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Thursday, November 23, 2017 Vol. 13 No. 43

PCC backs Duterte offer to China to end duopoly

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By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

By Cai U. Ordinario

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@cuo_bm

OFW ‘agri-preneurs’ take center stage at Villar SIPAG 7th OFW and Family Summit

Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan said the President did the correct thing in giving China the privilege to enter the Philippine telco industry.

See “PCC,” A2

Making K-12 work: Getting key sectors on board

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N a few months, the first batch of K to 12 students shall graduate from the numerous Senior High Schools that have sprouted all over the country. The new K to 12 curriculum is presumed to have strengthened the capacity of these graduating students to pursue higher learning at the tertiary level or, alternatively, to join the world of work at the legal age of 18. Moreover, the extra two years that Rene E. Ofreneo have been added to the old 10 years of basic education—six elementary and four years high school—are also aslaborem exercens years sumed to have made these students more mature and able to discern what is the best career option for them.

6.9% to 7%

Continued on A11

CMDI’s GDP growth forecast for the October-to-December period

See “Indicators,” A2

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BALISACAN: “It’s a welcome development that the President is actually very much supportive and is pushing for improvement in the Internet [service].”

f the third quarter brought a better-than-expected growth, local think tank Capital Markets Development Initiative (CMDI) expects the economy to perform even better in the fourth quarter.

In a phone interview with the BusinessMirror, University of the Asia and the Pacific and CMDI Senior Economist Victor Abola said the think tank expects the economy to expand by around 6.9 percent to 7 percent in the last three months of the year.

Abola said this estimate could be revised upward, depending on their projections on household consumption and export earnings.

“We may be upgrading it slightly, especially if you factor in stronger exports, as well as consumer spending, which we believe is understated because of the way it is

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he country’s competition body is backing President Duterte’s offer to China to break the duopoly in the telecommunications (telco) industry and liberate Filipinos from the burden of paying relatively high fees for slow Internet service.

Indicators point to faster growth in Q4–think tank

2016 ejap journalism awards

Sen. Cynthia A. Villar gathers OFWs and families in a summit. Senator Cynthia A. Villar, together with DPWH Sec. Mark Villar and the OFWs and their families ‘showed their force’ during the Villar SIPAG 7th OFW and Family Summit held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. The success stories of OFWs who ventured in agriculture or the agri-preneurs were highlighted during the event. The senator, chair of the Senate agriculture committee, says she wants to see the day when our countrymen no longer need to work abroad due to various opportunities from agriculture. Also in the photo with the Villars are Department of Trade and Industry Sec. Ramon Lopez, Acts OFW partylist Rep. Aniceto John Bertiz III andEngr. Albert Paredes, Pasay City Mayor Chief of Staff.

O

verseas Filipino workers who succeeded in their ventures in agriculture take center stage during the 7th OFW and Family Summit held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

PESO exchange rates n US 50.7970

Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture and Food and director of the organization behind the annual holding of the summit, Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation Continued on A2

BMReports

Large dams: Bulwark or conduit to growth?

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

A

Conclusion

BOUT 100,000 souls are at risk if a strong earthquake occurs and cause the collapse of the still-to-be-completed Kaliwa Dam Project.

That is the estimate of Fr. Pete Montallana of the Save Sierra Madre Network Alliance (SSMNA), a multisectoral network of

non-governmental organizations.

“The proposed Kaliwa Dam Project is simply the Laiban Dam Project ‘repackaged’ due to strong opposition,” Montallana told the BusinessMirror.

The Catholic priest said the threat of a strong earthquake is real, and it can happen any time.

That will cause a disaster in case the Kaliwa Dam Project is completed and a huge volume of water is stored in that area, he added.

According to him, the SSMNA continues to coordinate w ith the National Economic Development Authority (Neda), which approved the project. We have presented studies of the potential impact of the project to no avail, Montallana said.

“We’ve requested [the] Neda to furnish us documents pertaining to the economic impact of the project, but we were told that it is ‘classified,’”

n japan 0.4517 n UK 67.2247 n HK 6.5027 n CHINA 7.6611 n singapore 37.5162 n australia 38.4889 n EU 59.6408 n SAUDI arabia 13.5455

Continued on A2

Source: BSP (22 November 2017 )

A2 Thursday, November 23, 2017

BMReports BusinessMirror

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Large dams: Bulwark or conduit to growth?

Continued from A1

he added. “We can’t understand how come a government project’s impact study can even become classifed or ‘confidential.’”

Questionable justification

MONTALLANA said the SSMNA has questioned the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System’s (MWSS’s) justification for its proposed dam projects.

According to Montallana, if the projects were meant to address water crisis, the government should address water shortage or deficit, which is primarily caused by wasteful water-management practices.

Citing a study by the Freedom from Debt Coalition, Montallana said if one person needs 50 liters of water a day, then the 13 million people in Metro Manila would need 650 million liters per day (MLD).

However, he added even if one doubles that supply, 1,300 MLD is even less than a third of the 4,000 MLD that the MWSS supplies to its concessioners. Montallana said the government should aim to reduce the 2,000 MLD of nonrevenue water or unpaid water lost in leaks and other causes.

Legal requirements

THE Kaliwa Dam will be built within the National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuary, which is covered by Presidential Proclamation 1636.

While the Neda has already approved the project, Montallana claims the Kaliwa Dam Project has no environmental compliance certificate, as required by Presidential Decree (PD) 1151, PD 1586 and Section 12 of Republic Act (RA) 7586, or the National Integrated Protected Areas System (Nipas) Act. He also claims the MWSS has not secured a free, prior and informed consent from the indigenous people of the Dumagat tribe.

The project needs to be approved by the Dumagat as required by RA 8371, or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, according to Montallana.

Moreover, he claims the Kaliwa Dam Project also violates the right to a balanced and healthy ecology as stated under Section 16 of the 1987 Constitution and Section 14 of the Nipas Act, which requires legislation for any exploitation of energy resources in protected areas.

Montallana said there are numerous legal and moral issues they want to bring up to the MWSS, given the opportunity for a

dialogue.The dialogue just never happened, he said.

Question of wisdom

THE SSMNA questions the wisdom of constructing large dams, owing to their potential adverse impact on people and the environment, health and food security.

The SSMNA has been opposing the construction of large dams. The SSMNA includes groups based in the Quezon and Rizal provinces that have registered stiff opposition to the projects. Some of these groups are mostly composed of the indigenous Agta-Remontado and tribes in the Quezon province.

Citing various studies on large-dam construction, the SSMNA came up with a position paper opposing the projects and recommended the rehabilitation of the Angat Dam instead.

Montallana said the studies have emphasized that large dams are not economically beneficial. He cited a study at Oxford University, which gave the verdict based on over four years of comprehensive economic analysis on 245 large dams constructed between 1934 and 2007 in 65 countries, with a total cost of $353 billion (in 2010 prices).

The study concluded that “large dams

suffered average cost overruns of 96 percent and that the degree of cost overruns tended to increase with the size of projects.”

The SSMNA has come up with a position paper as early as 2014, raising various issues and concerns. The paper says that, even without considering social and environmental costs, “large dams on average don’t make economic sense.”

Haribon Foundation Inc., another member of SSMNA, also argued that the project is a threat to the remaining biodiverse-rich forest ecosystem within the Kaliwa watershed, which includes 103 hectares of mossy forest and 2,479 hectares of primary forest, home to 126 animal species, 53 percent of which, or a total of 67 species, are endemic to the Philippines, such as the Philippine Brown Deer (Cervus Marianus), and 12 species can only be found in Luzon, such as the Luzon Bearded Wild Pigs (Sus philippensis).

“The project will impair the natural river system of Kaliwa River and affect its capacity to provide basic ecological services,” Haribon Foundation said. “Alteration and reduction of river flow is also expected, which will increase the risk of malaria and other water- and insect-borne diseases.”

Nobody knows

ACCORDING to the SSMNA, the proposed Kaliwa Dam Project will destroy the ecosystems of the towns of Metro Reina, Quezon—General Nakar, Real and Infanta, like its more or less 3,000-hectare mangrove fish sanctuary and farm irrigation.

The same will happen to the ecosystem of Tanay, Rizal, and other nearby towns, threatening food security, the group added.

An SSMNA document noted that, with the loss of a total of 37,700 hectares of the country’s remaining forest cover—9,700 hectares under a 60-meter-high Kaliwa Dam and 28,000 hectares under a 113-meter-high Laiban Dam, the project “will endanger Metro Manila with flooding and air pollution, as well as intensify global warming and climate change.” The construction of large dams has often been the subject of spirited debate because of their potential adverse environmental impact against socioeconomic raison d’être.

While the Kaliwa Dam Project or the Laiban Dam will, indeed, be beneficial, opponents of the project maintain that the benefits will not outweigh the cost. In the absence of an in-depth or comprehensive impact study, nobody really knows what to expect.

OFW ‘agri-preneurs’ take center stage at Villar SIPAG 7th OFW and Family Summit Continued from A1

and Governance (Villar SIPAG), said summit attendees were inspired by the experiences shared by agriculture entrepreneurs or agri-preneurs.

“Our ultimate dream is to see the day when our kababayans are no longer compelled by lack of local opportunities to work abroad and leave their loved ones behind. With various opportunities sprouting from agriculture, that dream could become a reality sooner than we all think,” Villar said.

OFW agri-preneurs featured in the summit were Gigi Morris, president and school director of Moca Family Farm Learning Center in Padre Garcia, Batangas; Joel Frago, owner of Forest Wood Farm and Garden in San Pablo City, Laguna; and Rafael Teraoka Dacones, owner of the Teraoka Family Farm in Mangatarem, Pangasinan.

This year’s OFW and Family Summit focused on giving livelihood opportunities to overseas Filipino workers in agriculture.

“The prospect for agriculture is promising with our government’s renewed commitment to support this sector. We are

PCC. . .

Continued from A1

“It’s a welcome development that the President is actually very much supportive and is pushing for improvement in the Internet [service],” Balisacan said at

also starting to reap the benefits of our legislative efforts to train our farmers on modern farming techniques and financial know-how,” Villar said.

The one-day summit with the theme “Kabuhayan sa Agrikultura para sa Pamilyang OFW,” opened with a welcome message from Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, followed by a message from former Senate President Manny Villar, also founding chairman of Villar SIPAG. Sen. Cynthia Villar closed the activity with a speech and the awarding of the Camella House and Lot raffle prize.

The event was attended by OFWs and spouse, children, parents or siblings of OFWs. Registration was free upon presentation of a photocopy of passport, proof of remittance, sea man’s book, job contract and proof of kinship to OFW such as marriage certificate or birth certificate. Attendees benefited from discussions and presentations given by experts in different subjects.

Dr. Aladino Moraca, Operations Manager and Program Head, Agribusiness Project Central Philippines and Ramon Uy, owner, Ru Fondry and Trading Corp, presented on the

topic mechanization and modern farming technology available in the Philippines.

Lina Soriano and Ed de Guzman, program officers for OFWs and Agribusiness, Landbank; Ma. Ana Visitacion Domingo, assitant vice president, Enterprise Development Unit of Financing Inclusive Development Department, Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP);and Divina Quemi, chairman of the Board, Nueva Segovia Consortion of Cooperatives, discussed microfinancing and loans available for Agribusiness Startups.

On the topic farm schools, tourist farms and learning sites, the speakers were Dr. Luz Taposok, Director, Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), Department of Agriculture; Asst. Sec. Eden David, Department of Tourism; Dir. Luz Victoria Amponin, Executive Director, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); and Engr. Irene Bringas, CEO, Abra Dioscesan Teachers and Employees Multi Purpose Cooperative.

Atty. Angelo Valencia of the Development Academy of the Philippines and owner of Tibby’s Farm Pampanga and Ian

Cabriga, owner of Teofely’s Garden in Silang, Cavite spoke on family values, education and sustainable livelihood.

Administrator Hans Cacdac of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration spoke on the National Reintegration Programs for OFWs. The topic human trafficking and illegal recruitment was given by Toots Ople of the Ople Center; and the forum on anti-investment/business scam was led by Teodoro Pascua, Undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry- Consumer Protection Group.

Apart from the House and Lot from Camella, raffle prizes also included a motorcycle from K Servico, Kettle Korn Cart, Pangkabuhayan Showcase from All Day Supermarket, and Appliance Showcase from All Home and Savers Appliance Depot.

The media partners in the said event are the following: DWIZ, DZMM, DZRH, Wanted sa Radyo 5, RMN, DZBB, Jam 88.3, Play FM 99.5, Magic 89.9, 105.1 Crossover, Wave 89.1, Tiger 22, Wish 107.5, Eagle Broadcasting Corp., SMNI, UNTV, WOWOWIN GMA7, The Philippine Star , Manila Bulletin and BusinessMirror.

the BusinessMirror Coffee Club Forum on Wednesday.

“I think everybody knows that there has got to be an improvement in our access to, and services in, telecom and Internet. And the clamor for improving services, particularly in the quality, price and cost of Internet, has been around,” Balisacan added.

According to Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr., Duterte made the offer to China during his bilateral meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang last Wednesday.

