Businessmirror april 25, 2018

SELL SUNNY PHL, RUSSIAN ENVOY URGES

By Recto Mercene

@rectomercene

T

HE warm weather may allow the country to get a slice of the 22 millionstrong Russian travel and tourism outflow market.

This is according to Russian Ambassador Igor A. Khovaev, who’s also urging that the Philippines should be more aggressive in promoting its “sunny-ness,” the weather and its people.

“If I may advice, you should to be more aggressive in promoting and advertising the tourism industry of your country. You should participate in travel and international tourism fairs and exhibitions on the territory of Russia,” he said during a BusinessM irror media forum at the business newspaper’s headquarters in Makati City, which posted a 33-degree Celsius temperature.

Khovaev, who is an expert on Asian affairs having been assigned twice to Vietnam, said: “The Russian people should know your po-

Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Anatolyevich Khovaev answers questions from the reporters of ALIW Media Group during the BusinessMirror Coffee Club forum. ALYSA SALEN

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tential. The Russian mentality likes exploring new countries, new destinations, especially in [the] winter season.”

He said in winter, when the temperature drops to several degrees below zero in several places, “many Russians want to go abroad to spend New Year and Christmas holidays on tropical countries.”

“So you should be more aggressive,” Khovaev said.

He noted that last year, 1.3 million Russian tourists visited Thailand. About half a million of them went to Vietnam and 400,000 to Indonesia, Khovaev added.

He asked the BusinessMirror how many they think Russians visited the country last year. When someone said 10,000, Khovaev quipped: “You’re too pessimistic.”

According to the envoy, the actual number is 40,000 Russian tourists; “a very low number compared to Thailand and the others.”

“Why?” Nonetheless, Khovaev believes the Philip-

pines “can attract more Russian people.” “[And,] of course, all Filipinos are most welcome in Russia. Russia has a lot to offer to Filipinos,” he said. “So, please, I’m saying again, it’s time for you Filipinos to discover Russia.”

Still, Khovaev admits that Thailand has a logistical advantage over the Philippines because there are direct flights between Moscow and Bangkok.

However, Russia’s top envoy here promises that, given more exposure and frequent interactions between the two people, “it’s just a matter of time, if there’s a demand, for direct air tickets.”

“Of course, direct air connections will be established, definitely.”

Khovaev said there have been charter flights a few years ago from Vladivostok and Khabarovsk to Manila. There were also flights between the Siberian region and Cebu, some four years ago, he recalls.

See “Russian envoy,” A2

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Wednesday, April 25, 2018 Vol. 13 No. 193

n

Business owners, workers brace for Boracay’s closure

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM

Special to the BusinessMirror

B

ORACAY ISLAND, Malay, Aklan—For days, Charm (not her real name) was dreading this meeting. She is one of the waitstaff assigned to this posh resort, and the manager just called all the contractual workers to a conference. Because she technically works for a hotel staffing company and not the resort itself, she and 20 others in similar contractual positions would be the first to be let go by the resort. At this meeting, the resort manager, she could tell, was also hard-pressed to explain what the establishment had to do while the island was closed for six months.

36,000 The estimated number of workers who will be displaced by the six-month closure of Boracay Island

“I saw he was trying to be positive even as he had to explain the situation of the resort; all of us are affected by Boracay’s closure,” says Charm, 24, a native of Iloilo, speaking in her native language.

“We come from all over, and became friends here, so it hurts a little, because we’ve been through a lot.” Less than a year into her job Continued on A2

@cuo_bm

& Ashley Manabat Correspondent

T

he stellar performance of the manufacturing and construction sectors likely boosted Philippine economic growth to above 7 percent in the first quarter, according to a local think tank.

In its latest Market Call report, First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) Capital Markets Research said this would allow full-year GDP to grow by as much as 7.5 percent. This falls within the government’s growth target of 7 percent to 8 percent this year.

“The growth outlook for the Philippine economy in the first quarter and full-year 2018 remains rosy, as January data and other indicators appear

A Compact of Decency Teddy Locsin Jr.

free fire Migration is the human condition; we are all travelers on this earth and it behooves us to care for our country of origin as much as for our country of destination because both countries are our Earth. — Jorge Skinner-Klée Arenales, Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the United Nations.

I

delivered the following statement at the European Union side event at the Third Round of Informals on the Global Compact on Migration, on April 4, 2018, 1:15 to 2:30 p.m., Conference Room 7, UN Headquarters New York: Continued on A10

PHL debt to ADB rose to $7.75B last year

Investment spending, powered by elevated government infrastructure outlays and double-digit growth, should carry on being the main driver of the Philippine economic growth.” to signal an acceleration,” FMIC and UA&P Capital Markets Research said.

“Investment spending, powered by elevated government infrastructure outlays and double-digit growth [25.2 percent], should carry on being the main driver of the Philippine economic growth,” it added.

FMIC and UA&P Capital Markets Research said positive contributions were made through higher national Continued on A12

PESO exchange rates n US 52.1730

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ECONOMIC GROWTH LIKELY BREACHED 7% IN Q1–REPORT

By Cai U. Ordinario

2016 ejap journalism awards

T sm prime stockholders’ meeting Jose Cuisia Jr. (left), SM Prime vice chairman of the board, joins Henry Sy Jr. (center), SM Prime chairman of the board; and Jeffrey Lim, SM Prime president, during the company’s stockholders’ meeting on Tuesday in a Pasay City hotel. Lim said, “The seeds we planted in the past years have manifested its fruition in the company’s steady growth and stronger financial performance. Our net income grew by 16 percent to P27.6 billion, on the back of a 14-percent increase in our consolidated revenue of P90.9 billion.” See related story on B1. NONIE REYES

he Philippines’s total debt to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) increased by 9 percent last year, according to the annual report of the Manila-based multilateral development bank.

In the report, the Philippines’s total debts for projects it financed through loans from the ADB’s Ordinary Capital Resources went up to $7.75 billion in 2017, from $7.11 billion in 2016.

The Philippines is now considered ADB’s seventh-largest borrower out of the 40 countries that obtained loans from the Manilabased multilateral in 2017.

n japan 0.4800 n UK 72.7448 n HK 6.6532 n CHINA 8.2598 n singapore 39.3640 n australia 39.6723 n EU 63.7085 n SAUDI arabia 13.9132

See “Debt,” A12

Source: BSP (24 April 2018 )

A2 Wednesday, April 25, 2018

BMReports BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Business owners, workers brace for Boracay’s closure Continued from A1

at the resort’s food outlet, Charm says she’d have to go back to Iloilo, but didn’t know where she would be assigned next.

At said meeting, the workers were feted with a small going-away feast, and given some mementos of their stay in a ditty bag. The resort manager, Jimbo (not his real name) avers, “We promised them that once Boracay reopens, we would hire them back.” Of course, by then, he realizes, these contractuals would have probably found some other jobs or gone abroad. “We would have to find new people again, and train them again. It’s not that easy,” he points out.

One of the veteran hoteliers on Boracay, Dionisio Salme, 69, is founder and proprietor of Jony’s Beach Resort along Station 1, which he had set up in 1986, on a little piece of property given to him by his former boss, Fred Elizalde.

Still looking quite youthful despite his advanced years, the lines of worry were now evident on Mang Diony’s face. At the government-

Taiwan. . .

Continued from A12

“We should not allow politics to interfere, politics should be out of this. We as human beings must work together to enjoy better health,” Lin added.

He noted that there are others that are “using politics” to prevent Taiwan from participating in the WHA. “Not only that, but they also use all the means to delay [Taiwan’s] membership in the IHR [International Health Regulation].”

“We would like to appeal to the Philippine public and government, for our mutual interest, please support Taiwan’s [participation in the WHA],” he added.

Lin said it is important for the Filipinos to support Taiwan’s bid because many Filipino travelers pass through Taiwan.

“Viruses and all epidemics do not recognize borders. We are one country, we’re close neighbors, everyday you have millions of Filipinos passing Taiwan, traveling from North America, Japan, they pass Taiwan so if any epidemic breakdown occurs, Filipinos will be affected, we are not isolated.”

Russian envoy. . .

Continued from A1

He said the Department of Tourism should also take note that among Russian tourists, “there are many business people among them.”

“So for them it’s not only an opportunity to spend their holiday, but also the possibility to explore your business opportunities.”

With the increase in the number of tourists, there’s also an expected increase in tourism spending, as Khovaev

led workshop conference with stakeholders of the island on April 17, he patiently listened to all the government agencies roll out their plans and programs for the workers on the island. Yet at times, he could not hide the look of incredulity over the information (or the lack of it) being disseminated by the government executives.

“We can’t do anything about it,” he tells the BusinessMirror, in Filipino. “They [the government] want to close Boracay, so we just have to follow it.” Mang Diony says he, too, had been tagged for some easement violations, but stresses he is willing to comply with the government’s recommendations on how to address these. Fortunately, the violations are not too many, and mainly affect his restaurant, the popular Mexican cuisinethemed Maya’s Boracay. “About 1.5 meters will have to be removed at the restaurant for the road widening,” he says. This would effectively mean losing the two dining booths, which seats four to five persons per table. At the beachfront, the resort is no longer allowed to put

out their beach beds.

Of his workers, he notes that many of them have been with the resort and restaurant for quite some time. But he will have to let go of some while the island is closed from April 26 to October 26. “Some will go on forced leaves, while the others will have to go home to their own towns. I assured them it was okay for them to look for other jobs in the meantime. But I told them, once we reopen, we will absorb all of them.”

Teddy Lim, vice president for marketing of Microtel Inns and Suites (Pilipinas) Inc., is pragmatic in his approach to the problem of Boracay’s closure of 180 days. “Definitely, we [Microtel Boracay] won’t make a profit this year,” with the island closed to tourists for 180 days. So renovations are in order for the next few months, he said: The resort will be repainted, tiles will be changed, replace tears in furnishings, etc.

He had attended the Boracay workshop conference for stakeholders, as well, and expressed pure amazement over the lack of

He said Taiwan’s Minister of Health, Dr. Chen Shih-Chung, has issued a statement, saying although Taiwan is not a member of the World Health Organization (WHO), “Taiwan has offered universal health coverage to our island’s 23 million citizens since 1995.”

He added the Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) has integrated medical programs from all insurance systems for laborers, framers, government employees, “which covered only half the population.” It has been expanded to provide equal coverage to all [Taiwanese] citizens from birth, regardless of age, financial or employment status. “The NHI is a public program run by the government based on a single-pay model.”

“You pay only $500 and everything is taken care of, like the cost of the operation, and associated expenses, including medicine,” Chen added.

In comparison, the cost of admission in many hospitals in the Philippines is from P10,000 to P20,000 [$400], which covers only the various tests and examinations. This does not include the professional fees of doctors, and the cost of staying in the hospital.

Because of their excellent health care, Chen said life expectancy in Taiwan on average is 83.4 years for women and 76.8 for men. “Yet health-care costs are far lower in Taiwan than in most highly developed countries in Europe and North America, at $1,430 per capita per year, representing 6.3 percent of GDP in 2016.”

“In a globalized world, it is impossible for countries to overcome all their health-care challenges on their own. It is only through interdisciplinary and international cooperation that we can build a global health system that consistently and cost-effectively meet the health-care needs of the world’s citizens and bring fruition to the WHO’s ultimate goal of health for all,” Chen said.

He added: “Is it regrettable that political obstruction led to Taiwan being denied any invitation to the 70th WHA as observer last year,” as the WHO failed to abide by its constitution, but also ignored widespread calls for Taiwan’s inclusion, coming from many nations and international medical groups.

He said against this backdrop, “Taiwan seeks participation in the 71st WHA this year.”

said Russians are not stingy people.

“Russian tourists, in my humble opinion, are the ideal ones because they want not only to spend their time on the beach, but they most want also to see your cultural and historical monuments, to learn more about your culture, to establish more contacts with you people,” he said. “And we spend a lot of money. We Russian people are not stingy.”

According to Khovaev: “We like spending or, even to some extent, wasting money.” This gibe was followed by laughter that was shared

among discussants.

Asked to name one place in Russia where Filipino travelers can focus on, Khovaev paused and admitted, “It’s difficult as there are so many places to see in Russia.”

As a compromise, the envoy suggests spending a week in Moscow and a week in Saint Petersburg.

Khovaev said he is sure many Russians highly value Filipino hospitality.

