Businessmirror July 16, 2018

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A broader look at today’s business n Monday, July 16, 2018 Vol. 13 No. 275

PHL to China: Hasten okay of traded goods $23.82B T

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

HE Philippines at the World Trade Organization (WTO) has appealed to China to fasttrack the accreditation of its priority agricultural products as part of efforts to expand bilateral trade with its giant neighbor.

The total value of China’s trade with the Philippines in 2017

In a document obtained by the BusinessMirror from a Geneva trade official, Manila urged Beijing to expedite the entry of its farm goods to the Chinese market.

See “PHL,” A2

DOF on ‘P1.5-trillion’ debt of NG to LGUs under SC ruling: We’ve to study that first

See “DOF,” A2

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FARMERS: WE NEED FUEL VOUCHERS, TOO

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

F

ILIPINO rice farmers are now seeking government intervention to cushion the impact of rising global oil prices and the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, which have sent their production costs soaring.

For one, they are urging the government anew to issue fuel vouchers to aid them in coping with the increasing oil prices.

“We have been asking the government to give us fuel vouchers for years now. We asked this before from the National Food Authority [NFA] but to no avail,” Edwin Y. Paraluman, chairman of the Philippine Farmers Advisory Board, told the BusinessM irror.

“So we are renewing our call to

give us fuel vouchers, especially when fuel prices are increasing. If they can give fuel cards to jeepney drivers, then why can’t they give farmers as well?” Paraluman added.

See “Farmers,” A2

Palawan, Cebu, Bora make ‘T+L’ 2018 ‘best islands’ list

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HE Department of Finance (DOF) has yet to study closely the Supreme Court (SC) ruling providing local government units (LGUs) with their “just share” of national government revenue, but ultimately, the agency pointed out, it’s still President Duterte who will have the final say on the matter.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told financial reporters that the DOF has yet to receive a copy of the SC ruling, which this early is seen to have grave fiscal impact, as certain political leaders are already demanding that the national government give LGUs their

2016 ejap journalism awards

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

T PACQUIAO BY KNOCKOUT! Manny Pacquiao clinches his 60th victory with a seventh-round knockout of Lucas Matthysse, his first stoppage in nine years on Sunday in Kuala Lumpur, wresting the Argentinian’s World Boxing Association welterweight title. See story on C3 . AP

PESO exchange rates n US 53.5240

HREE Philippine islands made the cut in this year’s awards for Asia’s and World’s Best Islands by influential travel publication Travel + Leisure (T+L).

Palawan makes the grade as the world’s sixth-best island, with a grade of 90.04, falling from the top spot in 2016 and 2017. Cebu makes its first entry, rubbing elbows with the world’s best, and landing on eighth spot with a score of 89.10.

T+L readers voted for Java, Indonesia as the world’s best, receiving an overall score of 95.28.

While Boracay failed to snag any rank among the 15 world’s best islands, the now-shuttered resort island placed eighth among Asia’s 10 best islands with a score of 86.14.

In 2017, Boracay was in third place among the world’s best islands.

In a piece published on July 10, writer Rebecca Ascher-Walsh said, “After two years of winning the No. 1 spot, the Philippine island of Palawan has been unseated, although it still makes an appearance on both this [top 10 islands in Asia] and the overall islands list thanks to its friendly locals, crystal-clear seas, and top-notch diving [don’t miss El Nido, with its limestone islets, and See “Palawan,” A12

n japan 0.4756 n UK 70.6945 n HK 6.8198 n CHINA 8.0210 n singapore 39.2693 n australia 39.6399 n EU 62.4839 n SAUDI arabia 14.2719 Source: BSP (13 July 2018 )

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A2 Monday, July 16, 2018

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Con-com responds to draft Charter’s critics

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas

Although he thinks their draft is “far better written” compared to the 1987 Constitution, Aquino said he “conceded” to what Batongbacal pointed out among the “errors” of the Con-com draft, i.e. that the Philippines has “sovereignty” over the continental shelf.

Batongbacal said in an earlier interview this is not possible because under international law, the country only has “sovereign rights” over the continental shelf.

Aquino said the journal of the Con-com debates will show that he repeatedly underscored this point.

“That is the reason that at the time the draft was printed, I already submitted my comments

and asked that ‘continental shelf’ be deleted from the scope of sovereignty,” he said.

Despite the “error,” Aquino stressed he remained confident about their draft provisions and even noted that their draft made explicit claim to sovereign rights and not just sovereignty.

“For one thing, the 1987 Constitution said something about ‘insular shelves’ over which Philippine sovereignty was supposed to extend. What concept of international law or domestic law is that?

Where is it found in the Law of the Sea—insular shelves?” he asked.

“Where did the 1987 Constitution provide for sovereign rights, which, though not identical with sovereignty, are as economically and even politically important?”

Section 1 of Article I National Territory of the proposed draft federal charter states: “The Philippines has sovereignty over its territory, consisting of the islands and waters encompassed by its archipelagic baselines, its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the continental shelf, and its airspace.

It has sovereignty over islands and features outside its archipelagic baselines pursuant to the laws of the Federal Republic, the law of nations, and the judgments of competent international courts or tribunals. It likewise has sovereignty over other territories belonging to the Philippines by historic right or

ers from accessing the Chinese market for months.

Last year Manila exported a total of 745,637 metric tons (MT) of bananas to Beijing, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. It was valued at $288.97 million, and was significantly higher than the 445,647 MT of banana exports to China in 2016.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said “when the relationship with China strengthened under the Duterte administration, all our products were given easier access to the Chinese market.”

Lopez added the Chinese government is now facilitating the entry of Philippine farm goods that used to undergo stringent measures in ports. “Importations of bananas, pineapples, mangoes, coconut products, among others, encountered stiffer import procedures, but are now facilitated with technical assistance from China,”

he told the BusinessMirror.

Apart from improving agricultural trade, the Philippines also inquired about China’s framework on developing micro, small and medium enterprises. The country argued China’s “Belt and Road” Initiative can benefit MSMEs in developing economies and lessdeveloped countries (LDCs).

“The Philippines appreciates China’s recognition of the important role of MSMEs in achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development,” the statement read.

“China’s Belt and Road initiative can create greater trade opportunities for MSMEs of developing countries and LDCs, and could potentially translate into broadbased growth.”

The Belt and Road initiative is Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitious infrastructure program that aims to connect Asia to Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean. The

plan hopes to boost trade and spur economic growth among the countries involved.

Moreover, t he Ph i l ippi nes asked China about its “incentives and support programs to attract investments in selected industries, accelerate the upgrading of traditional industries and foster infant industries.”

In the face of a trade war with the United States, China was branded by the Philippines as a “key player in the WTO and a bona fide global trading powerhouse.” The country also said all WTO membercountries are closely watching how China will use its economic and political weight in influencing the multilateral trading system.

China is the Philippines’s top trading partner with a total trade value of $23.82 billion in the previous year. It is the country’s top import source and fourth largest export destination.

Farmers who solely depend on water pumps posted the highest increase in fuel costs, incurring an additional P2,014 per-hectare expenditure after the TRAIN law.

“Farmers who depend on pumps for irrigation water suffer from the increased fuel prices. Their fuel consumption accounts for some 30% of their total production cost,” the study explained.

“TRAIN increases the production cost of pump-dependent farmers by 50 centavos for every kilogram of palay produced, which diminishes their income by 10 percent,” it added.

The study said pump-dependent rice farmers consume about 397 liters to 413 liters of fuel per hectare, more then double the fuel requirement of those not solely dependent on pumps.

“The fuel price increases, therefore, disadvantage farmers who highly depend on pumps for water supply,” the study said.

The increase in the fuel costs of pumpdependent rice farmers translated into a 10-percent cut in their net income, according to the study. The study noted that farmers in 2016 earned P5.12 per kilogram but since the implementation of the TRAIN law, their net income went down to P4.62 per kilogram.

In 2016 farmers spent P12.31 to produce a kilogram of rice while they earn about P17.43 per kilogram, according to the study.

And for them to do this, the study recommended, they should invest in farm machinery and slowly mechanize their operations.

“The DA-PHilMech [n.d.] asserts that farmers incur 4.29-percent harvest losses, which steal 214 kg/ha from the would-be gross yield of 5,000 kg/ha. Adopting the combine harvester can reduce this to only 2.11% [Regalado and Ramos, 2016], thereby saving more farmers’ produce without having to significantly increase fuel cost,” it said.

“The mechanized farmer only uses an additional 16-26 liters per ha, equivalent to PhP600-1,000/ha more cost under TRAIN-lifted prices. The estimated PhP6,000/ha additional net income [Litonjua et al., 2016] from using the combine harvester more than offsets the additional cost,” it added.

“Therefore, the increase in fuel prices has less impact on farmers who choose to mechanize,”the study concluded.

Furthermore, to cushion the ill effects of TRAIN on rice farming, pump-dependent farmers have to continue “using yield enhancing technologies, reduce harvest losses through mechanization, and adopt water-saving technologies like Alternate Wetting and Drying [AWD],” the study said.

AWD, according to the study, reduces farmers’ water use by 16 percent to 35 percent without decreasing grain yield.

The study also recommended that the government fast-track the completion of existing irrigation projects to increase the number of farmers benefiting from “free and reliable irrigation supply.” This, the study pointed out, would help pump-dependent farmers save on irrigation cost.

for us to be able to cut our production costs. They could give us high-yielding seeds and fertilizers,” he said. Furthermore, Paraluman, who represents the farmers’ sector at the NFA Council, sought an increase in the agency’s support price for palay to ensure the rice farmers’ profititability.

Paraluman said increasing the NFA’s palay buying price ensures farmers earn more instead of being at the mercy of loan sharks every harvest season.

Earlier this year, the NFA proposed to increase its buying price from the current P17 per kilogram to P22 per kilogram, but this was thumbed down by the NFA Council. Last month the NFA proposed to increase its support price to P25 per kilogram to become competitive against the buying price posed by traders in the market—ranging from P22 to P25 per kilogram.

“All farmers live on debts. The harvest is mortgaged to the lenders even while the palay is still standing,” he said, mostly in Filipino. “The service of the government should be for the people. What they get from the people’s income should also return to them.”

“The economic managers have been saying that increasing the NFA support price to P22 would be inflationary. But at the present P17, why did the prices of rice in the market continue to increase? The NFA has been obsolete in buying from farmers,” Paraluman added.

Paraluman said the NFA has been given P7 billion for its local palay procurement program but has only been able to withdraw some P1.8 billion due to its incapability to buy from local farmers.

While these ideas remain as proposals to the government, rice farmers are left with no choice: tighten their belts and borrow money.

“Farmers cannot do anything with the increasing production costs and rising prices of goods but to budget what they have,” Paraluman said. “They are only tightening their belts. And [they] will borrow money as their farm income is not sufficient to meet their daily needs.”

@BNicolasBM

OLLOWING criticisms hurled at the Consultative Committee’s proposed draft federal constitution, some leading members of the Con-com still believe their draft is better written than the 1987 Constitution.

Sought for comment by the BusinessMirror on certain comments by experts last week, Con-com member and San Beda Graduate School of Law Dean Fr. Ranhilio C. Aquino said in a message: “Every sentence is fraught with purpose, every line has history and law as its warrant. What could be so defective about this proposal?”

He was reacting to remarks by maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal on Thursday on the sidelines of the forum on the second anniversary of The Hague ruling on the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea dispute, that parts of the Articles on National Territory and National Economy and Patrimony could cause more problems for the Philippines.

Batongbacal told the BusinessMirror the Con-com’s provision on National Territory is not “well-written” and had “errors,” and that the proposal will only attract protests from China and Malaysia. The pro-

PHL. . .

Continued from A1

The appeal was made at China’s trade policy review at the WTO last week.

“On agricultural trade, we reiterate our strong interest toward the expeditious accreditation of our priority agricultural products, recognizing that this will substantially improve the level and scope of agricultural trade between the Philippines and China,” the statement read. “We welcome several capacity-building initiatives in the field of agriculture and fisheries with the goal of promoting inclusive agricultural trade.”

Under President Duterte, the Philippines is expanding its trade relations with China. In 2016 China lifted the ban on Philippine bananas and pineapples after prohibiting their export-

Farmers. . .

Continued from A1

Rice farmers are affected by the increase in oil prices as farm machineries and equipment utilize fuel, Paraluman explained. “That will cause a domino effect. Increase in oil prices would lead to increase in fertilizer prices, and that would mean higher cost of production.”

The TRAIN law imposed an excise tax of P2.50 per liter on diesel products and P7 per liter on gasoline. A study recently conducted by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) concluded that “the TRAIN’s imposition of increased excise tax, unstable global fuel prices, and the peso-dollar exchange rate conspired” to raise rice farmers’ production cost.

And one of the recommendations of the study, authored by AIleen C. Litonjua and Jesusa C. Beltran, to help farmers cope with rising production costs, is to give “discounted fuel.” “[The government could] explore ways to provide farmers with discounted fuel,”the authors said. “This will directly unburden them of the ill effects of TRAIN on rice farming.”

