-18% in 2021. Vietnam’s was 20% in 2019 but there was no data for 2021. Note that this is for National Government revenues alone and does not include the revenues of local government units (LGUs) as they have their own local taxes, fees, and other sources of income. If LGU revenues are included, overall revenues/GDP ratio can easily rise to 16-17%.

One notable thing in the Philippines’ tax policy is that it imposes relatively high taxes on international trade, both exports and imports, at 3.3% of GDP. Whereas Singapore has zero, Malaysia has only 0.3%, Thailand 0.6%, and Vietnam 1.3%.

The Philippines has the highest VAT rate in the ASEAN at 12%, yet its revenues from general taxes including VAT is low, only 2%, while Thailand and Singapore with VAT rates of only 7% and 8% have general taxes revenues of 3.5% and 2.4% respectively (see Table 1).

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno has acknowledged the problem in the country’s VAT system. He noted that from 2016 to 2020, the Philippines collected an average of P723 billion from VAT, which is just 0.40 of the expected VAT collection. The ASEAN average is 0.57 — Thailand has the highest VAT efficiency at 0.79, while Singapore has 0.71 efficiency.

Mr. Diokno has attributed the low efficiency to the many VAT exemptions granted by the government in various sectoral laws. He is correct and I believe reviewing those VAT exemptions should have been done yesterday, or at least today.

Here are recent tax-related reports in BusinessWorld: “Government urged to consider inflation impact of new taxes” (May 14), “Excise tax collection below target due to illegal tobacco — BIR” (May 18), “Tax reforms generated P202.8B in revenues in 2022” (May 29), “PHL posts lowest VAT efficiency in region” (May 31), “Gov’t warned against overdependence on ‘regressive’ sin taxes” (June 4), “Tax system being outmaneuvered by digital companies” (June 5), “PHL needs a more ‘dynamic’ excise tax regime — solon” (June 5), “EV industry lobbying for incentives to support new-vehicle adoption” (June 13).

The DBCC has listed seven new tax measures, but they have not yet released updated revenue projections publicly. So, I built this table with projections of some measures mentioned in BusinessWorld. The first four measures are projected to give the government some P29 billion a year.

I add my own two proposals. One, imposing an income tax on military and uniformed personnel (MUP) pension which is big — P160 billion in 2021, P164 billion in 2022, and is projected to be P214 billion in 2023 and P241 billion in 2024, rising further in succeeding years. Currently the MUP pensions are big and tax free.

In 2022, the average monthly pensions were P4,528 for the Social Security System, P13,600 for the Government Service Insurance System, and P40,049 for the MUP. The projected average MUP pension in 2023-2024 would be about P43,000/month and up. This falls in the 25% income tax rate.

My second proposal is to bring the Philippines VAT rate back to 10% from 12%, then remove the VAT exemption of many sectors (see Table 2).

Imposing a VAT of 10% on the sales of renewables will have an upward price effect on power consumers. But bringing down VAT from 12% to 10% for coal, gas, and oil plants, which constitute about 80% of total power generation, will have a price deflation effect for the consumers. Overall, the consumers will likely be better off.

Many MUP pensioners may likely oppose taxation of their pension and they are wrong to do so. First, while in active service they contributed nothing for their own pension; second, their pension comes 100% from taxes and they do not want to contribute to the tax too. This will give them a bad image and public perception that their motto “To serve and protect” refers more to themselves, their superiors, and their pension, and less the public.

The above tax measures should be coupled with spending cuts, borrowings cuts, and, later, tax cuts as the public debt continues to decline. Then more public and private resources will be devoted to more infrastructure, better justice administration, and more business innovations.
---------------

See also:
BWorld 610, Financing sustained growth: MUP pension reform, June 22, 2023
BWorld 611, Declining inflation and Germany’s energiewende, June 24, 2023 
BWorld 612, Financing growth, fiscal discipline and Maharlika fund, June 28, 2023.