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Thursday, December 7, 2017 Vol. 13 No. 57

Contentious provisions dragging TRAIN bicam

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM & Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

inalizing the provisions of the tax-reform measure is proving to be a “difficult task” for both houses of Congress, with the bicameral conference committee making little progress in three days of deliberations to harmonize the Senate and House versions.

Organizing all workers: A new Singapore initiative Rene E. Ofreneo

laborem exercens

outheast Asia’s wealthiest and most stable labor confederation is based in a country whose population is 1/20th of that of the Philippines—Singapore’s National Trade Union Centre (NTUC). The NTUC is the sole labor center in the city state. It has a solid or united membership of around 900,000. The NTUC takes a moderate centrist position on political issues. It also has a business-like orientation, which is one reason the more militant unions in the Philippines and other countries tend to distance themselves from this labor center. Continued on A12

Continued on A2

DTI: COAL TAX TO AFFECT RESURGENCE OF LOCAL MANUFACTURING SECTOR

he Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) urged policy-makers to reconsider the proposed hike in excise tax on coal, as its impact on electricity cost may temper the manufacturing sector’s growth. “Off hand, I’m saying that proposal may merit further study. It’s a bit surprising and it’ll be a challenge in terms of the cost for the power producers,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in an interview on Tuesday at the annual Ex port Congress that the DTI jointly organized with the Philippine Exporters Confederations Inc. He conceded that the expected growth of the manufacturing sector —estimated to reach 10 percent next year—may be dragged down by the proposed tax on coal, which was introduced in the Senate version of the Duterte administration tax-reform bill. “As long as we have that competitive production capacity, [we can reach the target],” he added. Last week the Senate made the move to increase the excise tax on coal to as much as P300 per metric ton in 2020, from the current P10 per MT. The increase will be done in stages: P100 in 2018, P200 in 2019 and to P300 in 2020. Senate Comittee on Energy Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian, who was present in the

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Suarez: “The House and the Senate...have already agreed on several provisions. However, those provisions agreed upon by the panel are not significant.”

As of press time on Wednesday, House Minorit y Leader Danilo E. Suarez of the Third District of Quezon said members of the committee are still trying to break the impasse and address “contentious provisions” in the proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TR AIN) Act.

2016 ejap journalism awards

Espenilla: No overheating of economy on my watch

LOPEZ: “That proposal may merit further study. It’s a bit surprising and it’ll be a challenge in terms of the cost for the power producer.”

Export Congress, said end-users will bear the brunt of the increase. He estimated the hike in the electricity bill—after the three stages—at P28.70 per kilowatt-hour. The coal tax is meant to raise government revenues for the massive infrastructure program of the Duterte administration. The countr y’s largest business organization, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), composed of mostly micro, small and medium companies, already expressed its opposition to the proposed coal-tax increase early this week. “We need to drive our economic inertia to the level of over 7 percent per annum in order to make real significant comparative gain over our neighbors in the region and achieve inclusiveness,” PCCI President George T. Barcelon said in a statement. “Power quality and costs are indeed among those critical elements that are always viewed by foreign and local investors, especially with regard to heavy industries.”

PESO exchange rates n US 50.5900

See “DTI,” A12

ESPENILLA: “We are working hard to run our economy competitively so it finishes a winner… If we don’t like hot engines, we should keep our car parked.” By Bianca Cuaresma

Committee, is still at the plenary deliberation stage. At the House of Representatives, the report of the Committee on Transportation on House Bill (HB) 4334 is now up for plenary debates. The Senate version wants to give “emergency powers” to the President to solve the traffic crisis. The House version calls for the grant of special powers. The special powers in the House version cover traffic management and the

he Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) again assured the public that it is spending significant man-hours monitoring the markets and formulating measures that will prevent an overheated economy. In a st atement issued on Wednesday following the BSP’s recent announcement of a sustained double-digit growth in liquidity and credit, BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. assured the public that the economy will not overheat on his watch. “I can tell you that the BSP spend s a lot of t ime u nder standing the economy at any given point of time, developing a dynamic game plan, and executing effectively, so the economy doesn’t overheat! A nd we do this systematically and regularly. Every six weeks,” Espenilla told journalists.

Continued on A12

See “Espenilla,” A2

glittering mesh Maintenance men work on a tunnel brightly lit with thousands of Christmas lights at the Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City.

ALYSA SALEN

JFC wants Duterte to get special powers vs traffic By Catherine N. Pillas

@c_pillas29

usinessmen belonging to the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) asked Congress to enact a measure mandating the grant of emergency powers to President Duterte to solve the traffic crisis. Members of the JFC said the Senate and House of Representatives should now turn their attention to the proposed Traffic

and Congestion Crisis Act filed by lawmakers last year. “The responsible committees in bot h chambers completed their reports some months ago, and their bills are in line to be discussed and approved in plenary. With the completion of the budget and the first tax-reform package, the time to pass this important legislation is now,” the JFC’s statement read. Senate Bill (SB) 1284, which was scrutinized by the Public Services

@BcuaresmaBM

n japan 0.4495 n UK 68.0183 n HK 6.4720 n CHINA 7.6434 n singapore 37.5631 n australia 38.4889 n EU 59.8176 n SAUDI arabia 13.4899

Source: BSP (6 December 2017 )

A2 Thursday, December 7, 2017

BMReports BusinessMirror

Contentious provisions dragging TRAIN bicam Continued from A1

“Despite this challenge, the House and Senate are halfway through the deliberations and have already agreed on several provisions,” Suarez said. “[However] those provisions agreed upon by the Senate-House panel [during the last two bicameral meetings last Friday and Tuesday] are not significant.” However, he said the bicameral committee is targeting to finish its deliberation and produce a joint version of the TRAIN by Wednesday. “We are still not discussing bigticket [items] like the [additional taxes on] fuel, automobile and others. Today, [Wednesday], we have to conduct a marathon hearing because they target to finish it today,” he said. One of the key provisions of TRAIN that both houses of Congress have approved is the personal income-tax exemption of all workers earning P250,000 annually. “This is helpful to our minimum wage earners who will benefit from use of their full earnings. The TRAIN targets to raise P130 billion in government revenue,” Suarez said. Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto said on Wednesday the bicameral committe also endorsed for final approval by Congress a conference committee report on a bill lowering estate taxes, even as the proposed law increases deduction and relaxed rules in favor of heirs. Recto said members of the bicameral committee tasked to finalize President Duterte’s new tax

Espenilla. . . Continued from A1

Espenilla described their formal review of monetary policy as a two-stage evaluation that is repeated every six weeks in their monetary-policy meetings. “The formal management discussion, to firm up an evaluation

plan, also moved to “cut the rates and requirements” on the estate tax levied on a deceased person’s assets. “Billions in properties left behind by hundreds of thousands of departed Filipinos” remain in limbo for the failure of their heirs to pay the estate tax,” Recto said, “either for lack of knowledge or lack of money or both.” The Senate leader confirmed the final version of the bill expected to be ratified by the Senate and the House this week prior to its submission for signing into law by President Duterte, provides that the estate tax will be levied a 6-percent flat tax, while family homes valued at P10 million will be tax exempt, even as standard deduction is hiked to P5 million. At present, Recto said there are six tiers of the estate tax, with assets worth P200,000 exempt, with the highest rate slapped on an estate valued at P10 million and up, which will pay P1.25 million, plus 20 percent in excess of P10 million. He added that the estate tax on the fourth tier, which covers assets in the P2-million to P5-million range is P135,000, plus 11 percent in excess of P 2 million. Recto disclosed the bicameral committee also agreed to increase the estate tax-exempt value of a family home to P10 million from P1 million. “We have decided to increase it by tenfold to reflect real-estate realities as the current rates were set 20 years ago when homes were a lot cheaper,” the senator said, adding: “If a P2-million house today is only as big as a matchbox, why would

you still tax it?” According to Recto, the bicameral panel also agreed to raise the standard allowable deduction to P5 million “so that when you compute the estate tax, there is an automatic P5 million in deductibles.” At present, the senator said surviving heirs are allowed to claim a maximum of P500,000 for medical expenses and P200,000 for the funeral of the deceased. “This is why we raised the deductibles to P5 million to cover such expenses.” Recto also cited another stringent rule relaxed by lawmakers crafting the final version of the TRAIN bill which covers the amount that can be withdrawn from the deceased’s bank deposits, which are automatically frozen upon the demise of the account holder. “We have agreed to allow an heir, or executor, or administrator, to make withdrawals, with no limit, for as long as a withholding tax is paid every transaction,” the senator said. He noted that, under the present system, surviving heirs cannot withdraw from the account of the deceased at the time they need the money to cover hospital and burial expenses until they pay taxes and comply with clearance requirements. “We have also done away with rules that raise the hurdle for compliance,” Recto said, adding: “The filing of the estate-tax return shall be extended from six months to one year. Payments can also be made by installment.” He said they are also setting aside the need for Certified Public Accountant certification if the

property involved is not more than P5 million. Recto added the congressional committee also set aside a requirement to post a notice of death prior to estate settlement, “We already removed that,” the senator said. “The overall objective is ease in payment of estate tax at a time when a family is grieving over the loss of a loved one. In their bereavement, they need to be consoled.” He lamented that complicated rules have resulted in low payment of estate tax, with only eight deaths out of 100 making an estate-tax filing. The excise taxes on petroleum, coal, minerals, automobiles, sugar-sweetened beverages and cosmetic procedures are still under deliberations of the members of the bicameral committee. “The increased taxes from these items will make up for what the government will lose from the personal income-tax exemptions and reductions. Hence, we hope that the bicameral conference committee would come up with the best tax rates that would be fair for all,” Suarez said. “The minority has been consistent on its position toward a ‘revenue neutral’ tax reform. This means that the revenue loss from the tax cuts should be offset by the revenue gains from broadening the tax base, increasing excise taxes, eliminating deductions and other related measures,” he added. The proposed TR AIN Act is targeting to raise P130 billion in revenues to finance the Duterte

administration’s ambitious infrastructure program. “It is good news that we are getting closer to the fruition of the TRAIN. This will introduce necessary reforms to our country’s tax system and will also raise revenues that will support the administration’s infrastructure development program,” he added. He said the TRAIN also aims to achieve administrative simplicity. “The goal is to simplify the process involving filing of taxes to make the procedure less vulnerable to corruption.” Some of the measures that the bicameral conference committee is looking at, Suarez said, are reducing the number of documents needed to be filed per transaction, and reducing the number of times per year that the value-added tax and percentage tax should be filed. The House leader also said he will ask the Department of Finance (DOF) to set revenue targets in all revenue district offices and country’s point of entries. Suarez is pushing for the full implementation of Republic Act 9335, or the Lateral Attrition Law. But this law, Suarez said, can only implemented if the DOF will implement target-setting. “This law provides penalties and rewards against officials of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs. Unfortunately, this law is dormant. Without the attrition law, the widening gap between government spending and revenue stands defenseless to the inefficient tax collection,” he said.

and recommendation to the MB [Monetary Board], takes about three hours. But those three hours are backed up by hundreds of manhours of focused research. The MB meeting proper is Stage 2. That’s another three hours of intense review before the MB decides to act or hold steady. Then repeat again six weeks later,” he said. The governor added that the

BSP has extensive options in its monetary tool-kit to prevent the critical imbalances in the economy. “The policy tool kit of the BSP is not just monetary policy. Don’t forget its considerable supervisory powers over the banking and financial system to prevent imprudent and reckless behaviors in individual entities and sectors that lead to unsustain-

able risk buildups. That grinds on relentlessly,” he said. Espenilla further said that indicators of a heated economy— such as strong credit and liquidity growth, as well as higher inflation —is normal for an economy that is firing on all engines. “We are working hard to run our economy competitively so it finishes a winner. We are taking careful

preparation, regular tune-ups and upgrades, skillful driving, and constant monitoring. The engine is expected to get hot along the way. That’s what running engines do,” Espenilla said. “But there’s a huge difference between a hot engine and an overheated engine. If we don’t like hot engines, we should keep our car parked,” he added.

‘Controversial provisions’

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WHO denies giving DOH advice to use Dengvaxia Continued from A12

considered in areas where a high proportion (preferably at least 70 percent) of the community had already been exposed to the virus; The vaccine should only be provided to people 9 years of age and above; and people being vaccinated should receive three doses. “The WHO acknowledged in mid-April 2016 that these conditions appeared to be met in the three regions of the Philippines in which the dengue-vaccination effort was already ongoing at that time—noting that the decision to roll out the vaccine had been taken by the DOH before the WHO’s advice became available,” the statement read. Nevertheless, the WHO said it is supporting the DOH’s decision to suspend the vaccination program. The FDA, in an advisory, also ordered the withdrawal of Dengvaxia from the market. “We will continue to seek the dialogue with the FDA,” Sanofi said, noting that it “will work with [the FDA] to review the implementation of their direction.” The company also reiterated its suggestion that labels on their products be updated “to include the new data findings and instructions to ensure that physicians can make appropriate vaccination decisions with their parents”. Sti l l, Sanof i stressed that Dengvaxia “does not contain any viruses that can make people ill with dengue or severe dengue.” Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

PHL. . .