“During the bilateral talks between President Duterte and the Chinese Premier, President Duterte offered to the People’s Republic of China the privilege to operate

the third telecoms carrier in the country,” Roque said in a news briefing on Monday. Balisacan said the President is navigating the right path in his objective of ending the duopoly in the telecom industry, which is heavily controlled

by Globe Telecom Inc. and PLDT Inc. He added that the PCC is not against the two telecommunications giants, but said they have abused their dominance so much, to the point of exploiting their subscribers.

With this, the competition chief said the PCC views the entry of a third player as an opportunity to improve the quality and lower the cost of Internet service in the country. In Akamai’s “State of the Internet Report” for the first quarter of 2017, the Philippines had the lowest average connection speed at 5.5 megabits per second among Asia-Pacific countries.

On the other hand, the report said the country may see improvements to its infrastructure in the coming years, with the deployment of a national broadband plan estimated to cost the government as much as P200 billion.

Balisacan said he has yet to see the details of Duterte’s offer to China, but he leaves it to the wisdom of telecommunication officials to assess the technical capacity of companies interested to enter the Philippine telco industry.

He said the number of capable telco players in China has increased considerably, so concerned agencies have wider choices in implementing the policy pronouncement of the President. For the PCC, Balisacan noted that the best gauge to use in assessing the Chinese offer is its effect on cost and quality of Internet service.

For its part, Malacañang said the public can expect better Internet service soon with the President’s commitment to introduce a third telecom carrier. “So, the good news is, consumers can look forward now to better telecommunications, not just in terms of cellular technology, but also in terms of Internet speed, as well as access,” Roque said.

“This is the latest instance of the President proving that he has the political will to do what is necessary to benefit the Filipino people. I repeat, the announcement is that duopoly—that telecoms duopoly—is about to end with the entry of the Facebook subsidiary, as well as the offer by the President of the People’s Republic of China to operate the third telecoms carrier,” Roque added.

The Palace official said the Chief Executive has instructed the Office of the executive secretary to manage all applications of Chinese telecom companies bidding to operate in the country.

Indicators. . .

Continued from A1

estimated.” Abola said household spending is the most difficult to estimate, since it involves a lot of product/industry codes.

Some of these codes, he added, are also not updated to include other products that are currently available in the market. This may include popular imported goods.

Abola added that apart from these, the think tank also expects construction growth to continue its upward trajectory, especially in the last quarter of the year. “ With second-quarter GDP growth revised upward to 6.7 percent, year-to-date GDP tracked also at 6.7 percent. Thus, we think that Philippine expansion should easily hit our fiscal year 2017 projection of 6.5 percent to 7 percent, given also our view that investment spending and national government disbursements on infrastructure will further accelerate in the last quarter of the year,” the think tank said in its latest Market Call report.

Factors that will likely push up the country’s GDP in the last quarter of the year include the expected double-digit increase in the peso value of overseas Filipino worker remittances. The CMDI said remittances in US dollars, which climbed by 9.4 percent in August and 17.4 percent in peso terms, provide much spending power to consumers. The think tank added the 3-percent growth in the United States economy and better growth outlooks for Japan and China will boost demand for the country’s exports and see a significant increase in export earnings in the October-to-December period.

However, what could temper growth in the last quarter of the year is the higher inflation, which is expected to average 3.2 percent this month and in December.

“The mini-fly in the ointment was inflation, which has moved up at a faster pace of 3.5 percent in October, but well within the 2-percent to 4-percent target of the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas]. We think this has peaked and so do not expect an upward adjustment of BSP policy rate in 2017, even if [very likely] the Fed hikes its policy rate by another 25 bps [basis points] in December,” CMDI said.

Earlier this month, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the country’s GDP grew by 6.9 percent in the third quarter of 2017 on the back of strong manufacturing, trade and real estate, renting and business activities growth.

Among the major economic sectors, Industry recorded the fastest growth at 7.5 percent, followed by Services at 7.1 percent. Meanwhile, Agriculture slowed down by 2.5 percent, from 3-percent growth in the previous year.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

House plenary vote on Sereno impeach case set on Dec. 13

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

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he plenary of the House of Representatives will decide on the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno before the Congress on Christmas break next month.

House Committee on Justice Chairman Reynaldo Umali of Oriental Mindoro said the lower chamber has only nine session days to approve or reject the impeachment complaint against the chief magistrate.

“We only have nine days to do this. The plenary will vote to recommend or reject the impeachment complaint by December 13,” Umali said, as the committee started its hearings on the determination of probable cause to pursue the impeachment complaint against Sereno.

The lower chamber is expected to take another break on December 13.

Meanwhile, the justice committee will invite on its next hearing on November 27 all the 14 Supreme Court associate justices to shed light on the allegation that Sereno falsified several en banc resolutions.

The committee will also invite the Supreme Court (SC) Clerk of Court lawyer Felipa Anama, SC Spokesman Theodore Te and journalist Jomar Canlas.

Also on Wednesday, the justice committee denied the motion of Sereno asking the panel to allow her lawyers to crossexamine witnesses during the impeachment proceedings.

On Tuesday Sereno executed a special power of attorney fully authorizing her legal team, composed of 11 lawyers, to exercise and protect her rights and interests in all stages of the impeachment proceeding.

Sereno named 11 lawyers as members of her legal defense composed of Alex Pobla-

dor, Dino Vivencio A.A. Tamayo, Anzen P. Dy, Justin Christopher C. Mendoza, Carla S. Pingul, Sandra Mae T. Magalang, Jayson C. Aguilar, Oswald P. Imbat, Enrico Edmundo D. Castelo II, Charles Richard C. Avila Jr. and/ or Patricia P. Geraldez.

Sereno’s defense lawyer Poblador said skipping the justice panel hearing is the best option after the committee rejected Sereno’s motion authorizing her legal counsel to confront and cross-examine witnesses on her behalf.

Majority Leader Rodolfo C. Fariñas Sr. of Ilocos Norte, reacting to Poblador’s statement, said the cross-examination of Sereno’s lawyers will only be allowed during the impeachment trial.

“I am surprised that the Chief Justice and her lawyers even filed this motion asking that they be given the right to cross-examine the complainants,” Fariñas said.

The lawmaker recalled even the late Chief Justice Renato Corona was not allowed to crossexamine until his case reached the Senate impeachment court.

The complaint filed by lawyer Larry Gadon is hinged on four grounds that include corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust and other high crimes. The complaint also alleged 27 acts constituting the offenses lodged against the chief justice.

The committee will call on the complainant and the respondent to present their case before voting on the determination of probable cause.

After the determination of probable cause, the articles of impeachment will be created and will be transmitted to the plenary for approval. The lower chamber needs 196 votes or two-thirds of all of its members before the articles be sent to the Senate that will act as an impeachment court.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, November 23, 2017 A3

Military sets offensive as Duterte ends peace negotiations with Left

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By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

he military is poised to conduct relentless combat operations against the New People’s Army (NPA) after President Duterte stopped the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), the Department of National Defense (DND) said on Wednesday.

The DND said that President Duterte has been “fed up” by the communist group’s tactic of talking peace with the government on one hand, while continuing to conduct attacks against government forces and even civilians, on the other.

“The President has had enough of the communist movement’s penchant for double-talk and continued acts of atrocities against the Filipino people,” the DND said in a news statement issued on Wednesday.

“In keeping with the President’s guidance, the DND and AFP will continue to vigorously pursue operations against their armed components,” the statement added.

The DND issued the statement immediately after Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Jesus S. Dureza announced that the government cancelling all planned meetings between the government and the rebels.

Dureza’s pronouncements came after Duterte ordered the halt in talking peace with the communist group.

“Recent tragic and violent incidents all over the country committed by the communist rebels left the President with no other choice but to arrive at this decision.

We take guidance from the President’s recent announcements and declarations,” Dureza said.

“This is an unfortunate development in our work for peace. Never before have we all reached this far in our negotiations with them,” he added.

According to Dureza, the President has taken unprecedented steps and has walked the so-called extra mile to bring peace. However, the communist party and its armed elements have not shown reciprocity thus far.

To start the talks, Duterte last year ordered the release of more than 40 communist leaders identified by the Communist

Party of the Philippines (CPP)-NDFP as peace consultants, including top-ranking NPA commanders like the couple Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, who are chairman and secretary-general, respectively, of the CPP Central Committee.

“There will be no peace negotiations anymore with the CPP/NPA/NDF until such time as the desired enabling environment conducive to a change in the government’s position becomes evident.

We will closely watch the developments,” Dureza said.

Dureza also expressed “deep gratitude” to the Royal Norwegian Government for its strong support to the government of the Philippines-CPP-NDF peace negotiations.

Norway acted as the third-party facilitator for the talks.

The President has had enough of the communist movement’s penchant for doubletalk and continued acts of atrocities against the Filipino people.”—DND

Economy

A4 Thursday, November 23, 2017 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

DOF rejects VAT cut proposal

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By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

he Department of Finance (DOF) has rejected a Senate proposal to reduce the valueadded tax (VAT)—from 12 percent to 10 percent—prompting senators to instead consider options to push for “lesser exemption” from VAT coverage.

This even as Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara, finance committee chairman, assured on Wednesday the Senate version would meet the Duterte administration’s revenue target from proposed reforms in the VAT system.

Angara affirmed the Senate’s version of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) embodied in Senate Bill 1592, which, he said, is projected to yield a P159.5-billion revenue take, even surpassing the P59.9-billion initial revenue estimate.

“We were able to meet the revenue target using the more comprehensive and accurate data that the DOF has provided the committee after the filing of the committee report,” the lawmaker said.

Angara added the boost in revenue was sourced from the amendments

12% to 10% The Senate’s proposed reduction on value-added tax to the provisions on the expansion of the VAT base. “From the repeal of certain VAT special laws alone, the estimated revenue gain is raised from P14 billion to P45.5 billion,” he said.

Angara added, “Another major source of revenue is the doubling of the prevailing documentarystamp tax rates, which will approximately yield P40 billion,” from tax on documents, instruments, loan agreements and papers evidencing the acceptance, assignment, sale or transfer of an obligation, right or property.

This includes stamp tax on bank checks, which will be doubled from P1.50 to P3; on original issue of shares of stock, P1 to P2; sales or transfer of shares of stock, P0.75 to P1.50; certificates of profits or interest in property or accumulations, P0.50 to P1; among others.

According to Angara, the stamptax rates are “already due for updating, since such rates were set two decades ago just like our incometax rates.”

“This increase in stamp-tax rates will also improve the progressivity of the tax-reform package, as this will mostly affect the rich, who have the ability to pay additional taxes,” Angara said.

The Senate ways and means committee, he added, had sought to come up with a version of the TRAIN bill that would raise the take-home pay of Filipino workers by providing tax relief to 99 percent of individual income taxpayers and, at the same time, meet the revenue target so as not to impair the government’s capability to finance its programs and projects.

At the same time, the Senate version of the tax-reform measure also provided more specific earmarking provisions so that revenues will be allocated to programs that will directly benefit the poor.

Angara cited the funding for the free college law, unconditional cash transfer for the bottom 50 percent

poorest households, free medicines for poor families and feeding programs in areas with high incidence of hunger, infrastructure programs to address congestion and improve mass transport, among others.

During the plenary deliberations, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson Sr. proposed the amendment to reduce the VAT rate from 12 percent to 10 percent, saying the economy is improving, with GDP growth at 6.9 percent.

But even as he batted for VATrate reduction from 12 percent to 10 percent, Lacson said there will be an upward adjustment in incremental revenue he estimated to add up to over P117 billion.

“Why? Because among Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nat ions] member-states, t he Philippines has the highest VAT rate. Thailand is only 7 percent.”

Lacson said.

He added: “But then, we are swamped by VAT exemptions and earmarking,” as he noted that total number of exemptions add up to 143.

“We have the biggest number of VAT exemptions...so what I will do is move for lifting exemptions so they have long benefitted from it, some dating back to 1992,” the senator said.

“It’s about time they should give back to the Filipino taxpayers. So, we will pay a 10-percent VAT rate, yet incremental revenue will be bigger, estimated to generate P117 billion,” Lacson added.

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BOI reports 38-percent hike in investment approvals in first 10 months of 2017

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he Board of Investments (BOI) has posted a 38-percent improvement in investment approvals from January to October, reaching P408.7 billion in the first 10 months of the year.

In a news statement issued on Wednesday, the BOI said the approvals represent a 38.1-percent year-on-year (YoY) increase from P296 billion last year. The hike, likewise, propelled employment by 35.1 percent more within the same period.

On a YoY basis, the growth is pegged at 187 percent, or from P9.6 billion to P 27.6 billion Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo said the investment promotion agency is on track to hit its goal, and possibly exceed the P500billion investment-pledge target by year-end.

Approved projects numbered 369, up from 283 projects in 2016.

“We are on track of achieving our P500 billion for the year as a slew of projects in the pipeline are expected to make the cut,” Rodolfo said, adding that the figure does not yet count

projects in other significant sectors like manufacturing and services like retail and real estate that were the main drivers of growth in fueling the economy in the third quarter.

Renewable and power projects continue to keep the pace as the biggest source of investments in the January-toOctober period, getting P128.9 billion during the first 10 months of the year.

Construction and publicprivate partnership projects followed with P127.7 billion, up by 105 percent, from P 62.3 billion last year.

Real-estate activities registered P78.3 billion, up 90.1 percent, from P 41.1 billion in 2016.

Manufacturing investments continue to be robust, with P38.5 billion, up 81.7 percent, from P 21.2 billion the previous year.