“And for me as an ambassador, because the more Russian people visit your country, the more they will know about your country.”

clear guidelines on how the government would be implementing the island’s closure. “Personally, I’ve seen the need for the island to be closed. We’re doing this for the next generation. But give us better guidelines. For instance, I had to ask the task force, are we allowed to renovate? They said yes, fortunately.”

In a recent interview with the BusinessMirror, Tourism Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Frederick M. Alegre confirmed that establishments on Boracay would be allowed to make light renovations on their property, and bring in the necessary people to accomplish these tasks. (See, “Resorts in Boracay allowed to renovate during closure time,” in the BusinessMirror, April 20, 2018.)

Lim says he recently met with the hotel’s workers, however, and gave them the lowdown on what would happen during the closure: “I told them not to bank on any form of assistance from the government,” he seethed, still remembering the inadequate presentation of some government agencies during the

Bird flu. . .

Continued from A12

The Philippines, under the OIE guidelines, could now be recognized as a bird flu-free nation.

In fact, in an interview with BusinessMirror in February, Vytiaco said the 90th day following the last cleaning and disinfection of the bird f lu-affected poultry farm in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, should have fallen on March 23.

However, the BAI-AHWD has decided not yet to notify the OIE for bird flu-free status recognition as it opted to implement additional measures to ensure total eradication of the virus.

“I still wouldn’t like to assume without scientific basis,” Vytiaco said when asked if the Philippines is now bird flu-free, considering the guidelines of the OIE. “Our notification is based on the secretary’s declaration.” In its official report to the OIE last December, the BAI said 42,000 birds were affected by the bird flu that struck Cabiao, Nueva Ecija. Of the total population, 27,675 instantly died from the virus, while the remaining 14,325 were killed and disposed of.

The discovery of AI in a layer

PHL-Kuwait. . .

Continued from A12

But Roque said it did not endanger the agreement on the MOU because both sides have invested time, resources and effort and the two countries are both serious in signing the MOU. According to Roque, there was also no demand of apology from Kuwait.

President Duterte previously said in his speech that he wants the Kuwaiti government to ensure Filipino workers get seven hours of sleep, are well-fed, enjoy holidays and won’t have their passports confiscated by their employers.

Duterte banned the deployment of OFWs to Kuwait following reports of OFW deaths, including that of Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found in a freezer.

Meanwhile, a member of the House Committee on Foreign Relations said on Tuesday the rescue mission conducted by the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait to save distressed overseas Filipino workers could have led to an “international incident” that would have escalated the rift between the Philippines and Kuwait.

Rep. Ruffy B. Biazon of the Lone District of Muntinlupa City made the statement after Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa received protest notes from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kuwait following a viral video showing Philippine embassy personnel whisking away in diplomatic vehicles an abused Filipino domestic helper from her Kuwaiti employer’s home.

According to Biazon, the rescue operation risks Philippine reputation and could deepen the diplomatic row between the two countries.

workshop conference.

But he adds, he will likely recommend to the Microtel head office “to convert some sick leaves and vacation leaves to paid leaves,” while the hotel, and the island remains closed to tourists. As he is disinclined to lay off their workers, the hotel executive says he will also recommend that the hotel go on a three-day work week, instead of the usual six-day work period.

Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III had recently warned establishments on Boracay from retrenching workers, which have not pleased business owners who will have to write off the next six months as a no-income period.

Yet, Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. clarified in a recent news conference on the island, “I think the rule on nowork, no-pay should still apply, but security of tenure should not be affected. So as soon as the island reopens, they [the workers] should be accepted.”

He stressed, “Obviously the no-work, no-pay is not the fault of the employer. It’s a state action

[island’s closure]. So the workers can’t complain ‘no’? But that’s why the government has undertaken to provide alternative employment for the displaced workers.”

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has said, however, it could only provide emergency employment assistance to some 5,000 of the displaced workers, which are estimated to reach 36,000, including those in the informal sector.

For her part, Charm says she’s filled out forms for what appears to be part of DOLE’s workers’ profiling effort. “But I’m not counting on their aid, or anything. I’ll just go home to Iloilo, rest a little, then wait for a new assignment.”

Her boss, Jimbo, adds that other workers have said “they would go for some training courses with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.”

Charm admits she is lucky than most; at least she and her work colleagues have alternatives they could pursue. “What about the massage therapists? Or the vendor selling shades or hats?” she wonders.

farm in Cabiao last November reset the country’s countdown to bird flufree status. The government has earlier targeted to notify the OIE on December 20, after the cleaning and disinfection of AI-affected farms in San Isidro and Jaen, both in Nueva Ecija.

THE recognition of the Philippines as a bird flu-free nation would reopen foreign markets for local poultry.

BAI National Veterinary Quarantine Services Division chief Dr. Florence D. Silvano confirmed to the BusinessMirror that Manila is still banned from exporting chicken products to its trading partners sans the official notification to OIE of bird flu-free status.

“We are still banned. Our trading partners are still awaiting our report to the OIE, declaring that we are bird flu-free,” Silvano said in an interview. “Once we notify the OIE, our trading partners would see that and base the lifting of their import ban on our report.”

She further explained that once the Philippines is declared as bird flu-free, the agriculture department, through the BAI, would now request to its trade partners to lift the import ban

imposed on our poultry exports.

The country’s poultry exports are banned in a number of countries, including South Korea, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, after the government announced the discovery of bird flu in Central Luzon last August.

In December last year Vytiaco expressed apprehensions the Philippines may lose its Japan export market for poultry products if the country will not be cleared from AI at the soonest possible time.

Citing industry reports, she said Japan may be forced to source its chicken imports from other countries next year to fill in the supply void left by the Philippines, after it was banned from exporting poultry products to Tokyo.

“The [operators of ] cold storages have been communicating with me, and they are saying that their problem is that if it takes us so long to be AI free, then we may lose our market for yakitori,” Vytiaco told reporters in an interview.

“It’s been since August that we are banned from exporting yakitori. And, if this remains for so long, then the countries could source imports from other markets, like Thailand,” she added.

“While the intent of the operation was good, that is, to take Filipino workers out of abusive situations, the execution was poorly planned, undiplomatic and irresponsible. It now puts the Philippines-Kuwait relations in jeopardy,” Biazon said.

“It is a basic and established principle in law enforcement that coordination between agencies should be done to avoid a misencounter or misunderstanding,” he added.

In this instance, Biazon said it could have led to a bloody incident if Kuwaiti police had chanced upon the rescue operation and mistaken it for a kidnapping.

“From the point of view of diplomatic practices and established norms, rules and conventions, coordination is also called for, out of respect and acknowledgment of the host country’s sovereignty and local laws,” he added.

The lawmaker also asked the Philippine Embassy officials in Kuwait to explain the reason why they chose to go against these principles and rules, and decided to conduct a covert operation that risked the reputation of the Philippines and its relationship with the host country.

“The perception that this is a publicity stunt under the cover of a rescue mission comes from the fact that immediately after the rescue, a video of the covert operation obviously taken by the raiding team itself was posted on social media for maximum publicity effect,” he said.

“Not only does that go against the nature of a covert operation, it also seemed to be a slap on the face of the host country, showing the impunity that the raiding team displayed within its territory,” he added.

Biazon said the Department of Foreign Affairs should take decisive action against the officials involved, saying“the Ambassador must be recalled and other embassy officials responsible for the

operation should be held accountable.”

Rep. Aniceto D. Bertiz III of ACTS OFW has said Kuwait has been cautioned against expelling Manila’s ambassador over the viral video.

“If they throw out our ambassador, it will not be left unanswered by the Philippine government.

There will surely be tit-for-tat,” Bertiz said. “We understand that several members of parliament in Kuwait have demanded that the Philippine ambassador be kicked out over the incident. This is totally uncalled for,” Bertiz added.

Also, Bertiz said a Kuwait Interior Ministry statement expressed “grave concern” over the episode in the video and warned that “the full force of the law will be brought to bear on those complicit in the wrongdoing.”

“We must stress that the Philippine government is duty-bound to safeguard its nationals wherever they may be,” he said.

“In extreme cases where Filipino domestic workers are being physically battered or sexually abused, and they cry out for help, our embassy is expected to take appropriate action,” the solon added.

Shortly after the video went viral, the Kuwait Foreign Ministry summoned Villa to hand him two diplomatic protest notes.

Bertiz, citing news report, said a spokesman at the ministry said the notes were “related to recent remarks by several Filipino officials which [amounted to] serious offences against the State of Kuwait and [led] to the actions of some embassy employees in violation of the diplomatic norms governing relations between the two countries as per the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.”

The spokesman “expressed regret over such practices which could harm the friendship between the two countries,” said Bertiz quoting the report. With Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

Still banned

Economy

A4 Wednesday, April 25, 2018 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Russia and China are new OFW destinations–POEA

R

ussia and China are just some of the promising destinations for Filipinos looking for jobs abroad, as the Philippines seeks to cut its reliance on the Middle East.

“Russia is opening their market for the first time to the Philippines,” Bernard Olalia, head of the Philippine OverseasEmploymentAdministration (POEA),saidinaninterviewinhisoffice in Manila. “They want a governmentto-government deployment scheme, just like what we did with China.”

Russia is hiring skilled workers in construction and services and China is asking the Philippines to

send over 2,000 English teachers this year, Olalia said over the weekend. The Czech Republic and San Marino are also negotiating labor deals, he added.

For decades the Philippines has relied on money sent home by millions of overseas workers to boost the economy and support the currency.

The funds—estimated by the World Bank to be $33 billion last year—ac-

Group tells SC: Clarify scope of TRO on RCOA

By Joel R. San Juan

count for about 10 percent of GDP and are the nation’s largest source of foreign exchange after exports.

With exports faltering and stocks suffering outflows, officials are banking on remittances to help stabilize the peso, Asia’s worst-performing currency this year.

The Middle East remains the largest destination for land-based workers with more than 1 million deployed in 2016, accounting for 63 percent of the total. But the brutal killing of a domestic worker, whose body was found stuffed in a freezer in Kuwait, pushed President Duterte to order a deployment ban to the Arab state since February.

The Philippines is flexing its muscle to protect workers in other Middle Eastern countries, amid

cases of employer abuse, Olalia said.

A deployment ban to Saudi Arabia isn’t far-fetched unless better labor conditions are provided, he added.

“We don’t mind advising the President to impose a deployment ban in countries where our Filipino workers are suffering so much, like Kuwait,” Olalia said.

The outlook for labor demand is strong and deployment will keep

growing, Olalia added. Aging populations are prompting Japan and South Korea to place more job orders for Filipino health workers, while Singapore is looking to hire in its technology sector.

According to Olalia, the administration’s policy now is to focus on skilled workers and professionals, whose working conditions are significantly better.

We don’t mind advising the President to impose a deployment ban in countries where our Filipino workers are suffering so much, like Kuwait.”—Olalia

DOTr, LTO plate-making plant launched

@jrsanjuan1573

P

ARTY-LIST group Bayan Muna on Tuesday filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to exclude anti-monopoly provisions in the retail competition and open access (RCOA) policy of the government from the coverage of the temporary restraining order (TRO) that it issued in February 2017.

In a 31-page petition-in-intervention, Bayan Muna, through its chairman Neri J. Colmenares, sought the Court’s clarification that the TRO does not cover the provisions not assailed in the original petition filed by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) seeking to the stop the implementation of the RCOA policy which was supposed to be implemented by the Department of Energy (DOE) and Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in the power industry.

Under the RCOA policy, big power consumers are required to source their electricity supply from any of the 23 retail electricity suppliers (RES) designated by the ERC. The petitioner recounted that on December 27, 2016, the PCCI filed a petition seeking to declare null and void the DOE order and ERC resolutions implementing the mandatory migration of contestable customers from Meralco to other electricity suppliers.

It noted that in the said petition, the PCCI did not assail all the provisions of the RCOA but only certain sections of it.

However, the TRO issued by the SC covers DOE Circular DC2015-06-0010, Series of 2015, and ERC Resolutions 5, 10, 11 and 28, Series of 2016, thus, practically restraining the entire RCOA. The said circular and resolutions were issued to fully implement the RCOA. Due to the TRO, the petitioner said the ERC has not even issued licenses to small companies applying for RES, thus, giving Meralco’s MPower and other RES with existing license the advantage, as they alone are allowed to transact business with the contestable customers.