Under the TRAIN law, jeepney franchise holders are entitled to fuel vouchers to mitigate the increase in oil prices. For this, the government has allocated some P977 million, which is expected to be distributed to about 179,000 jeepney franchise holders.

Fuel costs increase

The study found an increase in the fuel costs of farmers across three different sources of irrigation.

Farmers exclusively using national irrigation systems (NIS) saw their fuel costs rise by P249 per hectare after the implementation of TRAIN; those using pumps to supplement irrigation incurred a P949 per-hectare increment in their fuel costs.

fessor said the proposed provisions will not strengthen the claim of the country over the disputed waters, negating the Con-com’s earlier stated intent in revising the current provision on National Territory.

Error acknowledged

Recommendation

Pump-dependent rice farmers could recoup the increase in their production costs if farm-gate price of palay continues to increase, according to the study. But if it doesn’t, then they would be “even less competitive due to increased production cost,” and this would “deprive them of a higher income,” the study said.

So what should pump-dependent rice farmers do to cope with the increased in fuel prices?

Produce an additional yield 105 kilograms per hectare “to maintain the same level of income,” according to the study.

Support price

Paraluman said fuel voucher is just one of many subsidies the government could give the rice sector to cope with rising production costs.

“I hope the government could give us subsidies

“Every sentence is fraught with purpose, every line has history and law as its warrant.

What could be so defective about this proposal?”—Aquino

legal title.”

Aquino said in this provision, the Con-com is not saying that they should wait for the disposition of other issues by international courts or tribunals.

“We are asserting sovereignty over those islands and features outside the archipelagic baselines.

In fact, we are asserting what must still remain litigated: our claim to islands and features also claimed – and usurped by the People’s Republic of China,” he said.

Basis for Sabah claim

He also defended their decision to return the phrase “historic right or legal title” because former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. had pointed to the need to provide a constitutional basis for the government to purse its claim to North Borneo (Sabah).

“While we may not actually be in effective control of North Borneo—which is the prevailing criterion in international law insofar as sovereignty goes—we lay claim to it by historic right and

legal title,” he said.

Batongbacal also said that domestic law does not apply to international law and questioned the need to mention the Philippine Rise in the proposed provisions, as it will not leave room to accommodate the possibility of some changes in the national territory of the country unlike the 1987 provision, which is still “more flexible and encompassing.”

Section 2 of the same article of the proposed federal charter stated that: “The Philippines has sovereign rights over that maritime expanse beyond its territorial sea to the extent reserved to it by international law, as well as over its extended continental shelf, including the Philippine Rise. Its citizens shall enjoy the right to all resources within these areas.”

Responding to Batongbacal, Aquino said that Pimentel also stressed that no government should, in the present or in the future, compromise the country’s claim to Benham Rise, which the UN body that delineates the limits of the continental shelves has ruled to be a continental shelf of the Philippines.

“Why then the mention of international law and international judgments? To make clear that all our claims are anchored on international law and make jurisprudence of international tribunals, and to anticipate furthermore judgments

in our favor,” he said.

“At the present time, the Kalayaan Island is governed by the Regime of Islands. What is wrong in adverting to that and making explicit the 1987 Constitution encompassed by the word ‘domain’?,” Aquino added.

Generoso vs Davide

Former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. on Friday also criticized the draft Charter for not mentioning the West Philippine Sea although it mentioned the Philippine Rise.

Responding to Davide, Con-com Spokesman Conrado I. Generoso said: “If you honestly believe that the phrase ‘West Philippine Sea, should be put in the Article on National Territory, then why are you adamantly opposed to changing a word in the 1987 Constitution?

Where is the logic and where is the sincerity in your position?”

Generoso noted that the 1986 Constitutional Commission where Davide was a member had the chance to put the words “West Philippine Sea” or “South China Sea” but did not do so, and did not even make any loose reference to it in the 1987 Constitution.

Unlike the Con-com’s proposed draft, he said the 1987 Constitution only talked of sovereignty over territory. “And they abandoned the Philippine claim to Sabah, which has existed in previous constitutions,” Generoso noted.

Drilon’s warning: No-el Cha-cha’s true agenda

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E N AT E M i nor it y L e a d e r Franklin M. Drilon warned over the weekend that “the real motive” behind moves to rush Charter changes is a “no midterm election” scenario, in which President Duterte will be empowered to appoint replacements for mayors, governors, congressmen, including incumbent senators, 12 of whom have terms expiring next year.

“As the saying goes, the cat is out of the bag,” said Drilon, asserting that “Charter change is being pushed in order that the [2019] election could be postponed. Clearly, Cha-cha is meant for ‘no-el.’”

In a statement issued on Sunday, Drilon aired his concern that “in the event the midterm election is canceled, the President could exercise his power to appoint every mayor, governor, congressman, and even senators.”

He pointed out that “there is no holdover provision in the Constitution. The officials who were elected last May 2016 elections will have to vacate their posts by June 30 of next year as provided for in the Constitution.”

However, Drilon declared, “the President can extend their terms or appoint their replacement,” recalling that such power was already upheld by the Supreme Court.

Still, he held out hopes the Duterte

DOF. . .

Continued from A1

“back pay”—estimated by one governor to breach a trillion pesos—in order to comply with the High Court decision. “We still don’t have a copy of the SC ruling. We haven’t seen a thing, we just heard it through announcements,” Dominguez said. Under the SC ruling, LGUs should get bigger internal revenue allotments (IRAs), with funds coming not only from internal revenue taxes but from other government agencies, as well.

In earlier reports, Batangas City Gov. Hermilando I. Mandanas, pointed out that the SC ruling should be implemented retroactively, adding that total liabilities to LGUs have reached about P1.5 trillion from the period starting 1992 to 2018.

Under Republic Act (RA) 7160 or the Local Government Code, LGUs should receive a 40-percent share of taxes

administration and its allies in Congress would “seriously consider the people’s sentiment about Charter change and federalism,” citing recent survey results that, Drilon said, showed “a greater majority of Filipinos are opposed to Charter change.”

According to him, the Charter change issue needs to undergo further study. “There are still so many things we must review and study well. In the last survey, the majority, or 7 out of 10 people, said we should refrain from changing the Constitution now.”

The senator suggested that lawmakers give priority instead to solutions to pressing problems, instead of front-loading self-serving Charter changes that, among others, would allow incumbent officials to extend their terms.

“Filipinos are more concerned about the ballooning inflation, rising prices of fuel products and basic commodities, unemployment and criminality, which the government should be able to address first,” said Drilon.

In the same statement over the weekend, Drilon pleaded with Senate and House leaders allied with President Duterte “not to rush Charter change and let the committee system work” when the two chambers of Congress reconvene regular sessions on July 23. Butch Fernandez

collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Mandanas said the unallocated shares from previous years can be paid in tranches over 10 to 20 years, with the method of paying the liabilities still up to the SC’s final decision.

Dominguez explained, however, that a retroactive scheme for providing the “just share” of national government revenues to LGUs cannot be done under a one-time payment system.

“This is speculation, between P1- trillion to P1.5-trillion debt if it’s retroactive. But we don’t know the decision; they [the SC] can say you work it out, but certainly we can’t afford a one-time payment. For sure, we cannot afford that,” he added. One option of the national government is to file a motion for reconsideration with the Office of the Solicitor General, Dominguez said, but reiterated that the appropriate action will be taken once the SC ruling has been studied. Rea Cu

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Soldiers wounded in clash with NPA

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WO soldiers were wounded on Saturday in two separate firefights with suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Abra and Mountain Province, the military said in belated reports.

The clashes happened as the military intensified its campaign against the NPA, especially in Northern Luzon, according to Armed Forces of the Philippines Northern Luzon Command Spokesman Lt. Col. Isagani Nato.

Nato said that the first clash with rebels occurred at around 8:40 a.m. on Saturday at Sitio Dandanac, Barangay Tamboan, Besao, Mountain Province.

During the firefight with about 14 members of the NPA’s Kilusang Larangang Gerilya Ampis led by Commander Digbay, a soldier was wounded in the right arm and at the back, near his pelvic area.

Nato did not identify the soldier, who is a member of the 81st Infantry Battalion. He said the engaged soldiers believed the rebels also incurred casualties.

In another encounter, elements of the 24th Infantry Battalion clashed with at least 10 rebels at around 3:10 p.m., also on Saturday at Barangay Ud-udiao, Sallapadan, Abra.

The rebels are members of the Kilusang Larangang Gerilya North Abra, Nato said.

During the firefight, which lasted for 20 minutes, a soldier was also wounded in the right leg.

The encounter happened following the discovery by the 24th IB of an abandoned temporary rebel encampment in the mountainous area of Barangay Danac, West Boliney, Abra, at around 8 a.m.

The discovery of the camp prompted the soldiers to track down the rebels until they caught up with them in Sallapan.

Nato said the encampment can accommodate more or less 18 rebels.

The soldiers found remains of food stuff, a roll of wire, bamboo beds and bamboo chairs.

“Through focus military operations [FMO] and the support of the community, Nolcom troops will be relentless in pursuing the communist NPA terrorists to prevent the latter from threatening the people and conducting hostile activities, which will eventually contribute in bringing peace, stability and development in the area,” said Nato. Rene Acosta

The Nation BusinessMirror

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, July 16, 2018 A3

Ofreneo: Proposed Charter weak in protecting workers D

2 inland Lanao del Sur towns receive ICRC aid

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By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

HE current draft Charter of the Consultative Committee (Con-com) will become less inclusive for workers in the informal sector and employers if approved by Congress as it is.

Former Labor Undersecretary Rene Ofreneo told the BusinessMirror the draft Charter lacks the “strong tenor” of Section 3 of Article VIII of the 1987 Constitution, which mandates the state to provide “full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized.”

As it is, Ofreneo said the part of the current Constitution with regards to informal sector workers has no implementing law.

“This provision has not found any Legislative translation in support of the rights of informal workers [the most numerous], the short-term hires and government employees,” Ofreneo said.

The former dean of the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations said with the omission of Section 3 in the Charter, the passage of legislation favoring the informal sector may become even more unlikely.

A research paper from the Institute of Labor Studies said there are pending bills in the Senate and the House of the Representatives promoting the rights of workers in the informal sector.

State statistics showed that in 2017 there were 15.1 million workers who belong to this sector. They are those employed in family-operated farm of business; self employed; or classified as unpaid family workers.

The International Labour Organization (ILO)

said workers in this sector are considered vulnerable since they have “low pay, limited access to legal and social protection and resources.”

No tripartism

OFRENEO also pointed out the draft Charter also removed the provision of the current Constitution on the “shared responsibility” of employers and workers in promoting industrial peace.

“Both employers and workers should work or consult one another on how this concept can be operationalized firm by firm, with some assistance of the government. Now this concept is missing in the draft,” Ofreneo said.

Ofreneo urged Con-com to copy the provisions for informal workers and tripartism in their draft Charter.

Last week members of the Con-com responded to the criticisms from the labor sector over the removal of the labor provisions of the Constitution on the rights to self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiation and peaceful concerted activities, including the right to stage a labor strike.

The Con-com, however, committed to restore the said provisions stated by the labor groups in the next version of the Charter. It has yet to release any new draft.

AVAO CITY—The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) swung to the southwest of Lanao del Sur to bring relief goods for two weeks to two towns affected by continuing military operation against remnants of the Maute Group, which laid siege on Marawi City.

The ICRC said it is working with the Philippine Red Cross to bring relief to close to 500 families displaced by the outbreak of fighting last month in the southern part of Lanao del Sur province.

“These families have been unable to return home due to security concerns,” the ICRC said, quoting Meher Khatcherian, who heads the ICRC office covering this area. “Though various government agencies have distributed food among the displaced population, there is a need to extend more help,” Khatcherian said. “Our aim is to augment the initial support.”

The ICRC said the two-week ration was distributed on Thursday last week to the displaced families in Pagayawan municipality, comprising around 2,500 people. Each family received 25 kilograms of rice, 1 liter of cooking oil, 1 kg of sugar, 1/2 kg of salt, 1 liter of soy sauce, 12 tins of sardines, as well as two sleeping mats, two blankets, two mosquito nets, kitchen utensils and hygiene items.

The ICRC said more than 14,000 persons were initially displaced by the fighting between government soldiers and alleged terrorists, who the Army said took the name of Islamic State-Ranao. The fighting started on June 17 and affected 16 barangays in Pagayawan and Tubaran.

After the clashes ended, the ICRC said its staff conducted an assessment of the humanitarian situation, “including the need to strengthen the protection accorded to civilians by international humanitarian law.”

“While families displaced from Tubaran returned home days after the assessment, those from Pagayawan continue to stay with relatives or in evacuation centers,” the ICRC said.

“In accordance with our mandate, the ICRC reminds all parties to the conflict to protect civilians, sick and wounded people, and detainees, and to fulfil their obligation to respect international humanitarian law,” Khatcherian said.