Continued from A12

2017-2022 Philippine Development Plan, includes $3.68 billion in ADB lending and $25.1 million in technical assistance from 2018 to 2020. Earlier, economists like Rene Ofreneo of the University of the Philippines said borrowing funds to cover big-ticket projects, which was practiced during the martial law period, caused a surge in the country’s foreign debts. First Metro Investment Corp. President Rabboni Francis Arjonillo said, however, that the tax-reform program of the government can prevent the Philippines from once more joining the ranks of heavily indebted countries. These countries experienced skyrocketing inf lation and interest rates. National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Undersecretary for Investment Programming Rolando G. Tungpalan assured that the country is in a “sound” financial position and can accommodate more official development assistance (ODA) loans. Tungpalan told the BusinessMirror that both Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia and Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio will improve to 30 percent under the current administration despite the shift to the use of more ODA loans for financing infrastructure projects. The Neda official also said the benefits of these projects to the economy are “significant,” especially since under ODA, these projects will be implemented “swiftly and efficiently.” The ADB was the Philippines’s third-largest source of ODA loans and grants with $2.98 billion in 2016. The Manila-based lender is also one of the country’s largest sources of ODA, with annual average lending of $745 million in the past 10 years. Cumu l at ive d isbursements to t he Ph i l ippi nes for lending and grants financed by ordinar y capita l resources, the Asian Development Fund and other special funds amounted to $13.44 billion.

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The Nation BusinessMirror

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, December 7, 2017 A3

PET to begin VP poll House Speaker Alvarez urges Galvante recount in Feb. 2018 to quit LTO post over vehicle-plate mess T peaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez on

he Supreme Court (SC), sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), is set to begin recount of votes in February next year on the electoral protest filed by former senator Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. against Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo. The ballot recount covers the three pilot provinces of Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental, which were chosen by Marcos as the “best” provinces where he could prove the irregularities he cited in his poll protest. Robredo’s counsel, Romulo Macalintal and Marcos’s lawyer, George Garcia, were at the SC on Monday for a meeting on the regulations governing the recount of votes and a tour of the venue for the recount process. Macalintal expressed confidence the recount will “confirm and affirm the victory of Robredo as the duly elected vice president” in the May 2016 elections. “This is so because in all the more than 500 automated election protest cases filed since 2010 to the present, not a single election protest involving local elective positions had been successful where the issue was merely recount of the ballots,” he said. “All of them were dismissed because the results of the physical count of the ballots tallied exactly with the results of the count made by the vote counting machines [VCMs] and the consolidated canvassing system [CCS],” Macalintal said. Macalintal said the first to be reviewed are the ballots from the contested clustered precincts in Camarines Sur, the vice president’s home province, which will be retrieved on January 22, 2018, with the recount slated for second week of February.

This will be followed by the two other pilot provinces. Macalintal said under the PET rules, if Marcos could not prove any substantial recovery of votes from these three pilot provinces, the former senator’s protest will be dismissed for lack of merit. For Camarines Sur alone, Macalintal said some P9.6 million would be charged to Marcos’s cash deposit for the retrieval of ballots, salaries and allowances of employees, security, transportation and other expenses. If the results in the recount of ballots for local elective officials were accurate, Macalintal said there was no reason the recount for a national position would be different considering that the ballots used for the local and national elective positions were the same and they were counted and tallied by the same VCMs and CCS. Marcos filed the protest on June 29 last year, claiming that the camp of Robredo cheated in the automated polls in May that year. He sought the annulment of about a million votes cast in three provinces—Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Maguindanao. In his protest, Marcos contested the results in a total of 132,446 precincts in 39,221 clustered precincts covering 27 provinces and cities. In his preliminary conference briefing, Marcos also sought for a recount in Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental. Robredo filed her answer in August last year and filed a counter protest, questioning the results in more than 30,000 polling precincts in several provinces where Marcos won. PNA

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

Wednesday urged Land Transportation Office chief Assistant Secretary Edgar C. Galvante to quit his post over the agency’s apparent failure to solve the prevailing problem on the issuance of vehicle-registration plates. At a news conference following the hearing of the House Committee on Transportation over several pending bills affecting the transportation sector, Alvarez said Galvante must step down to give way for a “more capable” LTO chief to address the problem. “The problem of the car-plate backlog is a relatively simple matter to address, and the fact that it still persists until today means Galvante is not fit for the job as head of the LTO. [Galvante has been occupying the position] for more than one year now. The most logical thing for you [Galvante] to do is to resign,” the house speaker said. “As former DOTC [Department of Transportation and Communications] head, I could not see any reason [for the delay]. [The] license-plate mess is not a major problem and can easily be resolved,” he added. The speaker said it is one of the issues President Duterte had raised when he was campaigning for the presidency. Duterte had lamented that it takes years before car owners can obtain their license plates. “Assistant Secretary Galvante [should] re-

sign so the President can appoint a person who could do the job,” he said. Alvarez said Galvante, who was invited to the hearing, was not present and did not present the official next in rank who would be able to answer questions from the committee. According to LTO representative lawyer Jane Paras Leynes, Galvante is in a hospital for a medical treatment. In defense of the LTO, Leynes said the agency’s bids and awards committee is currently in the process of procuring car plates to address the backlog. She said the LTO expects to finalize the procurement of the car plates by the end of the first quarter of 2018. According to the LTO official, the procurement process was delayed because there is no budget for car-plate procurement for the year 2016 and 2017 as the last procurement contract in 2014 covers car-plate supply until 2018. Unfortunately, the deal was questioned before the courts. However, Alvarez said Galvante should have taken the initiative and sought realignment of LTO budget for the purpose immediately after

his appointment as LTO chief. The speaker clarified, though, that there is nothing personal against Galvante. Earlier, the Commission on Audit had ruled that the license plate deal between the LTO and the Plates Development Concepts Inc.—J, Knieriem BV—Goes Philippines Inc (PPI-JKG) is in violation of the procurement law.

The problem of the car-plate backlog is a relatively simple matter to address, and the fact that it still persists until today means Galvante is not fit for the job as head of the LTO. [Galvante has been occupying the position] for more than one year now. The most logical thing for you [Galvante] to do is to resign.”—Alvarez

Economy

A4 Thursday, December 7, 2017 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

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NG hikes infra Government eyes consortium spend by 17.8% to challenge telco ‘duopoly’ in Oct–DBM By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

he national government has reported an increase of 17.8 percent in its spending for infrastructure for the month of October amounting to P51.5 billion, mainly due to increases in public works projects, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). A DBM report showed that the national government spent P51.5 billion on infrastructure and capital outlays in October this year, or 17.8 percent higher than the P43.7 billion recorded in the same month for 2016. The same DBM report also showed that the government’s acquisition of transport equipment for the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Philippine National Police under its Capability Enhancement Program and payment for various communication management system projects, as well as consultancy and civil works for the Manila Light Rail Transit System Lines 1 and 2 extension projects of the Department of Transportation had also contributed to the total infrastructure spending for the month. From January to October this year, the government spent P442.7 billion on infrastructure and capital outlays, which expanded by 11.8 percent compared to the P395.8 billion recorded in the same period for 2016. The DBM bared that the implementation of projects such as the rehabilitation of schools under the Department of Education (DepEd) and acquisition of medical equipment by the Department of Health (DOH) had also contributed to the steady increase in spending by the government. “As well as other capital outlay projects in the DepEd and SUCs [state universities and colleges], including repair and rehabilitation of school facilities, and the DOH acquisition of health facilities and medical equipment,” it added. The government earlier said that it will need an estimated P8 trillion for the period of five years to fund its “Build, Build, Build” program. The program includes 75 flagship infrastructure projects that the government deems that will help usher in the golden age of infrastructure in the country.

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

Memorandum Order 16

@alyasjah

fter offering to China the privilege to operate a telecommunication (telecom) carrier in the country, the government is now considering a consortium to challenge the duopoly of Globe Telecom Inc. and PLDT Inc., as proposed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

In the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday night, the DICT advised President Duterte to think about allowing a consortium to play the role of the third player in the telecom industry. “[The] DICT [recommended] a consortium for third player,” Presidential Communications Secretary Martin M. Andanar told the BusinessMirror. The recommendation was raised to the President in light of his recent offer to China to operate the third telecom carrier in the country. Competition officials, including competition body chief Arsenio M. Balisacan, lauded the offer, but some research

groups did not receive it positively. Research group Ibon Foundation, for one, warned on allowing the entry of a foreign telecom company will lead to an issue of national security. Citing a 2006 study on the United States telecom industry by the US National Academy of Sciences, Ibon said telecom infrastructure is crucial to homeland security and transmission of vital intelligence, such that the entry of a foreign player might compromise national security. On top of security concerns, the restriction on foreign participation is also seen as an obstruction

President Duterte’s directive to the Neda Board and its member-agencies to take immediate steps to lift or ease existing restrictions on foreign participation in certain investment areas that include public services, such as power transmission and distribution, water-pipeline distribution system and sewerage-pipeline system. The list, however, did not include public utilities, which covers the telecom industry.

to the entry of a Chinese telecom company. This was also threshed out during the Cabinet meeting, according to Andanar. Duterte has recently instructed his economic team to further liberalize certain investment areas as part of efforts to bolster foreign participation in the country. Under Memorandum Order 16, the President directed the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board and its member-agencies to “take immediate steps to lift or ease existing restrictions

on foreign participation” in certain investment areas. The presidential memorandum listed seven industries for further liberalization, including public services, such as power transmission and distribution, water-pipeline distribution system and sewerage-pipeline system. The list, however, did not include public utilities, which covers the telecom industry. Under Executive Order (EO) 184, Series of 2015, or the 10th Regular Foreign Investment Negative List (RFINL), public utilities are open to foreign investors to up to 40-percent ownership. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia in July said the President is partial to permit foreign investors to own up to 70 percent in public utilities in fulfillment of his campaign promise to attract more foreign investors to open business in the country. Under the 10th RFINL, foreign investors are allowed to own to up to 40 percent in operation of public utilities, with respect to Article 12, Section 11 of the 1987 Constitution. The highest law of the land, however, does not define what public utilities are. Duterte is also asking the Neda board to immediately advise him on restrictions on foreign ownership that may already be lifted or eased through an executive order. He plans to repeal EO 184 soon, and issue a new RFINL.

House bucks ₧50.7-B slash in DPWH budget By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

he chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday said the congressional bicameral committee tackling the proposed 2018 P3.767-trillion national budget will no longer cut the allocation for Department of Public Works and Highways’s (DPWH) right-of-way (ROW) and civil works projects. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Karlo Alexi B. Nograles of the First District of Davao City said one of the contentious issues that arose in the bicameral meeting last week was the Senate’s desire to slash P50.7 billion, from the DPWH’s P62.68-billion ROW and civil works allocation. “We came into an agreement that the budget cuts that were done by the Senate, particularly on [the] DPWH budget, will no longer push through based on our meetings so that [the cuts] will not be carr[ied] in the bicameral committee version,” Nograles said in interview. “We’re [still] finalizing…but much of the P50.7-billion cut will be restored. So we’re looking at probably, maybe P4 billion to be cut,” he said.

On the ground, ROW issues really have to be resolved while the project is being conducted. So it’s like a chicken and egg problem. If you don’t put the budget for ROW, then you don’t have anything for the government to use in order for the settlers there to vacate.”—Nograles

The restoration of the budget proposal came after the DPWH and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) explained that the proposed funding cut may adversely impact the administration’s massive infrastructure program, the “Build, Build, Build” program. “The DBM and DPWH were able to explain very well that these were part of the Build, Build, Build program of the Duterte administration. And [in] doing those cuts, the P50.7 billion, cuts will really affect the infrastructure program of the DPWH and the administration,” he added. Earlier, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson Sr. said ROW projects are among the source of insertion and realignments by lawmakers. He added it is also one of the main reasons of budget underspending by the DPW H, saying “unless the issues involved in the ROW are resolved, no civil works can commence. Lacson also said the ROW “accounts for the huge unused appropriations” in the annual budget due to continued unresolved rows in the construction of roads. However, Nograles said proponents of the DPWH budget reduction might have misunderstood the importance of the ROW budget. “What Sen. Lacson wanted was, let’s do right-of-way without the civil works. The problem [with that] is we very well know that once you are able to get the settlers to relocate but they don’t see any infrastructure being done, then chances are those settlers will come back. And there might be even more,” he said. “On the ground, right-of-way issues really have to be resolved while the project is being conducted. So it’s like a chicken and egg problem. If you don’t put the budget for right of way then you don’t have anything for the government to use in order for the settlers there to vacate,” Nograles added. Nograles, likewise, said some P20 billion or more additional fund has also been included in the amendments for the increase in the salaries of soldiers, policemen and other members of the uniformed service. “It’s ongoing [bicameral meetings]. We’re not yet done, but we’re over the hump so to speak,” Nograles said. The two chambers are rushing the harmonization of their respective 2018 general appropriations bills to enable President Duterte to sign it on the December 19 target date.