“Due to the TRO, there s a ‘chilling effect’ in the implementation of the DOE and ERC resolutions. The sweeping TRO, wittingly or unwittingly, has given monopolies like Meralco the advantage, as potential contestable customers remain captive under its monopoly for fear they may be violating the TRO,” Bayan Muna stated.

The petitioner argued that the implementation of the TRO on the entire provisions of the RCOA, including those which were not questioned, “is without legal or constitutional basis.”

“It is imperative for this Honorable Court, therefore, to expressly declare that those provisions not assailed by petitioners are valid and remain in force. Otherwise, other provisions of RCOA, which could impact on the continued monopoly of Meralco, will have been restrained to detriment of the public interest,” the petitioner said.

Specifically, the petitioner is seeking the exclusion of Section 3 of the DOE Circular, which states that all electricity end-users with an average demand ranging from 501 kilowatts (kW) or below 750 kW for the preceding 12 months may be allowed to choose their respective RES; Article II, Section 1 of ERC Resolution 10, which states that those who have been issued certificates of contestability shall be allowed to contract with any RES on a voluntary basis; Article II, Section 1 of ERC Resolution 10, which says that contestable consumers with at least 750 kW aggregate demand be allowed , not compelled to contract with any supplier and not just monopolies like Meralco; Article II, Section 3 of ERC Resolution 10, which states that even end users with an average monthly peak demand of 750 kW shall have the option of leaving monopolies like Meralco; an Article II, Section 4 of ERC Resolution 10, which states that distribution utilities like Meralco are required to submit information on which among its captive customers have qualified to be a contestable customer; and Article II, Section 2 of ERC Resolution 5, which states that a RES, which is an affiliate of a generation company or a distribution utility, must have separate juridical entity separate from the former because the business of distributing and generating electricity is different from the retail supply business.

“The TRO has put on hold, wittingly or unwittingly, a number of provisions, which are unrelated to the issue raised in the petition, to the extreme advantage of Meralco,” the group insisted.

Way home

The government is also offering workers a way home. Duterte’s $180billion infrastructure program aims to create 2 million jobs a year, primarily in construction.

Officials are planning “reverse job fairs” in the Middle East to lure Filipino carpenters, welders and pipe-fitters back to the Philippines, Olalia said. Even so, the agency admits it would be tough to match the salaries abroad, which can typically go as much as 300 percent higher than domestic wages.

“Compensation abroad is really higher than in the Philippines. But if you consider the social factor, the separation from family—that’s more important than financial gain,” Olalia added. Bloomberg News

New AFP chief issues reminder vs corruption

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

A

Land Transportation Office employees start to work to produce and distribute vehicle license plates in response to the plate shortage that dates back to 2015. NONOY LACZA

By Nikko L. Bajado

Special to the BusinessMirror

T

he transportation department inaugurated its own plant for the production of license plates on Tuesday, one of the answers to the roughly 8.2-million plate backlog from 2015.

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said that with the new platemaking plant, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) can start manufacturing vehicle plates “in a manner that is fast and efficient.”

“The LTO had a lot on its plate when we took over. There was a huge backlog in license cards, while the court

stopped the distribution of plates,” Tugade said.

To recall, a stay order on the release of 700,000 modernized license plates was issued against Department of Transportation (DOTr) due to tax issues. It was rescinded by the Supreme Court in January.

There is a backlog of roughly 8.2 million vehicle plates that started from January 2015 to December 2017.

“We are resolving the issue one by one and by now, we already have license plates, which will also have five years of validity.

Not only will we distribute vehicle plates, we will also be manufacturing them ourselves,” Tugade said.

The DOTr plant is host to seven manual

embossing machines that can produce up to 22,000 plates per day.

These machines are already calibrated and operational, with another machine expected to arrive in July and operational

by August 2018.

The plate-making machines were part of the contract of Trojan Computer Forms Manufacturing Corp. and JH. Tonnjes E.A.S.T. GmbH Joint Venture, who won the contract for the procurement of motor vehicle and motorcycle license plates to address the backlog from July 2016 onward.

The plant’s inauguration coincided with the LTO’s 106th Founding Anniversary.

LP faces ‘tough task’ in midterm polls–Drilon

By Butch Fernandez

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@butchfBM

he opposition Liberal Party (LP), eyeing to field a complete senatorial slate led by former Sen. Manuel A. Roxas II in the upcoming midterm elections, concedes facing a tough challenge from administration-backed rivals given President Duterte’s high popularity rating.

“In a midterm election, you have to face the fact that you have a President with a 70-percent approval rating and it’s not easy to put up an opposition ticket,” Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon admitted, even as he promptly added: “But the opposition is there.”

Drilon confirmed in an interview that LP leaders have yet to get a firm commitment from Roxas to lead the opposition’s senatorial slate.

“We are suggesting to him [Roxas] to consider it, but candidacy is a personal decision,” Drilon said. “But yes, we are suggesting to him to take a

good look at it.”

Drilon, likewise, admitted, however, that Roxas remains undecided.

“He [Roxas] has not decided,” Drilon said, adding that Roxas, who is married to broadcaster Korina Sanchez, “is also enjoying his private life.”

The Senate Minority Leader asserted that Roxas is “extremely qualified” to take on the task of lawmaking, citing his stint as former member of the Senate.

“Certainly. He [Roxas] is extremely qualified.... We confirm that we have asked him to consider,” Drilon said. “That is a personal decision for Senator Mar.” In the same interview, Drilon dodged a question on what should constitute an ideal composition of an opposition senatorial slate. “We have not gone that far. We are just reviewing a possible list of candidates.

I am not at liberty to make an announcement.”

Drilon declined to give a fixed date

for the party leaders to decide the final composition of LP senatorial ticket.

“It will be a collective decision of the leadership,” he said.

At the same time, Drilon did not rule out the possibility the party would open its door to non-LP bets being included in their senatorial ticket.

Asked if this meant the LP would forge a coalition arrangement with other parties, the Senate Minority Leader replied: “Me, personally, I am realistic that it is not easy to complete a 12-man slate at this point. Let’s leave it at that, and let’s see what happens in the next several months.”

Drilon, however, declined to confirm if non-members have expressed desire to be included in the LP senatorial ticket. “I’m just saying that it is not easy to put up a 12-man slate.”

“So far, we are working on a slate.

It’s not easy being in the opposition, and it’s a mid-term election. These are the challenges that we face,” he added.

rmed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. has reminded soldiers to stay away from corruption or face the consequence of relief them from their posts or be booted out from the service.

Galvez issued the reminder on Monday during his first flagraising ceremony as the chief of staff attended by officers and enlisted personnel (EP).

“The President has zero tolerance for corruption. We will have no fear of relieving people who are mediocre and full of anomalies. We will keep the AFP clean. I will not hesitate to relieve any commander who will be tainted with corruption,” Galvez said.

He directed the Office of the Inspector General to investigate reported anomalies in the use of resources to ensure judicious use of funds and proper management of government assets.

The new chief of staff, likewise, declared to the officers, EPs and civilian employees in attendance that while he is strict with erring personnel, he is also keen with giving awards and recognition, including cash incentives to deserving personnel.

He promised to provide plaques of recognition and cash incentives starting from P10,000 for top performing officers, EP and civilian employees who will be selected on a quarterly basis. He tasked the deputy chief of staff for personnel, or J1, to craft the process and conduct deliberations.

Galvez promised to promote officers and enlisted personnel who will excel and deliver significant results required of their respective positions.

The top military honcho also took the occasion to thank general headquarters (GHQ) personnel, and special staff for their strong support during the Marawi crisis. As the commander of Western Mindanao Command then, Galvez led the troops of various task forces in retaking Marawi from terrorists.

“General headquarters has given us so much support and leverage to fight the war that we have never fought before. The support was evident in the motivation of our troops, who, despite being wounded, were eager to continue fighting. That exemplified the support the GHQ has given us. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you for a job well done,” Galvez said.

He also echoed the order of President Duterte to expedite albeit prudently and deliberately the processing of contracts related to the AFP Modernization Program.

“The President is pushing us to make our modernization move forward. We need to choose people who can deliver results for our modernization,” the chief of staff said.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Editor: Jun B. Vallecera • Wednesday, April 25, 2018 A5

Govt tax-reform program to level playing field–DOF

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By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

he government needs to rationalize the tax system for businesses in the country to level the playing field for the benefit of over 800,000 local corporations that have been paying regular taxes, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

DOF Assistant Secretary Paola A. Alvarez pointed out that, of the estimated 5,000 companies with registered activities in 14 investment promotion agencies (IPAs) in 2015, about 3,000 firms registered with the Philippine Export Zone Authority (Peza) claimed tax incentives amounting to more than P300 billion combined.

In contrast, over 800,000 other corporations registered in 2015 paid regular taxes. This means big companies under the Peza have been enjoying tax incentives and will continue to enjoy them in perpetuity without tax reforms being pushed under the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program Package 2.

Based on data from the IPAs submitted to the National Economic and Development Authority and those culled from the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Philippine Statistics Authority, the DOF found out that: n Registered firms enjoying incentives under the IPAs account for less than 1 percent of firms registered with the BIR; n Employment of firms in IPAs, 2.5 million in total in 2015 (direct, indirect, outsourced, administrative and expatriates), accounts for only 6 percent of total employment in the country; and

n Compensation of firms in IPAs, P297 billion in 2015, account for only 6.3 percent of total compensation.

Alvarez said the government has been providing incentives for 50 years, “and we are among the most generous as we, for example, grant in perpetuity a 5-percent tax on gross income earned, in lieu of all taxes, including VAT [value-added tax] and local taxes. However, FDI [foreign direct invesmtent] flows, despite improving in recent years, pale in comparison with our Asean peers.”

She added the current dual corporate tax and income-tax system has created an unfair structure where those who are paying the regular rate pay 30 percent of their net taxable income, while those receiving incentives pay much less, at around 6 percent to 13 percent.

“This is unfair, as corporations under the regular regime are contributing just as much as those that are under the special regime,” she said.

The government is pursuing a comprehensive tax reform not to curtail a fiscal crisis or plug a deficit. Instead, the government is implementing a tax reform, along with other complementary reforms, to achieve its vision of a high-income country free of extreme poverty by 2040.

“Package 2 of the comprehensive tax reform will not take away all incentives granted to firms.

Instead, Package 2 proposes an incentive system that is fair and accountable,” she said.

DA offers affordable loans to mechanize farm sector

Two listed banks report solid gains

By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

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Photo courtesy of Department of Agriculture Facebook page.

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he Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday unveiled a P4-billion loan portfolio using the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund to provide affordable credit to farmers in its bid to mechanize the farm sector.

“The Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund loaning program, which was marked by corruption in the previous years, is now being offered to the stakeholders of agriculture and fisheries again for a maximum of P1million for individual borrowers and P5 million for associations and cooperatives,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said in a Facebook post on April 24.

“The new Acef loaning program was launched following a thorough review and modification by the Senate Committee on Agriculture under Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, imposing only a 2-percent interest per annum,” Piñol added.

Under the new Acef loaning program, the applicants will have to deal directly with Land

Bank of the Philippines (Land Bank), according to Piñol.

Furthermore, the ACEF loan could only be availed by farmers and fishermen for agricultural and fisheries projects, including postharvest and processing facilities, Piñol added.

“This means that fishermen’s groups who have been asking for the establishment of small icemaking equipment in their communities could now avail themselves of this loan to put up the facility, including cold storage,” he said.

“Farmers could also avail themselves of the loan to buy farm tractors, rice-corn combine harvesters and other equipment to improve their productivity,” he added.

The agriculture chief said the DA “will organize teams in every province, which will assist the applicants, especially poor farmers, groups and cooperatives, in preparing the documents to be submitted to the bank.” Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

PBCOM core business drives growth

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hilippine Bank of Communications’s (PBCOM) focus on growing its core business and delivering productivity gains carried on to 2017 as reflected in its performance.

PBCOM reported a full-year consolidated net income of P718.7 million for fiscal year ending December 31, 2017. Robust growth in the parent bank’s lending activities and supported by its deposit-taking activities sustained the momentum from 2016.

PBCOM’s loan portfolio expanded to P53.4 billion, with Corporate

and Middle Market segments accounting for 76 percent of the loans, and Consumer Finance growing to 24 percent. Interest Income on loans, which registered a 10.8-percent growth to P3.2 billion, contributed largely to the improvement in operating income. The loan-portfolio growth was funded largely by low cost deposit, which expanded by 23.7 percent, or P5.3 billion, and made up 39.2 percent of the bank’s total deposit. The efforts to strengthen low cost deposit generation helped contain the increase in interest expense to a marginal 2 percent.

astWest Banking Corp. and Security Bank Corp.—both listed lenders—on Tuesday highlighted stellar gains in their banking operations in 2017, owing largely to strong lending and expansion of network during the year.