Transportation and storage remain steady at P13.3 billion, while accommodation and food service saw a tremendous increase as a consequence of base effect as it got P11.3 billion, up by 268.5 percent, from P3 billion in the same period in 2016.

Catherine N. Pillas

House passes measure on PHL digital-infra devt

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

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he House of Representatives has endorsed for Senate approval a measure seeking to promote open access in data transmission and provide additional powers to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

This, after the lower chamber, by a vote of 204-7, passed House Bill 6557, which aims to encourage investments in the digital infrastructure of the country, on third and final reading late Tuesday.

The proposal also seeks to protect the public interest, as it is affected by its ability to access data networks.

House Committee on Information and Communications Technology Chairman Victor Yap of Tarlac said that, as the Philippines struggles with limitations of infrastructure, it is necessary to ensure open access that would provide every option to improve data transmission.

“Data transmission is a key factor in communications, and this measure seeks to establish a regulatory framework to develop efficient and effective data-transmission in the long term,” the principal author of the bill said.

The lawmaker said the proposal is in line with the policy of the State to narrow the digital divide in the country by encouraging the development of data-transmission infrastructure and removing any barrier to competition in data-transmission services.

Under the measure, data transmission refers to the process of sending digital or digitized analog signal over a communication medium to one or more comput-

ing network/s or communication or electronic device/. It enables the transfer and communication of devices in a point-to-point, pointto-multipoint and multipoint-tomultipoint environment.

The term data transmission includes the provision of voice-over Internet protocol (VOIP) services, but does not include the provision of basic telephone services.

The bill refers to “open access” as the system of allowing the use of data transmission and/or distribution systems and associated facilities subject to fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms in a transparent market.

The measure also aims to establish a strong and independent regulatory body and system to ensure and enhance fair competition in the data-transmission sector.

The bill seeks to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem where persons who wish to engage in the data-transmission industry can compete openly and freely in the spirit of fair competition and “permissionless” innovation.

The measure shall apply to all persons who participate in the datatransmission industry.

The bill provides that any person or entity whose business deals substantially with the transmission of data, including VOIP service provider, Internet-service providers, and data-center service providers shall be governed by the provisions of the proposed law.

The measure added public telecommunications entities principally engaged in the provision of basic telephone services, such as international carrier, interexchange carrier,

local exchange operator and mobile radio-services provider, which also provide data-transmission services, shall be subject to the provisions of the proposal with respect to the data-transmission services they provide and interconnection to their networks that they extend to datatransmission industry participants.

Meanwhile, the bill said that among the functions of the NTC is to ensure that the data-transmission sector remains open and accessible to all qualified participants by implementing an efficient and speedy administrative process in the authorization and registration of datatransmission sector participants.

The measure said the NTC shall also mandate interconnection so that data-transmission industry participants can connect to each other at the various segment and interfaces, such that entities of any size may freely enter and exit the market, and dominance by any single player or group of players is done away with.

It added the NTC shall adopt a technology-neutral framework that allows data-transmission industry participants to use any available technology to provide service.

The measure said it shall promote fair and open competition at all multiple layers of the data-transmission network, allowing a wide variety of physical networks and applications to interact in an open architecture.

Also, it said the NTC shall mandate transparency in pricing and the publication of pricing information to ensure fair trading within and between each data-transmission segment so as to allow clear, comparative information on market prices and services.

LUXURY CRUISE

Dream Cruises’s the World Dream, the first-ever Asian luxury cruise line, is docked at Pier 15 at the Port of Manila South Harbor on Tuesday. The Philippines is fast becoming a favorite destination among luxury cruise lines. PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan

Bill expedites grant of permits to power projects, cuts monthly electricity rates

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

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proposed law seeking to modernize and streamline the grant of permits to energy-generation projects in the country could reduce consumer electricity prices by as much as P1 per kilowatt hour (kWh).

Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee and principal author of Senate Bill 1439, the Energy Virtual One Stop Shop (Evoss) Act of 2017, said on Wednesday that the measure has been approved on second reading.

The bill seeks to establish a technology- and operations-man-

agement software platform for all government entities to promote a unified permitting system. This system, to be supervised by the Department of Energy, will improve coordination between entities and provide easier access to all information necessary to apply for new energy-generation projects.

The Evoss Act also aims to eliminate overlapping mandates in documentary submissions. The lawmaker said this is one of the main factors contributing to the lengthy application process.

“The permitting process to get a power plant off the ground takes as long as three and a half years. This

legislation will eradicate the red tape in the process, which impedes the increase of the country’s energy supply. Ultimately, the Evoss Act is projected to drive down electricity costs and provide significant savings to electricity consumers,” Gatchalian said.

The senator explained that the elimination of red tape would allow foreign investors the capacity to build cutting-edge power plants to enter the market and stimulate competition in the Philippine generation industry. The increased competition would then drive down generation costs and provide significant savings to Filipino households.

Duterte not receptive on DENR, MICC recommendation to lift open-pit mining ban

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resident Duterte on Tuesday night declared he will continue to observe the ban on open-pit mining issued by former Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez, amid calls from the country’s biggest mining body for its lifting.

In a chance interview, the President said he has thumbed down the recommendation of the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) to revoke Lopez’s Administrative Order 2017-10. The order prohibits the use of openpit method of mining for the extraction of copper, gold, silver and complex ores.

Sought for comment on Duterte’s position, Lopez on Wednesday said she is

“totally elated” over the President’s decision. “[I am] totally elated. It means he [Duterte] has his own mind. Even if a government body recommend[ation is apparently] influenced by business interests, his heart remains for the greater majority who will be adversely affected by these decisions,” Lopez said.

Asked if he has plans to restore openpit mining in the future, the President said: “Ayaw ko, because it is destroying the soil, the environment. At walang corrective measures kaagad [I will not, because open-pit mining is destroying the soil, the environment. And it has no

immediate corrective measures].”

Duterte added he would have lifted the ban if there was an effort on the part of mining companies to preserve the environment, but he said there was none.

The President also said there was no need for the MICC to present to him its report, as he will carry on with the ban no matter what. “[Even without the study,] you go to places where there’s an open-pit mining, and you can see the destruction of the soil, the environment,” Duterte said. This, for him, is reason enough to maintain Lopez’s directive against open-pit mining.

The MICC in October voted in favor

of lifting the ban, and Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said he will issue an administrative order restoring open-pit mining. “A majority of the members of the interagency MICC decided…to recommend the lifting of the ban on open-pit mining provided that laws and regulations governing this method of minerals extraction are strictly enforced by [the] DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources],” Cimatu said.

However, it appears Cimatu was unable to convince his principal with the MICC’s recommendation, as the President remains firm with his strong opposition on open-pit mining.

Lopez’s order concluded that “open pits have ended up as perpetual liabilities, causing adverse impacts to the environment, particularly due to the generation of acidic and/or heavy metal-laden water, erosion of mine-waste dumps and/or vulnerability of tailings dams to geological hazards.”

The order added most of the mining disasters in the country were caused by tailings spills from open-pit mining. Even as Lopez was rejected by the powerful Commission of Appointments in May, the government has continued implementing her directive against open-pit mining, banking on Duterte’s open declaration of

his anti-mining stance.

For Rene E. Ofreneo, labor and industrial relations professor at the University of the Philippines, the Chief Executive’s strong position against open-pit mining will force miners to adjust. “The industry has to adjust, go underground and [make] use [of] more advanced technologies,” Ofreneo told the B usiness M irror .

Ofreneo also said it just right for the President to carry on with the ban on open-pit mining, as the method is “really destructive.”

Elijah Felice E. Rosales, Jonathan L. Mayuga

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Thursday, November 23, 2017

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PhilMaize to start selling rice-corn blend in 2018 PHL fisheries output declined by almost 4% in Q3–report

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isheries production in the Philippines continued to decline and fell by nearly 4 percent in the third quarter due to the anemic performance of the commercial and municipal subsectors, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In its report, titled “Fisheries Situation Report,” the PSA said fisheries production in the July-to-September period slid by 3.89 percent to 971,000 metric tons (MT).

“Decreases were noted on commercial and municipal fisheries while aquaculture subsector displayed increment,” the PSA said in the report published on Wednesday. “The species that contributed to the decline in production were roundscad [-3.94 percent], milkfish [-0.73 percent] and tilapia [-0.23 percent].”

The decline in third-quarter output was worse than the 3.8-percent cut recorded in the same period last year. The performance of the sector during the period caused output in January to September to go down by nearly 2 percent.

During the three-month period, milkfish output reached 107,800 MT, while roundscad and tilapia production were recorded at 47,120 MT and 52,470 MT, respectively.

Data from the PSA showed commercialfisheries output fell by 14.27 percent, after registering a 2.52-percent increment in last year, according to the PSA report.

“It was brought about by the limited fishing trips available stocks of canned sardines in Zamboanga peninsula canneries and numerous weather disturbances that prevailed in the country during the quarter,”the report read.

PSA data also showed municipal fisheries production contracted by only 0.68 percent, as output fell by nearly10 percent in the same period last year.

“Of its volume, 84.83 percent were unloaded in fish landing centers and the remaining accounted from catch of inland fishing households,” the report read.

“Weather disturbances and strict implementation of fishery laws slowed down the growth of production, particularly in Western Visayas.”

File photo

Aquaculture production was the lone fisheries subsector that registered an increase during the period. The subsector produced 456,000 MT, which was slightly higher than last year’s 454,545 MT. “Seaweed output grew 18.52 percent in Tawi-Tawi due to favorable weather

conditions in Bicol region,” the PSA said.

T he PSA repor t noted t hat t he aquaculture subsector’s performance i n t he t h i rd qu a r ter wa s a t u r naround from the 3.67-percent decline it recorded in the same period last year. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Old and new technologies support climate-smart agriculture

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ILANG, Cavite—True to my calling as a journalist, I spent one afternoon digging dirt. Or at least my interviewee— renowned Indian agronomist Dr. Julian Gonsalves—was literally digging dirt to look for earthworms and explain to me how the presence of earthworms prove that the soil remains moist and fertile. Meanwhile, I was busy taking down notes and avoiding the big, fat earthworm that he has just dug up and dangled in my face.

“The organic matter is below the ground.

This [garden bed] is full of earthworms. If you have no organic matter [in the soil], you won’t have earthworms. That’s why the forest never has to be fertilized, it naturally regenerates,” he said.

We were at the demo farm of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), a 200-square meter plot at IIRR’s compound in Silang—just a 30-minute drive from Tagaytay. Gonsalves, who’s also IIRR’s senior adviser, was showing me that it was possible to have a “climate smart” farming system without sacrificing productivity, nutrition and farmers’ livelihood.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) was coined by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to refer to technology, policies, investments and practices that can help farmers adapt and be resilient to the extreme weather events brought by a warmer planet. CSA is a buzzword these past few days as agricultural issues have finally been included in the annual United Nations climate talks held in Bonn, Germany, last week.

Agriculture has often been sidelined in UN climate negotiations, with discussions blocked by concerns over its potential impact on commodities export trade and if developing countries will be required to cut carbon emissions caused by farming. This, despite the fact that the agriculture sector is not only major carbon emitter but will also bear the brunt of climate change. The FAO said that agriculture—which includes forestry, fisheries and livestock production—generates around 20 percent of the world’s greenhouse-gas emissions. On the other hand, farmers, most of whom are smallscale landholders whose livelihood depend on the vagaries of weather, are the ones who will suffer the most from heavy flooding, severe drought and stronger typhoons brought by a warmer planet.

But in the recently concluded 23rd Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, climate negotiators have agreed to have the Subsidiary Body for Science and Technological Advice and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation

Prime Sarmiento

prime commodities review issues associated with agriculture. Participating countries are also required to work with these two technical bodies and have to submit by March 2018 their views on climate adaptation and mitigation issues, soil and water management, nutrition and food security.

The FAO also said that around 90 percent of countries’ climate commitments, known as Nationally Determined Contributions, include the agricultural sectors.

These climate negotiations may be too technical for most of us, but I believe that CSA is now more relevant in an era marked

by Instagram foodies, artisanal everything, farm-to-fork dining and health-food craze.

More than its price and flavor, we’re now concerned on who and how our food was made and how its production impacts the planet that we live in. Thankfully, there are existing and new technologies and approaches that can make CSA possible and enable us to enjoy a “low carbon” meal.

One such technology is bio-intensive gardening—the techniques of which are being applied in IIRR’s demo farm in Silang. This agro-ecological farming method was developed in the United States in the 1970s and its key components include double dug-raise beds, composting, crop rotation and planting indigenous, nutrient-rich varieties. The aim is to make a small plot of land productive for a long time without exhausting water and energy resources. This is why IIRR’s bio-intensive garden have deep dug-beds that can conserve rainwater in times of flood and release them during the dry season.

Gonsalves showed me one of these garden beds has around 30 types of sweet potatoes — the seeds were collected from different parts of the country. He said having several varieties of one crop keeps away pests and reduces risk from potential crop failure.

Such biodiversity also allows the farmers to keep and continue growing these indigenous varieties—most of which are climate resilient.