The ICRC also donated emergency medical supplies to the Pagayawan rural health unit, which serves 14,500 residents. These items would cover 1,000 people for the next three months. It also donated two weeks ago medicines and medical materials to the Unayan District Hospital in Binidayan town, which provides services to five Lanao del Sur towns, including Pagayawan. Manuel T. Cayon

A4 Monday, July 16, 2018 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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Less than half of Pinoy workers earn living wage–ADB experts L

By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

ess than half of Filipino workers earn a living wage, which prevents families from falling into poverty, according to experts from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

This was according to an Asian Development Blog authored by Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department Statistician Arturo Martinez, as well as Research Assistants Rhea Molato Gayares and Mia Kim Maceda Veloso.

The living wage is the “benchmark wage level” that allows a worker to support his or her family’s basic needs, such as shelter, food and other necessities.

The authors computed that the living monthly wage using 2011 purchasing power parity (PPP) is $254.28 which is enough for a worker to support a family of four.

“Our estimates show that 87 percent of workers in Thailand are earning at least the living wage rate. In Vietnam and Sri Lanka, it is 71 percent and 56 percent, respectively,” the authors said.

“However, less than half of workers in India, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines reach the living wage rate,” they added.

The authors explained that in order to obtain the living wage, they inflated the poverty line figure for a family of four which is at $7.6 per day by 10 percent to make room for discretionary spending. They also assumed that the maximum number of work days per month and work hours per week are 21.5 days and 48 hours, respectively.

They compared this living wage against the actual earnings of workers in India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, taking into account spatial price differences across regions, states and provinces.

The authors said following the experience of “Tiger Economies,” wages increased when agriculture workers move to nonagricultural employment.

As such, the authors found the shares of living wage earners among nonagricultural workers in India and Nepal were 20 percentage points higher than the national average.

“Not surprisingly, the manufacturing sector does well in terms of ensuring that its workers are earning living wages. Agriculture, on the other hand, does not, except in Thailand and Vietnam, where agriculture workers are earning more, on average, than the other countries we studied here,” the authors said.

“What is most interesting to note—and seems to be underappreciated—is that the trade services sector does nearly as well as manufacturing in paying workers a living wage rate or higher,” they added.

To this end, the authors recommended that since the manufacturing and trade services sectors can employ even low-skilled workers, farm workers who are looking for better pay can shift to getting employed in these sectors.

However, not all countries in the region have a robust manufacturing sector such as the Philippines.

The authors said Filipino workers can turn to trade services or jobs/services that help facilitate trade to gain decent wages.

In the Philippines, the authors said, manufacturing employment accounts for only around 8 percent of the work force. This is significantly lower than China, where 16 percent of employment is in manufacturing. “ Thus, while helping the region’s lower-skilled workers transition to manufacturing, trade services and other nonagricultural sectors must be an important component of poverty reduction strategies, equally important is increasing the productivity of workers who remain in it,” the authors said.

“Doing so will be crucial for enabling developing Asia’s poorest break out of poverty and foster more inclusive and sustainable growth,” they added.

Based on the authors’ estimates, there are around 1.2 billion people living on less than $1.90 per day, using 2011 purchasing power parity terms, which is the international poverty line.

In many low- and middle-income countries, around 30 percent of the jobs are in the agriculture sector, where wages are insufficient in keeping millions out of poverty.

Better wages come from manufacturing and trade services. The authors, however, said employment shares by country range between only 8 percent to 18 percent for manufacturing and 11 percent to 22 percent for trade services.

“How can these people break the cycle of poverty and improve their standard of living? A significant part of the answer is contingent on the wages that workers—especially the less educated—are able to make in sectors that employ large numbers of people,” the authors said.

Recently, the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines is pushing for a standard national minimum wage of P800.

A lso, lawmakers belonging to the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives filed a measure that will peg the wages across regions at P750.

Labor groups earlier called on President Duterte to certify as urgent House Bill (HB) 7787, which mandates a national minimum wage of P750.

Once enacted, HB 7787, or the proposed national minimum wage law, will institute a national minimum wage of P750 and lead to the abolition of the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB).

The bill will then transfer the minimum wage-setting function of the NWPC and RTWPBs to the Office of the President.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

US, N. Korea discuss war dead as nuclear dispute simmers

U

NITED States and North Korean officials met on Sunday to discuss the return of remains of American soldiers killed almost seven decades ago during the Korean War, with the talks offering a chance to ease tensions between the two sides as they argue over disarmament issues.

The meeting began around 10 a.m.

Seoul time at the border village of Panmunjom, and it was unclear how long the talks would last, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported, citing unidentified government and US military officials.

The negotiations are the first working-level talks since Secretary of State Michael Pompeo’s visit to Pyongyang earlier this month ended with North Korea denouncing the US’s “unilateral and gangster-like demand for denuclearization.” The Sunday meeting was initially set for Thursday, but was rescheduled after the North Koreans failed to show.

The US Department of Defense estimates that North Korea is holding about 200 sets of remains from some 5,300 American military personnel who went missing during the three-year conflict that ended in 1953. Their recovery has long been among the most emotionally charged issues between the two sides.

Caskets that the US shipped to the border last month haven’t been filled, despite Kim Jong Un’s pledge during his June 12 summit with President Donald J. Trump to immediately repatriate identified remains.

While recovering the war dead would provide Trump a political victory similar to Kim’s May release of three living American detainees, it would do little

to advance the goal of dismantling the regime’s weapons program. The US also risks giving the North Koreans leverage to continue diplomacy and drag out disarmament talks.

“They might eventually return them as a sop to the diplomatic process, but it’s an easy concession to make and it doesn’t really contribute toward denuclearization in any way,” said Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra.

“The question is how long Trump will play along with this before it becomes clear that diplomacy is going nowhere.”

The agreement to meet on the militarized North-South border about American war dead was perhaps the most tangible outcome from Pompeo’s trip, which ended with North Korea criticizing the secretary of state’s lack of emphasis on security guarantees as “regretful.” Pompeo called the talks “productive.”

The divergence in public comments fueled further doubts about whether Trump will ever achieve his goal of “complete denuclearization,” much less on the timeline of one to two-and-a-half years set out by various administration officials.

Nevertheless, Trump on Thursday praised Kim, saying that “great progress” was being made in negotiations. In a Twitter post, Trump attached copies of a July 6 letter from Kim, lauding the US leader’s “energetic and extraordinary efforts” and expressing “invariable trust and confidence” in his ability to advance talks. The letter’s date suggested it was written before Pompeo’s latest visit. AP

Monday, July 16, 2018 A5

Trump seen tapping US oil reserve as pump prices rise

T

he Trump administration is considering tapping into the nation’s emergency supply of crude oil as political pressure grows to rein in rising gasoline prices before congressional elections in November, two people familiar with the situation said.

No decision has been made to release crude from the 660-millionbarrel stockpile, known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but options under review range from a 5-millionbarrel test sale to a larger release of 30 million barrels, said the people who requested anonymity to discuss nonpublic deliberations. An even larger release is possible if it were to be coordinated with other nations.

The national unleaded average gasoline price rose to $2.89 on Friday, an increase of 63 cents from where it was a year ago, according to data from AAA. The US gasoline price average is expected to range between $2.85 per

gallon and $3.05 per gallon through Labor Day, according to the group.

And as prices close in on $3 a gallon, Trump hasn’t been shy about voicing his displeasure.

“Oil prices are too high, OPEC is at it again. Not good!” he said on Twitter last month. On the Fourth of July, Trump tweeted: “The OPEC Monopoly must remember that gas prices are up & they are doing little to help. If anything, they are driving prices higher as the United States defends many of their members for very little $’s. This must be a two way street. REDUCE PRICING NOW!” Oil has retreated since hitting a

TRUMP

three-year high in New York at the start of the month, as the trade clash between the US and China threatened economic growth. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US benchmark, settled at $71.01 a barrel on Friday, up 26 cents for the day but down 3.8 percent for the week.

Analysts remain split on the effect such a release would have and how long it will last. Depending on its size and timing, an oil sale might leave the market unmoved, or have a real, if fleeting, impact on prices.

A release of crude oil in September or October could cut gasoline prices for consumers ahead of November midterm elections. Trump could also use it as a tool to persuade buyers of Iranian oil to halt their purchases in the run-up to November 4, when US

sanctions against the Islamic Republic are due to snap back.

A modest drawdown is already on the horizon. Congress has already mandated the sale of 11 million barrels starting as soon as October 1.

“I would be very surprised if they were not thinking about it,” said Kevin Book, managing director of Washington-based consultancy ClearView Energy Partners.

“The DOE must begin planning its scheduled sales months in advance, so I suspect the timing of a scheduled sale as a market-management tool probably has been on their radar screens for weeks,” Book said.

The oil stockpile, which was created in the 1970s after the Arab oil embargo sent prices skyrocketing and forced Americans to ration gasoline, is mainly meant to be used in emergencies. But it has been tapped in the past to bring down domestic gasoline prices, such as by President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, as well as to fund unrelated domestic legislation.

While Energy Secretary Rick Perry indicated he has no interest in utilizing the reserve, telling reporters last month it is “there for emergencies,” ultimately the decision is up to Trump. Bloomberg News

A6

The Regions

Monday, July 16, 2018 • Editor: Dennis D. Estopace

BusinessMirror

NCCC shopping-mall chain to study ‘untapped’ market of southern PHL

By Manuel T. Cayon

D

@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

AVAO CITY—A chain of shopping malls in Mindanao and Palawan will conduct its own study to determine the needs and behavior of the untapped market in the region where its stores are operating.

The New City Commercial Center (NCCC) chain of malls and supermarkets said the market survey on the communities will be conducted by the fourth quarter of this year, and is separate from its regular monthly surveys done with its regular customers, mainly sari-sari store owners.

Janna Mutalib, head of the branding and events of the NCCC Group, said the community survey would be a needs-assessment survey. Mutalib said the latter is just like the firm’s monthly survey of its Kanegosyo clients of sari-sari store owners, except that the surveyed population would be those who have not frequented or accessed the NCCC stores spread across the Davao region and Palawan.

The community survey would update a similar survey it did five

years ago, she said.

“These researches and market surveys should allow us a lead-on as to market needs and preferences,” Mutalib said. “We have to keep abreast of the market, as many factors have begun to influence and shape the behavior of the population.”

She said the social media and the digital world have all made their deep imprints on the population, as companies now have to embark not only on traditional market advertising but also on digital campaign.

“It’s an era where the bulk of the population is hooked into their gadgets, and quite a number of people are taking their purchasing cue from the digital world,” Mutalib added.

She cited the trend being noticed

lately in the monthly surveys of sarisari store owners in the Davao region, where laundry and health and beauty products have posted a significant spike in the product preferences of even these small retail stores.

It turned out in many other surveys that this marked increase in product preference was largely influenced by the social-media postings and recommendations, as well as they were being persuaded by the digital presentation of these products, Mutalib explained.

The NCCC operates 20 superstores, 25 marts and 50 pharmacy stores in the Island Garden City of Samal, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental and Puerto Princesa.

The company expects to open by January next year its expanded version of a supermarket store to offset the gap after last year’s fire gutted the NCCC Mall along MacArthur Highway.

Mutalib said the NCCC Group would replace the NCCC Mall “with a modern shopping mall to adjust to the changing lifestyle of Filipino mall goers and shoppers.”

Going 40 years this year, the NCCC Group of Cos. would also mount a yearlong market campaign blitz aimed at strengthening continued patronage of small store owners, who have been the

regular attendees of the NCCCsponsored Kanegosyo Congress, an activity fused with discounted prices of basic commodity items and selected lectures and discussions on doing business.

Up to last year, the NCCC credited the mall-sponsored business congress with the high sustainability of operations of the sari-sari stores within its fold, during the past 18 years that the NCCC has started the community project.

Mutalib, who was then the marketing manager of the LTS Retail Specialists Inc., which groups all NCCC brands and stores, said their close mentoring and supervised visits to partner sari-sari stores have helped buoy floundering shops and greatly tossed up successful enterprises. “ We reg u l a rly c hec ked on them, but especially those which occasionally did not show up in our scheduled visits,” she earlier told the BusinessMirror.

NCCC mall personnel would personally visit the particular store, which they noted to have problematic operation, according to Mutalib.

She added employees would also be taught on keeping inventories and maintaining check and balance.

“They would also be given free sessions and lectures on business and other topics on how to sustain their stores,” Mutalib said.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Solon urges regional wage boards to help workers battle inflation

A

deput y minority leader on Sunday urged the country’s regional wage boards (RWBs) to act immediately in providing private-sector workers immediate relief from the rising cost of basic goods and services.

“Measured minimum-wage increases are now more than justified, so we are counting on the boards to do their job,” Makati City Rep. Luis N. Campos Jr. said in a statement.

Citing the Department of Labor and Employment, Campos said there are some 4.1 million minimum-wage earners in the private sector.

Campos added that despite the increasing prices of commodities, only few RWBs have so far ordered minimum pay increases.

These wage boards have implemented the following minimum wage rates: Ilocos region (P265 to P310), Calabarzon or Region 4A (P317 to P400) and Soccsksargen or Region 12 (P311).

