A4 Tuesday, May 28, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug
Economy BusinessMirror
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ADB extends fresh $300-M loan for ‘high-quality’ secondary education
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By Cai U. Ordinario
@caiordinario
HE national government has obtained a new loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help students perform better in the National Achievement Test (NAT) and assessments for vocational and livelihood courses after high school. In a news statement issued on Monday, the ADB said it has extended a $300-million loan to finance the Secondary Education Support Program, which is expected to contribute to the government’s aim of reducing poverty to 14 percent by 2022 from the current 21 percent.
The program is expected to benefit 10.6 million students nationwide. These students are currently enrolled in high school, and an additional 2 million Grade 7 entrants yearly from 2019 to 2023. “Sustaining the Philippines’s strong growth momentum will re-
quire a work force equipped with the appropriate set of advanced skills and knowledge to allow them to keep in step with the rapid technological changes in the global economy,” said ADB Senior Education Specialist for Southeast Asia Lynnette Perez. “Continued investments in high-quality education are crucial to attaining the government’s vision of lowering unemployment and poverty rates.” The program will help the government sustain its reforms, particularly in offering the poor greater access to better, affordable education. It will disburse funds to the government based on the achievement of agreed reform targets within a specific period. ADB is also providing technical assistance to the Department of Education to ensure they achieve targeted reforms and priorities, aligned with the Philippine Development Plan. The program aims to strengthen
Ways the G-20 can take a lead on anti-corruption
The G-20 should build on this momentum to adopt and implement G-20 High Level Principles on Whistleblowing. These should be in line with international standards and best practice. All whistle-blowers in G-20 countries should have access to reliable, gender-sensitive channels to report wrongdoing and robust protection from all forms of retaliation. The information they disclose should also be used to guide reforms and prevent future wrongdoing.
Infrastructure
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By Henry J. Schumacher
LMOST two-thirds of the world’s population—some 4.7 billion people—live in a country represented at the annual G-20 summit, which this year takes place in Osaka, Japan, on June 28 and 29. G-20 economies control 85 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) and over 75 percent of global trade. Although there have recently been doubts about the ability of the G-20 to find common ground in an age of increasing trade wars, isolationism and protectionism, the group’s global reach still makes it an important forum for shaping policy. Recent scandals make clear that the globalization of world trade and finance has been accompanied by an internationalization of corruption. The G-20 AntiCorruption Working Group (ACWG), which works with governments on their anti-corruption measures, therefore, has the potential to be a very important partner in the fight for a more just world. The ACWG met in Mexico City recently, as part of its preparations for the Osaka summit, making the case for the G-20 to take action in some key areas. First, there’s some housekeeping to be taken care of. Over the years, the G-20 has made more than 60 anti-corruption commitments, covering areas like asset recovery, asset disclosures by public officials, anonymous company ownership, conflicts of interest, open data and public procurement. That’s great. But unfortunately, the job of holding the G-20 to account is made more difficult by the fact that even basic information about what progress has been made, or when steps will be taken by G-20 countries, is lacking. As a priority, the ACWG should increase accountability over the G-20’s anti-corruption progress. Specifically, G-20 countries should publish accountability reports for each of their commitments, to help ensure that words turn into action. Here are recommendations for how the world’s largest economies can help drive forward the fight against corruption in three key thematic areas:
Whistle-blowing
THE year 2019 has already been a landmark year for whistle-blower protection in the G-20. The new EU directive on whistleblower protection and the recent private-sector reform adopted in Australia contain very advanced provisions.
THIS is where the G-20’s existing commitments could make an enormous difference, if they were properly implemented. Time and again, we’ve seen how anonymous shell companies in secrecy jurisdictions are the key ingredient to making corrupt infrastructure schemes work. If companies were forced to disclose their real owners, then there would be fewer opportunities to disguise bribes and kickbacks, and hide conflicts of interest in the awarding of public contracts. The G-20 adopted High Level Principles on Beneficial Ownership Transparency (i.e., who really owns what) in 2014, but the latest assessment of their progress found that they are lagging behind when they should be leading. More openness in contracting and greater citizen participation in public procurement would also reduce the risk of public funds being siphoned off into the pockets of politicians and their cronies.