Embossed finish

Personalized cell-phone cases are on display at a bazaar in Pasay City. According to the business owner, customers can pick and specify a design for an embossed finish on the case. Target customers of the novelty product are shoppers on the hunt for unique Christmas gift ideas. ALYSA SALEN

Tax perks to counter headwinds in IT-BPO sector–industry group

he Information Technology-Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap) is batting for the retention of incentives for the information-technology and business-process management (IT-BPM) sector to counter headwinds faced by the industry. In a news statement, Ibpap President and CEO Rey Untal expressed the group’s support to lawmakers who are pushing to keep incentives for the IT-BPO sector for the industry to further expand. “The industry has been facing a number of headwinds, which appear to have a dampening effect on IT-BPM investments during the first half of 2017,” Untal said. In the first 10 months of the year, IT-BPO project registration at the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) declined by 8.4 percent to P15.73 billion, from P14.4 billion in the same period last year. “Sustaining an attractive business environment through industry and government partnership is critical in overcoming industry challenges,” he added. The Ibpap chief noted that the industry is seen to be in the “infancy period” again, with the advancements in technology brought by

digital transformation and disruption. “The IT-BPM industry continues to be a sunrise industry. There is much to be done on the horizon not only for our industry, but other sectors as well, to nurture the economic growth of the nation,” Untal said. The IT-BPM sector, he added, has played a significant role in job creation, expanding the middle class and helped in poverty alleviation. In 2016 employment in the IT-BPM sector reached 1.2 million and revenues amounted to $22 billion. “These incentives have also helped various IT-BPM subsectors grow, allowing for more diverse services and job opportunities for the Filipino people,” Untal said. “This has been proven over the past decade, where transformation of cities throughout the country into IT parks and IT-BPM hubs have improved the quality of life for entire communities, allowing them to earn more, spend more and remain in the country to raise their families,” he added. Untal reiterated the need to sustain incentives for the IT-BPM sector for the Philippines to be more competitive as a global investment hub for IT-BPM companies. PNA

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Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Thursday, December 7, 2017

‘Rico’ blend seen cutting PHL’s rice imports

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Monsanto moves to stop Arkansas from banning weed killer

@jearcalas

he consumption of ricecorn (Rico) blend will help corn farmers earn more and allow the Philippines to end its reliance on imported rice, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said in a social-media post President Duterte will personally endorse the rice-corn blend as the country’s “new staple” in Davao City on December 22. “President Duterte’s endorsement of the blended rice and corn as a national staple food on December 22 will not only offer a healthier option for the Filipino consumer, but will finally erase the image of corn as a poor man’s ‘rice,’” Piñol said in a Facebook post on December 5. “More than that, the acceptance by Filipino consumers of the blended rice and corn, or bigasmais will finally end the country’s dependence on imported rice to fill up the shortfall on the rice requirements of the Philippines,” he added. The DA chief said the consumption of rice-corn blend could wipe out the country’s rice-supply shortfall by 2019. “[Rico] would end the country’s rice-supply shortfall with the infusion in 2019 of about 500,000 metric tons [MT] of corn grits and 1 million metric tons in 2020, thus effectively achieving foodstaple sufficiency for only the second time in the history of the country,” Piñol said.

He added the rice-corn blend is a healthier option for Filipino consumers as it has a low glycemic index. Apart from these reasons, Piñol said the government is promoting the consumption of the Rico blend because it will give farmers an assured market for their produce. The DA chief added the government, in partnership with the Philippine Maize Federation Inc. (Philmaize), will roll out the ricecorn blend next year. “The bigas-mais blend will also be offered to the public initially in the outlets of the National Food Authority in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Baguio and other big cities,” he said. Piñol added the Rico blend will be affordable because it will be sold at around P35 per kilogram (kg), lower than the P50 per kg consumers spend for white rice. The DA said the event in Davao City will also be attended by representatives from the country’s large supermarket chains, including Ayala Abreeza Malls, SM Supermarket, Rustan’s, Robinsons and PureGold. Earlier, Philmaize said they are targeting to sell at least 30,000 MT of rice-corn blend next year.

The National Food Authority (NFA) stores its buffer rice stock consisting of imports and paddy it purchased from farmers in its warehouses. The government is banking on the rice-corn blend to significantly reduce the country’s reliance on rice imports. FILE PHOTO

BASF Philippines opens Rice Knowledge Center in Laguna C hemical firm BASF Philippines Inc. (BASF) would leverage its P5-million Rice Knowledge Center (RKC) in Laguna to boost the sales of its crop-protection products in the Philippines. Dion Banaay, BASF’s head of RKC, said the establishment of the center would allow the company to source vital and pertinent information on rice production and formulate chemical solutions accordingly. “Right now in Asia Pacific, the business of BASF in rice is very low, [it is only] around 3 percent of the market share of the whole Asia Pacific. We want to build the rice business in the region,” Banaay told the BusinessMirror on the sidelines of the inauguration of the BASF’s RKC in Bay, Laguna, on December 5. “We really have to improve our knowledge on rice. Knowing rice more [would allow] us to position our products also,” Banaay added. Banaay said the RKC would serve as a product-launching platform for their

Sustainable sushi for beginners

anned t u n a i s m y definition of fast food— cheap, no fuss, delicious and hearty. I always have several canned tuna in my pantry as I usually open a can when I’m either too tired to cook anything more elaborate or too broke to go to a nearby restaurant. With a bit of oil and onions, I can sauté a can of tuna and give myself a tunamustard sandwich spread, a more filling salad of tuna and greens or plain ulam for leftover rice. Sometimes I use it to make myself a big batch of tuna spaghetti sauce over the weekend, store it in the fridge, and bring pasta and sauce as baon during the busy working days that I can’t even get out of the office for a quick meal. Whenever I buy tuna in the supermarket, I just buy either of my two favorite brands just because I like the taste. I never considered anything more. This, despite the fact that I’ve been on a sustainable eating journey for years. It never occurred for me, that perhaps, that brand of canned tuna that I was putting in my shopping

cart was not sustainably sourced after all. But it’s not just canned tuna that we have to consider here. If you are like me who treat yourself to some sushi and sashimi once in a while, you might also want to step back and think how that tuna got into your plate. And no, I’m not talking about that popular sashimi chef that was recently brought in by the trendiest Japanese restaurant around the block. It’s the sustainable sourcing of tuna that highlighted this year’s meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) in Manila. Delegates to the five-day annual meeting, which will be concluded on December 7, are expected to reach a consensus on the conservation and management measures on highly migratory fish stocks, such as tuna. These measures are legally binding and are meant to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and protect marine and bird species. The meeting has not been

Prime Sarmiento

prime commodities publicized, and even the media has limited access to the sessions held in Philippine International Convention Center. But the meeting’s agenda is significant for any tuna consumer— especially those who chooses an eco-friendly way to dine. Of particular concern among WCPFC members, which include the Philippines, are tropical tunas, such as skipjack, yellowfin and bigeye. Of the three, skipjack tuna is perhaps the one we often eat as this is often processed as canned tuna. Yellowfin and bigeye tuna, meanwhile, are the kind of tuna that you’ll probably be eating when you order ahi tuna sashimi in a sushi restaurant. The western and central Pacific

pesticide products for rice. He added that they are currently selling two herbicide and two insectice products for rice in the local market. Through the RKC, the BASF said it would collect and manage technical information and data in regards to cropprotection solutions and bet practices for rice cultivation. The RKC would also serve as a knowledge hub for the latest information, publications and training materials pertaining to rice cultivation to all BASF crop-protection staff across the region and around the globe, according to the company. Banaay said they are initially partnering with the Philippine Rice Research Institute and the International Rice Research Institute for the information on rice cultivation, including data on pests, planting methods and crop varieties. BASF said the RKC would also serve as a venue for the conduct of handson technical trainings to develop and strengthen the technical exper-

Ocean is one of the biggest sources of tuna and accounted for nearly 60 percent of the global tuna catch in 2016, according to a statement issued by the WCPFC secretariat. This is equivalent to 2.9 million metric tons of tuna, worth over $5 billion. Annual Philippine tuna catch is at 248,000 metric tons, or roughly 10 percent, of the total tuna catch in the Western and Central Pacific region. Tuna is indeed economically valuable and one of the most widely eaten fish. But harvesting tuna from the ocean is not always sustainable. Common fishing methods like using large purse-seine nets with fish aggregating device (FAD) and using long lines of baited hooks (a.k.a. longlining) don’t only threaten the global tuna population but also harm other marine species. FADs are buoys used to attract and catch fish. When large fishing vessels use large purse-seine nets with FADs to catch skipjack, these nets also end up accidentally catching other marine animals like sharks, sea turtles and

tise among the company’s research and development, technical support, marketing and sales teams. Banaay added the RKC was conceptualized by BASF three years ago and expected to undergo three phases of development. The first phase involves the establishment of the center and a digital library, which would contain information on BASF’s crop-protection solutions. The second phase, which is eyed to be completed by 2019-2020, involves the creation of farm-demonstration trials to help “rice champions” promote the company’s products. The third and final phase, which is expected to run from 2021 to 2022, seeks to open the RKC to the public and share the knowledge the hub has collected and gathered for the past years to rice farmers. For next year, BASF plans to invest some €100,000 (almost P6 million) for the development of the next phases of the RKC, according to Banaay. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

dolphin. Some of them, like sea turtles, are endangered and being caught (and later killed) by fishermen, threatening marine biodiversity. Another problem is that, these nets can incidentally catch young yellowfin and bigeye tuna, precluding them from breeding and repopulating. As a result of such practices, the International Union for Conservation of Nature wanted to classify yellowfin as a “near threatened” species, while bigeye is considered “vulnerable.” That list, however, was published in 2011. I haven’t seen a more updated version. But the latest report by the WCPFC’s Scientific Committee offered much hope: bigeye, skipjack and yellowfin are not overfished. T he comm ittee, however, recommended the reduction of the use of FADs to boost fishery yields. Likewise, the United States-based nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts and environmental group Greenpeace—observers in the WCPFC annual meet—proposed for more effective controls on purse seine and

ITTLE ROCK, Arkansas— Monsanto asked a judge on Tuesday to prevent Arkansas from enforcing a proposal going before lawmakers next week that would ban the use of a weed killer that farmers in several states have said drifts onto their crops and causes widespread damage. The agribusiness giant asked a Pulaski County judge to issue a preliminary injunction preventing the state from banning dicamba’s use, while the company challenges a prohibition approved by the Arkansas Plant Board last month. The board ’s proposal, which would ban dicamba’s use from April 16 through October 31, is scheduled to go before a legislative committee next week. The company also wants the judge to block enforcement of a previous rule restricting its dicamba weed killer’s use. “Monsanto is presently losing sales every day the ban on in-crop use of dicamba herbicides remains in effect,” the Missouri-based company said in its filing. “ The losses cannot be recovered in an action against the state.” A spokesman for the state agriculture Department declined t o c o m m e nt o n Mo n s a nt o’s request. Dicamba has been around for decades, but problems arose over the past couple of years as farmers began to use it on soybean and cotton fields where they planted new seeds engineered to be resistant to the herbicide. AP

longline gears, limiting the use of FADs in purse seine fishery and a more transparent reporting on FAD use. The results of this week ’s agreement will only be published online next week and I will share my insights on them in my future columns. In the meantime, if you want to know more about sustainable tuna/seafood consumption you might want to check out the sustainable seafood initiative by local non-governmental organizations, retailers, hotels and restaurants at https://www.facebook. com/sustainableseafoodweekph/. Prime Sarmiento is a longtime business journalist who specializes in food, agribusiness and commoditiestrade reporting. Her stories have been published in both local and international publications, including Nikkei Asian Review, China Daily, Science and Development Network and Dow Jones Newswires. Comments and ideas are welcome at prime.sarmiento@gmail.com.

Thursday, December 7, 2017

TheBroa

Business

It’s tough being a sher ‘I

By Joel R. San Juan

SHOT the sheriff.” Luckily that’s just a title of a song and that a sheriff being shot at while performing his duties has never happened yet in the country. Still, Filipinos can still remember one got punched several times by no less than the presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte. In 2011 Sheriff Abe Andres was punched several times by the mayor for insisting on demolishing houses inside a contested property in Barangay Soliman in Agdao district in Davao. Andres was explaining that he was just implementing an order issued by Judge Emmanuel Carpio of the Regional Trial Court’s Branch 16 when the mayor suddenly threw punches. Andres was rushed to the hospital after the incident.