In particular, EastWest reported to its stockholders that 2017 has been the bank’s “most fruitful year” so far, with its net income growing 48 percent to P5.05 billion, from P3.41 billion in 2016.

The bank’s return on equity was also considered “industry leading” at 13.8 percent.

Its net interest margin, meanwhile, stood at 7.8 percent.

EastWest Vice Chairman and CEO Antonio Moncupa Jr. attributed the bank’s solid gains to their efforts in improving and expanding operations during the year.

Meanwhile, Security Bank reported good news to its stockholders, boasting 20-percent earnings growth in 2017, which led to a recordhigh net income of P10.26 billion.

The bank also reported a strong loan-portfolio growth of 28 percent, above the industry average of 19 percent. Security Bank said this was driven by corporate loans, which surged 25 percent.

Middle market loans for the bank, meanwhile, grew 24 percent, while consumer loans expanded at 49 percent.

However, EastWest’s Moncupa believes 2018 will be a more challenging year for the entire banking industry, citing heightened international economic and political risks, such as volatile exchange rates and higher interest rates.

“Bottom line, it appears that revenues and income from this segment will likely by lower in 2018,” Moncupa said.

Case clippings

By Justice S J Ranada Jr. DANGEROUS DRUGS–Decoy solicitations The fact that the poseur-buyer, through the confidential informant, solicited morphine from the accused not prohibited by law and does not render the buy-bust operation invalid as, under prevailing jurisprudence, “a police officer’s act of soliciting drugs from the accused during a buy-bust operation, or what is known as a ‘decoy solicitation,’ is not prohibited by law and does not render the buy-bust operation invalid.”

People v. Dumagay 07 Feb. 2018

GR 216753 Del Castillo, J

The thief inside

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n school, we were taught that thieves have a bad h abit c a l led stea l i ng.

That’s why the majority of us grew up wary of thieves.

Encountering them is such a nerve-wracking experience.

Several years ago, I was walking on my way to work when riding-in-tandem robbers tried to snatch my laptop bag. Sensing it was too light to have a laptop, they let go of my bag and sped away. I was lucky that they did not hurt me. That experience sent shivers down my spine.

Encountering robbers at any point time gives us fear because of the danger associated with it. However, unknowingly, a lot of people tag along a thief wherever they go. Since they are unaware, they don’t feel any threat.

T hey do not realize that they are being robbed every second by someone known on ly to t hem: t heir ow n selves. They unconsciously rob themselves of opportunities through procrastination.

Procrast inat ion is t he habit of putting off for tomorrow what needs to be done today. By doing that, the work to be done for tomorrow has to be delayed for the day after tomorrow and so on.

In the management of money, procrastination plays a very big factor in the deterioration of a person’s financial situation. This is because, in growing our money, time is the most essential component.

The more time we have, the better the chance of catching opportunities for growth. Procrastinators always want instant gratification and leave their fate to chance. They do not realize that they can still enjoy life now and in the future by making some sacrifices today. By delaying the saving/ investing decision, they are, in effect, robbing their own self of future wealth. When the day of reckoning arrives, no amount of regret can correct the mistakes they did during their younger years.

Time wasted is just similar to a robber getting your valuables, where there is no chance of recovery.

What are the effects of procrastination in our personal financial lives?

Lost opportunity. When an opportunity knocks and we never respond, it will just pass us by, and we can never buy it back anymore no matter how much money we infuse. Time moves forward and never comes back.

Remember the Global crisis in 2008? That was a perfect opportunity to buy invest-

Edmund Lao

personal finance ments at a bargain price.

T he index dropped 50 percent to 1872. After the recovery, the market never looked back and the index is now at 8600. Had we invested, for example, P10,000 back then, it would have become almost P46,000 today.

If a procrastinator invests P10,000 today, how sure are we that he can gain the same? And in 10 years, the procrastinator would still lag behind the first investor. He can never match the profit made by the first, unless the market tumbles back to 1872. By delaying, one loses a lot.

Limited time. A s t he person procrastinates, he is diminishing his allotted time to make more money.

As he has less time, he needs to catch up the lost time by investing a bigger amount of money just to reach his future financial goal. He has to work harder to earn more, as his expenses are growing.

With time getting shorter by the day, coupled with increasing responsibilities, this will make life more stressful.

Worse, the procrastinator might find it too difficult to achieve his goals and brace for a disastrous future. What started as a dream will turn into a nightmare.

Desperation. There are people who delay investing to time the market. A lot often erroneously enter high and sell at panic prices when the market reverses. In desperation, they resort to high risk investment in the hope of recovering their loss. Unfortunately, the instrument is a scam and, instead of a recovery, they lose all their money. This explains why haste makes waste.

Respect time, and it will respect you back. Lost time can never be brought back.

Always remember, time is money. If you want the older you to thank the younger you, eliminate your internal robber, start saving/investing early and let the power of compounding interest grow your money.

Edmund Lao is registered financial planner of RFP Philippines. To learn more about personal-financial planning, attend the 68th RFP program this May 2018.

To inquire, e-mail info@rfp. ph or text <name><e-mail> <RFP> at 0917-9689774.

A8

The Regions

Wednesday, April 25, 2018 • Editor: Dennis D. Estopace

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DILG plans to develop village spies, reporters

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By Ashley Manabat | Correspondent

LARK FREEPORT—Interior Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin B. Diño announced in a conference here on April 19 that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) plans to train intelligence and information officers in all 42,029 barangays (villages) in the Philippines by next year.

“For the first time, we will organize barangay information and development officers in all barangays,” Diño said. “But the most important thing is we will establish a barangay intelligence officer in every barangay.”

According to him, the plan involves teaching journalism at the barangay level, and the participants “will now directly report to Malacañang.”

“Just imagine in all barangays, we will have action. We can help our police and the [military],” Diño said.

“Because we really need intelligence gathering, in fact, we have the assets, 6 million strong. Where do the rebels, the criminals go if we have a systematic reporting in our barangays?

Now we will organize that.”

Diño also said the DILG will be closely coordinating with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

“We will also have a tie-up with DAR Secretary John R. Castriciones so that all the lands that are awarded by the DAR to the farmers will be monitored,” he added. “We will know the persons that have been given the lands. We will know if the recipient is developing the land or merely putting it out for rent.”

Diño said he is enjoining all barangays in the Philippines to submit an inventory of all their properties to his office.

“Dito makikita mo kung sino sa mga opisyal na nagnakaw sa barangay

[This is where you will see who among the officials stole from the barangay],” he said. “This is where you will see ghost deliveries and overpricing. Asahan niyo na lahat ng sangkot sa pagnanakaw, sangkot sa droga ay mananagot [Expect that all those who are involved in corruption, in drugs will be held accountable].”

Diño encouraged about 700 participants to the conference to “start investigating in your barangay.”

“If you have evidence or probable cause, bring it to me so that we can file the appropriate charges.”

Diño clarified that even if it is already election period, it is not prohibited to file cases before the Ombudsman. What is not allowed, he said, is to suspend erring officials.

But even if these officials win in the elections, if they have a case, they cannot assume their posts, he explained.

“Ang sabi ko nga hindi pupwedeng tangalin ang mga barangay opisyal na nagmalabis, na ginamit ang kanilang katungkulan para pagsamantalahan ang kaban ng barangay. But I promise you ipakukulung po namin sila, [Like what I said we cannot remove barangay officials who abused and used their power to take advantage of the barangay coffer. But I promise you we will put them in jail],” Diño said.

Citing a Interior advisory, Diño said barangay captains must to submit a list of those who constituted and activated their Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Badac).

Diño was referring to Interior

Secretary Eduardo M. Año’s challenged to all barangay captains to prove their commitment to rid their communities of illegal drugs by forming and activating their Badac, otherwise they could face administrative charges. He lamented that initially, only two

reports were submitted out of 42,029 barangays. But now, 41,000 have submitted, he reported.

Diño said starting next year, he will install regional directors for barangay affairs, as well as provincial directors, city and municipal directors.

This is due to the fact that all projects of the DILG go to the barangays, he added.

Diño said he accepted his position as barangay undersecretary for barangay affairs, which he said President Duterte created for him.

KAWIT HUB

Executives pose with spades during the groundbreaking ceremony of Mana Town Center (MTC), a mixed-use commercial center in Kawit, Cavite, located at the corner of Centennial Road and Daang Hari Link, and being developed and operated by Gallman Realty Corp., a real-estate company based in Cavite. In photo are (from left) MTC CEO Grace Manalansan, MTC Managing Director Dianne Manalansan and Tokwing Construction Corp. COO Noel Payumo. Once completed, Mana Town Center will be made up of four buildings initially with a land area of over 22,000 square meters with possibilities for expansion. NONIE REYES

DENR eyes updated master plan to ease human pressure on Boracay

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ELIEV ING that Boracay Island is experiencing too much human pressure because of the boom in tourism activities, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) plans to review and craft a new master plan that would promote other ecotourism spots in the Northern Aklan region.

In a statement, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said the new master plan will incorporate recent developments in the region.

Updating the old Boracay master plan is part of the “first aid” measures the DENR is implementing to solve the woes of the world-famous island destination, Cimatu said.

“We intend to revisit the Boracay master plan to incorporate it into a more comprehensive Northern Aklan master plan, which will hasten the development of Caticlan, Malay and Carabao islands and radiate it to the nearby areas possibly including Romblon,” he added.

The DENR believes a new master plan will boost tourism revenues while limiting Boracay to tourists within the island’s carrying capacity. This was revealed by Cimatu as he led the launching of a movement in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, on April 24, where he gave a glimpse of the Task Force Boracay’s plans.

Boracay Island will be closed for six months beginning April 26 to give way to rehabilitation activities, including the demolition of structures situated in the wetlands. At least 17,000 people employed by the tourism industry in Boracay alone stand to be affected by the closure of Boracay, during which the DENR hopes to fix the many problems besetting the island.

Some of these problems are water pollution brought by poor sewage system and illegal connection, excessive garbage production, massive destruction of forestland and wetlands because of illegal construction of business establishments and squatting by informal settler families who migrated on the island.

“Within that period, we intend to put in place what we might call the ‘First aid’ solution to Boracay’s

problems: among others, putting the sewage and solid waste systems in place; demolish illegal structures, whether big or small, in the foreshore, on wetlands, in forest lands or even within road easements; set up rules and regulations to keep Boracay safe, including the use of jetty ports, vehicles and other means of transport, the entry and exit of people and the like,” Cimatu said. “And, of course, the governance of the place [is part of the plan].”

During the island’s closure, the environment chief also said a thorough review of the tourism program of Boracay Island will also be undertaken by the interagency task force who will also lock heads in the formulation of new attractions. This will include cultural shows and historical tours in the island and neighboring towns or cities with rich cultural heritage.

The DENR chief said the Ati people, the original inhabitants of the island, will not be left behind in crafting the new master plan.

Cimatu added they would also be involved as part of the rehabilitation phase “so they will not feel out of place even as developments in their beloved island are set in place.”

He vowed a cleaner and livelier Boracay Island will unfold once the work has been completed.

“Healing” Boracay from the grudges of unbridled tourism is a must so future generations will still be able to experience its beauty, Cimatu added.

“Boracay Island was left with the problem of sewage, solid waste and other pollutive activities to the tender mercies,” the DENR chief said. “They let greed and neglect, as President Duterte so emphatically noted, turn this jewel into a “cesspool.” So now, we have to rehabilitate it to let it breathe and to let it live.”

Anti-colorum

Meanwhile, the Inter-agency Council for Traffic (I-ACT) on Tuesday said the local governments of Kalibo and Caticlan in Aklan asked them to intervene and conduct an-

ti-colorum and removal operations in their respective areas.

Transportation Undersecretary for Roads Thomas M. Orbos, who is also the I-ACT head, said that conducting public-utility vehicles (PUVs) check will boost environmental consciousness in the area.

“We recognize the problems Boracay is facing and we are here to lend a hand in resolving its worsening conditions,” Orbos said. “Smoke-belching contributes to the environmental woes of Aklan, especially in Boracay, since it’s been frequently flocked by tourists.”