Also, the Western Visayas (Region 6) board sets minimum wages at P295 to P365, while Eastern Visayas (Region 8) board implemented P305 minimum wage and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao at P280, with several orders still pending publication and effectivity.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines has already filed a wage petition for a P320 acrossthe-board pay hike in the National Capital Region.

Moreover, the lawmaker said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) itself expects consumer price increases to gather steam in the current quarter.

“The BSP has basically implied that the 5.2-percent inf lation rate in June—already the highest in more than five years—is bound to worsen before it eases,” Campos added.

Again citing the BSP, he said inflation “peak will probably occur sometime in the third quarter,” before slowing down to between 2 percent to 4 percent in 2019.

Meanwhile, Campos said public-sector workers are in a better position to cope with higher inflation.

“Government employees received the third installment of their salary increases in January this year, and are expected to receive the fourth and last portion in January 2019,” he said.

Campos was referring to the four-year phased implementation beginning 2016 of the compensation adjustment for government personnel under Executive Order 201 of 2016. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Monday, July 16, 2018

A7

SRA to DA: Include sugar in SRP scheme

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

T

@jearcalas

he Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said it is mulling over a suggested retail price (SRP) for sugar to protect consumers from unscrupulous traders who have taken advantage of a shortage of the sweetener required by beverage makers.

SR A Ad ministrator Hermenigildo R. Serafica told the BusinessMirror that he will propose to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol the inclusion of sugar in the list of farm products covered by the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) SRP scheme.

Serafica added that he and Piñol have initially discussed the inclusion of sugar during consultations held by the DA on the implementation of the SRP scheme.

“Sugar will be included in the SRP,” he said via SMS. “SRA will make its recommendation.”

Serafica said the “high” retail price of sugar today is brought about by “the erroneous perception being circulated by enterprising individuals that there is a shortage in sugar.”

“The shortage is in the bottlers’ grade or premium refined sugar

required by beverage companies, such as Coke. This type of sugar has very specific quality requirements and standards that can be met by only a handful of sugar refiners in the Philippines,” he said in a statement issued over the weekend.

“Some are taking advantage of the issue of the lack of sugar for bottlers and using this to propagate high prices even for standard refined and raw sugar, which has no shortage. Even though farmgate prices have started to go down, retail prices remain high,” he added.

Serafica said the governmentowned and -controlled corporation of the DA has already notified a grocery chain “with exorbitant prices well beyond the prevailing prices.” The “grocery chain” has been required to reply within five days upon receipt of the notice.

As of July 10 the prevailing price of raw sugar is P50 per kilogram in Metro Manila wet markets, while it costs P55 per kg in supermarkets. The retail price of refined sugar in Metro Manilabased wet markets is at P65 per kg, while those sold in supermarkets is pegged at P64 per kg.

The prevailing retail price of raw sugar in the market today is P8 higher than the average of P47 per kg recorded at the start of the year, according to SRA data. The prevailing price of refined sugar has gone up by at least P10 per kg since January.

On a yearly basis, the prevailing retail price of raw sugar rose

by P10 per kg, while that of refined sugar grew by P12 per kg, SRA data showed.

The SRA has allowed the importation of 200,000 metric tons of sugar to plug the shortfall in local production. Of the volume, 100,000 MT was allocated for bottlers’ grade refined sugar; 50,000 MT, standard grade refined sugar; and 50,000 MT, raw sugar for domestic consumption.

Earlier, Piñol said the country’s total sugar production in the current crop year ending August 31 may fall below the SRA’s estimated output of 2.27 MMT by as much as 200,000 MT. This means that total sugar production may settle at around 2.07 MMT, 17.2 percent lower than the 2.5 MMT produced in the previous crop year.

Rice output likely rose by 1.56% in H1–PSA

T

he country’s unmilled rice production in the first half likely expanded by 1.56 percent to 8.703 million metric tons, from 8.569 MMT recorded a year ago, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In its latest output forecast, the PSA also revised upward its projection for palay production for the April-to-June period to 4.08 MMT, from its earlier estimate of 4.05 MMT. “Additions in palay production are foreseen in Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, Quezon, Mindoro Oriental and Surigao Sur resulting from control of pests and diseases and sufficient water supply during the cropping period,” the PSA said in its report published recently.

However, despite the increase in projection, the PSA’s latest output forecast for second quarter is still 1.69 percent lower than the 4.15

MMT recorded volume during the April-to-June period of 2017.

“Similarly, harvest area may contract to 932,640 hectares, from last year’s level of 947,190 hectares,” it said. “Yield may probably decline by 0.2 percent, from 4.38 metric tons per hectare in 2017.”

However, the 4.62-percent yearon-year expansion in the first quarter palay output would allow the country to surpass its total first half production last year.

The country produced 4.623 MMT of palay in the January-toMarch period, higher than the 4.419 MMT recorded in the first quarter of 2017.

The PSA said one of the reasons behind the 4.62-percent increase in the first quarter was the early planting and harvesting by farmers “due to construction of newly irrigation facilities from previous rainfed areas which encouraged the

farmers to plant earlier than usual.”

Also, the higher prevailing farmgate prices of palay enticed farmers to plant and harvest rice earlier.

As of June 1 the PSA said about 824,660 hectares, or 88.4 percent, of the standing crop for the April-to-June period have been harvested.

“Of the updated 595,240 hectares standing palay crop, 58.7 percent were at vegetative stage, 20 percent at reproductive stage and 21.3 percent at maturing stage,” it added.

Furthermore, the PSA said about 487,270 hectares, or 56.1 percent, of the farmers’ planting intentions for the July-to-September period have materialized.

In the same report, the PSA said corn output in the second quarter likely reached 1.28 MMT, slightly lower than its earlier projection of 1.27 MMT. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Green Monday BusinessMirror

A8 Monday, July 16, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Who’s afraid of dengue?

With frogs, there’s no need for Dengvaxia

By Michael A. Bengwayan | Special to the BusinessMirror

to nature for help. The frogs are our most effective allies in the fight against the fearsome Aedes aegypti mosquito.”

“We are rallying communities not to kill the frogs by not using insecticides for the fourth successive year and positive results are showing,” she added.

Villanueva noted that the BSU team encourages locals to make ponds for frogs to naturally set in.

They are also distributing pairs of male and female frogs to farmers and hobbyists.

Villanueva led scientists, community leaders, citizens and students to celebrate and strengthen the annual International Save the Frogs Day, which coincided with Earth Day in April.

BSU has set up a ver y large f rog pond to increase f rog popu l at ion. “ T he popu l at ion of frogs in the Philippines has decreased because of pesticides that destroyed large tracts of frog habitat,” she said.

“It must be brought back by urging communities to care for the remaining frogs, maintain a clean environment and [encourage] the passage and implementation of strict frog-conservation laws,” Villanueva expressed hope, as many students exhibited several ways in saving the frogs through posters, essays, poems, slogans, video and graphic illustrations.

H

umans never learn. All of nature by God’s design is medicine. But we chose to kill many, like the frogs.

For that the Philippines is faced with a nightmare from a vaccine called Dengvaxia—which was falsely trumpeted as a silver bullet against dengue.

And the dengue threat—which is increasing every year—hangs like Damocles’s sword over each Filipino’s head. Now everyone is afraid of Dengvaxia and the death it brings.

For instance, Dignay (not his real name) and 12 other children are dead. All took the questionable vaccine. The fate of thousands more children hangs in the balance. But who needs Dengvaxia when we have frogs?

Vanishing frogs

Unfortunately, frogs—the best defense against mosquitoes—are struggling to stay alive in this world.

Dengue is a tropical disease caused by a virus of the Aedes aegypti mosquito. These mosquitoes were traditionally controlled by frogs.

As rains hover, and the temperature goes up, dengue rears its ugly head.

The carrier of the deadly virus, Aedes aegypti, is multiplying by the millions, while scientists and local communities, racing against time, wanted to turn back to frogs for help after the man-made medicine is failing.

Saving the frogs an uphill climb

“Many communities now realize they have to be a part of nature, and not apart from it, in order to exist today, given all the occurring diseases and ailments,” Dr. Grace Taguba Bengwayan, Benguet State University (BSU) professor, told this writer while

observing the large crowd that participated in the International Save the Frogs Day. “But it will be a long fight to bring back the once-plentiful frog population,” she lamented.

Her statement stems from another scientist’s discovery that not only frogs, but all the amphibian population in the Philippines are on the verge of being wiped out.

The Philippines’s amphibian specialist, Dr. Letecia Afuang, said the Philippine amphibian population have drastically gone down in the past 20 years.

Afuang, a professor at the University of the Philippines at Los Baños (UPLB) and in charge of the assessment of conservation status of Philippine amphibians, said that there is a lack of awareness among Filipinos of the Philippine amphibians and their relevance, leading to the destruction of the creatures.

She noted with approval the efforts being launched by BSU and the communities around it in saving the frogs, but equally warned that there is grave danger of an outbreak of diseases in other places in the Philippines where many amphibians and reptiles are becoming extinct.

This is because the population of disease-transmitting insects and vectors is increasing and spreading, while their traditional predators are dwindling in number.

“As a result, mosquitoes, including the malaria-transmitting Anopheles and the deadly dengue-causing Aedes aeg ypti, are multiplying in great number, further endangering the health of thousands of not only

WikiMedia commons

Filipinos but [other] Asians,” Afuang said.

Community activity

Bengwayan and Afuang believe t hat br ing ing bac k t he frogs, which used to abound in

the land, is possible with the communities’ help.

Dr. Luciana Villanueva, former BSU vice president for research and extension, pointed out to this writer: “We have no other recourse but to turn back

We have no other recourse but to turn back to nature for help.

The frogs are our most effective allies in the fight against the fearsome Aedes aegypti mosquito.”—Villanueva

Global warming increases mosquitoes and kills amphibians

The Environmental nongovernment organization Cordillera Ecological Center (CEC) based in Benguet, on the other hand, said through a statement released on Earth Day last year that the issue of Aedes aegypti mosquito population increasing is due to global warming and the death of its natural enemies.

CEC said: “Dengue epidemic in the Philippines occur annually in the later half of the year following the onset of rainfall and the increasing temperature.

It becomes more pronounced on El Niño periods.”

“It is then important to have a mov ing average temperature index yearly so that it becomes a signal or early-warning device to the public that dengue w ill not only be a possibility but w ill be w idespread in nature,” CEC ex plained.

“Unfortunately, the rapid rise of Aedes aegypti’s population is being aggravated by the disappearance of many mosquito predators like frogs, lizards, spiders, salamanders and other beneficial small wildlife,” CEC said.

CEC won the World Bank Environmental Award in 2008 for being able to determine the onset and spread of dengue-carrying mosquitoes by studying temperature increases.

“The rise of temperature favors disease-carrying insects, while equally threatening beneficial small wildlife like amphibians and reptiles that prey on insect pests.

For instance, four frog [species] are now extinct in the country.

Global warming and chemicals have destroyed their habitats,” CEC emphasized.

The Declining Amphibian Population Task Force of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) supports CEC’s disclosure, saying that ionizing radiation of ultraviolet B resulting from ozone-layer depletion has something to do with the decline of amphibian population worldwide.

This situation is overly evident in the Philippines. T he IUCN named the Philippines as one of the world ’s top 20 biodiversity hot spots because of numerous extinct and vanishing living species.

And if the frogs aren’t saved, they may just end up in the long list of IUCN’s Red Handbook of extinct animals.

Bengwayan has a master’s degree and PhD in Development Studies and Environmental Resource Management from the University College Dublin, Ireland, as a European Union fellow. He is currently a fellow of Echoing Green Foundation in New York.

Experts: Whale shark sighting in Boracay ‘not surprising’

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

E

nvironmental groups said there’s an increased sighting of large marine mammals in Philippine waters this year, notably the whale shark or butanding.

This came as the reported sighting of a whale shark near Boracay Island two months into the top holiday destination’s closure stirred positive comments.

Boracay Island, in t he tow n of Ma lay, A k lan, is k now n for it s w h it e - s a nd b e a c he s a nd pr istine waters.

But whale shark watching is not among its attractions. It is, however, a tourist activity in Donsol, Sorsogon, and Oslob, Cebu, where these gentle giants congregate during migration to feed on plankton.

Boracay Island is home to several local and some endemic species of bats and birds, while its beaches and reefs are teeming with wildlife, including several species of fishes and marine turtles that are threatened by tourism activities.

Whale sharks visiting the island’s water is “not new.” But because of tourism activities, particularly water sports, sightings became very rare.

Presidential Spokesman Harry

L. Roque Jr. said the reported sighting of a butanding only means the on-going rehabilitation effort on the country’s top tourist destination is gaining ground.

This, however, raised eyebrows among environmental groups, saying such claim is inconclusive.

Weighing in on Roque’s claim, they said the sighting of whale sharks and other marine wildlife is a normal thing near Boracay Island and other areas around Panay Island, that it should not be attributed to the “successful rehabilitation” of Boracay.

In fact, they said butanding can be seen even in Manila Bay, one of the most polluted areas in the Philippines.

Reacting to Roque’s statement, AA Yaptinchay, founder of Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines, said the fact that Boracay was closed to tourists made it ideal for visiting marine wildlife like the whale sharks.