No cake walk

BASED on the study of the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), being a sheriff is never a walk in the park due to many challenges and difficulties they have to confront in performing their duties. Like in serving summons to individuals, the Court ratiocinated in the case of Manotoc v. Court of Appeals that, in the absence of the person named in the summons, there must be three attempts to serve summons on separate days before authorities can resort to “substituted service.” “The question posed is whether the three attempts are still viable or [take] too much time,” the study said. With regard to serving summons to a corporation, Rule 14, Section 11 of the Rules of the Court requires that service upon a domestic corporation, partnership or association organized under the laws of the Philippines with a juridical personality may be made on the president, managing partner, general manager, corporate secretary, treasurer or in-house counsel. However, oftentimes these executives cannot be found in their respective offices or intentionally avoid service of court processes. Thus, sheriffs find it difficult to serve summons on these individuals, the study noted. “Based on the experiences of sheriffs in the performance of their duties, some party litigants are not providing an exact location of the place of persons to be given summons, which makes it difficult for the officers to locate where they will serve their summons,” the study said. The study added that serving summons to persons who live in private subdivisions can also be difficult as security guards refuse to let sheriffs in. Doing so impedes sheriffs from performing tasks the court ordered them to undertake.

Garnishment, mortgage

IN cases involving garnishment, the report said sheriffs would usually encounter difficulty performing their tasks as some banks would refuse to receive notices. In law, garnishment is a court order directing that money or property of a third party (usually wages paid by an employer) be seized to satisfy a debt owed by a debtor to a plaintiff creditor. Sometimes sheriffs are referred to the head office. This adds to the cost and time spent on certain cases. There are also challenges being

encountered by sheriffs in cases involving foreclosure of real-estate mortgage. “Relevant laws and rules, especially on the acts pertaining to rural banks and thrift banks, exemptions in the law given to corporations, partnerships and associations prevent the sheriffs from performing their jobs,” the study added. Sometimes, sheriffs are caught in violence during the performance of their duties. These cases usually involve ejectment, demolition or writ of possession. The study noted that some police officers or majority of police officers “are reluctant to assist the sheriff in the implementation of the writ especially in ejectment cases because they do not know the procedural aspect of ejectment and they do not want to be in the frontline.” Sheriffs also confront lengthy and complex procedures in seeking police assistance.

Threats, reports

IN cases of replevin or repossession, the report said those who possess the object subject to replevin usually resist and issue grave threats against sheriffs. In implementing writs of execution, sheriffs also confront numerous difficulties such as strong amount of resistance from defendants/respondents in implementation of demolition orders. They are also threatened with bodily harm. “In cases involving enforcement of payment of money judgment, there is also continuous enforcement of the writ despite exhausting all legal remedies and the defendant has no capability to settle the money judgment,” the study said. There are also voluminous writs of small claims cases, collection of sum money and other writs to be served and to be enforced that sheriffs pursue. Still they have to submit a report to the court every 30 days and proceed to take care of the matter until the judgment is satisfied in full. There are also difficulties in requesting for police assistance in the implementation of writ, according to the report.

Low budget

IF actual physical harm, threats and harassments are absent, sheriffs have to make do with insufficient budget for serving extrajudicial foreclosure. The legal fee of sheriffs is also insufficient, especially for those in the province of Mindanao, the OCA study said. “In serving summons, several attempts must be made to effectively serve the defendants,” the report said. “But sometimes problems arise when additional expenses are incurred in case of outside summons to be served in certain jurisdictions.” The report explained these problems arise as requests for additional funds must be accompanied by postal money order (PMO)

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riff in the Philippines endorsed by the Branch Clerk of Court. “But the OIC [officer in charge] Clerk of Court is the one endorsing the PMO for encashment with the Postal Office. Then it is deposited with the [Landbank of the Philippines] and the sheriffs must prepare a ‘Sheriff’s Estimated Travel Expenses’ to be approved by the Clerk of Court and the Executive Judge.” The meandering path to secure the funds doesn’t stop there. The OCA study said once approved by the Clerk of Court and the Executive Judge, the deposited funds have to be withdrawn and given to the deputy sheriff who will serve the summons. “This process entails a lot of delays in serving the said processes,” the study said.

Role in the judiciary

DATA obtained from the OCA showed that currently the number of sheriffs employed in the different courts in the country has reached 1,433. In the Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC) there are about 131 sheriffs; Municipal Trial Court (MTC), 240; Regional Trial Court (RTC) about 1,057; and Shari’a Court, 5. Sheriffs’ roles and duties differ depending on what court they are assigned to. Those assigned in the RTCOffice of the Clerk of Court of a Multiple Sala Court are ranked Sheriff 4, Sheriff 5 and Sheriff 6. These sheriffs are tasked to serve or execute all writs and processes of the courts and other agencies, both local and foreign. They also keep custody of attached properties or goods. RTC sheriffs are also obliged to maintain his or her own record book on writs of execution, writs of attachment, writs of replevin, writs of injunction and all other processes he or she undertakes.

Duties, qualifications

THESE sheriffs are also tasked to submit periodic reports to the Clerk of Court and perform related tasks and other duties that may be assigned by the Executive Judge and/or Clerk of Court. Sheriffs assigned in the MeTC and MTC also perform the same duties and functions as their counterparts in the RTCs. The pertinent provisions of the Judiciary Law regarding the number, qualifications, appointment, compensation, functions duties and other matters relative to the personnel of the RTCs apply to those of the Shari’a District Courts. In order to land a post as a sheriff in the RTC, one must have at least two years of college education, at least one year relevant experience or training and must complete 4 to 24 hours of relevant training. For Shari’a courts, among the qualifications needed for those eyeing a sheriff post are completion of two years college education and a career-service eligibility.

VALERIY KACHAEV | DREAMSTIME

Grassroots role

A PER CURIAM (unanimous) decision of the Supreme Court considered sheriffs as the “grassroots of judicial machinery” since their “duties and functions put them in close contact with litigants.” The SC added that the performance of their duties is vital in shaping the public’s perception of the judiciary. Being so, sheriffs are expected to perform their duties honestly and efficiently.

The High Tribunal said it will not tolerate any misconduct that would diminish the image and integrity of the judiciary. In line with this, the SC ordered the dismissal from the service of Sheriff 4 Antonio Leaño Jr. of the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Regional Trial Court of Tarlac City; Sheriff 3 Benjamin Lacsina of the Office of the Clerk of Court of MTC in Cities, Tarlac City; and, Sheriff 3 Alvin Pineda of Branch 2 of the MTC in Cities, Tarlac City. The three were found guilty of gross neglect and gross inefficiency in the performance of official duties.

Case vs. sheriffs

THE case against the gentlemen from Tarlac City stemmed from the complaint filed by lawyer Augusto Santos, attorney-infact of the heirs of the late Lucio Gomez. Santos filed an ejectment case on behalf of the heirs of Gomez against various informal settlers occupying their lot in Barangay Binauganan, Tarlac City. The ejectment cases were filed before Branch 1 of the MTC of Tarlac City. After summary hearing, Santos obtained a favorable judgment. A writ of execution was issued pursuant to the finality of the trial court’s decision. Santos claimed that he asked Sheriff Danilo Ibarra to implement the special writ of demolition. But Ibarra was reluctant to perform it due to physical condition. The complainant said he was referred instead to Lacsina and later to Leaño. Santos claimed that the two sheriffs required him to deposit P200,000 to cover the sheriffs’ expenses such as food and travel allowance and salaries of the demolition crew. He alleged that he deposited the amount with the trial court and the amount was withdrawn. However, no demolition occurred. Subsequently, the respondents in the ejectment case managed to obtain a writ of preliminary injunction before Branch 63 of the MTC. The cases, however, were affirmed on appeal before Branch 64 of the Regional Trial Court of Tarlac City. In light of Branch 64’s decision, Branch 63 lifted the writ of preliminary injunction and the records of the cases were remanded to Branch 1 of the MTC for execution.

Promises, promises

SANTOS said he asked Ibarra and Lacsina anew to implement the decision. He recounted that the two sheriffs were reluctant to implement the decision. Ibarra cited his illness and impending retirement, while Lacsina stated the informal settlers were known to him as members of Iglesia ni Cristo, the same religious sect he belongs to. Santos was then referred to Leaño for the implementation of the decision. The complainant alleged that Leaño gave him an itemized list of expenditures when they met in a restaurant in Tarlac. According to Santos, Leaño required him to pay half of the expenses with the assurance that a demolition team would be assembled in time for the actual demolition. Santos subsequently paid Leaño the amount of P100,000 as partial payment aside from P200,000 which he gave to a

certain Eddie Reyes, the person Leaño designated to lead the demolition. Lacsina and Pineda also received a day before the supposed demolition their per diems amounting to P11,000 for them to show up at the site. Santos claimed that Leaño told him the demolition would take place in February 2011 and that he requested P25,000 for the food and transportation of the demolition crew. Despite paying all the amounts requested, Santos said the writ of demolition was not implemented. Leaño then promised to implement the writ of demolition two weeks after. But no demolition occurred, which prompted Santos to file a case against the three sheriffs.

Guilty verdict

THE Office of the Court Administrator found the three sheriffs guilty of gross neglect and gross inefficiency in the performance of official duties. It noted that while the estimated expense for the demolition were approved by the trial court, respondents failed to itemize and liquidate the expenses for the demolition and to issue official receipts upon receiving complainant’s money. The SC adopted the findings and recommendations of the OCA. It held: “Considering the numerous infractions committed by respondents, the proper penalty to be imposed upon them is dismissal from service. The judiciary is not obliged to keep dishonest, neglectful and disobedient personnel within its ranks.” The case only proves that sheriffs would not always fall victim in efforts to implement court orders. Other cases would show that some have been penalized for various offenses committed in the guise of performing their duties. Their common offenses range from simple neglect of duty to gross neglect of duty and dishonesty.

Dizon, Zaragoza

THERE’S also the case of Ricardo Dizon, Sheriff III of the MeTC of Mandaluyong City Branch 59, who was found guilty of simple neglect of duty in 2008 and was imposed a fine of P20,000. The case against Dizon stemmed from the complaint of MeTC Branch 59 Presiding Judge Ofelia Calo and a certain Pablea Tamayo. In the said case, Dizon received the writ of execution for implementation on September 20, 2004. But it took Dizon more than four months to partially implement the said writ on January 21, 2005. Dizon reasoned out that it took him awhile to implement the writ due to Tamayo’s failure to provide him with police assistance. However, the Office of the Court Administrator said Dizon failed to comply with his ministerial duty to state in the sheriff’s return, as well as in his periodic reports, the alleged impediment in the implementation of the writ and the reason why the monetary judgment remained unsatisfied. In 2004 Alberta Zaragoza, Sheriff 3 of MeTC Pasay City Branch 45, was found guilty of grave misconduct and simple neglect of duty and ordered his dismissal from the service with forfeiture of all his retirement benefits and barred from re-employment in the government, in-

cluding government-owned and -controlled corporations. Zaragoza was also ordered to return the amount of P30,000 to complainant Meneses. “In the case, respondent failed to make the required periodic reports. Although the alias in the writ of execution was issued on July 2, 2001, respondent belatedly submitted his ‘partial report’ only on September 27, 2001, more than 80 days after the issuance thereof,” the resolution read.

Bundy cards

IN 2009 Sheriff IV Dominador C. Masangkay and five other court staff were found guilty of dishonesty and ordered to pay a fine of P5,000 with a stern warning that a repetition of the same or similar acts in the future shall be dealt with more severity. The case stemmed from the complaint filed by the Leave Division of the OCA-Office of Administrative Services, which found irregularities in the bundy card entries for the month of November 2009 of Masangkay and the other respondents. The complainant discovered that Masangkay and his co-respondents made it appear that they arrive on time in the morning when the entries were actually made in the evening of the same dates. The respondents, based on record, admitted allowing one of the staff from the Office of the Clerk of Court, Balanga City, Bataan, to punch in all their bundy cards, indicating the almost identical time-in and timeout on their daily time record at the questioned dates. Such act constituted falsification. “They made it appear that their log-in time was made in the morning instead of the actual time-in made in the evening of the 6th, 12th, 17th and 26th of November 2009,” the resolution read.