He said the Department of Transporation (DOTr) needs “to intensify anti-colorum operations in the area to ensure the safety of passengers, most of whom are tourists.”

I-ACT operations will focus on mainland to address the expected exodus of people in Boracay.

Fifteen personnel from the IACT national and 45 personnel from the I-ACT Visayas will conduct anti-colorum and removal operations in the said cities, according to Orbos.

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), which are both part of the council, expressed their support to this initiative.

“The LTO is working hand in hand with [the] DOTr and I-ACT to make sure that land transportation rules are strictly enforced anywhere in the country,” LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar C. Galvante said.

LTFRB Chairman Martin B. Delgra III, for his part, said that they are “committed to their mandate to lead the anti-colorum operations, through the help of their database of legal franchises to ensure safety of riding public.”

Aside from road-worthiness test on PUVs, the I-ACT will also study green transport in Boracay to lessen, if not eliminate, environmental risks in the island brought about by excessive smoke emission from vehicles, Orbos said. Jonathan

L. Mayuga and Claudette Mocon-Ciriaco

ExportUnlimited BusinessMirror

Editor: Efleda P. Campos • Wednesday, April 25, 2018 A9

PHL showcases food and other products at Food and Hotel Asia 2018 in Singapore I

DTI’s Design Center partners with NCR’s key creative hubs for Design Week Philippines

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By Heizle Trasmañas | DTI-EMB

EN Philippine food exporters are showcasing their products at the ongoing Food and Hotel Asia, dubbed as Asia’s most comprehensive international food and hospitality trade event, at the Singapore Expo, Singapore. Held every two years, the four-day event opened on April 24 and will run until April 27.

The Philippine participation was organized by the Department of Trade and Industr y, through the Export Marketing Bureau, in collaboration with the Philippine Trade and Investment Center-Singapore.

The participating Philippine food exporters are Agrinurture Inc., Bahaghari Global Foods Inc., Castillejos Agri-Farms, Fruits of Life Inc., La Carlota Food Enterprise, Pasciolco International Inc., Republic Biscuit Corp., See’s International Food Manufacturing Corp., Universal Canning Inc., and Wellnesscare International Corp.

They join the 4,000 other exhibitors from 70 countries and regions, with projected 78,000 trade attendees from 100 countries and regions.

T he Phi lippine Pav i lion is located at Hall 9. Among the highlights at the Philippine Pavilion is the live cooking demo that features gastronomic recipes made from the unique and creative blend of premium products from the participating Philippine companies, such as fresh mangoes and bananas, fresh vegetables, banana chips, coconut products, fruit jams, canned fish, biscuits, desert and snacks.

DTI sees bright prospects ahead for Philippine coffee industry

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HILE the Philippines consumes as much coffee as countries such as the United States, Brazil, Japan and the European Union (EU), the country is also looking to be one of the top producers of top-grade coffee around the world.

To make this a reality, President Duterte on March 7, 2017, signed the Philippine Coffee Industry Roadmap 2017-2022 to boost the country’s domestic coffee output in the next five years—a huge lift for coffee farmers, producers and traders.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is working closely with the Department of Agriculture (DA) to ensure the Philippine coffee industry would be at par with the world’s top producers such as Brazil, Vietnam, Columbia, Indonesia and Honduras.

“We have to have a patriotic drive to encourage demand for Philippine coffee. We are encouraging local producers to expand coffee production to create the demand,” Lopez said.

The Philippine Coffee Industry Roadmap 2017-2022 will guarantee a coffee industry that is costcompetitive, aligned with globalquality standards, reliable and environment-friendly, that will provide sustainable benefits to farmers, processors, traders, and exporters, and attain food security and poverty alleviation.

Coffee is the second mosttraded commodity in the world and is grown in 50 countries along the equatorial zone called “The Bean Belt,” located between latitudes 25 degrees north and 30 degrees south. Interestingly, the Philippines lies within the

P3 LOANS VIA DIGITAL PLATFORM

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is partnering with FINTQnologies Corp. (Fintq), through Lendr, to provide a digital-lending platform where micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can avail themselves of the Pondo para sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) program. The government, through the DTI’s attached agency Small Business Corp. (SBCorp), allocated P1 billion per year to fund the P3 program, which aims to assist MSMEs in growing their businesses through low-interest loans. Meanwhile, Fintq will be conducting a financial-literacy caravans in three pilot areas of P3 program, namely, Tacloban, Occidental Mindoro and Sarangani. The caravan will offer on-site loanapplication assistance for MSMEs. Present during the event are (from left) SBCorp President Ma. Luna Cacanando, DTI Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, P3 loan beneficiaries Edgardo Waniwan, Angelyn Avila and Judith Waniwan, Voyager Innovation President and CEO Orlando Vea and Fintq Managing Director Lito Villanueva.

Bean Belt.

Due to this advantageous location and favorable, although tropical, climate, the country produces four varieties of coffee: Robusta, Arabica, Excelsa and Liberica.

Lopez said the country’s current coffee output is pegged at 37,000 tons a year, but with the Philippine Coffee Roadmap, the country is expected to raise coffee production to 214,626 metric tons (MT) by 2022.

This will bring the country’s coffee self-sufficiency level to 161 percent from the current 41.6 percent.

The Philippine Coffee Roadmap would also make available 213,788 hectares of area planted with coffee nationwide, translating to a huge yield of one ton of coffee beans per hectare—a huge discrepancy from the usual 0.33 ton per hectare. The task of implementing the road map falls on the Philippine Coffee Council.

Lopez is optimistic the country will be able to achieve this feat, es-

pecially with DTI assisting the coffee industry, which is one of the priority sectors of the agency.

“Through DTI’s 7Ms [Mindset change, Mastery, Mentoring, Money, Machine and Models], we will continue to provide enabling mechanisms to empower coffee farmers and help in addressing the challenges in the industry,” Lopez added.

Data showed Vietnam is the highest exporter of green coffee beans to the Philippines. Filipinos are also fifth-biggest consumers of coffee behind the EU, the US, Brazil and Japan. Similarly, the Philippines is the top importer of soluble coffee and fourth total importer in the world.

As far as coffee production is concerned, the gap between coffee demand and production is widely noticed with demand for coffee at 90 percent and imports amounting to P12 billion. The demand is still increasing with expanding consumption among younger people.

DTI promotes IT-BPM to Japan IT Week

By Gliceria N. Cademia

Trade and Industry Development Specialist, DTI-EMB Services Division

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HE Department of Trade and Industry’s Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC)Tokyo, in partnership with the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), will hold an Outbound Business Matching Mission (OBMM) for the Information TechnologyBusiness Process Management (IT-BPM) sector and its participation to the Japan IT Week 2018 at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan from May 9 to 11, 2018.

Japan is the third-largest IT market in the world ($173 billion), after the US ($661 billion) and China ($179 billion). Japan’s ICT growth is predicted to grow by leaps and bounds as Japanese companies plan to invest in ICT toward fiscal year 2020. Progress in ICT investment is expected to push Japan’s GDP to ¥33.1 trillion in 2020.

For the past years, the Philippines attended the Software Development Expo featuring only the services for development, operation and maintenance of software. This year, it will include various segments of the IT-BPM services covered under the Japan IT Week. Major component of the Bureau’s OBMM is the conduct of the business matching (B2B) with Japanese counterparts.

Companies engaged in other subsectors of the Philippine IT/BPM industry which specifically include the ICBMS services: IT services, cloud computing, big data and analytics, mobile application and security, among others, are invited to join the business mission in Tokyo this year.

Another new feature for 2018 is the participation at the special seminar as part of the Show Management hosting exclusively for international exhibitors.

This aims to maximize exhibitors’ participation in Japan IT Week exhibition. The seminar, which will be held on the day before the show opens, will cover Japanese business customs, tips to maximize show results, useful Japanese phrases, among other topics.

Currently, the top 5 regions in producing coffee are Soccsksargen (Region 12) with 25,100.77 MT, Davao with 11,429.78 MT, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with 10,341.59 MT, Northern Mindanao with 5,604.95 MT, and Western Visayas with 4,356.25 MT. With the Philippine Coffee Roadmap as guide, the trade and agriculture departments together with the private sector and other coffee stakeholders held on March 20 and 21 the third Philippine Coffee Conference in Baguio City and presented the coffee industry’s performance on the first year of the implementation of the road map.

The conference also discussed the strategies to achieve the goals of the Philippine Coffee Roadmap, trends in coffee—brewing methods, quality coffee farming of Arabica and fine Robusta, retailing a coffee business, financing for coffee business, and coffee business models.

N line with the celebration of Design Week Philippines, the Department of Trade and Industry’s Design Center of the Philippines (DTI-Design Center) partnered with key organizations and events all over Metro Manila in its aim to gather the creative community and support the advancement of the creative-services sector of the country.

With the tagline “Design Tribes,” Design Week Philippines kicked off on April 14 in Intramuros and ran until April 22.

“Building connections and communities has always been at the core of Design Week Philippines,” DTI Design Center Executive Director Rhea O. Matute said. “This is why we create a movement by engaging partners and partner events to show the diverse ways of celebrating Design Week Philippines, and eventually make design and creativity a way of life in the Philippines.”

Design Center has established collaboration with 41 partners, 32 events in 16 venues all over the Metro Manila. Matute emphasized that partnerships help amplify and promote new destinations and hubs that can play significant roles in enabling communities, especially the youth.

“We are looking at the youth, the millennials and generation Z, as the next generation of minds that will create positive and progressive disruptions in society. What they do, can do, and will do will definitely shape and influence lifestyles, products, services and industries in the coming years. What Design Week and the Department of Trade and Industry, through its Design Center, can do for them is to highlight new engagement platforms, nurture a network of creative professionals, and host events where they can gather, learn from one another, and build on each other’s ideas,” Matute said.

Design Week Philippines promises nine days of borderless creative festivity with a series of design talks, design tours, handson workshops, exhibitions, art booths, live performances, outdoor film showing, weekend market and a lot more that will ensure participants’ and visitors’ engagement in design and creativity.

In previous editions, Design Week Philippines launched the historical Walled City of Intramuros as a creative environment, and has since supported the Intramuros Administration in its initiatives to revive it. Design Week also tapped the district as a home for its event components such as Design Talks, Design Tours and Creative Workshops to revitalize the historical and cultural assets of the environment and inject it with creative endeavors to encourage development of new ideas.

For this edition, Design Week worked with the National Commission of Culture and the Arts in mounting several hands-on

creative workshops and art booths for everyone in Plaza Moriones in Intramuros, Manila.

Scheduled on April 21, workshops were open for everyone: Poetry Making, Smartphone Film Making, Kite Making and Kite Flying Activity, and Face Painting.

Meanwhile, on April 22, a Travel Journaling workshop with Abbey Sy was scheduled.

This edition’s Design Tours spotlighted history and iconic landmarks with the iMake History Fortress Architecture exhibit in Fort Santiago, and the Destileria Limtuaco beside the LPU Gymnasium as its destination stops.

The iMake History exhibit featured scale models of iconic landmarks within the walls of Intramuros made with Legos. Formerly accessible only to the Limtuaco family’s friends and guests, Destileria Limtuaco, the oldest distillery in the Philippines, opened it museum to the public.

With the theme “Design to Thrive,” a morning session of lightning talks, panel discussions and Q&A tackled personal and organizational stories of failures turned into triumphs and accomplishments that are now part of a growing creative economy. Guest speakers included Jodinand Aguillon, executive director of pineapple Lab; Leonora Cabili, founder of Filip+Inna; Dan Matutina, founder of Plus63 Design Co.; and Arts Serrano, founder of One Zero Design Co. The conversations aimed to inspire professionals and aspirants from the sphere of business, design, art, and other industries to enhance their way of thinking toward a positive change.

Supported by a powerhouse lineup of agencies, brands, companies, and collectives, Design Week extended its creative festivity outside of Intramuros to Metro Manila’s thriving creative hubs, with partner events happening in Makati, Pasay, Bonifacio Global City, Pasig, Muntinlupa and Quezon City.

It partnered with Manila FAME happening at the World Trade Center from April 19 to 22; Nesta’s Creative Enterprise Program with British Council of the Philippines from April 17 to 19; Hollowblock Presents: OTTOMONDI with Pineapple Lab, on April 14, Pineapple Lab; Glug Creative Socials with ASpace on April 18, 2018; Eureka Series: Poblacion Reimagined on April 19, 2018 with Acceler8 Coworking; and South Arts Festival on April 22.