“It is good that there has been some marine wildlife reported around Boracay Island after it was shut down, including the whale shark last week and reef sharks earlier. Some marine animals avoid areas that are highly disturbed and polluted. For example, Boracay Island is a nesting ground for marine turtles, but this happens only in dark,

quiet and undisturbed places,” Yaptinchay added.

He said nesting rarely occurs on the island these days because of tourism activities.

“Seawalls, light, noise, boat traffic and even domestic animals affect the presence of wildlife in and around an island. The whale shark sighting just shows that removing any disturbance and addressing degradation of habitats is the key for marine life to flourish,” he said.

However, he said there has been a lot of whale shark sighting around the Philippines this year. “[It is] not surprising that they showed up around Panay [Island], too,” he said.

Yaptinchay said the sighting of a whale shark in Boracay should not be considered a sign that the ongoing rehabilitation is already a success. “ W ha le sha rk s ut i l i ze t he Philippines as a feeding and pupping ground, as well as a migratory corridor. They are found throughout the country but aggregate in productive coastlines with plankton blooms where they feed,” he explained.

He added that Malacañang failed to measure anything scientifically in making its conclusion.

“The presence of one whale shark now compared to what?

Whale shark area all over the country? Again, removing the disturbance in a natural area will be repopulated by wildlife, if any are left,” he said.

Vince Cinches, oceans and political campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia-Philippines, echoed Yaptinchay’s observation that butanding sighting is a regular occurrence in Boracay.

He added that using it as an indicator of the health of the sea is fake news “as whale sharks are migratory species.”

“The government should stop hyping on wrong metrics to the rehabilitation, and instead speak of the details of the rehabilitation plan, what was achieved and what is still needed,” he said.

According to Cinches, the public needs to see the real picture on what is happening on the island— from the environment, the state of the people and state of governance. For example, how many individuals and government officers responsible for giving out permits to the operation of unscrupulous businesses are made accountable?

“We understand that they are as excited as we are [about the whale shark sighting], but I am sure the rest of the public and other public servants would agree that butanding sighting is not an indicator of success,” Cinches said.

For his part, Leon Dulce, national coordinator of the Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment, said a third-party investigation has yet to verify the success of the rehabilitation on Boracay Island.

“How can the government claim that the whale shark sighting is related to the success of its so-called rehabilitation efforts when what it did was merely close the island in the first place?” he said.

According to Dulce, the whale shark was most likely a stray and did not have anything to do with the rehabilitation efforts.

“Divers say that some whale sharks occasionally pass by the waters off Boracay, with documented reports going back to as early as 2010—long before the rehabilitation efforts. It is even possible that due to the dearth of studies conducted, visiting the waters off Boracay could actually be part of some of these whale sharks’ normal behavior, regardless of what is happening [on the island],” he pointed out.

Another factor, Dulce said, is that the oceans are already warming globally.

“Since they [bodies of water] comprise the planet’s largest surface area, they absorb most of the heat from an increasingly warm atmosphere. The Philippines’s

seas are not immune to these temperature changes. When there are drastic temperature changes in the sea, the marine chemistry and current routes also change,” he pointed out. He said these events, in turn, influence how nutrients within the sea flow.

“Where the nutrients go, the krill [small crustaceans] go also.

And where the krill go, there the whale shark also go. Thus, there are many other factors why whale sharks like this recently reported could have strayed from the species’ expected and widely documented migration routes,” he said.

According to Dulce, there is no concrete evidence backing Roque’s claim, adding that the sighting of a whale shark should not be used to justify sacrificing 24,000 workers who were affected by President Duterte’s unjust closure order.

It should be noted that the global population of whale sharks is on the decline. It is considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Its long lifespan and late maturation makes it difficult to breed.

In some cases, whale sharks become victims of accidental bycatch.

It is listed, along with other shark species, under the Convention on Migratory Species-Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks.

Biodiversity Monday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Monday, July 16, 2018

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • www.businessmirror.com.ph

A9

Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act

Strengthening the management of protected areas in Philippines B

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

iodiversity conservation government officials and experts welcomed President Duterte’s signing into law on June 22 the Republic Act 11038, or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (E-Nipas) Act. The law amends the previous version of the law, Republic Act 7586, or the National Integrated Protected Areas System (Nipas), which promotes and strengthens the management of protected areas in the Philippines, and to protect and conserve the country’s rich biodiversity against various threats.

As the title suggests, E-Nipas expands the areas covered and the number of protected areas and national parks declared as mandated by legislations or laws, on top of imposing a stricter penalty and higher fines against violators of the law.

Stronger protection

There are 240 protected areas under Nipas but only 13 are backed by laws, while the rest is covered by presidential proclamations or executive orders, which are considered only as initial components and may be disestablished by the Env i ron me nt a nd Nat u r a l R e sou rce s (DENR) upon the recommendation of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), the highest policymaking body of a protected area.

The E-Nipas law increases the number of protected areas from 13 to 107 that cannot be disestablished without act of Congress. A protected area that was established by a law can only be disestablished by another law. Hence, it is given stronger protection against potentially destructive development projects like mining, quarrying, logging, or the establishment of an agricultural and agroforestry plantation that has besieged some protected areas, such as those in Palawan province.

Officials of the Department of DENR hailed the signing of the law, saying that it enhances the protection of the country’s key biodiversity areas, including its threatened plants and animal wildlife, some of which are endemic to the Philippines.

Moreover, in the face of climate change’s biggest threats, protecting and conserving the country’s natural defense against calamities, they added, enhances the community’s

chances of survival especially in areas that are prone to disasters.

Expanded coverage

En v ironment Undersecretar y, for Policy, Planning and International Affairs and the concurrent Spokesman of Env ironment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu Jonas R. Leones told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview on July 3 that E-Nipas fulfills the Nipas law because it adds more protected areas that are backed with legislation This means expanded coverage in terms of land area, both in the terrestrial and marine territory.

“With this E-Nipas law, we have substantially fulfilled Nipas with the additional protected areas being covered by the law,” he said.

“We expect more funding and stronger protection for these protected areas under E-Nipas. The law provides for the legal framework for additional funding for their protection,” Leones added.

For her part, Environment Undersecretary Analiza R. Teh, for Climate Change and Mining Concerns, said the signing of the E-Nipas law is “a very welcome development in the country’s fight against climate change and nature conservation.”

Stronger adaptive capacity “We preserve the ecosystem and at the same time enhance our adaptive capacity. With this law, we expect that we will have a more proactive [local government units ] to form the [PAMB] and formulate their respective Protected Area Management Plan,” Teh said.

In a telephone interview on July 3, Teh said that by 2020, she expects increased budget allocation for the 107 protected areas, and also others that are not yet covered or backed with legislation.

Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato of Occidental Mindoro, a principal author of the original bill in the House of Representatives, said in a statement that E-Nipas lumps together 94 protected areas with a total land area

oriental wrasse are known to inhabit coral reefs with abundant invertebrates, which they feed on. Oceana/UPLB of 3.5 million hectares, slightly over 10 percent of the country’s total land area of 30 million ha., adding them to the list of legislated protected areas.

The forests are the country’s biggest carbon sink. Expanding the country’s forest cover through massive tree planting is a strategy being adopted by the Philippines through the DENR. This aims to reduce its carbon emissions by a whopping 70 percent from 2020 to 2030 as part of its commitment under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

A signatory to various international treaties, including the Convent ion on Biolog ic a l Diversit y (CBD), the Philippines’s establishment of protected areas is one of its effective conservation measures to prevent biodiversity loss.

law is one big step toward sustainability and a greener tomorrow for the present and future generation,” Raminez-Sato noted.

For her part, Sen. Cynthia A Villar, who chairs the Senate Committees on Environment and Natural Resources and on Agriculture, looks at the E-Nipas Act as an important legislation to ensure the protection of the country’s diverse natural resources.

“The Philippines’s rich biodiversity is a source of pride and joy for all of us Filipinos. We actively protect and strongly defend the breadth and depth of our territories to ensure that the future generation of Filipinos will still have the opportunity to take pride and find joy in our country’s rich biodiversity,” Villar said in a statement.

Bigger budget

Protection of marine resources

More important, Ramirez-Sato said the E-Nipas increases the budget for protected areas, from P65 million per year to possibly P535 million, an increase of approximately 823 percent in the annual General Appropriations Act. This means increased funding for rehabilitation and development, stronger protection against hunting or harvesting of wildlife resources and against potentially destructive development projects in these areas, particularly those that will be declared as strict protection zone, including agricultural and agroforestr y, log ging, quarr y ing and mining activities.

E-Nipas facilitates a broader PAMB composition, ensuring efficient dayto-day operation through the Protected Area Management Office.

R amirez-Sato added t hat t he enactment of the E-Nipas demonstrates the countr y’s commitment to strengthen protected area management in the Philippines.

“Truly, the signing of E-Nipas into

Ocean conservation advocacy group Oceana Philippines lauded the timely passage of the E-Nipas Act, on the heels of President Duterte’s recent declaration of Philippine Rise Marine Resource Reserve as the latest protected area in the country.

“We laud the timely passage of the E-Nipas Act. It will enhance the conservation efforts undertaken in our unique but vastly threatened biodiversity and ecosystems, including our marine habitats,” said lawyer Gloria Estenzo Ramos, vice president of Oceana Philippines.

“As the ‘center of the center’ of marine biodiversity in the world, it is high time that our biologically significant protected areas be given the highest priority and protection they deserve, to ensure that our national treasures continue to sustain the current and the future generations of Filipinos,” Ramos added.

She explained that the passage of the E-Nipas Act provides a national legislation for all protected areas to ensure their ecological integrity.

This includes the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape, one of the largest marine protected areas in the Philippines and declared as a protected seascape through a presidential proclamation in 1998.

Salient provisions

Among the salient provisions of the law are scientific and technical support for biodiversity conservation; delineation and demarcation of boundaries; deputation of support, especially on enforcement to the Protected Area Superintendent; and regular reporting on the status of the Integrated Protected Area Fund and allocating 75 percent of all revenues raised to the PAMB, she said.

More important, Ramos said the law prohibits the use and possession of destructive fishing gears within the protected seascape.

The E-Nipas Act also expands the mandates of the Department of Justice to appoint special prosecutors handling cases specifically related to protected areas, and assist in the training of wardens and rangers in arrests and criminal procedures, she added.

Very timely law

Asean Centre for Biodiversity Executive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim, a former director of the Biodiversity Management Bureau of the DENR, said the signing of E-Nipas Act into law by President Duterte comes at a very opportune time.

“Right now, we are developing here at the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Meeting in Montreal [Canada] recommendations on how to better achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Target 11. These recommendations shall be put forward eventually as decisions at the CBD Conference of the Parties in Egypt in November. Thus, we are so proud to receive this good news from Manila,” Lim said.

The Aichi Biodiversity Targets were declared during the CBD’s 10th Conference of Parties in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture in Japan, in October 2010.

The Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 states that “ by 2020, at least 17 percent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 percent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes.”

“As chairman of the [Montreal] meeting and as ACB executive director, we are finding ways to highlight this in the Conference by spreading the good news among colleagues in Asean and with partners,” Lim noted.

“Other than the additional 94 national parks, covering about 3 million ha from only 13 previously enacted protected areas of around 800,000 hectares, the law now provides more incentives to protect the protected areas, but also stiffer [penalties] when it comes to violators and exploiters of these high biodiversity areas,” she said.

Lim added that the new law urges local government units within and around the protected areas to mainstream into their plans and programs measures to effectively manage parts of the protected areas within their political jurisdiction.

“It is my hope that with this law, if properly enforced, will enable the Philippines to maximize the benefits of its rich biological diversity, and scale up these efforts, as well as these benefits, at the regional level,” Lim said.

According to Lim, in one document that is being discussed in the CBD meeting, the benefits of protected areas are elaborated: “Protected areas safeguard the biodiversity and ecosystems that underpin the Sustainable Development Goals. Protected areas are especially important in achieving goals related to poverty alleviation, water security, carbon sequestration, climate-change adaptation, economic development and disaster-risk reduction.

“Protected areas are an essential strategy for the emerging field of nature-based solutions to various global challenges, such as water security. They are particularly important as a naturebased solution for climate mitigation and climate adaptation. Nature provides at least a third of climate solutions if the planet is to stay under 1.5 degrees Celsius, and protected areas are an essential strategy for achieving this goal.”

As.e.a.n. assesses progress in achieving conservation targets T

he Asean Member States (AMS) joined the other parties in recognizing the importance of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) in sustaining protected areas, particularly in achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Target 11, at the 22nd meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 22) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Montreal, Canada, last week.

“The identification of OECMs in Asean are timely as the region assesses its progress toward the achievement of Aichi Target 11. Quantifying areas covered by OECMs will help AMS close that gap”, said Dr. Naing Zaw Htun of Myanmar’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, as he read Asean’s group statement on the agenda item 10 on protected areas.

At the recent target-setting meeting on the Asean Strategic Plan on Environment, the AMS identified a gap of 180,000 square kilometers to enable the compliance with the 17-percent target for terrestrial and inland waters, from a baseline of 13 percent.

The Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 aims that, “by 2020 at least 17 percent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 percent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas and other effective areabased conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes.”

The Aichi Biodiversity Targets are 20 global

targets under the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 of the CBD. They were declared during the 10th CBD meeting in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, in October 2010.

Strengthening protected area conservation: E-Nipas

One AMS that has enacted a new law to expand its protected areas is the Philippines, through Republic Act 11038, or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018, or E-Nipas, which mobilizes government resources to conserve and protect ecologically rich and unique areas within the classification of a national park. The law was signed on June 22.

Through the law, 94 more protected areas were identified for conservation, which expanded

the coverage of protected areas in the Philippines, thus a direct contribution to the achievement of Aichi Target 11.

“The approval of this law resulted in 94 [3,096,410.01 hectares] new legislated protected areas in the Philippines; a dramatic increase from the 13 [894,262.16 ha] existing legislated protected areas,” said Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim, the CBD SBSTTA chairman.

Lim is currently the executive director of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity and the former director of the Biodiversity Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines.

“This [signing of E-Nipas into law] represents a giant leap. These new protected areas not only contribute to improving the quantitative

elements of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11, but they also improve the qualitative aspects of this target, other Aichi Targets, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and other globally agreed goals,” said CBD Executive Secretary Cristiana Pasca Palmer.

Increasing the network of protected areas

The AMS are implementing various measures to protect its uniquely representative habitats and ecosystems through its Asean Heritage Parks (AHP) program. Protected areas benefit from being declared as an AHP through capacity-building activities for park managers and stakeholders in the form of various learning events, such as trainings and workshops.

AHPs also receive technical assistance from the AHP Secretariat and its network of partners.

Being an AHP also increases the park’s visibility as a prime ecotourism destination and model for effective protected area management.

Participation of and collaboration among AHP stakeholders in the implementation of research and development programs and projects are also maximized and strengthened when a protected area is declared as an AHP. Parks declared as AHPs are first in line for available funding through the secretariat’s programs and projects. The ACB serves as the secretariat of the AHP program. To date, there are 40 declared AHPs, and this network of biologically rich protected areas continue to increase through the collective efforts of the AMS.

A10 Monday, July 16, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

The ‘fourth wall’ is gone

N

ow that President Duterte has apparently apologized to God for calling Him stupid, maybe we can look at this from another viewpoint.

There is a concept for the stage theater called the “fourth wall.” It is a performance idea that an invisible wall separates actors from the audience. The players on the stage can see but ignore the people. The audience sees the players but cannot interact with them. And the audience sees what the actors want them to see. The champagne is actually Sprite, and the murderer’s knife is a rubber prop.

Until a decade or so ago, there was a fourth wall separating people and celebrities of all types, and of course the politicians.

Former French President François Mitterrand had a “secret” 30-year relationship with his mistress, which produced a daughter—Mazarine Pingeot. Ms. Pingeot was born seven months after the 1974 election, which Mitterrand lost. Had he won, his mistress would have given birth while he was in office.

Everyone “knew’” of his relationship, but no one talked about it.

President John F. Kennedy said to a number of people, including British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, that “if I don’t have a woman every three days or so I get a terrible headache.” According to published reports ranging from former Secret Service agents to the letters sent

by JFK, he gained relief from his headaches from ladies other than his wife. No one talked much about it in public.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt contracted Guillain-Barré syndrome—thought to be polio at the time—in 1921 and was paralyzed from the waist down. Using a wheelchair, he could stand and walk short distances, and his condition was publicly known. However, the press never photographed Roosevelt with his wheelchair visible. The fourth wall held firm.

In December 1950 then-President Harry Truman read in the Washington Post a review of his daughter Margaret’s concert performance as a professional singer. Until that time, Margaret had been behind the fourth-wall. In this case Paul Hume, the Post’s music critic, wrote: “Miss Truman cannot sing very well.” Her father—the President—broke the wall by writing to Mr. Hume, “Someday I hope to meet you. When that happens you’ll need a new nose.” Both the review and the response were shocking.

In 2018 the fourth wall of separation seems to have disappeared. Social media has changed that. The list of world leaders active on Twitter— from Pope Francis to impeached Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff—has brought the audience on to the stage and the actors into the audience.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has over 10 million followers, as does Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Donald J. Trump took his campaign message, and now his presidential thoughts directly to his 50 million followers in real time, with spelling errors and video links.

President Duterte is an exception by not using Twitter. Yet, in the Philippines, the fourth wall between the public and politicians has been dropped for a long time. Who can forget President Cory Aquino showing reporters that there was no space under her bed as she sued columnist Luis Beltran for writing that “the president hid under her bed while the firing was going on” during the 1989 coup attempt.

With the constant public appearances of the President, we see almost daily the unfiltered opinions and thoughts of Mr. Duterte. We want transparency, but to misquote from the movie A Few Good Men, maybe “You can’t—or don’t want to—live with the transparency.”

A letter for peace from the CBCP Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

Part One

I

would like to give some space for a summary of the letter written by Most Rev. Romulo Valles, DD, the Archbishop of Davao and president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines on July 9. The letter, titled “CBCP Pastoral Exhortation: Rejoice and be glad!”, has been making the rounds of socialmedia spaces of late. This, I believe, was written in reaction to the President’s remark about God, as well as the uproar that it elicited from the faithful here and abroad.

In the first part of the letter, the Archbishop wrote that if we want to be called children of God, then we need to learn how to spread peace in the midst of the turbulent times we are experiencing right now. This

Foreign divorce in mixed marriages

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means that we need to bring love to people, especially in situations where there is too much hatred, show forgiveness when there is hurt, faith in doubt, hope when there is hopelessness, light in times of darkness and

happiness when there is sadness.

He also said that our fellow men are not the enemy, and we are not using guns and bullets in battle. We can’t wear bulletproof vests as protection from the enemy because the fight is spiritual in nature. The faithful is being called to make greater efforts at spreading peace during this time of hatred and violence, when we have gotten used to everyday killings and the exchange of hostility on social media.

The peace of Jesus is not of compromise or defeat from evil. It is also not the kind of peace that does not involve struggle or dispute, because Jesus Himself was renounced by His people in Nazareth, labeled crazy by His own relatives, and branded as the prince of evil. He was even called a drunkard and protector of tax collectors and sinners. But He showed us the right way to face these things.

Sometimes, we are like His disciples who feared easily or became anxious. We sink or fail because

Atty. Lorna Patajo-Kapunan

legally speaking

I

n a recent landmark ruling in Republic of the Philippines v.

Marelyn Tanedo Manalo (GR 221029, April 24, 2018), the Supreme Court held that a foreign divorce secured by a Filipino is also considered valid in the Philippines, even if it is the Filipino spouse who files for divorce abroad. With 10 Justices in favor, 3 Dissenting (Associate Justices del Castillo, Perlas-Bernabe, Caguioa) 1 Abstaining (Justice Jardeleza, then solicitor general) and former Chief Justice Sereno on leave, the Supreme Court affirmed the Decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) Tenth Division that reversed a Dagupan Regional Trial Court (RTC) Decision, which ruled that “the kind of divorce recognized here in the Philippines are those validly obtained by the alien spouse abroad, not by the Filipino spouse pursuant to Article 26 of the Family Code.”

Petitioner was a certain Marelyn Tanedo Manalo who was married to a Japanese national, Minoru Yoshino.

Manalo (not her Japanese husband) filed for and was granted divorce in Japan sometime in 2011. Manalo filed with a Dagupan RTC to have her Japanese divorce recognized in the Philippines. The RTC denied her Petition, which was subsequently reversed by the CA in 2014. The CA recognized the foreign divorce and ruled that Manalo had the right to remarry. The Supreme Court affirmed this CA Decision.

Excerpts from the Majority Decision penned by Justice Diosdado M. Peralta are herein quoted.

“Paragraph 2 of Article 26 speaks of “a divorce x x x validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or

her to remarry.” Based on a clear and plain reading of the provision, it only requires that there be a divorce validly obtained abroad. The letter of the law does not demand that the alien spouse should be the one who initiated the proceeding wherein the divorce decree was granted. It does not distinguish whether the Filipino spouse is the petitioner or the respondent in the foreign divorce proceeding. The Court is bound by the words of the statute xxx .”

“The purpose of Paragraph 2 of Article 26 is to avoid the absurd situation where the Filipino spouse remains married to the alien spouse who, after a foreign divorce decree that is effective in the country where it was rendered, is no longer married to the Filipino spouse. The provision

is a corrective measure to address an anomaly where the Filipino spouse is tied to the marriage while the foreign spouse is free to marry under the laws of his or her country. Whether the Filipino spouse initiated the foreign divorce proceeding or not, a favorable decree dissolving the marriage bond and capacitating his or her alien spouse to remarry will have the same result: The Filipino spouse will effectively be without a husband or wife. A Filipino who initiated a foreign divorce proceeding is in the same place and in like circumstance as a Filipino who is at the receiving end of an alien initiated proceeding. Therefore, the subject provision should not make a distinction. In both instance, it is extended as a means to recognize the residual effect of the foreign divorce decree on Filipinos whose marital ties to their alien spouses are severed by operation of the latter’s national law.

“On the contrary, there is no real and substantial difference between a Filipino who initiated foreign divorce proceedings and a Filipino who obtained a divorce decree upon the instance of his or her alien spouse.

In the eyes of the Philippine and foreign laws, both are considered as Filipinos who have the same rights and obligations in an alien land. The circumstances surrounding them are alike. Were it not for Paragraph 2 of Article 26, both are still married to their foreigner spouses who are no longer their wives/husbands. Hence, to make a distinction between them based merely on the superficial difference of whether they initiated the divorce proceedings or not is utterly unfair. Indeed, the treatment gives

of our little faith, the Archbishop said. But the truth is that there is no one else who can bring us peace in turbulent times except Him who promised that He would always be by our side.

This is not new, he said: killing priests who bear witness for Christ and stand by their faith. Murderers who silence prophets with the use of bullets is also nothing new to us.

Leaders who perform their duties like Christ are being insulted, and we have also seen this before. The Archbishop asks: Have we forgotten that it was the blood of martyrs that has served as seed for Christianity and kept it alive for more than 2,000 years? There is nothing to fear, he said. Let us simply do what is being asked of us: Don’t fear those who kill only the flesh but cannot kill the spirit. We should be more afraid of that which can kill both body and soul.

To be continued

undue favor to one and unjustly discriminate against the other. x x x” “To be sure, a good number of the Filipinos led by the Roman Catholic Church react adversely to any attempt to enact a law on absolute divorce, viewing it as contrary to our customs, morals and traditions that has looked upon marriage and family as an institution and their nature of permanence, inviolability and solidarity. However, none of our laws should be based on any religious law, doctrine or teaching; otherwise, the separation of Church and State will be violated.”

In a separate Concurring Opinion, Justice Marvic Leonen, underscored the reality that it is the Filipino wife who is prejudiced if Article 26 of our Family Code is given “an interpretation which capacitates and empowers the Japanese husband the option to divorce and how such choice has effects in our country while, at the same time, disallowing the Filipina wife from being able to do the same simply because she is a Filipina.”

“That interpretation may be unconstitutional. Article II, Section 14 of our Constitution provides: Section 14. The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building, and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men.

“This constitutional fiat advances the notion of gender equality from its passive formulation in Article III, Section 1 to its more active orientation.

Indeed, our laws were never intended for the Filipino to be at a disadvantage. In the words of Justice See “Kapunan,” A11

Opinion BusinessMirror

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Pondering while celebrating Living up to your name Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

Joel L. Tan-Torres

THE PATRIOT

DEBIT CREDIT

W

hat is the profession in the Philippines which celebrates a weeklong festivity of activities pursuant to a Malacañang proclamation? I believe that our accountancy sector is the only one among the 43 professions in the country which has a weeklong celebration every year.

This week accountants and the accountancy profession’s many stakeholders will have their Accountancy Week Celebration (AWC) from July 15 to 21. The many activities ranging from seminars, sports fest, outreach programs, accounting quiz contests, etc., are to be held in various locations throughout the Philippines. The 90 chapters of Philippine Institute of CPAs here and abroad and the more than 250 Junior Philippine Institute of CPAs chapters will all be coming out with activities for the AWC. The accountants have been conducting this weeklong festivities since 1966 when thenPresident Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. issued in March 1966 Proclamation 19 declaring the AWC. The AWC tradition continues to be celebrated every third week of July pursuant to Malacañang Proclamation 218 that was issued by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in July 2002.

At about the same time last year, on the occasion of the AWC then, I wrote about my concern on some initiatives in our accountancy profession. One year thereafter, I again ponder on some of these issues and more in this article.

Accounting schools would have addressed by now their response to two recent developments, namely the influx of the first batch of senior high school graduates proceeding to take up the accountancy program and the offering of the new accountancy programs provided for in Commission on Higher Education Memorandum Orders 27 to 30. Both of these present opportunities, as well as challenges for all accounting schools. For these incoming freshmen, the school administrators will have to evaluate their admission policy and basic accounting offering as they take into account the additional two years and accounting and bookkeeping learning of this batch of students. Schools would have already decided by now if they would add any of the new accounting course/s to their existing program.