Calo’s case

IN 2012 Sheriff IV Arthur Calo of Branch 5 of the Butuan City RTC was found guilty of neglect of duty and conduct unbecoming a court employee and was fined in the amount of P20,000 to be deducted from the benefits due him. The case stemmed from the complaint filed by lawyers Ricardo Gonzales and Ernesto Rosales. In the said case, Calo was found to have been clearly remiss in the performance of his mandated duties by unilaterally giving occupants three months, instead of three days provided by the Rules, to vacate the property. When Calo did not evict occupants from the premises, a room containing their personal effects was padlocked, therefore delaying the demolition of the improvements introduced on the property. Likewise, the resolution said Calo failed to make a return on the writ of possession immediately after he implemented the same, thus, resulting in the filing of a complaint of neglect of duty and conduct unbecoming a court employee. The Court has held that “sheriffs must not exhibit conduct that may discredit the public’s faith in the judiciary.” It added that “sheriffs must perform their duties with utmost honesty and diligence considering that even the slightest deviation in the prescribed procedure may affect the rights and interests of the litigants.” Hopefully, there won’t come a time when somebody would take seriously Bob Marley’s ditty.

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Thursday, December 7, 2017 • Editor: Jun B. Vallecera

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BOC told to trace $7B worth of unaccounted for imports

By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

ustoms officials from Manila and Beijing are to meet soon to try to reconcile trade data showing imported goods worth some $7 billion reported by Chinese officials in 2010 alone could not be accounted for based on data captured by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

The 60-percent discrepancy in trade data reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in 2010, while significantly diminished under more recent data, is still huge, according to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III. He gave instructions for Customs chief Isidro S. Lapeña to meet with his Chinese counterpart as soon as possible to uncover the reason for the discrepancy and address possible structural or policy issues, if any, and put a stop to the anomaly. Dominguez told Lapeña’s deputy, Edward Dy-Buco, that his boss must address the matter of the inexplicable trade gap no matter that such discrepancy has diminished over the past several years. “Just remind the commissioner that he should invite the Chinese bureau of customs chief here. You have to reconcile your figures on the import-export data. Anyway, the difference is not anymore

60 percent. It’s only 48 percent now, but that’s still large,” Dominguez said. According to Dominguez, official trade data show the estimated discrepancy between registered Chinese exports to the Philippines and registered Philippine imports from China as continuing to fall but still very large. From a reported gap of 60 percent in 2010, the imbalance fell to 57 percent in 2015, then 48.7 percent in 2016 and only 48 percent in the January-to-July period this year. In 2010 registered Chinese exports to the Philippines was at $11.56 billion, but Philippine imports from China as reported by the PSA totaled only to $4.628 billion, or a trade discrepancy of 60 percent equal to $6.936 billion. In the same period, Chinese exports to the Philippines totaled $17.77 billion, while the PSA reported imports from

China of only $9.24 billion or a discrepancy of 48 percent or $8.53 billion. For the same period in 2016, China’s exports to the Philippines was at $17.10 billion, while the PSA reported imports from China of only $8.79 billion, or a discrepancy of 48.6 percent, or $8.31 billion. “It is going down, but it’s still large. We’re not sure if they’re apples to apples. The definitive figure will come out from Lapeña sitting down with his counterpart and working it out,” he said. Earlier, Lapeña told Dominguez the discrepancy between China’s exports and imports to the Philippines may be attributed to the gross misdeclaration or undervaluation of goods in either volume or weight. Such could also result from the possible use of “consignees for hire,” which leads to goods released to hidden traders and not to the consignees on record. T he practice allows the importer to evade the scrutiny of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), according to Lapeña. Last year the finance chief said heightened Department of Finance efforts to improve the efficiency of the tax and customs systems uncovered alarming discrepancies totaling P1.8 trillion between the volume of imports reported here and actual figures recorded by countries exporting to the Philippines. The value gap translates into foregone revenues estimated at around P231 billion, representing 2 percent of the country’s GDP.

Lesser compulsion for bank TDF purchases this week

ewer excess peso liquidity in the system allowed the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Wednesday similarly to offer fewer liquidity-sapping term deposits. Latest results from the BSP’s term-deposit facility (TDF) auction show continued undersubscription in the longer-dated TDFs, even though the volume of offering has since been lowered. In particular, banks and trust entities were keen on winning only some P32.84 billion at Wednesday’s 28-day TDF bidding exercise, significantly lower than the anticipated minimum offer of P40 billion this week. BSP Deputy Governor for the Monetary

Stability Sector Diwa C. Guinigundo said the lower-than-expected TDF subscription effectively meant that bank funds have been deployed for lending or for foreignexchange purchases or otherwise invested in government securities, including retail Treasury bonds or RTBs. “But in the final analysis, all this means there is lower excess liquidity, which the BSP should mop up,” Guinigundo said, adding quickly that lower bids do not mean scant liquidity levels in the financial system. He further explained the correct response was for the BSP to soak on just enough liquidity to help keep prices stable, which was also why the volume of special deposit offerings have been progressively

reduced. The BSP only recently cut the TDF offering menu, particularly in the case of the 28-day TDF from P90 billion to only P40 billion starting next month. For the seven-day TDF, banks won P41.27 billion in bids on Wednesday, or just a tad more subscriptions than the P40billion offering for the short-dated TDF. Rates were in the same direction this week, as both the seven-day and 28-day TDF fetched higher yields at the auction. In particular, the seven-day TDF rate averaged 3.4171 percent, higher than the 3.4005 percent in the previous week. The rate for the 28-day TDF averaged 3.494 percent, up from last week’s 3. 492 percent. Bianca Cuaresma

Group offers no-collateral loans

siaKredit, a digital consumer lender focused on Southeast Asia, recently announced the launch of pera247 (www.pera247.ph) in the Philippines, an innovative, data-driven consumer lending platform delivered through a mobile application. Pera247 is a digital lending solution that aims to provide unsecured smallticket, short-term consumer loans for up to 90 days to the country’s underbanked population with no existing credit or collateral history. Designed to provide the shortest realtime credit decision by any platform on the market, the pera247 platform uses big data to optimize the credit-assessment process to make fast and reliable credit decisions. As part of its credit-assessment process, pera247 will extract a selection of data points from both traditional and alternative sources of data, such as behavioral mobile data from an applicant’s smartphone. Using the AsiaKredit team’s proprietary digital technology and technical know-how, pera247 is able to incorporate highly predictive digital credit assessment into its underwriting algorithm to improve both the availability of credit to those with limited or no banking history, as well as increase their approval rate, while reducing its cost of risk. At the end of the credit decision journey, the pera247 app also acts as a mobile wallet for the successful applicant, where funds will be disbursed to and linked to thousands of physical payment centers, within hours of the application. AsiaKredit has raised $675,000 to date from combined Pre-Series A and seed funding to date, part of which will be utilized as its funding facility for its customer loans. After its initial launch, it will seek to bring on board additional capital to expand its loan capital and operational

balance sheets. The fully digital consumer lender is venture-built and funded by Singapore-based investors Forum, the largest financial-technology (fintech) venture builder in emerging Asia led by serial entrepreneur Greg Krasnov, and Fintonia Group, the leading early-stage fintech investor in Southeast Asia, led by Adrian Chng, the former CEO of JobsDB. Chng leads the company’s board as its non-executive chairman. Founded in 2017, AsiaKredit is led by its cofounder and CEO Mike Singh, a seasoned banker and serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience. Singh’s financialsector expertise was honed through senior management roles in consumer and retail banking with top banks, such as HSBC North America and RCBC Philippines. Among Singh’s prior entrepreneurial ventures are Emyth Inc., a leading retailer and manufacturer in the Philippines, with over 100 outlets, and an auction Web portal sold to one of the Philippines, largest

media conglomerates. “We are excited to take consumer lending fully digital in the Philippines, as we see a dynamic shift in consumer digital behavior to access financial services through mobile and online channels. Through pera247, AsiaKredit has a huge opportunity to impact the lives of hundreds of millions unbanked clients in Southeast Asia, leveraging the high mobile penetration in the region to foster financial inclusion. We have a diverse, international, experienced and proven management team, and topnotch backers with solid track records in fintech and consumer finance. We look forward to establish ourselves as a strong player in the digital lending space across the exciting emerging markets of Asia,” Singh said. AsiaKredit’s team in Manila includes digital marketing and operations experts with world-class experience from the likes of Lazada, Hinduja Global Solutions and Thompson Reuters.

Case clippings

By Justice S J Ranada Jr.

LABOR–constructive dismissal Constructive dismissal is cessation of work because continued employment is rendered impossible, unreasonable or unlikely. Similarly, there is constructive dismissal when an act of clear discrimination, insensibility or disdain by an employer has become so unbearable to the employee, leaving him with no option but to forego with his continued employment. It is a dismissal in disguise, or an act amounting to dismissal but made to appear as if it were not. Meatworld v. Hechanova 18 Oct. 2017

GR 208053 Del Castillo, J

S. Korea hikes corporate taxes, boosts hiring for public jobs

outh Korea raised the income-tax rate for the nation’s highest-earning companies, as President Moon Jae-in seeks to fulfill his vows to fight inequality and create jobs. The tax vote came just hours before the nation’s parliament passed a 428.8-trillion won ($390-billion) budget for 2018 just after midnight in Seoul on Wednesday. The budget is expected to raise revenue by nearly 8 percent to help fund spending on publicsector jobs and social-welfare programs. Lawmakers agreed to increase the income-tax rate on companies whose taxable income exceeds 300 billion won to 25 percent, from 22 percent, the current top rate. The rate on individuals earning more than 500 million won will rise to 42 percent from 40 percent. While those tax increases count as a modest victory for Moon in his budget battle with opposition parties, he had previously hoped to apply the new corporate rate at a lower income threshold of 200 billion won. Raising corporate taxes runs counter to the global trend. Other countries, including Japan and the United States, are moving to cut them, with American lawmakers set to slash the rate to 20 percent, from 35 percent. Kang Seog-gu, head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s corporate policy team, said it’s difficult to predict the economic impact of the higher corporatetax rate in the short term. “Theoretically, it is a burden on companies, but it can have a positive impact on corporate activities over the longer term depending on how the government manages its spending to support

consumption,” Kang said. About 77 companies will be affected by the higher rate, with their collective annual tax burden rising by about 2.3 trillion won, according to finance ministry estimates. Samsung Electronics paid the most corporate taxes in 2015, at 3.2 trillion won, followed by Hyundai Motor at 1.4 trillion won, according to a March report by the National Assembly Budget Office. The figures are 2015 estimates based on financial statements. The total budget figure was largely in line with earlier plans and marks an increase of about 7 percent on the initial 2017 budget.

Government hiring

The budget also includes plans to hire around 9,500 more central government officials in 2018, smaller than the initial proposal for about 12,200. Moon was elected in May with promises to reduce inequality and to be a “jobs president,” including by increasing the number of public employees by 174,000. The opposition and ruling parties had struggled to reach agreement on the spending plan, especially over increasing the number of public officials and the corporate-tax rate. This led to them failing to pass the budget by a deadline of December 2. Lawmakers from the Liberty Korea Party, the biggest conservative party, boycotted the votes. In a statement on its web site, the party expressed disapproval of the government’s plan to hire more employees and to offer financial aid to small companies burdened by a minimumwage increase. It also opposed the higher corporate tax rate.

How to hold a board retreat

was in Myanmar recently to conduct a strategic planning “retreat” for the board of the trade association of garment manufacturers in the country, which has over 400 members. A board retreat is a meeting designed and organized to facilitate the ability of the group to step back from day-to-day work for a session of reflection, concentrated discussion and strategic thinking about the organization’s future. There are many reasons for a board to go to a retreat. These include orienting new members, team building, problem solving, strategic planning and discussing specific issues or challenges facing the association. In this case, in Myanmar, it was to prepare a new strategic plan. It is ideal that a retreat is conducted away from the normal place of work. Being “away on a retreat” makes the board less likely to be disturbed by phone calls, etc. It also creates an environment conducive to teamwork, creative thinking and consensus building. The two-day board retreat was held in a mountain resort some four hours drive from the capital city Yangon. Being the facilitator of the board retreat was a daunting task, not only because I was a “foreigner,” but I also needed to blend in quickly and be sensitive to the dynamics and the culture of the association. However, it helped that I am part of a team undertaking an Eureopean Union grant project for the garments industry in Myanmar for my association, ADFIAP, and had interactions with the trade association board in the past. It also helped that I have conducted similar strategic planning sessions as part of my work with the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives. In hindsight, I wish to share an article by Ann Gallagher published by the American Society of Association Executives on eight essential steps to a retreat’s success: Start smart. Choose a savvy facilitator equipped to lead the process. The wrong facilitator can be disastrous. The right one will be an inspiration. Get your game plan on. The board should focus on strategic discussions and leave tactical and work plan development to the staff in a subsequent session. The venue is important, too. Going offsite gives special attention to the process, minimizes interruptions and inspires conversation. Get up close and personal. The facilitator needs to conduct personal

Association World Octavio Peralta and confidential interviews with participants in advance of the retreat to help identify issues that need to be addressed and provide a forum for the participants to forge a relationship with the facilitator. Keep calm and follow the rules. Establish ground rules at the start of the retreat, and make sure that all participants understand and agree to them. Emphasize an open, collaborative environment. Invite the elephant in. If no one brings up the tough issues, the facilitator must introduce and frame them in a direct, respectful way and invite discussion. Varying opinions are healthy and contribute to sound decision-making. Make the call. When it comes time to make a decision, it’s critical to determine in advance how decisions will be made. Reaching consensus does not require a vote and results in better decisions, implementation and relationships. Put the “treat” in “retreat.” Remember that board members are volunteers. Be gracious and grateful for their insight and participation. Integrate teambuilding activities to promote interaction and foster relationships. Show action. Attendees will be demoralized if they don’t see results from the retreat. Be sure you communicate the action plan to participants as quickly as possible after the retreat and continue to communicate and demonstrate progress. The column contributor, Octavio “Bobby” Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) and the president of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE). PCAAE enjoys the support of ADFIAP, the Tourism Promotions Board and the Philippine International Convention Center. E-mail obp@adfiap.org.