Design Week also partnered with 98B COLLABoratory, situated in Escolta, a neighboring district of Intramuros, for its Future Market.

With its goal of putting soul and spirit into commerce, the Future Market caters to creative individuals and artists to sustain their art practice and to experimenting start-ups and entrepreneurs to enable them to practice and transition towards a more stable and sustainable commercial setting.

DTI pilots packaging road show to support MSMEs

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HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is pushing innovative packaging and branding for micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) products as the agency launched its newest initiative: “Pack! Pinas, an MSME Packaging Roadshow.”

“MSMEs rely heavily on packaging as a means—and sometimes the only way— to advertise their products. Innovative packaging can spell the difference between a product that sells and one that’s left on the shelf,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said.

Pack! Pinas is a free event where MSMEs can learn the latest market trends and emerging opportunities in product enhancement, as well as packaging solutions. Likewise, visitors meet government agencies and companies that can assist in designing, branding and marketing their products.

The road show aims to reach MSMEs in the regions and will consist of three events situated in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

The road show will visit the Visayas on May 3 and 4 at the Summit Hotel Tacloban; Mindanao on May 16 and 17 at Limketkai Luxe Hotel, Cagayan de Oro; and in Luzon on May 29 and 30 at San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite.

“We always encourage our MSMEs to innovate. And through this kind of event, we link them to industry experts in packaging and help them get their products to be more attractive to consumers, not just locally but also abroad,” Lopez added.

Aside from the DTI, private-sector partners w ill also share their expertise in Pack! Pinas. MGM Food and Commodities Corp., San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corp. (SMYPC),

Fedrigoni Asia Ltd., and Norde Philippines will hold seminars in the Visayas and Mindanao legs.

Norde is also partnering with Laguna Food Processors Association to provide affordable high-quality digital printing services. Meanwhile, SMYPC is exploring the idea of investing in generic mold canisters for MSMEs, and setting up a common-use digital printing facility Pack! Pinas is co-organized and supported by the MSME Development Council, the Design Center of the Philippines, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, the Philippine Trade Training Center, the Department of Science and Technology-Industrial Technology Development Institute, the Food and Drug Administration and the Packaging Institute of the Philippines.

A10 Wednesday, April 25, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Expanding markets for PHL agri goods

I

n his foreign trips abroad, the President has made it a point to include discussions about the possibility of expanding Philippine exports, particularly agricultural products. During his trip to Russia in November last year, for instance, reports indicated Moscow had committed to import more farm goods from the Philippines. Among the products that Russia wants to buy from us are bananas, pineapples, cacao, mango, shrimps and milkfish.

The President has shown how savvy a salesman of Philippine products he is after he visited China in 2016. Following his state visit to China, Filipino farmers were again allowed to access the Chinese market. This after Beijing eased the import restrictions on local bananas and other Philippine fruits.

Producers view China as an attractive export market because of its proximity to the Philippines and its huge population.

This year the Duterte administration jump-started efforts to increase the shipments of Philippine products, including agricultural goods, to nontraditional markets like Hungary and Turkey. In February the Department of Trade and Industry pushed for the expansion of Philippine farm exports to Hungary, including banana, mango and processed fruit products, as well as carrageenan, canned tuna, marine products, electronics, automotive parts and aerospace parts.

The latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority underscored the urgent need for the government to continue searching for new markets for local fresh farm produce and processed food products. Figures from the PSA showed that export receipts from coconut oil—the country’s top farm export—declined by 42.7 percent to $192.51 million in January to February, from the previous year’s $335.95 million. Earnings from the shipments of fruits and vegetables, pegged at $193.14 million, grew by only 0.3 percent compared to the figure recorded a year ago.

Other agro-based products also did not fare well in the first two months of the year. Data from the PSA showed that, on an annual basis, earnings from shipments of canned pineapple and pineapple juice declined by 46.3 percent and 98.3 percent, respectively. Receipts from mangoes also went down by nearly 30 percent to $36.15 million, from $51.17 million a year ago. Earnings from shipments of all agro-based products, according to the PSA, declined by nearly a fifth to $581.17 million, from $713.72 million in the first two months of 2017.

Clearly, Filipino farmers and food manufacturers are in need of government assistance, especially in finding new business opportunities. Selling these products alone via state visits are not enough. Negotiations to open up markets or expand shipments must be complemented by other efforts, such as allowing local producers to join trade fairs where they can establish linkages with potential foreign distributors.The government can consider emulating the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, or Taitra. Founded in 1970, Taitra is Taiwan’s foremost nonprofit trade promoting organization.

Sponsored by the government and industry organizations, it assists Taiwanese firms to expand their global reach. The council has a team of 1,300 specialists and operates five local offices in Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as 60 branches worldwide. Its goals are: to assist Taiwanese businesses in developing international market; collaborate closely with the Taiwanese government in trade-policy implementation; provide business-consultation service and connect international firms with Taiwanese partners; and assume the role of “Smart Integrator”—complement government policies, facilitate industry needs and develop new business opportunities around the world.

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Teddy Locsin Jr.

Free fire Continued from A1

‘I

N 2011 the Philippines entered into an agreement with the European Union and its member-states on the joint management of migratory flows. It provides for a consultation mechanism on migration-related issues; for commitments to include migration concerns in national policies of the states parties of origin, transit and destination.

“It proceeds in the common-law manner to embrace new situations as they arise—providing for full cooperation on the basis of specific needs-assessments that consider the push-pull factors of migration; national laws and practices on protection and rights of migrants; fair treatment and avenues for integration of lawfully residing nonnationals; providing education and training, as well as measures against racism, discrimination and xenophobia.

“It addresses human trafficking and protects the victims, instead of using their plight to victimize them more. It provides for the return and readmission of persons under humane and dignified conditions, promoting their voluntary and sus-

tainable return to countries of origin. It imposes an equal duty to cooperate on visa issues, identification and security of travel documents, as well as border-management and development issues, such as human resources, social protection, maximizing mutual benefits from migration, gender, ethical recruitment, and circular migration and the integration of migrants. It was built on the positive experience of earlier Philippine bilateral labor agreements with Germany, Spain and Italy—pretty much as the present attempt at a Global Compact might be built on earlier conventions, which need not be revisited unless our purpose is to undo the good thus far achieved.

“The Philippine-Germany Agreement on the Placement of Filipino Health Professionals provides for skills training, including language; and specifies that they ‘may not be employed under working conditions less favorable than those for comparable German workers.’ It mandates coverage by compulsory insurance in the German social security system. It shows that safe, orderly and regular migration is attainable. They exemplify what we have been saying: providing the conditions for safe, orderly and regular migration is not solely the responsibility of the country of origin but also of the country of destination.

“It shows that it can be done because it has been done. And if it is not done, it is only because the will to do it is lacking—on the part of governments of sending and of receiving countries; the first to show the people fleeing their neglect that they are pretending to help them; and the second to blame these victims for their own shortcomings and gain political advantage in divided societies.

“The duties fall equally on receiving and sending countries so that those who slip through the fingers of one pair of hands may be caught up by other hands into which migrants might fall until they land in welcoming hands—so they do not plunge headlong into the horrors of undocumented migration.

“You might say these agreements

cover regular migration. But they were more than that. These agreements regularized irregular migration. In short, when the Philippines discusses migration with the rest of the world, we are not sailing in uncharted waters. We’ve done it before and done it decently.

“We, too, had our share of irregular migration or refugees as they were disdainfully dismissed by Western countries that turned them away— back to their doom in the multinational facility of Dachau and Auschwitz, of which everyone now is washing their hands. The circumstances were as desperate then as now.

“We had no plan on how strangers should be treated except as one of our own. Our conscience and common humanity were our only accessible code of conduct toward people fleeing a situation about which we said then as all of us should say now, ‘There, but for the grace of God, go us.’ Or, as wave after migrant wave broke on our shores, ‘Here, in God’s mercy, welcome.’ This without any expectation, that when our bad turn came, we shall be received as we had received others; because decency is not a currency of exchange but the vocabulary of action when man meets stranger.

And it is upon this ground that any compact should be erected: never as a legally binding document but— said a famously precise German by whose movements his neighbors told See “Locsin,” A11

File charges against ‘peryahan’ masterminds

T. Anthony C. Cabangon

Editor in Chief

Senior Editors

A Compact of Decency

Florante S. Solmerin

FACT IS MIGHT!

W

hy not file charges against the masterminds of the illegal “peryahan ng bayan” who continue to use with impunity the logo and name of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO)?

Surprisingly, as reported by some local media, those who engage in illegal activities are the ones with the audacity to file charges in court against the PCSO. Just last week, retired Marine Major Manuel Fraginal Sr.’s team headed to Bacolod City to stop the illegal operation of Globaltech Mobile Online Gaming Corp. Fraginal is the Executive Assistant VI of PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan’s office and also the Chief of the Inter-Branch Monitoring and Security.

Fraginal’s team successfully closed down the operations of peryahan draw court centers in Albay and Laguna in the previous weeks.

Globaltech’s acting provincial

coordinator in Bacolod was bold in filing a case against Fraginal.

I still have no copy of the alleged charges, but some of its supposed contents have been published in local newspapers.

According to Fraginal, the city police and the local governments are flippant in implementing President Duterte’s campaign to eliminate all kinds of illegal gambling in line with Executive Order 13 signed in February 2017. It appears that the local courts also act similarly toward the implementation of EO 13.

For Fraginal, the peryahan is tantamount to “economic sabotage” and disrespectful to the President in line with government’s goal to increase PCSO’s earnings from its

Small Town Lottery (STL) so it can generate more funds for its charity works. PCSO has been helping millions of sick Filipinos, and the poor who are in need of financial assistance for medicine, hospitalization, dialysis treatments, chemotherapy treatments and more.

The peryahan, such as jueteng, masiao, swertres, pares and other kinds of illegal gambling are competitors of STL. People benefit greatly from STL, while only gambling lords and their protectors in the government are the only ones that benefit from peryahan, jueteng and other illegal numbers game.

Among those illegal gambling activities for the Bacolod local police are “hantak” or “kara-krus,” “sabong,” and “tong-it,” not the peryahan.

For the information of the public, PCSO officials have publicly stated time and time again that the peryahan is a front for jueteng and other illegal gambling operations, such as “saklaan,” “color games” and others. In 2016 PCSO revoked Globaltech’s Deed of Authority to operate peryahan because of its countless contract violations, especially its nonremittance of earnings to PCSO, which reportedly amounted to P100 million. In October 2017 a Pasig City court dismissed

Globaltech’s Writ of Injunction.

Apart from legal documents like the Board Resolution of PCSO terminating the right of Globaltech to operate, and the EO 13 of President Duterte, PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan has repeatedly issued warnings that Globaltech’s peryahan and draw court centers are illegal.

There is also Republic Act 9287, the law that condemns corrupt officials of the government that neglect their duties to cease illegal gambling, but involved personalities seem unfazed because, in Bacolod City, as reported by Fraginal, “their Globaltech Draw Court Center is just around a kilometer away from the Bacolod City Police Office.”

In my perspective, PCSO has to personally present copies of said documents to Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar D. Albayalde so he can directly order his local commanders, especially in Bacolod, Laguna, Albay, Cebu and other locations with peryahan, to strictly implement the law.

The actions to be undertaken by the legal department of PCSO regarding this matter are also of paramount importance.

E-mail: fetad@yahoo.com.

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, April 25, 2018 A11

Clean air and ‘Earth Day’ Detariffication experience in Asia ersatz environmentalism Dennis B. Funa

INSURANCE FORUM

Michael Makabenta Alunan

on the contrary

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or 28 long years now, we’ve been celebrating April 22 as Earth Day since 1990 with much fanfare, but it seems like we keep on repeating the same media-hyped events like the Earth Day concert jam on April 29 at the Quezon City Memorial Circle, but neglecting efforts at research and technology-based genuine solutions to environmental issues, particularly on air pollution, which chokes Planet Earth and kills thousands a year. n Ersatz environmentalism? There is nothing wrong with having media events like “Carless Day,” “Greening and Tree Planting,” “Coastal and Estero Cleanup drives” of getting rid of plastic and other floating debris, “Earth Day rock concerts,” etc., or the global Earth Hour mania of switching off lights and electricity for one hour, once a year.