Remember those “Bahay Kubo” vegetables like sitaw, bataw and patani? These traditional legumes which we seldom eat nowadays can tolerate a long dry spell. Kakawate trees were

planted around the garden to protect the crops from strong winds while their leaves can serve as green manure. There were plenty of amaranth (locally known as kulitis), as this fibrous plant is valued for being drought resistant and its leaves, when cooked, are rich in calcium, folate and vitamin C. The garden doesn’t use pesticide or chemical fertilizer.

Bio-intensive farming is, of course, something that can’t be applied to large-scale, commercial farming. But since this was developed for a small plot land, urban and backyard gardeners can use this method to produce their own food with less carbon footprint. IIRR has, in fact partnered with Department of Education-Cavite, the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute and the Canada-based International Development Research Centre to promote biointensive gardening in Cavite’s public schools.

I will be discussing how this school-garden project helped improved schoolchildren’s health and make them more appreciative of agriculture and environment in one of my succeeding columns.

Apart from bio-intensive gardening, there are other CSA technologies that are developed or being developed—in the Philippines and outside—which will not only cut agriculture’s carbon emissions but also protect farms from extreme weather conditions. The International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños has developed the alternate wetting and drying which can reduce water consumption and methane emission in rice production. It also developed and distributed rice varieties that can tolerate climate stresses like drought and high salinity level. In Singapore scientists at the Nanyang Technological University developed a solar reflective-paint additive which, when applied on a roof of a greenhouse, can block out 90 percent of the heat but allow most of the light in which is essential in growing plants. In India a nonprofit farm tech startup Kheyti is developing a low-cost modular greenhouse that can reduce heat stress and boost crop yield, while in West Africa the World Agroforestry Centre reported that climatesmart farming techniques like agroforestry and intercropping have more than tripled yields of millet in Niger.

Clearly, there are many ways to practice climate-smart agriculture. But what I think the most important thing to consider here is not just to give farmers more options, but to make sure that these technologies are affordable and suitable to their needs. I also think that in creating new and/or modifying existing technologies, farmers will need to be involved to ensure that they can be widely adapted.

C

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

orn growers belonging to the Philippine Maize Federation (PhilMaize) are targeting to sell 30,000 metric tons (MT) of ricecorn blend next year, according to the National Corn Competitiveness Board (NCCB).

NCCB Executive Vice Chairman and former PhilMaize Chairman Emeritus Roderico R. Bioco said corn growers are keen on testing the market to determine the product’s acceptability. The National Food Authority (NFA) will help distribute the rice-corn blend.

Bioco added that the group would first roll out a 50-50 blend—half of the mix is comprised of rice, while the remaining would consist of either yellow or white corn. “ We wou ld probably star t w it h a smaller volume of 30,000 MT next year, which is based on the ability of the NFA to push this product to its institutional clients,” Bioco told reporters in a news briefing during the 13th Philippine National Corn Congress held in Pasay City on Wednesday.

“The demand is bigger than 30,000 MT but we are looking at it more conservatively. And we still do not know what will be the acceptable blend, that’s why were conducting a taste test, but it is safe to say that 50-50 [blend] is the way to go,” Bioco added.

The NCCB official, however, acknowledged that consuming corn grains is an “acquired taste.”

“Marketing the rice-corn blend to people in Cebu, Dumaguete and Leyte would probably not pose a problem. We told the government to focus on areas where corn is not normally consumed, such as in Bicol, Central Luzon and Northern Luzon,” said Bioco.

He said corn growers are planning to sell the rice-corn blend at “a little

below” than the regular retail price of rice. The average retail price of regular-milled rice is P36 per kilogram, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

“We want to encourage its consumption but we also do not want to sell it too cheap as it could be seen as a very inferior product,” Bioco added.

Bioco said PhilMaize has decided to go into selling rice-corn blend to complement efforts of the government to achieve rice self-sufficiency and avoid the importation of the staple.

Dr. Wilma A. Hurtada of the Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, College of Human Ecology at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) said consuming more corn than rice would be good for one’s health as it provides more nutrients.

“Corn has more dietary fiber, which helps prevent stunting among Filipino children,” Hurtada said.

“A lso, corn contains high amylose which gives an intermediate glycemic index when eaten. Meaning, it will not release fast glucose into the blood if you eat corn more than eating white rice, thus, reducing any individual’s risk of having diabetes mellitus,” she added.

However, Hurtada recommended that rice and corn should be sold separately.

She also said the consumption of more corn should also be promoted.

The rice-corn blend was developed by the Institute of Plant Breeding of the UPLB to promote the consumption of white corn.

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Thursday, November 23, 2017

TheBroa

Business

How a President who’s not afraid of big busines

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By Cai U. Ordinario, Catherine N. Pillas & Elijah Felice Rosales

RESIDENT Duterte may not have heard of Dani Rodrik, but at least they agree on China. By not copying the Western version of going to market, China applied its own version of capitalism, Rodrik wrote in “The fatal flaw of neoliberalism: It’s bad economics.”

Whether that’s true or not, whether Duterte came across the already widely read article in The Guardian doesn’t matter for Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan.

What matters for Balisacan, known as the “antipoverty economist among business journalists,” is the full support of the Duterte administration in promoting a level playing field for all businesses in the country.

Between sips of coffee from a cup at the BusinessMirror office on Wednesday, Balisacan pointed to the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 as evidence of that support.

Balisacan noted that this is the first administration to incorporate competition policy in the development plan. The Philippines’ competition law, which was passed in 2015, created the PCC as an agency under the Office of the President.

The PDP seeks to enhance market competition by fostering an environment that penalizes anti-competitive practices, facilitates entry of players and supports regulatory reforms to stimulate investments and innovation.

In essence, the PDP says the days of monopolies and control of the market by rent-seeking elite are over.

Chapter 16

THE plan’s Chapter 16, which is dedicated to Competition (“Leveling the Playing Field through a National Competition Policy”), aims to improve the country’s ranking in the Ease of Doing Business to the top third of the index by the end of 2022.

In this year’s global ranking, the Philippines’ rank in ease of doing business is one of the lowest in the world at 171 out of 185 countries. The country also slid down in terms of competitiveness from its top 6th position last year when compared to other member-countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The chapter also outlines other targets such as diminishing anti-competitive practices, reducing barriers to entry and reducing limits to entrepreneurship.

Based on the PDP competition strategies, the Duterte administration aims to review legislations and policies that substantially prevent, restrict, or reduce competition; analyze competition issues in priority sectors; and investigate conducts and agreements that may substantially prevent, restrict or reduce competition.

Further, the administration commits to the promotion of competition-related policies and best practices; conduct of capacity-building activities for all branches of government; and institutionalize a mechanism to implement the National Competition Policy (NCP).

The chapter also outlined the Duterte administration’s legislative agenda when it comes to promoting competition in the country.

‘A-list’

FOREMOST on the list is the amendment of the Public Service Act, which will lift restrictions on foreign investments in economic activities, such as telecommunications.

The PCC submitted a position

paper in July on the amendment of Commonwealth Act 146, or the Public Service Act. The law provides that public utilities are public services or entities that deliver public goods and thus can enjoy a “natural monopoly.”

But the PCC is opposing this definition and offers an enumeration of public utilities to include electricity transmission or distribution; gas or petroleum pipeline distribution system; water pipeline distribution; and sewerage pipeline system. This means these entities will be the only ones to enjoy a natural monopoly.

Apart from the Public Service Act, the Duterte administration is pushing for the passage of a Regulatory Management System Act, which will establish a more competitive and coherent regulatory environment.

The law will create a central body to ensure that there is an evidence-based approach to formulating laws, rules and regulations.

Balisacan said the inclusion of competition in the PDP as a priority of the current administration makes it easier for the PCC to work with various government agencies to further improve doing business in the Philippines.

“We always tell them this part of the PDP, the priorities of the administration, so maybe we can work together to address competition issues,” Balisacan said.

Rice case

THE PCC has also not turned its back on this administration.

Balisacan himself supports the move of the Duterte administration to replace the Quantitative Restriction (QR) on rice with a tariff.

He recently told the BusinessMirror that removing the QR on rice and converting this into a tariff is a step in the right direction in terms of allowing more players to compete in the rice sector.

Balisacan also said the creation of a fund that will help address the needs of farmers will also not be anti-competition if the money is channeled to needs such as farm-to-market roads and irrigation facilities.

The QR, Balisacan said, is one of the major reasons why rice prices remain high in the country compared to other countries in the region that consider rice as their food staple.

But in some regions or locales in the country, the price of rice could be higher because of the presence of rice cartels. While the PCC is still in the process of crafting studies on this phenomenon, Balisacan maintained that rice cartels are among the anti-competitive practices that the commission aims to prevent, restrict, or reduce.

“So where are the high prices of rice coming from? If you look at the overall policy environment, as an economist I would say ‘maybe look at your trade policy,’ because the trade policy, if you look at it, is constraining the availability of imports even if they are able to produce most of what our consumers need at affordable prices,” Balisacan said. “So does it come from the cartel? I’m not saying there is no cartel but we would have a better appreciation of the problem at least in some geographic sectors of the country.”

AT the BusinessMirror Coffee Club Forum on Wednesday, Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan fields questions from reporters and editors of the BusinessMirror. He said his agency is backing the President’s crackdown on dominant companies taking advantage of consumers. He said the PCC is determined to do its job with a Chief Executive firing strong statements against oligarchs. ALYSA SALEN

aderLook

sMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph | Thursday, November 23, 2017

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ss can inspire PCC in leveling the playing field ber of events, issued warnings against abusive companies, especially those in the telecommunications and mining industries.

The Commander in Chief has warned the listed ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., tycoon Lucio Tan and the duopoly of PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. “What [we are] looking at in competition is the market efficiency and the abuse of dominance, abuse of market power,” Balisacan said. “Now if we can establish that some sectors, [including] sectors that are controlled by the oligarchs, are also dealing with this kind of problem, then they are obviously part of our lens.”

VALERIY KACHAEV | DREAMSTIME

China play

More layers

IN 2014 a study released by the state-owned think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) stated the number of layers in the local rice value chain, and the limited margins make it difficult for a rice cartel in local production and trade to exist.

Nonetheless, PIDS consultant Beulah de la Peña said some analysts do not discount the possibility that a group may “control certain markets in certain situations.”

This, she explained, could stem from the fact that the Philippines is an archipelago.

Based on the study, the cost of rice production per bag is between a low of P1,586.25 and a high of P1,986.25. The lower cost is the estimate for low- quality rice and the high cost for premium-quality rice.

The study explained that paddy rice currently costs around P18P20 per kilo or some P900-P1,000 per 50 kilos. Milling costs are P60 per kilo and milling recovery (rice produced from paddy) ranges from 60 percent to 65 percent.

Using a 64-percent milling recovery, the norm used by the government, the cost of rice ex-mill is about P1,716 per 50-kilo bag.

Transport costs of some P70 per bag bring the rice cost ex-Manila at P1,786 per bag.

About margins

WITH the margins included, the total cost and margins reach any-

where between P1,766.25 and a high of P2,166.25. This results in a retail price range of around P35.33 to P43.33 per kilo.

The average margin in the rice trade, according to de la Peña, is P100 per bag. This means a maximum of P100 per bag per stage in the rice trade.

Broken down, the margin can reach P20 for the trader; P40 for the miller; P20 for the wholesaler or a total of around P80 up to the level of the wholesaler.

With retailers placing a P100/ bag margin, the total margin can reach a total of around P180 up to the level of the retailer. These are inputted in the final cost of rice per kilo.

Apart from slim margins, the study also said those engaged in the rice production and trade are also exposed to certain risks.

De la Peña said they often fall victim to bad weather that limits supplies and intensifies competition from big players and unplanned imports, as well as smuggling that floods the market with low-cost rice.

Further, the study said, there are “swindlers” that target the rice traders. These swindlers will get the rice traders’ trust and disappear once traders give them credit.

Oversight role

BUT the country’s two-year-old PCC is not yet keen on accommodating industries seeking exemp-

tions from its oversight. These exemptions are referred to in the Competition Law as falling under the forbearance provisions.

We can’t do that yet as the agency is just beginning to study the country’s overall competitiveness landscape, according to Balisacan.

He explained that that was the PCC’s tack when an association of international shippers wrote a letter requesting for exemption from the agency’s oversight.

By way of example, the PCC chairman explained that international shipping lines are sometimes granted this temporary waiver from scrutiny in other jurisdictions by their respective competition authorities. The exemption request comes from shipping lines’ insistence that their associations follow a different set of norms and procedures that are observed in a particular country.

But, given the logistics industry as a whole is still roughly “unstudied” in terms of competition, the broad network of activities related to the industry—specifically shipping—needs to be looked at closer.

“The chain in logistics is quite long,” Balisacan said. “Sometimes there are problems at some points of the chain, and for [the PCC] to be effective, we have to understand where the weakest link is in terms of competition.”

Earlier in the year, PCC Com-

missioner Stella Quimbo announced that the PCC will look into the logistics industry motu proprio (Latin for “on his own impulse”). Quimbo said the PCC will release an “issues paper.”

Exercising restraint

BALISACAN, however, pointed out that in the Philippine Competition Act (PCA), associations can be freely created provided they are not used as “a forum to discuss or promote quality standards, efficiency, safety, security, productivity, competitiveness and other matters of common interest involving the industry,” and further the creation of the association “is done without any anticompetitive intent or effect”.