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Officials optimistic 2 million tourists visit Boracay in 2017

By Jun N. Aguirre | Correspondent

ORACAY ISLAND, Aklan—The Aklan provincial government is confident 2 million tourists will visit this resort island this year.

Niven Maquirang, jetty-port administrator, said that early this year, they already targeted 2 million tourists to visit Boracay in 2017.

“From January to November 30 this year, we already registered 1.828 million tourists in Boracay,” Maquirang said.

Already, the figure is higher compared to that of 2016 year-round arrivals, which reached 1.7 million. This year’s tourist arrival is, so far, considered the highest number of tourist arrivals for Boracay. “We are still monitoring data if we could indeed reach 2 million tourists this year. Once we reach the desired target, we could then study how many tourists we desire for 2018,” Maquirang said. At least 10 cruise ships from all over the world visit the island every year, testifying to the potential of

the island to become a cruise-ship hub in the region. Also, the continued awards received by Boracay as among the best beaches in the world is a factor for the increasing number of tourists in the island. Recently, Boracay was named among the top 10 destinations for kids in Asia. At least two national pageants also hold their event here in Boracay—the bikini portion of the Miss World-Philippines and the evening-gown competition for Miss Asia Pacific International.

Another portion of TPLEx opens

NOTHER section of the Tarlac-Pampanga-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) was officially opened on Wednesday, following the transportation department’s issuance of the tolloperation permit last week. Private Infrastructure Development Corp. (PIDC) received the said permit for the operation and maintenance of the Bina lonan-Pozor r ubio of t he TPLEx on November 29, t he transportation department said in a statement. Technically called Segment 7 Section 3A-2, the said alignment stretches from Binalonan to Pozorrubio, Pangasinan.  It is the second to the last portion of the

TPLEx project that would be constructed by PIDC.   The first section was opened in July last year. Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar said the opening of the new segment will help cut travel time between Tarlac and Pangasinan. “ Wit h t he opening of t he 10.1-kilometer Pozurrobio segment of the TPLEx expressway, travel time from Tarlac to Pozorrubio is significantly reduced, from two hours and 30 minutes to just 45 minutes,” he said. To date, almost 20,000 vehicles traverse the stretch of existing TPLE segments daily, from La Paz, Tarlac to Urdaneta, Pangasinan.

DRIED SEAFOOD IN CEBU

A vendor in Cebu City’s public market sorts different kinds of dried seafood. Cebu City is a major supplier of dried seafood in the country. LAILA AUSTRIA

Editor: Efleda P. Campos • Thursday, December 7, 2017

CLI signs third agreement with Ascott lyf brand By VG Cabuag @villygc

EBU Landmasters Inc. (CLI) o n We d n e s d a y s a i d it signed its third servicedresidence management agreement with Ascott Ltd. lyf Cebu City, a 153-room serviced residence targeted toward the local and foreign millennial market in Cebu City. The agreement will bring CLI’s hotel portfolio to around 600 rooms in four years. Lyf is Ascott’s latest brand designed for the growing wave of millennial and millennialminded travelers. The residence will offer a range of apartment designs, from 16 square meters (sq m) to 60 sq m in Base Line Prestige, the third tower of CLI’s Base Line Center, a mixed-use development in the heart of Cebu City whose Towers 1 and 2 were already topped off and are expected to be completed in 2018. A recent study by the Department of Tourism shows that Cebu-Mactan will have a room gap of 14,931 by 2022. Already the most-visited destination in the Philippines, Cebu is expected to receive more visitors in 2018 and beyond with the completion of the Mactan

Cebu International Airport. “The growth potential offered by tourism is very promising, and we are happy to be teaming up for the third time with Ascott in this project set to introduce new industry benchmarks,” CLI Chairman and CEO Jose R. Soberano III said. “Cebu Landmasters is committed to bring the latest to our Visayas-Mindanao markets, especially the influential and flourishing millennial generation, and to the other markets where hospitality continues to be in demand,” he added. Two other CLI properties will carry Ascott’s brand Citadines to cater to leisure travelers and young professionals. These are the 180-room Citadines Cebu Cit y in Base Line Center set for completion in 2018 and the 250-room Citadines Riverside Davao set to be operat iona l by 2021. Arthur G. Gindap, Ascott regional general manager for the Philippines and Thailand, said it has partnered with Cebu Landmasters for its credibility. “They have a deep understanding and knowledge of the real-estate industry and a strong foothold in the Visayas and Mindanao. Partnering with CLI strengthens our brand,” he said.

A10 Thursday, December 7, 2017 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion

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editorial

Cheap power to speed up PHL industrialization

he government is at risk of undermining its own economic-growth targets if the Senate version of the tax reform, which will raise the excise tax on coal from P10 per metric ton (MT) to P100 per metric ton in 2018, P200 in 2019 and P300 in 2020 and succeeding years, gets implemented. Increasing the excise tax on coal is not included in the House version of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion.

Based on the Department of Energy’s 2015 statistics on the country’s coal consumption, 80 percent of coal is used for power generation, while 15 percent is used by cement plants. The different industries use the rest. The impact of increasing the excise tax on coal to P100 per MT means an additional P0.02 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from around one-fifth of a centavo at the current level of P10 per MT. Increasing the excise tax to P200 per MT will result in an add-on of P0.04 per kWh, while at P300 per MT the increase will be around P0.07 per kWh. In other words, this will have a heavy impact on power consumers and will also affect President Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” program. That’s because an increase in the excise tax on coal would result in higher generation charge and would impact distribution utilities, depending on how much they are sourcing from coal. There will also be corresponding increase in valued-added tax (VAT) because coal has 12-percent VAT. Some electric cooperatives are 100 percent supplied by coal plants, so they bear the full impact of the increase in excise tax. Duterte has said the country is still in the process of industrialization. We must, therefore, use whatever energy resources are available and affordable for power generation. Coal, as a source of power, is cheaper than renewable energy. This is the reason power companies are taking their cue from the President by building more coal plants. They are doing this knowing that technology and best practices of clean and responsible coal are currently available. The government generates about P166 million based on the current P10 per MT excise tax on coal. If the Senate version is approved, government income will go up to P1.7 billion in 2018 based on P100 per MT excise tax on coal. The following year, this will go up to P3.3 billion, and again to P5 billion in 2020. The analysis excludes the impact of higher coal excise tax on the transmission charge, since some coal-fired plants provide ancillary service to the grid. Now we ask: Who will pay for all of these? The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) is opposing moves to raise taxes on coal, saying this would lead to higher electricity cost that would further drag down the country’s competitiveness as an investment site. PCCI President George Barcelon said any policy that would increase the country’s already uncompetitive power cost should be avoided. Barcelon added: “It is imperative that any policy affecting the quality and costs of power supply should be approached with active awareness and purpose of enhancing the key elements of our economy and that the same shall promote sensitive inclusiveness. Power quality and costs are among those critical elements that are always viewed with clinical valuation by foreign and local investors, especially with regards to heavy or so-called brick-and-mortar type of production, which we need to focus on, too. Many investors have left some years ago due to high and unpredictable power costs and policies.” Like the PCCI and other sectors, we disagree with justifications that say the resulting increase is not really as high as being projected, or that the increase is small compared to other processes affecting increase in power cost, or the argument that the excise tax on coal has not been touched for some years. These arguments point the issue away from the premise that any increase in the country’s already uncompetitive power cost should be avoided. As the President has said, we need to industrialize. And we need cheap power to do this.

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Why all the lies? John Mangun

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ll the millions of words wasted talking about “fake news” is a smoke screen for something more sinister. Fake news is loosely defined as information that is presented as fact that the speaker/writer knows or should know is not true. When you say something that is not true, we learn at an early age that it is called a lie. Even using the word fake is “fake.” By definition, fake is something that is not genuine, which is most appropriately applied to that Rolex watch made in Bangkok. A statement that is not true is not a counterfeit; it is a lie pure and simple. Genuine fake news—I know, that sounds dumb, but go with me on this—is like telling someone they look good when, in fact, they look horrible. It is a lie, but we even have a

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When your stockbroker tells you that stock prices went down on “profit taking,” that is a good lie also. There is an element of truth in that if many participants who have a profit sell all at the same time, the price will probably go down. The stock broker cannot quantify the profit taking statement, so we are forced to fill in the blanks. However, if we think deeper, we know that selling is also done at a loss, not only for profit taking. We also know that prices go down if there are not any buyers. That is why department stores have three-day sales on “selected items.” Further, what about when the stock index is down 30 points and all of the loss is attributable to a single issue that just hit a one-year low? By the way, that happens often. But the question is, why are we lied to so frequently on so many topics? E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stockmarket information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

Consumption is the bottleneck for sustainable devt

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

term for that: a “white lie.” But what we are faced with everyday is not fake news. It is blatant in-your-face lying. These are false statements that have no anchor in reality. Remember that the best lies always have an element of truth. It has to make some sense, but only just enough so that you do not question too deeply. Politicians are great at this. Bring up an unsolved problem, and the politician can easily say it was caused by his or her predecessor. Part of that is true to the extent that most problems from government

have roots going back in time. In addition to having an element of truth, a great lie also lets the listener fill in the blanks. “I always go to the bank on Wednesday, so why would you think I was the robber this Wednesday?” The statement this week from government regarding the Dengvaxia controversy is a case in point. The manufacturer now says that there could be a problem if the vaccine is given to people that have not been previously infected. The government stated that 90 percent of the children given the vaccine had previously been infected, so the potential problem is small. We all know that dengue is prevalent in the Philippines. Two of my four sons were infected twice, one son two years ago as an adult. So we fill in the blanks and accept the government statement as factual. However, there are not any facts. It is all an assumption. Facts would be the Department of Health showing the blood tests proving—not assuming—only 10 percent had not been previously infected.

ERE are some key conflicts or bottlenecks that could hamper achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) objectives for 2030: from ending poverty to improving well-being, gender equality, cities’ resilience or climate action. This is the result of a new comprehensive analysis by a team of scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). According to the study shared to Databank, responsible consumption and production seems to be such a bottleneck, as data from the past shows. “The SDGs aim at tackling complex multidimensional challenges faced by humankind and set the international agenda for 2030. However, so far, little is known about the interactions, correlations and potential conflicts between the set of SDGs,” said lead author Prajal Pradhan. “We tried to break up the complicated interlinkages into more comprehensible pairs so we could investigate how different SDGs influence each other. It turns out that, in general, synergies outweigh tradeoffs for most SDGs and countries. However, one SDG stands out as

being in partial conflict with a number of other goals—that is responsible consumption and production,” he pointed out. Improvements in well-being, economic prosperity, and lifestyles currently still come to a large extent through an increase in consumption and, therefore, with the growing environmental and material footprints. To successfully implement the 2030 development agenda, such conflicts in objectives need to be identified, governed and tackled, the study said. Adopted in 2015, the SDGs comprise 17 goals and 169 targets, ranging from human well-being to economic prosperity and environmental protection. The UN objectives to transform the world until 2030 are also the frame that member-states are expected to adopt for their agendas and policies for development and sustainability. The PIK study said: “Identifying

synergies and tradeoffs through SDG interactions is central to the design of feasible policies. So far, SDG interactions have mostly been analyzed qualitatively, for few targets or for individual regions of the world.” Lessons from the past: Data reveals more synergies than trade-offs. “Our study provides the first complete quantification of synergies and trade-offs, as they can be detected in data from the past to the present within and across the SDGs, both at country level and on a global scale,” said coauthor Jürgen Kropp, vice chairman of PIK’s research domain Climate Impacts & Vulnerabilities. Using a statistical setup applying data from the UN Statistics Division on 122 indicators for more than 200 countries between 1983 and 2016, “we were able to carve out the lessons to be learned from historical data. This is a simple but highly useful approach, as the SDGs may be still new, but the challenges are certainly not,” Kropp added. The results not only reveal possible conflicts between the SDG goals, they also highlight a huge potential for synergies when it comes to the fight against poverty, hunger and for health and well-being. Eliminating poverty and improving public health positively influenced most other SDGs. For instance, around 3 billion people around the globe live in countries where improvements on health and well-being matched with the provision of clean water and sanitation. Identifying the

countries where synergies occur allows for being able to learn from the best practices. As another example, countries associated with sustainable cities also seem to score well on climate action that indicates a strong potential for synergy. Based on the results of the study, more elaborated concepts can be developed in order to make reliable projections about future fulfillments of SDGs and associated consequences. “The SDGs represent a holistic and multidimensional perspective on development,” said coauthor Wolfgang Lucht, chairman of PIK’s research domain Earth System Analysis, adding that: “The empirical framework on the evaluation of SDG interactions here presented makes a fundamental contribution to ensuring successful policy implementation of the SDG agenda. Attainment of SDGs is central for the great transformation that is required for overcoming the unsustainable practices visible in the historical data.” Lucht said, to achieve this, “the SDGs need to act as a system of interacting components that together move the world into a safe and just operating space. Our study shows that the SDGs are much more than just a collection of targets, but a system of synergistic reenforcement. While no single SDG has the power to transform the world alone, the whole set of SDGs together does.” To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com.