These highly hyped events are laudable, if they are culminations of yearlong activities of hard work, but if they become the be-all-endall of environmental activity done once a year, with the rest of the 364 days almost doing nothing, then they become a form of ersatz environmentalism. More so, if we keep on doing the same thing over and over, without assessing if they really make any difference.

Seminars and infor mation educational campaigns are always packed repeatedly, with environmental awareness-raising reminders.

Unfortunately, they only fall on deaf ears owing to the lack of specific programs to address systematically these environmental problems through synchronized combination of interventions from social organizations, research support focusing on solutions, policy and program support through carrot and stick regulations, and incentives to instill the discipline and develop habits, technology packages, financing support, community participation, information and education campaigns, including media involvement. n Adept, deep but still deaf?

The total advocacy-disconnection and policy-dysfunction are more real among transport drivers, who are often more adept and deeply understand more transport problems, but deliberately don’t heed government diktats owing to absence of solutions and weak implementation details.

Drivers complain they are fed up with the advocacy on the health impact of emissions, claiming, “so what if our emissions cause health problems, but what can we do if no one is teaching us solutions anyway.”

And no amount of penalties and frequency of apprehensions will reduce their emissions.

As they need to drive for subsistence with their jeepneys operating 14 hours a day, drivers can be caught theoretically several times a day with escalating fines to a maximum one-year suspension penalty plus P6,000. In the absence of an educational program on solutions to choose from, they have “come across” and have institutionalized a compromising system, allowing drivers to operate at a cost, while circumventing laws.

And yet Section 46 of the Clean Air Act requires that apart from penalties on smoke-belching vehicles, drivers and operators must undergo seminars on emissions reduction. Section 11 even mandates the government to make available all the information on maintenance systems, technologies, etc. on pollution prevention, but this is not done as Section 15 on Pollution Research has not also been funded and implemented. n Clean air be given priority.

Among all environmental issues like solid wastes, wastewater, hazardous wastes, soil erosion, forest, coral reef

and mangrove destruction, clean air must be given more importance mainly because of the fact that while “one cannot survive without food beyond two months, without water beyond seven days, one can’t survive without air beyond 10 minutes.”

Among all environmental issues, air pollution is the worst, as its impact on health alone costs $2.8 billion as of 2013, while deaths soared to 57,403 for the same year, says World Bank and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

Mortality figures may even be 50 percent higher if we include deaths by respiratory diseases like bronchitis, emphysema, pneumonia, etc., but which are also aggravated by air pollution.

Although directly caused by respiratory diseases, the contributory effects of emissions cannot be denied. World Bank’s Enviroment Monitor in 2002 cited a study, saying jeepney drivers recorded the highest chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases at 32.5 percent, and pulmonary tuberculosis at 17.5 percent.

Men are more vulnerable because they smoke more, but the correlation with vehicle emissions is undeniable as street children recorded the second-highest incidence.

As we approach 19 years of the Clean Air Act by June, emission levels may have worsened with more vehicles on the road sharing 93 percent of total air pollution in Metro Manila, and partly because of no massive technological intervention while smokestack factories have moved out to the countryside.

If clean air is more important and mobile sources now share the bulk of air pollution, logically more resources and programs be spent on finding solutions to vehicle emissions. n Penalties aren’t fine, education is. Increasing penalties or the frequency of road apprehensions will not reduce emissions.

Not even a total change of vehicle or engine, which is the main component of transport modernization, will prevent emissions, because even brand-new engines will start smokebelching shortly after. More so with jeepneys subjected to passenger overloads and 14-hour operations.

And no single technology will do the trick as emissions are caused by multiple factors like poor fuel, poor fuel-air ratio, poor lubrication, old engine design, etc. But education and providing informed choices for transport are better guarantees. n Maintenance is key. Educational seminars provide theory and knowledge, but are also useless, unless put to practice through actual periodic maintenance. As public transport is overstressed with 14 hours running time and it is vulnerable to maintenance downtimes, which can affect amortization payments of the transportmodernization program.

Along with modernization, the government must implement a maintenance policy and program, which are lacking as provided under Section 21 of the Clean Air Act, which can mean establishing maintenance service centers per modernized transport group to prevent maintenance breakdowns, assure amortization payments and provide additional livelihood to partly absorb the financial burden of modernization.

E-mail: mikealunan@yahoo.com.

P

remium rates for motor and fire insurance are regulated or tariffied in several countries. In a tariffied regime, premium rates are controlled, usually for reasons of public policy.

Conversely, on the other hand, once detariffied, insurers will be free to charge premiums as they see fit. This will result to different premium rates in the market.

The detariffied premiums are seen to introduce fairer pricing.

Hence, from a uniform pricing, motor insurance pricing will take into consideration the risk profile of the policyholder. This risk profile would include such factors as the gender of the driver, claims history, history of traffic offenses and others.

The higher the risk, the higher premiums. In other words, it will be a risk-based pricing. Detariffication would also imply stiffer competition among insurers on the level of pricing. Detariffication is also called liberalization.

While the initial competition will involve pricing, it will eventually involve the products being offered.

In the end, it is the consumers that will benefit.

Underpricing and other adverse effects

Indeed, an adverse effect of detariffication is the underpricing of insurance premiums, which could affect the companies’ capital standing. In India it was observed that the profitability growth of property insurance deteriorated as insurers offered deep discounts to capture business. The premiums of fire policies had declined dramatically due to free pricing. Consequently, there was negative premium growth for fire

insurance in the first year of detariffication. Price competition between the companies had also reduced the premium growth rate from 60 percent in 2007 to 20 percent in 2008.

There was intense competition to win market share.

Subsequently, the growth returned to normal when adjustments were made. According to Kamaludin Ahmad of Etiqa Insurance, companies in a detariffied environment will also work toward strengthening its distribution channels, product development, brand building, actuarial capability and customer service, as well as concentrate on claims management, asset quality and cost containment.

As stated by RHB Research analyst Kong Ho Meng, “the risk of the industry underpricing will be mitigated by applying premium bands, improving underwriting standards and enforcement of strict capital buffering requirements. We think the premium band is essentially a form of restricted deviation on premium change for motor and fire insurance products. Hence, insurance players should not underprice a product if it bears a high loss ratio and places a heavy strain on its capital adequacy ratio [CAR].”

It was also observed that the removal of the tariff structure will also

be good for online insurance. According to Tune Ins CEO Peter Miller, “the first products that often move online are car or fire insurance. When it is time for renewal in a non-tariffied market, consumers would go online and compare the prices of different companies.”

Whether such will also be applicable to the Philippines remains to be seen.

Chinese experience

Let us take a look at China, which had an interesting experience in detariffication. After joining the World Trade Organization in 2001, it had originally detariffied motor insurance in 2003. However, after three years of detariffication, it reintroduced tariffs again in 2006. It appears that the Chinese market was not fully prepared for detariffication in 2003. The regulatory environment was not prepared. It had inadequate focus on risk management and actuarial controls.

The Chinese insurance market fell into severe competition and rates fell to nearly half of the tariff rate. Motor premiums had comprised more half of the total premiums in the market and over 80 percent of the portfolio for some of the smaller companies. The sharp rate drop leads to major solvency concerns for the industry, especially for the smaller players that rely on their motor insurance sales to meet operating cash flow. Subsequently, when safeguards were already in place, it reintroduced detariffication in 2016 on all lines except motor insurance. China, therefore, is only partly detariffied.

Incidentally, this was the same experience of India when it detariffied on January 1, 2007. Aviation, personal accident, health cargo and some liability insurance were first detariffied in 1994. Fire insurance and motor insurance were then detariffed in 2007 except motor

third-party liability. India is also only partly detariffied.

Malaysian experience

The latest Asian jurisdiction to adopt detariffication is Malaysia. In 2017 Malaysia, through Bank Negara Malaysia, completed the detariffication of motor and fire insurance. It covered both the regular and takaful insurance. The detariffication was implemented in phases. Phase 1 took place on July 1, 2016, which was a partial detariffication. Phase 2 was implemented on July 1, 2017, when full detariffication was effected.

Previously, the New Motor Cover Framework of Malaysia issued in 2012, which provides for the tariff structure, has been adjusted upward four times from 2012 to 2015. The Fire Tariff was adjusted three times from 1992 to 2000.

On March 2016 Bank Negara Malaysia adopted the “Phased Liberalization of the Motor and Fire Tariffs” with the end in view of having a fully liberalized market. Discussions on detariffication in Malaysia started as early as 2013.

Other Asian countries

Cambodia and Thailand are still tariffied. But in Thailand, tariffs, though existing in regulation, are not strictly applied.

There are other Asian countries and jurisdictions that have fully detariffied. This would include Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore.

There are other jurisdictions that have only partly detariffied.

This would include Vietnam, where tariffs have been removed except on obligatory insurance lines, such as motor third-party liability, aviation passenger insurance, fire and explosion insurance.

Dennis B. Funa is the current insurance commissioner. Funa was appointed by President Duterte as the new insurance commissioner in December 2016.

E-mail: dennisfuna@yahoo.com.

Amazon has a top-secret plan to build home robots

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By Mark Gurman & Brad Stone | Bloomberg

en years ago Amazon introduced the Kindle and established the appeal of reading on a digital device. Four years ago Jeff Bezos and company rolled out the Echo, prompting millions of people to start talking to a computer.

Now Amazon.com Inc. is working on another big bet: robots for the home.

The retail and cloud computing giant has embarked on an ambitious, top-secret plan to build a domestic robot, according to people familiar with the plans. Code named “Vesta,” after the Roman goddess of the hearth, home and family, the project is overseen by Gregg Zehr, who runs Amazon’s Lab126 hardware research and development division based in Sunnyvale, California. Lab126 is responsible for Amazon devices, such as the Echo speakers, Fire TV set-top-boxes, Fire tablets and the ill-fated Fire Phone.

The Vesta project originated a few years ago, but this year Amazon began to aggressively ramp up hiring.

There are dozens of listings on the Lab 126 Jobs page for openings like “software engineer, robotics” and “principle sensors engineer.” People briefed on the plan say the company hopes to begin seeding the robots in employees’ homes by the end of this

Locsin. . .

continued from A10

time—as a categorical imperative of human conduct. Act only as though your action will be a law binding everyone including yourself.

“If we all accept that minimum, we can proceed smoothly on what it should in essence be, Compact of Decency Toward Migrants—invited or not, for a long or short time, until they find a strange new life where they’ve gone or return to the familiar, if unhappy, old life they left.

“I noticed there is a worrying

year, and potentially with consumers as early as 2019, though the timeline could change, and Amazon hardware projects are sometimes killed during gestation.

An Amazon spokesman said the company doesn’t comment on “rumors and speculation.”

It’s unclear what tasks an Amazon robot might perform. People familiar with the project speculate that the Vesta robot could be a sort of mobile Alexa, accompanying customers in parts of their home where they don’t have Echo devices. Prototypes of the robots have advanced cameras and computer vision software and can navigate through homes like a selfdriving car. Former Apple executive Max Paley is leading the work on computer vision. Amazon has also hired specialized mechanical engineers from the robotics industry.

The project is different than the robots designed by Amazon Robotics, a company subsidiary, in Massachusetts and Germany, people familiar with the project say. concern about emasculating state sovereignty by a nonbinding, merely moral compact on migration.

I am surprised that there should be such a concern among states of the European Union. Nothing but conquest can diminish state power. It is from a sovereign state that all powers flow, including for the regulation of migration. Even if the Compact were legally binding, a state can tear it up. Because what can stop it? Hence Brexit. We did it recently, too.

“Every compact implies a provision for its dissolution. But a state enjoys a monopoly of violence, not

It’s unclear what tasks an Amazon robot might perform.

People familiar with the project speculate that the Vesta robot could be a sort of mobile Alexa, accompanying customers in parts of their home where they don’t have Echo devices.

Amazon Robotics deploys robots in Amazon warehouses to move around goods and originated as a company called Kiva Systems, which Amazon acquired in 2012 for $775 million.

The promise of domestic robots that offer companionship or perform basic chores has tantalized the technology industry for decades. Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari, introduced the three-foottall, snowman-shaped Topo Robot back in 1983. Though it could be programmed to move around by an Apple II computer, it did little else and sold poorly. Subsequent attempts to produce useful robotic servants in the United States, Japan and China over the years have performed only marginally better. iRobot Corp.’s Roomba, which only does one thing —vacuum—is the standout in the field and has sold more than 20 million units since 2002. The company’s shares fell as much as 8.6 percent on

Monday, the biggest intraday decline since early-February.