The exemption sought by the international shippers fall under the forbearance section of the PCA. The provisions allow the commission the ability to exercise restraint in applying the provisions of the Act in certain cases, due to circumstances such as if the forbearance is consistent with public interest, and will benefit the consumers.

If the forbearance will also not impede competition in the market where the entity or group of entities seeking exemption operates nor in related markets, it may also be considered.

Balisacan clarified they have yet to develop guidelines on how to flesh out the forbearance pro-

visions, and is inclined not to entertain any requests for it while they have yet to survey the general landscape of the industry.

“We can’t give exemptions, I think at this point while we don’t have enough samples in the industry,” Balisacan said, adding that any decision they make must be based on evidence of industry research.

Herculean task

THE PCC was given herculean tasks by law: balance the market, ensure competition and go after cartels.

As an independent quasi-judicial body, the PCC is mandated by Republic Act 10667, or the PCA, to investigate anti-competitive agreements and abuses of market dominance, conduct inquiries, decide on mergers and acquisitions and impose penalties.

In going after anti-competitive practices and cartels, the PCC found an ally in the unorthodox, unforgiving Duterte, who, since the election period, has expressed his disgust against oligarchs.

At the BusinessMirror Coffee Club Forum on Wednesday, Balisacan said his agency is backing the President’s crackdown on dominant companies taking advantage of consumers. He said the PCC is determined to do its job with a Chief Executive firing strong statements against oligarchs.

Duterte, in uncountable num-

IN an unprecedented move, the President has allowed China to facilitate the entry of a third player in the Philippine telecoms industry.

According to Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr., Duterte made this move as part of efforts to end the duopoly of Globe Telecom and PLDT in the telecommunications industry.

“This is the latest instance of the President proving that he has the political will to do what is necessary to benefit the Filipino people,” Roque said on Monday. “I repeat, the announcement is that duopoly—that telecoms duopoly—is about to end with the entry of the Facebook subsidiary, as well as the offer by the President of the People’s Republic of China to operate the third telecoms carrier.”

This move has earned the competition chief’s applause, saying this gives the PCC fuel to hunt down companies breaking the competition law.

“So far I’m very happy that in this case, in the telecoms industry, the President has been very supportive. So, I hope that kind of relationship supports the country because we really want to do our work effectively,” Balisacan said.

“It’s a welcome development that the President is actually very much supportive and is pushing for improvement in the Internet [service]. I think everybody knows that there has got to be an improvement in our access to and services in telecoms and Internet,” Balisacan added. “And the clamor for improving services, particularly in the quality, price and cost of Internet, has been around.”

Efficiently big

THE PCC is presently engaged in a court battle with Globe and PLDT for allegedly committing an anti-competitive practice. The two telecoms giants have purchased San Miguel Corp.’s telecoms assets amounting to P69.1 billion.

For the PCC, this is anti-competitive, as Globe and PLDT have been accused by the public of providing poor Internet service. Proof of this, the Philippines recorded the slowest connection speed among Asia-Pacific countries, according to a report by US-based Akamai Technologies Inc. On the other hand, Balisacan said the PCC does not necessarily consider big companies as offenders of the competition law. “Of course, I can’t generalize. Do all oligarchs have a problem with competition? Our approach in the PCC is on a market-tomarket basis. We cannot generalize,” the Balisacan said.

“If you are big but you are efficient, if you have become big because you were able to displace the inefficient, that’s pro-competitive, because the whole basis of competition is you can increase your market share if you offer better products, better prices,” Balisacan added. “So, we should not penalize them if they have become big by being efficient.”

Nonetheless, the competition chief took note of Duterte’s public statement against abusive oligarchs. For Balisacan, this is enough for them in the competition body to perform the regulator’s herculean task.

A8

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Thurssday, November 23, 2017 • Editor: Jun B. Vallecera

Accelerated spending widens deficit above 800 percent in October

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he national government reported a budget deficit in October reaching P21.8 billion, with expenditures outpacing revenues for the month, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

Documents obtained by reporters show the government posting a deficit dramatically higher by more than 800 percent, from only P2.3 billion in the same month in 2016. The budget shortfall widened by P19.5 billion.

Expenditures for the month reached P226.9 billion, higher by 28 percent, from only P177 billion in October last year.

Broken down, interest payments rose to P20.4 billion, up by 27 percent, from P16.1 billion in the same month in 2016. So-called other expenditures totaled P206.4 billion for the month.

Revenues for the month totaled P205.1 billion, up by 17 percent, from P174.6 billion in 2016.

Tax revenues for the month reached P186.5 billion, which was an expansion by 28 percent, compared to only P157.4 billion in 2016.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue collected P142.5 billion in October, while the Bureau of Customs reported collections totaling P42.9 billion.

Nontax revenues totaled P18.6 billion, up by 8 percent, from P17.3 billion in the same month last year.

The BTr generated P7.6 billion during the month, or an expansion of 56 percent, from P4.9 billion in 2016.

As a result, the primary deficit, which nets out interest payment on government debt, contracted by 110 percent from a surplus of P13.7 billion a year ago to a deficit P1.4 billion wide in October this year.

DOF cuts creditable withholding tax on gold sales to 1 percent

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By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

he government on Wednesday announced a sharp reduction on the tax withheld on the sale of gold to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), from 5 percent to only 1 percent.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III himself bared the issuance of new revenue regulations (RR), reducing the creditable withholding tax (CWT), a move seen to encourage small-scale miners to sell their gold to the BSP with renewed vigor.

The RR, signed only last week, kept the excise tax on gold sales at 2 percent.

Dominguez said the policy-making Monetary Board of the BSP has already been advised on the new CWT rate for gold sales.

“With this new tax rate and the possible reduction both in the assay fee and in the processing of gold payments at the Security Plant Complex (SPC), small-scale gold miners have committed to sell back their gold produce to the BSP,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez added he will “propose bottom line-friendly appropriate numbers

to the Monetary Board in consultation with SPC.” He said the new CWT rate should help miners in the cities of Davao, Zamboanga, Naga and Baguio get a fair market price for their gold instead of being shortchanged when they sell to the black market.

“We will also be working with Congress to institutionalize this revenue regulation through an appropriate amendment to the National Internal Revenue Code,” Dominguez added.

Besides helping small-scale miners, Dominguez said the new regulation should also allow the BSP to build its gross international reserves without having to spend dollars as the reduction would enable them to buy gold directly using local currency.

“Unlike using pesos to buy foreign

Customer is king at BPI branches B ank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) opened on Tuesday its flagship branch for clients in Makati City that features a glass design and wider space, reflecting its commitment to reach more customers and offer streamlined services.

BPI built the 680-square-meter branch at the Insular Life building on the corner of Ayala and Paseo de Roxas avenues. The branch is part of the Ayala-led bank’s renovation of at least five branches in the city.

Through these branches, the universal lender aims to shorten lines at its banks in Makati, which is the country’s largest business district, as they seek to draw more clients and more inbranch inquiry within its premises.

“It is a daring move for us because this branch is quite large. We want to create a unique

www.businessmirror.com.ph

experience for customers as Makati is congested. The large space will enable them to do their daily transactions and complicated ones, as well, with our trusted advisers,” said Joseph Albert L. Gotuaco, BPI executive vice president and head of its Retail Client Group.

Thus, more than its modern design, Gotuaco added the flagship branch represents BPI’s efforts to adapt to the emerging needs and preferences of its 8.2 million clients who transact in branches and on smartphones.

“Our strategy is not only to create the right space for our clients, but at the core, we’re developing our products, getting them in one place and delivering them fast as a piece of customer experience,” he said.

Gotuaco added the BPI will be adding at least nine branches this year, and another 17 for next

year, as part of its more than 841-branch network nationwide for its various markets.

“We’ll be seeing branches like this, which is larger than the normal [branches] in other major cities and also be designed, not only for retail customers but also corporate and small and medium enterprises,” he said.

Gotuaco added the BPI was granted a license by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to construct up to 50 branches around the country next year.

“We’re inching up in the number of branches and focusing a lot on refurbishing them.

Expanding our footprint through branches is very important because our transactions have been highly automated. But we still offer various consumer products, such as deposits, loans, insurance and savings, in branches,” he said. Kathryn Jose

exchange to buy gold, which will affect the peso-dollar rate, this flexibility will not have a direct impact on the movement of the peso against the dollar,” Dominguez said.

The BSP purchases gold from small-scale miners in accordance with Republic Act 7076, or the People’s Small Scale Mining Act of 1991, as well as from other sources.

It then refines the gold into forms acceptable in the international bullion markets.

The BSP has five gold-buying stations in Quezon City and the cities of Baguio, Davao, Zamboanga and Naga.

Because of the imposition, BSP gross gold purchases fell drastically from some P43 billion in 2010 to just P34 billion the following year and only P1.2 billion in 2012.

From there, it fell drastically to just P300 million in 2013.

Deputy BSP Gov. Diwa C. Guinigundo said the 5-percent creditable withholding tax and the 2-percent excise tax on gold sales had an adverse impact on their gold purchases.

In a text message, he said the BSP used to purchase more or less 900,000 troy ounces of gold from small-scale gold miners a year prior to the imposition of the withholding and excise taxes.

“After the Bureau of Internal Revenue imposition, this dwindled to 30,000 and then 20,000, then 14,000 and around 12,000 troy ounces. Many have been selling to the backdoor or the black market,” Guinigundo said.

Case clippings

By Justice S J Ranada Jr.

EXEMPTING CIRCUMSTANCES–accident Accident cannot be appreciated as an exempting circumstance where the accused does not establish that he acted with due care, and without fault or intention of causing injuries to the victim. The assertion of accident could be credible if a single shot is fired, as that could be due to the unintentional pulling of the hammer during the grappling for control of the gun. As the gun fired twice, accident is eliminated.

People v. Delector GR 200026 04 Oct. 2017 Bersamin, J

AUB becomes first bank to launch WeChat Pay in PHL

Associations as sustainability leaders

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owadays you often hear the word “sustainability” which, in general terms, means continuity and endurance of systems and processes. It is also interchangeably used for “sustainable development,” a much broader concept. For this column, I will use sustainability in the context of business sustainability, defined as managing the “triple bottom line”—a process by which businesses manage their financial, social and environmental risks, obligations and opportunities.

In a post by Nancy Himmelfarb of GreenBiz, companies like Unilever, with the “Unilever Sustainable Living Plan,” and Nike, with its “Sustainable Innovation Imperative,” have long been seen as business leaders in sustainability.

These companies demonstrate a clear vision and commitment to sustainability and are experts at integrating sustainability with their business goals and operations. But what about associations? As industry advocates, shouldn’t they take a leadership role in advancing sustainability efforts?

Most companies need sustainability support, and associations are uniquely positioned to guide them and promote their efforts. Associations can­— and should—leverage their position to improve the sustainability performance of businesses across entire industries.

According to Himmelfarb, here’s why associations are well suited to get the job done:

Associations understand the issues that matter most to members. By vir-

tue of their unique role, associations possess very broad industry intelligence. My organization, the Association

Association World Octavio Peralta of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP), has been publishing its annual sustainability report (SR) since 2008 within the framework of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the de facto global sustainability-reporting standard.

The ADFIAP also has a sustainability officer who records and tracks our performance based on sustainabilityreporting indicators. He conducts SR seminars and helps our members prepare the SR.

Associations are positioned to bring members and stakeholders together. As conveners, associations

can bring together members and other stakeholders, acknowledge diverse and sometimes conflicting stakeholder interests, supply technical expertise and knowledge, and facilitate agreement on industry-wide sustainability goals and voluntary performance standards. Facilitating the development of sustainability goals and standards with extensive industry participation and buy in is the first step to improve sustainability performance industry-wide.

Associations can drive change. After

defining sustainability goals, associations should support performance im-

provement by issuing calls to action for members. Encourage members to adopt sustainability standards, facilitate pilot programs and collaborate on research to address sustainability challenges.

Associations should also recognize top performers by promoting success stories, best practices and lessons learned with other businesses, consumers and the public at large.

In addition, associations should talk about sustainability and what it means to the industry, communities and the world at large. These engagements can be big or small, and might include industry forums or events, as well as bitesize messages or moments, to reach all potential audiences on topics that interest them.

Associations should also consider publishing a sustainability report with disclosures on industry performance, remembering that sustainability is a journey and that the public expects transparency, not perfection.

Business has always been a source of sustainability innovation, and associations can do more to catalyze and support business efforts. Are you ready to take on the challenge?

The column contributor, Octavio Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacif ic and the CEO and founder of the PCAAE. The PCA AE is holding the Associations Summit 5 and the Ang Susi Awards 2017 on November 22 and 23 at the Philippine International Convention Center.

E -mail i nqu i r ies @ad f i ap.org for more details.

R

iding on the rising influx of tourists from China and the growing bandwagon of mobile-payment users, publicly listed Asia United Bank (AUB) has launched WeChat Pay in the Philippines, allowing Chinese tourists in the country to conveniently and seamlessly make payments using their electronic wallets.

Now the second-largest mobile-payments system, WeChat Pay is embedded in China’s dominant social-messaging app, WeChat.

Launched in 2013, WeChat Pay caters to the messaging app’s nearly 1 billion users and has a 43-percent market share in the world. WeChat Pay is also now accepted in 15 countries and regions and available in 12 currencies.