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Ownership structure keeps MRT 3 derailed

Precursors wanted Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

Alálaong Bagá

Val A. Villanueva

Businesswise

Conclusion

etro traffic by 2022 would reach a standstill level, according to a study made by the Boston Consulting Group, which was commissioned by ride hailing company Uber.

Not even the Duterte administration’s much-touted infrastructure program, the study says, could solve such eventuality. For one, Edsa, Metro Manila’s busiest thoroughfare, has already reached its carrying threshold and is hosting vehicles way past its capacity of 6,000 vehicles per hour. Conducted between September and October of this year and covering around 300 commuters per city, the study cautions that bottlenecks may become riotous in cities, such as Manila, because “80 percent of commuters surveyed indicates plans to purchase a car in the next five years.” Such a terrifying scenario should prompt the government to fix whatever is wrong with Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3 and think of other ways to put some order on Metro roads. MRT 3’s maintenance has been dismal. Sumitomo, its maintenance provider since day one, relinquished the responsibility in 2010 when MRT Corp. (MRTC) abdicated its upkeep accountability and threw it back to the government. Sumitomo’s contract with the government does not cover necessities for “penalties for malfunctioning elevators and escalators, and setting a minimum requirement of 19 trains running during peak hours between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m.” The government had been paying Sumitomo $1.4 million per month (when payment should have come from MRTC’s pockets). There had been no enhancement done since the problems became apparent in 2007, and Sumitomo was even suspected of cannibalizing parts. Busan Universal Rail (Buri), which replaced Sumitomo, had somehow restored MRT 3 to its maximum number of working trains to 22 within a year after it signed the management contract. Starting from the 2017 summer season, however, a sequence of failures hindered operations and brought back the number of maximum functioning trains to less than 20. But what could any maintenance provider do except patch-up jobs on an old system that has been operating beyond its design capacity and which has drastically reduced the trains’ lifespan? Light Rail Manila President Rogelio L. Singson agrees that MRT 3’s ownership structure—being jointly run by the government and the private sector—is the cause of its many problems. Light Rail Manila is the single operator and maintenance provider of Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1 which navigates Caloocan to Pasay. LRT 2, meanwhile, which runs from Manila to Pasig, is purely government-run. “They’re pointing fingers at each other. To me, that is the main problem. It’s either the government or the private sector, which should run it,” Singson says. A former public works and highways secretary, Singson believes that the most effectual system is having the private sector do the operation and maintenance. Light Rail Manila, a joint venture between the Ayala Group and tycoon Manuel Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific, has submitted to the government a proposal to run the MRT 3. The consortium has set a P1billion budget to upgrade the LRT 1. According to Singson, restoration works augmented the number of operational train cars from 77 to 104, cutting waiting time between trains from four minutes to “a little over” three minutes. The preservation of

Some P35.2 billion has already been shelled out by the government to MRTC. During that time, however, MRTC did not purchase new coaches or upgraded key systems of the line, including crucial signaling and ticketing systems. It reasoned that the government did not pay its rent promptly. By 2009, the DOTC-MRTC relationship became rocky and spiteful. trains is key, Singson explains, citing the decades-old, yet still-operational tram system of San Francisco in northern California as an example. “Our trains are millennials, while other trains are heritage. Maintenance is the solution,” he says. Singson said some of LRT 1 station platforms would be widened once the railway line’s extension to the Cavite suburbs is operational in 2021 to give way to the projected increase in daily passengers to 800,000 from the current 480,000. “I’m sorry to say that the problems of the MRT 3 cannot be resolved by government VIPs, [such as Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. and Sen. Grace Poe] riding the train to see how commuters suffer before and during the trips. [They suffer very much.] The problem is congenital. The elevated train system is like a two-headed monster: It has one body [the train line] but has two heads—one belongs to the owners, and the other belongs to the operator; and the two heads are quarrelling,” Singson says. Another problem that is taking a toll on government’s coffers is the subsidy it provides to MRT 3 commuters. When it began its daily ride in December 1999, the fare was P30 per passenger. Designed to take in 300,000 riders, MRT 3 attracted only 40,000 in its first few months of operation. ThenPresident Joseph E. Estrada decided to lower the fare to P15 maximum and P10 minimum, which amplified ridership to 400,000 a day. The Arroyo administration continued to implement the same fare rates, forcing the government to put out a subsidy to meet the agreed rental payments to the consortium. Also, the subsidies varied with every drop in the foreign exchange rate since the rentals were denominated in dollars while revenues were in pesos. Some P35.2 billion has already been shelled out by the government to MRTC. During that time, however, MRTC did not purchase new coaches or upgraded key systems of the line, including crucial signaling and ticketing systems. It reasoned that the government did not pay its rent promptly. By 2009 the Department of Transportation and Communications-MRTC relationship became rocky and spiteful. MRTC filed an arbitration suit in Singapore against the Philippines because of the delayed rental payments. The following year then-President Corazon C. Aquino issued orders to expand the MRT 3 capacity by buying new coaches. Unfortunately, the Ramos administration-approved build-lease-transfer agreement gives the MRTC as owner the right of first refusal. And that is why the Filipino commuting public is now stuck in this mess. For comments and suggestions, e-mail me at mvala.v@gmail.com.

aiting is never in abstraction; oftentimes there are persons who somehow personify what lies in prospect. Such a precursor is John the Baptizer in connection with the coming of Jesus Christ that humanity in Advent is looking forward to and must prepare for (Mark 1:1-8).

The beginning Preparatory to the coming of Jesus and part of the beginning of the good news of salvation was the appearance of John in the Jordan wilderness. His service was the one foretold by the prophet of old: A messenger would be sent ahead of the Messiah to prepare His way (Malachi 3:1). Isaiah (40:3) described this servant as like a voice crying out in the desert, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight His paths.” It is part of God’s design that the long-awaited salvation would truly begin because some persons have been waiting and preparing for it. Clearly, to be able to receive what heaven would rain down upon the Earth, humankind must be made ready. The people had to be reminded to make straight the paths of the Lord

and, thus, welcome His advent. And the people flocked to see John and to listen to him, from the countryside, as well as from the city. Not just some but all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and from the whole Judean region. He proclaimed a baptism of repentance, demanding from them a sign of moral transformation and change. Their sins needed forgiveness; they must show repentance. Asking to be washed in the running water of the Jordan River was such a demonstration. It was a beginning as they acknowledged their sins.

The baptizer

The people were moved to follow John’s call because they saw in him a prophet of God. He was unmistakably clear as to his task and his own identity. Yes, he baptized but that

Tax reform on Peza Atty. Irwin C. Nidea Jr.

Tax law for business

he tax reform that is being proposed by the government is encompassing and cuts through all sectors of society and business. What is usually highlighted are reforms that will benefit or will be detrimental to the ordinary Filipino, like the decrease in the income tax of an employee which will result in a higher take-home pay, or the possible increase in excise tax on fuel to offset the said decrease on income tax. But there are also salient proposals that are under the radar that need to be passed. There has been confusion on what is considered zero-rated transaction when dealing with a Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) entity. For example, if a hotel that is outside Peza is engaged by a Peza entity to house its employees, should the hotel consider such transaction as zero rated? Note that the hotel is outside the Peza zone but the entity that engaged the same is a Peza entity whose purchases are supposed to be value-added tax (VAT) zero rated. This confusion is aggravated by the recent jurisprudential doctrine that makes distinctions between transactions that are consumed inside and outside the Peza zone in determining VAT zero rating. According to the courts, the sale of goods, properties and services by

VAT-registered enterprises from the Philippine Customs territory, i.e., outside the ecozone to Peza-registered enterprises are subject to VAT at 0-percent rate. As a consequence, no output VAT shall be shifted to or passed on to Peza-registered enterprises. Thus, no input VAT shall be paid by Peza-registered enterprises from said purchases. Since no input VAT is paid by Peza-registered enterprises, it follows that they are not entitled to a VAT refund from their domestic purchases of goods, properties and services. If they allow their supplier to pass on VAT, their remedy is to claim for refund from these suppliers and not to the government. The rationale is that the Peza-registered enterprise should not have allowed the VAT-registered enterprise from the Philippine

Thursday, December 7, 2017 A11

The coming of the Lord, not only at the end but also now, calls for precursors to facilitate people’s encounter with Him and prepare His way. Whether as parents to their children or friends to fellow travelers or pastors to their communities, people’s faith is nourished and quickened by the vitality of the faith of authentic witnesses who are today’s precursors of the Lord. was merely preparatory; his baptism was only with water, a symbol of purification in function of repentance. What he was preparing the people for was the baptism with the Holy Spirit, which only the Messiah would be offering to the people. The imparting of God’s Spirit will be what gives life and creates a new people of God. The Messiah who would come after him is mightier than He; he is not even worthy to untie His sandals for Him. This humility and truthfulness of John the baptizer was backed up by his authenticity of life. Out in the desert in communion with God, John subsisted on locusts and honey, i.e. on judgment and consolation. Locusts represent divine judgment, being instruments of punishing and bitter destruction (Exodus 10:4; Psalm 105:34; Isaiah 33:4). Honey signifies

The Senate bill, which categorically states that sale of goods and services to a Peza entity is VAT zero rated, will remove this confusion. As long as the transaction is with a Peza entity, it will not be necessary to distinguish whether such transaction is performed inside or outside the Peza zone. I hope this amendment will be passed. Customs territory to pass on VAT to it. (CTA Case 8804) The VAT zero rating on the sales of goods, properties or services by a VAT-registered entity to a Pezaregistered entity is further qualified. The court said that it only applies when such goods, properties or services are consumed, used or rendered within the ecozone. In other words, if the sales of goods, properties or services are consumed, used or rendered within the Customs territory, i.e., outside the ecozone, such sales by a VAT-registered entity to a Pezaregistered entity shall be subject to 12-percent VAT. (CTA Case 8804) In our example above, the hotel should pass on VAT to the Peza-registered entity since the transaction happened outside the economic zone. How will the Peza entity recover the VAT imposed by the hotel? The remedy of the Peza entity is to claim for refund. To be able to claim for refund, the Peza entity must be able to establish that its local purchases of goods and services were consumed

peace and plenty, a symbol of comfort and reward. John was a walking sign of God’s approaching judgment, which he tried to warn people about, and to prepare them for the coming divine reward for the faithful ones. John was a personification of his message, a prophet of God in the format of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8), garbed in camel’s hair and tied with leather around his waist. Alálaong bagá, the Lord is coming, and the Church as God’s people of salvation has now the task of being the voice crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” This prophetic role demands fidelity and courage in delivering God’s Word to all, in all seasons, welcome or unwelcome. The soil on which the seed falls needs to be cultivated constantly, or it turns into a wasteland. The coming of the Lord, not only at the end but also now, calls for precursors to facilitate people’s encounter with Him and prepare His way. Whether as parents to their children or friends to fellow travelers or pastors to their communities, people’s faith is nourished and quickened by the vitality of the faith of authentic witnesses who are today’s precursors of the Lord. Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, from 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio streaming on www.dwiz882.com.

and rendered outside the Peza zone. A claim for refund is another burden that an investor has to bear. This doctrine drives confusion and impracticality. While it may be true that some transactions of a Peza entity is consumed outside the Peza zone, like the services of a hotel, the main business of a Peza locator is still exportation of goods and services, which are zero rated in nature. To ask foreign investors to distinguish if their transaction is inside or outside Peza zone for them to be entitled to VAT zero rating, is detrimental to business. Thus, the Senate bill, categorically states that sale of goods and services to a Peza entity is VAT zero rated, will remove this confusion. As long as the transaction is with a Peza entity, it will not be necessary to distinguish whether such transaction is performed inside or outside the Peza zone. I hope this amendment will be passed. It is a good step forward in achieving the goal of a simple and fair tax law. The author is a partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices, a member-firm of WTS Global. The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at irwin.nidea@ bdblaw.com.ph or call 403-2001 local 330.