Three major initiatives are still on the pipeline. The rollout of the Quality Assurance Review, the update of the Accountancy Law, and the

Kapunan. . .

continued from A10

Leonen, “to say that one spouse may divorce and the other may not contribute to patriarchy. It fosters an unequal relationship prone to abuse in such intimate relationship. The law is far from rigid. It should passionately

implementation of the Asean Mutual Recognition Arrangement have long been in gestation. Because of the high impact and value that these will provide to the profession, it is imperative that the remaining kinks and requirements be addressed and resolved so as to move these three initiatives forward.

An assessment must be made of the regulatory measures that the Board of Accountancy and other regulators had instituted in the past years. There is a need to evaluate the effectiveness and areas for improvement of various measures, such as accreditation rules for the various accountancy sectors; the adoption of the Expanded Auditors Report and Certificate of Compilations Services; the increase of the audit peso threshold; the inspection of establishments and schools and establishments; and the investigation of complaints against erring CPAs. With a new Code of Ethics that includes the response to noncompliance with laws and regulations; and the revived focus on disclosure of client information and professional skepticism, the CPAs would have to constantly be alert and conscious of their growing responsibilities.

Meanwhile, the demands of globalization and digital technology continue to impact the day-to-day engagement of the professional accountant. These require the accountant to be aware of these developments and to be ready to change his or her mind-set and way of doing things to continue to be relevant.

These are thoughts that we should all ponder upon as we celebrate our Accountancy Week.

Joel L. Tan-Torres is the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy. A Certified Public Accountant who placed No. 1 in the May 1979 CPA Board Examinations, he is concurrently a tax partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co., CPAs. He was the former commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue from 2009 to 2010.

This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general. These can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com.

guarantee equality.”

I fully agree with Justice Leonen and the majority opinion of Justice Peralta. But still, no amount of judicial activism can be a real substitute for an Absolute Divorce Law that has long been advocated by countless suffering wives chained to the shackles of loveless marriages with philandering and abusive husbands!

O

nomatology is the study of proper names of all kinds. Anthroponymy is the study of the names of human beings. Some parents look to their beliefs in giving names to their children. For instance, most Catholic parents in the Philippines name their daughters after patron saints according to the calendar, but will almost always be preceded with the name Maria presumably to pay homage to the mother of Jesus.

Interestingly, not too many people know that the name Mary or its derivative Maria is a Hebrew term for beautiful, in the same way that not too many people know that APL de AP stands for Angel Lindo Pineda of Angeles, Pampanga. APL de AP is one of the members of the popular band Black Eyed Peas. We can safely presume that by adopting such a name, APL de AP wants to honor his roots and heritage as a Filipino. Luzviminda, which stands for Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, is another name that is proudly Filipino. Such a name was quite prevalent a few decades ago; unfortunately, I have yet to encounter a Filipino millennial these days with such a patriotic name.

Roilo is another name, although not as obvious as Luzviminda or APL de AP, which is proudly Filipino. As several people mourn the passing of Roilo Golez a few weeks ago, one report mistakenly referred to him as Rogelio. Rogelio is not an uncommon name, but Roilo is. The name of Roilo is actually a combination of the provinces of Romblon and Iloilo, the roots of this distinguished United States Naval Academy graduate. The Roilo name turned out to be predictive of Roilo’s career as this

former boxing champion during his cadetship days served the country with much patriotic fervor until his death. His stints in public service include three years as a national security adviser and 18 years as an active legislator in Congress. The name Roilo, unique as it is, will always be associated to Roilo Golez, a true advocate of Philippine sovereignty.

The name Salvador is the Spanish form of the Latin name “Salvator,” which means savior. Since my father, my brother and my son are all named Salvador, prophetically, they may have performed or likely to perform savior-like functions sometime in the future. I know of one Salvador in Philippine Airlines (PAL) who has been trying his best to “save” the cabin services department since he took over the post a few months back. Salvador “Bud” Britanico Jr. has been slowly introducing innovative ideas to improve crew scheduling processes, a perennial issue among flight attendants and stewards. He has managed to make crew schedules more transparent and provide faster communication with the crew when it comes to changes in the published schedule.

Though the system is still at its

Monday, July 16, 2018 A11

infant state, I am pleased to see how this particular Salvador in PAL has audaciously engaged the union leadership in his quest to maintain if not save the relationship between the union and management. Knowing the usually competing interests of each side, he finds a middle ground to minimize conflicts while generating cost savings in PAL. Thus far, by simply tweaking a few processes in crew assignments, Bud’s efforts have resulted to lower crew costs in some PAL flights.

Most recently, I know of one insurance company who recently renamed its corporate name to Bethel, which means “House of God.” And, as if on cue, Bethel, as a new company under a new set of leaders, has somehow mutated into the true meaning of its name as seen during its first board and organizational meeting. Its Vice Chairman Amiel Mercado, whose first name means “my people belong to God,” led an inspiring opening prayer as well as a closing prayer, although the latter was not included in the board agenda. Amiel implored the power and grace of God to help guide the company leaders toward financial success, principally for the benefit of its employees—his people who belong to God. Shortly after the board meeting, the priest who officiated the blessing ceremonies of the new office space appropriately declared that he was actually blessing the people and not just the office. For him, it was more important to bless the employees than the rooms and cubicles where they work.

Somehow our names, either chosen (as in the case of APL de AP) or given (as in the case of Roilo), can be a good predictor of how our lives will turn out in the future. In the Bible, Abraham used to be called as Abram.

But when he was called upon to be a father at 100 years of age, he was

AP Diplomatic Writer

W

ASHINGTON—President Donald J. Trump’s persistence in pursuing friendly ties with Vladimir Putin has highlighted a growing disconnect within his administration over Russia policy. Trump speaks fondly of Putin and a desire for better relations with Moscow, but the rest of his executive branch remains highly critical and deeply suspicious of the Russian president and the Kremlin’s intentions.

The stark contrast in approaches has been thrown into sharp relief as Trump and Putin prepare for their summit in Finland on Monday, amid unremitting criticism of Russia from Trump’s State Department, Justice Department, Treasury Department and Defense Department.

That might be explained as a good cop-bad cop strategy with Russia. But the mixed messaging has left America’s friends and allies confused, particularly after a contentious Nato summit, where Trump questioned the value of the alliance that Putin has long denounced and sought to weaken.

Just three days before the Helsinki summit, the Justice Department announced the indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers in special counsel Robert Muller’s investigation into Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. That brings to 25 the number of Russians charged in the investigation.

Trump has denied any collusion with Russia and has repeatedly cited Putin’s denials of any Russian interference in the campaign, suggesting there is little or nothing he can do to demand accountability. The Kremlin has denied that the

For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

Why Mueller’s latest indictment is so breathtaking

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By Eli Lake | Bloomberg Opinion

obert Mueller’s latest indictment in his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election is chock full of extraordinary details. Its most breathtaking revelation, however, is just how scary-good America’s cyberspies are.

Mueller’s indictment shows how a dozen Russian military intelligence officers probed, hacked and pilfered the servers of the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the campaign of Hillary Clinton. It lists their names and ranks. It details how they paid for things (in Bitcoin) and what they researched, which programs they used and how they tried to hide their tracks. It reveals the phony personas some agents used in their online interactions—“Alice Donovan,” “Jason Scott” and “Richard Gingrey.” And it has a tantalizing detail about the campaign’s timing: On the same day that then candidate Donald J. Trump publicly asked the Russians “to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing,” for example, the Russian hackers probed Clinton’s personal servers.

All of this makes for compelling reading. But it also reveals an irony about online privacy. The very government capabilities derided five years ago as potential invasions of privacy were necessary in pinning blame on a foreign government that used much cruder techniques not only to read the communications of American citizens, but to release them on the Internet. Put another way, we need Big Brother to expose the snooping of little brothers.

And the threat Russia posed to the privacy of Democratic Party officials such as John Podesta and Neera Tanden is not fleeting. Foreign states and private actors pose a grave and continuing threat to the privacy of American citizens.

Think of the many hacks in just the last few years. There was the

2014 hack of Sony Pictures before the release of The Interview, a spoof of North Korea’s dictator.

That hack exposed the e-mails and personal messages of Hollywood executives and movie stars.

The FBI and the US intelligence pinned it on North Korea, shortly after the attack, but they have not released the kind of detail found in the Mueller indictment.

Or consider the case of Elliott Broidy. Earlier this year, news outlets began publishing a trove of his personal e-mails that showed how Broidy, a Trump fund-raiser, lobbied the president to fire then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Broidy reportedly wanted the US to take the side of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in their dispute with Qatar. Broidy now alleges in a lawsuit that the hack was a Qatari plot, which the Qataris deny.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of the US intelligence community in these cases. Despite the growth of the private cybersecurity industry, this kind of crime is very hard to investigate and prove, especially if the suspected culprit

Trump wish for warm Putin ties highlights policy disconnect

By Matthew Lee

renamed to appropriately elevate his status, as it was written in Genesis 17:5-6: “No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.” And true enough, Abraham became the father of many descendants who later on became kings. To cap the transformation in Bethel General Insurance and Surety Co., Bethel is now providentially led by its youthful President Dominga Garcia, whose first name means “of the Lord.” Applying principles of onomatology and relevant verses in the Bible, a company whose new name means House of God and led by leaders whose names mean “my people belong to God” and “of the Lord” will gradually live up to the meaning of its name in the near future, similar to how Abram became the father of many nations shortly after he was renamed Abraham.

Our name stays with us from birth until death. We rarely have control over such choice, but our names can somehow define who we can be, as in the cases of Roilo Golez and Salvador Britanico Jr. In my case, Siegfried or its westernized counterpart Siegfred, is the name of the legendary king/dragon slayer in German mythology. It also means victorious peace. We should thank our parents for giving us our names. To us, how we live up to our name, whether given by our parents, as in the cases of Amiel and Dominga, or chosen by us, as in the case of Bethel Insurance, will ultimately depend on our free will.

But for Him, He already knows way beforehand—that’s something we refer to as God’s will.

Russian state interfered in the election.

The indictments were unsealed just hours after Trump again referred to Mueller’s inquiry as a “witch hunt” and after the president told reporters at a news conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May, “I think I would have a very good relationship with Putin if we spend time together.” A day earlier in Brussels, Trump did say he would raise the election issue with Putin, but also said: “I don’t think you’ll have any ‘Gee, I did it, I did it. You got me!’ There won’t be Perry Mason here, I don’t think. But I will absolutely, firmly ask the question.”

Trump also has expressed little interest in continuing the harsh US criticism of Russian activities in Syria, Ukraine and elsewhere, and of Russia’s human rights record. In fact, he’s raised doubts about US demands for Russia to return to Ukraine the territory of Crimea it

annexed in 2014, and has suggested a bargain could be in the works for Russia’s ally Bashar Assad to remain in power indefinitely in Syria.

Contrast that with the messaging of the State Department.

Under Trump, the department has issued regular stinging critiques of Russia, including on human rights and press freedom. Those have been sustained since former CIA Director Mike Pompeo was installed as top US diplomat in April and despite the president’s growing calls for friendship with Putin.

Ahead of Russia’s national day on June 12, Pompeo said the United States honors “the citizens of the Russian Federation and their aspirations for the democratic principles of universal freedom, civil liberties and the rule of law.” On July 6 department spokesman Heather Nauert condemned the “selec-

tive targeting” by Russia of US-funded news organizations. And this Thursday the department criticized a “pattern of intimidation and violence against those who express dissent across Russia.”

Pompeo has also been steadfast in his support of Nato.

While Trump was questioning the commitment of Nato allies at this past week’s summit in Brussels, where leaders agreed on modest steps to improve military readiness in Europe, principally to counter Russia, Pompeo was lauding the 29-nation grouping as “the most successful alliance in history.”

Pompeo also warned in a tweet: “Weakness provokes; strength and cohesion protect.”

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has been no less critical of Russia and its attempts to weaken or entirely subvert trans-Atlantic alliances.

is foreign state or entity. The US government has capabilities that are not available to the private sector. If the victims of foreign-state hacking ever want to receive justice, they will need the digital spying infrastructure of the National Security Agency.

This is not to say that the government poses no threat to privacy.

The leaks of intercepted phone calls between the Russian ambassador and Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, were dangerous. So was the leak about former Trump campaign aide Carter Page being under federal surveillance.

The US government was also wrong to hide its collection of telephone metadata from the public until former contractor Edward Snowden exposed this program.

But when foreign governments, such as Russia, hack the accounts of US citizens and make public their private communications, Americans will invariably rely on US intelligence agencies to learn about it. And in this new kind of political warfare, attribution is the first step toward deterrence.

“Putin seeks to shatter Nato,” he told graduates of the US Naval War College last month. “He aims to diminish the appeal of the Western democratic model and attempts to undermine America’s moral authority. His actions are designed not to challenge our arms at this point but to undercut and compromise our belief in our ideals.”