With the acquiring license agreement between WeChat developer Tencent and AUB, the country’s fastest-growing universal bank can now enable Philippine merchants to accept WeChat payments from Chinese tourists, providing a fast, secure and convenient way to pay for shopping, dining, hotel and airline bookings, tours and other tourism-related activities.

The Chinese are the third-largest inbound tourist group in the country, following Korea and the United States. The Department of Tourism (DOT) expects Chinese tourist arrivals to breach the 1-million mark this year from close to 700,000 in 2016.

The Philippines is among the top 10 destinations for Chinese tourists, who stay locally for eight to nine days on average and spend around P32 billion on activities and purchases, according to latest DOT figures.

“We cannot underscore enough the opportunities and tight engagement in this medium. WeChat users spend an average

of about 90 minutes and 33 times each day, and it is imperative for a technologically savvy institution like AUB to help make life easier for its massive and thriving Chinese user base,” said AUB Chief Transformation Officer Jacob Ng during AUB’s 20th anniversary celebration on October 26. Ng will succeed AUB’s Manuel Gomez in January 2018 as Branch Banking Group head.

Gomez, who is currently AUB’s executive vice president and head of branch banking group, emphasized the game-changing potential of the new offering. “WeChat Pay levels the playing field for small and big merchants, accommodating nearly every type of purchase and services for Chinese tourists. This partnership harnesses the natural ecosystem of retail in today’s tech-driven world and pushes the innovation and flexibility that AUB has always been known for,” said the bank’s incoming president who will succeed Abraham Co on January 1, 2018. Co will become AUB chairman, replacing founding chairman Jacinto L. Ng Sr. who will serve as chairman emeritus.

“WeChat Pay merchants enjoy next-day payments in daily transactions. To be accredited, they simply need to open an AUB deposit account, have a smartphone, an Internet connection and download the AUB PayMate App to start accepting QR codebased transactions from WeChat Pay Customers” said Mags Surtida, vice president and head of AUB’s Credit Cards Business now heading the WeChat Pay business.

The AUB will make WeChat Pay live to its merchant partners this month to December and is currently conducting merchant orientations and accreditation.

The Regions BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Efleda P. Campos • Thursday, Novermber 23, 2017

A9

Alviera raises investment to ₧100B in Porac devt

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By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

LARK FREEPORT—Property developer Ayala Land Inc. and Leonio Land Holdings Inc. (LLHI), joint developers of Alviera in Porac, Pampanga, have raised their investment from P90 billion to P100 billion for the large-scale, mixed-use estate.

This was announced in a news conference here on Monday at the Park Inn Hotel Clark by Radisson by John Estacio, A lviera general manager.

The new investment will expand the estate to an additional 700 hectares. Alviera now covers a total area of 1,800 hectares.

The estate is uniquely positioned to complement and propel economic activities in the region, as well as nurture contemporary lifestyles by integrating residential, business, tourism and leisure pursuits. Upon development, Alviera is expected to be home to over 200,000 residents, accommodate 30,000 students, generate 250,000 jobs and welcome as much as 150,000 visitors.

As a result of the rapid 95-percent sales take-up of the first phase of the Alviera Industrial Park with 16 industrial lots, the estate will launch a second phase covering 32 hectares. It has signed locators in food manufacturing, motorcycle assembly, packaging, logistics and

warehousing.

The non-Peza (Philippine Economic Zone Authority) industrial park was designed for light to medium, nonpolluting industries.

Alviera’s initial residential offering through its two residential brands Alveo Land and Avida Land has sold 74 percent of its total Phase 1 inventory. These residential projects have seen values appreciate by 20 percent in the past two years as the estate continues to rise.

As for Ayala Land Premier, the luxury developer will soon launch a residential subdivision steeped in the estate’s natural green spaces.

The development will sit beside the Alviera Country Club slated to open in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The turnover of the Phase 1 residential units and industrial lots will be complemented by the completion of the road work and utilities toward the end of the year.

New opportunities for investment and business will be made available through Alviera East

Commercial, a 7-hectare commercial hub situated next to De La Salle University, the industrial park, and the 180-hectare residential communities.

The estate’s shareholders and visitors alike will also benefit from the establishment of a world-class botanical garden. Alviera recently signed with De La Salle Philippines to build the 23-hectare La Salle Botanical Gardens. Envisioned as a botanical garden on a par with international gardens, the project will have 25 themed gardens, a full-scale laboratory, a plant nursery, greenhouses and libraries.

Alviera has actively pursued inclusive economic growth for its host communities in Porac. Aside from generating over 1,600 local jobs for construction, maintenance and security, the estate recently established a pavers’ production facility operated and managed by the Dolorian Producers’ Cooperative (DPC), which manufactures pavers that Alviera will buy and use for its development’s pedestrian sidewalks.

The DPC is also poised to generate additional income functioning as the official food concessionaire for the development site as construction continues.

Located minutes away from Subic Freeport and Clark International Airport, Alviera will soon offer more transportation options for visitors.

Talks are ongoing for public transportation linkages to this freeport and Angeles City.

Alviera will feature a diverse mix of residential dwellings, commercial districts, industrial parks, institutions and leisure facilities to attract local and international markets and support local economic growth.

NMIS wants to establish a slaughterhouse per town

By Manuel T. Cayon

@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

T

HE National Meat Inspection Ser vices (NMIS) in Mindanao has urged local governments in the Caraga region to put up their own government-certified slaughterhouse to ensure food safety for ordinary consumers.

Kennedy Sunico, regional director of the NMIS Caraga region, told the Department of Agriculture (DA) radio program Bahandi sa Kaumahan, in Butuan City the government is targeting to put up one facility in each town.

Of the 73 municipalities and cities in the region, only 27 have their own slaughter house, “thus, the NMIS is coordinating with the respective municipalities or cities to help establish meat-processing plant,” Sunico said in a statement carried by the information office of the DA in Caraga.

The establishment of a slaughterhouse in each town would

ensure its facilities, and operation would be covered by national foodsafety standards because the facility would be certified by the NMIS. Sunico said the NMIS call on local governments to establish their own slaughterhouse goes with the assurance the NMIS would pass the standard of a registered slaughterhouse.

With the slaughterhouse nearby, the safety of the meat would not be compromised by exposure to long travel when done elsewhere.

Sunico added local government units (LGU,) which do not have their own slaughterhouse, may coordinate with the NMIS office “for the necessary procedures and for possible access of government interventions.”

“LGUs may avail themselves of the 50-50 counterparting scheme, wherein the amount to establish the slaughterhouse would be partly funded by the DA-NMIS or the LGU applicant may opt to access the small-scale meat establishment program,” he said.

Under the small-scale meatestablishment program, a new scheme in the NMIS, the LGU may avail itself of the P3-million slaughterhouse project. Its counterpart is only the lot, access road, water and electricity system and its maintenance.

“Such project serves as the center of trade and commerce for livestock and poultry industry as it triggers more players in trading and more farmer producers will be encouraged with the presence of the nearby meat processing,” Sunico added.

The NMIS has, likewise, urged the LGUs to have at least one meat inspector to ensure safe meat is sold in its market.

“The LGU may coordinate with our office for a meat-inspector training,” Sunico said.

He added the slaughterhouse “is vital for Caraga region as a tourism destination, where food safety is a necessity for the tourists, as well as the Caraganon consumers, in general.”

MINE-SAFETY SHOWCASE As part of the 64th Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association Conference 2017, booths showcasing participating mining companies like OceanaGold Philippines Inc. welcome visitors to Camp John Hay in Baguio City. The annual event recognizes responsible miners in the country. SUZANNE JUNE G. PERANTE

Smart gives Benguet Capitol access to Wi-fi

By Mau Victa Correspondent

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O improve the quality of connectivity for customers in Northern Luzon, PLDT wireless-subsidiary Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) has rolled out carrier-grade Smart Wi-fi across government offices, transportation hubs and tourist spots in Benguet, helping customers be more productive on the go.

Smart Wi-fi is now available at the Benguet Provincial Capitol, the latest addition to the growing list of Smart Wi-fi-powered government establishments across the country.

Smart Wi-fi is also available along Session Road, at the National Bureau of Investigation office on Upper Session Road and at The Camp, which has also been launched as a Smart Spot, and will soon be launched in Baguio City Hall.

Baguio City, known as the Summer Capital of the Philippines, is one of the major tourist destinations in the country. It hosts around a million tourists every year.

“With the stepped-up rollout of carrier-grade Smart Wi-fi, PLDT continues to be at the forefront of the country’s digital transformation into a Smart Nation through better connectivity for all,” said Jovy Hernandez, senior vice president and head of enterprise for PLDT and Smart.

Aside from these key areas, Smart Wi-fi is also available in the Laoag City Hall in Ilocos Norte, in key transportation hubs like the Tuguegarao Airport in Cagayan, Laoag International Airport in Ilocos Norte and Partas Bus Terminal in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. It is also available in Northern Luzon colleges and universities, such as the Pangasinan State University and Colegio de Dagupan in Pangasinan and Divine Word College in Laoag.

Super speed Smart Wi-fi is also available in the surfing town of San Juan, La Union, where Smart Spots have been launched in Fatwave Surf Resort, San Juan Surf Resort, Sebay Surf Central, Flotsam and Jetsam and Planet G. A backhaul capacity of up to 100 megabits per second (expandable to 1 gigabit per second) allows users to have the best digital experience when accessing their e-mails and social-media accounts, downloading and sending files on the go and checking out relevant digital content and services online.

Catanduanes ‘shabu queen’ convicted

By Manly M. Ugalde Correspondent

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I R AC , C at a n du a n e s — A woman, who tried to commit suicide to prevent policemen from search for drugs in her house two years ago, was convicted for life and ordered to pay a fine of P1 million.

Cou r t record s showed t wo ot her person a l it ies i nvolv i ng drugs on separate incidents were also convicted separately to life imprisonment with fines.

Regional Trial Court Branch 43 Judge Lelu Contreras convicted Cynthia Samonte Geromo, 58, called the “shabu queen of

Catanduanes” after she was found with 100 grams of shabu sachets inserted in DVD cases and other belongings inside her home during a search conducted by the Virac police on February 23, 2015.

Also found in her house were more than P100,000 in cash, bank deposit slips, withdrawal slips and automated teller machine cards from the Land Bank of the Philippines, BDO, Philippine National Bank and Development Bank of the Philippines.

A small island province of 11 towns, Catanduanes hogged newspaper headlines after the Duterte administration launched its war on drugs and uncovered the biggest

shabu laboratory on November 26, 2016, in Barangay Palta, 3 kilometers from here.

Court records showed that Geromo’s son, Christian Modrigo from her first husband, was also found guilty of illegal possession of shabu.

He was sentenced from 10 years to 14 years in prison in 2008, but went missing before the court scheduled promulgation.

Police records showed Geromo was maintaining a small kiosk at the second floor of the Virac Center Mall, selling beads and pouches and pirated DVDs. In addition, she was also tending a barbecue stand in front her home attended by her daughter.

As Geromo arrived home, waiting policemen presented her with a search warrant for shabu, but she reportedly told one of the police officers she would give them everything, as long as they did not push through with the search.

As the police began the search, Geromo allegedly became hysterical, banged her head near the window, pulled a tie wire and tried to slash her wrist, screaming “better dead than for the police to confiscate the items [shabu].”

The two other personalities convicted separately for illegal possession of drugs were Armando Chua Jr. of Timban, San Andres town and Larry Sorera of Danicop, Virac.

“With Smart Wi-fi now available in more regions throughout the Philippines, more Filipinos can now access high-quality connections and use them to avail themselves of important government services, as well as stay connected via their social media while on the go,” Hernandez said.

“We are working with local government, schools, resorts and various establishments in bringing better connectivity to more people. We are thankful that we have them as partners in helping us set up and maintain these Smart Wi-fi areas,” Hernandez added.

“With technology now in place to help improve productivity in the province and better connect our community, we look forward to taking Benguet and its people to even greater heights,” Benguet Gov. Crescencio C. Pacalso said.

The nationwide rollout of Smart Wi-Fi complements the ongoing network expansion and modernization program across the country. The network upgrade has resulted in significant improvements in voice, SMS, mobile Internet coverage and quality, particularly on its long-term evolution service. All these forms are part of an overarching effort to make the Internet accessible to all.

With the Smart Fibr Cities program, PLDT has also been expanding the reach of its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services to deliver world-class Internet service to residences and offices in more areas of the country.

The footprint of PLDT’s fiber network is on track to reach approximately 4 million homes passed by end2017, up from 2.8 million as of end-2016.

In September Cavite became the country’s first Fibr-powered Smart province, with PLDT expanding the reach of its FTTH facilities to all of the province’s 23 cities and municipalities.

A10 Thursday, November 23, 2017 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Ease of doing business in PHL

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N line with the Duterte administration’s fight against red tape and corruption in government, the House of Representatives voted 225-0 on Monday to pass on third and final reading House Bill (HB) 6579, a measure seeking to expedite permitting, licensing and other government transactions to help promote the Philippines as a business-friendly economy. The measure was adopted following the release of a World Bank document, dubbed “Ease of Doing Business Report 2018,” which showed the Philippines’s overall ranking going down to 113th, from 99th, in the previous World Bank report.