Gender
CORRUPTION disproportionately affects women. In their role as caregivers in many parts of the world, women experience corruption in their daily lives — from interactions with school officials to health-care providers. Women are also especially vulnerable to some specific forms of corruption, such as “sextortion,” where sex is the “currency” of the bribe. Corruption presents a barrier for women to gain full access to their civic, social and economic rights. In addition to the clear moral reasons for G-20 leaders to promote gender equality, women’s equal participation in the workplace would create huge benefits for the global economy. The ACWG has made a welcome commitment in this area in its latest action plan. Now both the working group and G-20 members should mainstream gender-specific approaches in all anti-corruption work, and support women’s participation in public life worldwide. Any High Level Principles adopted by the G-20 this year under Japan’s presidency should be at the highest possible standard. Through resources like the principles for whistle-blower protection legislation, civil society can help governments ensure that this is the case. Civil society can also contribute to increased transparency and make sure that outcomes are credibly evaluated. Although the ACWG invites civil-society representatives to their meetings, there is room for more meaningful engagement. While the Philippines is not part of the G-20 (Asia is represented by China, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea), the Philippines can and should move forward in anti-corruption in the three areas: Whistle-blower protection—both Houses of Congress developed bills but the needed protection supported by the private sector has not made any progress. Infrastructure—given the focus on the “Build, Build, Build” program, the national government and local government units should focus on “open contracting,” demonstrating transparency and involving “integrity circles” in bidding processes, composed of representatives from business and civil society. Gender—I would appreciate feedback from readers on corruption in this area. Feedback is appreciated; please e-mail me at Schumacher@eitsc.com.
the secondary-education curriculum and increase teacher proficiency and career development. Nearly 294,000 public secondary-education teachers, and additional teachers to be hired until 2023, stand to benefit from improved teaching practices, which will lead to better learning outcomes. The program will also support the Department of Education’s public financial management reforms, including the timely release of secondary schools’ budget for maintenance and operation, tools and equipment. It will also assess the effectiveness of the Education Service Contracting and the Senior High School Voucher programs. While reforms in the Philippine secondary-education system have shown progress, enrollment and graduation rates remain low, especially among students from the poorest households. The government is continuing to
address the challenges to quality education by, for example, deploying adequate numbers of specialized teachers, providing sufficient teaching resources, and ensuring the alignment of the curriculum to labor-market needs.
The program builds on an ongoing ADB assistance under the Senior High School Support Program, which is supporting the establishment and rollout of the government’s senior high-school program.
Sustaining the Philippines’s strong growth momentum will require a work force equipped with the appropriate set of advanced skills and knowledge to allow them to keep in step with the rapid technological changes in the global economy. Continued investments in highquality education are crucial to attaining the government’s vision of lowering unemployment and poverty rates.”—Perez
Latest PSA data Duterte signs Magna reveal continuous Carta of the Poor bill in bid to reduce poverty drop in rice price By Bernadette D. Nicolas
@BNicolasBM
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RESIDENT Duterte has finally signed the Magna Carta of the Poor in a bid to institutionalize long-term strategies in poverty reduction. The President signed Republic Act 11291 on April 12, a few days before he inked the bill institutionalizing the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the government’s key measures to effectively combat poverty in the country. The passage of the Magna Carta of the Poor seeks to uplift the quality of standard of living and quality of life of the marginalized and provide them opportunities for growth development through the help of both the government and the private sector. “Poor” is defined in the bill as families or individuals whose income fall below the poverty threshold as defined by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and/or cannot afford in a sustained manner to provide their minimum basic needs of food, health, education, housing or other essential amenities of life. For the poor to fully enjoy their rights, the government is mandated to put in place a system or progressive realization or implementation. These rights include the Right to Adequate Food; Right to Decent Work; Right to Free, Relevant and Quality Education; Right to Adequate