Measure that against Trump’s suggestion at a rancorous summit of the Group of Seven last month in Canada that the leading industrialized countries include Russia in their elite grouping of democracies—a suggestion that got short shrift from the other nations.

And as Trump has talked about bringing Putin back into the international fold, the Treasury Department has continued to impose sanctions on various Russian officials, companies and businessmen.

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DOE rule requiring oil firms to unbundle pricing components stalled by questions

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By Lenie Lectura

He did not elaborate on the legal issues, citing confidentiality reasons. But when asked if the oil firms have officially informed the agency of their stand that they are not inclined to share the components of pricing, the DOE official confirmed this.

“Yes, that’s one of the concerns, that’s why our Legal [department] is looking into it. If necessary, then we may have to revise it. Our Legal is looking carefully at this and we are waiting for feedback soon,” said Pulido.

In earlier interviews, Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association President Bong Suntay explained that each oil firm

has its own proprietary elements of cost, which should be kept confidential because this allows an oil firm to have a competitive edge over rivals.

“Based on my observation on the sentiments of industry players, I am inclined to say that they are not amenable to disclosing components of pricing,” Suntay said.

“Besides, let us define deregulation again if we wish to give a different interpretation,” he added.

The Philippine Institute of Petroleum (PIP)—composed of Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell, Chevron, PTT Philippines and Isla LPG—said the extent of information that the government requires from them, and the manner by which it requires them to make disclosures, are “inconsistent with the policy of deregulation.”

“The position is that there is no need to unbundle,” said PIP Executive Director Teddy Reyes over the phone. “We felt that, since all factors on how prices are arrived at are transparent, since these are published and known to everyone, then it would be ‘unnecessary’ for the unbundling.”

The agency is determined to find a win-win solution even as the DOE official said the agency is “up in arms” with the oil firms because they prefer not to disclose the components of pricing.

“We do hope that the oil firms will cooperate, and we hope that both parties will agree soon,” added Pulido. Energy Undersecretary Felix William [B.] Fuentebella had said the proposed circular is meant to mandate industry players to explain to consumers the cost components of petroleum products.

“We already know that the components include peso per barrel of landed cost, taxes, biofuels and industry take. But what are the percentages of these components?

We just want a breakdown of these components from them so that the public may better understand what they are paying for,” he said.

Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi had maintained that identification of the costing for the major components of these petroleum products that may affect the pump prices would provide a higher level of transparency for the consumers, particularly the motorists.

March 5, 2018.

In a news statement, DOT Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat said: “We are pleased with the results of this year’s Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards. Even Boracay, which is taking its beauty rest, still ranked among the best in Asia.”

She added, “It will be a challenge for us to regain the top spot next year. These rankings are votes from the public. We take it upon ourselves to further improve our services not just in Palawan but across the archipelago.”

Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan,

was ordered closed by President Duterte for six months starting April 26, to give way to the government’s rehabilitation efforts. The waters on its east side had been found to be exceeding standard coliform levels, while a number of establishments on its main white beach were found to have violated easement ordinances.

Government agencies, however, have been quite secretive of its overall rehabilitation plan, and have yet to publish the names of the hotels, resorts and other commercial establishments that were

found violating environment laws.

Yet, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu has announced the island would open on schedule on October 26. He has said only those establishments fully compliant with all government regulations will be allowed to open on that date.

In a press conference in Boracay on July 8, he also promised that new policies would be put in place before October 26, to guide the operations of the island when it opens. “There are already proposals, policies and guidelines for the stakeholders. We already showed them our initial policies, which didn’t come only from us [the government], but were also given by tourists from other countries. [These are] observations on what should be fixed during the [island’s] rehabilitation; not just infrastructure but policies.

We need these policies before we open. We need these new policies

by August.”

For one, Cimatu noted that there will be a change in the traffic flow because the main road is still being widened. “We will speed up the concreting of the main road,” he vowed, explaining that the diversion road currently being constructed on the side of Bulabog beach was “delayed because of the two buildings,” that were blocking the path. But he stressed that those buildings had been cleared already.

In a recent presentation before the general membership meeting of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association International Inc., DOT Undersecretary for Tourism Development Planning Benito C. Bengzon Jr. noted that “the Boracay experience is an ultimate lesson in balancing development and protecting the environment. Lessons learned are not for Boracay alone but also for the other island destinations around the country.”

He stressed the DOT will therefore ensure that national and environmental laws are enforced; green infrastructure projects are initiated; business stakeholders and communities are reoriented toward sustainable business and livelihood concepts; and rebranding is implemented.

About 1 million foreign visitors spent their holidays in Boracay in 2017, contributing some P56 billion in total tourism receipts. DOT officials expressed confidence that the government could still hit its 7.4-million foreign arrivals target for 2018 despite Boracay’s sixmonth closure.

@llectura

HE implementation of a proposed policy that mandates oil firms to unbundle the base prices of petroleum products is taking longer than expected.

The Department of Energ y (DOE) was expected to require last month all oil companies to make public the breakdown of the costs that go into the pricing of fuel. It was supposed to issue the circular at end-June.

A DOE official said over the weekend that the draft circular is being reviewed by the agency’s legal department and that it may take at lest two weeks to determine if there is a need to revise the draft circular.

“We referred it to Legal. We are seeking guidance and awaiting feedback that will address the concerns of the oil firms,” said DOE Assistant Secretary Leonido J. Pulido III in an interview.

Palawan. . .

Continued from A1

Coron Island, where you can dive among World War II shipwrecks].”

Of Cebu, Ascher-Walsh quotes a reader, who swam with whale sharks there, calling it a ‘once-ina-lifetime experience.’”

The Department of Tourism (DOT) welcomed the results of this year’s awards, which was gathered from inputs by readers of the New York-based international magazine from November 6, 2017, to

Franchise Asia Philippines 2018’s 2-day CFE Program features FranchiseWell founder

F

ILIPINO franchisers will get a chance to learn from an American entrepreneurship expert who has dedicated his life to the development of franchising. Dr. Benjamin C. Litalien, CFE, founder and principal of FranchiseWell, LLC, will speak during the two-day Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) Program lecture series starting today (Monday) at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in Makati City.

FranchiseWell, LLC is a consulting practice dedicated to the improvement and enhancement of franchising.

Litalien, who flew into the country to provide continuing education to local franchise executives in one of the four main events of this year’s Franchise Asia Philippines (FAPHL), franchising “can be done ‘well’ if there is a disciplined approach, systems thinking and a commitment to the betterment of society”.

Litalien invested over two decades in the franchise community, with a broad range of key management and franchise-building experience. His specific strengths are in strategic planning, organizational development, concept management, and franchise system growth.

He is also on staff at Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Education as the Academic Advisor for Entrepreneurship and Franchise programs and teaches the Franchise Management Certificate program each semester for franchise and nonprofit professionals from across the country

Dr. Benjamin C. Litalien and around the world. He is also an Assistant Adjunct Professor at University of Maryland University College in Adelphi, MD where he teaches Franchising, Entrepreneurship and Venture Planning and Consulting online.

Prior to forming Franchise Well, Ben was the Director of US Dealer Sales for Newbury, Ohio based Kinetico Incorporated. Kinetico manufactures high-quality water filtration systems for commercial, retail and personal use. He was responsible for assembling and managing a team of regional managers to oversee more than 250 licensed dealerships in the U.S. generating $50M in annual revenue.

Ben invested over four years with the ExxonMobil Fuels Marketing Company as the US Franchise Development Manager, based in Fairfax, Virginia. He oversaw the Company’s On the Run conve-

nience store franchise for Exxon and Mobil branded distributors in the U.S., creating a unique Regional Franchise Developer program that was responsible for almost 1,000 franchise units in development.

Due to the innovative work by Ben, Exxon Mobil was able to sell the developer franchise program to a competitor.

Ben is a recognized speaker on “Franchise Development” and “Franchising for Good”. He has been referenced as a franchising expert in feature articles of Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Chain Leader, Entrepreneur Magazine, QSR Magazine, Supermarket News, Successful Franchising, Convenience Store Decision, and Restaurant Hospitality. He has also authored articles that appeared in industry periodicals such as Franchising World, Franchise Asia and Successful Franchising.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

D.O.F. pitching tax-reform Packages 3, 4 in end-July

By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

T

HE Department of Finance (DOF) will submit to Congress before the end of July its proposal for the third and fourth packages under the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP).

This, even as several leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives have said during the congressional break they will push for a review of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law that took effect on January 1, owing to concerns that government economists had underestimated how other inflationary drivers could aggravate its impact.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told financial reporters that the DOF will be submitting within the month Packages 3 and 4 of the CTRP. Package 3 tackles the single valuation for real property, while Package 4 is focused on financial taxes.

“We will, by the end of the month ...submit Package 4. [We will submit Packages] 3 and 4 at the same time...”

Dominguez said.

The finance chief pointed out that both packages are revenueneutral. Under Package 3, the DOF wants land or property valuation to follow international standards, while the department wants to simplify the number of financial taxes being imposed on financial instruments in the country.

“It’s mostly revenue-neutral. For the real estate...we just want to make sure that the appraisal is done on an internationally accepted way and is

done regularly. You know in the financial taxes, the goal is to simplify it,” he added.

In March this year, the DOF said that it is targeting to secure Congress’s approval for the remaining packages of the CTRP by the end of the year.

DOF Assistant Secretary Ma. Teresa S. Habitan said the DOF is eyeing for “Package 2 plus” to be ratified in Congress by December along with Package 3 and Package 4 of the CTRP. Package 2 plus includes measures on increasing excise taxes on “sin” products, namely tobacco and alcoholic products, mining, coal and casino operations.

Package 3 of the DOF’s proposed CTRP tackles property taxation, with the goal of lowering the rate of transaction taxes on land. The offsetting measures include the rationalization of valuation of properties, or increasing valuation closer to market prices.

The fourth package covers capital income taxation, which aims to reduce the taxes imposed on interest income earned on peso deposit and investments from 20 percent to 10 percent. Its offsetting measures include the harmonization of capital income-tax rates for dollar deposits and investments, dividends, equity and fixed income rates to 10 percent. It also includes increasing tax on stocks traded in the stock market from 0.5 percent to 1 percent on gross selling price.

DOF Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said last year that the DOF wants all tax-reform packages approved before 2019, which is an election year.

Grab chief Cu: Over-regulation hindering ride-hailing services

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

R

IDE-HAILING services such as Grab are overly regulated in this part of the world, and putting too much pressure through policies on fares and supply will be detrimental to the fairly young segment of the transport sector.

This was how Brian P. Cu, who heads Grab Philippines, described the regulatory environment in the country’s app-based ride-hailing industry, which it dominates today.

“We’re saddened that we are being over-regulated, but we still believe in the potential of the Philippines. How can we grow if we can’t add cars?” he said in an interview on Friday night.

Today, the suppl of transportation network vehicle services (TNVS) —or peers —is capped at 66,750 vehicles: 65,000 for Metro Manila, 2,500 for Cebu and 250 for Pampanga.

“We’re the slowest in the region because everyone else can add cars.

This goes to show that we are limited in terms of expansion,” he said.

This has caused the huge gap between supply and demand for the service, Cu said.

Grab receives about 600,000 booking requests on a regular day, but on “peak days” it receives about 800,000 booking requests.

It has a 35,000-strong fleet of TNVSregistered cars. On the average, a driver can do about 12 trips per day, translating to a capacity of 396,000 booking requests daily.

According to Cu, the Philippines comprises about 6 percent to 10 percent of the whole operations of Grab in the world.

“It’s an important piece of our portfolio because this is where the Grab brand was created. So it was very close to the heart of the founders,” he said.

Hence, his group would very much like to continue providing the service in the country, despite projecting a P7.5-billion net loss in the next one and half years.

He hopes the regulator will “fix” what it deemed irregular in terms of prices, and “allow” more cars to provide the service in the coming months.

The rate card for a Grab ride, now regulated by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), follows: P40 base, P10 to P14 per kilometer charge and a surge capped at 2x.

Grab is in the middle of a legal tussle after the regulator ruled that it had overcharged its passengers from June last year to April this year for including a P2-per-minute charge on its fare matrix.

It slapped Grab with a P10-million fine for it.

Cu said his group will “exhaust all legal and administrative” means to negate the ruling, claiming his group imposed the charge on the basis of a now-overturned order by the previous administration’s transport department.

“We’re going to file an appeal by way of motion for reconsideration for the decision because we believe everything that we did is above board,” he said.

Cu said the fare component is allowed under a previous department order issued by the thenDepartment of Transportation and Communications. That order was rescinded last month, when the Department of Transportation officially bestowed full regulatory and supervisory powers to the LTFRB over transport network companies and TNVS operators.

He explained that the P2-per-minute charge was part of the presentation and discussions during Grab’s technical working group meeting with the LTFRB en banc in July 2017.

The said rate was also sent via e-mail to LTFRB Chairman Martin B. Delgra III on August 14, he said, noting that no concerns were raised on an e-mail response from Delgra’s office.

“We will file the motion for reconsideration before Friday,” he said.

Should his group lose this fight, Grab is ready to pay the fine, said Cu.