Rep. Ferjenel G. Biron of the Fourth District of Iloilo, chairman of the House Committee on Trade and Industry, said the bill will pave the way for easier, simpler and trouble-free avenue for entrepreneurs, micro, small and medium businesses and ordinary citizens who would like to start a business.

The fact that our lawmakers at the House were unanimous in acknowledging that a new law is needed to make it easier for entrepreneurs to do business speaks volumes. Compared to our Association of Southeast Asian Nation neighbors, the Philippines continues to perform poorly as far as ease of doing business is concerned. Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto, also an author of the bill, said it takes 16 procedures to navigate the application process and an average of 29 days to start a business in the country.

For the longest time, President Duterte has been urging concerned government agencies to reduce the period for getting business licenses and permits to two to three days. Normally, it takes 10 days to get the needed licenses and permits to start a business. Simplifying all government forms and reducing the number of signatories will help government agencies comply with the presidential directive. However, automation or online transactions can expedite the process of issuing business permits the way they do in advanced economies.

HB 6579 calls for the creation of a comprehensive and regulatorymanagement policy to improve competitiveness by easing bureaucratic and regulatory burden to business entities. This will ensure timely and expeditious processing of business requirements by national government agencies and local government units. To ensure a level playing field, the measure also intends to promote transparency in the government with regard to business registration and other public transactions.

While they’re at it, lawmakers must also look for ways to help the country attract foreign investments. They must look for ways to institutionalize transparency in laws and regulations. Needless to say, the lack of transparency in government regulations and laws are big deterrents for foreign investment in the country. For example, businesses have been complaining that their efforts to comply with taxation laws and regulations are frustrated by the lack of clarity and accessibility of tax information. Foreign business chambers have also expressed concern about weak enforcement of anti-smuggling laws and regulations as an obstacle to investment.

It should not be difficult for the Philippines to get a big part of the foreign-investments pie given the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals, a hundred-million market, skilled human capital and strategic location in Asia, to cite some advantages. Our lawmakers can help improve access of foreign-owned businesses. For example, they need to review the country’s antiquated foreign-investment restrictions mandated by the Constitution or specific laws. By amending protectionist clauses that work against national economic growth and greater employment opportunities, lawmakers can help the Philippines become an attractive foreign direct investment destination in the region.

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The oligarchs balk

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“Everybody was treated in the same manner at the gates of Malacañang. All of you were asked to alight from your cars and take a little walk...I am certain you immediately reacted with the old habits—the consciousness of rank, consciousness of wealth, consciousness of power and the consciousness of unusual attention to which you were accustomed or entitled in the past.”

Terrorist bombings of power and water utilities and public and private buildings stopped. Business returned to normal once more and, in fact, it became lucrative after some four years of anarchy.

When Marcos started using martial law to undertake economic reforms, the oligarchs balked after he diagnosed political unrest as symptomatic of the social disease of economic inequities and saw underdevelopment as a consequence of the opportunistic orientation of businessmen who cared for neither patriotism nor efficiency for as long as they continued raking in large profits.

He also noted some oligarchs, particularly those with mass-media enterprises, pursued political agenda that hewed to the destabilization, if not subversion, of his administration. Worse, some of them had actually invested in conspiracies to assassinate him and other officials.

Exactly 45 years ago tomorrow (November 24), the country marked in history its humiliation of the lords and ladies of Philippine business who trooped to the Maharlika Hall in Malacañan Palace. The President had invited them not to a party or a ball, but to a “dialogue,” less than three months after he declared martial law.

“In that period,” recalled historians Salvador Escalante and J. Augustus Y. de la Paz in their book

change. Inequities would have to undergo leveling to “eradicate the social causes of rebellion.”

“He talked of raising taxes and wages, of levying additional taxes and duties and of imposing price controls on 15 basic commodities.

“He talked of the need for the private sector and the government to coordinate to achieve convergence for development, of housecleaning at the Bureaus of Customs and Internal Revenue and of social-justice programs like land reform and socialized housing.

“He told the business sector to dump practices like smuggling, tax evasion, corruption of public officials and price manipulation through cartels—practices that had enabled them to amass wealth at the greater expense of society.”

Then, Marcos told them that the government had already taken over the operations of several strategic industries and utilities, among them were: the Iligan Integrated Steel Mills of the Jacintos, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. the Philippine National Railways and Elizalde & Company, and allowed the sale of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) by the Lopezes. He explained that industry “must be salvaged from self-indulgent stagnancy.”

The President’s bottom line was that: “business must become more socially responsible. The government, for its part, would clearly define economic-policy directions, to enable the private sector to engage in the business of national and regional development.”

Cecilio T. Arillo

database Part One

HEN former President Ferdinand E. Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972, the business community generally cheered. Martial law rid the streets of paralyzing mass-protest actions; it ended labor strikes in factories and in the public-transport industry; and it sent some misguided students either back to school or off to the mountains to join the communist guerrillas.

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To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com.

Google is filtering news for the wrong reason Leonid Bershidsky

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published in 2000, The Five-Percent Revolution (Edsa in Retrospect), “no invitation could be treated with levity. If rivals among them brushed shoulders, it was unavoidable, for part of the plan was to bring the disparate factions of the oligarchy together and to reduce them to common submission.”

Indeed, Marcos was in no mood to humor the country’s billionaires and millionaires. They were made to disembark from their chauffeured limousines at the gates, some distance from the hall, and had to walk with no exception the rest of the way when their drivers and bodyguards could have taken them up the driveway.

When seated, and everything was ready, President Marcos set the tone of the dialogue and delivered his extemporaneous speech, explaining why they were made to undergo the humbling experience of walking from the gates to the hall: “Everybody was treated in the same manner at the gates of Malacañang. All of you were asked to alight from your cars and take a little walk...I am certain you immediately reacted with the old habits—the consciousness of rank, consciousness of wealth, consciousness of power and the consciousness of unusual attention to which you were accustomed or entitled in the past.”

With that, the President served notice that things would have to

However, in imposing reforms on the private sector, Marcos unavoidably alienated some oligarchs and their foreign partners or principals.

And, in taking over some conglomerates, he became vulnerable to a host of unsavory changes, from being a “robber” to being a socialist.

The takeover of the strategic companies was neither whimsical nor vindictive; nor was it entrusted to plundering incompetents. In the case of the Meralco, an interagency committee was created on November 22, 1972, by Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor, to undertake a management and financial audit.

The team was tasked under Memorandum Order 318 to “recommend corrective measures to rationalize the operations/expansion of the Meralco to achieve cost savings to reduce the price of power to the public.”

The team was led by Juan Matutina, corporate auditor of the state-owned National Power Corp.

One of the members, Roberto de Ocampo of the National Electrification Administration, would eventually become Finance Secretary in former President Fidel V. Ramos’s Cabinet.

The Jacinto companies, on the other hand, were entrusted to the Ministry of National Defense. Before the declaration of martial law, this family, led by the patriarch Ramon P. Jacinto, had some 25 companies. The biggest of these was CCS Enterprises Inc., which owned the Mindanao Steel Corp. and its Iligan Integrated Steel Mills.

The takeover of the Jacinto firms started on October 28, 1972. Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Romeo C. Espino was designated chairman of Mindanao Steel, and among those named to the firm’s board as directors were Colonels Hamilton Dimaya, Roland Pattagulan, Rolando Abadilla, Thelmo Cunanan and the writer Adrian Cristobal.

To be continued

BLOOMBERG

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e’ve known for a long time that Google makes content decisions, but recent moves in the direction of censorship are going too far. Unfortunately, it’s hard to imagine a regulatory backlash given Google’s victims: web sites that no mainstream politician will defend.

Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, told a conference on Monday the company was working to engineer RT and Sputnik, the Russian propaganda channels, out of the Google News aggregator. “We don’t want to ban the sites,” Schmidt said.

“That’s not how we operate. I am strongly not in favor of censorship.

I am very strongly in favor of ranking. It’s what we do.”

Schmidt’s words are a riff on an April post by Google Vice President of Engineering Ben Gomes,

who teased changes to how Google searches for news. New instructions targeted “deceptive webpages” that look like news but seek to “manipulate users” with conspiracy theories, hoaxes and inaccurate information.

“We’ve adjusted our signals to help surface more authoritative pages and demote low-quality content,” Gomes wrote.

I’m not going to claim RT and Sputnik are real news media (in fact, I’ve argued they’re not). But do See “Bershidsky,” A11

Opinion

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Impeachment is worth the wait for Zimbabwe Noah Feldman

BLOOMBERG

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hen you get rid of your dictator, is it important to follow the rules? That delicate question is dominating the transition-in-progress in Zimbabwe, where longtime president Robert Mugabe has refused to step down, despite the demands of the public, the army and his own political party.

The counterintuitive answer is that it actually is worthwhile to show obedience to the rule of law, even when the person being overthrown hasn’t and doesn’t. Following the rules sends a message that the future regime wants to respect the law. If the Zimbabwean people, who have had 37 years of Mugabe, can wait a few more weeks to remove him lawfully, the delay will have been worth it.

The events in Zimbabwe have been fascinating, not least because they haven’t followed the usual pattern of dictator removal. Ordinarily, dictators remain in power until serious cracks appear in their authority—after which they crumble fast.

In this way, the fall of a dictator is like bankruptcy as described by Ernest Hemingway in The Sun Also Rises: “‘How did you go bankrupt?’

Bill asked. ‘Two ways,’ Mike said.

‘Gradually and then suddenly.’”

The combination of a general appearing on television to announce the transition, the largest protest in the country’s history and the general sense that Mugabe is finished ought to have moved the transition from the gradual stage to the sudden.

Mugabe, at 93, cannot realistically expect to continue to hold power. By now it is also clear that he won’t be able to transfer power to his wife, as he apparently intended to do.

Yet, Mugabe hasn’t abdicated his position—and he hasn’t yet been removed by force.

The main explanation seems to be the strong desire of the relevant actors to follow a legal script, so they can continue to claim, as they have from the beginning, that their coup isn’t really a coup at all.

And Mugabe, for his part, has been taking advantage of this desire for a semi-orderly transition. After the ruling political party, the Zanu-PF, purported to expel him from the party, Mugabe insisted in a speech that he would preside over the party congress meant to convene on December 12.

According to the Zanu-PF party constitution, the head of the party can (arguably) only be removed by a vote of the full party congress—not by the leadership of the central committee that voted Mugabe out.

The party also lacked the legal authority to remove Mugabe from the presidency. Consequently, the central committee voted to direct the party whip to commence impeachment procedures against Mugabe on Tuesday if he has not resigned by then.

Exploiting the fact that no one with formal legal authority to remove him from the presidency has yet acted, Mugabe has not (as of this writing) agreed to step down.

It would appear that he intends to

Bershidsky. . . continued from A10

I want Google to “engineer it out” of news searches or the Google News aggregation service? Absolutely not, and I want my fringe and alternative web sites, too, regardless of their political coloring.

I am, of course, a media professional. I know these sites are frequently wrong, and wrong on purpose. I know they push conspiracy theories and propaganda. But the spin they put on the news is immensely illuminating to my work.

Last year US psychologist Robert

let the impeachment process go forward. It could potentially go fast, or it could take several weeks. Most important, given the composition of Parliament, Mugabe can only be removed from office with the active participation of the opposition. And the opposition can be expected to try to extract some promises of powersharing from the Zanu-PF leadership.

Given Mugabe’s canny skill at resisting removal using procedural barriers, it will be very tempting for the military and the politicians alike to force him out without respect for the formal procedures.

If they did, it’s unlikely that too many other countries would object, or that many Zimbabweans would raise a ruckus.

One effect of autocracy and one-party rule is that it tends to weaken the idea that constitutional niceties must always be observed.

What’s more, the democratic ideal that the people should be able to remove a de facto dictator would also seem to point in favor of rapid and direct action.

But that perspective would be a mistake. Zanu-PF and the military and the Zimbabwean people would be much better served by a legal process than by an efficient one.

Admittedly, following procedures in overthrowing a dictator is a form of hypocrisy. But hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue, as the old maxim has it. In this case that means, by showing even a hypocritical respect for procedural forms, the coup plotters are doing something to enforce the value of procedural regularity in constitutional government.

In practice, if the coup plotters take their time and follow the forms, they are sending a meaningful signal to the public and the world that they care to some degree about constitutional values and the rule of law.

Sending the signal isn’t free for them, because they have to pay the cost of tolerating Mugabe in power after they have declared him finished.

This constitutional respect doesn’t guarantee that the next leader of Zimbabwe will truly respect the rule of law, or that meaningful political reform will stem from the Zanu-PF. But it does subtly increase the likelihood that, when future conflicts arise between political expediency and a constitutional rights, the new leadership will be open to respecting those rights, if only as a matter of cost-benefit analysis.

It’s time for Mugabe to go, historically speaking. But if the dictator ekes out a few more days or weeks in the name of constitutional procedures he himself was traditionally willing to violate, that will actually be a meaningful victory for democracy and the rule of law.

New instructions targeted “deceptive web pages” that look like news but seek to “manipulate users” with conspiracy theories, hoaxes and inaccurate information.

“We’ve adjusted our signals to help surface more authoritative pages and demote low-quality content,” Gomes wrote.

Epstein published an article on Sputnik, alleging Google’s search suggestions were slanted toward candidate

The King for the little ones Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

Alálaong Bagá

C

losing our liturgical calendar, the solemnity of Christ the King proclaims Him to be our irreplaceable SaviorKing because He established the reign of God in the world, even as we pray that we be able to live by His Gospel and be welcomed to the eternal joy of His kingdom, (Matthew 25:31-46).