Housing; and Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Mental and Physical Health. The President and Congress also have the prerogative to allocate funds to all poverty alleviation programs as they may deem necessary through the General Appropriations Act. Moreover, government agencies are supposed to come up within 100 days from the issuance of the implementing rules and regulations of the law, a National Poverty Reduction Plan (NPRP), in setting the thresholds that should be achieved by the government for each of the basic rights of the poor. The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), with technical assistance from the Neda shall be responsible in harmonizing the regional and local development plans for the crafting of the NPRP. The Department of Budget and Management will be reviewing the NPRP for the budget inclusion for implementing agencies. Meanwhile, the private sector is also highly encouraged to contribute in the financing and implementation of poverty alleviation programs and projects. Development partners who also accept cash donations, aids or grants, in cash or in kind, shall also be accredited by government agencies. Any donation, contribution and grant which may be made to the programs implemented under the NPRP shall also be exempt from the donor’s tax, while the implementers of the socialized housing resettlement program shall enjoy the incentives stated in the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992. NAPC, in coordination with the government departments and agencies, with the participation of local government units and the basic sectors, will promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions. The Act shall take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Oil firms announce cut in fuel pump prices
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ETRO Gazz, PTT Philippines and Eastern Petroleum Corp. said on Monday that they will implement a P0.35 per liter price cut in gasoline and diesel by P0.45 per liter effective 6 a.m. on Tuesday. Phoenix Petroleum had already implemented its price rollback on Sunday morning. Seaoil Philippines also reduced pump prices at 12:01 a.m. of Monday. Aside from the price rollback in gasoline and diesel, Seaoil also reduced kerosene price by P0.60 per liter. Other oil firms are expected to follow suit. Last week, oil firms increased pump prices by P0.90 per liter, diesel by P0.80 per liter and kerosene by P0.75 per liter. Prior to the May 21 price adjustment, they reduced pump prices for two consecutive weeks. Lenie Lectura
By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas
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HE uptick in average farm-gate price of palay was abruptly cut in mid-May as nationwide quotation fell slightly to P18.35 per kilogram from previous week’s level, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported. In its weekly price monitoring report, the PSA noted that the average farmgate price of palay in the second week of May was 0.54 percent lower than the P18.45 per kilogram recorded in the first week of the month. “Likewise, it dropped further by 12.6 percent from previous year’s same week level of P21 per kilogram,” the PSA added in its report, which was published on Monday. From May 8 to 14, the PSA observed the highest farm-gate price of palay in Central Visayas at P20.96 per kg. The PSA noted the lowest average palay buying price in Caraga at P16 per kilogram. The average farm-gate prices of palay have been declining since January as traders feared that cheap imports would f lood the country following the liberalization of the Philippine rice trade. Last week, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the government was successful in stabilizing the retail prices of rice but farmers are now complaining due to declining price of palay in the market. Indeed, the latest PSA report showed that average quotations for both wholesale and retail prices of regular-milled and well-milled rice continued to go down during the period. On a weekly basis, the average wholesale price of well-milled rice went down slightly to P39.51 per kg, from the previous week’s P39.55 per kg. It was also 3.9 percent lower than the average of P41.12 per kg recorded in the same period last year, PSA data showed. “Relative to the previous week’s level of P43.30, the average retail price of wellmilled rice at P43.16 per kilogram went down by 0.3 percent during the period,” the PSA said. “Similarly, it exhibited a 1.7-percent drop from the same period of previous year’s level of P43.91 per kilogram,” the PSA added. The PSA observed the same price trends in the average quotations of regular-milled rice nationwide. “At the wholesale trade, the average price of regular-milled rice at P35.82 per kilogram fell by 0.5 percent compared with its previous week’s level of P36.01 per kilogram,” it said. “Likewise, it was lower by 5.2 percent from the same week of previous year’s level of P37.77 per kilogram,” it added. At the retail trade, the average price of regular-milled rice fell by 0.6 percent to P38.74 per kg from P38.98 per kg in the previous week, the PSA said. The latest average quotation was 3.6 percent lower than the P40.19 per kilogram recorded in the same week last year, it added.