US can’t walk away from the global migration crisis

he United States decision to boycott United Nations talks on global migration is as irrational as it was inevitable. It was always going to be hard for President Donald J. Trump to resist an opportunity to snub both his predecessor and the UN, but refusing to participate can only harm American interests. The record number of migrants and refugees in the world is not a fleeting crisis but reflects a continuing trend—one driven by festering conflicts, environmental pressures and demographic inevitabilities. In 2000 the world’s estimated 173 million international migrants represented 2.8 percent of the world’s population. By 2015 there were 244 million, or about 3.3 percent. The question about the next migration shock, US officials say, is not if but when. So the US has a profound interest

The Trump administration has again undermined UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres, whose cooperation could help advance US interests in a variety of areas. It has also forsaken an opportunity to elucidate its arguments on immigration. If the administration disagrees with the declaration’s principles and goals, shouldn’t it make its case instead of simply staying home?

in shaping a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration —the focus of the UN talks that Trump abandoned. Refugee flows have created an enormous burden for US allies and partners, such as Turkey (2.9 million refugees) and Jordan (more than 680,000). And a continued failure to provide educational

and economic opportunities for the world’s 22.5 million refugees, as well as agreed upon avenues for their return or resettlement, will sow decades of instability across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In announcing the US withdrawal, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that the compact “contains a number of policy goals that are inconsistent with US law and policy.” Perhaps, that’s because the Trump administration has repeatedly flouted some of the principles enshrined in the declaration that the US agreed to last year under former President Barack Obama: Nations should detain children only “as a last resort,” follow due process in handling asylum applications, and combat “xenophobia, racism and discrimination” against refugees and immigrants. In fact, even when it comes to such

sensible and humane standards, the envisioned compact promises to be aspirational. It won’t trespass on US sovereignty unless Congress chooses to codify its principles in law. There’s about as much of a chance of that happening as there is of black helicopters and blue helmets descending on the US to enforce it. In the meantime, the Trump administration has again undermined UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose cooperation could help advance US interests in a variety of areas. It has also forsaken an opportunity to elucidate its arguments on immigration. If the administration disagrees with the declaration’s principles and goals, shouldn’t it make its case instead of simply staying home? The global migration crisis is not going away, and neither oceans nor a wall can shield the US from its consequences. Bloomberg View

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Thursday, December 7, 2017

PHL set to borrow $3.72 billion from ADB for ‘BBB’ in next 3 yrs

By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

he Philippines will incur more debts in the next three years, as the national government will obtain new loans from multilateral development banks, such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), to finance its massive infrastructure program.

Next year the Philippines will borrow $920 million from the ADB to finance its infrastructure initiative, dubbed as “Build, Build, Build.” Manila will borrow $1.4 billion in 2019 and another $1.4 billion in 2020, according to the newly released 2018-2020 Country Operations Business Plan of the ADB for the Philippines. “We are committed to supporting the government’s effort

to realize its goals of sustainable and inclusive growth, delivering much-needed infrastructure, strengthening education, helping youth to access good jobs and boosting regional development,” said Richard Bolt, ADB country director for the Philippines. For 2018, the “firm” pipeline includes financing projects, such as the Expanding Private Participation in Infrastructure Program

$920M The indicative amount that the Philippines will borrow from the Asian Development Bank next year

Subprogram 2 (PBL) and the Inclusive Finance Development Program (PBL), which was formerly known as the Reducing Income Inequality through Financial Inclusion worth $300 million each. Big-ticket projects for next year also include the $110-million Davao Public Transport Modernization Project; the $100-million Regional Development Project, Phase 1-South Central Mindanao, formerly the Mindanao Development Program; and the $100-million Metro Manila Transport Project, formerly the Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transit Edsa Project.

For 2019, the firm pipeline of projects include the Secondary Education Support Project; Local Government Development Program; and Facilitating Youth School-toWork Transition, Subprogram 2, which will cost $300 million each. Also included in this pipeline are the $200-million Metro Manila Water Supply Project, Phase 1, and the $200-million MalolosClark Railway Project, as well as the $100-million Disaster Risk Financing Phase 1. For 2020, the firm pipeline includes Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector Project, Phase 2; Inclusive Finance Development Program, Subprogram 2; and Expanded Social Assistance Project, which will cost $300 million each. The standby pipeline for 2020 includes the $300 million worth Metro Manila Transport Project; the $200-million Regional Development Project, Phase 2-Northern Mindanao; and the $100-million

Disaster Risk Financing Phase 2. Projects in the firm pipeline are those that both the government and the ADB have agreed to approve for a particular year. “Nearly half, or $1.7 billion, of the ADB’s lending pipeline in the next three years will finance projects in the transport, water and urban-infrastructure sectors, such as the Malolos-Clark Railway Project and the Metro Manila Water Supply Project in 2019,” the ADB said. “Part of the amount will also fund capacity building of government agencies and local government units to deliver large and sophisticated roads and railway projects, and local services,” it added. The rest of the lending pipeline includes programs and projects in the social sectors, finance sector including inclusive finance, disaster-risk management and publicsector management. The plan, which reflects priorities outlined in the government’s See “PHL,” A2

JFC wants Duterte to get special powers vs traffic Continued from A1

control of road use in areas specified in the proposed measure. The Senate version triggers the application of laws that are in play in a state of emergency. The coverage is different as well: HB 4334 proposes to cover Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Davao, which may be expanded by the designated traffic chief. The Senate bill only applies to Greater Metro Manila and Metro

DTI. . .

Continued from A1

Just last week at the Manufacturing Summit 2017, the DTI cited the continued growth of manufacturing this year. It expanded 8.3 percent in the first three quarters of the year,

Cebu, and may be extended to other highly urbanized cities. Currently, the bicameral conference committee consisting of members from each house of Congress is scrutinizing the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion bill. The JFC is composed of American, Australian-New Zealand, Canadian, European, Japanese and South Korean chambers, plus the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters Inc.

with the sector growing by 9.4 percent in the third quarter alone. This is a turnaround in the past, when the services sector has been the main driver of growth. The DTI spearheaded the Manufacturing Resurgence Program aimed at reviving the manufacturing sector and integrating select industries.

Tieza partner Bravo Hotel Corp., operator of Bravo Golf Resorts, is now registered as a Tourism Estate Management Facilities and Services Operator after signing partnership contracts and Tourism and Enterprise Zone (TEZ) designation and registration agreements with the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza). Present during the signing are (from left) Emily Gepilano of Bravo Hotel; Edilberto Bravo, president and CEO of Bravo Hotel Corp.; Pocholo JD Paragas, Tieza COO; and Nino Aquino, Tieza ACOO and TEZ Regulation Department manager. NONIE REYES

www.businessmirror.com.ph

WHO denies giving DOH advice to use Dengvaxia

he World Health Organization (WHO) has clarified that it did recommend the inclusion of the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine in the immunization program of countries for dengue. The French maker of the vaccine, Sanofi Pasteur, meanwhile, said in a statement it is looking forward to a “constructive and transparent” dialogue with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Sanofi issued the statement after the FDA ordered the suspension of the sale, distribution and marketing of Dengvaxia, following the firm’s admission that “severe cases” could occur in individuals who have not had the virus but were administered the dengue vaccine. The WHO said in its statement released on Tuesday that its position paper released in July 2016 was “based on recommendations of the strategic group of experts on immunization, which met and published preliminary advice in mid-April 2016”. “The WHO position paper did not include a recommendation to countries to introduce the dengue vaccine into their national immunization programs,” the statement added. It also stressed that the Department of Health’s (DOH) decision to roll out the vaccine had been made before its advice became available. Earlier, former Health Secretary Janette Garin said in a television interview that the dengue-vaccination program under the Aquino administration was conducted in accordance with WHO guidelines. “[Implementation] was based on the recommendations of experts and was in line with the WHO, based on assessing benefits versus risks,” she said. The WHO, instead of making a recommendation, outlined a “series of considerations national governments should take into account in deciding whether to introduce the vaccine, based on a review of available data at the time, along with possible risks.”

The outline included:

Use of the vaccine should only be Continued on A2

Organizing all workers: A new Singapore initiative Continued from A1

The NTUC grew and became strong partly with the recognition extended to it by Singapore’s founding leader, Lee Kuan Yew. It supported the separation of Singapore from the Malaysian federation under the leadership of the People’s Action Party. In turn, its cooperation with the government has been amply rewarded. It sits in various tripartite and policy-making bodies, including the wage and skills development boards. Some of the past and present officials of the government have come from the NTUC ranks. The NTUC runs some of the Asean’s biggest social enterprises. These enterprises provide “a range of services that are both affordable and accessible to meet the life cycles” not only of NTUC members but also of the rest of society. The biggest chain of supermarkets in the city state is NTUC FairPrice, which caters to the needs of ordinary Singaporeans. Other well-known NTUC enterprises are: Income for insurance, First Campus for childcare and kinderga r ten, N T UC Hea lt h for

health-care products and eldercare services, Foodfare for cooked food, and NTUC Club for a range of lifestyle activities. These enterprises, professionally managed, are organized to meet primarily the demand of citizens for various essentials at affordable prices. In turn, this business formula helped transform some of these enterprises into household names in Singapore. NTUC can also claim that it is fully independent, financially that is. It has a 32-story building, One Marina Boulevard, right at the heart of the country’s financial district. It occupies two floors and leases out the rest. In recent years, the NTUC has also attracted the attention of industrial-relations scholars for some of NTUC’s “bold” initiatives in labor organizing. For example, it launched an organizing program called “CAN,” meaning organizing workers of all collars (blue, white and none), ages and nationalities. NTUC has also been pushing the government and employers to have tripartite cooperation in “Project Advantage,” a project aimed at helping aging workers

retain or stay in their jobs by redesigning or reengineering the work assigned to them, for example, veteran camera men in media outfits are given flexible trolleys and other equipment to lessen stress on their bodies. In the Philippines and other countries, aging or elderly workers who can no longer perform at their old efficiency rate are simply given the “golden handshake” and a modest severance pay. However, the boldest initiative yet of NTUC came a few weeks ago. On November 15, the NTUC updated its Constitution by declaring that “all working people,” including freelancers, migrant workers, as well as professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) are entitled to NTUC assistance. NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chung Sing explained that the membership base of the labor movement in the past had been “narrowly interpreted by some as just representing the rank and file workers using the Union as the only mechanism.” He added: “People move fluidly in between jobs, and we shouldn’t have this artificial

divide as to who is considered rank and file, who is considered PMETs.” The change in the Constitution was supported by 97 percent of the 410 representative delegates to the NTUC Congress. The above change in NTUC’s orientation on labor representation caps other earlier organizing initiatives of NTUC that go beyond the traditional formal employer-employee relations involving mainly regular rank-and-file workers. These include an initiative to support workers in small and medium enterprises , one to support professionals, managers and executives (U Associates), another to support freelancers and the self-employed (U FSE), as well as one for migrant workers. These are collectively called the “U Network,” which serves an additional 1.25 million workers. In organizing regular ranka nd - f i le work e r s, t he u s u a l destination of union efforts is toward the conclusion of a collective bargaining agreement, which defines the terms and conditions of work for a certain period of time. But in the new NTUC organizing, things are a

bit different. For example, for the professionals and managerial employees, the focus of NTUC is on how to help these PMETs grow their professional networks and adopt skills to help them stay relevant and competitive. Is this not the right approach in organizing the million or so workers in the Philippines call center-BPO sector, where traditional unionism is unable to make any serious inroads for more than a decade? In the NTUC Congress, delegates articulated the demand of freelancers and self-employed for insurance schemes and intellectual-property protection, and for that of the migrant workers, their rights in society and how these are respected. There were also discussions on the future of tripartism under economic globalization and rapid technological changes. Last, there is a demand to further strengthen in-school training in the foundational years so that the younger generation of Singaporeans are better prepared for work when they leave the school system. Now, how do the foregoing relate to the Philippine situation? As

is well known, our industrialrelations system has been shaped by our reliance on the American model. Organizing regular workers for the purpose of concluding a CBA for three years is the norm. Under this system, the “non-regulars” (casuals, seasonal, project, managerial, supervisory and commission workers) are excluded. With the regulars becoming fewer and fewer under economic globalization and flexible business arrangements, unionism has become an organization for a minority of workers, not for the majority. And if one includes the vast number of workers in the informal sector, this minority becomes even distinctly an exclusive association of a few. Isn’t it time to overhaul the existing industrial-relations system? Isn’t it time to overhaul the Labor Code? Isn’t it time to look into new ways of empowering and organizing workers of all ranks, all collars, all ages and all genders— in all areas of the economy, formal and informal? After all, the Philippine Constitution, under Section 3, Article XIII, states that all workers have equal rights.