At the end of time IN His coming at the end of time, the Son of Man will solemnly intervene for the closure of human history.

Coming in glory with all the angels, He takes His throne to judge all nations. As the King of the universe, He will give to those blessed by His Father the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. For this kingdom He came to preach and called for repentance. In words and deeds He taught that the kingdom has been prepared for the poor and the little ones, to whom God will do justice, (Matthew 5:12). The blessed ones

are those who actually live according to their faith, and not those who merely say “Lord, Lord.”

The Gospel judgment scene is at the summit of Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom. To enter the kingdom as judged worthy to share in the eternal joy of communion with God are those who are merciful to others.

These are those who know that the commandment of the love of God is inseparable from the commandment of the love of neighbor. And so, inheriting the kingdom will be on the basis of what we will have done or not done for those who are

Thursday, November 23, 2017 A11

needy: the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick, prisoners, elderly, abandoned, etc.

To them is to Me

The perplexity of people confronted with the facts of what they have done or failed to do hinges on the surprising clarification that they have done so or not to the Lord Himself. When did they see Him hungry and they did not feed Him? And the King will say, “You did to Me” what you have done to your fellow human beings, and “You did not do for Me” what you neglected to do for others. Jesus identifies Himself with the little ones and the poor who are in need of help and compassion. What we do to them and for them is the decisive factor in the divine judgment.

Many will say on that day, “Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name?

Did we not drive out demons in Your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in Your name?” And they will be told, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers,” (Matthew 7:21-23). Thus, the centrality of love and works of mercy will be most glaring at the final judgment. “For it is love I desire, not sacrifice,” (Hosea 6:6, quoted in

Matthew 9:13 and 12:7). Our Savior is the Shepherd-King of His people, concerned with the frailest of His flock. God is full of mercy and compassion, and it is our task and privilege to be patterned after this Divine Image. “For He shall rescue the poor man when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor, the lives of the poor He shall save,” (Psalm 72:12-13).

Alálaong bagá, as the Son shares the love of the Father, we, His people, are called to share His concerns and ways. That is why He recognizes those who act like Him and are animated with the same charity: His “kapuso at kadiwa” (one in heart and soul with Him). Our identifying features must be our works of love and mercy; that is what our King takes into account in dealing with us at the gate to eternity.

As Saint Augustine specified, we shall enter heaven not because we have not sinned, but because our deeds of mercy have expiated for our sins.

Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, from 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio streaming on www.dwiz882.com.

Making K-12 work: Getting key sectors on board Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS Continued from A1

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urthermore, it is argued that the “enhanced” K to 12 basic education curriculum fulfills the provision of the Constitution, which mandates the state to “establish, maintain and support a complete, adequate and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people and society” (Article IV, Section 2).

The concept of industry-education consultation mechanism is not new.

The problem is that it is not being looked into by those in the education sector, in particular by those managing basic education. In general, tighter and sustained educationindustry cooperation is missing in the country—except in the case of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, whose mission is to strengthen vocational education after high school.

These, in brief, are the promises of the controversy-laden K to 12 program.

The birthing of the K to 12 program was not easy. It was the subject of several cases filed with the Supreme Court (SC) seeking its suspension or even abolition. The majority of parents were not prepared for the extra cost of spending for two more years of schooling at the secondary level. Many places throughout the archipelago also did not have the facilities and materials for these extra two years of basic education.

This author supported in 20132015 the campaign of several faculty unions in Metro Manila for a deferment of the K to 12 program.

The union leaders from University of Santo Thomas, Saint Scholastica, Mapua, Miriam and others were vocal about their complaints that then Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Brother Armin A. Luistro and other concerned government officials had no program to smoothen the transition from K to 10 to K to 12 arrangements. In particular, many college faculty members teaching some of the courses absorbed by the K to 12 program had to face the deadly 3Ds —displacement, demotion and dismissal—because the general education curriculum given in the first two years of tertiary schooling had to be downsized and

there would be less students entering college in 2016 and 2017. Eventually, with the intervention of Congress, the DepEd, Commission on Higher Education and Department of Labor and Employment came up with some “compromise solutions,” such as giving financial and reassignment assistance to the affected teachers. Still, it was painful for a number of teachers who lost either their jobs or ranks.

But now the K to 12 program is in place. The government has also won in the SC the cases filed against the program. Therefore, the primary task facing the nation now is how to make the K to 12 program really work so that it can fulfill all the rosy promises outlined by Luistro and other proponents of the program, such as better educated citizenry, more productive work force and sustained economic development.

In this regard, DepEd Secretary Ma. Leonor M. Briones is trying hard to address the “quality” side of the K to 12. The “quantity” side—adding two years to basic education—is what has been achieved so far by the government. The jury on the quality aspect is not yet out.

There are many doables on the quality side. But one positive proposal stands out—the proposal to establish an industry-education coordination council in support of continuous improvement and enhance-

ment of the K to 12 offerings based on continuous consultation and coordination with industry. Assistant Secretary Nepomuceno A. Malaluan of the DepEd is spearheading the brainstorming on how to set up the council at the national and regional levels and how to develop the mechanisms for consultation, coordination and implementation of industryinspired measures to improve the K to 12 program. The “industry” sector here refers not only to big manufacturing and business establishments; it also covers the small and medium enterprises, social enterprises run by CSOs, farming sector, individual artisans and other relevant actors in the economy. In short, the whole idea is to have a system of consultation with the most productive segments of the economy.

The concept of industry-education consultation mechanism is not new. The problem is that it is not being looked into by those in the education sector, in particular by those managing basic education.

In general, tighter and sustained education-industry cooperation is missing in the country—except in the case of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, whose mission is to strengthen vocational education after high school.

The role of industry in education reforms such as curriculum review and design, conduct of research and extension and management of internships and practical courses, cannot be overemphasized. Industry can

Hillary Clinton. In response, I wrote a column that voiced serious doubts about Epstein’s evidence. That process—an important one in democracies—would’ve never played out had Google downgraded Sputnik and left me blind to the existence of Epstein’s article.

Of course, it can be argued that the average news consumer shouldn’t be fed the fakes and the spins because she lacks the time and the engagement necessary to filter through it all. But that’s not really why Google censors the news through its ranking system.

Google is trying to minimize threats to its business, to avoid any

kind of criticism that could lead to regulation. In the April post, Gomes referred to an incident from last December: Those asking Google “Did the Holocaust happen?” received a clear, embarrassing answer: No. Google wanted to make such situations less likely, Gomes wrote.

The same logic applies to its recent moves. Google decided to downgrade links to RT and Sputnik just as members of Congress investigate whether US technology platforms helped facilitate a Russian disinformation campaign during the presidential election. Until the possibility of regulation arose, the company was fine with those links,

even though RT’s and Sputnik’s content was always as pungent as it is today.

The bottom line is that Google will downgrade any kind of content that can cause a backlash against it. That’s important to understand even if you don’t want to see alt-right, alt-left, pro-Russian, pro-Iran or any other biased “news stories.” What you do want can end up being censored, too, if Google’s finely tuned corporate nose smells complications.

Sure, there are applications, such as Feedly, Nuzzel or Flipboard, that let you build your own news aggregator. But they’re less convenient

provide the needed labor market “signals” on how to align the curricula with the complex needs of a dynamic labor market. What are the emerging jobs and skills needed in the evolving labor market at the regional, national and regional levels? Educational institutions cannot work out the curricula all by themselves unmindful of what is going on in industry and what are the changes in the way business and work are done, especially on how they are adjusting to the evolving technology and market conditions in a globalizing world.

The K to 12 also seeks to develop a new generation of would-be entrepreneurs through the curricula on business education and self-employment. This is important since paid work—from the private and government sectors—is limited in number, especially in relatively underdeveloped or semi-industrialized or even agrarian regions of the country. But again, practical lessons and exposure are a must. The power of living examples on how to succeed in business or agricultural undertakings can only be shared by those who have succeeded in business (big or small) and small-scale farming (a big challenge in the whole country) and other forms of self-employment.

All this is crucial in the learning, modeling and motivating processes.

Again, some form of consultation and coordination with the business leaders, farm innovators and other model independent producers at the community level are a must.

Third, developing the pool of Filipino talents, to unlock the potential of the Philippines to catch up with the growth leaders of Asia and the world, requires dedicated dialogue, collaboration and partnership between and among those in the government, educational system and industry.

For the foregoing reasons alone, the importance of setting up a government-industry-education council is a must to ensure that the promise of the K to 12 reforms will truly make a difference for the post-K to 12 youth and the country as a whole. to use than Google News, which is attached to the Google function everyone uses—search. Google is a monopoly that regulators have mostly allowed to bundle various products with the main one. If that were not the case, competitors might arise that offer different degrees of filtering and different ranking models. That would be bad for business and good for consumers, who are now stuck using Google’s mainstream filter bubble. As someone who works in the mainstream media, I should probably welcome that—but I’d rather have fair competition for the inquisitive reader’s mind, and for traffic.

Associations tackle increasing role in society in Association Summit 5

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ore than 200 professional executives from local and global associations on Tuesday gathered at the Associations Summit 5 (AS5) co-presented by the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE) and the Tourism Promotions Board.

The two-day conference, which runs until November 23 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), featured 15 plenary sessions, breakout sessions, and learning tracks, and had 30 speakers who shared best practices and insights in association governance, leadership, and management, among others.

This year’s theme, “Stronger Together,” tackled the increasing role that associations play in society.

International speakers included: Jeffers Miruka of the African Society of Association Executives (Building the Management Association Profession); Datuk John Lau Pang Heng, chairman of Acme Integrated Services Sdn Bhd. Malaysia

and past international president of Toastmasters International (Strengthening Executive Leadership); Kathy NguyenManager, Client Services, Associations Forum Pty Ltd. Australia (Recruiting, Retaining and Engaging Members); Alicia Yao Hong, director of China Social Organization (Building the Association Community: The China Experience); Chris Dingcong, founder and creative director of Springtime Design (The Role of Brand for Associations); and Eric L. Schmidt, CoFounder and CEO of EventBank (Building Association Communities Through Events & High-Touch Engagement). John H. Graham IV, president and CEO of the American Society of Association Execu-

tives (ASAE), also joined via live video.

Aside from the various educational tracks during the event, the Association Summit 5 also shone the spotlight on outstanding associations and association board members and professionals through the “Ang SUSI Awards.”

The awards recognized associations for their outstanding achievements in six categories: helping the environment, empowering people, serving communities, enhancing trade and industry, developing technology solutions, and for being agents of change. In addition, there were two individual awards: the “Association Board Member of the Year” and the “Association Executive of the Year.”

This year’s ANG SUSI awardees were: Association Executives of the Year

Store Training to Access and Resources (STAR) Program”

Arnold P. Salvador, executive director of the Management Association of the Philippines

Manila Sanitarium Foundation, Inc. for its Medical Outreach Programs

Philippine Nurses Association, Inc. for its “Salamat Doc” project

Ernesto M. Ordonez, president, Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (CeMAP)

Board Member of the Year

Lorenzo C. Formoso Philippine Retailers Association (PRA)

People Empowerment Award

Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) for its Certified Franchise Executive Program

Community Service Award

Alalay sa Kaunlaran, Inc. (ASKI) for its “Agriculture Value Chain for Onion Farmers in San Jose City: Onion and Vegetables Producers Cooperative” and “Sari-Sari

Change Catalyst Award

Merit Awards

Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CeMAP) for its “Building Beyond Business Development Program and Practices”

Psychological Association of the Philippines for its “Taskforce on Drug Recovery Support, Katatagan Kontra Droga sa Kumunidad,” a community-based drug recovery initiative Industry Development Award Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) for Franchise Asia Philippines

PCAAE, dubbed as the “association of associations” in the country, was established in November 2013 to cater to the needs of association board members and professional association managers.

“Through the Association Summit, we hope to help associations think strategically about their future, particularly in light of global and local challenges that affect their sources of revenue, profile, and missions. We also invite associations to seize the social and professional development opportunities available from networking in an intimate setting with fellow members of the association community,” said PCAAE president and CEO, Octavio ‘Bobby’ Peralta.

Technology Innovation Award

Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) for its NRCE Chatbot

Kathy Nguyen (2nd from right), manager of the Associations Forum Pty. Ltd. Australia, receives a token of appreciation from PCAAE president Octavio Peralta (far right) for being one of the speakers. Also in photo are Gwen Albarracin (left), president of Asia Marketing Federation and a member of PCAAE’s Board of Trustees; and PCAAE chairperson Corazon Conde.

Datuk John Lau Pang Heng, chairman of Acme Integrated Services Sdn Bhd. Malaysia and past international president of Toastmasters International, discussed how associations can strengthen their executive leadership roles.

Datuk John Lau Pang Heng, chairman of Acme Integrated Services Sdn Bhd. Malaysia and past international president of Toastmasters International, answers questions from summit attendees on how associations can strengthen their executive leadership roles. Gwen Albarracin, president of Asia Marketing Federation and a member of PCAAE’s Board of Trustees, moderated the session.

Alicia Yao Hong, director of China Social Organization, shares China’s experience in building the association community, which counts half a billion members of the Chinese culinary community around the world.