More recently, Sony Corp. and LG Electronics Inc. have shown interest in the category. In January at CES, LG showed off a robot called Cloi in a demonstration that failed multiple times. Sony demonstrated a new version of a robotic dog called Aibo, which it sold a version of until the mid-2000s after first unveiling the concept about 20 years ago. It doesn’t do much other than bark (although Aibo has been programmed to play soccer). The canine bot also costs $1,800, or about the same price as a real dog from a breeder.

Advances in computer vision technology, cameras, artificial intelligence and voice activation help make it feasible for Amazon to bring its robot to the marketplace. The retail giant has shown itself willing to partially subsidize the costs of its devices for Prime subscribers who buy more products and subscribe to services through its gadgets. That could also make such a product more affordable for mainstream consumers in the future.

The consumer robot market will be worth about $15 billion a year by 2023, according to an estimate from Research and Markets, which would be up from about $5.4 billion this year.

to inflict it on whim or to gain a domestic political advantage in a broken society; but to use it for the safety of all who come into its jurisdiction—be it by native birth, invitation or desperation. Though not all are welcome, yet none shall be harmed for that reason. So no eugenics of the native born. See, everyone has a stake in a Compact of Decency.

“To raise concerns about diminished state power at any stage of this moral undertaking can come only from those who feel that their states regrettably lost some measure of sovereignty in what, all told, has been the better union of their best

interests in a shared and common market of ideas and ideals, of practices and goods, problems and solutions—all in a single wide community of varied nationality.

“Decency. Nothing is lost by decency; much is gained by it—not least self-respect. Much as we dislike foreigners whose uninvited presence troubles us, so much should we deplore our nationals hurting foreigners who’ve stumbled unto our shores. Thank you.”

To the foregoing Guatemala elegantly responded with the words I have used as the epigraph to the statement.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Wednesday, April 25, 2018

‘Bird flu-free’ tag still ‘iffy’ as surveillance extended in hot zones R

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

EGAINING the country’s once-precious moniker—a bird flu-free nation—remains up in the air as animal-health experts chose to extend monitoring and surveillance of areas hit by the dreaded avian influenza (AI) virus eight months ago.

According to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), it may take few more months before the Philippines could be recognized once again as a bird f lu- free country.

BAI-Animal Health Welfare Division Chief Arlene Vytiaco told the BusinessMirror that the agency decided to impose an extended monitor ing and surveillance in Nueva Ecija and Pampanga “ for any spi l lover [bird-flu] cases and due to influx

of migratory birds.” These provinces were the hot zones for the pathogen, which experts said led to the compulsory culling of hundreds of thousands of layers and quails.

This latest action by the government is beyond what is written under what veterinarians treat as the Bible in addressing the virus: the Avian Influenza Protection Program: Manual of Procedures (AIPP:MOP).

“We are extending the observation period until the end of

June, since we have to continue monitor ing for any spi l lover cases and due to influx of migratory birds,” Vytiaco said in an interview. “At this point in time, we cannot yet claim with confidence that we are AI-free until we are done with the series of surveillance activities,” she added.

Vytiaco explained the BAI has already awarded on March 15 an AI-clearance certificate to a hot zone in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija.

She added they are now undertaking the third round of surveillance in the whole province of Pampanga and Nueva Ecija, which they expect to run until end of June.

Once there is no new case

of bird flu after the BAI’s extended surveillance, the agency will recommend the declaration of the country as bird flu-free to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol as early as July. Vytiaco said it would be Piñol who would declare the country’s freedom from the highly pathogenic AI.

OIE Guidelines

HOWEVER, under the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), a country can only be declared free from AI if it would not report any outbreak within 90 days after the final disinfection of the affected areas.

See “Bird flu,” A2

We are extending the observation period until the end of June, since we have to continue monitoring for any spillover cases and due to influx of migratory birds.

At this point in time, we cannot yet claim with confidence that we are AI-free until we are done with the series of surveillance activities.”—Vytiaco

PHL-Kuwait to ink MOU despite fuss

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

A

mid the controversy created by a recent rescue mission conducted by the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait, Malacañang said the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the protection of Filipino workers in the Gulf State will be signed soon, probably after Ramadan.

Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. issued this statement following the President’s “frank” and “friendly” discussion with Kuwaiti Ambassador Musaed Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh at the Presidential Guest House in Davao City on Monday night.

Roque said the meeting ended on a “positive” note, with the two countries strengthening their bilateral ties and ironing out some issues.

“They parted on a positive note, emphasizing that, while the Philippines will always exercise its obligation to protect its nationals abroad, they will do so in a manner respecting the sovereignty of Kuwait,” he said.

“So it was a frank but very cordial discussion, and I understand that, after the meeting, both parties reiterated their mutual support for each other and parted even closer as friends.”

Asked if the controversial video of rescue of Filipino workers was discussed during the meeting with the Kuwaiti envoy, Roque said: “‘I would be lying if I were to say not.”

The viral video showed Philippine embassy personnel rescuing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Kuwait.

This prompted the Kuwaiti government to summon Philippine Ambassador Renato Villa and handed him two protest notes.

See “PHL-Kuwait,” A2

TAIWAN CHAMPIONS UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE COVERAGE

By Recto Mercene @rectomercene

U

niversal health care must be above politics. Anybody anywhere must have access to and be able to afford the best doctors, and the best medicine and health-care systems, “because we are all human.”

This is the principle being championed by Dr. Gary Song-Huann Lin, Taiwan Economic Cooperation Office [Teco] representative in the Philippines; “So that many Filipinos, being a close neighbor, would have access to Taiwan’s medical facilities, which is one of the best in the world, second only to Japan.”

“Taiwan has made great contributions to the world’s health, not only to the Philippines. We provided lots of medical services from here, for charity or otherwise. Taiwan extended help following the devastation of Supertyphoon Yolanda, and we also provided many missions to treat other people,” Lin added.

He said Taiwan has also provided many medical contributions and aid to small developing countries in the Pacific, including Solomon Islands, Palau,

PULP FIX ON Sen. Cynthia A. Villar (center) looks from behind a man (foreground) demonstrating the use of a machine she donated to the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC). The machine could be used by residents of Barangay Baseco in Tondo, Manila, to produce handmade paper from garlic. Other members of the PRRC and unnamed guests joined Villar during the demonstration on April 24. ROY DOMINGO

Debt. . .

Continued from A1

“ADB’s OCR operations comprise loans, equity investments, investment in other debt securities and guarantees.

ADB finances its ordinary operations through borrowings, paid-in capital and reserves,” ADB said.

Annual operations of ADB increased 26 percent to a record $32.2 billion in 2017, according to the annual report.

ADB’s total operations of $32.2 billion last year consisted of $20.1 billion in loans, grants and investments from its own resources, which was 51 percent higher and nonsovereign operations of $2.3 billion, a 31-percent increase from 2016.

Total operations also included $11.9 billion in cofinancing from bilateral and multilateral agencies and other financing partners, and $201 million in technical assistance, an 11-percent increase from 2016.

These figures are based on the ADB’s new performance measure of

“commitments,” or the amount of loans, grants and investments signed in a given year.

ADB introduced this measure in 2017 to promote project readiness at the approval stage, expedite post-approval steps and get closer to project disbursement, by placing more emphasis on when the projects are signed rather than when they are approved by ADB’s board of directors.

“We began a new chapter in meeting development needs across Asia and the Pacific in 2017,” said ADB President Takehiko Nakao. “With the merger of the bank’s concessional Asian Development Fund lending operations with the ordinary capital resources balance sheet from the start of 2017, the ADB has a solid capital base to support our operations going forward.”

The ADB’s financing of climate mitigation and adaptation reached a record $4.5 billion in 2017, a 21-percent increase from the previous year. The bank is now in a good position to achieve its $6-billion

annual climate-financing target by 2020.

ADB also mobilized an additional $606 million from external financing, bringing total climate financing to $5.2 billion last year. On the downside, ADB’s disbursements declined to $11.1 billion in 2017, from $12.3 billion in 2016, according to the report. Cofinancing also fell short of the ADB’s targets.

“We will come up with concrete measures to increase disbursements and cofinancing, building on the new ADB procurement policy approved in April 2017 and ongoing efforts to leverage the bank’s resources,” Nakao said.

The report presents a more comprehensive picture of ADB operations than the previous annual reports in terms of numbers and institutional data.

It provides expanded sections on financial highlights, sector and thematic work, and knowledge. ADB’s specific assistance to countries and regional programs, lists of trust funds and corporate reports, and organizational structure are also added. Cai U. Ordinario

LIN Tuvalu, Nauro and those in West and Central Africa, including Swaziland.

Lin added Taiwan’s medical care is one of the best in the world, and requested the Filipinos to support their participation in the 71st World Health Assembly [WHA].

“This is to realize the World Health Organization’s [WHO] vision of a seamless global disease-prevention network, which is in line with the United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goal 3, to ensure healthy lives and promote the wellbeing for all ages by 2030,” he told the B usiness M irror.

See “Taiwan,” A2

ECONOMIC GROWTH LIKELY BREACHED 7% IN Q1–REPORT Continued from A1

ROQUE: “I would be lying if I were to say not.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph

government spending for infrastructure, which expanded by 25.2 percent in January.

The think tank said the 24.8-percent hike in manufacturing, which was the highest in seven years, is another factor that allowed GDP to grow faster.

The expansion of the manufacturing sector was attributed to gains in 16 out of 23 industry subgroupings, of which 11 posted double-digit growth.

This included printing, which grew 108.1 percent; food manufacturing, 32.6 percent; electrical machinery, 30.3 percent; beverages, 24.1 percent; and petroleum products, 23.4 percent, among others.

“We will continue to track changes in employment and other leading indicators to help discuss the expansion path of the manufacturing sector, but we still think that the industrial output would rise in double-digit fashion in 2018,” the think tank said.

Factors that could drag down economic growth, according to FMIC and UA&P Capital Markets Research, include higher inflation, slower exportearnings growth and the weak peso.

The increase in commodity prices, which breached the upper limit of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s target of 4 percent in March, will likely force the Monetary Board to raise interest rates.

The think tank expects the Monetary Board to raise policy rates by 25 basis points in the second half of the year.

Inflation is expected to breach the 4-percent high-end target of the central bank in April at 4.3 percent; May, 4.5 percent; and June, 4.6 percent.

“We think that the uptrend in inflation will continue in the short run, but will start to decelerate once the effect of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law has been fully felt by the third quarter,” the think tank said.

“We maintain our view that the Monetary Board will likely increase policy rates in the second half of the year given the continued expansion in money supply and the large uptick in the average level of prices,” it added.

The lackluster performance of the country’s exports and the weak peso are linked, since the peso is affected by the widening trade deficit due to lower exports.

Exports are expected to recover on

the back of the improvements in the global economy. The European Union and Japan are expected to recover beginning in the second quarter.

However, the peso will continue to be weak at around P51.92 to the dollar in April; P52.12 to the dollar in May; and P52.50 in June.

“The peso shall remain under pressure because of huge trade deficits, the outflow of portfolio investments and the solid upswing of the United States economy,” the think tank said.

The projection of FMIC and UA&P Capital Markets Research is consistent with the pronouncement of Socioeconomic Planning Ernesto M. Pernia, who said that the manufacturing sector powered GDP in the first quarter. Pernia said first quarter GDP growth likely reached 7 percent.

National Economic and Development Authority Undersecretary for Planning and Policy Rosemarie G. Edillon told the BusinessM irror that the double-digit growth of the manufacturing sector boosted the country’s economic performance in the Januaryto-March period.

World Bank forecast Pernia noted the country will perform better than China this year based on the World Bank’s estimate. The World Bank projected that GDP will accelerate to 6.7-percent this year, from 6.6 percent last year.

“The forecast of the World Bank is about 6.7 percent GDP growth rate this year, but we expect to do better than 6.7-percent,” Pernia told Central Luzon stakeholders during the recent Philippine Economic Briefing here.

Household consumption and government spending on infrastructure will be the key drivers of economic growth, he said.

“Exports, though still performing lower than imports, are going to be performing better in the coming years given that the global economic growth has been forecast to do better this year than last year. In fact, we have surpassed the 3.7-percent forecast of the International Monetary Fund with a 3.9percent global economic growth rate that impacts directly on our exports,” he said.

Agriculture, Pernia added, is also expected to perform better this year than last year, he noted.